Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2018)
REGION Saturday, September 1, 2018 East Oregonian Hunter who hung upside-down in tree for 2 days in coma LA GRANDE (AP) — A 70-year-old Oregon hunter who was rescued after hang- ing upside-down for two days about 30 feet above ground was “hollering out” for help, but a father-and- son hunting duo who heard him spent an hour and a half searching for him because they weren’t looking up, a newspaper reported Friday. Eddie Voelker, of Prineville, Oregon, was hunting earlier this week in the remote, northeastern part of the state when he slipped off his tree stand and became entangled in his safety har- ness while hanging upside- down. Voelker remained conscious but could not free himself, The Observer reported. Two days later, Steven and Joseph Royston of Stay- ton were hunting a short dis- tance away and they heard Voelker yelling for help. He is now in critical con- dition at a hospital in Rich- land, Washington, where he is in a drug-induced coma, according to family friend Jeanette Jacoby. “We didn’t stumble on him — he was hollering out,” Steven Royston told the newspaper. “We were hunting about a mile or so from his location and I heard someone yelling. I knew we needed to do something.” Since Voelker’s yell- ing was echoing in the for- est, Royston and his son drove around in their vehi- cle so they could cover more ground. “My son honked the horn, and we knew we were get- ting closer to him (because) once he heard the horn he started yelling louder. He kept it up so we could find Contributed photo him,” he said. The hunters at first had trouble because they were looking at ground level, he said. “He said, ‘I’m up in the tree,’” Royston recalled. “Holy smokes. He was about 30 feet above and tangled in the ropes from his tree stand. His head was straight down, (and he had) no way to get himself down. We knew we needed to get him help right then.” The Roystons drove about 8 miles to get cell- phone reception and called 911. On the way, they flagged down another car and told that person to go sit with Voelker. They waited by the road and were able to lead a res- cue helicopter to Voelker, but the helicopter crew didn’t have the right equipment to get him down, Royston said. About 30 people from all different local agen- cies arrived, but no one had equipment that was tall enough to reach him. Then, a paramedic with the La Grande Fire Depart- ment remembered seeing the local electric utility train- ing with their bucket trucks to rescue linemen who are injured on the job. The res- cuers called Oregon Trail Electric Co-Op and made the unusual request for help. “I wasn’t certain they were going to play ball,” Capt. Robert Tibbetts said. “Not because they aren’t helpful, but because it was such an unusual request. It was rolling the dice.” Tibbetts said that being upside down for an extended length of time can lead to poor circulation and a mul- titude of issues — poten- tially life-threatening — for the body once it’s upright. It was actually better that Voelker hadn’t been able to right himself when no para- medics were around, he said, because it could have been much worse. “We knew the likelihood of cardiac arrest is extraor- dinarily high. We knew we couldn’t barge in and put him in the (bucket) truck without doing treatment first,” Tib- betts said. “We were forced to slow it down a bit and deal with the medical side of it while developing a plan for the actual rescue.” The U.S. Forest Ser- vice set up a rope system to slowly lower Voelker into the bucket, and as they started to do that — and as he became more upright — his medical condition dete- riorated rapidly. Voelker’s heart stopped briefly, but rescuers got a pulse back before he was loaded onto a helicopter. PENDLETON City seeks OK for UAS industrial park utility plans East Oregonian The city of Pendleton is piloting plans forward to build an industrial park at the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range. At a meeting Tuesday, the Pendleton City Council will consider approving nearly $600,000 in task orders to complete utility plans for the industrial park. In order to pay for Port- land engineering firm Mur- raysmith to complete the plans, a city staff report states that the money would come from $25 million in utility loans from the state. In 2015, the Pendle- ton City Council approved annual 10.5 percent water and sewer rate hikes through 2020 to pay off the loans. Murraysmith would be responsible for putting together plans for extend- 8/31 - 9/3 9/4 Cineplex Show Times Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie $5 Classic Movie 9/5 • 12pm • Bad News Bears 9/5 • 12pm • Bad News Bears THE MEG [PG13] 11:50* 2:20* 4:50 7:20 9:50 THE MEG [PG13] 4:50 7:20 