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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2020)
Hermiston council gets ball rolling on electric rate increases | REGION, A3 E O AST 144th Year, No. 210 REGONIAN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Athena, Weston candidates want to provide solutions By SHEILA HAGAR Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Harral ATHENA — While the 2020 presidential election is getting plenty of national and global atten- tion, smaller campaigns are going on across the nation — includ- ing in northern Umatilla County, where Athena and Weston voters will choose a mayor and city coun- cil members. Umatilla County residents will Hoehna McLind also choose a new county com- missioner on ballots that need to returned by 8 p.m on Election Day, Nov. 3. Another northern Umatilla County city, Milton-Freewater, has no opposed races on the ballot, meaning incumbents Mayor Lewis Key and council members Verl Presnal, Brad Humbert and Jose Schroeder Thompson Garcia can only be challenged via write-in candidates. Athena races Athena’s incumbent mayor, Rebecca Schroeder, is challenged by city councilwoman Sally Thompson. Schroeder, 59, is a teacher and small business owner. She’s served Thul Williams on Athena’s council, other county and city committees and in leader- ship at her church, she said. Athena’s pressing issues include the impact of COVID-19 on the community, Schroeder said, add- ing she will do all she can to support residents and businesses while nav- igating health and safety guidelines. Schroeder said she believes peo- ple should not be under excess reg- ulation and believes in limited government. Schroeder has been a longtime resident of Athena, raised her chil- dren there and has a love for the community, she said. “I have a heart to serve the peo- ple here,” she said. Her problem-solving style leans to good listening skills and fi nding practical solutions, traits she attri- butes to her own business experi- ence, Schroeder said. “I am also not afraid to make tough decisions when necessary, such as during the fl ooding and See Solutions, Page A8 MORROW COUNTY ‘It’s not a useful document’ Umatilla County school districts try to make up for lack of report card data released by state By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian U MATILLA COUNTY — All the local school districts showed incomplete progress on their state report cards, but that was by design. The 2019-20 report cards released by the Oregon Department of Education did not include ninth-grade on-track for graduation fi gures, attendance data and test scores the state usually shares with the district and the public, accounting for the pandemic that has forced students to learn from home since last March. All that remains in this year’s report cards is grad- uation data and demographic data for stu- dents and teachers. “It’s not a useful document,” said Herm- iston School District Assistant Superin- tendent of Teaching and Learning Bryn Browning. Instead of relying on the data supplied by the state, Browning said Hermiston teachers are administering their own for- mative assessments to determine where their students need help aca- demically. But STUDENT BREACHES PENDLETON’S DIGITAL CLASSROOMS The Pendleton School District is shor- ing up its cyber security system after a student gained access to its emails and classroom platforms on Oct. 12. Page A6 given that these tests will be administered online instead of in person, Browning said it was far from the ideal way to gauge stu- dent performance. Browning considered the district’s 74% graduation rate a bright spot, although it was still below the state’s 80% rate. But com- pared to where the district was fi ve years ago, when it only graduated about 64% of its seniors on time, the 2019-20 graduation rate represents a vast improvement. Across the county, the Pendleton School See Report cards, Page A7 Hermiston High School students leave school for the last day of school on March 13, 2020. Students originally expected to return to school on April 1, 2020, as a re- sponse to Gov. Kate Brown’s initial direc- tive to close schools through the end of the month of March in an eff ort to quell the spread of COVID-19. Mark Pratt challenges Ken Matlack for sheriff By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian MORROW COUNTY — Incumbent Ken Matlack is seek- ing his fi fth term as Morrow County sheriff in Novem- ber, but he has to contend with Mark Pratt, a former sheriff’s deputy who has spent the Matlack last four years as a sergeant with the Boardman Police Department. Matlack was fi rst elected to the post in 2004 after a 25-year career with the Oregon Pratt State Police from 1974 to 1999. After 16 years as Morrow County sher- iff, he’s still passionate about the job and feels he can represent the community. “It’s the best job I’ve ever imag- ined,” he said. “I love going to work everyday. We have a great crew. We have a vision for Morrow County and I just still want to be a part of it.” Pratt, who worked at the sher- iff’s offi ce from 2000 to 2016 before departing for Boardman, believes the county and sheriff’s Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File See Sheriff, Page A7 BENT targets local fentanyl traffi cking Operation West County Blues culminates in 21 arrests throughout the region on Oct. 12 By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian HERMISTON — The Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcot- ics Team arrested 21 suspects in the dealing and manufactur- ing of fentanyl throughout Uma- tilla and Morrow counties as a part of Operation West County Blues on Monday, Oct. 12. Pendleton Police Chief Stu- art Roberts, head of the local anti- drug board, said the operation was intended to address and bring atten- tion to the prevalence and danger of the drug. “Our intent of this operation was to show the prevalence and the need for the Oregon Legislature to take a good hard look at what’s going on in Oregon,” he said. Roberts said the operation had been underway for “the better part of a year” and involved roughly two dozen agencies in the region. A press See Fentanyl, Page A7 Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team/Contributed Photo Cash and fi rearms are displayed by the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcot- ics Team. The items are some of those that have been seized in the past year as a part of Operation West County Blues.
