FINAL HAIL
TO THE
CHIEF
BRAZILE
READY TO
SLOW DOWN
RECORDS/5A
RODEO/1B
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
143rd Year, No. 36
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Wildhorse expansion
trimmed to fit budget
Courtyard hotel slated
for closure on March
31, 2019
East Oregonian
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
has trimmed back its upcoming
major expansion to stay within an
$85 million budget.
The resort detailed the final
plans for the expansion in an
announcement on Wednesday.
“Sticking to the original
spending plan became a chal-
lenge when the price of steel
increased drastically,” according
to the announcement. “The plan-
ning team carefully prioritized
elements of the overall vision and
created a realistic and innovative
strategy that works within the
$85 million budget.”
That vision in July included a
second 11-story hotel, a 32-lane
bowling alley, four more screens
in the cineplex and five new
See WILDHORSE/8A
Contributed photo
The Wildhorse Hotel & Casino expansion will include a new hotel tow-
er, bowling alley and food court.
Courtesy
police ride
ends with
two arrests
Local ski area expected to open this winter
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Elgin, has not opened some
years due to insufficient snow
pack, and last year did not open
due to health problems faced by
owner John Murray.
Richard Murray said Spout
Springs sometimes opens later
in the season than other ski
resorts because they want to
make sure there is enough snow
to protect skiers.
“We want everyone to be
safe,” he said.
According to the ski area’s
Oregon State Police Sgt. Seth
Cooney’s act of kindness led to the arrest
of two suspects in recent car thefts and
high-speed chases.
Cooney said he responded Tuesday
morning to a report of a male “stumbling
on the road and almost falling into traf-
fic” on Interstate 82 near Hermiston.
“As I’m looking
at him, he’s got blue
hair,” Cooney said.
“That’s kind of a
giveaway. You don’t
see that very often.”
The man said
he was in with-
drawal and sick, and
Cooney agreed to
give him a “cour- Rushfeldt
tesy transport” to his
home on Frontage
Road near Herm-
iston. Cooney said
the man identified
himself as David
James Rushfeldt, 26,
of Portland, which
the cop connected
to an Oct. 24 car
chase involving state Tatooed
police trooper John
Lombardi.
Lombardi stopped to help a dark
gray Subaru Outback on the eastbound
side of Interstate 84 near milepost 176.
While talking to the two occupants, the
female driver floored the gas, and the
trooper gave chase. Oregon State Police
reported the Subaru exceeded 122 mph
and ditched police after taking exit 177
to Frontage Road.
Rushfeldt was the passenger in that
car, Cooney said, but that was not a rea-
See SPOUT/8A
See ARRESTS/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Spout Springs Ski Area is one of the oldest ski areas in the state of Oregon and has been in continuous operation since 1927.
Spout Springs revived
Owner says opening
will follow ‘another
good storm’
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Spout Springs Ski Area will
open this season after a two-
year hiatus.
Hill manager Richard Mur-
ray said the ski area in the Blue
Mountains isn’t open quite yet,
but should be soon.
“We’ve got 18 inches of pack
and we need another good storm
to open,” he said.
He said when the ski area
opens they will announce it on
their Facebook page and their
website, www.spoutspringsski-
area.com.
The National Weather Ser-
vice predicts clear and sunny
weather for most of the rest of
the week at Spout Springs, with
a 20 percent chance of snow on
Saturday. Its seven-day fore-
cast states that snow is “likely”
on Sunday night, Monday and
Tuesday. Sunday is expected to
be the warmest day in the next
week, with a high of 32 degrees.
Murray said he will be taking
applications for jobs at Spout
Springs on Dec. 14 from noon
to 4 p.m., Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m. and Dec. 16 from 9 a.m.
to noon. Positions include lift
operator, general labor, restau-
rant jobs and a rental shop tech.
Interested applicants can visit
the rental shop during those
days.
The family-owned and oper-
ated business, located on High-
way 204 between Weston and
Eastern Oregon tops in preventing kids from missing class
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Eastern Oregon edu-
cation is often negatively
compared to Portland and
Salem, said Landon Braden,
so when the region exceeds
expectations, he likes to cel-
ebrate it.
The InterMountain Edu-
cation Service District
chronic absenteeism coor-
dinator has had something
to trumpet in recent months:
Eastern Oregon’s 18.7 per-
cent chronic absenteeism
rate is nearly two points
lower than the state’s 20.5
percent rate and represents a
slight decrease from the year
before.
Students are considered
chronic absentees when
they miss 18 or more days
of school per year, 14 days
if they attend a four-day-per-
week district like Pilot Rock
or Stanfield. Low attendance
can lead students to poor
academic performance and
dropping out from school
entirely.
The Oregon Department
of Education eventually con-
sidered absenteeism enough
of a problem that it drafted a
statewide plan, dividing the
state into regions and hir-
ing Braden in July to work
through the IMESD to assist
the 26-district Eastern Ore-
gon region that spans Uma-
tilla, Morrow, Union, Baker,
and Wallowa counties.
Every district in Oregon
is rated on a three-tiered sys-
tem, based on their relation
to the state chronic absentee
rate and graduation rates.
Braden said he came into
a situation where districts
Friday DECEMBER 7 th , 2018
Evening Gala | 6:00 pm
were already putting work
into decreasing absenteeism.
“I wouldn’t trade places
with any of you for a million
bucks,” he tells his fellow
absenteeism coordinators in
other parts of the state.
Eastern Oregon is the
only region where no schools
are in Tier 3, the lowest tier
that spurs the department of
See ABSENTEEISM/8A
Saturday DECEMBER 8 th , 2018
Family Day | 10am-2pm
Pendleton Convention Center
LOCATED AT THE
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact St. Anthony Hospital Foundation at 541-278-2627