REGION
Thursday, August 4, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Raid rescues Yorkshire terrier puppies near Hermiston
By ANTONIO
ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
HERMISTON 4 Area
animal rescue operations
are hustling to save several
Yorkshire terriers following
a raid Friday, July 30, north
of Hermiston.
Robin Barker, vice pres-
ident of Fuzz Balls Animal
Re scue, s a id seve r a l
mistreated Yorkshire terri-
ers were uncovered of High-
way 395 near Hermiston in
a trailer with no electric-
ity or running water. With
temperatures rising past the
100 degree mark this past
week, it created an unsafe
environment for the puppies.
While Barker couldn9t say
how many dogs were in the
trailer, six of the dogs were
voluntarily given to the shel-
ter due to their condition.
Five were taken to the animal
shelter, and one additional
puppy is in critical care
One of the terriers, despite
being nearly 3 months old,
weighed only 1 pound.
Though he is receiving care
at Fuzz Balls, Barker is not
hopeful his condition will
improve.
<He9s not likely going to
make it,= Barker said.
Bot h t he mal nou r-
ished dog and its siblings
are infected with canine
parvovirus, a highly-con-
tagious disease that can be
prevented with easily-ac-
cessible vaccines. If left
untreated, canine parvovi-
rus, commonly known as
<parvo,= can result in death
in as little as 48 hours.
The other five dogs
rescued are being treated
for parvo at Mikey9s Chance
Canine Rescue, a West Rich-
land, Washington-based
shelter. Executive Direc-
tor Andrea Moreno said
the terriers arrived in rough
shape but are being taken
care of.
<They are doing OK right
now, but are all in gross
condition,= Moreno said.
<They came in olthy, with
matted hair and feces and
urine all over them, and all
dehydrated.=
Mikey9s Chance is one of
the premier parvo treating
facilities in the area, but the
condition the dogs came in
was severe even by the clin-
ic9s standards, Moreno said.
She is hopeful the dogs 4
ranging from 16 days old to
3 years 4 will recover.
W h ile t he Mi key9s
Chance staff are working
with the infected dogs in
West Richland, an investi-
gation is underway in Herm-
iston regarding the care the
animals received.
Capt. Sterrin Ward with
the Umatilla County Sher-
iff9s Office confirmed a
deputy visited the resi-
dence on July 30 and recov-
ered some of the animals.
The six dogs receiving the
care of shelters were turned
over voluntarily, and many
remain in the trailer.
Both Barker and Moreno
encouraged anyone who
recently purchased a York-
shire terrier breed to get
them checked for health
issues, stressing the impor-
tance of knowing where your
pet comes from. A good way
to check is simply asking to
see where the dog is raised.
<A ny t i m e you a r e
purchasing a puppy, check
and make sure they come
from a good location,=
Moreno said. <Any reputable
breeder will have no problem
with that.=
Moreno said breeders who
refuse that request may run
a puppy mill 4 a breeding
facility that focuses on quick
breeding and often neglects
the care or condition of the
animals. The Hermiston
trailer is a textbook case, and
Barker said they are a prob-
lem she has dealt with numer-
ous times over the years.
<(They) are one of so
many here in Hermiston,=
Barker said. <Something
needs to change. In the end,
the animals sufer.=
Ukiah School District has new boss
Alumna and
longtime teacher
Laura Orr steps
into role of
superintendent
By SHANNON
GOLDEN
The Observer
UKIAH 4 In the main
lobby of the Ukiah School
building, shadow boxes
and picture frames hold a
century of memories from
past students. Decades-
old letterman jackets share
the wall with years of class
photos.
For Laura Orr, the new
superintendent of Ukiah
School District, the wall
holds four generations of
family memories, too. The
faces of her grandmother,
father and now her own chil-
dren greet her as she walks
to her new oïce each day.
Orr was born and raised
in Ukiah and completed
her kindergarten through
senior year in the storied
white building. She went
on to receive her bachelor9s
degree from Eastern Oregon
University and continued her
education in Utah, where
receiving master9s in science
education at Western Gover-
nors University.
