WEEKEND EDITION
PENDLETON 10U
SOFTBALL WINS FIRST
ROUND AT STATE
TOURNAMENT
WALLOWA LAKE STATE PARK
ADDS 9-HOLE DISC GOLF COURSE
SPORTS, B1
ANCIENT ‘HYENA-PIG’
UNEARTHED AT JOHN
DAY FOSSIL BEDS
REGION, A3
LIFESTYLES, C1
E O
AST
143rd Year, No. 192
REGONIAN
JULY 13-14, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
EUGENE
Baker
couple
escapes
harm
EO SPOTLIGHT
Short school
day case
faces motion
to dismiss
Bob Borders was
home asleep when
Colby Hedman
stole his vehicle
By JESSICA POLLARD
Staff Reporter
EUGENE — An oral argu-
ment took place Wednesday for
a class action lawsuit that could
affect the educational future of
children with disabilities facing
shortened school days, following
a state-issued motion to dismiss
the case this April.
District Judge Ann Aiken will
issue an opinion out of Eugene
District Court within 60 days.
Seth Galanter of the National
Center for Youth Law — one of
the law groups that fi led the case
— said the judge showed little
sign of dismissing it. Either way,
the plaintiffs are hoping to hear
an opinion from the court before
the start of the school year.
The lawsuit, fi led in January,
seeks to ensure the state provides
more oversight for special edu-
cation programs in Oregon, and
helps provide support for stu-
dents to experience full school
days.
Students like Aidin Schell, 9,
attended three schools in Pend-
leton School District for a few
years.
His mother, Jennifer, who
spoke with the East Oregonian
in January, said he had been
receiving shortened school days
against her wishes. She said she’d
requested switching classrooms,
and one-on-one support, but that
the district told her they lacked
the resources to support her son
attending school for full days.
He eventually attended a pro-
gram at Lifeways.
Schell said she was told that
after he completed the pro-
gram, he could receive full days
at school. She said this didn’t
happen.
Today, Aidin is home-
schooled. He is working through
the fourth grade.
“He loves working inde-
pendently, he doesn’t have dis-
tractions,” Schell said. “But on
the social engagement side of
things, he is at a disadvantage.”
Schell said her son is involved
in Special Olympics, and that
By CHRIS COLLINS
EO Media Group
BAKER CITY — Bob Borders
isn’t sure whose voice woke him up
Monday night at his home on Tag-
gert Lane north of
Baker City.
Was it the voice
of someone who
wanted to do him
harm, or was it
the voice of his
protector?
Hedman
The way every-
thing turned out,
the 65-year-old Borders is more
inclined to believe he was pro-
tected when 23-year-old Colby
James Hedman arrived as his
door and entered his home about
10:30 p.m. Monday.
Borders, who works part-time at
Thatcher’s Ace Hardware, retired
from his job as a hospital adminis-
trator about eight years ago.
Borders said he was home
alone asleep in his chair in the liv-
ing room when Hedman happened
along Taggert Lane on Monday
night.
Police believe Hedman stole
a Toyota pickup truck from the
man he is accused of murdering
in Walla Walla, Washington, just
a few hours before he arrived on
the Borders’ property just north of
Baker City.
After Hedman was taken into
custody, he told police he had run
out of gas and had gone to the Bor-
ders’ home where he found the
Ford pickup with keys in it and
drove away.
Borders said he called the dis-
patch center about 10:40 p.m.
Monday to report that his Ford
pickup had been stolen.
Borders did not know that the
man he watched drive away was a
murder suspect.
Hedman is being held on $1
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Whitney Adams and Kris Dersam keep cool in the blowup pool they brought to the Whisky Music
Fest camping area next to the Round-Up Arena. This is the Cresswell couple’s fi rst time to visit
Pendleton.
By ALEX CASTLE
East Oregonian
ENDLETON — For the fourth year in a
row, droves of tourists are camping out in
Pendleton for Saturday’s Whisky Music
Fest at the Round-Up Arena.
Headlined by rappers Post Malone
and 50 Cent, the festival is organized by Andy
McAnally and Doug Corey. On Tuesday, an
update posted to the event’s Facebook page stated
that they expected at least 17,000 people to be in
the area with over 800 campers spread around the
city.
The same update reported that all the hotels in
the city are at max capacity.
While 17,000 is a considerable infl ux of peo-
ple for the weekend, city manager Robb Corbett
said the city is well-prepared given the annual
Pendleton Round-Up regularly brings in at least
60,000 tourists.
“We are accustomed to dealing with large
crowds of people coming from out of town,” Cor-
bett said. “This is what we do.”
This year’s festival didn’t come without chal-
lenges though, as the organizers had to accom-
modate and prepare for a larger number of camp-
ers staying in tents rather than RVs like years
past.
“You just adapt,” Corbett said.
P
FOR MORE WHISKY FEST
PHOTOS SEE PAGE A7
The campers began arriving on Friday and
are staying at Fallen Field, the Pendleton Conven-
tion Center, Bob White Field, the fi eld behind the
grounds, the Hatley Property next to Walmart,
along with two newly added campgrounds at the
Pendleton High School freshman football fi eld
and by West Hills.
Those arriving on Friday had the opportunity
to get the weekend’s festivities going early with
the “Party in Pendleton” kickoff event hosted
downtown from 6 p.m. to midnight. This year,
the organizers expanded the party with musical
performances from Kurt Van Meter and Precious
Byrd along with DJ Sovern-T.
For the campers on Friday, beating the heat
was the name of the game. And some got creative.
Kris Dersam and Whitney Adams, a couple
from Creswell making their fi rst trip to Pend-
leton, bought a small infl atable pool just for the
occasion. After arriving as the campsite opened
at 11 a.m. and making a few trips to the nearby
showers, they managed to fi ll it up just enough to
soak their feet and cool off.
See Whisky Fest, Page A10
See Hedman, Page A10
See School, Page A10
As El Niño fades, winter forecast a ‘crap shoot’
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Pacifi c Ocean along the
equator cooled in June and is
expected to be at normal tem-
peratures in a month or two, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration reported Thursday.
The cooling and rapid demise
of an El Niño system was unfore-
seen a month ago by NOAA’s Cli-
mate Prediction Center. The drop
in sea-surface and subsurface
temperatures leaves long-range
weather forecasters with no strong
clue about the months ahead.
“The bottom line is that it’s
pretty close to a crap shoot for this
fall and winter,” Washington State
Climatologist Nick Bond said.
“The deck isn’t stacked one way
or the other.”
A weak El Niño formed in Feb-
ruary. A month ago, NOAA said
there was a 66% chance it would
stay through the summer and a 50
to 55% chance it would last through
the winter.
One forecasting model used by
NOAA even predicted a moder-
ate, rather than weak, El Niño in
the coming winter. El Niño winters
are generally warmer than usual in
the Northwest, and less snowpack
accumulates for use in summer
irrigation.
In a turnabout, NOAA now says
the odds favor neutral conditions,
beginning next month and con-
tinuing through the winter. “Neu-
tral means things are more up in
See El Niño, Page A10
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.