PENDLETON — Marie Pratuch of Pendleton is a contemporary ceramicist who creates classic and rustic shapes with a sense of delicacy and ingenuity to her craft.
Pratuch during a recent creative session grabbed a hunk of wet clay and slammed it on the pottery wheel. She wrapped her hands firmly around the muddy gray clay, spun the wheel and motioned it to remain centered.
“This is the hard part. I might have to stop talking,” Pratuch said. “This is a little firmer than I usually work with, so sometimes I have to hold my breath. This is the hardest part, I think, is throwing and centering.”
Marie Pratuch concentrates on controlling the motion of her clay Nov. 29, 2022, at the ceramics studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
Pratuch sat in her workspace at the Alice Fossatti Ceramics Studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts. After a couple of minutes, the clay sprang up from its wet disheveled form and blossomed into a wide bowl.
“It’s a sense of touch that you end up acquiring,” Pratuch said. “I can throw with my hands and my eyes blindfolded. I think just over time you acquire that sensation that feeling.”
As she guided the clay with the palm of her hands she reflected on her upbringing in the town of Boring in Clackamas County.
“My mother and stepfather worked for Albertsons,” she said. “One was a checker and one was a receiving clerk. My biological father was a metal worker and woodworker. From his side, I come from a line of craftsmen.”
No time to breath, just work
After she graduated high school, Pratuch joined the Army and became a combat medic. Half of her unit was shipped off to Desert Storm. She and the rest were stationed in Germany. During her off time, she would explore, travel and immerse herself in the historical sites of Nuremberg, Barstow and Belgium.
When her service ended, she returned to civilian life in Portland and had to consider her future.
“Nobody would hire me because I didn’t have a strong enough education. So I went back to school,” Pratuch said. “I went to Concorde Career Institute in Portland to become a medical assistant.”
Pratuch buckled down, received her certifications and became a medical assistant. She worked for surgeons, urgent care and private practices in Gresham. She particularly enjoyed working for private practices because it gave her a chance to become acquainted with some families.
For several years, Pratuch consistently worked in the high-paced, high-stress medical world. On top of that, she became a mother.
Routinely, she would get up, work and take care of her family. Every day — get up, work, and take care of her family.
Until one day she went to work, had a panic attack and went home to take care of her family. Then she had another panic attack. Finally, she said, she mentally crashed into a wall, lost her job and everything had stopped.
She said she couldn’t leave the house without bursting into tears. She struggled to get up, had other panic attacks and tried to take care of her family.
“I had panic attacks at work and my production went down,” Pratuch said. “I got mentally sick. I couldn’t work anymore. After I spoke to a friend of mine, who is a veteran, he made it clear to me that I may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of my past.”
Marie Pratuch throws acrylic black paint on a glass Nov. 29, 2022, or her print at the art studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
In less than a year into her service while being stationed in Germany, Pratuch said, a United States soldier sexually assaulted her. She reported the attack to her commanding officers.
“I had no female representative,” she recalled. “I had my male company commander and my male battalion commander, taking down the report. I had no medical personnel or anything like that. And then when they wouldn’t give me help, my self-esteem was shot. I felt that I was undervalued.”
Pratuch said she felt alone and scared.
“I asked for counseling, and they wouldn’t give me counseling,” she said. “Because they said, if I needed counseling, I was unfit for duty, and I’d be discharged from the military. So it’s the ‘shut up and get back to work’ thing.'”
Within a week, her attacker assaulted another female soldier. The military decided to give him a dishonorable discharge. No jail sentence. No probation. No sexual predator list. He was sent home to the states only to return to civilian life.
Pratuch said she was shocked and mortified. She marched down to the Judge’s Advocate General Corps office and spoke against their decision.
“How could you let him go after that and do nothing?” Pratuch recalled asking. “And they told me, ‘Soldier, you better watch your tone, you’re gonna get written up for insubordination.’ So that led to learning how to stuff my emotions.”
During the rest of her service, Pratuch said she resorted to drinking in an attempt to self-medicate and block out the assault. On one of her nights out she met someone and wound up pregnant. The military sent her home early.
“I started finding my value in the wrong places,” Pratuch said. “Started getting my attention in the wrong places, and I ended up pregnant.”
Restoring balance
When she arrived home she decided to get her life together for her child. She went to school, received her degree, worked, and blocked the incident until the weight of the memories piled on top of her. She had trouble sleeping and would consistently endure nightmares.
Pratuch said she decided to do something about it and drove to Veterans Affairs to seek help, get treatment and break down the wall of her PTSD.
Marie Pratuch wets her hands Nov. 29, 2022, to shape the clay at the ceramics studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
Finding the right balance of medication to handle PTSD is an arduous path to stability.
