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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2019)
REGION Friday, June 7, 2019 East Oregonian A3 Andrade defense moves to DQ judge to declare a reason, Blaine said, “but it can be fairly generic.” Blaine said he has not noticed a pat- tern of Stephens fi ling disqualifi cations. “My impression would be, without digging any deeper, this is a one-time thing,” Blaine said. The Umatilla County District Attorney’s Offi ce, meanwhile, continues to disqualify Circuit Judge Eva Temple of Hermis- ton from presiding over its cases. Blaine said the court staff will take care not to schedule proceedings for Andrade on days Lieuallen has the gavel. Andrade, 39, of Board- man, faces charges of fi rst-degree manslaughter, driving under the infl u- ence of intoxicants, reck- lessly endangering another person and reckless driv- ing. Oregon State Police arrested her Sunday morn- ing in the wake of a crash on Interstate 84 about 10 miles east of Board- man that injured a 3-year- old child and ejected and killed a 7-month-old infant. Andrade remains in the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, in lieu if $500,000 bail. The next proceeding in the case is Monday. The Morrow County District Attorney’s Offi ce plans to present its evidence in the case to a grand jury before then. By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Staff photo by Phil Wright Pilot Rock Mayor Virginia Carnes, right, gets ready to enjoy a piece of cake Thursday in celebration of breaking ground on the town’s new sewer lagoon project. Brad Baird, center, president of the engineering fi rm Anderson Perry & Associates, estimat- ed the majority of the project could wrap up as soon as next May. Pilot Rock breaks ground on new sewer By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian PILOT ROCK — Pilot Rock broke ground Thursday morning on its new sewer lagoons. Mayor Virginia Carnes said getting started has been a long time coming. The Oregon Department of Environmental Qual- ity warned the city fi ve years ago when its aging sewer lagoons leaked into nearby Birch Creek. The city embarked on a strategy to build new lagoons away from the creek. Since then, the city raised sewer rates and secured a long-term, low-in- terest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover the cost of the $6 mil- lion project. City Councilor Bob Deno said the lagoons are going on land Pilot Rock already owned, and that helped keep down costs. The city contracted with Pendleton School District set to adopt ‘status quo’ budget East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Pendleton School Dis- trict’s budget may tick up a few million in 2019- 20, but district officials are otherwise calling the $49.9 million budget “status quo.” District budget offi- cer Michelle Jones said the 2019-20 budget will mostly follow the same service and staffing levels as the previous budget. Jones said there is a small shift among the full-time positions to make way for dean of students positions at Sherwood Heights and Washington elementary schools. Classified as “teach- ers on special assign- ment” positions, Jones said the deans of stu- dents will assist in administrative duties at Pendleton’s two largest elementary schools. The two elemen- tary schools shared an assistant principal for a short time, but the posi- tion was eliminated in 2017 during a round of layoffs. In his budget mes- sage, Superintendent Chris Fritsch warned that the district may have trouble maintain- ing the status quo in future years. “As we move beyond the 19-20 school year, it will become increas- ingly more diffi- cult to support negoti- ated increases, (Public Employees Retirement System) ongoing esca- lating costs, and enroll- ment decline to maintain our existing programs and delivery models,” he wrote. “We are com- mitted to addressing the enrollment issue to the extent possible and hope that our efforts with online learning will have positive impacts in this area.” Declining enroll- ment continues to be a prevailing trend year-by-year, but also month-by-month. It’s not uncommon for the Pendleton School District to end the year with less students than it started, but the district’s 2,996-student enroll- ment in May is setting up the district to end the year with less than 3,000 students for the third year in a row. Pendleton’s May enrollment was 188 stu- dents less than it had five years ago. The district has deter- mined the primary driver behind the dwin- dling enrollment is fam- ilies moving out of the Pendleton area. Jones said the bud- get committee already approved the district’s proposed budget, which is set for approval by the Pendleton School Board on June 10. the engineering fi rm Ander- son Perry & Associates, La Grande, to help put together the whole picture. Company president Brad Baird was among the local and state offi cials who attended Thurs- day’s ground breaking cere- mony. He said the project was impressive for a community the size of Pilot Rock. “The city is to be com- mended on thinking long term,” he said to the gather- ing, “and coming up with the best solution.” Baird added the new lagoons are away from the creek and should serve the city for decades. He also said the majority of construction should wrap up in May or June 2020. The weather turned rainy as the gold shovels came out for obligatory photos. After- ward, offi cials and guests huddled beneath large tents to stay dry, have a cup of coffee and enjoy carrot cake. HEPPNER — Defense attorney Dan Stephens seeks to keep one circuit judge off the manslaugh- ter case against Veronica Andrade. Stephens, of Hermis- ton, fi led the motion Tues- day with Morrow County Circuit Court to disqualify Judge Jon Lieuallen from presiding over the case. Stephens explained