HOLIDAY MEAL
SERVES COMMUNITY
FELLOWSHIP
HERMISTON
GIRLS TROUNCE
SOUTHRIDGE
REGION, A3
SPORTS, B1
E O
AST
143rd year, no. 45
REGONIAN
Wednesday, december 19, 2018
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
PENDLETON
Methadone clinic prepares to open
addicts come
from every part of
demographic spectrum
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
The little storefront in the strip
mall near Walmart is nondescript
and undramatic. behind covered
windows, however, some major
plans are coming together.
at 110 s.W. 20th, the Pendleton
Treatment center will soon treat
people addicted to painkillers or
heroin. clients will arrive as early
as 5:30 a.m. to get their doses of
methadone or suboxone and then
get on with their days.
Program manager amber
Latham said it’s taken sev-
flipped a switch and a soft
eral months to clear regula-
whooshing sound flowed
tory hurdles. The state, the
from hallway speakers.
feds and the drug enforce-
“The
white
noise
ment administration have
adds extra muffling,” she
all signed off. now the
said. “Private details are
center is finalizing a con-
divulged during counseling
Latham
tract with the eastern Ore-
sessions.”
gon coordinated care
The place seems geared
Organization. When that’s done, to calm the most tortured of souls,
hiring of nurses, counselors and from Latham’s relaxed demeanor
other employees will commence. to the soothing taupe-colored
The center will likely open in late walls. someone struggling with
January or early February.
addiction needs every ounce of
Latham said she can’t wait to get that calm when they walk in the
started. On a recent walk-through door for the first time, she said.
of the facility, she conveyed pride
“mostly on day one, they feel
in her soft Tennessee accent, point- like crap,” she said. “Usually they
ing out counseling areas, exam are in withdrawal.”
rooms, a nurse’s station, lab and
See Facility, Page A8
five small dosing rooms. Latham
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Pendleton Treatment Center will soon be open and treating patients
with opioid addictions with methadone or Suboxone.
‘FANTASTIC TRADITION’
Umatilla students shop
for family gifts with cops
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
T
he line of police cars outside the
Hermiston Walmart on Tuesday
morning was causing a few shop-
pers to wonder if something had gone
wrong. But the officers were there for a
happy event.
Umatilla police officers had brought
10 students from clara brownell middle
school to shop for christmas presents for
their families.
chief darla Huxel said the money —
$150 per student — came from a Walmart
grant, the police officers’ association and
an anonymous donor. The department
has been partnering with Walmart on the
event since at least 2005, and officers vol-
unteer their time.
students pulled up to the store as pas-
sengers in the front seat of the police
cruisers and were greeted by santa before
heading into the store with an officer in
tow.
elijah Hagedorn had written out a list
ahead of time with presents for his sis-
ter and her boyfriend, his parents and
his cousin. He said it took him a while to
come up with everything.
“When people say, ‘I don’t know, just
get me something,’ that stresses me out,”
he said. “I need to know exactly what you
want.”
Looking at his cart full of items, he
said he was probably most excited about
seeing his sister open her gift.
While some students had a list writ-
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Genesis Landaverde, 13, shops for a T-shirt for her brother with Umatilla Police officer Itzel Claustro on Tuesday at Walmart in Hermiston.
ten out, others spent some time brows-
ing, with suggestions and help from the
officer assigned to be their shopping
buddy. “What does your brother like?”
was a common refrain, and an answer of
“Transformers” or “spider-man” would
send them down the next toy aisle. nerf
guns were one of the most popular gifts
for siblings and cousins.
Kaydence Hansen said she was most
excited about her mother’s gift. she was
one of the last students to finish up as she
took her time picking out the perfect item
for each family member.
“she got really thoughtful gifts,” her
shopping buddy sgt. natalia Tovey said.
See Tradition, Page A8
MANY OF THE STUDENTS WERE FRUGAL WITH THEIR $150 BUDGET
Pendleton police report gang member shot and wounded
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
austin ray satterwhite got out
monday from the Umatilla county
Jail. He returned to the jail that
night, only with a least one bullet
hole in his body.
Pendleton police are investigating
what led to satterwhite, 20, being on
the receiving end of gunfire.
Police at 9:54 p.m. monday
responded to the 600 block of south-
west sixth street on a 911 call about
gunshots and a fleeing white car.
Police Chief Stuart Roberts said offi-
cers found a good deal of blood at
the scene and in spite of the heavy
rain followed the trail to a residence
in the area.
clean the wound,” roberts
The occupants, how-
ever, were non-cooperative.
said.
Police notified area hospitals
satterwhite tried to leave,
a shooting victim might be
and police arrested him
seeking medical attention.
on an outstanding warrant
not long after, st.
and took him to the jail in
anthony Hospital, Pendle-
Pendleton.
ton, went into a lockdown
Satterwhite
roberts did not identify
when a person with a gun-
satterwhite, but the depart-
shot wound entered the emergency ment’s statement provided this
department. Officers found the vic- description: “The shooting victim is
tim was satterwhite, who is a couch a convicted felon who is known to
surfing transient, according to a writ- carry firearms. He is also a self-pro-
claimed gang member who proudly
ten statement from the police.
roberts said it appeared the bullet displays his gang affiliation in the
entered satterwhite’s forearm, trav- form of tattoos on his face and neck.”
eled up the arm and lodged some-
That
description
matches
where near the shoulder, but the vic- satterwhite.
tim refused treatment.
corrections Lt. Thoren Hearn at
“all he allowed them to do was the jail said it appeared satterwhite
has three bullet wounds but was not
in much discomfort when he arrived,
which was hours after his last stay.
“He got out of jail on the 17th and
came back in on the 17th,” Hearn
said.
state court records show the
Umatilla county district attorney’s
Office charged Satterwhite on Dec.
4 in a felony assault case.
Taking care of jail inmates with
serious wounds is part of the job.
Hearn said last week an inmate came
in with pain in his lower leg.
“He has a bullet in his calf,”
Hearn said, and required a trans-
port to the hospital. Hearn said jail
medical staff will keep an eye on
See Shooting, Page A8