REGION
Saturday, June 11, 2022
East Oregonian
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Andy Nicolais/East Oregonian
Pilot makes emergency landing near Irrigon
Morrow County sheriff ’s deputy Jacob
Stutzman, left, and Sgt. Gordon Adams
take a photo Thursday, June 9, 2022,
with pilot Terrance McCall of Alabama.
The sheriff ’s offi ce reported McCall had
to land the yellow Carbon Cub FX on
a gravel road outside Irrigon due to a
high temperature warning. The landing
was safe. After a technician completed
an evaluation, McCall took off for the
Hermiston Municipal Airport to have the
plane undergo further evaluation.
Morrow County Sheriff ’s Offi ce/Contributed Photo
GROUND BREAKINGS
Fire & Rescue readies for new station
East Oregonian
W ESTON — Ea st
Umatilla Fire & Rescue’s
new fi re station is on the way
to becoming reality.
Firefi ghters, local offi cials
and members of the public
came together Wednes-
day, June 8, at the corner
of Bannister Road and Mill
Street in Weston to partic-
ipate in the groundbreak-
ing ceremony for the new
station. Although the real
work won’t begin until 2023.
The previous fi re depart-
ment, the East Umatilla
County Rural Fire Protection
District, purchased the land
in July 2011, according to a
press release from Umatilla
Fire & Rescue. Six years
later, the district made an
intergovernmental agency
agreement with Helix Fire
Department to work as one
department. In 2019 the
communities voted to come
together as one fi re district.
The new joint effort
in May 2020 asked the
communities again to
combine East Umatilla
County Rural Fire Protec-
tion District, Helix Fire
Department and Athena
Fire Department as one
entity called East Umatilla
Fire & Rescue. The proposal
passed, and East Umatilla
Fire & Rescue entered into
an agreement with East
Umatilla County Ambu-
lance Area Health District
at this time.
Fire Chief Dave Baty
contacted Umatilla County
Commissioner John Shafer
about a grant to loan the
money for a new fi re station.
Shafer called state Sen Bill
Hansell, R-Athena, who
had the idea to use state
lottery-supported capi-
tal construction funds to
get on a list and maybe get
some money. According to
the press release, the project
needed about $5 million.
Then came the federal
2021 American Rescue
Plan Act, which provided $4
million to each state sena-
tor and $2 million per state
representative to fund proj-
ects in their districts. Hansell
asked Rep. Bobby Levy,
R-Echo, if she was willing
to donate half of her ARPA
funds to this fi re district.
The pair toured the facil-
ity East Umatilla Fire &
Rescue was using and saw
fi rsthand the challenges it
presented, including trying
to get fi re trucks in and out
of a steep incline to respond
to each call.
“East Umatilla Fire &
Rescue’s fire station has
more to do before this build-
ing is started,” according to
the press release, including
finalizing building plans.
The real groundbreaking is
not until February 2023 with
McCormack Construction.
Apartment complex in Hermiston breaks ground
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston city leaders joined
re pre se nt at ive s f rom
Chrisman Development
Inc., Oregon Housing and
Community Services and
other local and state partners
to break ground June 2 on the
Moorehouse Apartments.
The 60-unit income-re-
stricted apartments at North-
west 11th Street and Madrona
Avenue will be available for
renters making up to 60% of
the average median house-
hold income for the region,
according to a press release
from the city. The project
will receive $4.15 million
from OHCS as approved by
the Oregon Legislature.
Hermiston has approved
111 new housing units for the
year through June 1. The city
has approved a total of 375
residential permits since the
beginning of 2020, including
108 income restricted apart-
ment units.
“We’ve made hous-
ing a top city priority for
many years now, and it’s so
encouraging to see develop-
ments coming into town for
all income levels,” Herm-
iston Mayor Dave Drotz-
mann said, according to the
press release. “Working with
private and public partners
to fi nd the right location and
right funding will ensure we
can keep working to meet
Hermiston’s housing needs.”
The Moorehouse Apart-
ments will consist of four
apartment buildings and a
shared community build-
ing. The site will be accessi-
ble directly from Northwest
11th Street.
Ch r isman Develop-
ment is based in Enterprise
UMATILLA INDIAN RESERVATION
Feds charge Umatilla man with murder
East Oregonian
PORT LA N D — A
Umatilla man faces a federal
charge of murder for the slay-
ing of another man on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce
for Oregon announced in a
press release Wednesday,
June 8, it charged Kawlija
Nicoah Scott, 25, on a federal
criminal complaint with
murder.
According to the complaint,
on May 25, 2022, Umatilla
Tribal Police Department offi -
cers responded to a stabbing
at a residence on the Umatilla
Indian Reservation near Pend-
leton. Offi cers and paramed-
ics found a man on scene who
suff ered multiple stab wounds,
including one to his chest.
