SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
LOCAL & STATE
POLICE DOGS, HANDLERS GATHER FOR EXERCISES IN PENDLETON
Oregon Senate
Police partner up for K-9 training approves bill
banning guns
at state Capitol
By Alex Wittwer
The (La Grande) Observer
PENDLETON — Under
blue skies amid brisk wind,
a cadre of K-9 handlers
and trainers met Saturday,
March 20, in Pendleton. The
purpose: Train the work-
ing dogs that serve Eastern
Oregon’s police and sheriff’s
offi ces.
Police resources for train-
ing in rural Oregon are
limited, so interdepartmental
training is a crucial way
to pool assets and provide
opportunities that resemble
real-life situations the K-9
units could run into while
working calls.
“There’s good knowledge
sharing that occurs with dif-
ferent departments, and how
things they have seen in the
past add to the experience,”
said Noah Robbins, master
trainer and owner of Howling
Creek in Hockinson, Wash-
ington. “It’s a good opportu-
nity to learn from others.”
The training compound,
just north of the Pendleton
Police Department, hosts a
small warehouse, a derelict
bus and a fi ring range. Here,
the dogs can train in several
tactical situations, such as
tracking, apprehension, evi-
dence fi nding and with real
gunfi re.
“We have a lot of room
here,” Robbins said. “From
the dog’s perspective, the
more weird (expletive) you
can do with them, the better.”
Pendleton police offi cer
Cass Clark and K-9 Bali,
as well as Union County
Sheriff’s deputy Dane Jensen
and K-9 Molly, were in atten-
dance. Other adjacent coun-
ties — Morrow and Baker
By Sara Cline
Associated Press/Report for America
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce K-9 Molly helps apprehend a suspect (played by dog
trainer Darin Campbell, left) during a training exercise Saturday, March 20, in Pendleton.
— join the training sessions
when time permits.
The departments enlist the
aid of two nonprofi t organiza-
tions that specialize in train-
ing working dogs — Howling
Creek and Working Dogs
Oregon.
The latter was started in
2014 to train service dogs
for veterans and psychiatric
patients.
“Our original goal was to
educate businesses on what
they can and can’t do (regard-
ing service dogs),” Campbell
said. “And then K-9 Mick in
Portland was killed, and that
got us thinking about the law
enforcement side.”
Mick, a German-born shep-
herd, was only a month into
his career when he was shot
and killed while attempt-
ing to apprehend a burglary
suspect on April 16, 2017.
His handler, offi cer Jeffrey
Dorn of Portland Police, also
was shot but suffered non-life
threatening injuries.
In Pendleton last week, as
the dogs were unleashed from
the patrol vehicles — one
at a time to keep chaos to a
minimum — they made their
way around greeting han-
dlers, trainers and volunteers
who had come to serve as bite
or tracking targets. Bali, the
K-9 with Pendleton police,
jumped up to greet his former
trainer Robbins just moments
after his release from offi cer
Clark’s police vehicle.
Robbins had set up an
interview station for the han-
dlers and their dogs inside
the warehouse — a way to
bolster social media presence
with quick one-on-one inter-
views that give insight into
the life of K-9 units. After-
ward, it was time to train.
Darin Campbell, owner of
Working Dogs Oregon, was
the fi rst to don the bite suit
before heading out to hide
in the compound. The dense
padding made him waddle
like an 1980s arcade bad guy
through the gravel.
The comically large suits
serve to protect the volun-
teers and trainers from seri-
ous injury. Other implements,
such as fake limbs, provide a
more real-life experience for
the dogs, but the suit works
well for quickly rotating vol-
unteers through the training.
Molly was the fi rst up,
taking direction from Jensen
before darting off toward
where Campbell hid. The
two offi cers approached with
fi nger-guns drawn. Camp-
bell’s acting was convincing,
playing a scared fugitive
while Molly barked at the
same man she had warmly
greeted moments prior.
