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A8 Region Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 24, 2016 Details emerge in Hermiston murder-suicide investigation By Phil Wright EO Media Group Jason Huston ired three rounds from a 9 mm Glock pistol Thursday into his life- long friend Ken Valdez at his Hermiston home, killing him. Huston also shot Andria Bye once and, in the end, shot and killed himself. Bye was taken to the hos- pital after telling police what had transpired, though she didn’t know the whereabouts of her son, 14-year-old James “JJ” Hurtado. Perhaps no more than an hour before, Huston is be- lieved to have shot and killed Hurtado, to whom he was something of a father igure, with the same pistol. EO Media Group/E.J. Harris Police investigate the scene of a shooting that left two dead and one injured at the corner of Northwest 11th Street and West Madrona Avenue on Thursday in Hermiston. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston and Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan revealed more on Monday about one of the most violent crimes in Hermiston’s histo- ry. Huston and Valdez, both 45, had known each other as far back as high school and had coached wrestling to- gether since 2013, and Hus- ton and Bye had previously been in a relationship. Ed- miston held off discussing a motive, calling it premature while the investigation con- tinues. Hurtado had last been seen Thursday at 10 a.m. when Huston picked him up in Umatilla and said they were going to play disc golf at McNary Park, according to Edmiston. Police around 11:18 a.m. responded to calls about a shooting at Southwest 11th Street and Hermiston Av- enue. They found the door open at Valdez’s home at 130 N.W. 11th St., and inside found Bye and the bodies of Valdez and Huston. Edmiston said Bye gave a detailed statement to police, but Huston had not told her he shot her son. Bye was re- leased from the hospital over the weekend. Detectives at a de- briefing talked about their search for Hurtado that be- gan soon after they arrived at Valdez’s home, Edmiston said, and also came up with a “to do” list, including more places to check for the teen. They soon learned of two places Huston was known to go shooting rec- reationally. “When we got that, it was starting to get dark,” Edmis- ton said, “so we had to hur- ry.” Detectives went to both sites, he said, and found the boy’s body off Country Lane about two miles outside the Hermiston city limits. Police found a pickup that belonged to Huston on Bridge Road, which is near Country Lane, but Edmiston said Huston drove another pickup into town and parked it at Foxwood Apartments near Valdez’s home. Valdez had a roommate, Edmiston said, but that per- son was at work during the shooting. Washington county authorizes action against wolves WDFW stops ‘partial pack removal’ at 2 By Don Jenkins EO Media Group Ferry County commis- sioners unanimously passed a resolution Friday authorizing the sheriff’s ofice to kill the remaining nine members of a wolf pack in the northeastern Washington county, if state wildlife oficials don’t resume shooting wolves. “That pack of wolves needs to be gone,” Commis- sioner Mike Blankenship said. “I feel the sheriff has that power and that obligation as much as he would with a wild dog out there.” The Department of Fish and Wildlife halted the search Thursday for the Profanity Peak pack 13 days after shoot- ing two adult female wolves from a helicopter. Four adults and ive pups survive. WDFW initiated lethal re- moval Aug. 3 after the pack killed at least four calves and one cow in less than a month. The pack probably was re- sponsible for at least three other depredations, according to WDFW. Blankenship said WDFW ended the culling of the pack prematurely. County oficials have pressed the department to eliminate the entire pack since 2014, citing concerns for humans, pets and live- stock. County commissioners held a special meeting Fri- day afternoon at which they approved giving Sheriff Ray Maycumber the resources to lethally remove the pack. It may not be necessary. WDFW says it will resume hunting for the Profanity Peak Your generous support of the Blue Mountain Eagle Newspapers in Education program helped to provide hundreds of copies of the newspaper and unlimited access to our website to schools throughout pack if more depredations oc- cur, which is a strong possibil- ity, Blankenship said. “An operator has been losing an animal a day since their animals were put on the range,” he said. “Should Fish and Wildlife fail to, we’re pre- pared to step up and inish that job.” If the county targets wolves, it would test WD- FW’s jurisdiction over the state’s wildlife. “Maybe that would get challenged and maybe we need to have conversation. I’m sure it would be a fairly mind-blowing case,” Blan- kenship said. The two wolves that were shot included the breeding female. WDFW oficials say they can’t identify different pack members from a heli- copter. After the shootings, the pack withdrew to heavy timber in the Kettle River Range Mountains and became increasingly dificult to track, even though two wolves wore GPS radio collars, according to WDFW. WDFW also suggested in a press release that shooting the two wolves had been effective in stopping depredations. “The goal of removing some wolves from the pack was to stop wolf attacks on area cattle herds,” WDFW wolf policy coordinator Don- ny Martorello said in a written statement. “The last conirmed depredation by the pack was two weeks ago, but we are pre- pared to resume operations to remove wolves if monitoring efforts conirm new attacks.” Efforts to reach the ranch suffering the most losses were unsuccessful. But others in contact with the producer said livestock remains continue to be found. In some cases, too little remains of the carcass to identify whether the animal was killed by a wolf. Grant County each week during the 2015-2016 school year. Without your support, the majority of schools would not be able to have access to this valuable information that keeps students informed on important local events. BAD MOMS R Three under-appreciated moms ditch their conventional reponsibilities for a jolt comedic self-indulgence. FRI & SAT (12:45) (4:20) 7:20 9:45 SUNDAY (12:45) (4:20) 7:20 9:35 MON-THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:20 9:35 BEN-HUR PG-13 Roderick Kuhn Elaine Mezzo Barbara Pollak Mitch Saul Barb Sohr-Miller Lois Wacken The epic story of Judah Ben-Hur, a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army. FRI & SAT (12:45) (4:00) 7:00 9:35 SUNDAY (12:45) (4:00) 7:00 9:35 MON-THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:00 9:35 KUBO & THE TWO STRINGS PG A young boy name Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past. FRI & SAT (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:40 SUNDAY (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:35 MON-THURS (12:45) (4:10) 7:10 9:35 $9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth 04290 Barry Adams Don & Carolyn Caldwell Scott Cotter Nancy Ferguson Everett Holladay Ansel Krutsinger EO Media Group/E.J. Harris A pristine gym in the newly finished Washington Elementary School in Pendleton. The new building provides the district with a facility making it easier to comply with the state’s physical education mandate. Schools seek delay in Oregon’s P.E. requirement Lack of facilities, teachers hamper districts’ progress By Paris Achen Capital Bureau With less than 10 percent of Oregon’s K-8 schools pro- viding the minimum number of weekly physical education minutes mandated by the Leg- islature nine years ago, dis- tricts want lawmakers to ex- tend the fall 2017 compliance deadline. Rather than inching to- wards meeting the require- ment, the number of compliant schools has actually declined, according to public records re- viewed by the Pamplin Media Group/EO Media Group Cap- ital Bureau. House Bill 3141, approved by state lawmakers in 2007, made Oregon the irst state in the nation to require minimum physical education instruction- al minutes for elementary and middle school pupils, accord- ing to the American Heart As- sociation. The law calls for a min- imum of 150 minutes of physical education instruction per week for grades K-5 and 225 minutes for grades 6-8. Schools are required to meet that standard by fall 2017. Most schools are so far from fulilling the requirement that their advocacy groups are now asking lawmakers to ei- ther push back the deadline or allow for a phase-in. They also want other tweaks to the law, such prorating the standard to account for professional de- velopment days and inclement weather, and to add more lex- ibility in how physical educa- tion may be deined. “Everybody recognizes the pinch we ind ourselves in,” said Jim Green, deputy exec- utive director of the Oregon School Boards Association. “There are not enough P.E. teachers. Some of the facili- ties are inadequate in order to be able to provide that level of instruction, and it is going to take a lot to ramp up to that.” Out of 1,080 public schools with some or all grades in K-8, only 97 schools in 2014-15 provided the minimum num- ber of weekly minutes out- lined in HB 3141, according to the Oregon Department of Education’s most recent count. That’s a decline from the 102 schools in 2013-14 that met the minimum. Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, champi- oned the law in 2007 as a way to address childhood obesity and boost pupils’ academic skills. Along with the mini- mum instructional time, the bill offered schools special grants, known as PEEK-8, or Physical Education Expansion K-8, to help hire P.E. teach- ers or give existing teachers professional development in physical education. The grants provided about $4 million to schools in the last four years. “I started this some 10 years ago because physical ed- ucation had disappeared from our schools,” Courtney said. “I understand resources are an issue, and every school is dif- ferent. I just hope that together we can ind a way to continue to move forward.” Any amount is greatly appreciated. And, your donation is tax deductible. Simply complete and mail the coupon below with your donation. 190-071516 Add Your Name to Our List of NIE Sponsors! I want to support local students by helping to provide the Blue Mountain Eagle and MyEagleNews.com to classrooms! $5 $10 $25 $50 $100 $150 Other amount:_______ My check is enclosed. 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