“Life-saving eff orts were
made, but the victim later died
at a nearby hospital,” according
to the press release.
Further investigation
revealed that Scott had stabbed
the victim in the victim’s resi-
dence before fl eeing. Accord-
ing to the press release,
witnesses observed Scott
running down a nearby road
and waving two knives in the
air. A short time later, tribal
police offi cers found Scott and
arrested him without incident.
Scott made his initial
appearance in federal court
June 8 before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Jeff rey Armistead. Scott
remains in custody in the Mult-
nomah County Jail, Portland,
pending further court proceed-
ings.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott
Erik Asphaug of the District of
Oregon made the announce-
ment.
The Umatilla Tribal Police
handled the investigation with
assistance from the FBI. Assis-
tant U.S. Attorney Ashley R.
Cadotte is prosecuting the case.
LeeAnnOttosen@UmpquaBank.com
UmpquaBank.com/Lee-Ann-Ottosen
and has completed many
projects around the state,
including the rehabilitated
Sagebrush Apartments in
Hermiston, according to
the city.
Additional housi ng
developments are on the
horizon in Hermiston at
all price points and sale or
rental arrangements, includ-
ing the 200-home Santi-
ago Estates Manufactured
Home community, 300-unit
Diamond Run duplex devel-
opment and 1,300 home
Prairie Meadows Planned
Unit Development.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Hermiston police
arrest graffi ti
off ender
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston police announced the
arrest of the man it suspects of
numerous acts of graffi ti using
the tag “ABAR.”
“Many of you have most
likely seen graffiti in town
with the initials ABAR,”
police Capt. Travis Eynon
posted on the department’s
Facebook page. “There has
been quite a lot of it. There
has also been quite a bit in
surrounding communities.”
Hermiston police Chief
Jason Edmiston said the
“ABAR” tagging may have
been going on for 18 months
and was on everything from
utility poles to small apart-
ment buildings.
“At times, you really
couldn’t go anywhere and not
see it,” he said.
Eynon reported Hermiston
police detectives on Thursday,
June 9, arrested Abraham M.
Arellano, 25, of Umatilla, for
the tagging. While this was a
“criminal act of vandalism,”
Eynon reported, this graffi ti is
not gang related.
Police initially were look-
ing for someone younger
who might be in high school,
Edmiston said, and worked
with school resource offi cers.
“We were going a couple of
diff erent ways until we were
able to glean a lot of informa-
tion from a particular social
media platform,” he said.
That led to obtaining a
search warrant for the plat-
form, and while detectives
were working on a second
search warrant for a residence,
they caught a break early
in the week. Edmiston said
video camera footage from the
back of the Hermiston Public
Library, confi rmed to police
the suspect they already were
onto.
Hermiston detectives then
partnered with the Umatilla
Police Department to serve
the warrant. Edmiston said
Arellano was not there at the
time, but police “collected a
trove of evidence.”
Applying graffi ti usually is
a misdemeanor crime. Eynon
explained this case is diff er-
ent. The aggregate value of
damage to the city of Hermis-
ton alone amounts to several
thousand dollars, so in this
case the crime is fi rst-degree
criminal mischief, a Class C
felony.
“Tagging or taggers
are certainly an expensive
nuisance, but in this case we
passed the ‘nuisance’ thresh-
old long ago,” Eynon stated.
Edmiston said his depart-
ment is submitting its infor-
mation to the Umatilla County
District Attorney’s Offi ce, but
the investigation continues as
Hermiston police work with
other local agencies on some
of their ABAR cases.
M-F police arrest
two for car theft
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Milton-Freewater police
arrested two people in connec-
tion to a break-in at a residence
and theft of a vehicle.
Police Chief Doug
Boedigheimer in a press
release reported officers
arrested Max Anagin Wilson,
22, and Sara Ann Miller, 30,
for first-degree burglary,
unauthorized entry into a
vehicle and vehicle theft.
Police also arrested Miller on
multiple warrants.
Milton-Freewater police on
Thursday, June 9, at approxi-
mately 12:31 a.m. took a report
for the theft of a white Acura
with Washington plates from
residents on the 900 block of
North Elizabeth Street. Police
determined someone entered
the residence, found keys and
drove off with the car.
MFPD received a call
at approximately 3:50 a.m.
from someone who reported
the car was at the Taj
Foodmart, 84802 Highway
11. A Milton-Freewater offi cer
responded and took Wilson
and Miller into custody.
Police later booked the pair
into the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, and also returned
the vehicle to its owner.
— EO Media Group
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