Upon returning to her
hometown to teach, Orr
joined a staf comprised of
her former teachers.
<That was weird, but it
wasn9t weird for very long,=
she admitted.
For more than 18 years,
Orr taught science classes
for grades ove through 12
in Ukiah. As of July 1, she
transitioned once more into
a new role at Ukiah School
District.
A f t e r d el ib e r at io n
between outsourcing the
job or sticking with a local
candidate for the district9s
new superintendent, the
U k ia h School Boa rd
appointed Orr for the posi-
tion.
<Laura will be a great
fit for the position as she
possesses the drive, ambition
and adaptability that Ukiah
School District needs to be
Ukiah School District/Contributed Photo
The Ukiah School District has appointed longtime science
teacher Laura Orr as the new superintendent. She started
the job July 1, 2022.
successful in the future,=
said Wendt Eddy in a July
20 InterMountain Educa-
tion Service District press
release.
Connectivity a
priority
For Orr, one of the
district9s most pressing chal-
lenges 4 and first orders
of business 4 is internet
connectivity.
<Moder n education
requires connectivity,= she
said.
Due to the region9s lack-
ing infrastructure, the
school9s internet is often
spotty. This makes online
learning and testing partic-
ularly hard. Orr noted all of
Ukiah9s high school students
are planning to take at least
one online dual credit class
this coming year.
With funding support
from IMESD, Ukiah School
will receive a dedicated ober
internet line within a year 4
a multi-million dollar project
the district would never be
able to aford on its own.
<It9s going to make main-
taining a modern education
for our students possible,=
she said.
At the moment, nine
educators and support staf
4 including Orr 4 keep the
school running.
<Ever ybody k nows
what9s going on and helps
take part in things,= She said.
<It9s full support all the way
around.=
Orr said she hopes new
state incentive programs will
help provide districts with
what they need to encour-
age and support talented,
local educators to teach in
their very own communities.
Despite the unique chal-
lenges the district is facing,
Orr contends that simply
supporting students in their
endeavors is the easiest part.
<With good teachers and
good materials and good
connectivity and intentional
support to help them, they9ll
go as far as they wanna go,=
she said.
Teaching and
community matters
Orr is a local and regional
science education advocate
and a member of several
boards, outreach programs
and research projects around
the country. She also encour-
ages students to get involved
in scientioc research of their
own.
Orr has been an active
member of NITARP, the
Teacher Archive Research
Program organized by
NASA and Caltech9s Infra-
red Processing and Anal-
ysis Center. This program
partners educators with a
professional astronomer for
a year-long original research
project.
<Through it, you learn
better techniques and skills
to take back to students,= she
said.
For several years, Orr
selected a few interested
students from Ukiah to work
with her on the research and
present at national confer-
ences. To Orr, this program
gives students confidence
that they, too, can make
strides in scientioc research.
<You don9t have to be a
special smart kid from a big
school with a fancy research
department,= she said. <You
could be just an interested
kiddo from Eastern Oregon
that just really thinks baby
stars are cool.=
Outside of school, Orr is
active in the Ukiah commu-
nity as one of the directors
of the Ukiah Rodeo, leader
of the town9s 4-H clubs
and a coordinator of the
local NITARP astronomy
research.
As she takes on the role of
superintendent this fall, Orr
will wear many hats. She
will also serve as principal
of the school and will still
teach two science classes
every day.
Orr sees the unique chal-
lenges of rural education as
opportunities, rather than
liabilities. According to her,
the many years she9s spent at
Ukiah school 4 as a student
and a teacher 4 give her
extra understanding, drive
and energy to make it the
best it can be.
<The community itself
would not be the same
without us,= she said. <We
need to honor that tradi-
tion and culture and grow it
and support it.=
LOCAL BRIEFING
M-F man dies in
boating accident at
McKay Reservoir
PENDLETON 4 A
Milton-Freewater man
died Friday, July 29, from a
boating accident at McKay
Reservoir near Pendleton.
