WEEKEND EDITION
McKAY
CREEK
FLOODS
CITY PARK
HERMISTON
SWEEPS
SOFTBALL
DOUBLEHEADER
PENDLETON FILMMAKERS
GET FIRST AMATEUR AWARD
REGION, A3
SPORTS, B1
LIFESTYLES, C1
E O
AST
143rd Year, No. 128
REGONIAN
APRIL 13-14, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
HERMISTON
LET’ER BID!
Second
suspect faces
murder in
2018 slaying
Round-Up and Happy Canyon host fi rst wagon auction
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
A second Hermiston man is on the
hook for the 2018 shooting death of Erik
Navarrete.
Vincent Wesley David Shermantine,
29, faced charges Friday afternoon of mur-
der, fi rst-degree robbery, felon in pos-
session of a fi rearm and unlawful use of
a weapon. District Attorney Dan Primus
said Shermantine’s arraignment was Fri-
day at 1:15 p.m. in Hermiston.
According to the
indictment, Shermantine
and co-defendant David
Edgar Sommerville, 19,
also of Hermiston, robbed
Navarrete at gunpoint on
June 4, 2018, and Som-
merville in the course of
the crime shot and killed Shermantine
Navarrete.
Hermiston police on Thursday identi-
fi ed Sommerville as a suspect. Sherman-
tine and Sommerville have been in the
jail since late March on charges unrelated
to the homicide. Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said investigators identi-
fi ed the pair as suspects before the arrests
but had to wait for the analysis of some evi-
dence. He also said “there is a family rela-
tion” between Shermantine and Navarrete.
Sommerville faces charges of fi rst-de-
gree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon,
murder and aggravated murder in Navar-
rete’s death. Aggravated murder is the only
crime in Oregon that carries the threat of
the death penalty.
The governor’s offi ce in 2011 placed
a moratorium on executions, but district
attorneys sill have to consider capital pun-
ishment. Umatilla County has not had an
aggravated murder case since 2015. The
seriousness of the charge requires lawyers
with the expertise to handle death penalty
cases.
The court appointed two Portland-area
lawyers to represent Sommerville: Ben-
jamin Kim and Steve Lindsey. They
defended Edwin Lara, 31, who in January
2018 pleaded guilty to aggravated murder
for the 2016 killing of 23-year-old Kaylee
Sawyer of Bend. Lara is serving a life
sentence at Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution, Pendleton.
Sommerville’s attorneys fi led a request
for the court to order the district attorney’s
offi ce to allow inspections of evidence and
provide copies of police reports, record-
ings, photographs and more. Primus said
his offi ce has set a meeting with Kim and
Lindsey.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Carl Hemphill, of Terrebonne, looks at wagons up for auction at the Westward Ho! Wagon and Western Memorabilia Auction
on Friday in Pendleton.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
W
estward Ho! has
gone from the
streets of Pend-
leton to the auction block.
Following decades of
entertaining crowds each
Friday of Round-Up week,
Round-Up and Happy Can-
yon lent the Westward Ho!
name to an auction where
bidders could purchase wag-
ons similar to the ones they
see in the non-motorized
parade.
The Westward Ho!
Wagon and Western Mem-
orabilia Auction started its
inaugural event at the Pend-
leton Convention Center
and Happy Canyon Arena
Friday.
The auction originated
from the minds of Randy
and Vickie Leonard, a hus-
band-wife pair of teamsters
who help lead the Round-Up
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Buyers look at a table of fi rearms up for auction at the West-
ward Ho! Wagon and Western Memorabilia Auction on Fri-
day in Pendleton.
Wagon Train each year
through the Blue Mountains.
Randy,
a
former
Round-Up parades direc-
tor, said he and Vickie used
to attend wagon auctions
across the state.
But the number of auc-
tions has been shrinking in
recent years, he said, making
the couple think it would be
a good idea to start a wagon
auction in Pendleton.
The Leonards got Happy
Canyon and the Round-Up
on board, the organizations
seeing it as an extension of
their commitment to pre-
serving Western heritage.
The result became a two-
day auction with 40-50 wag-
ons for sale and hundreds of
other pieces of horse-drawn
farm equipment, equine
gear, and various Western
items.
The items sold at the
auction were sourced from
consigners from across
the western United States
and included a stagecoach
and a chuckwagon. Other
big ticket items included a
Happy Canyon centennial
rifl e and a Happy Canyon
centennial bronze.
Although the wagons
were available for viewing
in the Happy Canyon arena,
they weren’t going to be auc-
tioned off until Saturday,
meaning most of the action
on Friday was happening in
the Pendleton Convention
Center.
See Auction, Page A10
Brown releases plan to offset rising school pension costs
By SARAH ZIMMERMAN
Associated Press
SALEM — Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown unveiled a plan on
Friday to pay down rising debt
from the state’s public pension
costs, which have ballooned
past $26 billion.
The proposal expects to bring
MORE INSIDE
Local schools at the forefront
of PERS crisis
Page A3
in $3.3 billion over the next 16
years and is meant to insulate
Oregon schools from the brunt
of rising rate hikes affecting the
state’s public employees.
Whether lawmakers will
approve the plan is another ques-
tion, as many of the core tenets
of the governor’s proposal are
politically unpalatable. Among
other things, the governor calls
for teachers to pay more into
their pension fund and proposes
siphoning money from a popu-
lar income tax rebate program
unique to Oregon.
“I know this is very diffi cult.
There’s something for every-
one to both love and hate in this
plan that I’ve introduced,” she
See Pensions, Page A10
Brown
CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic is recognized
as a Patient -Centered Primary Care Home.
What does that mean for you?
• Better-coordinated care.
• Healthcare providers who will help connect you
• Listening to your concerns and answering with the care you need in a safe and timely way.
questions.
• Healthcare providers who play an active role in
your health.
• After-hours nurse consultation.
844.724.8632
3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton
WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG
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.