WEEKEND EDITION Pilot Rock community remembers coach Butch Wilson
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SPORTS, B1
JULY 16 – 17, 2022
146th Year, No. 89
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
$1.50
PENDLETON RUN
SPOUT SPRINGS SKI AREA
Umatilla
National
Forest seeks
operator,
manager
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
TOLLGATE — For the last six
winters, the slopes at Spout Springs
have been empty — but that could
change in the near future.
The Umatilla National Forest is
seeking proposals from interested
entities to operate and manage the
Spout Springs Ski Area, near Toll-
gate.
“Spout Springs has been a corner-
stone of the local ski scene on the
Umatilla National Forest since the
1950s. This is a special place and the
Forest Service wants to see the site
operating and once again provid-
ing recreation opportunities for our
communities,” said Darcy Weseman,
public aff airs offi cer for the Umatilla
National Forest.
The site, which had its fi rst public
ski season in 1956, is situated in the
Blue Mountains of Northeastern
Oregon within the Umatilla National
Forest at milepost 22 along Oregon
Highway 204.
An Olympic history
Created by the Blue Mountain
Ski Club, Spout Springs served as
the Nordic training center for the
United States Olympic team and the
Norwegian jump team in preparation
for the 1955 and 1964 Winter Olym-
pics. The U.S. Olympic Committee
recognized Spout Springs’ connec-
tion to the Winter Olympic Games
and granted the ski area permission
to fl y the Olympic fl ag.
The ski area covers 1,413 acres
and has a vertical drop of 530 feet,
according to the Forest Service. Spout
Springs is at an elevation of 4,920 feet
and on average receives 130 inches
of snow per year. The recreation area
includes two large chalet-style build-
ings, which have been used as the
main lodge and rental shop.
Skiers and snowboarders are taken
up the mountain via two double chair-
lifts, where they have access to 13
downhill runs. Previous owners of
Spout Springs said the ski area is an
ideal place for alpine skiers of all skill
levels to hone their skills, in part due
to the varied terrain.
Some of the downhill runs can
be illuminated for night skiing, and
there are also more than 20 miles of
nordic ski trails with varied levels of
diffi culties.
Change in ownership
The ski area has been closed
since 2016, Weseman said. That left
the previous owners in a “state of
noncompliance” she said. John and
Nancy Murray — who had owned
and operated Spout Springs since
See Ski, Page A8
Motorcyclists stride Friday, July 15, 2022, along Roy Raley
Park in Pendleton for the Pendleton Run, formerly Pendleton
Bike Week. Pendleton Run organizer Stuart Rice estimated
the event would draw as many as 5,000 people to Pendleton.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Motorcycle event returns with new name,
location, vendors and maybe 5,000 attendees
By ANTONIO ARREDONDO
and JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
ENDLETON — After
two years away, Pend-
leton Bike Week festiv-
ities are gearing up for
their revamped return
— complete with a new
name, the Pendleton Run.
“New” is a theme for the
event. Along with the new name
comes a new venue at the Pendle-
ton Round-Up Grounds and new
management. Promoters Stuart
Rice, Hermiston businessman,
P
and Bob Richards, of 41Live! from
northern California, ran fl at track
racing in Pendleton for fi ve years.
After its founding in 2015, Bike
Week operated in and around the
Pendleton Convention Center. But
thanks to Rice, the event is at the
Pendleton Round-Up Grounds for
the fi rst time.
“It’s only natural to have
(Pendleton Run) in such a beauti-
ful venue,” Rice said. “It makes it
memorable.”
They also said they felt Bike
Week could be improved.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
See Bikers, Page A8
Motorcyclists line up their rides Friday, July 15, 2022, at Roy Raley
Park, Pendleton, for the Pendleton Run.
Voices of resilience
Justice lags
for Indigenous
survivors of
violence
Editor’s Note: Readers should
be aware the following story
depict issues of sexual assault
and violence
By BRYCE DOLE AND ZACK
DEMARS
The Bulletin
MISSION — Desireé Coyote
stared at the red and white confi den-
tial envelope she’d spent four days
fearing to open. Inside was a police
report from 30 years ago detailing
the Indigenous woman’s account of
a sexual and physical assault.
Until May, she had no idea the
report existed.
The police record documented
what Coyote told tribal police.
Coyote’s ex-husband, William Cruz,
from whom she had fi led for divorce
following years of alleged domes-
tic abuse, came to her house on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation and
kidnapped her. She said Cruz drove
her up to the foothills of Oregon’s
Blue Mountains, beat her and sexu-
ally assaulted her, according to the
report.
She’d lost an earring that night,
and she told a tribal offi cer where he
could fi nd it up in the tall grass on
the hillside, the report says. A few
months later, Coyote heard a knock
at the door. The offi cer returned her
earring.
It wasn’t the fi rst time Coyote, an
enrolled member of the Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, reported Cruz’s alleged
domestic abuse to tribal police, she
said. But since Coyote is Indigenous
and her ex-husband is not, and the
reported assault occurred in 1991
on tribal land, federal law barred the
tribe or state from prosecuting him.
Tribal police forwarded the case
to the FBI, according to the police
report.
“Nothing happened,” Coyote said
with tears in her eyes.
Cruz never faced charges in the
wake of Coyote’s report.
Coyote is not alone.
A study released this year esti-
mated Indigenous people in Oregon
reported experiencing domestic
violence during the previous year
at a rate more than three times the
state’s average, and nationwide,
Native Americans suff er higher rates
of violence than other Americans.
Violence is more often commit-
ted against Indigenous people by
those who aren’t Indigenous than
those who are, according to the
most recent U.S. Department of
Justice study. Most Native victims of
violence, including 97% of women
and 90% of men, have experienced
violence committed by a non-Native
person, while 35% of female victims
and 33% of male victims have expe-
rienced violence committed by
another Native person.
See Voices, Page A8
Kathy Aney/For Underscore, File
Desireé Coyote lets her thoughts roam June 10, 2022, as she stands
near the spot on the Umatilla Indian Reservation where she said her
ex-husband assaulted her after kidnapping her from her home at the
time in Mission, according to a police report.
Indigenous women across the country have endured
disproportionately high rates of violence stemming from systemic and
cultural obstacles: Mistrust, limited policing, a lack of resources for
support services and a dizzying array of jurisdictional issues for crimes
committed on tribal land are all factors.
This is the second installment of a two-part investigative project in
partnership with Underscore.news, a nonprofit publication focused on
Native American issues. The series shows how obstacles to prosecution
prompted Indigenous survivors to use their stories of trauma to
empower others, inspired initiatives encouraging change and how
evolving policies are shaping the
legal landscape. Read the full series
online at eastoregonian.com.
Jessica Joaquin/Contributed Graphic