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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2020)
PREP BASKETBALL: Hermiston girls beat Pasco in overtime | SPORTS, A8 E O AST 144th Year, No. 68 REGONIAN WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD MILTON-FREEWATER Robbery suspect may be linked to others Michael James Metcalfe accused of Jan. 3 robbery in Milton-Freewater By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian MILTON-FREEWATER — The man charged in connection to one of the armed robberies in Milton-Freewa- ter from earlier this month may in some way be linked to the other incidents, according to Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan. Michael James Metcalfe, 19, is accused of robbing the First Stop Mart on Highway 11 on Jan. 3 and was arraigned last Thursday for two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of second-degree kidnap- ping and one count of violating his probation. “I think there is rea- sonable suspicion that he’s connected to the others,” Rowan said. “But not to the level of Metcalfe probable cause.” The sheriff’s office is working jointly with the Milton-Free- water Police Department to continue its investigation of the First Stop Mart rob- bery, which also included a second male suspect, and in the investigation of two other armed robberies that occurred in Milton-Freewater on Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, respectively. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said he couldn’t comment on whether additional charges would be brought against Metcalfe but said his office always communicates with law enforcement during investigations into Measure 11 crimes such as this. Milton-Freewater police previously arrested Metcalfe on Dec. 28, 2019, for four felony charges, but he was issued a conditional release from the Umatilla County Jail “due to overpopulation” the morning of Jan. 2, less than 24 hours before allegedly robbing the store. A detention warrant was issued for Metcalfe after he failed to appear at a scheduled court hearing on Jan. 3, and Milton-Freewater police arrested him on Jan. 6. While Rowan said Metcalfe was sus- pected of being connected to the First Stop Mart robbery when he was arrested on Jan. 6, it took the sheriff’s office and the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office 10 days to build enough evidence to bring formal charges. Despite being in custody since Jan. 6, Rowan said Metcalfe may be con- nected in some way to the other two robberies, though police are continuing Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Chief Dave Baty, who oversees the Helix and East Umatilla rural fire protection districts, explains the process by which the East Umatilla County Ambulance Area Health District, East Umatilla County Rural Fire Protection District, Helix Rural Fire Protec- tion District and Athena Volunteer Fire Department are attempting to dissolve their existing districts and merge as a singular East Umatilla Fire & Rescue. Coming together? First responders in east Umatilla County hosting a series of town halls to inform public about possible tax district merger By JESSICA POLLARD East Oregonian W ESTON — Emergency service providers in eastern Umatilla County have a proposal for local voters this spring. Rural fire protection districts in Helix and East Umatilla, the Athena Volunteer Fire Department, and the East Umatilla County Ambulance Area Health District are all hoping to dissolve their tax districts and join together under a new name — East Umatilla Fire & Rescue. “We’re already sharing people and resources,” said Fire Chief David Baty, who currently oversees the Helix and East Umatilla rural fire pro- tection districts. The agencies rely largely on volun- teers. In July, all four merged together into a single inter-governmental agency, headquartered at the Weston fire station and reporting to a board comprised of members from each organization. The move has caused an increase in utilization of the fire districts during medical calls across the ambulance district. Baty said that East Umatil- la’s fire district saw a 72% increase in calls from 2018 due to the change. Supporters of the tax district merger say that sharing a tax base will help the organizations provide bet- ter service, offer more competitive wages and possibly lead to equipment upgrades. As a result, residents of Helix, Athena, Weston, Adams and every- where else within the joined districts — which would total more than 420 square miles — would pay about $2 per $1,000 assessed value for both ambulance and fire protection ser- vices. Currently, the East Umatilla ambulance and fire districts cost $1 each per $1,000 assessed value. The move could yield more than $120,000 a year in additional funding for the providers. Baty and Mark Moore, adminis- trator for the ambulance health dis- trict, describe a realm of increasingly time-consuming first responder train- ings as equipment and the existing volunteer base age. “This is not their career, (volun- teers) are doing this because they know it needs to be done and it’s a good, smart thing,” Baty said. The ambulance district utilizes two paid on-call paramedics. The rest of the staff, aside from Moore, are vol- unteers or EMT drivers still in school. The agency has received turnover lately. “We’ve had a really hard time recruiting anybody because of the pay compared to Pendleton and Hermis- UPCOMING TOWN HALL MEETINGS The schedule for 7 p.m. town hall meetings regarding this proposal are as follows: Weston, 103 W. Main St., April 8 and May 11. Helix, 102 Columbia St., Jan. 29, Feb. 18, March 11, and April 21. Athena, 431 E. Main St., Feb. 5 and May 6. Adams, 77167 Spring Hollow Road, March 24. ton,” Moore said. “You can’t blame them.” Moore and Baty said that paramed- ics at the East Umatilla ambulance district get paid about $30,000 less a year compared to paramedics from surrounding areas. “Our goal would be a little more competitive on the wage side,” Moore added. Baty himself admitted to taking a pay cut when he left the Pendleton Fire Department and took the fire chief job. At the end of the application process for the position, he was the only appli- cant who hadn’t withdrawn their name from the pool. “This is a big area,” he added. “It’s got a lot of complexities.” He said that the varied geography of the districts, which include forest, farmland and residential areas, pres- ent a challenge to firefighters. Terry Case, secretary and treasurer See First responders, Page A7 See Robbery, Page A7 Racing sled dogs in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Extreme Annual event begins Thursday in Wallowa County By IAN MCCLUSKEY Oregon Public Broadcasting JOSEPH — Morgan Ander- son grew up watching Ore- gon’s most-challenging dog sled race. Now she’s ready to run her team of huskies in Oregon’s rug- ged Wallowa Mountains for the annual Eagle Cap Extreme. Sled dogs love one thing more than anything else. When hitched to a sled, they yip like a frenzied pack of coy- otes, leap into the air and strain against the harnesses, ready to run. And run. And run. The cacophony of excited sled dogs rises to a crescendo each January at a small ski hill a few miles outside Joseph. Mushers from across the West have arrived with their teams to race their dogs in Northeast Oregon’s rugged Wallowa Mountains. The Eagle Cap Extreme is Ore- gon’s largest dog sled race, host- ing several events over a three- day weekend. This year’s races start Thursday. The longest race is 200 miles. For the sled dogs, it’s the equivalent of running 7.6 OPB Photo/Stephani Gordon, File See Race, Page A7 Musher Morgan Anderson takes off from the start gate of the Eagle Cap Extreme.