1. Chang sentenced. The capture, arrest and murder charge levied against Lukah Chang, a Marine Corps deserter who killed Amyjane Branhagen and tried to beat Karen Lange to death, was our top story in 2013. His sentence of at least 35 years in prison is our top story this year, finally drawing to a close one of the most violent and frightening stories in Pendleton history. Chang, 23 at the time, was given the maximum possible sentence under law at the Jan. 8 hearing at Umatilla County Circuit Court, Pendleton. The story of the brutal crimes was documented this fall on the television show Dateline.

2. Closing shop. After months of trying to sell its division of AG supply stores, Pendleton Grain Growers announced in September it would close stores in Pendleton, Athena and Milton-Freewater — including the Pendleton Automotive Service Center. Stores in Hermiston and Joseph would soon follow, while the Island City store was reorganized as a commercial pump and irrigation business. The moves came after PGG decided it could no longer support retail services and the co-op could not find buyers for the stores. About 90 people lost their jobs.

3. Top Dawgs. The Hermiston High School football team took the state by storm in November, climbing to the top of the Class 5A playoff bracket and finishing with a 34-12 win over top-ranked Silverton in the title game on Nov. 29. Before their historic run the Bulldogs were 5-13 in playoff games, and the team flew under the radar after playing four nonconference games against out-of-state powerhouses. The Bulldogs defense was stout in the playoffs, allowing less than 10 points a game. After the championship quarterback Chase Knutz was named the Class 5A offensive player of the year, coach Mark Hodges was named coach of the year and nine other Bulldogs were given first-team all-state honors.

4. Fatal shootings cleared. There were three fatal shootings in Umatilla County in 2014 in which the killer’s actions were deemed legally justified. In February, murder charges were dismissed against Timothy Kelly in the shooting death of Daniel Dechand near Hermiston. A grand jury decided that Kelly had acted in self defense to try to stop Dechand from assaulting and robbing him. Two months later, Athena police officer Erik Palmer shot and killed fugitive Tere King. A grand jury later ruled the shooting was justified and did not indict. In November, the same grand jury ruled that an Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution tower officer was justified for shooting and killing prison inmate Jayson Withers in August. Withers was attacking another inmate in the yard when he was shot — the first fatal shooting in the Oregon prison system in at least two decades.

5. Permit denied. A proposed coal export terminal in Boardman was dealt a serious blow in August when the Department of State Lands denied a key permit needed to build a dock in the Columbia River. DSL Director Mary Abrams, a Heppner native, ruled the Coyote Island Terminal would interfere with tribal fisheries and was not the best use of water resources. Project developer Ambre Energy and the Port of Morrow filed appeals, and the case will be heard by a senior administrative law judge in December 2015. If approved, the Morrow Pacific project would export 8.8 million tons of coal per year to Asia and create 25-30 permanent, family-wage jobs.

6. Barreto defeats Turner. John Turner had the blessing and the endorsement of retiring District 58 state senator Bob Jenson. But it was not enough to hold off Union County outsider Greg Barreto, who easily won the Republican primary in May and the general election in November. Barreto, a Cove businessman who has never held public office, said he will bring free-market, constitutional principles to the next legislative session in Salem. He marks the end of a decades-long run of the Pendleton area being the seat of power in District 58.

7. Craigen sentenced. George West Craigen was sentenced Oct. 7 to 27 years to life in prison for the 2011 murder of Cecil “Rob” Carter in Milton-Freewater. A week earlier, jurors deliberated for just four hours before finding Craigen guilty of shooting and killing Carter, despite arguments by Craigen’s attorneys that he suffered delusions and was insane at the time of the murder. The trial, which started Sept. 15, was the first murder trial in Umatilla County in nearly a decade.

8. EOTEC breaks ground. Decades after officials envisioned a new fair and rodeo grounds outside of Hermiston, that dream became a reality on Dec. 4 at the groundbreaking of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. The start to construction came after the EOTEC authority board unveiled detailed plans in April, letting taxpayers see for the first time exactly what they were getting for their money. The result was mixed reviews from the general public but a show of support from a variety of community partners who stepped up with in-kind donations. The project will provide a home for the Umatilla County Fair, Farm-City Pro Rodeo and other events starting in 2016, leaving the old fairgrounds in the center of town as room for the rapidly-growing Hermiston School District to expand.

9. Pendleton launches UAS Range. With city money on the line, Pendleton charged ahead with opening a test range for unmanned aerial vehicles based at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. Pendleton was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct testing on drones Dec. 30, 2013. Shortly thereafter, the city entered a contract with Peak 3 Technical Services to develop a range at the airport. While the Pendleton UAS Range would conduct its first test nine months after the FAA first approved the city as a test site, a bright future isn’t a guarantee. An Oregon State University study projected more than 300 jobs and nine-figure economic impact, but the city has already invested $535,000 and is yet to see any revenue.

10. Diesel Spilled. Almost 5,000 gallons of diesel spilled Feb. 28 after a fuel trailer broke loose and tumbled down an embankment onto land belonging to Hill Ranches, just north of Pendleton. The driver of the Maverik truck reportedly swerved to avoid a deer while driving on Highway 37. The spill touched off a massive Oregon Department of Environmental Quality cleanup of one of the largest diesel spills in state history. By the time soil samples tested clean, workers had razed a century-old farmhouse, capped two wells and hauled away 32,094 tons of contaminated soil. Maverik, a convenience store chain, paid a $2,400 DEQ fine for endangering groundwater and several million dollars for the cleanup.