Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2019)
REGION Tuesday, June 18, 2019 House fi re cleanup could cost Heppner thousands By JESSICA POLLARD East Oregonian HEPPNER — A house destroyed by fi re more than two months ago remains gut- ted but still standing at 485 Linden Way, and the owner has yet to clean the remains. A public hearing will be held on June 24 to see if the city of Heppner will be left with cleanup responsibilities, a process that is estimated to cost $18,000 minimum. The estimate, which came from a bid issued by Miller and Sons Excavation and Disposal, includes an asbes- tos assessment. If asbestos is found on the site of the home — which according to county records was built in 1918 — the cleanup could be more expensive. If the owner, Megan Fut- ter, fails to show at the hear- ing and take responsibility for cleaning the property, the city will begin the abatement process on the house. City Manager Kraig Cutsforth said the money for the cleanup will be available July 1. The Heppner Gazette Times reported that City Attorney Bill Kuhn said the insurance company had yet to cooperate, and neither had Futter. Kuhn was unable to be reached for comment at this time, and Cutsforth was unable to confi rm any- thing about the insurance company. At a city council meet- ing in May, next-door neigh- bor Jay Keithley said the burnt remains of the house smelled so bad, he couldn’t sit out in his yard. He claims to have called the insurance company but received no response. The city then issued a Notifi cation of Nuisance to Futter on June 10, declar- ing the burnt home a dan- gerous building which is in threat of collapse or East Oregonian Diane Berry honored by state senate for service endangering others. “We’re hoping the owner of the property will come forward,” Cutsforth said. Futter was an employee at the Gazette Times when she was arrested in January with two counts of unlaw- ful delivery of methamphet- amine within 1,000 feet of a school. She is no longer employed by the paper. She is currently out on bail, awaiting a ruling on her case. Cutsforth said Futter is in the area, but has no phone number or residency in Hep- pner at this time. She was allegedly out of town when the 2:30 a.m. fi re on April 2 destroyed the house. No one was injured and, according to Cutsforth, no foul play is suspected. “It’s all still in the inves- tigators hands,” said Hep- pner Fire Department Chief Rusty Estes. “It needs to be torn down because the dam- age is so severe.” Haul up the barrel Global Diving and Salvage work- ers and an Environmental Protec- tion Agency crew pull a contain- ment drum that holds the fi rst of about a dozen hazardous or intact barrels from Wallowa Lake on Sunday afternoon. This barrel, marked 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T proved to be old, rusted and punctured, and held only lake water. Last summer, the diving group Blue Mountain Divers were swimming along the lake’s bottom when they came across a barrel labeled as contain- ing one of two defoliants — 2,4- D or 2,4,5-T. Combined, the two chemicals were once known by another name: Agent Orange. The herbicide was used extensively in the Vietnam War and has been connected to numerous illnesses among veterans and civilians who were exposed. EOMG photo by Ellen Morris Bishop/Wal- lowa County Chieftain ECHO — Longtime Echo city administrator and fi fth-generation Echo resi- dent Diane Berry was hon- ored by the state senate for her decades of service to the community. On Wednesday, the sen- ate unanimously passed Sen- ate Resolution 2, contain- ing a long list of Ber- ry’s achieve- m e n t s during her 39 years as Berry city admin- istrator. A few of those included “leg- endary” grant-writing skills to fund projects in Echo, renovating historical build- ings, installing art and other improvements downtown, gaining Tree City USA sta- tus and leading the city to win the America in Bloom competition three times. “(We) recognize and honor Diane Berry for her remarkable career, and we express our gratitude for her contributions to the City of Echo and the State of Oregon; and be it fur- ther Resolved, That we wish Diane Berry well in her retirement,” the resolution stated. Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Ath- ena, introduced the resolu- tion and said in a Facebook post that it was “really spe- cial” to be able to give her the highest honor Oregon’s senate can bestow. Inmate dies at Pendleton prison PENDLETON — An inmate serving time for manslaughter died Sunday morning at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton. The Oregon Department of Corrections reported prison offi cials followed LOCAL BRIEFING protocol and notifi ed the Oregon State Police of the death of Ajon Brandon Web- ster, 29. The medical exam- iner will determine cause of death, according to correc- tions, which will not release more details now. Webster entered state prison custody on Oct. 8, 2018, out of Multnomah County after pleading guilty to fi rst-degree manslaughter and felon in possession of a fi rearm. His earliest release date was Aug. 14, 2036. B2H meetings in Pendleton, Boardman SALEM — The Oregon Department of Energy and the Energy Facility Siting Council will hold a series of public hearings on the Draft Proposed Order for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line in East- ern Oregon this month. The fi rst hearing is sched- uled for 4:30 p.m. June 26 at the Pendleton Convention Center. Morrow County will host a meeting at 4:30 p.m. June 27 at the Port of Mor- row in Boardman. Meet- ings are also scheduled for Ontario, Baker City and La Grande. The hearings will include a short informa- tion session about the pro- posed transmission line in each county followed by an opportunity for public comments. The proposed 500-kilo- volt Boardman to Hem- ingway Transmission Line would run about 300 miles from Boardman to a sub- station in Southwest Idaho. The Idaho Power-proposed transmission line would run through fi ve Oregon coun- ties, and would add a new substation in Boardman. City adds sewer line to water project HERMISTON — In the spirit of effi ciency, contrac- tors installing a new water main for the city of Herm- iston are adding about 1,500 feet of sewer line as well. The water main along East Theater Lane is part of a larger infrastructure proj- ect to attract new housing developments to northeast- ern Hermiston by making it less cost-prohibitive to serve the homes with utilities. The sewer line will serve the new Cimmaron Ter- race subdivision going in off Theater Lane. Assistant city manager Mark Morgan said the city plans to pave part of East Theater Lane later this year, so it made sense to add the sewer line now so that the developer could use the same contractor and the road didn’t get torn up again immediately after paving. The developer is help- ing pay for the line, along with about $30,000 from the Hermiston School District. The district plans to build a new elementary school off Theater Lane when it can get a bond passed, and Mor- gan said the district will benefi t greatly from Cim- maron Terrace bringing the sewer line much closer than it would otherwise be to the future school. 6/18 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday 12PM E.T. Men in Black: International (PG13) 2D 4:20p 7:00p 9:40p Shaft (R) 4:50p 7:20p 9:50p The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG) 2D 5:00p 7:10p 9:10p Dark Phoenix (PG13) 4:10p 6:50p 9:20p Aladdin (PG) 3:50p* 6:40p 9:30p Toy Story 4 (PG) Thursday, June 20th • 7:00p * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 P E N D L E T O N th 82% of of Americans take at least 1 medication july HOSTED BY THE PENDLETON VFW “LET’ ER BUCK” POST 922 29% of Americans take at least 5 or more medications 10 AM Thursday, July 4, 2019 THEME: “Only in America” Every Year Adverse & Unintended Drug Events Cause Horse Staging Area: Western Auto/Baxter Parking Lot Line-Up Area: SW Dorion Street From City of Pendleton building on SW Dorion to Main Street to SW Court to the Convention Center 1.3 Million ER Visits Any Individual, Organization or Business - ALL ARE WELCOME All Entries will receive a participation ribbon. Trophies will be awarded in the following 14 Categories: MOTORIZED - Best ClubMOTORIZED - Judges’ Choice BUSINESS/COMMERCIAL • FIRST RESPONDERS & ARMED FORCES PEOPLE WITH PETS • BAND / DRUM & BUGLE • YOUTH DANCE & DRILL GROUPS • FLOATS • CIVIC GROUPS & SERVICE CLUBS YOUTH GROUPS • EQUESTRIAN (2 riders or less) EQUESTRIAN GROUPS • EQUESTRIAN GROUPS - Royalty HORSE & BUGGY/WAGON In Addition, the VFW will award the “Patriot Trophy” to the entrant with the most overall votes ċťøŗøžÑĩūÑťĕıČƅĺūŗıøøñŜLjĺūŗıūŗŜĕıČŜťÑƥſĕĩĩđøĩŔ ƅĺūŜÑċøĩƅūŜøLjŜťĺŗøÑıññĕŜŔĺŜøĺċİøñĕëÑťĕĺıŜLjĺƥøŗ ëĺİŔĩĕİøıťÑŗƅŜūŔŔĩĕøŜŜūëđÑŜÑİøñĕëÑťĕĺıŔĩÑııøŗLj ĩĺëĦêĺƄLjŜÑċøñĕŜŔĺŜÑĩĕıċĺŗİÑťĕĺıLjÑıñĺťđøŗŗøŜĺūŗëøŜ ťĺđøĩŔĕıëŗøÑŜøŜÑċøťƅĕıƅĺūŗđĺİøÑıñŔøÑëøĺċİĕıñ ſđøŗøƅĺūŗİøñĕëÑťĕĺıŜÑŗøëĺıëøŗıøñǍ May be picked up at the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, Dean’s Athletic, DG Gifts, Elite Guns & Tactical and the Pendleton Downtown Association You may also mail requests to VFW Post 922 • PO Box 787 • Pendleton, OR 97801 or email requests to: fbradbury@yahoo.com Call 541-676-2946 Questions? Call Fred Bradbury at 541-377-7474 MASTER PRINTERS N W Printing • Copy Center • Graphic Design 350,000 Hospitalizations Morrow County Health District’s Home Health & Hospice provides FREE! in-home assessments of medications! (Winner of Patriot Trophy not eligible for additional trophies) A3 HealthyMC.org to schedule your in-home medication safety consultation.