REGION
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Rolling out a new business
M-F entrepreneur
rolls out doughnut
and fry pie bakery
as a way to stay
near family
By SHEILA HAGAR
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
MILTON-FREEWATER
— It’s possible Bob White
wasn’t quite sure what was
in store for him, unless the
aroma had already given it
away.
Standing at the sleek,
white trailer parked at
Seaquist Real Estate on
South Main Street, White
had just ordered his fi rst fry
pie and an extra to take home
to his wife.
“I have absolutely no idea
about these,” White said in
response to a query about his
expectation.
With his first bite, the
retiree would learn that
the namesake goodie from
the Stay A-Round Donuts
& Fry-Pies food truck is
warm, plump and oozing
with sweetness — on this
day, the pies were fi lled with
mixed berries, tucked inside
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Marilu Rojas, left, and owner Michelle Swartzentruber pose inside the Stay A-Round Do-
nuts & Fry-Pies trailer in Milton-Freewater on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
a pastry that takes two hands
to heft.
Tuesday, April 6, was the
second day of business for
Michelle Swartzentruber
and her team. Three days
earlier, a grand opening had
sold out 200 fry pies and
countless doughnuts well
before the food truck was
planning on closing at 2 p.m.
“The whole family was
on board, and we could not
keep on top of it. I didn’t even
have time to set out the sign,”
Swartzentruber recalled, her
smile still looking surprised.
“People were ver y
happy,” she said.
This is the fi rst business
venture for the 25-year-
old, but not a first adven-
ture. Until now, her jam has
been teaching school. Most
recently that meant teaching
at a bilingual public school in
Honduras.
“I taught all the subjects,”
Swartzentruber said. “I loved
everything about it, the kids
especially. There’s some-
thing so rewarding about
teaching kids new things.”
But she comes from a
line of bakers, including
herself, Swartzentruber
said. For several years her
family owned Our Daily
Bread Bakery and Books,
just a few blocks up the street
from where the food truck is
parked.
American Legion looking for new meeting place
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Amer-
ican Legion Post 37 and
American Legion Auxil-
iary unit 37 are looking for a
new home, according to the
post’s commander, Glenn
Bradley.
American Legion and its
auxiliary unit have leased
meeting space from Veter-
ans of Foreign Wars Post
4750 at the VFW hall, 45 W.
Cherry Ave. in Hermiston,
for about 30 years, Brad-
ley said. But he said that
the American Legion was
informed on Feb. 23 that
it was being evicted from
the building and leadership
were directed to remove all
the post’s property from the
building on Feb. 25.
According to Bradley, the
local VFW and American
Legion posts have always
gotten along and worked
well together. He claimed
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
The Hermiston Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4750.
the decision to evict Amer-
ican Legion came from the
state-level VFW and that
local leadership “had noth-
ing to do with it.”
“We’re two service orga-
nizations both working at
the same goal, and we’ve
been working good together
for at least the last four
years,” he said, referring
to the length of time he has
been the American Legion
post commander.
When the East Orego-
nian reached out to the local
VFW post for comment,
Post Commander Herald
Roberts said the change was
not his decision and referred
comment to Dale Pack,
listed on the Department of
Oregon VFW website as a
district commander. When
reached by phone, Pack said
he couldn’t comment “until
such time as a decision has
been made.” When ques-
tioned about what he meant,
he suggested a fi nal deci-
sion about American Legion
hadn’t been made, but after
further questions simply
reiterated the VFW had no
comment.
Veterans of Foreign
Wars is an organization for
U.S. veterans who fought
in confl icts on foreign soil
during their service. Amer-
ican Legion is more broadly
open to all current and
former service members,
and the American Legion
auxiliary is made up of
spouses, mothers, grand-
mothers, sisters and female
descendants of American
Legion members.
Bradley said the group
held its last meeting in a
church in Umatilla but
would like to fi nd something
more permanent.
“We would take whatever
we could aff ord,” he said.
“We’re not entirely broke but
we’re not rich either.”
Woman pleads guilty to manslaughter charge
Shayla Fawn
Record Tsosie
pleads guilty to
killing boyfriend
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A
woman was sentenced on
Tuesday, April 6, to serve
up to nearly 10 years in
state prison after pleading
guilty in a case that involved
the stabbing and killing
of her boyfriend at their
Milton-Freewater residence
in 2019.
Shayla Fawn Record
Tsosie, 25, pled guilty to
second-degree manslaughter
and “no contest” to the unlaw-
ful use of a weapon. The plea
came as a result of a negoti-
ated settlement, according to
court documents.
Record Tsosie was
sentenced for the fatal stab-
bing of Christian Alejan-
dro Rodriguez Cavillo in
June 2019. At the time, the
two were dating and living
together in Milton-Freewater.
The couple also had a child
together, who was about 19
months old at the time of the
incident, according to court
documents.
Record Tsosie was
charged with $10,643 in resti-
tution, with additional resti-
tution pending, according to
court documents.
