RODEO: Heppner’s Knowles finishes season strong at NFR | PAGE B1
E O
AST
143rd year, No. 44
REGONIAN
Tuesday, december 18, 2018
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
More than enough Christmas
to go around in Hermiston
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
One box brimming with canned foods
and a whole turkey, an armful of wrapped
presents, and a pair of warm socks later,
everyone who walked out the doors of the
Agape House on Monday felt the effects
of Christmas Express as it rolled through
Hermiston.
The annual effort by the Hermiston
Volunteer
John Carraher,
left, and
Doug Alvarez
assemble
food boxes
for people
participating
in the
Christmas
Express at
Agape House
on Monday in
Hermiston.
Police Department yielded 500 boxes of
food, whole turkeys, bags of potatoes and
onions, and hundreds of gifts for children
ages 0 to 11. On Sunday, the police depart-
ment delivered the haul to the Agape
House, which is distributing the donations
to families Monday through Wednesday.
Volunteer Ginger Haley checked in
families as they came to collect donations.
Staff photo
by E.J. Harris
See Donations, Page A8
Christmas
in the park
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
Left: Mary sits by baby Jesus in a manger during Sunday’s Live
Nativity at Roy Raley Park. Top right: Angels await the birth of
Jesus Christ during Sunday’s Live Nativity at Roy Raley Park.
The event was coordinated by Pendleton Faith Center Church
and required about 150 volunteers. Bottom right: The three
wise men bring gifts to baby Jesus.
Watchdogs may be unleashed on state agencies
Many ignore mandate
of internal auditing
By AUBREY WIEBER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — A dozen large state
agencies could find themselves
with watchdogs tethered within
their ranks, guarding against
wasteful spending and question-
able government practices.
They’ve been without internal
auditors for more than a decade
ago, ignoring a mandate that they
have such positions. That lack
of oversight was highlighted in a
recent state audit, and Gov. Kate
Brown is budgeting for 14 new
internal auditors.
Internal auditors can find tens of
thousands in improper or unneces-
sary spending, fraud or inefficient
practices. They can also deter-
mine when an agency is operating
smoothly, using resources effec-
tively and staying up to date on
best practices.
In 2005, the state made that
function a matter of law and tasked
the state Department of Admin-
istrative Services with setting
up rules and standards for which
agency should have an auditor and
what auditors should do.
But 13 years later, 13 agencies
are violating that policy and inter-
nal auditing staffing is at an all-
time low.
Last week, the Joint Commit-
tee On Legislative Audits dressed
down DAS and its past leadership
for failing to manage the state’s
network of internal auditors.
The Secretary of State’s Office
through the state Audits Divi-
sion dispatches its own auditors to
agencies big and small every year,
pointing out an agency’s ineffi-
ciencies. But an internal auditor is
on the job and in house year-round
to provide constant monitoring and
can take the time to sift through the
See Watchdogs, Page A8
Slow down on that mountain
Cabbage Hill poses
challenges for big rigs
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
High winds blew over a semi-
trailer Friday on Interstate 84 east
of Pendleton and shut down almost
50 miles of the freeway for sev-
eral hours. Area commercial driver
examiners said when the wind gets
that bad, drivers need to park it.
The wreck occurred on the east-
bound side of I-84 near milepost
221 on Cabbage Hill, or Emigrant
Hill, one of the more treacherous
passages in the Pacific Northwest.
Starting at the top near milepost
227 and ending at about the 217,
according to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation, the passage
drops about 2,000 feet in a 6-mile
span through a double switch-back.
The weather on the hill can change
from rain at the boom to sleet and
slick surfaces in a little more than a
mile during the winter.
Tye Borger, of Hermiston, said
the reports of 90-mph gusts on Cab-
bage Hill in the Blue Mountains
were the first she could recall in
years, but she had one over-arch-
ing piece of advice for any drivers
in such conditions:
“slow down.”
Borger is a third-party commer-
cial driver tester. She said Cab-
bage Hill is notorious for its steep
grade and difficult going in winter
weather and too often crashes result
from drivers going too fast or not
driving for the conditions.
“People definitely need to
respect that mountain,” she said.
See Slow, Page A8
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Mon through Thurs, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. • Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Sat and Sun, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred.