REGION
Saturday, May 15, 2021

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East Oregonian
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Wildhorse Pow Wow canceled
Vaccines
scheduled after
CTUIR case spike
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
MISSION — Events
were canceled and vaccine
clinics were scheduled this
week after a sharp uptick
in COVID-19 cases was
reported among school chil-
dren on the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation.
Hours after the CTUIR
reported on Wednesday,
May 12, that 14 people had
tested positive for COVID-
19 on the reservation over
the past two weeks, with
12 cases coming from
kids, tribal health offi cials
announced that youths 12
to 18 could be vaccinated at
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center on Saturday, May 15.
The clinic was announced
after the federal government
authorized the use of the
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
among children ages 12 to
15 earlier on May 12.
“The virus is spreading
among our youth and we
need to respond immedi-
ately,” said Lisa Guzman,
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center chief executive offi -
cer. “We want our students
to be able to go to gradu-
ation, prom and continue
with sports. Now that 12- to
15-year-olds are eligible we
want to deliver the vaccine
to them as soon as possible.”
A day after the case spike
was announced, Wildhorse
Resort & Casino announced
that the annual Wildhorse
Pow Wow would be canceled
for the second year in a row
due to the ongoing COVID-
19 pandemic. The press
release also said that Pow
Wow Comedy, an event that
features a Native American
comedian each year, would
be canceled.
The press release said
there were multiple reasons
why the three-day event,
which draws between 5,000
to 7,000 people to the area
each year, was canceled,
after originally being sched-
uled for July 2-4.
The concerns included
“occupancy restrictions,
cleaning and maintenance
of outdoor facilities, spac-
ing of vendors and specta-
tors, current rates of COVID
diagnoses in Umatilla
County and on the reserva-
tion, and most importantly,
with contestants traveling
from across the U.S. and
Canada, risk of viral spread
to the local community.”
“It takes a lot of people to
run this three-day event and
right now we have to do our
part to keep the community
safe and that means holding
off until 2022,” said Wild-
horse Events Manager Juli-
ana Luke.
Although Wildhorse
could theoretically hold a
safe pow wow, Luke added, it
would require “a lot of eff ort”
and there are no guarantees it
would be perfectly safe.
Native American pow
wows have been essential
traditions for tribes across
North America for thou-
sands of years. They are
times where tribes “gather
to celebrate cultural tradi-
tion, spirituality and compe-
tition,” often with music and
dancing, the press release
said.
The Wildhorse Pow Wow
celebrated its 25th anniver-
sary in 2019, when the event
was last held. Each year, the
event brings together danc-
ers and drummers from
across the nation to compete
for prizes upward of $90,000.
“My favorite thing about
the Wildhorse Pow Wow
is how it brings together
families and friends from
across the West,” Luke said.
“Every year we look out for
one another and this year we
will do it from afar.”
POLICE
Man charged for allegedly disposing
of body in Hermiston shooting
Charges related to
shooting death of
Jordan Crandall
Cruz was wanted on a sepa-
rate matter, court documents
show.
Melendez is not suspected
of killing Crandall, Primus
By BRYCE DOLE
said, “but the crimes that are
East Oregonian
alleged come as a result of the
same incident that ultimately
HER MISTON — A ended the life of Jordan Cran-
Boardman man is facing dall.”
charges for allegedly dispos-
The charges in the indict-
ing of the body of a Herm- ment include robber y,
iston man found dead of a attempted unlawful use of a
gunshot wound outside the weapon, second-degree abuse
city in March 2020, according of a corpse, felony conspir-
to Umatilla County
acy to unlawfully
deliver a Schedule II
District Attorney
Dan Primus.
controlled substance,
Kevin Ricardo
misdemeanor menac-
ing and third-degree
Melendez, 26, was
theft. Melendez is
arrested by Herm-
also facing charges
iston police with
Rachel Cruz, 26, on
for resisting arrest on
May 7, after reports
Primus
May 7.
of trespassing. Both
Primus declined
had warrants against them.
to provide any specifi c infor-
According to Primus, mation about the charges in
the charges against Melen- the indictment, but said an
dez, handed down in a secret investigation by the Umatilla
indictment from a Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce deter-
County Grand Jury on April mined Melendez was directly
29, are related to the shoot- involved in the case.
ing death of Jordan Crandall,
The abuse of a corpse
28, who was found dead next charge is “in this circum-
to an irrigation ditch near stance the dumping of a body
Alpine Drive northeast of and disposing of a body,” he
Hermiston in March 2020. said.
The charges detailed in the
indictment say that on March
18, 2020 — the same day that
Crandall’s body was found —
Melendez allegedly threat-
ened Anthony Andrade with
a gun while attempting to rob
him. The charges also say that
Melendez allegedly intended
to use the gun against Stevie
Martinez while deliver-
ing fentanyl, a Schedule II
controlled substance.
Primus said he did not
know how Melendez knew or
was connected with Andrade
or Martinez, though the
indictment shows that Marti-
nez is a witness in the case.
Primus said local law
enforcement and the district
attorney’s offi ce are “famil-
iar” with Melendez from
previous cases, but declined
to provide specifi cs. Court
documents show that Melen-
dez has faced a variety of
charges over the years, includ-
ing fi rst-degree manslaughter
in 2011, though the charges in
that case were dismissed.
Primus said he doesn’t
expect Melendez to face
more charges. He added that
his arrest is only a part of the
ongoing investigation into
Crandall’s death.
How do we
rebuild a better
Oregon?
After a year of tremendous hardship, how do we rebuild a more
interconnected, equitable, resilient Oregon? How do we help each
other recover, rebuild, and restart our lives and businesses? How
do we start listening to and considering each others’ point-of-view?
How do we inject opportunity, across the state so everyone has
a chance to add to the greater good? The answer — Together.
Join us as we learn and share how to rebuild a better Oregon,
for all Oregonians.
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