REGION
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
BMCC and WSU Tri-Cities create transfer program
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Blue
Mou nt ai n Com mu n it y
College and Washington
State University Tri-Cities
signed a new deal to facili-
tate transfers between the two
schools.
According to a university
press release, the agreement
creates the WSU Tri-Cit-
ies-BMCC Bridges program,
which will waive application
and transcript fees for Blue
Mountain students looking
to transfer to Washington
State’s Richland campus and
make BMCC transfers imme-
diately eligible for in-state
tuition once they make the
move. Bridges participants
will be assigned advisers
from both schools to ensure
they’re not taking any classes
that won’t transfer between
the two institutions.
The two colleges signed
the agreement Nov. 4. In
the press release, BMCC
President Mark Browning
expressed excitement over
the new program.
“Bridges is what we hope
to see for all our students
who see a path to their future
Washington State University Tri-Cities/Contributed Photo
Sandra Haynes, the chancellor of Washington State University Tri-Cities, signs an agreement
Nov. 4, 2021, creating a new transfer program while seated next to Blue Mountain Communi-
ty College President Mark Browning in Hermiston.
through a regional research
university like Washing-
ton State University Tri-Cit-
ies,” he said in a statement.
“Blue Mountain students
will now be able to pursue
a complete program right
here. The resources avail-
able through WSU Tri-Cit-
ies are now available to those
BMCC students who enroll in
Bridges – including those in
a variety of STEM programs
ranging from engineering,
to computer science, to the
sciences. Talk about a bright
future.”
Although Eastern Oregon
University is the region’s
four-year college, BMCC’s
Hermiston campus is closer
to WSU Tri-Cities than any
other four-year institution
in Oregon. WSU Tri-Cities
Chancellor Sandra Haynes
said her school’s proximity
and its diverse student body
Umatilla chamber hires new executive director
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — Annette
Greiner is the new execu-
tive director for the Umatilla
Chamber of Commerce &
Visitor Center. She started
Nov. 1, after a job interview
from the chamber board.
Greiner is an Oregon
State University graduate
with a bachelor’s degree
in agricultural business
management and resource
economics. A recent cham-
ber press release stated she
comes from “a long lineage
of family-owned farms
and ranches in Eastern
Oregon.” Her recent employ-
ment includes work at Two
Rivers Correctional Institu-
tion, she said, and she has a
background in healthcare
management.
“I was just waiting for the
right opportunity, and here I
am,” she said of her new posi-
tion at the chamber.
Now the director, she said
her fi rst plan is to become
acquainted with local busi-
ness people and ask people,
face-to-face, what they need
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Annette Greiner, the executive director for the Umatilla
Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, poses outside her
Umatilla offi ce Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.
and what she can help with.
For instance, she can direct
people toward city and
county grant opportunities,
she said.
A self-described on-and-
off resident of the Umatilla/
Hermiston area for the last
25 years, Greiner said she
has seen a lot of local change.
Umatilla’s Main Street, in
particular, has experienced
great growth, she said.
“Not only with their side-
walks and light poles, but
with all the new businesses in
town,” she said. “I just hope,
down the line, there can be
more diverse commerce.”
She said she envisions a
future for Umatilla in which
the town’s residents can do
more of their shopping close
to home.
“It’s nice when you can
go downtown and get the
things that you need, from
local folks,” she said.
What’s more, she said,
she would like to help make
Umatilla a destination for
people out of town. She said
she wants outsiders to know,
“Umatilla is not just a county
— it’s a town.”
Mark Ribich, chamber
board president, said he is
pleased with Greiner and her
hiring. He said she has strong
organizational skills that will
help the chamber and local
businesses “get to a better
place.”
As the executive direc-
tor, Greiner will manage
the chamber and oversee the
visitor center, Ribich said,
and her primary respon-
sibilities will be offering
support to member busi-
nesses, providing them with
resources they need.
The chamber, Ribich said,
will be transitioning into
something a bit different,
where it will be focusing on
something other than distrib-
uting masks, hand sanitizer
and new guidelines related to
the pandemic. It will be coor-
dinating other activities, and
he said he thinks Greiner is
the right person for the job.
Prisons in Umatilla County reopening for visits
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Pris-
ons in Umatilla County are
reopening for visitation after
being closed for more than
four months due to the ongo-
ing coronavirus pandemic,
according to prison spokes-
persons.
Two Rivers Correc-
tional Institution, Umatilla,
began allowing visitors to
pre-schedule their visits
starting Wednesday, Nov. 10.
Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution will reopen for its
visitation on Nov. 17 and also
requires people to schedule
their visits ahead of time.
Ron Miles, a spokesper-
son for EOCI, said pre-sched-
uling is an eff ort to prevent
the spread of COVID-19 in
the prison and to accommo-
date the prison’s limited staff .
The state has barred visi-
tation multiple times during
the pandemic in response
to rising COVID-19 cases.
The latest closure came
in July as the delta vari-
ant swept through Oregon,
spokespersons said.
“We’re hopeful we won’t
have to shut down again,”
Miles said.
Miles said the prison is
expecting to have a lot of
requests for visitation after
the prison has been closed
for most of the pandemic.
