Man arrested in fatal shooting in Sumpter

xbaker 01-28 A01 jjlb 1/28/11 9:48 AM Page 1
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75 CENTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 ISSUE 113 • 18 PAGES
INSIDE
TODAY
East Coast digs
out from yet
another major
snowstorm
PAGE 1B
Ducks finally
get a win at
Stanford;
Beavers,
Blazers both
lose
PAGE 10A
Baker City Herald/S. John Collins
The police force swarmed Sumpter Thursday afternoon. Jim Hubbell of La Gr ande, and other members of the Union
County SWAT Team, prepared for their assault at the r esidence just north of Sumpter where shooting suspect D aniel
Myers was believed to be hiding. Myers was arrested about 3:30 p.m.Thursday.
Man arrested in fatal
shooting in Sumpter
Daniel Myers, 55, is charged with murder
in the death of Travis Weems, 39, of Hermiston
By CHRIS COLLINS
Baker City Herald
SUMPTER — Police arrested Daniel Myers,
55, of Sumpter Thursday afternoon at his home,
and he will be arraigned today on charges of
murder and other crimes in connection with the
shooting death of Travis Weems of Hermiston.
Sumpter emergency responders found Weems,
39, dead in his vehicle at 3:14 a.m. Thursday in
the parking lot of the Elkhorn Saloon on Mill
Street, the main thoroughfare of Sumpter, a community
of 170 about 28 miles southwest of Baker
City.
See Shooting/Page 8A
Baker City Herald/S. John Collins
Suspect Daniel Myers was being held in the silv er SUV at r ight
as police and a f orensic unit began traveling north on Cracker
Creek Road, just north of Sumpter, to join other in vestigators at
the crime scene Thursday evening.
Skier
dies at
Anthony
Lakes
A 24-year-old Portland man
died in a skiing accident Thursday
afternoon at Ski Anthony
Lakes.
Reed Moncsko was killed in the
accident, which happened about
3:20 p.m., said Rick Pignone, general
manager at the ski area in
the Elkhorn Mountains about 35
miles northwest of Baker City.
Union County Sheriff Boyd
Rasmussen said Moncsko was
skiing with a partner Thursday
afternoon. The two became separated
about 1:30 p.m.
See Skier/Page 8A
N. Powder
charter
school gets
$281,000
NORTH POWDER — The
North Powder Charter School
has received a federal grant to
help fund staff development and
technology at the 258-student
Union County school.
“The grant totals $281,000
and will go toward tools, equipment
and continuing development
and education to enhance
the education experience of our
students.” Superintendent
Lance Dixon said in a press release.
Cheers could be heard
throughout the school when the
announcement was made that
the school received the grant
this past week, Dixon said.
See School/Page 3A
Baker City Herald/S. John Collins
Maverik, a Utah company that owns a chain of convenience stores and gas stations in the West, plans to build its first Oregon store in Baker City later this year.The
site is at the corner of Campbell and Cedar streets.The house in the photo, the former office of the state geology department, will be moved.The gas pumps will be
in the center of the property, behind the tree in the photo, and the convenience store farther to the north.
Maverik to build store, gas station in Baker
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
Maverik, a company that owns
221 gas stations/convenience stores
across the West, plans to build its
first Oregon location in Baker City
this summer.
The Utah company bought the
commercial-zoned property at the
northwest corner of Cedar and
Campbell streets.
That’s the site of the former Oregon
Department of Geology and
Mineral Industries office.
The property is across Cedar
Street from Humbles gas station.
The city planning department has
approved Maverik’s site design and
is reviewing construction drawings,
said Jenny Long, city planner.
The 4,217-square-foot store is
slated to be built at the northern
edge of the property, near the intersection
of Cedar and Clark streets.
The eight gas pumps (two nozzles
per pump), which will be under a
canopy, will be installed in the center
of the property.
There will be two entrance-exits:
one off Clark Street, the other off
Campbell Street, said Don Lilyquist,
permits manager for Maverik.
See Maverik/Page 6A
Coming
Monday
TAKING AIM:
Baker County archers head
indoors to hone their skills.
In today’s edition
Calendar Page 2A
Classifieds Pages 4B-5B
Comics Page 3B
Visit us online at www.bakercityherald.com
Community News Page 3A
Obituaries Page 2A
Opinion Page 4A
Oregon Page 6B
Sports Page 10A
Weather Page 2A

xbaker 01-28 A08 jj 1/28/11 10:29 AM Page 1
Page 8A Baker City Herald Baker City, Oregon, Friday, January 28, 2011
NEWS
Skier:
Continued from Page 1A
Rasmussen said people in
Moncsko’s party searched
for him, finding him sometime
after 3 p.m. He had collided
with a tree and suffered
head and neck injuries.