She said she wrestled with attempting a functional social life while preventing a dark slip into agoraphobia. Pratuch felt it was time for a change. New scenery. A quiet and quaint area to raise her kids.
“We came out to Hermiston to visit a friend and go to the county fair,” Pratuch recalled. “I sat on our friend’s porch and all I could hear was the wind. I felt a calmness come over. Just being able to take a breath, release it, not be in fear and not worry about who’s behind me and what’s over my shoulder. I want to live out here. So I started researching.”
She and her husband Tony Pratuch decided to move to Pendleton.
When Pratuch settled in Pendleton she signed up at Blue Mountain Community College. As part of her elective choices, she registered for art classes -— painting, sculpture, drawing and ceramics.
Marie Pratuch prepares a black print Nov. 29, 2022, at the art studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
She was immersed in creativity and found herself breathing and focusing better. Between her medication, counseling sessions and art classes, Pratuch said she found herself on the road to restoring balance.
In 2015, she began teaching at the Pendleton Center for the Arts, joining a community of artists who welcomed her.
“I found my tribe,” Pratuch said. “I have a supportive community around me. It’s like the fog has been lifted.”
Wet clay covers the hands of Marie Pratuch while she creates bowls Nov. 29, 2022, at the ceramics studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
Her ceramic bowls, trays, cups and plates have an earthy rustic appeal. She stamps symbolic scenes of nature — animals, plants, moons and sea animals. Accompanied by a wonderful composition of minimalist colors in the background.
She designed an ocean collection theme inspired by the style of Japanese black prints, which symbolize the calm of waves in the new chapter of her life.
Some of Marie Pratuch’s Japanese-style black print stamps are on display Nov. 29, 2022, at the art studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts.
“The big open space, the ability to see distances the sounds and the smell of saltwater,” Pratuch said, “reminds me of being a kid when I would go out on the bay and go crabbing with my family.”
Pratuch is at the beginning stages of an altruistic project. She is working on the process of finding grants to help fund and develop an art workshop for veterans to promote healing.
“Art is another way for people to express themselves. It’s an outlet for emotion. It’s an outlet for joy, anger and sadness,” Pratuch said. “It’s emotionally releasing. It’s very cathartic. Whenever I’m feeling anxious, whenever I’m feeling sad, whenever I’m feeling just out of sorts, I know that I can come here.”
Marie Pratuch works Nov. 29, 2022, on her prints and ceramics at the art studio inside the Pendleton Center for the Arts. Pratuch’s work can be found at the Art of the Gift in the arts center until Saturday Dec. 31.
(KDVR/NEXSTAR) — Have you ever heard of a weather pattern called the “atmospheric river”? The powerful and prolonged condition is gearing up to move over the western region of the U.S. through Jan. 4.
An atmospheric river is basically a conveyor belt of moisture from the Pacific Ocean — and while they’re not on land like typical rivers, they do contain enough water to be classified as rivers, U.S. Geological Survey explains.
Technically, an atmospheric river, or AR, is a channel of water vapor that gets picked up near Hawaii, then transported by atmospheric wind directly into the West.
Atmospheric rivers are channels of water being transported via atmospheric wind. (AP Images)
Once they meet land, AR moisture is released, then lifted higher into the atmosphere where it develops into heavy rain/snow. This is particularly evident in mountainous areas of the west. While certain landscapes can benefit from AR moisture — parts of the Sierra Nevada mountain range receive 30-50% of their annual precipitation from ARs — too much of it can cause problems.
Earlier this week, an atmospheric river sparked a cascade of issues in areas of California and Oregon.
The National Weather Service’s forecaster/meteorologist William Churchill told The New York Times that while California can usually benefit from the extra precipitation, “too much all at once” creates risk in areas damaged by wildfires. Here, scorched debris creates the possibility of mudslides, according to Churchill.
USGS elaborates on this point, explaining that fire damage dries out soil, making it less absorbent. When heavy rains begin, water slides right off — creating the potential for excess runoff and flash flooding. Additionally, this can present hazards for future fires, USGS scientists say, since excess moisture can cause dry, weedy vegetation to grow where it’s not supposed to — giving wildfires even more dry foliage to burn through.
While the term “atmospheric river” might be new to many, the phenomenon’s effect on the weather is pretty constant: There’s always one happening somewhere across the globe, USGS explains.
The lawsuit says that Julia Misley met Tyler in 1973 at one of his shows in Portland. She said she was 16 at the time and Tyler was 25 or 26.
LOS ANGELES — A woman who has previously said Steven Tyler had an illicit sexual relationship with her when she was a teenager is now suing the Aerosmith frontman for sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The lawsuit brought by Julia Misley was filed Tuesday under a 2019 California law that gave adult victims of childhood sexual assault a three-year window to file lawsuits for decades-old instances of assault. Saturday is the deadline to file such claims.
