PROPOSED SURGERY TO STERILIZE
WILD HORSES RAISES HACKLES
HERMISTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
WELCOMES FIRST DOCTOR TO CLINIC
NORTHWEST, A2
REGION, A3
E O
AST
143rd year, No. 201
REGONIAN
Friday, July 26, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
HERMISTON
Tribes win
auction for
Hamley’s
Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation
post winning bid of
$3.55M
• Irrigon Watermelon Festi-
val, Irrigon Marina Park
• City-Wide Yard Sales,
Pilot Rock
• Veterans Town Hall and
Benefit Expo, Pendleton
Convention Center
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS
CHECK COMING EVENTS, A5
“near and dear” to the commu-
nity’s heart the project is. Com-
mittee member Ric Sherman,
who is a member of the Rotary
Club, said the project would be
the club’s top priority for the
PENDLETON — The Con-
federated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation is the new
owner of Hamley’s.
The tribes was one of several
interests bidding Thursday at a
Portland law firm in an auction
for the Hamley’s steakhouse,
coffee shop and western store,
the result of the split between
former Hamley’s owners and
business partners Blair Wood-
field and Parley Pearce.
Pearce, the day before the
auction, said some bidders with
piles of money were coming
and if the tribes wanted to win,
“they better put their big boy
pants on and bring their wallet.”
The tribes did.
Woodfield said the tribes
won with a bid of $3.55 million.
He said he was pleased with the
outcome and had every con-
fidence the tribes would do a
great job with the iconic Pend-
leton establishments.
Gary Burke, chairman of the
CTUIR Board of Trustees, in a
written statement said it was a
fitting acquisition.
“The tribes have a long and
storied history with the Ham-
ley family and businesses that
have spanned over five gener-
ations,” Burke said. “We are
pleased to keep this business in
local hands.”
Wildhorse Resort & Casino,
which the tribes own, will han-
dle day-to-day operations of the
Hamley’s business.
“We look forward to con-
tinuing operations and bringing
our extensive business skills to
bear,” said Gary George, Wild-
horse chief executive officer.
“Hamley is a western icon and
will continue to provide a ser-
vice to the community for years
to come.”
The
Hamley’s
family
founded the business in 1905.
Tribal members of the CTUIR
See Playground, Page A7
See Hamley’s, Page A7
Weekend Weather
FRI
SAT
SUN
97/64
88/55
89/57
Treasurer
for nonprofit
arrested for
aggravated
theft
Police charge Robin
Pickard with theft of
more than $63,000
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENdlETON — The for-
mer treasurer of an athena
nonprofit is is behind bars for
first-degree aggravated theft.
The uma-
tilla
County
She r i f f ’s
Office in a
news release
reported dep-
uties
Thurs-
day
shortly
Pickard
after 11 a.m.
arrested Robin Lynn Pickard,
39, of Athena, and booked her
into the county jail in Pendle-
ton. Picard handled the money
for Sunset Housing, a nonprofit
organization that owns, oper-
ates and maintains housing for
See Theft, Page A7
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Dylan Duke (left) and Kayla Sandlyn search for a wooden fence board carved with the name of Dylan’s father,
Scott Duke, who passed away several years ago.
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The ball
is rolling to rebuild Funland
playground.
The beloved, castle-like
wooden structure in the shadow
of the Hermiston Butte burned
down in May in a suspected
case of arson. This will be the
third time the community builds
a playground there — the orig-
inal structure built in 1996
was burned down in 2001 and
replaced in 2002.
The committee leading the
charge this time around held its
first meeting Wednesday to dis-
cuss design, budget, and fund-
raising. They plan to open a new
playground at the beginning of
summer 2020.
“How often do you get to
do this?” parks and recreation
director Larry Fetter said.
“Too often, actually,” city
councilor Jackie Myers quipped.
Fetter told the committee,
made up of seven community
members, two city councilors
and the mayor, that the insur-
ance company has notified the
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The charred remains of the main Funland play structure are seen
through a warped railing at the park. The structures at Funland
burned this last spring in an apparent arson.
city it will pay out $750,000
for the damages. He proposed
a goal of raising $300,000 more
by January.
That may seem like a lot,
but Mayor David Drotzmann
pointed out Hermiston residents’
history of generosity and how
Investor says Methodist church won’t be razed
Sale of historic
property brought
speculation
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
PENdlETON — The
investor who bought Pend-
leton’s historic First United
Methodist Church doesn’t
plan to raze the building.
“That will not happen,”
said Craig Clemens, man-
aging member of Calibrated
Valuation LLC, which pur-
chased the 113-year-old
stone church in early June.
The congregation put the
church on the market a cou-
ple of years ago for $410,000
after realizing it couldn’t
afford repairs, mainte-
nance and monthly utili-
ties. Inside the sanctuary’s
south wall lurks extensive
water damage that requires
something in the neighbor-
hood of $100,000 to repair.
Challenges included asbes-
tos, cracking and peel-
ing, crumbling mortar and
deferred maintenance.
The sanctuary features
two huge stained glass win-
dows and a vintage organ.
Outside is a distinctive bell
tower and a cornerstone
laid in 1906. The church, on
land purchased for $4,000,
survived several fires.
This spring, the con-
gregation said a slow, sad
goodbye to their house of
worship, culminating with
a final worship service on
May 26 and then had what
Pastor Jim Pierce called
“the mother of all yard
sales.”
Clemens, by phone, said
the church’s stately exterior
first drew his attention as a
buyer.
“I was attracted to the
architecture, the tower, the
stone,” he said. “I really
liked the building and it
seemed like a good value.”
The final purchase price
was $350,000.
Clemens’s vision for
the church is still evolv-
ing. In the days following
the sale, locals speculated
about what the company
would do with the vin-
See Church, Page A7
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