He said EOCI will have
to briefl y turn away some
requests for visitation to keep
groups small.
People can schedule their
visit by calling ICS Correc-
tions at 888-646-9437.
People can schedule their
st
Adopted
or
Rescue
Pet
e
t
u
C photo contest
visit to Two Rives on the ICS
Corrections website at bit.
ly/3wGoseD.
At TRCI, each adult in
custody will be allowed
two visitors, including chil-
dren. People can visit once
a week for one session each
day. The sessions are from
8-10:30 a.m. and 1-3:30 p.m.
on Wednesdays through
Sundays.
Visitors will be screened
for COVID-19 symptoms
and their temperatures will
be checked. Masks and
“hand hygiene” are required.
where nearly a majority of
its attendees are students of
color make it a good fi t for
Blue Mountain students.
“We are excited to partner
with Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College to create access
to a baccalaureate degree
for more students,” she said
in a statement. “With our
close proximity to BMCC in
Oregon, this program creates
an ideal partnership between
our two institutions to serve
students in both areas and
help students save on costs.”
In an interview after the
ceremony, Browning said
BMCC staff were working
on the agreement before he
started his job Sept. 7 and he
credited them for bringing the
deal to fruition.
D u r i ng Brow n i ng’s
hiring process, candidates
and community members
talked about how Blue Moun-
tain was facing increasing
competition from institu-
tions across state lines at a
time when the college was
trying to recover from a
steady decline in enrollment.
Rather than attend classes
close at BMCC’s Hermiston
or Boardman’s campuses,
some students in western
Umatilla County and north
Morrow County were trav-
eling across the Columbia
River to enroll at Columbia
Basin College in Richland,
Washington.
Browning said BMCC’s
new alliance with WSU
Tri-Cities could help some of
those students stay closer to
home.
“I want them to be Timber-
wolves,” he said. “And now
they can also be Cougars.”
Interested students will
need to sign a declaration of
intent on the Bridges website
and then submit a WSU
Tri-Cities admissions appli-
cation once they’re ready to
transfer. The program is only
open to BMCC students who
have taken less than 45 quar-
ter credits while maintain-
ing a 2.5 cumulative GPA.
Eligible students most also
be in the process of obtain-
ing an associate’s of arts
Oregon transfer degree, or an
associate’s of science trans-
fer degree in business or
computer science.
For more information,
visit tricities.wsu.edu/bridges
or email Bridges advisor
Rafa Pruneda at rpruneda@
wsu.edu.
LOCAL BRIEFS
Woman pleads not
guilty in stabbing
PEN DLETON — A
woman facing charges of
first-degree murder in a
September stabbing on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
has pleaded not guilty.
A federal grand jury
indicted Skylar Crowe, 22,
in the killing of Richard
Higheagle, 38, according
to court documents. She
entered a not guilty plea in
her arraignment on Oct. 29.
The United States District
Court in Portland scheduled
a fi ve-day jury trial for the
case to begin Dec. 28. Judge
Michael H. Simon is presid-
ing.
According to court docu-
ments, Crowe turned herself
into the Umatilla Tribal
Police Department on the
night of the stabbing.
She told FBI Special
Agent Rex Shark she stabbed
Higheagle with a kitchen
knife, according to an affi -
davit Shark fi led Sept. 30 in
federal court for an arrest
warrant.
Crowe claimed Higheagle
sexually abused her and her
sister throughout childhood,
according to court docu-
ments. At the time of the
abuse, he was married to her
mother and they were living
under his roof.
A second source, who
is unnamed in court docu-
ments but is described as
Crowe’s intimate partner,
told offi cials he saw Crowe
stab Higheagle. He told offi -
cials that during the first
month of their relationship,
Crowe told him she “had
been raped repeatedly by
Higheagle during her child-
hood” and also “told him
repeatedly during their
four years together that she
wanted to kill Higheagle.”
Fatal crash closes
Interstate 84
LA GRANDE — A man
driving a semitrailer was
killed in a one-vehicle crash
Monday, Nov. 15, on Interstate
84 just west of La Grande.
The driver, who was east-
bound, died after he was
ejected from his vehicle after
he failed to negotiate a curve
between the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation
weigh station, about 2 miles
west of La Grande, and Exit
259. After the driver failed to
negotiate the curve his trailer
flipped, causing his truck
to also flip and eject him,
according to Oregon State
Police Sgt. Grant Jackson.
The driver died at the
scene, according to Oregon
State Police, which has not
identifi ed the victim.
The accident occurred at
about 4:25 a.m.
Jackson said the victim
was not wearing a seatbelt.
The driver had no passengers.
Jackson said that excessive
speed may have been a factor
in the crash.
The fatal accident forced
the closure of the eastbound
lanes of traffi c on Interstate 84
between La Grande and Exit
216, 6 miles east of Pendleton.
The lanes were still closed as
of noon on Nov. 15.
Diesel fuel from the truck
involved leaked during the
crash. A hazmat crew called
in from Baker City to clean up
the fuel.
In addition to the OSP, the
La Grande Fire Department
and the Oregon Department
Transportation responded to
the accident.
— EO Media Group
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