REGION
Thursday, May 19, 2022
East Oregonian
Pendleton fl orists to close after 43 years
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Calico
Country Designs in down-
town Pendleton is closing
after 43 years. Owner Cheryl
Stewart’s going-out-of-busi-
ness sale began Monday,
May 16.
Stewart’s lease ends this
month.
“It’s sad to talk about.
Business is the best it has
been in years,” she said. “The
website brings in so many
orders. Some people cry
when they hear I can’t take
any new orders. The saddest
part is no longer being able to
serve the community.”
Developer Al Plute about
a year ago bought the build-
ing housing the shop at 261
S. Main St., to turn it into
apartments. He said 12
apartments would go into
the building. He would like
to add a roof structure, but
that is subject to engineer-
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Victor Roshak, a delivery driver for Calico Country Designs
in downtown Pendleton, helps organize merchandise Tues-
day, May 17, 2022, for a going-out-of-business sale.
ing and cost analyses.
An elevator shaft is going
to take up part of the ground
fl oor area the fl ower shop now
occupies. The rest, around
1,000 square feet, would be
available for commercial
leases. He said he hopes to be
open in July.
Stewart bought the busi-
ness from her sister, Barbara
Stewart-Wagner in 1989. It
began as the Cookie Tree
and does business as Calico
Country Florist.
The family business has
19,000 customers, Stewart
reported.
“Many are our friends.”
she noted. “We’re close to
them at life’s highs and lows.
Weddings, funerals and
casket arrays.”
She said it is a shame no
one could buy the business.
“But there’s a lot of big and
expensive equipment,” she
said. “The risk is too great
to take a chance at fi nding a
place.”
The cooler, which, began
service for the Cookie Tree’s
ice cream, is large, Stew-
art said. Space is needed to
arrange and store arrays and
bouquets.
She looked for alterna-
tive premises, but nothing
was available. The cooler
is scheduled to be torn out
May 21.
“Downtown renovation
is great,” Stewart said, “but
the city seems to want living,
entertainment and restau-
rants. Retail not so much. A
city can’t survive without it.”
Stewart’s future plans are
up in the air.
“I’m not ready to retire yet,
but don’t really know what
I’ll do,” she said. “Maybe
just work in my garden this
summer, then decide.”
Police fi nd the body of missing woman in
homicide case involving Hermiston man
By EMRY DINMAN
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
WA L L A WA L L A
COUNTY — The body of a
Moses Lake mother of three
was found in rural Walla
Walla County more than two
months after she went miss-
ing, according to the Moses
Lake Police Department.
Her ex-boyfriend, Juan
Gastelum, 27, of Hermiston,
faces a murder charge stem-
ming from her death.
Yanira Cedillos went
missing March 3 while out
celebrating her 30th birth-
day at the Moses Lake-
based Papa’s Casino, local
law enforcement wrote in a
March 10 social media post.
Witnesses reportedly
told police Cedillos has been
contacted dozens of times
throughout the night by
Gastelum, who asked Cedil-
los about her whereabouts
and activities that evening.
Shortly before midnight
March 3, Cedillos and some
friends were in the parking lot
of the bar when an argument
broke out among the friends
and Cedillos left the area on
foot, according to the Moses
Lake Police Department.
A short time later, Cedil-
los reportedly called a friend
and asked to be picked up.
When the friend arrived a
short time later, they were
unable to locate Cedillos, so
they called her.
When Cedillos picked
up the phone, a man could
be heard yelling in the back-
ground, asking who was
calling Cedillos before the
phone disconnected, accord-
ing to the Moses Lake Police
Department.
Shortly after, Cedillos
reportedly called the friend
back and told them that she
was ok.
This was reportedly the
last anyone heard from her.
When Cedillos didn’t appear
at work on March 4, her
family reported her missing.
Detectives determined
Cedillos
Gastelum
Gastelum had picked Cedillos
up and taken her back to her
apartments, according to a
March 10 statement by Moses
Lake police. Evidence police
found at the scene reportedly
indicated Cedillos was killed
inside of her apartment and
her body was later moved.
After days of investigat-
ing and following Gastelum,
police on March 9 arrested the
Hermiston man on charges of
second-degree murder and
second-degree rape.
Still, for more than two
months, Cedillos’ body
could not be located. But
on May 12, using data from
Gastelum’s cellphone, Moses
Lake detectives were able to
fi nd her.
Cellphone data obtained
by law enforcement typically
shows the distance of a partic-
ular device from nearby cell
towers, which can be triangu-
lated to roughly locate where
the device was at a particular
point in time.
Detectives received assis-
tance from ZETX Advancing
Justice, a private business that
mapped out the data to make
it more useful to law enforce-
ment, Moses Lake Police
Chief Kevin Fuhr said 16.
With this information,
law enforcement reportedly
found Gastelum’s device had
allegedly been off U.S. High-
way 12 just outside of Wallula
Junction for several minutes
the morning that Cedillos was
reported missing.
Not long after detectives
arrived at that location, the
body of a deceased woman
was discovered in a sleeping
bag covered with tree limbs
and leaves, according to the
Moses Lake Police Depart-
ment.
