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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2018)
REGION Friday, September 21, 2018 Hermiston man’s daughter, grandson trampled by giraffe By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian A Hermiston man has spent most of his time at a hospital in South Africa this month after his daughter and grandson were trampled by a giraffe on Sept. 3. Dr. Katy Williams and her son Finn, 3, were seri- ously injured but their health has been improving, Jack Standish said. Standish, who moved to Hermiston with his late wife in 2005, said Katy and Finn were going out to meet Katy’s husband Sam Wil- liams on Sept. 3 as Sam returned from a run. Often Katy and Finn would meet up with him inside the large, fenced estate where their home was located before walking back together. They are both scientists (Katy spe- cializes in hyenas and Sam in big cats) and have been in South Africa for research. Katy and Finn walked into a clearing to see a tower of giraffes, and before they had time to react, one charged and began kicking them. Sam, returning from his run, saw the attack and was able to scare the giraffes away by yelling and wav- ing his arms. Standish said the giraffe that attacked was a mother with a young baby Photo contributed by Jack Standish Katy, Sam and Finn Williams are pictured sometime before Katy and Finn were trampled by a giraffe. and was likely protecting her baby from a perceived threat. “We hold no malice toward the giraffe,” Standish said, calling the incident an “accident of nature.” Katy and Finn were flown to a hospital in Johan- nesburg, where doctors were not sure either one would survive the night. The two could not have gotten better care, Standish said. After he got the call about the attack, he and his son David, who is serving in the U.S. Navy, rushed to Johannesburg. “We got there and Katy was under a deep coma and looking pretty rough with scrapes and bruises all over her body,” he said. She woke up later, how- ever, and her broken bones and punctured organs are healing. Meanwhile Finn is finally able to open his eyes and, while not speak- ing yet, is reacting to his sur- roundings “as he should be.” He will be moved soon to a rehabilitation center for chil- dren to help him get back up to where a three-year-old should be developmentally. “There’s a lot of hope,” Standish said. “His family and doctors know he’s going to get well.” Standish said as the inci- dent has been reported around the world there has been some judgment, but both Katy and Sam have doctorate degrees in animal science and they have been working with animals in Africa for years. The fenced estate where they lived doesn’t have lions, chee- tahs, rhinoceroses or other animals considered particu- larly dangerous and giraffes — which Katy could not see until it was too late — are not known for attacking humans. Standish said the fam- ily, including Katy, asked that the giraffe not be euth- anized, and it was moved to a location away from peo- ple. Unfortunately, the baby giraffe did not survive the move. “We were so extremely sorry to hear that,” Standish said. “It brought tears to my eyes, because we all love animals.” Two GoFundMe accounts (one for Brit- ish pounds, since the Wil- liamses got their advanced degrees in England, and one in American dollars) have been set up to help the Wil- liams family cover their extensive medical bills. The American one can be found at www.gofundme.com/ finn-amp-katy-williams. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Stanfield looks at bond projects By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian The Stanfield School District is looking to make some changes. In May 2019, the district plans to place a bond on the ballot, which will target safety upgrades and improve classroom space for both the elemen- tary and secondary schools. If passed, the bond will appear on Stanfield resi- dents’ tax statements begin- ning in July 2019. While the district needs about $14 million to com- plete the proposed projects, it is not yet clear how much the bond will ask of voters. The district found out on Wednesday that it received a $4 million Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching grant. “We could ask vot- ers for less than $14 mil- lion, which would actually lower taxes, and use the $4 million in matching funds to make up the difference while accounting for the ris- ing costs of materials and labor,” said Stanfield Super- intendent Beth Burton in an email to the East Oregonian. The district has identi- fied several projects that bond money will target. At the elementary school, it will focus on a more secure entryway, with better visi- bility. The parking area will be remodeled to hold more vehicles, and separate the driving area from the drop- off area. The bond also allots money to replace the flooring in the elementary school. There are a slew of pro- posed projects at the sec- ondary school, including upgrading the surveillance system, removing lead plumbing, replacing all exterior and some interior Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan Food Service Manager Clara Nichols, left, shows a group of citizens around Stan- field Secondary School’s kitchen — one of the spaces that would be renovated if a bond is passed next May. doors, upgrading the kitchen equipment, remodeling the administrative office and