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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2020)
REGION Friday, February 7, 2020 East Oregonian A3 CTUIR Fisheries, fi re department M-F man gets over four years in prison work together in river rescue Man, dog trapped by rising waters Thursday morning By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Pendleton Fire Department and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation Fisheries worked together on Thursday morn- ing to rescue a homeless man and his dog who were trapped on an island by ris- ing waters in the Umatilla River. “It went well,” said Cpt. Steve Brost with the Pend- leton Fire Department. “We had time to wait to try and fi gure out the safest solution, which is what we’re looking for.” Dennis Ross and his dog, Pixie, had been camping on a piece of land for the last week without a problem and were caught off guard to fi nd their campsite had become an island overnight. “I had gone to bed to the sound of rushing water on one side of me,” Ross said. “And then I woke up to the sound of rushing water all around me.” According to those with CTUIR Fisheries who were on the scene, the river’s lev- els had risen from 400 cubic feet per second Wednesday night to 7,000 cubic feet per second Thursday morning. A woman walking down the riverfront noticed Ross and asked him if he wanted her to call 911, which he said he didn’t, thinking he could cross on his own. But Ross also had Pixie, a bike, a tent and the rest of his belongings that he couldn’t have crossed with. The woman ultimately called for help anyway, and the Pendleton Fire Depart- Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Pendleton Firefi ghter Shawn Penninger throws a rescue line to Dennis Ross in an attempt to anchor a boat to allow Ross to cross the Umatilla River. Pendleton Fire Department and employees from the CTUIR Fisheries responded to the assist Ross, who had become stranded on the island while camping overnight. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Dennis Ross, second from the left, steps to shore with his dog Pixie after being rescued from an island in the Umatil- la River by members of the Pendleton Fire Department and CTUIR Fisheries staff on Thursday morning in Pendleton. ment arrived on the scene around 8 a.m. Pendle- ton’s emergency personnel aren’t trained or equipped for a swift-water rescue, Brost said, so they reached out to the fi sheries depart- ment for help. “We do rely a lot on out- side agencies,” Brost said. “Not always fi re or rescue or law enforcement. We also rely on a lot of other agen- cies to come in and assist. That’s the great thing about a small community.” While waiting for a boat to arrive, the department pre- pared the surrounding area by cutting down trees and positioning someone in the fi re engine’s basket above the river and as close to Ross as they could get. As the wait for the fi sh- ery’s boat continued, person- nel located a boat at a nearby residence and borrowed it to set up for a potential rescue attempt, but CTUIR Fisher- ies arrived shortly after with a drift boat and began work- ing with the fi re department to prepare a rescue attempt of its own. Finally, after more than two hours, Jeremiah Bon- ifer and Craig Contor with CTUIR Fisheries set out in the drift boat a bit further upstream and made their way to Ross and the island. The two helped Ross secure all of his belongings and Pixie before bringing him safely back to the shore. “Go out, get him, bring him back,” Bonifer said of the rescue strategy. “It’s that simple.” Neither Bonifer or Con- tor had ever rescued some- body before, but said they are trained in swift-water rescue and ideally go through prac- tice sessions once a month. Bonifer said the drift boat made things much easier by sitting higher up on the river, too. After landing back on shore and gathering his belongings, Ross said it felt tense being trapped on the island but that he considers himself a strong swimmer and initially didn’t think he needed help. But with his previous campsite wiped out by the fl ooding, Ross had one objec- tive for the rest of his day. “I’m going to go out and fi nd a new place to camp, I guess,” he said. Boardman to pursue bond for water projects Residents will vote on issue on May ballot By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian BOARDMAN — The Boardman City Council voted Tuesday to ask vot- ers to approve a $20.3 mil- lion general obligation bond for water and wastewater projects. According to the resolu- tion passed Tuesday night, the question will go on the May 19 ballot. It will ask voters whether the city shall issue the bonds “to improve