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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2021)
REGION Saturday, June 5, 2021 A3 East Oregonian LOCAL BRIEFING Hermiston police arrest man for 39th time HERMISTON — The Hermiston Police Depart- ment arrested a man on Wednesday, June 2, on charges of menacing, harass- ment, possessing a Schedule II controlled substance and resisting arrest. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said his department had encountered Juan Fernando Ponce, 29, plenty of times. Police responded to a reported fi ght on Southeast Sixth Street in Hermiston at around 11 p.m. on June 1 but found no subjects in the area, Edmiston said in an email. Officers then contacted a woman who said Ponce had entered her apartment and tried to steal her phone, but a man confronted Ponce in the parking lot and took back the phone. The woman declined to press charges, Edmiston said. Later that night, police responded to a report of a burglary on North First Place. Police spoke with the victim who said she “let Ponce inside the residence as she has known him for a long time,” Edmiston said. Police established prob- able cause of menacing and harassment and sought out to arrest Ponce. The following afternoon, police found Ponce and tried to arrest him, but he “resisted and pulled away from the officers several times,” Edmiston reported. Police eventually made the arrest and found he possessed a user amount of fentanyl, a Sched- ule II controlled substance. Ponce, who pol ice describe as a transient, was booked in the Umatilla County jail, where he remains with a bail of $47,500. Edmiston said Hermiston police over the years have arrested Ponce 39 times on 86 separate charges. Pendleton man dies in car crash PENDLETON — Oregon State Police reported a Pend- leton man died Wednesday, June 2, on Interstate 84 near Pendleton in a rollover. Troopers at approximately 3:30 p.m. responded to the eastbound side of the freeway for a crash near milepost 206 about 4 miles west of Pend- leton. State police reported the preliminary investiga- tion indicated Kurt Hitchen, 48, was driving a Dodge Ram pickup pulling a travel trailer when the trailer began to sway, causing the pickup and trailer to roll. Hitchen suffered fatal injuries. An ambulance took his passenger, Melissa Hagen, 38, of Pendleton, to St. Anthony Hospital, Pend- leton. The Pendleton Fire Department, Echo Fire Department and Oregon Department of Transporta- tion assisted at the scene. Milton-Freewater voters say ‘yes’ to new police station MILTON-FREEWATER — Results from the May 18 election were certified by Umatilla County offi cials on Wednesday, June 2, showing that voters here gave a green light to a new police station. A total of 403 people voted “yes” for the $7.7 million general obligation bond, while 241 voters said “no.” City officials requested the money to build a sepa- rate public safety building on a nearby lot the city already owns. That action removes the police station from the basement of city hall on South Main Street, where local law enforcement has been operated since 1929. Over the years, the space has become cramped and is unsuited for modern tech- nology. The basement has a number of issues that create poor working and safety conditions, officials have said. The new station will be about 7,200 square feet and will house Milton-Free- water patrol officers and 911 dispatchers. The build- ing will include conference and report-taking rooms, two holding cells, offices, evidence rooms, a public lobby, a break room, inter- view spaces and training areas. Further design planning and bond sale meetings will begin next week, said City Manager Linda Hall. Milton-Freewater offi cial buildings start to reopen MILTON-FREEWATER — Public doors are reopen- ing in Milton-Freewater after being closed since 2020 in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic shut downs, offi - cials announced Thursday, June 3. City hall, the public library and public works buildings again will be open to users starting June 7. City Manager Linda Hall said safety protocols, includ- ing the use of masks and physical distancing, will be in place to protect custom- ers and employees as things return to a more normal routine. City hall and public works customers needing more than a 15-minute visit to conduct business are asked to call specifi c departments for an appointment to avoid too many customers in lobbies or offi ces at one time, Hall said. Other tasks such as paying a bill or fi ne and getting a license or permit will not require appointments. Library use will be limited to 24 users at a time for one hour each. For more information, go to mfcity.com or call 541-938-5531. — EO Media Group and Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Umatilla County Historical Society Presents: OLD IRON SHOW PENDLETON — With Blue Mountain Commu- nit y College heading toward the home stretch of its presidential search, the college is introducing its top three candidates for the open position over a series of digital forums. All three candidates will be traveling to Pend- leton, where they will tour the BMCC campus before holding a series of meet- ings with students, staff , the board of education and community members. The digital forums for the general public will be June 7-9, 5:20-6 p.m. On Monday, June 7, the candidate forum will feat ure Mark Brown- ing, the vice president of college relations at the College of Western Idaho, a community college in Nampa. According to a BMCC press release, Browning’s 14 years of experience in higher education include a decade at the commu- nity college level. The press release touted his experience advocating for more community college funding and developing a campaign to increase college enrollment. The lin k to access Brow ni ng’s for u m is at https://bluecc.zoom. us/j/99525660347. On June 8, Western Nebraska Com mu nit y College President Carmen Simone will participate in the next forum. Simone has been a college ad minist rator at both two- and four- year institutions in South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Id a ho a nd Wyoming. An accom- plishment listed in the press release was turn- ing a university center at the University of South Dakota into a fully inte- grated community college. The link to Simone’s forum is https://bluecc. zoom.us/j/94563551006. Rounding out the fi eld is Christopher Villa, the former president of Port- land Community College’s Rock Creek campus, who will be the subject of the June 9 forum. Villa’s 35 years in higher education include leadership stints in Utah, California and Oregon, his latest job ending in 2020 after Portland Commu- nity College eliminated his position. The press release highlighted his time in Portland, where he used funding from the college’s foundation to start a cultural awareness program for students and staff . The link to Villa’s forum is https://bluecc. zoom.us/j/97557038222. All three are vying to replace Dennis Bailey- Fougnier, who abruptly resigned in February after less than two years on the job, citing personal health issues. Connie Green, a former Tillamook Bay Commu- nity College president, has been the interim president since then. A presidential search committee will make a recommendation to the BMCC Board of Education on its top candidate later this month, with a final decision expected in July. IMATALAMLAAMI SINWIT UMA101 – Umatilla Tribal Language Class CLASSES ON TUES/THURS | 5 P.M.-6 P.M. TAUGHT BY MASTER SPEAKER, FRED HILL June 4th-6th in Roy Raley Park Admission is FREE and open to the public www.heritagestationmuseum.org always the first full week of june Kachira Phillips & Makenzie Polfer East Oregonian OFFERED FALL TERM 17 TH ANNUAL June 7 - 13, 2021 Ed Miller Xtreme Bull Riding Thurs, June 10, 2021 @ 6:30 pm BMCC announces forums for presidential fi nalists Get your tickets now ONLINE at www.easternoregonlivestockshow.com or AT THE GATE PRCA Rodeo & Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing Friday, June 11, 2021 @ 4 pm Saturday, June 12, 2021 @ 2 pm Sunday, June 13, 2021 @ 1:30 pm Register in Wolfweb at bluecc.edu/NAC UMA101 class counts as elective credit Fall terms starts Sept. 22 and ends Dec. 10 For more information, please contact Annie Smith, Native American Liaison and Success Coach at asmith@bluecc.edu Carnival Thursday through Saturday Parade Friday @ 2 pm BLUE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EDUCATOR AND EMPLOYER. FOR FULL EEO DISCLOSURE STATEMENT VISIT WWW.BLUECC.EDU/EEO.