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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 2015)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian COUNCIL: McDonald recommended hiring a SXEOLFLQIRUPDWLRQRI¿FHU Continued from 1A Councilor Neil Brown called Plute’s street fee plan a “shell game” and said it was a knee-jerk reaction to the gas tax’s demise. City Manager Robb Corbett said the group — him, Patterson and the council — were becoming more “frac- WXUHG´DVDUHVXOWRILQ¿JKWLQJ Corbett suggested the council and staff stick to their original plans, but slow down the process, prioritize projects and educate the public better. “I think we’re doing really good work, I just don’t think the public realizes it and we got our butts kicked,” he said. Mayor Phillip Houk said educating the public could be WKH PRVW GLI¿FXOW SDUW UHIHU- encing the 2006 campaign for a longterm 3-cent gas tax. Houk said the 2006 campaign had more funding, more volunteers and more public outreach, but the tax was still handily defeated at the polls. Councilor Tom Young said the message from both elections was pretty clear. “They’ve told us twice they GRQ¶W ZDQW WKHLU URDGV ¿[HG So as far as I’m concerned, let the damn thing sit,” he said. Councilor McKennon McDonald was also less than convinced that the public isn’t aware of the issues. “I don’t think that its people don’t understand the issues we have,” she said. “I’m personally in the “They’ve told us twice they don’t want their roads fixed. So as far as I’m concerned, let the damn thing sit.” — Councilor Tom Young camp that they don’t like the messengers, they don’t like where its coming from, they don’t trust us even if they sit down with a department head or with a councilor.” Although she was unsure of how to rebuild that trust, she did recommend the city hire a public information RI¿FHU Although Corbett and McDonald called for a more united front, it wasn’t coming together at the workshop. Young said he was going to oppose the recommended utility rate increases unless there were more protections IRU SHRSOH OLYLQJ RQ ¿[HG incomes. Regardless of what deci- sions the council made, some of the attendees at the meeting said there was little chance of avoiding public scrutiny. “I think the public should know better but they choose not to because we’re the villain,” Brown said. “We’re government.” ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. POLE: Ceremony included prayers for U.S. veterans also 18, said having a land- mark like the peace pole helps Umatilla and braille. A “make a town’s history.” plaque notes that the pole is “I think it’s pretty cool meant to honor veterans and that it’s got the different current service members. languages on it because it’s “This connects Hermiston inclusive,” she said. “When with hundreds of thousands people see it they will think, of communities across the ‘This is an inclusive commu- world in the spirit of peace,” nity.’” Kane said. The dedication ceremony Girl Scout Andrea included a speech by Kane, Gispert, 18, said she wasn’t prayers for America’s in the troop during its original veterans and an English trans- dedication of the peace pole lation of a poem about peace in 2007, but she was happy by Chinese poet Lao Tzu. to be able to help plan the ——— ceremony to relocate the pole Contact Jade McDowell to a safer place. at jmcdowell@eastorego- +HU VLVWHU 6R¿D *LVSHUW nian.com or 541-564-4536. Continued from 1A SALMON: Did not distinguish between wild and hatchery-raised chinook have passed Lower Granite Dam, southwest of second-best since counting Pullman, on their way to began in 1938. The BPA says spawning grounds. That’s DERXW PLOOLRQ ¿VK KDYH the second-largest return returned to the rivers and ever to that dam. their tributaries to spawn. But salmon advocate A series of dams built Linwood Laughy of from the 1930s to the 1960s Kooskia, Idaho, said the decimated some of the numbers failed to distinguish nation’s largest salmon runs between wild salmon and on the Columbia-Snake river hatchery-raised salmon. system. The federal govern- “The threatened and endan- ment has spent billions of JHUHG ¿VK DUH ZLOG ¿VK´ dollars over the decades to Laughy said. restore salmon runs, some “They are also trying of which are listed as endan- to suggest that all is well gered. with salmon in the entire Utilities and the BPA Columbia Basin, including have worked to balance the ZLOG 6QDNH 5LYHU ¿VK´ needs of salmon with power Laughy said. SURGXFWLRQÀRRGFRQWURODQG Snake River fall chinook other river uses, the BPA are destined for extinction said. unless four giant dams on “The result has been a the lower Snake River are VLJQL¿FDQW LQFUHDVH LQ ¿VK breached, to restore the river survival and much larger WR LWV QDWXUDO ÀRZ /DXJK\ numbers of spawning said. salmon,” the BPA, which Large numbers of salmon markets power from federal died during their migration dams, said in a press release. to the sea this year because The Columbia River Inter- the water in reservoirs Tribal Fish Commission, behind the Snake River dams which represents four Indian became too warm, he said. WULEHVWKDWKDYH¿VKLQJULJKWV on the river, said the salmon numbers were good news. “The success of this fall FKLQRRN UXQ UHÀHFWV WKH region’s commitment to healthy salmon runs and the collaborative spirit that has made it possible,” said Paul Lumley, executive director RIWKH¿VKFRPPLVVLRQ There was also good news for the fall chinook returning to the Snake River, which were listed as threat- ened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992. Thanks to intensive restoration efforts by the Nez Perce Tribe, their numbers have rebounded since they were listed. This year, 59,005 fall Continued from 1A Thursday, November 12, 2015 VETERANS: ‘You have given us prosperity’ Continued from 1A ships and planes on a day when 2,403 Americans died and eight battleships sank or sustained grave damage. Murdock acknowledged that WKH IRRWDJH ZDV GLI¿FXOW WR watch. “War is not something you can sanitize or glam- orize,” he said. “Those of you who are gathered here today know that more than