Three hurt in crash on Interstate 84
Riding with Rioux in the vehicle were
Jared L. Foster, 46, of Haines; Robin Mae
Three passengers were hurt, one seri- Foster, 45, of Baker City; and Christina
ously, in a one-vehicle crash on Inter-
Margaret Miller, 44, of Baker City.
state 84 Sunday, March 21.
The westbound freeway was closed
Oregon State Police Sr. Trooper Nicho- to allow a Life Flight helicopter to land.
las Hagedorn responded to the crash at Robin Foster, who was riding in the
4:52 p.m. It happened in the westbound left rear passenger seat, was fl ow to St.
lanes of Interstate 84 about 30 miles
Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise,
south of Baker City near the Weatherby Hagedorn stated.
Rest Area.
Mark Snider, St. Alphonsus spokes-
Hagedorn wrote in his daily media log man, said Foster was admitted to the
that the driver, David Arthur Rioux, 64, Boise hospital for treatment but upon
of Baker City, failed to negotiate a curve seeking information about her status
and struck the cement barrier with
Thursday afternoon, he found that she
the driver’s side of his 2010 Chevrolet
was no longer in care at the hospital.
Equinox.
Miller, a passenger in the right rear
Hagedorn said the vehicle veered
seat, and Jared Foster, who was riding
across both lanes and came to rest along in the front passenger seat, were taken
the paved shoulder.
by Baker City ambulance to St. Alphon-
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
sus Medical Center in Baker City. No
information about their conditions was
available in time for this report.
Hagedorn stated that while complet-
ing paperwork, he found that Miller had
an outstanding Malheur County war-
rant charging her with second-degree
failure to appear on a second-degree
theft charge. Miller was cited and re-
leased, Hagedorn said.
Rioux, who was not injured, also was
cited and released on a charge of failure
to drive within his lane.
Five Star towing responded and
transported the vehicle and Rioux to
Baker City.
Hagedorn was assisted at the scene
by Baker County Sheriff’s Department
deputies and Oregon Department of
Transportation employees.
City Council awards bid for airport work
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
The Baker City Council on
Tuesday, March 23, awarded
a bid for fi lling cracks and
applying a sealant to the
main runway and a parallel
taxiway at the Baker City
Airport.
Road Products Inc. of
Spokane, Washington, was
the lowest of three bidders, at
$313,290.
The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) will
pay 90% of the cost, and the
Oregon Department of Avia-
tion 9%. The city’s share, in
administrative costs, will total
about 1%, or about $3,130.
The other bidders are C.R.
Contracting LLC of Bend
($347,738) and Idaho Lines &
Sign LLC of Boise ($370,218).
According to a report to the
Council from Michelle Owen,
the city’s public works direc-
tor, the airport work will be
done in late summer of 2021.
In a related matter, coun-
cilors approved an agreement
with the FAA for a $13,000
grant from federal COVID-19
relief funds.
Owen told councilors the
city will use the money to
improve the septic drain fi eld
at the city-owned airport, and
clean fuel tanks.
Last year the city received
$30,000 from the federal
CARES Act. The city used
some of the money to plow
snow this winter, and will
use the remainder to patch
sections of pavement at the
airport this summer.
In other business Tuesday:
• Jeff Nelson, with the
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College’s Small Business
Development Center, gave
a presentation to councilors
about the Center.
• Councilors discussed a
proposal to change the city
golf board from fi ve members
to seven.
Lyle Kuckenbecker, a cur-
rent board member, said he’s
in favor of making the change.
PORTLAND — The Oregon Senate voted Thursday,
March 25, to advance a bill banning guns at the Capi-
tol and other state facilities and letting cities, counties,
schools and commercial airports decide whether to allow
people carrying licensed, concealed handguns into their
buildings.
Despite four hours of discussion and overwhelming op-
position by gun owners and Republicans, the bill passed,
16-7, and will move to the House. Four GOP senators
were absent from the fl oor, an increasingly common
occurrence by the minority party in attempts to block
Democratic priorities by denying quorum. Sen. Lynn
Findley, the Republican from Vale who represents Baker
County, was present and voted against the bill.
Besides exacerbating tensions between the parties,
the bill gained lots of attention from Oregonians — more
than 2,000 people sent written testimony, most of which
criticized the bill.
