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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2021)
REGION Saturday, May 22, 2021 East Oregonian A3 Hermiston to award contract for industrial park project By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — The Hermiston City Council will meet on Monday, May 24, to discuss bids for a proj- ect adding roads, water and sewer lines to the South Hermiston Industrial Park. Tapani, Inc., of Richland, Washington, is the apparent IF YOU GO The Hermiston City Council meets on Monday, May 24, at 7 p.m. at the Hermiston Community Center, 415 S. High- way 395, and the meeting is also livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel. The full agenda packet can be found at hermiston.or.us/meetings. low bidder out of four bids, at $1.61 million. The project is designed to make a portion of the the industrial area off South Highway 395 “shovel ready” Walla Walla man pleads guilty in 2018 fatal shooting near Umapine It’s the second time Vasquez-Vargas has been sentenced to prison for the killing of a person By BRYCE DOLE East Oregonian PENDLETON — A Walla Walla man pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 18, in the 2018 shooting death of his co-worker at a dairy outside of Umapine. Antonio Vasquez-Vargas, 55, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for fi rst-degree manslaughter and a consec- utive two-and-a-half years for possessing a weapon as a convicted felon, court records show. He also will serve two-and-a-half years under post-prison supervi- sion, documents show. He ple a d e d g u i lt y in the fatal shooting of Renee Luiz-Antonio, of Milton-Freewater, who was Vasquez-Vargas’ co-worker, according to news reports. has diff erent circumstances “Ultimately I am really that you have to address.” pleased with this case,” said Plea deal negotiations Umatilla County District this week resulted in murder Attor ney Dan Primus. charges against Vasquez-Var- “You’re talking about a ga s bei ng d ism issed , victim’s family that can according to Primus and move forward at this court documents. point.” If Vasquez-Vargas The guilty plea was sentenced for makes this the second murder, he would time Vasquez-Var- have received 25 years to life in prison. gas has killed a person, news reports Primus said he was ultimately satis- show. In 1999, Walla Walla Union-Bul- Vasquez- fi ed with the result Vargas letin reports show of the negotiations, Vasquez-Vargas was especially for the sentenced to two years, three victim’s family, but added “in months in prison after plead- any negotiation, for it to be ing guilty to vehicular homi- successful you have to come cide. to an agreement, but both The 2½ year case against sides will always want more Vasquez-Vargas was an espe- than they get.” cially long process because The Umatilla County he was provided new coun- Sheriff ’s Offi ce, the Federal sel just before his trial date, Bureau of Investigation and because of mental health and the Kennewick Police evaluations that needed to be Department each contributed conducted, Primus said. to the investigation, Primus “I would not say this was said. A restitution in the case average,” he said. “But every has yet to be determined, case is unique. Every case court documents show. for small, light industrial projects. The council will also vote on adopting a wayfi n- ding sign program that the city’s planning department has been working on. The program will place a coordi- nated, decorative system of signs around the city direct- ing people to landmarks ranging from city parks to with 45.4% of the vote. Barron lives in Umatilla and currently earns a living doing odd jobs. PENDLETON — Incum- bent John Thomas will be returning to the Umatilla County Library District board, along with newcomers Jubilee Barron and Sharone Pettus McCann, according to unoffi cial results for the May 19 election. Thomas, McCann and Caleb Barron were all running for a pair of at-large seats, with the top two vote-getters of the group taking the two seats. Thomas had the most votes at 38.8%, followed by McCann at 36%. Thomas is at the end of his fi rst four-year term on the board and served as pres- ident of the board from 2019 to 2020. He lives in Pendle- ton and is a licensed clinical social worker for the Oregon Health Authority. McCann is from Stan- fi eld and is retiring this year after 36 years teaching at Blue Mountain Community College. Three candidates were also running for a single seat, representing the remaining two years of a term previ- ously held by Kara Davis, who resigned after moving out of the area. Jubilee Barron beat Fatima Mach- ado and Gaby Gonzalez, ways for its infrastructure. The council will also consider an update to the city’s sidewalk policy, as part of its ongoing updates to all chapters of the code of ordinances. According to the agenda packet for the meeting, the updated chap- ter does not include any policy changes, just updated language. Man pleads guilty in Pendleton murder William Harvey Butcher III will serve 25 years to life in prison East Oregonian PENDLETON — A man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, May 19, with the possibility of parole in the beating death of a man in Pendleton in June 2020. William Harvey Butcher III, 29, of Hollywood, Mary- land, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Umatilla County Circuit Court. He will serve 25 years to life in prison with 100 according to news reports years of post-prison super- and court documents. vision, and is ordered to pay Butcher, who was also a $2,535.66 restitution, court experiencing homelessness, was found and arrested at documents show. “I am more than pleased the scene covered in blood. with the outcome He confessed in of this case,” said an interview with police that same day Umatilla County to beating Self with District Attorney Dan Primus. “But for the backside of an ax the victim’s family, and strangling him, according to court this will be with documents. them for the rest of their life.” Butcher Self was trans- Last June, police ported to St. Anthony found Daniel Self, 47, who Hospital, where he died from was experiencing home- his injuries, documents show. Butcher can apply for lessness while living in Pendleton, badly beaten on parole after 25 years in Pendleton’s Westgate Place prison, according to court Bridge near Trailhead Park, documents. “Scramble for Scholarships” Friday, June 11th 1pm Shotgun Start Big River Golf Course - Umatilla Golfers of all skill levels are invited to participate in the 28th annual “Scramble for Scholarships” golf tournament. Four person teams can sign up together or individual pairings can be made by the tournament committee. Your $70 entry fee covers green fees, a box lunch, and makes a charitable donation to the foundation to use in awarding scholarships to local medical students. LOCAL BRIEFING Voters elect three Library District members free public parking lots to the downtown shopping district. The council will consider renewal of its franchise fee agreement with Cascade Natural Gas. The renewal keeps the same general terms as the current agreement, stat- ing that the utility will pay the city 5% of its revenues from city customers in exchange for use of the city’s rights of Register at gschfscramble.eventbrite.com or call 541-667-3405. Entry deadline is June 9th. COVID-19 cases on Friday, May 21, raising the total number of cases to 8,316 since the pandemic began. — EO Media Group Great prize holes and Hole-in-one on #1 & #9 WINS $25,000 towards a new car sponsored by ROGERS TOYOTA of HERMISTON Umatilla County reports two COVID-19 deaths 541-276-5121 2801 ST. ANTHONY WAY • PENDLETON PEN DLETON — Umatilla County Public Health announced two COVID-19 deaths this week, raising the death toll in the county to 86 since the pandemic began. The first death was announced on Thursday, May 20, and the second came the following day. They are the first COVID-related deaths reported by the county since April 23, according to county health data. The first victim is a 80-year-old man who tested positive on March 26 and died on April 3 at Trios Health Hospital in Kenne- wick, Washington, accord- ing to county health. The second victim is an 82-year-old man who tested positive on May 4 and died on May 19 at Pacifi c Health and Rehabilitation in Tigard, according to county health. Both men had undisclosed underlying health conditions, according to the county. The disclosures come as the county reported 23 new The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. www.eomediagroup.com Use BE FAST to remember warning signs of stroke: B ALANCE: Sudden loss of balance E YES: Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes. F ACE: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop? A RMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? S PEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple ae zzlb iualwb phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange? 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