The 65-year-old Misley, formerly known as Julia Holcomb, said in a statement that she wanted to seize “a new opportunity to take legal action against those that abused me in my youth.” The Associated Press does not name victims of sexual assault unless they publicly identify themselves.
While the lawsuit doesn’t name Tyler, Misley identified him by name in the statement, issued through the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates. She has also recounted her experiences with Tyler in prior interviews, and Tyler discussed a relationship with a teenage girl in two books, published in 2011 and 1997. The acknowledgements section of his memoir “Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?” thanks a “Julia Halcomb,” which Misley has said is a reference to her.
Representatives for Tyler did not immediately return requests for comment Friday. Rolling Stone first reported the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges Tyler “used his role, status, and power as a well-known musician and rock star to gain access to, groom, manipulate, exploit, sexually assault,” Misley over a period of three years. Some of the abuse occurred in Los Angeles County, the lawsuit said. As a result, she has suffered severe emotional injury as well as economic losses, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit says that Misley met Tyler in 1973 at one of his shows in Portland, Oregon, and was later invited to Tyler’s hotel room, where she said she told him she was 16 years old. Tyler would have been 25 or 26 at the time. It says he engaged in “various acts of criminal sexual conduct” against Misley.
He engaged in sexual acts with her following multiple other shows, and in 1974 he became her legal guardian so that she could travel to him with shows, the lawsuit alleged.
The lawsuit alleged that Misley became pregnant in 1975 as a result of having sex with Tyler, and that he later coerced her into having an abortion.
Tyler further harmed Misley by publishing memoirs that detailed parts of their relationship without her knowledge or consent, the lawsuit alleged. Doing so subjected Misley to public attention and scrutiny, which retraumatized her and made it harder for her to recover, the lawsuit said.
In Tyler’s 2011 memoir, he mentions meeting an unnamed 16-year-old “girlfriend to be.” He wrote that he almost “took a teen bride” and got her parents to sign over custody so he wouldn’t get arrested when she went on tour with him out of state.
“By including Plaintiff’s name in the acknowledgements, he left the readers and the public without any doubt of Plaintiff’s identity,” the lawsuit states, adding that she was confronted with a picture of her own face on a tabloid cover at a grocery store after the book’s publication.
Tyler’s relationship with a teenage girl is also referenced by several people in “Walk This Way,” a 1997 “autobiography” of Aerosmith in oral history format. The teen is given the pseudonym “Diana Hall” and, at one point, is described as pregnant. Tyler said he was thinking about marrying her, referenced abortions, and called it a “tricky situation all around.”
The lawsuit seeks monetary compensation of an unspecified amount.
The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that people who were convicted of a crime by a non-unanimous jury have a right to a new trial.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Hundreds of defendants in Oregon who were convicted of crimes by non-unanimous juries before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down such jury verdicts have a right to a new trial, under a decision issued by the state’s supreme court on Friday.
The Oregon Supreme Court ruling applies to state cases with non-unanimous jury verdicts where a criminal conviction was final and the appeals, if any, were over before the 2020 Supreme Court decision.
The state’s justice department said it will work immediately to implement the decision. It could affect at least 400 convictions, according to Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
Oregon voters in the 1930s enacted a law that allowed for non-unanimous jury verdicts of 10-2 or 11-1 in most criminal cases, except those for first-degree murder. Until recently, Oregon was the only state in the country, along with Louisiana, that allowed people to be convicted of a crime when at least one juror expressed doubt.
But the U.S. Supreme Court struck down non-unanimous jury verdicts in 2020, ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana that they violated defendants’ constitutional right to a trial by jury and had roots in racism.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court that the practice should be discarded as a vestige of Jim Crow laws in Louisiana and racial, ethnic and religious bigotry that led to its adoption in Oregon.
“In fact, no one before us contests any of this; courts in both Louisiana and Oregon have frankly acknowledged that race was a motivating factor in the adoption of their States’ respective non-unanimity rules,” Gorsuch wrote.
The Oregon Supreme Court’s Friday ruling echoed a similar stance.
“While Oregon did not approve non-unanimous juries as part of a brutal program of racist Jim Crow measures against Black Americans, its own voters — consistent with this state’s long and foundational history of bigotry and Black exclusion laws — approved non-unanimous juries as a means of excluding nonwhites from meaningful participation in our justice system,” Senior Judge and Justice pro tempore Richard Baldwin wrote. “With that understanding — and with a measure of courage — we can learn from our history and avoid such grievous injury in the future to our civic health.”
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum welcomed the decision, as did criminal justice advocates and defense lawyers.
Portland defense lawyer Ryan O’Connor represented Jacob Watkins, who was convicted of four felonies by a 10-2 jury in 2010. O’Connor said he hadn’t yet spoken with Watkins, who is in prison, but that Watkins’ family told him they were thrilled about the ruling.
