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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2019)
REGION Saturday, January 12, 2019 East Oregonian A3 Council Burglary at Happy Canyon leads police to crime stash to discuss EOTEC dilemma By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The Hermiston City Council will be looking for solutions to a puz- zle at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center on Monday. The city has hired Knerr Construction to construct an RV park on the EOTEC grounds that could potentially pro- vide year-round revenue for the facility. The city had planned to construct the RV park next to the rodeo arena, so that peo- ple living or staying at the park could access it without driving through the rest of the property. After the plan came to light, however, Farm- City Pro Rodeo board members spoke out against the move, not- ing the space has been used in the past for over- flow parking during the rodeo. According to a memo from City Man- ager Byron Smith, on Wednesday the city’s planning commission altered EOTEC’s park- ing variance to restrict development until an alternate overflow park- ing plan had been sub- mitted and approved to them. “Due to the contro- versy and the probable delay caused by the Plan- ning Commission action, I am providing the coun- cil an update and seeking any input that the coun- cil might have,” Smith wrote to the council. On Monday the coun- cil will also swear in municipal court Judge Thomas Creasing and council members elected in November (Lori Davis, Roy Barron, Jackie Myers and Doug Smith), as well as elect a council president for the year and make commit- tee assignments. The council will con- sider awarding a con- struction bid for replace- ment of a South First Street bridge near Cres- tline Drive to Moreno & Nelson Construction Corporation. The city has purchased the new box culvert for $129,336 and plans to award the installation contract for $151,198, bring- ing the total project cost to $280,534. Construc- tion is expected to run through February and March and will result in a period of closure for that section of South First Street. The council meets Monday at 7 p.m. at city hall, 180 N.E. Sec- ond St. For a full coun- cil agenda, visit hermis- ton.or.us/meetings. Pendleton police Thurs- day morning arrested a bur- glary suspect on Happy Can- yon property. Police Chief Stuart Roberts said the case also touches on the common problem of absent landlords. Officers at 10:41 a.m. responded to Happy Can- yon, 1601 Westgate, behind the Pendleton Convention Center, when a Happy Can- yon board member spot- ted a man he did not recog- nize. Officers arrived and arrested Levi Daniel other things inside Reed, 34, a Pendle- the building,” Rob- erts said. ton transient. Roberts said it Robert said the was fortunate the officers also saw Happy Canyon items near Reed board member hap- that did not belong pened to be there at to Happy Canyon. Reed that moment and the They investigated department has been and found Reed was holing up in the empty East- able to return most of the ern Oregon Fast Freight goods to their owners. building at 1825 Westgate, According to court docu- just a couple of blocks west ments, the Umatilla County near the Club 24 fitness spot. District Attorney’s Office “He had literally thou- on Friday brought ini- sands of dollars worth of tial charges against Reed tools, sound boards and of first-degree burglary, first-degree trespass, sec- ond-degree theft and sec- ond-degree criminal mis- chief for breaking into the property stealing food and other products and damag- ing property. Roberts said he anticipates Reed will face more charges. For now, Reed remains in the Uma- tilla County Jail, Pendleton. While police are wrap- ping up the burglary case, the former home to the freight company brings up the absent landlord issue, a common situation in Pendleton. Crown Enterprises Inc. of Warren, Michigan owns the Fast Freight building, and Roberts said the com- pany does not have a man- ager for the property. The company this summer was responsive to cleaning up code violations at the site, he said, but the burglary inves- tigation reveled people have been using the building for some time, leaving behind trash, graffiti and human waste. “It’s a problem building,” he said. “We need to get it secured and locked down.” Sunset cruise Staff photo by Kathy Aney A duck floats in a pond Thursday near the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution at sunset. BMCC president search yields nine finalists Video interviews set for next week East Oregonian Blue Mountain Com- munity College’s search for a new president is one step closer to fruition. The search committee com- posed of employees, stu- dents, Board of Education members and community residents winnowed a pool of 44 applicants to nine semifinalists. The search committee will interview applicants by videoconference Jan. 17 and 18. The field will be trimmed to several final- ists to come to BMCC for additional in-person inter- views and to meet with faculty, staff and students. Community members will have the opportunity to meet the finalists in a vari- ety of forums sometime in mid-February. Names of the semifinalists are confi- dential, but will be released prior to their visits to the college. The BMCC presidential search is being facilitated by Dr. Preston Pulliams, CEO 9:00 IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! Enjoy celebrating you! PM Max Hay 8 S . E . CO U RT, P E N D L E TO N • 5 4 1 . 278 .1 1 0 0 1 st Place WHE AT - IRRIGATED Holzapfel Ranch Morrow County EXPRESSO sold by NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS NATIONAL WHEAT YIELD CONTEST 2018 National Winner WestBred and Design ® and WestBred ® are registered trademarks of Bayer Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2018 Bayer Group, All Rights Reserved. MWEST-19013 able as of 2 p.m. Friday. He said police secured the home before 9:41 a.m., after obtaining a search warrant, and took two people into custody. He said he did not have the names of those arrested, but that a quarter pound of methamphetamine was discovered early in the search. January 14 is the most special day because SATURDAY, JANUARY 12 ® Police arrested two people Friday morn- ing after Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics team searched a Hermis- ton residence and found drugs. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts, who chairs the drug task force, said he only had limited informa- tion about the bust avail- Happy 8th Birthday, Brody! Live Music From all of us at WestBred wheat, congratulations on a winning season. SPRING of Gold Hill Associates, an executive search firm that works with community col- leges around the nation. The BMCC Board of Education hopes to have a new presi- dent hired by spring. Updates on the search can be found online at https://www. bluecc.edu/about- bmcc/ presidential-search. BENT arrests two in Hermiston You are always in our thoughts & prayers Love, Grandpa & Grandma Powell M A K R A V N E L O H P Thanks to modern technology and industry-leading expertise, Phonak is able to bring you the best possible solutions for your hearing needs Renata Anderson, MA 2237 SW Court, Pendleton • 541-276-5053 www.renataanderson.com