The Walla Walla County
Sheriff’s Office, Washing-
ton State Patrol Crime Lab
and the Walla Walla County
Coroner were called to assist
in processing the crime scene.
Law enforcement were not
immediately able to positively
identify the deceased woman
was Cedillos. The body was
reportedly transported to the
Spokane County medical
examiner for an autopsy on
May 16, which determined
the body was that of Cedillos.
“Detectives will now
focus on working with the
Grant County Prosecutor’s
Offi ce to obtain a conviction
in this horrifi c incident,” the
police department wrote on
social media.
Fuhr said he was proud
of the work of the detectives
who brought Cedillos home.
“They have gone above
and beyond to make sure
they did everything in their
power to fi nd Yanira,” Fuhr
said. “None of us wanted
this outcome, but we knew
we wanted to get her back
for her family, and that
we’ve accomplished.”
LOCAL ELECTIONS ROUND-UP
Morrow County
DA, assessor win in
unopposed races
MORROW COUNTY
— Two key Morrow County
offi cials cruised to reelection
wins in the Tuesday, May 17,
primary.
District Attorney Justin
Nelson and Assessor Michael
Gorman ran unopposed in the
election.
According to prelimi-
nary results from the Oregon
Secretary of State’s elec-
tion website, Nelson
received 1,776 votes,
or 97.6% of the total
votes, and Gorman
received 1,818 votes,
or 99.2% of the total.
Pendleton, M-F
council candidates
faced no challengers
UMATILLA COUNTY
— Several city council seats
were up for election Tues-
day, May 17, in Pendleton and
Milton-Freewater, and they all
had one thing in common —
there was just one candidate in
each race.
And only one race did not
involve an incumbent seeking
reelection.
Addison Schulberg ran for
an at-large seat on the Pend-
leton City Council that Jake
Cambier vacated after decid-
ing not to seek another term.
The following is a break-
down of those results, which
are preliminary and from the
Oregon Secretary of State’s
election results website.
Milton-Freewater
City Council
Steve Irving, incumbent
at-large No. 2 — 595 votes,
98.8%.
Wes Koklich, incumbent
at-large No. 3 — 557 votes,
99.1%.
John Lyon, incumbent
Ward 1 — 130 votes, 100%.
Pendleton
City Council
Addison Schulberg, at large
— 1,888 votes, 98.3%.
Steve Campbell, incumbent
at large — 1,782 votes, 98.1%.
Carole Innes, incumbent
Ward 1, 409 votes, 3.8%.
Mckennon McDonald,
incumbent Ward 2, 651 votes,
97.6%.
Linda Neuman, incumbent
Ward 3, 779 votes, 98.5%.
Smith to serve
another term in
state House
HEPPNER — Rep. Greg
Smith on Tuesday, May 17,
won his 12th Republican
primary election.
“I am honored to
once again be on
the ballot in Novem-
ber, humbly asking
to serve District 57
for another two years,”
Smith said in a press release.
“Thank you to Republicans
and for everyone that has put
their faith in me.”
Smith was the only candi-
date on the ballot for House
District 57 and received
5,025 votes, or 97.9% of the
total.
In Umatilla County. he
received 2,325 votes (98.8%),
and in Morrow County 1,086
votes (97%), according to
preliminary results from the
Oregon Secretary of State’s
election website.
— EO Media group
5/20-5/26
Cineplex Show Times
Price changes: Adults: $10.00 • Child: $8.00
Senior: $8.00 • Matinees (before 4:00pm): $8.00
Downton Abbey: A New Era (PG)
3:40p 6:30p 9:20p
extra 12:50p show on 5/20-5/22
Firestarter (R)
3:50p 6:20p 9:20p
extra 1:30p show on 5/20-5/22
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
of Madness (PG13)
4:30p 7:40p
extra 1:20p show on 5/20-5/22
The Bad Guys (PG)
4:20p 6:40p 9:00p
extra 1:50p show on 5/20-5/22
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (PG)
4:10p 6:40p 9:00p
extra 1:10p show on 5/21-5/22
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Boardman
Please join us for a
Retirement Reception for
VIRGINIA CONRAD
May 24th 4-7pm
Hosted at
Pendleton Book Company
125 S Main Street
Coffee and Cake provided
In lieu of gifts,
please donate to your
preferred charity
YOU ARE INVITED TO AN
OPEN HOUSE
MAY 20, 2022 • 3:00-6:00 P.M.
123 Willowfork Dr.
Boardman, OR 97818
hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Short program at 4:30 P.M.
Welcome!
S T . A NTHONY C LINIC
O PEN E ARLY
S AME D AY A PPOINTMENTS
M ONDAY - T HURSDAY 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
F RIDAY 8 AM - 5:00 PM
O UR CARING PROVIDERS are
Thank you for your support.
accepting new patients of
ALL AGES , and they will be
glad to help you get back
to feeling your best!
There's no need for you
to be an established
patient to make an
appointment.
For more information, or to schedule, call 541-966-0535, Option 4.
A3
Migrant & Seasonal
Head Start and
Early Head Start
Program