A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Man sentenced in Mother’s Day shooting
Plea deal will send
18-year old to
prison on 6-plus-
year sentence
By PHIL WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
Alexis Manuel Paredes
Bedolla, 18, of Hermiston,
is heading to state prison for
shooting another man last
Mother’s Day in a gunfight.
Bedolla last week took
a deal from the Umatilla
SPUDS
continued from Page A1
Getting to this point is no
small feat, Sathuvalli said.
From the time breeding be-
gins to when the potatoes are
approved for release, it usu-
ally takes 12-15 years of field
trials.
Echo Russet — named for
the city of Echo — and Cas-
tle Russet are about to cross
that finish line. The Capital
Press reports that the Potato
Variety Management Insti-
tute, which handles licensing
and royalties for Tri-State
varieties, has decided to re-
lease the latest creations in
December.
“We should have approval
very soon,” Sathuvalli said.
Potato field day also fea-
tured updates on research
projects to help farmers
FOURTH
continued from Page A1
becue Pit), live music, games
and a front row seat to fire-
works display.
STANFIELD
Stanfield Fourth of July
• 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Bard Park, off Highway
395 between Harding and
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017
FROM PAGE A1
County Dis-
trict Attor-
ney’s Office
and pleaded
guilty
to
second-de-
gree assault
and unlaw-
ful use of a
weapon, ac-
cording to Alexis Manuel
circuit court Paredes
r e c o r d s . Bedolla
Judge Eva
Temple sentenced Bedolla
to six years, eight months in
the Oregon Department of
Corrections, minus the time
he served in local jail.
Bedolla’s victim was
Adalberto Flores, who
was 20 at the time and in
his apartment at 645 S.E.
Fourth St., Hermiston. He
took two rounds in his but-
tocks but also fired back
with a rifle and struck
Bedolla in the arm, severely
injuring him.
District Attorney Dan
Primus did not immediately
return a call seeking com-
ment, but he made public
statements that revealed
Flores was the shooter who
killed 22-year-old Salvador
Valencia in 2012 in a fight
at Gotta Stop convenience
store, Hermiston. Herm-
iston Police Chief Jason
Edmiston also confirmed
Flores shot Valencia.
The investigation into
the deadly shooting, Edmis-
ton said, showed Valencia
was the aggressor.
While Flores was in-
volved in both gunfights,
Edmiston said, linking the
two to anything like gang
retaliation would be a
stretch. The Mother’s Day
shooting had its origins in
a bar room fight that took
place a few hours before
and involved one of Flores’
relatives.
control pesky Lygus bugs,
manage various diseases and
thwart parasitic nematodes.
Sapinder Bali, who works
with Sathuvalli in the potato
breeding program, said they
are still working to pin down
the specific genes in potatoes
responsible for nematode
resistance. Nematodes are
microscopic parasites that in-
fect potato roots and suck out
the plant’s nutrients, causing
both internal and external
defects that can make the
crop unmarketable. Once the
genes are identified, breeders
like Sathuvalli can use them
to boost the resistance of
new varieties over the next
decade.
“Probably next year, I will
have some exciting findings
to share with you all,” Bali
said.
Josephine
Antwi,
a
postdoctoral researcher at
HAREC, later transitioned
into talking about Lygus
bugs and how the insects
may affect potato yields.
There are two species of
Lygus bugs in the area, Ant-
wi said, which are widely
distributed and should not be
confused with aphids. What
Antwi is still trying to fig-
ure out is whether the bugs
are capable of transmitting
harmful purple top virus, and
how many insects are too
many for potatoes to handle.
“We are trying to relate
the presence of Lygus bugs
to yield,” Antwi said.
The event marked the first
potato field day for Ruijun
Qin, the station agronomist
who was hired last year to re-
place Don Horneck. Qin re-
cently started field trials with
Sathuvalli looking into the
best nutrient management
practices for Echo Russet
and Castle Russet potatoes,
so farmers will know what to
do and what to expect if they
decide to plant new varieties
in their own fields.
