OFF PAGE ONE
Saturday, March 13, 2021
East Oregonian
A11
Sams: CTUIR has often
joined the other Tribes of
the Columbia Plateau
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
The Thorn Hollow Bridge sits in disrepair on Feb. 3, 2021, roughly one year after severe flooding damaged the structure.
Bridge: Funding for the bridge replacement
originally comes from federal level
Continued from Page A1
away from the desk until
they found a solution.”
County officials worked
with those in the CTUIR
and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation to
make the news plans with
funding from the state.
The county also received
support from politicians,
including Sens. Jeff Merk-
ley and Ron Wyden, as well
as state Sen. Bill Hansell
and state Representative
Bobby Levy, Dorran said.
“This is a project that
has been on our radar since
the floods last year,” Ken
Patterson, an area manager
for ODOT, said at the press
conference.
The bridge’s location on
tribal land made it so the
project wouldn’t ordinarily
fall to ODOT, Patterson
said, but with the insis-
tence of county officials,
ODOT off icials found
a way to allocate state
resources toward repairing
the bridge more quickly.
“As a department, we’re
glad to help restore activ-
ity out in the Thorn Hollow
area as soon as possible,”
he said.
Funding for the bridge
replacement originally
comes from the federal
level that “trickles down”
and becomes state money,
The
si x-week
“in-stream work window,”
intended to minimize the
construction’s potential
impacts on fish, wild-
life and habitat, made it
impossible to complete
the project in less than two
Fellows said. “If every-
thing would fall into place,
if I was an optimist, then I
would say that maybe we
could get that demolition
done this year, but I’m not
that much of an optimist.
If it happens, it happens.”
“WHEN WE SAY WE CAN START DEMOLITION
IMMEDIATELY, WE CAN START THE PROCESS OF
PLANNING PERMITS IMMEDIATELY.”
Tom Fellows, Umatilla County Public Works director
providing an opportunity
to “take savings from one
project and move it over to
another project,” Umatilla
Count y Public Works
Director Tom Fellows said.
The state, therefore,
covers about 89.7% of
costs, Patterson said.
Umatilla County will
cover about 10.3% of the
project’s overall costs,
Dorran said. He added the
county also has to cover
any “early overages.”
Fellows said that the
main goal of the project
was to shorten its timeline.
construction seasons, offi-
cials said. After further
d i s c u s sion , howeve r,
Fellows said off icials
made new plans to remove
the bridge earlier while
simultaneously designing
the new bridge.
Fellows said although
the timeline for replacing
the bridge has been sped
up, there remain several
hurdles regarding permits.
“When we say we can
start demolition imme-
diately, we can st ar t
the process of planning
per mits immediately,”
Fellows said the bridge
is likely to be demolished
in 2022, which will “set us
up perfectly for construc-
tion in 2023 if the funding
comes into line and every-
thing moves forward.”
Dorran said the bridge
project is an example of
the good that comes when
county and state entities
work together.
“I thin k that when
yo u wo r k t o g e t h e r,
when you row the boat
in the same direction,
you ca n f i nd ways,”
he said.
the work he has done for the
better part of two decades.
Brown and Sams had
previously held talks over
him joining the Oregon Public
Utilities Commission, but it
never turned into a nomina-
tion. With an offer now in
hand, Sams took it.
Established in 1980, the
Northwest Power and Conser-
vation Council is responsi-
ble for devising long-term
planning for the Columbia
Basin, taking both energy
and conservation needs
into account. Sams is join-
ing an eight-person coun-
cil with representation from
Oregon, Washington, Idaho
and Montana. A full-time job,
each council member earns
$120,000 per year.
Sams said he will become
the only enrolled tribal
member on the board and
only the second American
Indian in the council’s 30-year
history.
The CTUIR has often
joined the other Tribes of the
Columbia Plateau in trying
to protect the river’s salmon
from the adverse effects of the
river’s hydroelectric system.
When asked for comment,
the gover nor’s off ice
mentioned their work in
appointing him to the council
and recommending him to a
job with national implications.
“The governor counts
herself as one of the many
Oregonians who has learned
so much from him about the
history and cultures of the
Indigenous and Tribal peoples
who have lived in Oregon
since time immemorial,”
Charles Boyle, a spokesman
for Brown, said. “In Decem-
ber, she wrote a letter recom-
mending him to lead the
National Park Service, and
she is extremely pleased for
his commitment to now serve
on the NWPC.”
A ringing endorsement
In a letter dated Dec. 17,
Brown was effusive in her
praise for Sams.
Addressed to Joe Biden,
Brown’s letter ran through
Sams’ qualifications and
qualities before sharing her
vision for the National Parks
Service under Sams’ leader-
ship.
“During your adminis-
tration, I envision students
— both young and old, tribal
and nontribal alike — visit-
ing Yellowstone, Arches,
Mesa Verde or Oregon’s
Crater Lake, and hearing the
stories of our past and pres-
ent, including the important
stories of the tribal peoples
who have inhabited these
special places,” she wrote.
“Chuck is a consummate
storyteller, and has the skill
set and passion to inspire the
dedicated staff of the NPS to
tell those stories, and to find
new and innovative ways
to make our parks accessi-
ble to all Americans, while
conserving and preserving
those lands.”