anyone.” Brigadier General Fred Maiocco spoke of the bond shared by veterans. “Whether they fought the Taliban in Afghanistan, Ebola in West Africa or ZLOG¿UHLQ:DVKLQJWRQ6WDWH they forever share the same bond,” Maiocco said. Veterans Day, he said, was their day. “You have given us security. You have given us prosperity. You have given us the greatest nation on earth,” Maiocco said. Maiocco, who is also Hermiston School District Superintendent, asked World War II veterans to stand. Lopez and Flaiz got to their feet along with dozens of others as the applause washed over them. Pilot Bob Stangier, of Pendleton, shared some UHÀHFWLRQV RI WKH ZDU +H joined the Air Force at age 18 as a pilot and came home a veteran of 70 missions. He recalled arriving in Italy with other pilots and walking over to their assigned planes — a group of B-25 bombers. “We’d never seen the B-25. We walked over and Staff photo by E.J. Harris Robert Stangier of Pendleton reflects on his experiences as a bomber pilot during World War II on Wednesday during a Veterans Day ceremony in Pendleton. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Brig. Gen. Fred Maiocco of Hermiston talks about service in the military during a Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday in Pendleton. kicked the tires,” Stangier said. “We didn’t even know how to get inside.” They learned on the job. 7KHERPEHUVÀHZLQSUHFLVH patterns and in close prox- imity to each other. “We called ourselves bridge busters,” Stangier said. His crews concentrated on bombing railroad and highway bridges. At night, WKH\ZRXOGRIWHQGURSÀDUHV to allow the bombardier to see his target. Wednesday’s tribute included the Pendleton Men’s Quartet, who sang RI¿FLDO VRQJV RI WKH $UP\ Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and Kathleen Cathey, aide to Sen. Ron Wyden, presented Congressional Citations to WWII veterans and widows. Four veterans received quilts sewn by Quilts of Valor volunteers in gratitude for their service. The event concluded with a free luncheon. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. Push for end to Syria war most serious yet support into making the necessary concessions. At the initial talks in Vienna on Oct. 30, the U.S., BEIRUT — The inter- Russia, Iran and more than a national community is dozen other nations agreed mounting its most serious to launch a new peace effort effort yet to end the nearly involving Syria’s govern- 5-year-old Syrian war, ment and opposition groups. rallying around a second The second round on round of talks in Vienna this Saturday again excludes the weekend amid the emer- Syrians, and it is not clear gence of a Russian proposal yet if the Russian proposal that calls for early elections. has been coordinated with But the global push for the Syrian government. peace so far excludes any The proposal also does not of the Syrian players, and SANA via AP address a mechanism for experts say any hasty deci- sions risk leading to even Syrian government troops walk inside the Kweiras EULQJLQJ DERXW D FHDVH¿UH air base, east of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday. Syrian ahead of talks. greater bloodshed. “The political future of While world leaders government forces broke a siege imposed by the State group on the northern military air base Dr. Bashar Assad should seem to be in agreement that Islamic of Kweiras since 2013. only be decided by the the time has come to put an end to the carnage in Syria the United States and Russia in any talks on Syria. Iran Syrian people in democratic that has killed more than to bridge the divide, to come had been excluded from last elections,” said Iran’s deputy 250,000 people, there is still up with some concrete ideas year’s talks in Switzerland, foreign minister for Arab no clear roadmap on how to about the broad contours of but attended the talks two and African affairs, Hossein a diplomatic settlement,” weeks ago in Vienna along Amir-Abdollahian, speaking get there. Still, the stepped up diplo- said Fawaz Gerges, a Middle with its arch regional rival, in Beirut on Wednesday matic activity, coupled with East expert at the London Saudi Arabia, a key backer following a visit to Moscow. RI WKH UHEHOV ¿JKWLQJ WR But that is easier said than the U.S. decision to send School of Economics. The divides have topple Assad. done. special operation troops into 7KH 6\ULD FRQÀLFW KDV Syrian legislator Sharif northern Syria — something narrowed considerably, he the Obama administration said, adding that the Amer- turned into a proxy war Shehadeh, a member of regional and the ruling Baath party, told had long sought to avoid — icans and the Russians now between UHÀHFWV D QHZ XUJHQF\ DQG seem to see eye-to-eye on international foes, and The Associated Press there a shift in dealing with the restructuring the political observers have long said will be no presidential vote world’s most intransigent system by drafting a new that any attempt to end the before Assad’s latest term constitution and holding ¿JKWLQJ ZLOO KDYH WR FRPH ends in 2021. He added that FRQÀLFW from an agreement between parliamentary elections are The Russian proposal early elections. The involvement of the warring parties’ regional an internal Syrian affair and calls for drafting a new constitution within 18 Russia and Iran, two key backers, who can then that it was still too early to months that would be put to allies of Assad, is essential strong-arm the groups they hold them. a popular referendum and be followed by an early presidential election. But it makes no mention of Syrian President Bashar Assad stepping down during the transition — a key opposition demand and a sticking point in all previous negotiations to end the civil war. Russia’s military inter- vention in Syria has raised 0RVFRZ¶VSUR¿OHZKHQLW comes to Syria and given Russian President Vlad- imir Putin a stronger say LQKRZWRHQGWKHFRQÀLFW ³7KLVLVUHDOO\WKH¿UVW serious effort on the part of By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press Brian Pilmer Thank You for Your Service! 509 SW Frazer Pendleton, Oregon 97801 Office 541-278-4963 farmers.com