9:50 CRAZY RICH ASIANS [PG13] 1:30* 4:10 6:50 9:30 CRAZY RICH ASIANS [PG13] 4:10 6:50 9:30 MILE 22 [R] 12:00* 2:10* 4:30 6:40 9:20 ALPHA [PG13] 12:40* 2:50* 5:00 7:10 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN [PG-13] 4:20 7:00 9:40 SLENDER MAN [PG-13] 10:00 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 [PG] 11:40* 2:00* HERMISTON Council approves raise for city manager By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Emergency crews rescue Eddie Voelker, 70, after he had been hanging upside down in a tree for two days. MILE 22 [R] 4:30 6:40 9:20 ALPHA [PG13] 5:00 7:10 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN [PG-13] 4:20 7:00 9:40 SLENDER MAN [PG-13] 10:00 * Matinee Pricing * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 ing utilities to the proposed industrial park. The city has also applied for a $3 million grant from the U.S. Eco- nomic Development Admin- istration to pay for the util- ity extension and build new hangars at the airport. Public Works Director Bob Patterson has estimated it would take $13.9 mil- lion to extend utilities to the park and another $11.5 mil- lion to build an airport res- ervoir and pump station for fire protection. Not on the agenda are incentive packages for the I & E Construction apartment complex proposal on West- gate and the Makad Corp. hotel project at the airport. Although both were dis- cussed at previous meetings, Mayor John Turner said the potential deals are still being negotiated by staff. Page 3A Hermiston city man- ager Byron Smith is meeting or exceeding all expectations of the city council, according to their annual evalua- tion, and he will receive a raise of $6,400 on Sept. 1. Smith During Mon- day’s city council meeting the council met in execu- tive session “for the pur- pose of discussing mat- ters pertaining to the review and evaluation of employment-related per- formance of the City Man- ager.” Afterward the coun- cil approved an adjustment to his contract, giving him a base salary increase of $6,400. Smith was originally hired in August 2014 at $115,000 and has been given a raise after each annual performance review. His salary was listed as $132,330 in a database of city salaries in the fall of 2017. The city’s pay structure includes six salary steps for each position, which represent a four to five per- cent salary increase at each step. The East Oregonian made a public records request for Smith’s eval- uation, which shows his com- posite score on seven catego- ries. City coun- cilors rated each category on a scale of one to five, and Smith scored a four (exceeds expectations) or three (meets expectations) on all categories. Smith’s highest score was a 4.3 for “personal,” which includes ethics and professional- ism, and his lowest was a 3.4 for “elected body rela- tions” with the city council and for communication. In open session Monday Mayor David Drotzmann noted that Smith met or exceeded all of the coun- cil’s expectations and had also been given some feed- back and goals to work on. “You have led us down a very positive pathway and I think you will con- tinue to do so,” Drotzmann said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. MILTON-FREEWATER Two men face attempted murder for shooting PENDLETON — The other two adult suspects in the recent shooting in Milton-Freewater are in the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton. Charley Lozano Magana and Juan Vene- gas Esquivel, both 24 and Walla Walla residents, were in jail in Walla Walla County. They waived extradition and arrived Thursday at the local jail. They face multi- ple charges stemming from the Aug. 17 shoot- ing, including recklessly endangering others, unlawful use of a weapon and attempted mur- der, according to public records. They join Michael Angelo Cantu, 27, also of Walla Walla, who has been in the jail since Aug. 22. He faces the same charges. Police reported the trio and one juvenile were involved in a gang-re- lated drive-by shooting late at night. There were no injuries. Police tracked down the group after they left Milton-Freewater and entered Walla Walla. Authorities have not identified the juvenile. WE HEAR YOU! Renata Anderson, MA Pam Wagenaar, Administrative Assistant LOCAL, INDEPENDENT AUDIOLOGIST Working within the community of Pendleton, our clinic provides a variety of hearing healthcare services including hearing assessments and rehabilitation, education, and counseling. SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON! You can trust Renata to provide a complete hearing evaluation and a professional diagnosis of your specifi c hearing loss. Call for an appointment with Renata today and start hearing what you’ve been missing. 2237 SW Court, Pendleton 541-276-5053 • www.renataanderson.com