“They said it’s the best holiday gift they’ve ever received,” O’Connor told The Associated Press, describing Friday as “a really wonderful day for justice” in Oregon. “It’s a big deal to probably reverse hundreds of convictions. Until today, people were sitting in prison … based on verdicts that everyone agreed were unconstitutional.”
The Oregon District Attorneys Association expressed skepticism over the ruling. It said that “retrying decades old cases can be challenging if not impossible” and expressed concern for crime victims.
“Many of these cases that will be forced to be retried are violent person crimes, and will cause significant victim re-traumatization,” it said in a news release. “We must ensure that these victims, many who are women and children, need not face the terror of testifying once again before their abusers.”
After the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Oregon’s Appellate Division reviewed more than 750 criminal convictions that were on appeal and identified hundreds requiring reversal, according to the state justice department. Oregon appellate courts have since sent over 470 of the cases back for new trials, the department said.
Convictions dating back decades could be overturned, state justice department officials said, although the statute of limitations might bar relief for some older convictions.
Claire Rush is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Claire on Twitter.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jordan Poole scored 41 points, Klay Thompson made a key 3-pointer with 1:36 left and added 31, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 on Friday night to improve the league’s best home record to 16-2.
Damian Lillard did his best to rally the Trail Blazers after halftime and finished with 34 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Poole notched his second 40-point game in the past 15 contests. His 3 with 2:57 remaining got Golden State within 110-109 but he turned the ball over the next possession before Jonathan Kuminga’s driving, two-handed slam for the lead moments later.
On consecutive defensive sequences, Draymond Green blocked a shot and grabbed a rebound.
Ty Jerome hit a half-court buzzer-beater to end the first quarter that put Golden State ahead 41-25, much to the delight of a cheering Stephen Curry as the reigning NBA Finals MVP missed his eighth straight game with a partially dislocated left shoulder. Poole has been the Warriors’ top scorer in nine of the 10 total games missed by Curry so far.
The Blazers, who have lost four of five and five of seven, began the third on a 19-9 burst to go ahead 75-69. Anfernee Simons added 22 points and seven rebounds.
Lillard and Simons were a combined 8 for 26 from long range.
Portland called timeout at the 10:25 mark of the first after the Warriors jumped out to a 9-0 lead by making their first four shots — three by Thompson.
Golden State has won the last four in the series and also four in a row at home.
GP2’S RING NIGHT
Portland guard Gary Payton II, yet to play for the Trail Blazers as he recovers from surgery for a core muscle injury after signing a $28 million, three-year deal, received his championship ring from the Warriors and Green delivered it.
His impact for Golden State in one season was monumental — “he became a fan favorite here in a short amount of time,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a validating moment to be able to first and foremost earn a championship ring,” Billups said. “He just wasn’t on the team and kind of watching from the sideline, he helped earn that ring, and he played his part. So it’s actually awesome for him, all the attention will be on him tonight.”
Golden State had cut him in the preseason then brought him back.
“We don’t win the championship without him, I know that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Big man Jusuf Nurkic sat out with an illness, the second game he has missed in the past five. … The Blazers shot 12 for 39 from deep. … Billups said Payton is “close, very close,” to making his season debut. … Portland last won on Golden State’s home floor with a 124-108 victory on March 26, 2021.
Warriors: C James Wiseman rolled his left ankle taking part in a 3-on-3 scrimmage after the morning shootaround and Kerr said “it doesn’t seem too serious.” All-Star Andrew Wiggins also took part in that scrimmage as he works back from an illness that followed his stint sidelined by tightness in his right upper leg — 13 in a row missed overall. The hope is he will play Monday after one more practice day. … F JaMychal Green is out of the league health and safety protocols but now dealing with an infection in his lower right leg.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Return home for one game to host Billups’ old Pistons team Monday night.
A threat made on social media led investigators to a 16-year-old home-school student and a 15-year-old West Salem High School student.
SALEM, Ore. — A threat made on social media against West Salem High School over the holiday break led detectives to refer two teenagers for possible criminal charges this week, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said detectives and FBI officials learned of the threat on Tuesday. The threat, made over social media, indicated that an “act of violence” would happen when students returned to class next Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Investigators traced the threat to a home east of Salem, where they got in contact with a 16-year-old home-school student and their parents. Detectives developed probable cause to arrest the teen, MCSO said. The investigation also led to a 15-year-old student of West Salem High, the sheriff’s office said.
Both teens were referred to their respective county district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools sent out a notice to families about the threat and subsequent arrests, echoing most of the same information shared by MCSO.
The district did indicate that the original threat was made anonymously, and was first reported to administrators before they contacted law enforcement and their own safety and security team.
