REGION
Saturday, December 4, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
¡¢
Further street pavement at mercy of asphalt plant
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
city of Pendleton’s summer
street construction season is
continuing into December.
Several streets in down-
town Pendleton remain
closed as road reconstruc-
tion projects that were
supposed to finish by the
end of September remain in
progress. But torn up roads
aren’t the Pendleton street
system’s only affl iction: cuts
into street asphalt to replace
underground utility lines,
including water and sewer,
are filled in but haven’t
been paved over, leading to
uneven driving conditions.
Public Works Director
Bob Patterson said the city is
at the mercy of the contrac-
tor and the asphalt plant.
According to city offi cials,
several street construction
projects were delayed after
contractors discovered natu-
ral gas lines weren’t buried
as deeply as anticipated.
While Cascade Natural
Gas sent workers to rebury
the lines, city offi cials said
the contractor chose to send
their work crews out to other
projects rather than work on
other Pendleton streets unaf-
fected by shallow gas lines
Patterson said the late fall
weather compounded the
problem. Asphalt produc-
tion slowed, he said, because
it requires warmer tempera-
tures. And simultaneous
road projects in Pendleton,
Stanfi eld, Milton-Freewater
and Walla Walla, he added,
mean contractors are spread
thin.
The good news for
Pendleton’s roads is that
temperatures have been
warm enough lately to allow
the asphalt plant to reopen.
Patterson said the pavement
contractor was set to return
to town Wednesday, Dec. 1,
and after working on a road
project for a housing devel-
opment, work crews will
return to the unfinished
downtown streets. Addi-
tionally, Patterson said the
smaller street repair proj-
ects, like some of the utility
cuts, could be covered with
patching material, which
doesn’t require the same
kind of warm weather to
apply.
Patterson described the
2021 street paving season as
the most challenging in his
career. The city has assessed
the pavement contractor
penalties for its late work,
and the city’s work in trying
to put a wrap on street
construction this year has
pushed back planning time
for next year’s road projects.
This year’s road construc-
tion was bolstered by an
extra $1.2 million from
the urban renewal district
to reconstruct poor-qual-
ity roads in the downtown
area. But the city has even
more ambitious plans for
2022, with plans to spend
Umatilla
County OKs
contract for
jail renovation
East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce mural adorns the wall of the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton, on April 22, 2021. The county board of commis-
sioners on Wednesay, Dec. 1, approved the $2.88 million contract to ren-
ovate the jail.
gave credit to the city of Pendleton’s
legislative committee for pushing
for state lawmaker support for the
jail renovation. Rowan also joined
the chorus, thanking those who
stayed on this “roller coaster ride for
the last two years” to secure legis-
lative support and funding for the
project. Murdock called the project
a credit to “remarkable example” of
what bipartisanship can accomplish.
The board voted 3-0 in favor of
the contract
“It’s exciting to see it come
forward,” Murdock said.
The meeting was Murdock’s
penultimate as chair of the board,
and at the end of the meeting
Dorran took a moment to recog-
nize Murdock for his leadership
of the county board, particularly
on economic investments that will
benefi t the county.
Yet as Murdock wraps up his
chairmanship of the county board,
he already stepped into a new
leadership role: The Association
of Oregon Counties at its annual
conference in November elected
him as its president.
LOCAL BRIEF
Man dies by suicide
during traffi c stop
IRRIGON — A man died by
suicide during a traffi c stop Thurs-
day, Dec. 2, with Morrow County
sheriff ’s deputies in Irrigon, accord-
ing to a press release from the sher-
iff ’s offi ce.
Pilot Rock police requested help
during the morning of Dec. 2 from
the sheriff ’s offi ce in locating and
checking on a 28-year-old man.
Police pinged his phone, which
showed he was “in the Irrigon
area,” police reported.
Deputies searched the area and
reported seeing the man driving
12 mph over the speed limit head-
ing southbound on Paterson Ferry
Road near Highway 730. Deputies
stopped the vehicle on Paterson
Ferry Road, and as three depu-
ties approached the vehicle, they
heard a gunshot. The man was
alone in the car, the sheriff ’s offi ce
reported.
Medics confi rmed the man died
at the scene. The sheriff ’s offi ce also
reported Pilot Rock police notifi ed
his relatives.
—EO Media Group
PORTLAND — A Pendle-
ton man was sentenced to federal
prison Wednesday, Dec. 1, for
shooting a family member with a
semi-automatic pistol and distrib-
uting methamphetamine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce for
the District of Oregon in a press
release announced Royce Francis
Speedis, 34, was sentenced to six
years, fi ve months in federal prison
and three years supervised release.