The 9-1-1 dispatch center
was called at 3:26 p.m. The
Union County Sheriff’s Office,
La Grande Fire and
Ambulance and the Anthony
Lakes Ski Patrol all responded.
Moncsko was pronounced
dead at the scene.
It was the second fatality
in two years at the ski area
in the Elkhorn Mountains
about 35 miles northwest of
Baker City.
On Feb. 28, 2010, Nathan
Arbogast, 39, of Heppner,
collided with a tree and died
of injuries.
Bill Rautenstrauch of The
(La Grande) Observer contributed
to this story.
DANIEL MYERS
Shooting:
Continued from Page 1A
An ambulance was dispatched
to the parking lot after
the shooting was reported to
the Baker County Consolidated
Dispatch Center at 3:10
a.m.
“This initial investigation
indicates that Mr. Weems was
shot by Daniel Myers outside
of Myers’ home on Cracker
Creek Road,” Baker County
District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff
said. “Weems was then
driven by a friend into
Sumpter in an attempt to get
emergency assistance.”
Weems is a former Baker
County resident.
The Baker County Major
Crime Team was activated
Thursday morning and was
joined later in the day by members
of the Union County Combined
Emergency Response
Team. An estimated 30 officers
from city, county and state
agencies helped with the investigation
and Myers’ arrest.
Shirtcliff said the Union
County team was called after
Myers refused to come out of
his house in a wooded area
about a quarter of a mile north
of Sumpter. Myers was arrested
about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
He was transported to the
Baker County Jail where he is
being held today.
Shirtcliff said the case will
go before a grand jury next
week. He declined to talk
about any potential motive for
the shooting.
Weems’ body was taken to
Portland where an autopsy will
be performed today, Shirtcliff
said.
Shirtcliff said the day-long
effort to apprehend Myers required
careful planning.
“A lot of work goes into making
sure entry into the home is
done in a safe manner — for
everybody,” he said.
No shots were fired. About
10 gunshot-like sounds could
be heard in downtown
Sumpter as officers attempted
to make entry into Myers’
Baker City Herald/S. John Collins
The car with the body of Travis
Weems was left parked in front
of the Elkhorn Restaurant,
which is owned by Richard
Epler.
home. Shirtcliff said the noise
was related to the Union County
team’s deployment of a nonlethal
gas-like chemical irritant
that got Myers and two
other people in the home to
come out.
About an hour after Myers
was arrested, investigators, including
an Oregon State Police
forensics vehicle, traveled
down Cracker Creek Road to
Myers’ house to process the
scene. Police also interviewed
the other people who were at
Myers’ home when he was arrested.
Shirtcliff said Myers will be
charged with the weapons
crimes because of a 2006 Lincoln
County felony drug conviction.
Two command posts were
set up in Sumpter as the hunt
for the suspect got under way
Thursday morning. The county’s
mobile communications
unit was parked at City Hall
on Mill Street and a second
command center was set up in
the former Sumpter School
building on the north end of
town. Dozens of police vehicles
were parked around town and
Baker Co. Library
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Winnie
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Boss
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at both command
stations
throughout
the day.
Sunshine
warmed Carl
and Dee
Swinyer as
they sat on
the porch of
the Gold Post
Country
Gary Gunter
Store with
owner Gary Gunter for a frontrow
seat to watch police activity
as it unfolded.
Dee Swinyer said she heard
about the shooting on the police
scanner at her Sumpter
home as soon as dispatchers
began paging the ambulance
shortly after 3 a.m.
“I’ve always had a scanner,
even when they weren’t popular,”
she said, adding that the
early morning wake-up call
wasn’t much ahead of her usual
rising time of between 3
a.m. and 4 a.m.
The Swinyers and Gunter
said they didn’t know Myers or
Weems.
But speculation about what
exactly happened and where
the shooting took place had
been circulating through the
community, Dee said. She expressed
her concern for the officers
and the suspect as the
investigation continued.
“I just hope everybody is going
to be OK,” she said.
Richard Epler, who owns the
Elkhorn Saloon with his wife,
Sharyn, said they closed up
about 11 Wednesday night after
a local pool tournament
had ended. Most nights they
close by 8 p.m., he said.
The couple lives a mile and
a half south of the small Grant
County community of Granite,
15 miles northwest of Sumpter.
The Eplers knew nothing
about the shooting or the police
activity in town until their
daughter, Carilyn Gibson, saw
the commotion around her parents’
business while walking to
the store Thursday morning.
She called about 8 a.m. to
report that police had cordoned
off the parking lot of the
Elkhorn Saloon with crime
scene tape, Richard Epler said.
The Eplers had to delay
their usual noon opening until
about 2 p.m. Thursday. That’s
when the Toyota Corolla in
which Weems’ body was found
was towed away and their
parking lot was reopened. The
car was towed to a secure location,
Shirtcliff said.
