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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2015)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 LOCAL NEWS 6WDQ¿HOGPDUNHWUREEHGDWJXQSRLQW By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer Police are looking for a man who robbed the Cen- ter Market in 6tan¿eld at gunpoint early 6unday morning. 6tan¿eld City Manag- er Blair Larsen, acting as public information of¿cer for the 6tan¿eld Police De- partment, said photos and a name would be released to the public soon but police already knew the identity of the suspect, who was “clearly visible on video surveillance.” According to statements given to police by Cen- ter Market owners *urbal 6ingh and Jaswinder Kaur, Kaur was working at the market at a.m. on 6un- day when a man came in, pointed a gun at her and demanded she give him all of the money in the cash register. 6he handed over the money and called the police after he left. “6he was pretty shaken up,” Larsen said. 6ingh said that his wife was scared during the in- cident. The man demand- ed she open the register and put all the money in a bag, he said, and when she moved toward him to do so he hit her arm before tak- ing the money. “He ran away through the truck parking lot,” 6ingh said. Larsen said police didn’t know yet exactly how much money was tak- en. 6tan¿eld Police Chief Bryon Zumwalt and Lt. Monty Toombs have been on paid administra- tive leave since 1ov. 1 pending a Department of Justice investigation, leaving 6tan¿eld with one active police of¿cer in addition to support from Hermiston Police Depart- City seeks applicants to develop new brand ment and Umatilla Coun- ty 6heriff’s Of¿ce. Both agencies responded to the 9-1-1 call at the market, but 6tan¿eld’s department is taking the lead on the investigation. Larsen said the robbery was not a case where hav- ing a full staff in the police department would have made a difference. “(ven if we were fully staffed, by the time some- one got there he would have been gone,” Larsen said. Center Market is locat- ed at 3 6 Main 6t. in 6tan¿eld. After taking residents’ feedback to heart about its “<ou Can *ROW Here” brand, the city of Hermiston is looking for community members to join its Hermiston’s Future Branding Committee. The committee will meet for approximately two months to brainstorm new ideas for a city brand and then help seek public feedback on the proposals. The city implemented “<ou Can *ROW Here” in 13, but after it was painted on the water tower south of town, replacing the watermelon image that had greeted visitors for decades, residents complained it sounded like an invitation to cultivate Newport Park renovations doing their job marijuana. After a recent survey showed percent of respondents disliked the tagline, the City Council voted on 1ov. 3 to resurrect the branding committee, add 1 new members from the wider community and come up with new tagline options. The committee is a partnership between the city, the *reater Hermiston Area Chamber of Commerce and Focal Point Marketing. Applications for the committee can be found online at www.hermiston. or.us or at City Hall, 18 1( 6econd 6t. They are due at City Hall by 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 18. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY OREGON STATE POLICE A Hermiston man was killed Saturday night in a two-vehicle crash in Highway 207 near Hermiston. Two killed in weekend crashes A Hermiston man died 6aturday night in a crash with a commercial truck on Highway Diagonal Road near Hermiston and a Philomath man died Friday on Interstate 84 near Board- man. In the 6aturday crash, Richard Dean Cook, 4, was driving a 1 Chevro- let Traverse on the highway when he pulled onto Otis Lane, a private road, and backed into the highway in an attempt to change direc- tions, according to Oregon 6tate Police. As he backed into the highway, his vehicle was struck on the driver’s side by a northbound semi driv- en by Harvey Hass, , of Umatilla. Both vehicles came to rest in the north- bound lane, which was closed for more than two hours. Cook was taken to *ood 6hepherd Medical Center, Hermiston, where he was pronounced dead. Hass wasn’t hurt in the collision. Jerome Martel Price, , STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL HalI-Ànished renovations at 1ewSort 3ark are already doing their MoE :ater Irom a recent rainstorm collected where the EaseEall Àeld used to Ee instead oI Áooding neighEors· homes. 7he city Slans to Slant grass Eack over the Àeld once eIIorts to lower it are comSlete. Hermiston got aEout . inches oI rain on 0onday. 2ld 6tan¿eld +iJh 6chool Xp for sale By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer The old 6tan¿eld High 6chool is on the market, but 6tan¿eld city councilors don’t think the city should buy it. Kal *arton of *arton Associates in Pendleton, told councilors at their Dec. 1 meeting that he had listed the school for sale and had spo- ken with potential buyers, but he thought the “highest and best use” for it would be a city-owned community center. “What I want to do is just plant a seed and then come back,” he said, handing out packets of details about the school. The four-acre prop- erty and 4,-square- foot building are listed for ,. *arton said a church had expressed interest in turning the building into a homeless shelter, the Horizon Project was looking into turning it into housing for the intellec- tually disabled and the De- partment of Veterans Affairs had looked at it too. Councilor Jack Huxoll said he thought the building was in too poor a condition and too expensive for the city to even consider buying. “That building’s been there a lot of years,” he said. “I went to school there. I don’t think the city should have anything to do with it.” *arton said the ground Àoor of the school had been remodeled and work had been done on the plumbing and electrical systems. The asbestos on the ¿rst Àoor had been abated, while most of the asbestos upstairs had been encapsulated. He said there was lead paint upstairs but it wouldn’t be hard to take care of. Councilor Pam Mc6pad- den said even if the city could afford the building it would cost too much to re- model and address the prob- lems, like asbestos. Mayor Thomas McCann suggested that the issue be sent to the city’s building committee anyway so that they could take a closer look and make a formal recom- mendation. City Manager Blair Larsen said that would be done. of Hermiston, was a pas- senger in Cook’s vehicle and left the scene before police arrived. They caught up with him at *ood 6hep- herd where he was seeking treatment and interviewed him about the crash. O6P was assisted at the scene by Hermiston Fire and Ambulance, Umatilla County 6heriff’s Of¿ce and the Oregon Department of Transportation. On Friday, Keith Car- ney, 34, was driving east- bound on the highway near milepost 14 when, for un- known reasons, his 18 Chevrolet pickup went off the road and hit a large boulder, according to O6P. The truck was engulfed in Àames by the time emer- gency crews arrived on scene. O6P reports Carney traveled more than 4 feet after going off the road. Troopers were assisted by Boardman ¿re and police, the Morrow County 6her- iff’s Of¿ce and Oregon De- partment of Transportation. 14 cats removed from 3UDQNFDOOVFUHDWHPHVVEULHÀ\FORVH0F'RQDOG¶VUHVWDXUDQWV (mployees at 6tan¿eld, pression systems are not re- them test systems. home, owner arrested “We will personally visit Pendleton and Arrowhead motely controlled or moni- By PHIL WRIGHT Staff Writer A Hermiston man was arrested Monday for an- imal neglect after police found 14 cats, three of which were dead, at his small residence. According to a press release from Hermiston 3olice, of¿cers at 1 p.m. responded to the home of David Zehner, , at 141 1( th 6t., on a report of animal neglect. Pet Rescue of Hermis- ton also responded and helped remove the cats from the home, including two that required imme- diate medical care. Zehner cooperated with police but was ar- rested for ¿rst degree ani- mal neglect and lodged at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton. “Though minimum care as de¿ned by statute can be very subjective and is often the cause of varying opinions, it was clear based on the condi- tions our of¿cers found the animals to be living in;” Police Chief Jason (dmiston said in the press release. “Minimum care was not being met for these animals.” (dmiston also said he appreciated the work of Pet Rescue in removing the animals. Three local McDonald’s restaurants had to shut down after prank calls 6un- day afternoon convinced employees to activate ¿re suppression systems. Deputy state ¿re marshal 6cott *off in Pendleton said the calls targeted the McDonald’s in Hermiston, Pendleton, the Pilot Travel Center in 6tan¿eld, and the Arrowhead Travel Plaza on the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation near Pendleton. The caller claimed to represent a ¿re protection equipment company that remotely monitored the ¿re suppres- sion systems and asked staff to test those. CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States HERMISTON Best Western: 2255 Highway 395 South December 11 th • 1:00 pm & 6:00 pm Walk-Ins Welcome! OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45 www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com 360-921-2071 activated the systems, *off said, causing a cascade of “wet chemical extinguish- ing agent” to cover deep fryers and more. He said he heard reports of this hap- pening to McDonald’s in the Tri-Cities, Washington, as well. “After staff activated the systems, then whoever it was on the phone let them know it was a prank,” *off said. The chemicals work to smother grease ¿res, and while the wet chemicals do not get all over the restau- rant, *off said it does make a mess, and the restaurants shut down temporarily. *off said the ¿re sup- tored, and any testing must be done on site. *off noti¿ed Pendleton Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo and others about the pranks. Ciraulo said ¿re agencies do not call people to have you ² a ¿re marshal, chief or personnel will arrive to test the system,” he said. Ciraulo also said people can call the ¿re department if they have questions or want to seek veri¿cation. Providing the Most Advanced Digital Hearing Technology A family run business for over 50 Years 541-276-3155 1-800-678-3155 29 SW Dorion Pendleton 236 E Newport Hermiston www.ruhearing.com GRAND OPENING Monday, Nov. 30th RESTAURANT & MINI MART Open 7 days a week • 6am-11pm Beer, Cigarettes, Snacks, Coffee & More!