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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2017)
CELEBRATING ST. PADDY’S IN HEPPNER 51/40 ROCKETS SLIP PAST COUGARS REGION/3A SPORTS/1B FBI director: Trump wiretap claims bogus NATION/7A TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2017 141st Year, No. 111 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PENDLETON One dollar Upgrades to roads, bridges estimated as high as $312M Committee estimate lower than ODOT’s recommendation By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Staff photo by E.J. Harris Traffi c passes a construction zone Monday on Westgate in Pendleton. The construction zone is blocking one lane as crews dig a trench to replace a section of the water main. Westgate rehab project underway East Oregonian Westgate will be the hub of plenty of construction activity for the duration of spring. The city of Pendleton has already closed one lane of traffi c as contractors replace a water main under the road. The city aims to have the $510,819 water line project completed by the end of April, in time for the Oregon Department of Transportation to start a street project. ODOT spokesman Tom Strandberg said drivers should expect more street closures and construction delays as workers apply a new overlay to Westgate from Airport Road to Southwest 18th Street. Strandberg’s ballpark estimate for the project’s duration is six to eight weeks. In a minor snafu Monday, public works director Bob Patterson said contractors clipped the overhead line that supplied internet to the nearby Umatilla County public works offi ce. The connection was expected to be restored Tuesday morning. BOARDMAN Students take their projects to the wind KidWind Challenge teaches mechanics of wind energy By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Duct tape saved the day. Three teams of Boardman students participated in the KidWind Challenge, a national program to teach the benefi ts and mechanics of wind energy. The students designed and built miniature wind turbines, and Saturday they gathered at Riverside Junior-Senior High School, Boardman, to test their creations in a wind tunnel and fi nd out what kind of power they could generate. The four large fans in the tunnel sucked a few turbines completely off the ground. The strong bonds of duct tape, though, allowed students another — and better — go of it. Loli Jacquez and Rodrigo Guzman, sixth graders at Windy River Elementary, Boardman, built their turbine sturdy enough to withstand the force of the tunnel. Their teacher, Katrina Bretsch, said the pair used a carpet dryer to try out the turbine. Bretsch said her whole class took part in the hands-on learning about wind power through kits she supplied, but the two boys joined up as Team Voltage to enter the competition. They were the youngest team there, and Bretsch said the pair committed plenty See WIND/8A SALEM — A subgroup of the legis- lative committee crafting a statewide transportation package has recommended an increase of $255.6 million to $312.4 million in annual spending to upgrade roads and bridges. That would require raising revenues equivalent to a 9- to 11-cent increase in the state’s 30-cent gas tax. The money would likely come from a combination of sources, which could include a hike in the gas tax, registration fees, tolling or other options. “Even the equivalent of 11 cents is yet to be determined,” said Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose. “This is all highly fl uid.” The state now spends about $1.3 billion a year on transportation maintenance and upgrades. The Oregon Transportation Commission has recommended spending an additional $574 million a year to upgrade roads and bridges to ease conges- tion, particularly in the Portland metro area. But the legislative subgroup could not reach a consensus on an amount, said Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, who led the group. “We didn’t reach consensus on much of anything, but I think we all agreed we need to do something,” Bentz said. The recommendation comes from the fi rst of fi ve subgroups from the legislative Committee on Transportation Preserva- See UPGRADES/2A PENDLETON Old bridge wanted for new project Staff photo by Phil Wright Fabian Meza and Donovon Carmack, students at Riverside Junior/ Senior High School, Boardman, work on the blades for their team’s wind turbine Saturday during the KidWind Challenge at their school. They were one of three teams seeking to earn the opportunity to compete at the national level. By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Civil rights activ- ists, defense lawyers and journalists voiced concern Monday over legis- lation that would give pseudonyms to sex crime victims and witnesses in grand jury indictments and keep their names out of public court records. District attorneys and victim advocates say the legislation is designed to protect victims and their families who might otherwise the defendant. They said that is especially true in the case of accused sex traffi ckers who may have multiple victims. “The fear of victims testifying against their traffi ckers cannot be over exaggerated,” said Nita Belles, executive director of In Our Back- yard, a Bend-based anti-human traffi cking nonprofi t organization. “They and (their families) have been threatened, and the traffi ckers have carried out enough threats against them in the past to make By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian believers out of them.” However, opponents argued during a hearing in front of the Senate Judi- ciary Committee that the proposal would violate the public’s constitutional rights to open courts and an open press. Journalists are “sympathetic to those victims of sex crimes who are often required to relive their experiences multiple times throughout the trial process,” said Keith Shipman of the Oregon Association of Broad- casters. “However, our member A community organization wants the city of Pendleton’s blessing to re-use the Eighth Street Bridge, and is asking for some money to help do it. The Pendleton City Council will meet Tuesday to discuss supporting the Pendleton Enhancement Project’s goal of re-using components of the original Eighth Street Bridge and reconstructing them in the downtown area. By the time the council decides on moving the bridge, its members will have already met as the Pendleton Development Commission and consid- ered a Pendleton Enhancement Project request for $20,000 to cover some of the costs of re-constructing the bridge. The Pendleton Enhancement Project started its life as Project Exploration, a group of nonprofi ts and government offi cials interested in creating and supporting new civic endeavors. Although the name has changed, the Pendleton Enhancement Project objective remains the same, with much of its focus directed toward the 500 block of South Main Street. See BILL/8A See BRIDGE/8A Proposed bill would seal names of sex crime victims, witnesses refuse to testify in front Opponents argue it would of a grand jury out of violate rights to open courts fear of retribution from Group asks for $20K to help move Eighth Street Bridge