and expand its water and wastewater facilities” by issuing bonds not to exceed $20,320,000 that would mature within 25 years. The ballot language to be submitted to the Morrow County clerk describes the projects the money would be Flooding concerns on the Umatilla National Forest PENDLETON — Recent snowfall has turned into signifi cant rainfall, which means many rivers on the Umatilla National Forest are nearing their bank levels and at risk of fl ooding, according to for- est offi cials. The public is being urged to use caution when traveling on or to the Uma- tilla National Forest, since roads and trails could be impacted by washouts or obstructions, such as rocks or boulders. The Uma- tilla National Forest’s most immediate areas of concern include the Grande Ronde, Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers on the Walla Walla Ranger District and the North Fork John Day River on the North Fork John Day used for — a water booster pump station, an approx- imately 1 million gallon water reservoir, a new water collector well, a 13-acre lagoon, and wastewater lift stations. The money would also help pay for acquiring land for the projects, refi - nancing outstanding debt and covering the cost of issu- ing the bonds. If approved, the average annual property tax rate is estimated at $1.56 per $1,000 of assessed value and the bonds would mature within 25 years. City Manager Karen Pet- tigrew said Thursday that passing the bond will actu- ally save residents money. If the city were to bor- row the money to complete the needed projects from a source, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she said, the agency would require the city to raise its water and sewer rates sig- nifi cantly before it consid- ered making the loan. She said her combined water, sewer and garbage bill is $59.43 right now. “We have chosen to keep our rates low,” she said. The minutes from a Jan. 4 work session show the council listened to a presen- tation by engineering fi rm Anderson Perry & Asso- ciates about the benefi ts of the projects, including reli- ability, quality of wastewa- ter treatment and creating room for future growth. It also cited information from David Ulbricht of the Spe- cial Districts Association of Oregon, who told city councilors that paying for the projects through water rates instead of bonds would require the city to rase its base water rate by $60 a month and sewer by $20. Pettigrew said the city will be providing detailed information about the bond to residents in the coming months. A Jan. 28 news release from the city noted that it was “beginning talks” about expanding water and sewer projects. “The expansion will ensure reliability in the city’s water and wastewater sys- tems and improve fi re fl ow,” the release stated. The release also noted the city council had recently extended incentives for developers. The city had pre- viously set in place a tempo- rary waiver for water and sewer system development charges, and city council- ors felt it would be benefi cial to extend the waiver, which expired at the end of 2019, for another year. The waivers operate on a sliding scale based on the number of “equivalent dwelling units” a residen- tial or commercial project represents. Developers can call the city at 541-481-9252 for more information about eligibility. Scott A. McIntosh sentenced in three separate cases By EMILY THORNTON Walla Walla Union-Bulletin WALLA WALLA, Wash. — A Milton-Freewater man accused of multiple felonies in multiple cases was sen- tenced Wednesday morn- ing in Walla Walla County Superior Court to 51 months in prison — minus credit for timed served — followed by 30 days in the county jail. Scott A. McIntosh, 50, was sentenced in three sep- arate cases. In the fi rst two, he had the same charges: fi rst-degree unlawful fi re- arm possession, second-de- gree stolen property posses- sion and meth possession. The third case, to which he pleaded guilty Wednes- day, charged him with second-degree criminal trespassing. A fourth case — accus- ing him of eluding police on a high-speed chase back and forth between Walla Walla and Milton-Freewa- ter and third-degree driving with a suspended license — was dismissed in December 2019. Walla Walla County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Nagle said the dismissal was given because he agreed to plead guilty to charges in the other cases. In the fi rst case, his origi- nal charges were stolen fi re- arm possession, two counts of fi rst-degree unlawful fi rearm possession, meth possession, using drug paraphernalia and third-de- gree driving with a sus- pended license. However, the charges were amended during a plea bargain in August 2019 to the above listed. Those charges stemmed from a traffi c stop Jan. 9, 2019, by Walla Walla police who recognized McIntosh and his passenger, Cody Ferguson, records stated. After a warrant search, police found meth, drug paraphernalia, two fi rearms — one of which was stolen — ammunition, three hol- sters and 11 license plates from Washington and Ore- gon vehicles, records stated. McIntosh was a convicted felon at the time and not allowed to possess fi rearms. The original charges for the second case also were amended in August 2019, as they were meth posses- sion, possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana, fi rst-degree unlawful fi re- arm possession, stolen fi re- arm possession, possession of another person’s iden- tifi cation and using drug paraphernalia. The accusations stemmed from when Walla Walla police found McIn- tosh on Jan. 19, 2019, camp- ing in a handicapped spot at Fort Walla Walla Park in a recreational vehicle reg- istered to someone else, Umatilla County sheriff offi cially fi les for re-election UMATILLA COUNTY — Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan is offi cially going after a third term. After announcing he’d eventually fi le his paper- work two weeks ago, Rowan offi cially submitted his candidacy paperwork on Tuesday. Rowan has served as the county sheriff since fi rst being elected in 2012. In 2016, he defeated chal- lenger challenger Ryan Lenhert 56% to 42%. Len- hert is currently a corporal with the Pendleton Police Department. Rowan’s career began as a civilian employee with the s h e r i f f ’s Rowan offi ce back in 1989 before becoming a sheriff’s deputy in 1990. He then left in 1995 to take a detective position with the Herm- iston Police Department before returning 10 years later as undersheriff to John Trumbo in 2005. Candidates have until March 10 to fi le with the Umatilla County Elections Offi ce for the primaries that will take place on May 19. If only two candidates fi le for the sheriff’s race, both will advance to the general election in Novem- ber. If there are more than two, May 19 will be a pri- mary election with the top two candidates advancing to November’s ballot. — EO Media Group PACIFIC NORTHWEST ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO, MONTANA REACH 3 million Pacific Northwesterners with just One Call! n PNDC CLASSIFIED - Daily Newspapers 29 newspapers - 1,187,980 circulation Number of words: 25 l Extra word cost: $10 Cost: $540 (Runs 3 consecutive days including wkds.) n PNDN 2x2 DISPLAY - Daily Newspapers 27 newspapers - 1,016,864 circulation Size: 2x2 (3.25”x2”) Cost: 1x 2x2: $1,050 More info: Cecelia@cnpa.com or call (916) 288-6011 2/7-2/9 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday @ 12p The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. 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In the meantime, McIn- tosh also crashed his motor- cycle in August 2019 on state Route 125, was taken to the hospital for injuries and cited for negligent driv- ing. His attorney, Robin Olson, stated in court doc- uments McIntosh “was unconscious for several days because of severe head trauma” and was placed in a medically induced coma, had been released from a rehab facility just before the crash and had stopped tak- ing his medication — all of which caused him to forget pleading guilty to previous charges. McIntosh then was sent to Eastern State Hospi- tal for a mental evaluation, records stated, which later showed he was competent to stand trial. Charges for the third case also were amended from the original, which was meth possession, stemming from a warrant arrest on Oct. 23, 2019, near Walla Walla Valley Honda on Southeast Commercial Drive. On Wednesday, McIn- tosh’s sentence included 51, 29 and 24 months for the fi rst case’s charges, all of which will run concur- rently, minus credit for 308 days served; 51, 29 and 24 months for the second case’s charges, all running concur- rently and concurrent with the fi rst case, minus credit for 310 days served; and 30 days for the third case, which will run consecu- tively to the fi rst two cases. Since the amended charge in the third case was a mis- demeanor, second-degree criminal trespassing, Nagle said state law required the term be carried out in Walla Walla County Jail. His fi nancial obligations included to-be-determined restitution and $500 fi nes and fees on the fi rst case; to-be-determined restitution and $500 fi nes and fees on the second case; and $250 fi nes and fees on the third case. Additionally, McIntosh was ordered to a year of pro- bation on the fi rst case and 51 months for the second. * Matinee Pricing Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