Ken Frost, plant pathol-
ogist at HAREC, wrapped
things up by delving into dis-
ease concerns this year. Late
blight has an especially high
probability of turning up
around Hermiston given the
region’s cool, wet spring.
“We’re going to see it
sometime this year,” Frost
said. “The problem is we
don’t know when or where.”
HAREC station manager
Phil Hamm said the field day
is an opportunity for grow-
ers to see (and touch) for
themselves how the facility’s
research can help them im-
prove their success.
“This station is about
you,” Hamm told local grow-
ers.
Roosevelt avenues
www.facebook.com/Stan-
field4thofJuly
Free. Firemen’s break-
fast, parade (10 a.m.), en-
tertainment, vendors, duck
race, 3-on-3 tournament, pie
baking contest (turn by 11
a.m.) and raffle drawings.
Park activities end at 3 p.m.,
but fireworks will be shot
off at dusk.
Feats of Strength
• 7 p.m.
• Bard Park
Free. Faith-based presen-
tation by Hermiston High
School graduate John Kopta
of The Power Team, patriot-
ic sings by Tony Long-Drew
and fellowship
BOARDMAN
Boardman Thunder
• 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Boardman Marina Park
www.boardmanchamber.
org
Free. Boy Scout breakfast,
parade (11 a.m.), tournaments
(3-3 basketball, horseshoes,
youth soccer), food/craft ven-
dors, DJ music and fireworks
at dusk. (Also, there’s a glow
run Monday, July 3 at 7 p.m.
The cost ranges from $10 to
$25, with T-shirts).
Irrigon man charged
with sexual assault
Eduardo Salas, 60, of
Irrigon faces charges of
sexually assaulting two
girls younger than 12.
Morrow County Dis-
trict Attorney Justin Nel-
son said the victims are
related to Salas, who the
sheriff’s office arrested
Thursday morning.
The Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office started
a criminal investigation
into Salas in early June,
Nelson said, after victims
made allegations to fami-
ly members. The Oregon
Department of Human
Services also was in-
volved, and Nelson com-
plimented the state agen-
cy and sheriff’s office for
their coordination in the
case.
He also said the Mt.
Emily Safe Center in La
Grande played the crucial
role of conducting sensi-
tive forensic interviews in
this case.
Nelson’s office Mon-
day afternoon arraigned
Salas on the following:
two counts of first-degree
rape, one count of at-
tempted first-degree sexu-
al abuse, and nine counts
of first-degree sexual
abuse. Three of the sexu-
al abuse charges apply to
one victim, and the rest of
the counts are for the oth-
er. The state accused Salas
of committing the crimes
between April 1, 2016,
and May 28, 2017.
Salas is scheduled to
be back to court Friday,
June 30, after Nelson
takes the case to a grand
jury for an indictment.
Until then, Salas remains
in the Umatilla County
Jail, Pendleton, in lieu of
BTW
100 years and looks
forward to serving the
continued from Page A1 Hermiston community
via phone, email and its
In addition, they will website — with deliver-
miss Jon Mishra, Devin ies still made by Dusty
Grigg, Michael Roberts, Baker right to your front
Mike Kay, Bob Smith door. In addition, Ron
and other colleagues that and Debbie Bates in-
are leaving the district to vite customers to stop
broaden their horizons by their Pendleton store
and begin new endeavors Monday through Fridays
in their careers.
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
• • •
227 S. Main St. For more
Frazier Office Sup- information, contact 541-
ply in Pendleton recently 276-1121, shop@frazier-
sent letters introducing officesupply.com or visit
themselves to customers www.frazierofficesupply.
of Hometown Office com.
Supply.
• • •
The Hermiston office
You can submit items
supply store is closing for our weekly By The
its doors at the end of Way column by email-
the month. Owners Gary ing your tips to Gary L.
and Connie Welch are West, editor of the Herm-
remaining in the area and iston Herald at editor@
will continue to serve the hermistonherald.com
Hermiston community or share them on social
at High Performance media using the hashtag
Signs & Graphics.
#HHBTW. Follow the
Frazier’s has been a Hermiston Herald on
family-owned store in Twitter at @Hermiston-
Pendleton for more than Herald.
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