“People in the eastern part of our state and in the
southern part of our state — some of the rural areas
— may have a different view of guns than we have in
the urban area,” said Sen. Ginny Burdick, a Portland
Democrat. “Senate bill 554 gives (local jurisdictions) the
option of whether to continue concealed license handgun
holders to bring loaded guns into schools and public
buildings. The school board gets to decide. That means
the community gets to decide. Not just the gun owner.”
States have been split about allowing Capitol visitors,
legislators or employees to carry guns. But the issue has
drawn increased attention after the Jan. 6 assault on the
U.S. Capitol.
About 50 far-right protesters also breached the Oregon
Capitol on Dec. 21, during a one-day special session that
was closed to the public. They had gathered outside to
oppose statewide COVID-19 restrictions, and some toted
guns and broke glass doors.
“The events of 2020 are a red fl ashing light that we
need to do something,” Burdick said.
She also cited a U.S. Department of Homeland Secu-
rity bulletin on Jan. 27 that warned extremists may be
emboldened by the breach of the U.S. Capitol to target
elected offi cials and government facilities.
However, others argued that licensed concealed hand-
guns — which about 300,000 Oregonians have — could
save lives and protect people.
“It appears as though the supermajority and others
believe that you only have the right to possess a gun if
you are in your home, and that would be terrifi c if you
lived your entire life in your home. But we don’t. We live
our lives in our communities,” said Sen. Tim Knopp, a
Bend Republican.
“We go to the store — not normally thought to be a
dangerous act, to go to the grocery store, yet as we have
seen recently it can be deadly,” he said, noting this week’s
mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado.
Under current Oregon law, a person with a concealed
handgun license can possess a fi rearm or other weapon
while in a public building, including the Capitol.
Guns are allowed in statehouses in some form in 21
states, according to a February review by The Associated
Press. Eight states allow only concealed fi rearms inside
their capitols, while two states allow only open carry.
In addition, at least 13 states, including Oregon, do not
have metal detectors at the entrance to their capitols.
A Michigan panel banned the open carry of guns in
the state’s Capitol just one week after the U.S. Capitol
riot and following a plot last year to storm the state-
house. In Montana, a law signed last month allows any-
one with a permit to bring a concealed fi rearm into the
state Capitol, while Utah passed a law allowing people to
carry concealed weapons in its Capitol and elsewhere in
the state without a permit.
Oregon’s proposed bill authorizes any city, county,
commercial airport, school district, college or university
to limit or preclude a concealed handgun licensee from
possessing fi rearms in public buildings.
Republicans proposed that the bill be re-referred to a
committee for further public hearings, arguing one four-
hour hearing is “not a fair process” for such a controver-
sial bill.
THEFTS
Imposition of sentencing was suspended on
the two counts of unauthorized entry into a
Continued from Page 1A
motor vehicle. Items valued at an estimated
The estimated value of all the items is
$600 were taken in the car prowls.
$10,615.
For those crimes, Thomas was placed on 48
Thomas will be eligible to be placed in an
months’ bench probation, again with spe-
alternative incarceration program (AIP) only cial conditions of no contact with the victim
after serving 16 months of his sentence, court locations and orders to seek substance abuse
documents state.
treatment.
Thomas may be considered for release
All other criminal charges were dismissed
on post-prison supervision after successful
as part of the plea agreement.
completion of the AIP.
A restitution hearing is set for 2 p.m.
He was ordered to complete two years’ post- May 24 in Baker County Circuit Court. The
prison supervision upon release. If he violates extended period allows the District Attorney’s
terms of the post-prison supervision, he will
Offi ce time to gather more exact restitution
be subject to sanctions, including additional
fi gures from all victims involved, said District
prison time.
Attorney Greg Baxter.
Other special conditions of his post-prison
Thomas was represented by Baker City
supervision include no contact with Kirkway attorney Damien Yervasi.
Drive or the Catholic Church. And he was
Michael Spaulding, chief deputy district
ordered to seek substance abuse treatment.
attorney, prosecuted the case.