If appointed to the posi-
tion, Sams would be the
service’s first full-time direc-
tor since the Obama admin-
istration. Former President
Donald Trump nominated a
candidate, but he was never
confirmed by the Senate and
the agency has been overseen
by a series of acting directors
for the past four years.
An announcement on
the next parks director isn’t
expected until the Senate
confirms Deb Haaland to
lead the U.S. Department
of Interior, which manages
the national parks system.
A congresswoman from
New Mexico and an enrolled
member of the Laguna
Pueblo, Haaland is poised
to become the Interior’s first
American Indian secretary.
Sams said he was honored
by Brown’s recommenda-
tion, but he added that he will
also be pleased to stay in the
Northwest and serve on the
council if he doesn’t get the
parks director position.
Although the council’s
offices are in Portland, Sams
said he intends to stay at his
residence on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation and work
remotely.
Sams’ last day in tribal
government came on Friday,
March 12, and he left with
some warm words from one
of his former bosses.
“I can’t thank Chuck
enough for his service to the
Tribe,” Kat Brigham, chair of
the CTUIR Board of Trust-
ees, said in a statement. “We
are sad to see him go, but
happy that he has received
such a prestigious appoint-
ment from Gov. Brown. We
know that he will work for the
benefit of the entire region.
We wish him nothing but the
best.”
Both Brigham and Sams
gave a vote of confidence
to Paul Rabb, who took
over for Sams as the Tribes’
interim executive director.
The CTUIR expects to make
a permanent selection this
summer.
Family: Patrick presented
evidence that the gathering was
a ‘family religious observance’
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Haven Pho recently opened in the former Quiznos location at 204 S.W. 20th St. in Pendleton.
Restaurant: ‘It’s been busy and tiring’
Continued from Page A1
Ha said when he first
moved to town a lack of
Vietnamese food inspired
him to want to open a
restaurant, and while Pend-
leton’s dining options have
diversified some since then,
Ha’s desire to run a restau-
rant never faded.
When putting together
his menu, Ha said he
wanted to stick with what
he considers staples of
Vietnamese cuisine — pho
dishes, steamed rice with
pork or chicken, and egg
and salad rolls.
Si nce open i ng h is
restaurant, Ha said it has
stayed busy with dine-in
and takeout orders. The
dining room was buzzing
with people on the evening
of March 4, as customers
ventured in to try the new
place to eat. One customer
joked with Ha that she had
come by to get her nails
done while picking up a
to-go order.
As customers f iled
through, Ha and his staff
worked diligently to fill
orders as steaming bowls
of pho and egg rolls were
carried to tables.
“It’s been busy and
tiring,” he said.
Ha said the restaurant is
currently open seven days a
week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
for takeout and dine-in
service.
W h ile bu si ne ss is
steady, Ha said he has
had to remain optimistic
amid the pandemic and
COVID-19 restrictions.
With restaurants across
the country closing due to
the pandemic, Ha said he
keeps focusing on the end
of the pandemic to stay
motivated.
“I think the pandemic is
going to go away,” he said.
“Hopefully, everything is
going to go fine.”
“essential” event.
The BOT resolution
prohibited “nonessential
tribal, longhouse, social and
recreational gatherings of
individuals outside of a home
or place of residence (parties,
celebrations or other similar
gatherings)” regardless of
size, “if a distance of at least
6 feet between individuals
cannot be maintained.”
According to the verdict
and judgment, Patrick
presented evidence that the
gathering was a “family reli-
gious observance” that was
“essential to the spiritual and
cultural well-being of the
family.”
Gallaher’s ruling said the
Tribes, represented by Daley,
presented no evidence that
a family religious obser-
vance is a “nonessential
gathering.”
“In the absence of evidence
on a material element of the
violation, the Court is left to
speculate as to what is meant
by ‘essential’, and ‘essential’
to whom? Such guesswork
and speculation may not be
the basis of a finding of guilt,”
Gallaher wrote in his ruling.
Under questioning from
Daley, Tony Barnett, who
at the time of the feast was a
member of the Umatilla Tribal
Police working as an investi-
gator for the CTUIR Depart-
ment of Children and Family
Services, testified that the
Patrick residence is a “certi-
fied foster home.”
A Facebook photo, which
spurred the investigation and
subsequent citations, showed
at least one child and an adult
who had a “protection order
against him.” Barnett said he
told Patrick such gatherings
“can’t continue if you want to
keep your certification as a
foster home.”
However, there was no
further discussion of foster
children during the trial.
Chair Kat Brigham, speak-
ing on her own and not for the
full Board of Trustees, said
the restrictions in the reso-
lution were never meant to
punish people for their reli-
gious beliefs.
She said the Patrick gath-
ering was investigated and
resulted in citations because
of “other concerns” that were
made apparent by the Face-
book photo.
Brigham acknowledged
that many families, includ-
ing her own, had ceremonies
at home.
“The resolution didn’t stop
that. It just asked people to be
careful of numbers,” she said.
“We didn’t have a lot of infor-
mation at the time, other than
the need for social distancing,
washing your hands and wear-
ing masks. We just wanted
people to take seriously about
being careful, being safe, and
being healthy.”