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NOVEMBER 6-7, 2021
146th Year, No. 10
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WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
INSIDE
TEAMS HEAD TO EUGENE FOR STATE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS B1
Firing
prompts
feud
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
MURAL STIRS MEMORIES OF
‘THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION’
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
P
EN DLETON —
C ow b oy G e o r g e
Fletcher rides again in
Pendleton.
A mural of Fletcher astride
a bucking bronc at the Pend-
leton Round-Up has adorned
a whitewashed wall near the
intersection of Southwest
Dorion Avenue and First Street
since September. But Travel
Pendleton on Wednesday,
Nov. 4, unveiled the latest trib-
ute to the cowboy, complete
with tourism promoters, local
government offi cials and orga-
nizations celebrating the art
and its addition to the Oregon
Mural Trail with a ribbon
cutting ceremony.
A competitor at the famous
1911 Round-Up, Fletcher was
never truly forgotten: The
Pendleton Round-Up and
Happy Canyon Hall of Fame
inducted him into its inau-
gural class in 1969, he was
fi ctionalized in Ken Kesey’s
1994 novel “Last Go Round”
and his likeness was cast in
bronze and erected on South
Main Street in 2014.
But his legacy was kept
alive by the people who told
his story as a part of oral
history.
Seeing as he is in the fi nal
stages of the confirmation
process to become the next
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Mariotta Gary-Smith, the chair of the Oregon Commission on Black
Aff airs, speaks Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, in Pendleton during a
ribbon cutting for a mural featuring cowboy George Fletcher.
National Park Service director,
Chuck Sams may have been
the most high profi le speaker
at the ceremony. But Sams
wasn’t there as a representa-
tive of the federal government,
but as the immediate past pres-
ident of the Oregon Cultural
Trust.
Sams, a member of the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation,
also had stories about Fletcher
to share. His grandfather was
Fletcher’s contemporary and
would tell stories of riding
with Fletcher as they trans-
ported cattle or broke horses
at the Sams ranch.
Born in 1890 in Kansas,
Fletcher, who was Black,
moved to Pendleton as a child
and learned to ride broncs on
the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation while facing discrim-
ination and racism from
Pendleton residents.
He entered the bronc
riding competition at the
Round-Up in 1911, making it
all the way to fi nals. While
Fletcher’s final ride was a
crowd favorite, the judges
awarded fi rst place to white
cowboy John Spain. Fletcher
was quickly dubbed “the
people’s champion” and an
impromptu fundraiser in the
stands garnered him $700 for
his eff orts. Fletcher remained
in Pendleton until his death
in 1973, although he stopped
competing after he was
injured in World War I.
Fletcher’ story resonated
beyond Pendleton. Mariotta
Gary-Smith, the chair of the
Oregon Commission on Black
Aff airs, went up to speak about
her own grandfather. Gary-
Smith’s grandfather migrated
from the Deep South to Port-
land during the Jim Crow era.
A huge rodeo fan, her grandfa-
ther would frequently take his
family to the Round-Up and
share stories about Fletcher.
Those stories of the
people’s champion made their
way down to Gary-Smith’s
mother and eventually Gary-
Smith herself. It was some-
thing on her mind when the
Oregon Cultural Trust asked
for ideas for its new license
plate. The plate features a
scenic Oregon vista, but on
closer inspection, the scen-
ery is composed of smaller
pictures refl ective of the state’s
culture and history.
Gary-Smith submitted
Fletcher, and she was pleas-
antly surprised when she saw
the fi nal design came out and
Fletcher’s cowboy hat was
near the top right hand corner,
right under a wagon wheel
signifying the Oregon Trail.
Gary-Smith said she planned
to take a picture of the mural
to send to her mother.
See Mural, Page A9
Photos by Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pendleton Mayor John Turner, center left, Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, and Travel Oregon CEO Todd Davidson cut a ribbon Wednes-
day, Nov. 3, 2021, for Travel Oregon’s new “still only slightly exaggerated” mural of George Fletcher in Pendleton.
ARLINGTON — A simmering feud
between ambulance service volun-
teers and a local health district board in
Gilliam County is placing emergency
medical services along a particularly
hazardous swath of Interstate 84 at risk.
The dispute, fi rst reported by The
Times-Journal in Condon, began when
the North Gilliam County Health
District board suddenly
fi red a longtime health
care administrator,
David Anderson.
Since becoming a
clinic and ambulance
service administrator in
2014, Anderson played
Anderson
an essential role in emer-
gency services for the rural county of
roughly 2,000 people, emergency
responders and sources said.
Anderson said he was fi red shortly
after a month-long battle with COVID-
19 beginning in August. He was hospital-
ized and then intubated in the intensive
care unit at Oregon Health & Science
University, Portland, in September. Due
to his risk of blood clots, his provider had
urged him not to get the vaccine.
See Anderson, Page A9
Hermiston
residents give
sendoff to
local Guard
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — A smiling and
sometimes tearful audience Thursday,
Nov. 4, gave a send off in Hermiston to
75 Oregon Army National Guard soldiers
heading for oversees service.
The ceremony at the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center was an opportu-
nity for soldiers and well-wishers to say
their goodbyes.
The citizen-soldiers, under the
command of Capt. Sean Povravak,
are assigned to Bravo Company’s, 3rd
Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment.
The regiment along with maintenance
support members from the 145th Brigade
Support Battalion left within hours for
Boise, Idaho, where they linked up with
task force groups in Montana.
From Boise, they travel Fort Bliss,
Texas, to complete the remainder of their
mobilization training.
See Guard, Page A9
Eastern Oregon food banks see a surge of clients
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — Food banks across
Eastern Oregon have reported an increase
in the number of clients they served this year
as compared to the previous year.
Boardman Food Pantry, which serves
residents of Morrow County, reported that
an increase in the number of individuals
served from 3,470 to 8,570 — a nearly 150%
increase since 2020.
“It was quite shocking to see the increase
that we’ve had,” said Mary Killion, presi-
dent of the Boardman pantry.
Killion said the need is not likely to let
off .
“I honestly think that we will continue to
see an increase, unfortunately,” Killion said.
“I really wish we wouldn’t, to be honest,
but with the current economic climate I
see people having more issues being able
to purchase their gas, for instance. They’re
going to have to make harder choices on how
they spend their money. So I unfortunately
see this as a trend.”
The increase in clients also meant the
Boardman Food Pantry is fl irting with the
idea of hiring staff to handle the new demand.
“We’ve been a 100% volunteer organi-
zation from the beginning, so we don’t have
anybody on staff , and we are looking to add
that in the future because our numbers are
growing,” Killion said. “We see that as an
opportunity to improve those supply chain
issues, somebody to make those contacts
and get those items more effi ciently.”
Across Eastern Oregon, the Salvation
Army reported it also saw an increase of
roughly 50% in the number of individuals
served. But not all food banks shared the
bounty equally.
See Food, Page A9
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Pallets full of food sit within the storage facility of Community
Connection of Northeast Oregon Inc. on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021,
in Island City. The regional food bank, which services Grant,
Union, Baker and Wallowa counties, has seen a small increase in
demand as the holiday season approaches.