“Safety is our most important priority,” Superintendent Christy Perry said in the message to families. “Honesty and transparency play critical roles in the safety of our schools, which is why we are sharing this message with you, and we hope you will partner with us in ending threats against our schools.
“Please talk with your student(s) and those in our community about the seriousness of these actions. No threat is ever a joke and the things we do online do not remain anonymous. Making a threat is a poor choice that could impact them for years to come.”
Perry assured families that the district had safety systems “firmly in place” as students return to the classroom from winter break.
To report school safety concerns, anyone can use SafeOregon by calling or sending a text to 844-472-3367 anytime. Tips also can be emailed to tip@safeoregon.com or through the SafeOregon app. In addition, Perry said, reports should also always be made to school administration and law enforcement.
Perhaps the biggest news of 2022 was how the coronavirus pandemic ebbed in news coverage. The East Oregonian, then, does not have a top 10 list dedicated to just the virus, the disease and the fallout it caused.
We derived our top 10 news stories of the year from analytics about what was popular online as well as discussion about what was newsworthy.
We have major events in the list. The massive pileup of crashes in February on Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon, fires destroying the flour mill in Pendleton and Shearer’s Foods in Hermiston and a record environmental fine against the Port of Morrow in Boardman that shined the spotlight on the serious problem of contaminated drinking wells. The list also showcases community ire and local economic development.
Here, then, are the top 10 news stories the East Oregonian reported on in 2022.
Karen Dela Cruz, Highland Manor resident, shows the remains of her garden on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. She was selling garden items, household goods and paintings at a yard sale at the Hermiston apartment complex.
No. 10: Hermiston apartment complex offers buyouts to tenants
HERMISTON — Residents of a 46-unit apartment complex in Hermiston in early February had to find new places to live.
The new owner of the apartment complex, Clover Housing Group LLC, notified residents in a letter they would have to move. The company also offered $2,000 to tenants who could vacate by March 1. And the letters stated tenants would receive a full refund of their security deposits, “as long as the apartment is reasonably clean.”
Isaac Pulido received the letter. A Highland Manor tenant since December 2020, he lived in an apartment with two beds and one bath and paid $630 per month in rent, he said.
Pulido reported feeling “stressed out” by his situation, as there are not many available places to live in Hermiston.
“Two-thousand dollars will cover most security deposits in this area and moving costs, but it won’t help with those families who are in need of affordable housing but don’t quite make the margin for low-income housing,” he said.
Mike Atkinson, owner of Clover Housing, said he sympathized with his tenants, but he has big plans for the apartments.
“They’re old apartments,” he said. “They need a facelift.”
Students exit a Mid Columbia Bus Co. school bus Feb. 15, 2022, at Pioneer Park in Pendleton. The Pendleton School District’s 40-year relationship with MidCo is coming to an end after the Pendleton School Board on Feb. 14, approved a bid from an Ohio bus company to take over the district’s bus service.
East Oregonian, File
No. 9: Pendleton School District dumps Mid Columbia Bus Co.
PENDLETON — The Pendleton School District’s 40-year relationship with Mid Columbia Bus Co. came to an end in February.
The Pendleton School Board on Monday, Feb. 14, approved a bid from First Student, a Cincinnati, Ohio, school bus company, to take over the district student transportation services for the next five years. Midco, the only other bidder for the contract, was the runner-up.
Michelle Jones, the district’s director of business services, said this was the first time Pendleton had put its school bus contract up for bid. Districts aren’t required to solicit bidders for transportation contracts, but Jones said school officials felt it was something they owed their constituencies.
Recent years haven’t always gone smoothly for Midco.
Pendleton parents frequently complained of late buses, long routes and unchecked bullying on the buses. Some of those complaints filtered up to the school board level, where Midco representatives attributed the shortcomings to a nationwide bus driver shortage. Last summer, Midco attempted to revamp its recruitment strategy by upping bus driver wages.
First Student stated it could provide its services for $795,831 per year plus rate based fees that vary depending on bus usage.
Midco’s bid was $645,721 per year plus rate based fees.
First Student took over bus services on July 1.
A motorist splashes through flooded Tutuilla Road near Southwest Nye Avenue, Pendleton, on Sunday, May 29, 2022, where overflowing Patawa and Tutuilla creeks come together.
No. 8: Spring flooding affects Pendleton residents, businesses
PENDLETON — Tutuilla and Patawa creeks near and through Pendleton crested their banks Sunday, May 29, flooding yards and businesses and prompting the city to close access to roads.
The National Weather Service in Pendleton on May 28 issued a flood watch for much of Northeastern Oregon due to hours and hours of steady rainfall, which swelled area creeks and filled McKay Reservoir. The NWS on May 29 reported .74 inches of rain at Pendleton’s Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.
The crew at Kelly Lumber Supply Inc., 1211 Tutuilla Road, hustled to move trailers from the back of their property where rushing water was more than 2 feet deep.
Jason Kelly waded out into the stream flowing along the property to install a battery on a fifth-wheel trailer to get its hydraulics working. The effort proved fruitful, and he and his son, Jaden Villa, were able to hook up the trailer to a Dodge Ram pickup and haul it out of the flood.
High waters surrounded nearby homes on the west side of Tutuilla Road, where Makayla Lee and some friends stacked gravel bags to mitigate the flood.
Lee said she has lived at this site for the last two years and the flooding in 2020 was not nearly so bad on Tutuilla and Patawa creeks.
Students navigate through the halls on the first day of school Aug. 29, 2022, at Hermiston High School. School staff stopped 62 students that day due to dress code violations. Two students started an online petition to change the dress code.
No. 7: Hermiston High School irks community with dress code enforcement
HERMISTON — The first day of the new school year for Hermiston High School came with controversy as teachers and staff stopped 62 students for dress code violations.
The actions at the school prompted seniors Adriana Gutierrez and Piper Snyder to start an online petition to change the code. As of Friday, Dec. 23, the petition has gathered 2,877 digital signatures.
But the enforcement also raised the concerns and hackles of parents, who blasted Hermiston School District administrators and the school board.
“You’re not teaching these kids anything,” one mother told the board. “You’re telling girls to sit down, shut up and be told what to do by males. And that’s just not appropriate.”
Snyder was one of the speakers at that meeting. She said this issue is beyond students wanting to wear a crop-top to school.
“Girls have been publicly shamed, laughed at and taken away from their learning multiple times in the span of two weeks just because of what they chose to wear to school,” she told the board.
Rather than enforcing the dress code, she said, the school is teaching girls they have to be responsible for boys’ actions while not teaching boys they need to respect girls.
Her father, Michael Snyder, said he thinks the dress code issue comes down to Title IX and equity. Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.
Hermiston High School Principal Tom Spoo never replied to requests for comments.
MotoLodge owners David Mogg, right, and Jeremy Duncan cut the ceremonial ribbon Thursday evening, June 16, 2022, to open their boutique hotel in Pendleton.
PENDLETON — Hotel development in Pendleton had a good year thanks in large measure to public money sparking private investment.
The Marigold Hotel in the city’s downtown regained new life with a new owner and management. And the former Knight’s Inn now is the MotoLodge, also with a new owner and management. Both developments involved funding from the Pendleton Development Commission.
True Holdings LLC, of Clackamas, is redeveloping The Marigold into extended stay lodgings. The project cost to True Holdings is approximately $3.7 million to $4 million, with purchase price of $1.5 million, remodeling expense of $2.2 million and the costs of furnishings, according to a report to the commission from Charles Denight, Pendleton urban renewal associate director.
Cascadia Hospitality bought the Knight’s Inn in late 2021. The company’s $1.3 million renovation transformed a relic from times past into a new boutique hotel, the MotoLodge.
The PDC provided $500,000 grants to both projects as well as a $100,000 Jump Start loan for the Motolodge, which it must pay back the loan in three years with a 3% interest rate.
Sidney True of True Holdings said the PDC grant was the essential component of the project.
“In a nutshell, the whole thing would not have happened without the PDC grant,” he said. “The grant gave us the confidence to close the deal to buy the property.”
One more hotel also opened in Pendleton in 2022: The Radisson next to the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.
No. 5: Morrow County recalls two commissioners
HEPPNER — Morrow County voters on Nov. 29 recalled two of the three members of the board of county commissioners.
Jim Doherty lost 1,339 to 1,174, and Melissa Lindsay lost 1,265 to 1,244.
Doherty
Contributed Photo
Lindsay
Voters in the past year took exception to the pair voting to fire the county’s emergency manager, Darrell Green, who subsequently is suing the county for $750,000, claiming wrongful termination.
Some residents also were not happy with how the two did not support the Boardman Fire and Rescue’s effort to provide ambulance service, which competed with the service the Morrow County Health District provided. Doherty also may not have won a lot of fans for the spotlight he stood in when it came to testing Boardman-area wells for nitrate contamination.
In December, Doherty and Lindsay hired Salem lawyers to represent them to contest the validity of the election. The chief complaint alleged Morrow County Clerk Bobbi Childers violated Oregon elections law when she sent the recall ballots Nov. 4. Instead, the lawyers asserted, Childers should have sent recall ballots between Nov. 9 and Nov. 15, after the general election. Mailing the recall ballots while the general election was underway goes against Oregon law, according to the attorneys, and “created widespread voter confusion.”
The attorneys for Doherty and Lindsay gave Childers two choices: Decline certification or seek a court order for a new recall election.
Childers certified the election Tuesday, Dec. 27. Doherty and Lindsay said they were not likely to press a legal case.