on the request he did not feel the defense would receive “a fair and impartial hearing and trial” from Lieuallen. Stephens did not respond to a request for comment before deadline Thursday. But Roy Blaine explained how disqualify- ing a judge works. He is the trial court administra- tor for the 6th Judicial Dis- trict encompassing the cir- cuit courts in Umatilla and Morrow counties. “The supplemental local rules to Oregon Uni- form Trial Court Rules allows for an attorney in any case to disqualify two judges,” Blaine said. “They can disqualify one and disqualify another.” Attorneys have a fairly short period from the start of a case to seek a disqual- ifi cation, and the request has to come before the par- ticular judge issued any signifi cant rulings in the case. Attorneys also have LOCAL BRIEFING One dead after plane crash near Summerville Bowman to host open house for new apartments SUMMERVILLE — A plane crash in Summerville that left one person dead Tuesday evening is under investigation, according to a press release from the Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce, and the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. The UCSO responded to the scene shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday. The NTSB and UCSO are investigating the incident along with the Union County District Attor- ney’s Offi ce and the Federal Aviation Administration. Terry Williams, a spokes- man for the NTSB, told the La Grande Observer Wednesday afternoon the downed Tican II air- plane was an “experimental aircraft.” Williams said the NTSB’s investigator arrived on scene midday Wednesday, and has done a preliminary review of the aircraft and the engine. Three witnesses have also been identifi ed and will be interviewed by the agency, he said. “Right now we are in the very early stages of the investigation,” Williams said, adding that the agency will look into everything from the weather, to the air- craft, to the individual itself in its investigation. The UCSO press release initially called it a “sin- gle occupant, fatality plane crash.” PENDLETON — Fol- lowing months of renova- tion, the Bowman Building is opening its apartment for rent. The building and its owner, Pendleton developer Al Plute, will be holding an open house at the historic 17 S.W. Frazer Ave. struc- ture on June 14. Funded in part by a $341,000 grant from the Pendleton Development Commission, Plute con- verted the third fl oor offi ce space into 18 one-bedroom and studio apartments. At a Pendleton City Council meeting Tuesday, Plute said 15 units have already been rented out despite some still needing to be completed. Plute intends to wrap up the project by Aug. 1. The open house will run from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Refresh- ments will be provided. Thursday that the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s offi ce identifi ed the body although they were unable to use dental records or DNA because of the condition of the remains. Dennis Day was reported missing in July by his hus- band, Ernie Caswell, who suffers from memory loss and was in the hospital when he made the report. Day’s body was found in his Phoenix home in early April. Day was born in 1942. When he was 10, he was among the fi rst group of children hired for the Dis- ney show. Day and Caswell moved to Oregon in the 1980s. the area. Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman said the enterprise zone is a good recruiting tool, but the city wants to now expand it to apply to the entertainment and hospital- ity industries. According to Chris- man’s presentation, the enterprise zone provides abatements to Keystone RV Co., Pendleton Woolen Mills, Colby Rocky Moun- tain Pipe Co., Hill Meat Co., Oregon Grain Grow- ers Distillery, and Barhyte Specialty Foods. Chrisman said Colby has resumed business at its Pendleton plant after going on an extended hiatus. As the abatements expire, Chrisman said $10.2 million will go back on the tax rolls next year. Councilor Paul Chalm- ers recused himself from the vote because of his enterprise zone responsi- bilities that come with his day job as the Umatilla County director of assess- ment and taxation. 6/7 - 6/9 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday at 12PM WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF Dark Phoenix (PG13) 2D 1:20p* 4:00p 7:10p 9:50p Pendleton expands Police: Body found enterprise zone in home confi rmed PENDLETON — The Pendleton City Coun- to be Mouseketeer cil unanimously voted to renew the city’s enter- prise zone with expanded capabilities. In partnership with Pilot Rock, Pendleton can offer property tax abatements for 3-5 years or longer to large-scale businesses provided they create jobs in Umatilla County Historical Society Presents: 16 TH ANNUAL OLD IRON SHOW June 7th - 9th in Roy Raley Park The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG) 2D 2:30p* 4:40p 6:50p 12:20p* 9:10p Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG13) 12:50p* 3:40p* 6:30p 9:20p MEDFORD (AP) — Police have confi rmed that a body found in April at an Oregon home is that of miss- ing man Dennis Day, who was an original member of Disney’s “The Mickey Mouse Club.” Oregon State Police said Rocketman (R) 1:40p* 4:20p 7:00p 9:40p Aladdin (PG) 1:00p* 3:50p* 6:40p 9:30p Men in Black: International (PG13) Thursday, June 13th • 7:00p * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 Harrison Family Medicine Welcomes Andrea Carrasco, M.D. • Accepting patients • Accepting all insurances • Schedule an appointment today! Starting July 1, 2019 Admission is FREE and open to the public Harrison Family Medicine 1100 Southgate, Suite 2 Pendleton, OR 97801 Phone: 541-215-1564 Fax: 541-215-1567 www.heritagestationmuseum.org Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM
