BUCKAROOS FALL IN
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
FULL GAME
COVERAGE,
PLUS ON-FIELD
GRADUATION
SPORTS, B1
Pendleton’s Cooper Roberts
throws a pitch against Central
early in the OSAA 5A State Baseball
Championship at Volcanoes
Stadium in Keizer on Saturday.
East Oregonian Photo/Ben Lonergan
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019
143 RD Y EAR , N O . 164
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
PENDLETON HIGH
HONORS GRADUATES
Second
chances
Troubled teens
learn how to
succeed
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
East Oregonian
ABOVE:
Pendleton
High School
graduates
queue up
outside of the
Pendleton
Round-Up
Arena before
their graduation
ceremony on
Saturday in
Pendleton.
P
ENDLETON — Diplomas were
presented to the 2019 Pendleton
High School graduates during a
ceremony on June 1 in the Round-Up
Grounds.
The PHS Class of 2019 featured 186
graduates who walked on Saturday, plus
10 graduates from the Homestead Youth
and Family Services.
In a separate ceremony, 14 students
from Hawthorne Alternative High
School obtained diplomas and another
fi ve students received their GEDs. Col-
lectively, the class of 2019 earned more
than $1.8 million in scholarships.
LEFT: A
graduate
throws his
mortarboard
into the
grandstands
while leaving
the infi eld.
MORE GRADUATION PHOTOS
INSIDE » See Page A10
ONLINE » EastOregonian.com
Staff photos by
E.J. Harris
PENDLETON — Boys arriving at the
Homestead come with a lot of baggage
— much more than the suitcases or duffel
bags they lug into the dormitory.
The typical Homestead Youth and
Family Services resident has a diffi cult
past, has gotten in trouble with the law
and has a history of dismal academic per-
formance. At fi rst glance, these troubled
teenage boys seem unlikely to suddenly
start excelling at school and life.
Yet, the boys often catch up to their
grade level and even go higher at Home-
stead, which is part of the Pendleton
School District. Ten Homestead resi-
dents received diplomas at Saturday’s
Pendleton High School commencement
ceremony.
The success may seem magical, but
Homestead Executive Director Elisa
Doebler-Irvine credits a cadre of four
devoted teachers, several therapists,
personalized support, life skills train-
ing and summer school. Homestead,
funded by the Oregon Youth Author-
ity, has been around since the 1960s.
The school within the facility, however,
is funded by the Oregon Department of
Education through the Pendleton School
District. That partnership started in the
mid-1990s.
The director is fi ercely protective of
the boys and likes that the school isn’t
strongly on the community radar. The
anonymity gives the residents a chance
to reinvent themselves without labels.
When Doebler-Irvine arrived at the
facility in 1997, she said, the school and
the community had an uneasy relation-
ship. The boys were sometimes judged
harshly because of their past behaviors.
“Back in those days, the school didn’t
have a great reputation,” she said. “That
was a different era in this industry.”
While the boys keep a low profi le,
she said, they do spend time in the com-
munity. At fi rst, they stay at the facility
See Second chances, Page A9
Bill would open door for electric co-ops to receive aid
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
WASHINGTON — An Oregon
congressman is urging lawmakers
to pass a bill that would allow rural
electric co-ops to receive govern-
ment grants for disaster relief and
broadband internet service, without
losing tax-exempt status.
In a letter sent May 30 to mem-
bers of the House Ways and Means
and Senate Finance committees,
U.S. Rep. Grag Walden, R-Ore-
gon, expressed his support for the
Revitalizing Underdeveloped Rural
Areas and Lands — or RURAL —
Act of 2019.
The bill aims to fi x what the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association described as an unin-
tended consequence of the sweeping
GOP tax reforms in 2017.
To be considered tax-exempt,
rural electric co-ops — many of
which serve farm and ranch com-
munities — cannot receive more
than 15% of income from non-mem-
ber sources. However, the current
tax law contains a provision that
counts federal, state and local grants
as income rather than capital.
That means if a utility applies for
money from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to restore
power following a natural disaster,
it might exceed the threshold for tax
exemption and result in higher rates
for consumers.
The RURAL Act calls for chang-
ing the code, allowing co-ops to
receive emergency aid and funding
See Co-op, Page A9
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.