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E O
AST
143rd year, no. 165
REGONIAN
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
$1.50
EASTERN OREGON
East Oregonian
MIssIOn — a recent spate
of violent crimes on the umatilla
Indian Reservation has spurred
the tribes to create a new code
that could effectively prohibit
some people from entering the
reservation.
The Confederated Tribes of
the umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion announced Tuesday that it
had approved an “exclusion and
Removal Code” that establishes
a civil process for removing
tribal members and non-tribal
members from the reservation if
they pose a threat to safety.
CTuIR executive direc-
tor Ted Wright said the tribes
had the ability to trespass peo-
ple from tribal property previ-
ously, but they never had a for-
mal method for repeat offenders
until now.
a press release states that the
tribal government can remove
a person for committing an act
that “substantially threatens
the health or safety of a person
that resides, works or attends
school within the Confeder-
ated Tribes’ Indian country; or
threatens the integrity, economic
security, or welfare of the tribal
government.”
The tribes could also ban
someone from the reservation
See Ban, Page A8
East Oregonian
saLeM — eO Media Group’s
presence in Oregon is set to get even
stronger.
Pending court approval, eOMG
will be adding two more newspapers
to the fold with the expected addi-
tions of the La Grande Observer and
the Baker City Herald, Heidi Wright,
chief operating officer of the EO
Media Group, announced on Tuesday.
“We’re excited to welcome the
La Grande Observer and Baker City
Herald into the eO Media Group
family,” Wright said. “Our fami-
ly-held company has deep roots in
eastern Oregon since 1908.”
The reported purchase price
was $775,000 for the two papers.
Fourth-generation eO Media Group
owner Kathryn Brown of Pendleton
said she is excited about the purchase.
“My cousins and I are committed
to keeping local journalism alive in
the rural communities we serve,” she
said. “We look forward to providing
credible and relevant news to union
and Baker counties for many years to
come.”
Wright said that if all goes well, the
sale will be completed July 1.
Western Communications Inc.
owns the two eastern Oregon news-
papers, along with the Bend Bulletin
and a few other publications in Oregon
and California. The corporation filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protec-
tion in January. Lawyers for Western
Communications told the bankruptcy
court the plan was to sell property and
buildings, according to court records,
and in a hearing last week said all the
newspapers had offers.
“a few weeks ago, the (eOMG)
put in a bid to take over ownership of
the papers in La Grande and Baker
City,” Wright said. “These towns are
in close proximity to the company’s
other publications on the east side
of Oregon, which makes this a great
opportunity to strengthen news cov-
erage for all of eastern Oregon.”
The bankruptcy court has the
final say in accepting EOMG’s offer.
Wright said the expectation is the
court is going to give the approval.
Western Communications previ-
ously filed for Chapter 11 protection
in august 2011, following a three-year
dispute with the Bank of america, the
company’s largest creditor at the time.
The company emerged from Chapter
11 protection in april 2012.
earlier this year, the motor failed
on the 53-year-old press that had long
printed the La Grande Observer and
the Baker City Herald. since then, the
two newspapers have been printed
on the East Oregonian‘s press in
Pendleton.
EO File Photo
The council boosted road funding
for 2019-20, but not enough to re-
verse overall deterioration.
Pendleton
council OKs
more money
for streets,
airport
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Diane Willcox and Atticus Tesch hold the flag honoring Pendleton Outdoor School co-founder Vern
Willcox, who died last summer. Atticus retrieved the flag this spring from the top Buck Mountain
where Dianne and others hid it in September after a memorial service there.
sunridge teacher loved
annual trek to top of
Buck Mountain
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
T
welve-year-old atticus Tesch could hardly
wait to get going.
atticus, a sixth-grader at sunridge
Middle school, would soon start climbing
Buck Mountain. He and other Outdoor school
campers were gathered in the dining hall to get
instructions and hear about a new twist in the
annual trek up the mountain. On this day, May
24, two medallions would be given to students.
One would go to the camper who first reached
the top of Buck Mountain. The other would be
awarded to the child who found a hidden flag.
Jim Christiansen, who co-founded Pendle-
ton’s annual outdoor school with Vern Willcox
in 1971, explained that the flag honored Willcox.
“He told us Vern Willcox had passed away
recently,” atticus said. “He said we would
retrieve the flag to give to his wife.”
Friends and family had carried the flag to
the top of Buck Mountain in september in
remembrance of the beloved teacher. Willcox,
who taught sixth grade for his entire 32-year
career, loved Outdoor school and he adored
sixth-graders.
“sixth grade is the only class I’d teach — it’s
the best,” he said upon retiring to an East Ore-
gonian reporter. “(Their energy) is like popcorn
going off all the time. They don’t allow you to
get in a rut.”
“Mr. Willcox” looked forward to Outdoor
school every spring at Buck Creek Camp, 35
miles northeast of Pendleton. The highlight
for him was climbing Buck Mountain with
the campers.
after retiring, he continued to volunteer.
Before dying of heart problems last august at
Contributed photo
Vern Willcox, co-founder of the Sunridge Out-
door School, stands at the top of Buck Mountain
in an old photo.
age 76, he told his wife, diane, and his two chil-
dren that he didn’t want a service. They agreed.
This was classic Vern Willcox, diane said. He
disliked the glare of the spotlight, even in death,
it appeared.
“We were just going to do a little memorial
service in the backyard so we could get closure,”
diane said.
They changed plans, however, when so many
people expressed dismay.
“We didn’t realize how many lives he touched
just by being him,” she said.
On aug. 31, friends, family, colleagues and
former students gathered at Grecian Heights
Park to celebrate his life. The 125 chairs filled
quickly and everyone else stood or sat in the
grass. They reminisced and sang “amazing
Grace” to the accompaniment of a ukulele. a
21-gun salute honored the Vietnam veteran’s time
in the army.
The guests signed a flag that showed Willcox
standing on Buck Mountain wearing his floppy
See Flag, Page A8
PendLeTOn — On Tuesday,
the Pendleton City Council unan-
imously adopted the city’s $85.9
million budget for 2019-20, pav-
ing the way for an increased road
maintenance budget and a vastly
expanded airport fund.
as a part of a $3.6 million state
tax street fund, the city will be
using $1.2 million for road main-
tenance, a level of funding it
achieved by making some small
cuts in the general fund.
But estimates show that $1.2
million is only enough to pre-
vent further deterioration and the
city will need millions more to
improve the overall health of the
street system.
at an upcoming Pendleton
development Commission meet-
ing, the council will consider
spending $3 million from urban
renewal funds for street mainte-
nance as a one-time windfall. The
maintenance projects would have
to be in the urban renewal district,
which spans downtown Pendleton
and some of the surrounding area.
The airport fund saw one of the
biggest jumps of any fund in the
city, growing by 143% in 2019-20.
Most of the increase is coming
from a $6.2 million Faa grant to
repave the primary runway at the
airport.
at Tuesday’s meeting, the coun-
cil also unanimously approved
a $6.6 million bid from Central
Washington asphalt and Precision
approach engineering to design
and build the airport runway.
Between the water and sewer
funds, the city is also spending
$7.8 million to extend utilities to
a new unmanned aerial systems
industrial park.
The airport expects to make
$1.3 million from charges and fees
in 2019-20. adding together line
items that were specifically labeled
as uas sources or revenue, the
uas range contributes $791,000
to that figure.