According to the press release,
in early March 2019, Speedis
and co-defendant Lavella Ruth
Thompson, 28, also of Pendle-
ton, arranged to purchase meth-
amphetamine on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation. On March 7,
2019, three individuals drove to
the reservation to meet and sell
methamphetamine to Thomp-
son. Thompson arrived in a
sports utility vehicle and tried
to convince the three people to
follow her to a second location
to complete the sale. When they
declined, Thompson returned to
the SUV. Three men then exited
the SUV with guns and opened
fi re into the sellers’ car.
One passenger in the sellers’
car was struck in the back of the
head. The press released reported
the injury was not life threatening.
The meth sellers provided
confl icting accounts of Speedis’
involvement in the shooting. A
ballistics analysis later linked
a Ruger rif le recovered from
Speedis’ family’s residence on
the reservation to spent cartridge
casings at the shooting scene.
However, no arrests were made
following the shooting.
Then on April 17, 2019, Speedis
and his sister engaged in an argu-
Hermiston
Ranch & Home
cil approval to contract with
engineering fi rm Anderson
Perry to help engineer the
road repairs.
ment with their cousin on the reser-
vation. When the cousin attempted
to leave, Speedis pulled a black
semi-automatic pistol from his
waistband and fi red a single round
that traveled through his cousin’s
right leg into his left leg.
Six days later, a federal grand
jury in Portland returned a
two-count indictment charging
Speedis with assault with a
deadly weapon and using a fi re-
arm in connection with a crime
of violence. On Aug. 19, 2020,
Speedis was indicted a second
time, along with Thompson, on one
count each of conspiring with one
another to distribute and possess
with intent to distribute metham-
phetamine and interference with
commerce by robbery.
Speedis a little more than a year
later on Aug. 23 pleaded guilty to
assault with a deadly weapon and
conspiring to possess with intent to
distribute methamphetamine.
Thompson a couple of weeks
later, on Sept, 7, pleaded guilty
to the conspiracy charge. Her
sentencing is Dec. 10.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik
Asphaug of the District of Oregon
made the announcement.
The Umatilla Tribal Police
Department and the FBI investi-
gated the case. It was prosecuted
by the U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce for
the District of Oregon.
State court records show
Speedis has criminal convictions
going back at least 14 years, includ-
ing for burglary and second-de-
gree assault (2007), third-degree
assault (2008), felon in posses-
sion of a fi rearm and unlawful
use of a weapon (2014). State court
records also show Speedis faces
a third-degree assault charge in
Columbia County.
Donate through December 17th
CONCEALED CARRY
PERMIT CLASS
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 18 TH
$7.5 million to improve the
overall quality of Pendleton’s
street system. Patterson said
staff intends to request coun-
Man goes to federal prison for
shooting cousin, dealing meth
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Umatilla
County now has a contractor for
renovating the county jail.
The board of commissioners
at its meeting Wednesday, Dec. 1,
voted 3-0 to award the $2.88 million
contract for the project to 2KG
Contractors Inc. of Portland. The
board also approved the bid with
two additional alternates, one for
$55,000 and the other for $320,000.
The county does not bear the full
cost for the project — $1.8 million is
from the state.
Commissioner Dan Dorran
said he was impressed with the
county’s process for reviewing
the bid, and commended Sheriff
Terry Rowan for continuing to try
to find funds for the project and
commended staff on their work to
make this project move forward.
He said this is “without a doubt a
county function that needs to take
place.”
Board Chair Geroge Murdock
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Gravel fi lls a utility cut along Southeast Second Street near
Southeast Byers Avenue on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, in down-
town Pendleton.
Charity Drive
Community Bank will match your
donations DOLLAR for DOLLAR up
to a max match of $1,000 per branch
through Dec. 17th!
9AM
CLASS
Funds Donated in Pendleton Support:
Altrusa’s
Feed The Child Program
Multi-State $ 80
Oregon Included No Fee
Funds Donated in Hermiston Support:
Oregon Only $ 45
Martha’s House
MULTI-STATE
Valid 35-States, including Washington
Shaun
Shaun Curtain
Curtain 360-921-2071
360-921-2071
or or email:
email: ShaunCurtain@gmail.com
ShaunCurtain@gmail.com | www.ShaunCurtain.com.com
| www.ShaunCurtain.com.com
Designed by Bennett Unze of Joseph, Oregon.
He was the winner of our annual Holiday Design Contest.
Member FDIC
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