Ac c o r d i n g t o t h e
Umatilla County Sher-
if9s Oïce, a 911 caller at
6:13 p.m. July 29 reported
the accident, and sher-
if9s oïce marine deputies
responded to the scene.
A n i nvestigation
revealed eight occupants
in a boat had been tubing
on the reservoir. One in
the group, Benjamin Ryan
Camden, 41, of Milton-Free-
water, was in the water.
He attempted to get back
into the boat when the
transom ladder broke.
<Camden was unable to
pull himself into the boat,
and it was decided he would
hold onto the starboard
handrail while the boat
operator headed toward a
boat ramp,= the sheriff9s
oïce reported.
While slowing motor-
ing toward the boat ramp,
Camden lost his grip and
slid under the boat. He
suffered serious injuries
to his lower left leg from
propeller cuts.
Nearby boaters assisted
Camden to shore and then
into a private vehicle that
met with medics near the
reservoir entrance. The
ambulance rushed Camden
to St. Anthony Hospi-
tal, Pendleton,
where he
www.umatillacountyfair.net
succumbed to his injuries.
4 EO Media Group
East Oregonian, File
John Honemann, former manager of the Eastern Oregon Re-
gional Airport in Pendleton, poses for a portrait Nov. 9, 2021,
at the airport. Honemann relocated from northern Colorado
to Pendleton to start the job in July 2021. Airport Commis-
sioner David Styer reported Honemann said the city in June
2022 fired him.
Pendleton airport
commissioner says city
ored airport manager
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON 4 John
Honemann in late June did
not quit his job as manager of
the Eastern Oregon Regional
Airport in Pendleton, accord-
ing to a member of the Pend-
leton Airport Commission.
Instead, the city ored him.
Commissioner David
Styer, owner of All Terrain
Aircraft, said Honemann
addressed the commission
at its July 20 public meeting.
<He said how much he
liked working with commis-
sion members and thanked us
for our contributions,= Styer
said. <John conormed he did
not quit. He was ored without
notice or a severance pack-
age.=
City Manager Robb
Corbett and interim Airport
Manager Steve Chrisman
attended the meeting, Styer
reported. Chrisman is Pend-
leton9s full-time economic
development d i rector.
Corbett declined to comment.
The East Oregonian
has tried numerous times
to cont act Honeman n
for comment. He has not
returned any messages.
The city hired Honemann
in July 2021 to oversee the
airport, two industrial parks
with more than 90 tenants
and a 1,000-acre wheat farm.
<I was actually surprised
when they hired John last
year,= Styer said. <His skill
set includes common sense,
as in balancing budgets,
doing what you say and
saying what you9re doing.=
Honemann was popular
with businesses at the airport
and commission members,
based upon reactions to his
oring in late June.
Harold Nelson, owner of
Pendleton Aircraft Service,
said he was <shocked= when
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Honemann no longer worked
for the city.
<In my 53 years at the
airport, John was the first
manager with a pilot9s license
and an aviation background
as a veteran,= Nelson said.
<He was on a mission to save
the airport. He came around
to talk to businesses up here,
to ond out what he could do
to help.=
Nelson9s son Curtiss
Nelson said the Pendleton
Airport Commission had
an upbeat meeting June 22,
and then <suddenly John was
gone= a day or two after.
<Sometimes there9s a
conf lict between what9s
good for economic develop-
ment and what9s good for the
airport,= Styer said. <Such as
siting a hotel where you can9t
see the terminal. People come
into my shop to ask where the
terminal is.=
Airport Commissioner
Gary Zollman, owner of
Larry Burd Well-Drilling,
commented that everybody
liked Honemann, who had
provided the airport budget
to the advisory group, at its
request.
Air por t com mission
Chair Jim Webster, manager
at Union Soil and Water
Conser vation Dist r ict,
La Grande, said he was
<surprised and disappointed=
about Honemann9s depar-
ture.
<The commission felt that
he was doing a good job,= he
said. <We weren9t privy to the
deliberations. It takes time to
get a new person on board, so
now we9ll have to go through
that process again.=
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