entrance, and expanding the metal and wood shops. Burton and Stanfield Ele- mentary School principal Lacey Sharp led a group of about 30 Stanfield residents and staff members around the facilities, pointing out the areas that the bond will target. Burton noted that while capital improvements in many local schools, like Hermiston, have focused on capacity, that’s not the case in Stanfield. She said enrollment numbers are not projected to increase, and have actually dropped a bit in the past few years. Stan- field currently has about 470 students between its two schools. Instead, she said, prior- ities for the bond include improving student and staff safety, enhancing career and technical education space, expanding the space for the middle school (currently housed in a single portable), and improving the overall learning environment. Burton noted some of the design flaws in both build- ings, such as the lack of windows in the secondary school. Earlier that day, the power had gone out in the school. “It was pitch dark and unsafe,” Burton said. The group toured the gym, which has new floor- ing and bleachers, but would get a new air condi- tioning system as a result of the bond. In the kitchen, they observed the cracked floor and old appliances. “It takes me about 45 minutes to boil water,” said Clara Nichols, the food ser- vice manager at Stanfield Secondary School. The district last went out for a bond in 1999, after which they built Stanfield Elementary School. That building has not had any upgrades since then. The secondary school was built in 1979, and was remodeled in 1995. Help Celebrate Cason’s Place East Oregonian Page 3A BRIEFLY Lawsuit seeks return of forced union fees SALEM (AP) — Seek- ing the return of millions of dollars of forced union fees, 12 Oregon public employees filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state’s three largest pub- lic sector unions, a smaller union, and affiliates. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that government workers can’t be required to contribute to labor groups. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foun- dation, which was involved in the Supreme Court case, is handling the Oregon case and 200 others across the country. The group said the suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Oregon, seeks fees collected in recent years from thousands of pub- lic sector employees who left their unions or never joined. Defendants include the Service Employees Inter- national Union; American Federation of State, Local, and Municipal Employees; and the Oregon Education Association. Canada police chase man bypassing U.S. border crossing BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say a police chase ensued at the north- ern U.S. border crossing after a man in a truck fled from Washington state to Vancouver, B.C., without stopping for international travel processing. The Bellingham Her- ald reports that the unidentified man in his 20s in a blue Ford pickup truck with Oregon plates bypassed the Peace Arch border crossing Saturday morning. Border crossing agents reported it but he refused to pull over, evading mul- tiple police officers for miles. He was finally arrested by Vancouver police nearly 30 miles later, after the truck crashed into a Mazda sedan and the Rufus Drum Shop. The 32-year-old man from Vancouver in the Mazda suffered minor injuries. The driver of the truck faces charges of dangerous driving and causing a police pursuit. Oregon pays $150k to family of man crushed by tree PORTLAND (AP) — The state of Oregon has paid $150,000 to the estate of a man who died when a tree fell across the Historic Columbia River Highway and onto his car. The Oregonian/Oregon- Live reports 27-year-old Jorge Figueroa was vis- iting the Columbia River Gorge from the Seattle area on June 28, 2015, when the tree crashed down onto the Saturn sedan he was driving. The family faulted the Oregon Department of Transportation for failing to remove the decaying tree near Corbett. 9/21 - 23 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie 9/26 • 12pm The Caine Mutiny THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS (PG) 11:20* 1:50* 4:20 6:50 9:30 LIFE ITSELF (R) 11:40* 2:10* 4:40 7:10 9:50 THE PREDATOR (R) 11:30* 2:00* 4:30 7:00 9:40 A SIMPLE FAVOR (R) 11:10* 1:40* 4:10 6:40 9:20 WHITE BOY RICK (R) 11:50* 2:20* 4:50 7:20 10:00 * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic is recognized as a Patient -Centered Primary Care Home. What does that mean for you? • Better-coordinated care. • Listening to your concerns and answering ques- tions. • After-hours nurse consultation. • Healthcare providers who will help connect you with the care you need in a safe and timely way. • Healthcare providers who play an active role in your health. First Birthday Sunday, September 23, 2018 • 1-3 pm 1416 SE Court Ave, Pendleton Dedication of Outdoor Activity Area Opening: Honoring Adrian Stump, a fallen soldier • Rock Painting for Memorial Garden • Please join us and learn more about Cason’s Place work with grieving children and families. No Child Should have to Grieve Alone Grief Support for Children and Families of Eastern Oregon www.casonsplace.org HOURS Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred. CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic 3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR 97801 541.966.0535 • 541.278.4597 (fax)