Emergency crews respond to the scene of a mass crash involving more than 170 vehicles Feb. 21, 2022, on Interstate 84 about 21 miles east of Pendleton.
Antonio Sierra/East Oregonian, File
No. 4: Crashes stretch almost 2 miles on Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon
PENDLETON — Winter conditions Feb. 21 contributed to a series of crashes on Interstate 84 about 21 miles east of Pendleton that involved hundreds of travelers and a massive emergency response.
Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation reported the wrecks stretched 1.75 miles and involved more than 170 vehicles. The crashes shut down the westbound and eastbound lanes of the freeway in Eastern Oregon.
OSP reported 17 patients were transported from the crash scene with an additional two who were transported after they arrived at the Pendleton Convention Center, which served as a reunification hub for people in the crash.
This Nissan Pathfinder belonging to the Hyatt family of Yelm, Washington, crashed Feb. 21, 2022, into the back of this Amazon trailer on Interstate 84 about 21 miles east of Pendleton. The crash was part of a series of wrecks that stretched almost 2 miles on the westbound side. The Hyatts were unharmed in the crash.
Carter Hyatt/Contributed Photo, File
Officers at the scene heard crashes occurring behind them, OSP reported. Carter Hyatt and his family were returning to their home in Washington when their vehicle became part of the wrecks. The Hyatts also heard those crashes.
“Bam, bam, bam,” Carter Hyatt said. “They just kept hitting.”
St. Anthony Hospital communications director Emily Smith said the hospital received 13 patients. Of those patients, 10 were treated and released, two were admitted but later discharged and one was transferred to another hospital.
School buses took groups from the crashes to the Pendleton Convention Center, where staff provided rooms for people to wait for rides from family or friends or made arrangements for other accommodations.
The Hyatts said they had never experienced anything like this emergency, and they did not want to be in another.
Between the crash early afternoon Feb. 21 and early morning Feb. 22, OSP reported six tow companies removed the dozens of vehicles that had accumulated on the snowy road. The eastbound lanes reopened at about midnight, but the westbound lanes were not clear until about 6 a.m.
A fire burns Feb. 22, 2022, at Shearer’s Foods off Highway 207 in Hermiston.
Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office/Contributed Photo, Fil
No. 3: Shearers’ Foods explodes, burns down in Hermiston
HERMISTON — Dozens of firefighters from multiple agencies the afternoon of Feb. 22 worked to quell a fierce blaze at Shearer’s Foods off Highway 207 in Hermiston.
“This was a big fire for us,” Fire District No. 1 Chief Scott Stanton said. “Probably haven’t had a fire this size in the last decade.”
A total of 60 firefighters from Fire District No. 1 and eight other agencies responded. The blaze destroyed the facility, but firefighters kept the fire from spreading. Some Shearer’s employees left by foot to meet nearby friends and loved ones for rides.
“It felt like a hurricane or a tornado came throughout the whole warehouse,” Shearer’s forklift operator Nick Perez said. “It blew dust everywhere. I saw the roof collapse. There was a bunch of fire. That’s when everyone evacuated.”
A natural gas portable boiler had exploded and started the blaze that would destroy the plant. Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 reported 73 employees evacuated. Six were injured and taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston, where they were treated and released.
Shearer’s Foods employed 230 at the site. The company decided not to rebuild the plant.
The smoking rubble of Shearer’s Foods reflects in the layer of water from fire hoses Feb. 22, 2022, in Hermiston. The company on Sept. 23 announced it will not rebuild the plant.
East Oregonian, File
Shearer’s Foods CEO Bill Nictakis announced on March 8 the company was “exploring opportunities to relocate team members interested in working in our other plants” and has “provided a severance and benefits continuation package to recognize the effort and tenure that has gone into making the site successful over the past years.”
The Hermiston nonprofit Agape House held a food drive for Shearer’s employees. Agape House Director Mark Gomolski said the event provided food to 127 Shearer’s families.
Hermiston Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan expressed confidence the displaced laborers would find new work.
“I know there’s been significant interest from employers looking to hire some of these folks coming out of the Shearer’s facility,” he said.
According to the Shearer’s Foods website, the Hermiston plant, which opened in 2010, was the company’s only production facility in the Pacific Northwest.
Flame shoots from the Pendleton flour mills the morning of Aug. 10, 2022.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
No. 2: Fire destroys Pendleton flour mill
PENDLETON — Fire erupted early Aug. 10 at the Grain Craft flour mill in Pendleton. By midmorning, first responders were waiting for the possible collapse of the structure.
Pendleton Assistant Fire Chief Tony Pierotti said this blaze kicked off at about 4:30 a.m., and all signs point to the massive structure as a total loss. Silos were at full capacity of finished grain, so the fire fuel load was extreme.
Fighting the flames took the combined effort of the Pendleton Fire Department, Umatilla Tribal Fire Department, Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 and more.
Smoke pours from the Pendleton flour mills the morning of Aug. 10, 2022, as firefighters work to control the blaze.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Buildings at the mill began to collapse around 9:30 a.m. Pendleton fire was not sending in people because the risk of collapse was too high.
The fire burned for weeks inside, sometimes flaring up to the point firefighters again had to douse flames.
Pendleton Fire Chief Jim Critchley in a statement Oct. 5 reported the Oregon State Fire Marshal completed its investigation of the blaze and classified the fire as “undetermined … accidental in nature.”
The fire department has been in contact with the Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and with Grain Craft, owner of the mill, about the plans going forward.
Demolition of the burned-out flour mill began in earnest the morning of Dec. 13 as crews from NorthStar Demolition and Remediation Inc. started to take down the building.
Rubble plummets Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, during demolition of the burned-out flour mill in Pendleton.
“The whole thing is going to take a couple of weeks,” Lou Hannemann, senior operations officer with NorthStar, and site manager for the flour mill demolition explained.
Critchley said the city and NorthStar demolition have cooperated to ensure the building could be brought down safely and without presenting a danger to residents.
Morrow County Commissioner Jim Doherty and Boardman homeowner Elno Sanchez take a look at Sanchez’s well July 14, 2022, which he shares with a neighbor. The 2023 federal omnibus spending bill includes $1.7 million for testing wells in Umatilla and Morrow counties to address drinking water contamination.
No. 1: Fine of Port of Morrow highlights contaminated water crisis
BOARDMAN — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Jan. 11 announced it fined the Port of Morrow in Boardman $1.3 million for repeatedly over-applying agricultural wastewater on nearby farms in an area with elevated levels of groundwater nitrates.
Port of Morrow Executive Director Ryan Neal said the port takes the matter seriously and was working to develop a long-term solution to the problem for the benefit of port industries, local farmers and the region.
Neal suffered a heart attack and died Jan. 17. He was 40.
The Port of Morrow is Oregon’s second-largest port, behind only the Port of Portland. It is in the Umatilla Basin of Northeastern Oregon, where in 1990 the state declared a groundwater management area due to high levels of groundwater nitrates exceeding 7 milligrams per liter.
Investigative reporting revealed the DEQ knowingly let the port pollute year after year, contributing to drinking water contamination for thousands.
The reporting showed the port from 2007-09 violated its wastewater application permit 42 times, applying an excess of 3,670 pounds of nitrogen per acre on fields across three farms. The DEQ imposed no fine.
Research from the National Cancer Institute reports consuming water with nitrate up to even 5 parts per million over long periods of time can increase the risk of colon cancer, stomach cancer and several other cancers.
DEQ in 2015 fined the port $129,000 for violations in 2012-14 as the port again sought to expand acreage for its disposal program. A fine of $8,400 came in 2016 for building a wastewater storage pond without state permission.
Between 2018 and 2021, regulators found the port violated its water quality permit more than 1,000 times by regularly over-applying the recycled water on fields growing crops such as corn, potatoes and onions.
Morrow County on June 9 declared an emergency in response to contaminated drinking water and distributed bottled water to affected residents. The DEQ on June 17 announced it increased the $1.3 million penalty to a little more than $2.1 million.
The county began installing 350 water filters in homes for Boardman area residents who relied on well water. More than 100 Boardman residents attended a meeting Sept. 15 to demand the state guarantee access to safe drinking water in Morrow County.
Morrow County Commissioner Jim Doherty discusses nitrate contamination in the drinking water at a meeting Sept. 15, 2022, in Boardman.
Rafael Romero/Oregon Rural Action, File
An interpreter read testimony from Maria Elena Martinez, a mother of six, who suffered two miscarriages in recent years. Her tap water was tested and came back with a result of 26 parts per million of nitrate, more than double the safe legal limit.
“No one had ever warned me about the danger,” she said. “Something must be done to protect our communities.”
The outcry over the nitrate pollution spurred the DEQ on Nov. 4 to appoint new members for the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area committee to address the mounting concerns about hazardous nitrate contamination in local drinking water.
The port on Dec. 2 announced the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality granted a modification to the port’s permit for using industrial wastewater. To comply with the permit, the port has to complete major wastewater infrastructure upgrades, including building new wastewater storage lagoons with a 1.5-billion-gallon capacity by Nov. 1, 2026.
The port reported it would invest $150 million to $200 million to comply with a modified permit for using industrial wastewater.
Port of Morrow Executive Director Lisa Mittelsdorf said the port is responsible for having created a small amount of local nitrate pollution. Even so, she said, the port is “committed to cleaning up our water” and is committed to good stewardship.
“I think the message we want to send is that our industry is well aware of the commitments that the port will be making and that we intend to get this done,” she said.
