PENDLETON — An Eastern Oregon town’s homeless population is wary of a new warming center because they fear police will conduct checks for outstanding warrants and arrest them.

Pendleton police told the East Oregonian that the homeless should have no such concerns.

Some people also voiced concerns that the warming center, which operates from a Pendleton home, asks people who stay overnight to leave at 6 a.m.

Warming station organizers originally had hoped to keep the facility open until 7 a.m., but bowed to concerns brought to Pendleton City Council about mixing the homeless with students walking to Washington Elementary School, a block away.

Ryan Lehnert of the Pendleton Police Department said the center’s purpose is to keep the homeless warm and out of the elements.