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Saturday, April 10, 2021

East Oregonian

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Primmer gets green light to temporarily move out of Ward 3
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — For the
next few months, Pendleton
City Councilor Dale Primmer
will represent his constituents
from a bare piece of dirt. For
several months after that, his
offi cial place of residence for
holding his Ward 3 seat will
be uninhabitable.
Primmer’s new setup
comes after the Pendleton
City Council unanimously
voted Tuesday, April 6, to
allow him to use the unde-
veloped site where he intends
to build his
home as his
place of resi-
dence until
he can move
to the loca-
tion.
Primmer
Primmer
explained to
the council that he recently
purchased bare land in Ward
3, which encompasses the
entirety of the city south of
Interstate 84, with the inten-
tion of building a new home
for him and his wife.
But in order to gain the
equity needed to pay for the
house’s construction, Prim-
mer said he needs to sell his
existing house in the Sunridge
area before the project can
start. Given Pendleton’s noto-
riously tight rental market,
Primmer said he needed the
fl exibility to seek temporary
housing outside of Ward 3
while his new house is being
built.
Councilor Linda Neuman
asked Primmer if he had
started the process of selling
his house yet.
“Not unless you want me
to live in a tent in your front
yard,” Primmer joked, before
Council to discuss giving property
for a senior housing development
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council will
discuss giving up 7.18 acres
of land for a proposed senior
housing project during the
council’s Monday, April 12,
meeting.
The city owns 20 acres
of land known as the Green
Property, located next to
the city’s recycled water
treatment plant. The city
purchased the property for
$420,000 in 2005 with a plan
to use it to cool off recycled
water before it was discharged
into the Umatilla River. After
purchasing the land and test-
ing out the process, however,
city staff determined the solu-
tion wasn’t viable.
In August 2020, Assistant
City Manager Mark Morgan
asked for the city council’s
blessing to pursue a senior
housing project on the part
ABOUT THE
MEETING
The meeting begins at
7 p.m. at the Hermiston
Community Center, 415
S. Highway 395, and will
also be livestreamed on
the city of Hermiston
YouTube page.
of the property on the far side
from the plant. The idea was
that the city would solicit
proposals for housing for
senior citizens, and off er up
the land for free to the devel-
oper with the best proposal.
Morgan stated at the time
that it was unlikely the city
would be able to sell the land
to a developer at market price
due to its location. However,
if the land were developed
into a housing complex, the
city could gain as much as $3
million in the fi rst 20 years
from property taxes and util-
ity bills.
According to a memo
from Morgan in the agenda
packet for the April 12 meet-
ing, the city received several
submissions of ideas for
senior housing projects, and
after reviewing the proposals,
a committee of two city coun-
cilors, a planning commission
member and multiple city
staff is recommending the
council choose a proposal by
Paradigm Compass, LLC that
includes a mixture of assisted
living facility, memory care
and cottages.
Morgan is requesting
the council vote on a letter
of intent to start the process
for Paradigm Compass to
begin doing due diligence,
which could eventually lead
to the land transfer. The land
would revert to the city if the
company did not build the
promised project in an agreed
upon time frame.
Last two arrested for motel incident
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Police
have arrested the remaining
two suspects in an alleged
robbery, assault and kidnap-
ping that began in a motel
room in Pendleton on March
29, according to a press release
from the Pendleton Police
Department.
Anthony Len Haigh, 26,
is facing charges of robbery,
kidnapping, assault, the
unlawful use of a weapon,
theft, the unauthorized use of
a vehicle and menacing. Deva
Lorraine Marthaller, 25, is
also facing charges of robbery,
kidnapping, assault, theft, the
unauthorized use of a vehicle
and menacing, according to
the press release.
The two were the remain-
ing suspects after a local
SWAT team arrested Tyler
James Schachtsick, 32, and
Haigh
Marthaller
Whitney Ann Anderson, 26,
on March 30, according to
police.
Police arrested Anderson
and Scachtsick after a man
reported that four people had
assaulted and robbed him in
a motel room at the Rugged
Country Lodge on March
29. The victim told police the
alleged perpetrators then took
him to an area on Highway 37
where he was dropped off . He
then walked to a nearby house
where he contacted emer-
gency services, according to
police.
A Umatilla County Grand
Jury indicted the four suspects
on April 1, and arrest warrants
were issued against Haigh and
Marthaller. Pendleton police
then informed law enforce-
ment county-wide to be on
the lookout as they searched
for Haigh and Marthaller, the
press release said.
Police in Walla Walla,
Washington, identifi ed Haigh
and Marthaller at the Trav-
elodge motel on Wednesday,
April 7. The two were arrested
that afternoon and booked in
the Walla Walla County Jail.
Now, they await extradition
to Umatilla County, the press
release said.
The case is ongoing in
the Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce, the press
release said.
adding that he wouldn’t put his
current house on the market
until he secured a rental.