B e c a u s e she wa s
sentenced for a Measure 11
off ense, the state’s manda-
tory sentencing law, she is
not eligible for early release
for the first 75 months in
prison. She will also receive
four months of post-prison
supervision, according to
court documents.
Record Tsosie was repre-
sented by Kent Fisher,
of Intermountain Public
Defender. Prosecuting the
case was Daniel Wendel,
from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Justice, who assisted
the Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce.
Wendel and Fisher could
not be reached for comment.
“Each and every time
we have one of these cases,
it’s very diffi cult,” Umatilla
County District Attorney
Dan Primus said. “Circum-
stances were diffi cult for both
sides.”
Primus said cases of homi-
cides and domestic violence
are especially difficult
because of the family dynam-
ics. He added that one of “the
most important aspects of this
case is that there is a child
involved.”
“A child in this situation
has not only lost a father, but
also has lost their mother for
the time being,” he said. “So
that’s the aspect that is truly,
truly saddening surrounding
this circumstance.”
Primus said he was happy
with the result of the case for
the victim’s family, who he
said have also lost another
son. He added that “no matter
what the outcome is, a loved
one has been lost.”
“It is difficult for them
and it will continue to be
diffi cult for them,” he said.
“I know this has been a very
trying time and I hope that,
just with this court procedure
being concluded, that it does
provide some form of closure
for the family.”
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LOCAL BRIEFING
CTUIR expands
vaccinations to 11
area counties
MISSION — With more
doses than appointments, the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
is once again expanding its
eligibility for the COVID-19
vaccine.
In a Monday, April 12,
press release, the Tribes
announced its two-day
vaccine clinic on April 12
and Tuesday, April 13, at
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
would be open to the 11 coun-
ties that span the CTUIR’s
ceded territory.
In Oregon, all residents 16
years old and older that live
in Umatilla, Morrow, Union,
Baker, Wallowa, Grant and
Malheur counties are eligi-
ble for the vaccine. In Wash-
ington, the new rules apply
to Benton, Walla Walla,
Columbia and Garfi eld coun-
ties.
The clinics run from
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eligible
patients can either walk in
or make an appointment by
contacting the Yellowhawk
Tribal Health Center.
In a statement, Yellow-
hawk CEO Lisa Guzman
explained why the Tribes
were making the last-min-
ute expansion.
“We have more than 1,700
fi rst doses to provide, but as
of this morning only 600
appointments are filled,”
she said. “We are eager to
support our surrounding
counties and get more people
in the door.”
The Umatilla, Cayuse and
Walla Walla’s territory used
to include much of North-
east Oregon and Southeast
Washington before a 19th
century treaty between the
U.S. government and the
Tribes shrunk their foot-
print to a much smaller piece
of land in Umatilla County.
The CTUIR’s ceded terri-
tory doesn’t fi t cleanly with
modern county lines, and
the ceded land’s boundaries
cover only a small portion
of some counties. But all
residents of the 11 counties
are eligible for the vaccine,
regardless of whether they
live on the ceded land.
This is the second time
the CTUIR have expanded
the COVID-19 vaccine
eligibility for the April clin-
ics. Previously, the Tribes
expanded eligibility to
include all Umatilla County
residents.
Washington
Elementary School
principal resigns
At a Tuesday, April 6,
Pendleton School Board
meeting, members approved
the resignation of Washing-
ton Elementary School Prin-
cipal Aimee VanNice.
Prior to arriving in Pend-
leton in 2012, VanNice had
been an elementary school
teacher and instructional
curriculum leader in Bend.
She was the principal of
McKay Creek Elementary
School for several years
before taking over Wash-
ington in 2015 as it tran-
sitioned into becoming a
larger school.
VanNice joins McKay
Creek Principal Lorena
Woods and Pendleton High
School Principal Melissa
Sandven in departing the
district this year.
At the board meeting,
Superintendent Chris Fritsch
said he expects to make a
selection on the open prin-
cipal positions in the coming
weeks.
Free presentation
on mental health,
suicide planned
IRIGGON — Morrow
County Veteran Services is
partnering with Commu-
nity Counseling Solutions
to hold a free presentation
about constructive ways to
talk about mental health and
suicide, according to a press
release.
The 45-minute presen-
tation will cover stigmas
surrounding mental health
and defi ne and identify the
causes and treatments for
mental health conditions. It
will also share guidelines
about how to talk about
mental health and suicide,
and how speak to survivors
of suicide loss, the press
release said.
“By subtly shifting the
way we talk about mental
illness and suicide,” the press
release said, “we can help
reduce the stigma around
them, leading to normalized
and candid conversations so
those experiencing them can
confi dently ask for help with-
out fear of judgement.”
The presentation will be
held over Zoom on Tues-
day, May 4, from 9 a.m. to
10:30 a.m.
Those interested in
attending can call 541-922-
6420 to learn more.
— EO Media Group
4/9-4/15
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Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
PENDLETON — A third
principal from the Pendleton
School District is resigning
this year.
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