“Everybody’s wondering
what’s going on,” Epler said,
adding that police were not
providing any details.
Epler said he did not know
Weems and that Myers came
into his business only occasionally.
The Eplers moved to
Sumpter about six years ago
after retiring from jobs at the
Fred Meyer distribution center
in Clackamas.
“We left that area to get
away from that kind of stuff,”
Epler said of the violence that
disrupted Sumpter on Thursday.
Charlie
(M) 6-9Mos, Lab Mix
Rose
(F) Kitten
Baker City Herald/S. John Collins
While leaving the command center at the former Sumpter School building, Matt Shirtcliff, left, Baker
County district attorney, said the suspect, Daniel Myers, had been arrested. Police were preparing to
examine the suspect’s residence on Cracker Creek Road, about a quarter of a mile from Sumpter.
Baker City Herald/S. John Collins
Carl and Dee S winyer of Sumpter watched police and tactical
teams muster along the str eet in front of the Gold P ost Country
Store Thursday afternoon.
AC
(M) Kitten
Paige
(F) Kitten
Wounded officer will survive
PORTLAND (AP) — Doctors say an Oregon police officer
ambushed during a traffic stop is recovering from gunshots
to his pelvis and abdomen that would have killed him if he
hadn’t managed to call in the shooting to dispatchers, then
been rushed to the hospital for surgery.
One of the bullets fired by a man who’s still at large severed
a major vein, giving 45-year-old Lincoln City Officer
Steven Dodds just 15 to 30 minutes to live.
“He was able to call in,” Lincoln City Police Chief Steven
Bechard said. “That’s a testament to his endurance.”
Dodds opened his eyes for the first time Thursday and is
expected to survive, doctors at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel
Hospital said.
“He’s a strong guy and so stubborn,” said daughter Megan
Dodds. “I know he’s not going to let himself down on this
one.”
Obituary
Continued from Page 2A
Her parents owned an oil
business at Baker City, so
she was often seen by her
dad’s side delivering oil all
over Eastern Oregon.
Nicki married Roger Allen
Worral on Dec. 25, 1970, at
La Grande.
Their son, Allen Fredrick
Worral, was born July of
1972. Nicki worked diligently
at various jobs in order to
take care of her family. In
June of 1980 the couple’s
second son, George Gerald
Worral, was born.
They were divorced in
1986.
In April of 1989, while
dating Maurice Robert
Moyes, she give birth to his
daughter, who Nicki named
Michelle-Marie Nicatie Worral.
Nicki had various stints at
a couple of different colleges.
She dreamed of becoming a
teacher. She attended school
part time here and there till
she graduated from Eastern
Oregon University with her
master’s degree in education
in the mid 1990s.
She found inspiration in
being able to light up children’s
eyes by teaching them
something new, her family
said. She worked throughout
Baker County as a substitute
teacher.
Nicki loved playing the violin
and learning new
things, like how to play the
fiddle. She was very passionate
about theater and music.
She performed in various
plays and sang in numerous
choirs.
Nicki loved hunting, fishing
and camping with family
and friends. She had numerous
stories to tell of the old
days when “Dad chased the
elk down the hill and Mom
and I jumped up and got two
elk,” her family members
said.
She also instilled in her
children the importance of
volunteerism and helping
others out. She had participated
in many charity
fundraisers from baking
sweets to wrestling in a vat
of mashed potatoes with her
daughter. She was an active
member of the Eagles and
presided as president of the
Past Presidents Association
for the State Auxiliary in
past years.
In 2002, Nicki’s father
died leaving her to care for
her mother, who had
Alzheimer’s disease. She quit
teaching and took on the
new challenge. She loved
caring for her mother till she
died on Valentine’s Day
2006. She was a lady of
strength and courage.
Nicatie always loved
church and always sought
refuge there. She was a
member of the Baker City
Christian Church. She is remembered
by her family as
an excellent, caring, and loving
mother and grandmother.
“She was always there for
her family and friends if
somebody needed them.
Countless times she has put
her family before herself,
even if it put her in harm’s
way. She will be greatly
missed,” family members
said.
Survivors include her son,
Allen Worral of San Diego
and his son, Chaz Worral;
her son, George Worral of
Baker City; her daughter
and son-in-law, Michelle and
Kyle Boudreau of Baker
City; sister-in-law, Joanne
Richardson of Worland,
Wyo.; longtime boyfriend,
Jerry Cohoe of Baker City;
and many other cousins and
friends left behind to remember
her stories, her
smile, her love and her
heart.
She was preceded in death
by her husband, Roger Worral;
her parents; her brother,
Dr. George Gerald Richardson;
nephew, Trent Thomas
Richardson; and infant son,
Roger Worral.
Memorial contributions
may be made to Alzheimer’s
Research through Coles
Tribute Center, 1950 Place
St., Baker City, OR 97814.
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