Primmer said he’s already
looked into a few rental
opportunities in Ward 3, so
the council’s action could be
rendered moot. But nonethe-
less, City Attorney Nancy
Kerns gave her legal opinion
that the address of Primmer’s
future home is suitable for the
purpose of council represen-
tation.
Primmer said the house
construction was set to start
in June with a six-month
completion timeline, although
he added that he wouldn’t
be surprised if it took a few
months longer.
Primmer, who works as
the director of the Umatilla
County Community Correc-
tions, was elected to his seat in
2016 and easily won reelection
in 2020.
In other news, the council
unanimously passed an ordi-
nance that will allow electric
scooters and other electric
vehicles weighing less than
100 pounds to be operated on
the Pendleton River Parkway
and other paths, roads and
parking lots in parks.
The amended ordi-
nance comes on the heels
of the council approving
an ordinance in March that
opened the door to Califor-
nia company Bird to begin
operating its dockless electric
scooter program.
The council intends to
change one more bit of policy
to ease access for electric
scooters. At its April 20 meet-
ing, the council is scheduled to
vote to amend its noncriminal
off enses ordinance to match
up with the parks ordinance
and allow electric scooter
travel on the levee system.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Man arrested for
attempted murder
in Hermiston
HERMISTON — A
Hermiston man is being
held in the Umatilla County
Jail on a charge of attempted
mu rde r a f t e r p ol ic e
responded to a disturbance
at a residence.
Steven Maurice Tomp-
kins, 54, was arrested on
Tuesday, April 6, after offi -
cers from Hermiston Police
Department responded to
the 200 block of West Beech
Avenue at about 8:30 p.m.
to a report of a disturbance
involving a knife and a gun,
according to Police Chief
Jason Edmiston.
Edmiston said when
offi cers arrived they found
Tompkins, who lived at the
address, “actively engaged
in a dispute” with a 34-year-
old male who also lived
at the location. He said
both parties were initially
detained, and through subse-
quent investigation offi cers
determined Tompkins “was
the primary aggressor and
had been acting extremely
erratic,” and the other party
had what appeared to be
defensive wounds.
As the case is ongo-
ing, Edmiston declined to
answer some questions,
including whether the fi re-
arm that was confiscated
from the scene had been
discharged during the
dispute. The police depart-
ment consulted with the
Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Office and
Tompkins was lodged at the
Umatilla County Jail.
According to the jail
roster, Tompkins has been
charged with three felonies:
attempted murder, second
degree assault and unlawful
use of a weapon. His bail is
set at $60,000.
BMCC to receive
state funding
SALEM — The Oregon
Senate passed a budget
reconciliation bill on Thurs-
day, April 8, that included
funding for Blue Moun-
tain Community College’s
Corrections
Education
Program, a
partnership
w it h t h e
Department
of Correc-
tions to give
Dembrow
incarcerated
individuals
job training
and educa-
tion.
House
Bill 5042
provides
more than
Hansell
$ 5 42 , 0 0 0
for the Pendleton school.
“BMCC is doing fantas-
tic work to help those in
our correctional institu-
tions gain the life skills they
need to reduce recidivism
and transition back into the
workforce,” said Sen. Bill
Hansell, R-Athena. “BMCC
is a value to our community
and this is yet another exam-
ple of an important program
they provide. Working with
Sen. Michael Dembrow I am
very pleased to have secured
funding for their Correc-
tions Education Program.”
HB 5042 passed the
Senate on a 23-5 vote and
now heads to the Gov. Kate
Brown’s desk to be signed.
Pacifi c Power
off ering utility bill
assistance
PENDLETON — Pacifi c
Power is off ering customers
in Umatilla County and else-
where in the state options
for recovering after fall-
ing behind on their power
bills due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
New programs went into
eff ect on April 1 to help with
bills, according to a news
release. The company plans
to reach out to customers
in general with the infor-
mation, as well as working
with specifi c communities
hit particularly hard by job
loss and illness during the
pandemic.
Eligible customers may
receive help from one of
the Assistance Plus options
for their primary residence.
For the instant gran option,
customers can receive a
one-time bill credit of up
to $500. For the extended
payment match option,
customers can enroll in a
payment arrangement to get
caught up and Pacifi c Power
will match the monthly
installment until the money
owed is paid in full, 12
months pass or the customer
reaches the $1,000 limit.
For more information or
to apply, visit pacifi cpower.
net/assistanceplus or call
888-221-7070.
— EO Media Group
4/9-4/15
Cineplex Show Times
Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
Every showing $7.50 per person (ages 0-3 still free)
Voyagers (PG13)
1:40p 4:40p 7:40p
Godzilla vs. Kong (PG13)
1:20p 2:00p 4:20p
5:00p 7:20p 8:00p
Nobody (R)
12:40p 3:40p 6:40p
Raya and the
Last Dragon (PG)
1:00p 4:00p 7:00p
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Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216