HERMISTON’S LITTLE
GROWING DARLINGS
WATER NEEDS 2017
PAGE 4A
REGION/3A
81/55
E O
AST
AS
141st Year, No. 182
SENATE GOP
SHELVES
HEALTH BILL
NATION/8A
REGONIAN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
UNDER
THE
RAINBOW
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
A pile of garbage prepared for pickup at the Rainbow Gathering on Monday.
Impacts of gathering ‘detrimental’ to ecosystem
By SEAN HART
EO Media Group
Rainbow Gathering attendees
have vowed to leave the land
better than they found it, but Forest
Service offi cials said such a large
group in such a small space will
negatively impact the ecosystem.
As many as 20,000 attendees
are expected at the loosely orga-
nized, unauthorized gathering July
1-7 in Flagtail Meadow off Forest
Road 24 south of John Day. By
Monday, more than 2,500 people
had already gathered at the site.
Also at the location are a
variety of sensitive resources
— heritage, wildlife, botanical,
range, aquatic — that will suffer
from the infl ux, Forest Service
Agency Administrator Ryan Nehl
said.
“Despite best intentions, the
amount of impact from that many
people in that small of space is
going to be detrimental,” he said.
“There will be impact, and that’s
what’s been expressed to these
individuals who profess their
concern for the environment: It’s
a large forest, disperse.”
Forest
Service
resource
specialists have fl agged off certain
areas to try to protect resources.
Blue Mountain district ranger
Dave Halemeier and National
Environmental Policy Act planner
Sasha Fertig spent days trying to
protect the site but said that many
concerns remain.
“The unauthorized users admit
that they cannot control each other
and that once the masses show up
all they can do is try to educate,”
See ECOSYSTEM/10A
House
narrowly
approves
education
budget
$8.2B state K-12 plan
now goes to Gov. Brown
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — The Oregon House
of Representatives Tuesday narrowly
approved an $8.2 billion state K-12 budget
for the next two years. The budget now
heads to Gov. Kate Brown for a signature.
The 31-28 vote followed a debate during
which Democrats and
Republicans agreed the
amount was not enough.
Yet, they blamed each
other for failing to reach
a deal on raising new
revenue and containing
rising overhead costs
through
reform
of
pension and health insur-
ance benefi ts.
Gov. Kate Brown and legislative leaders
announced last week that negotiations for
an agreement had crumbled in the waning
days of the legislative session.
Members from both parties stood on
the House fl oor and asked each other
how long they would accept mediocrity
in the state’s school system. Oregon’s
public schools have among the nation’s
largest class sizes, shortest school years
and lowest high school graduation rates,
despite spending more per pupil than
many other states.
“Oregon has been kicking the can down
the road since I was in the fi rst grade, and it
is kicking the can again,” said Rep. Diego
Hernandez, one of four freshmen Demo-
See SCHOOL/8A
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
Forest Service Law Enforcement Offi cer Jay Norris chats with two Rainbow Gathering attendees
at the Rainbow Gathering on Monday, June 26.
HERMISTON
Community
Law enforcement set up for gathering helps families
displaced by
duplex fi re
By GEORGE PLAVEN
and PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
The U.S. Forest Service
has made eight arrests, as of
Tuesday afternoon, at the annual
Rainbow Gathering on the
Malheur National Forest near
John Day.
Offi cers have also issued
192 warnings and 47 violations
notices at the unauthorized
event.
Brian Ebert, one of two inci-
dent commanders assigned by
the agency, said the fi gures only
take into account law enforce-
ment activity within the gath-
ering site at Flagtail Meadow.
Total arrests associated with
the event could be larger due to
coordination with local police,
regional sheriff’s offi ces and
Oregon State Police patrolling
highways along the route.
Stephen Baker, a Forest
Service spokesman, said the
arrests so far include one for
disorderly conduct and another
seven on warrants. With 2,670
Rainbow participants on hand,
that amounts to one arrest for
about 334 people.
If that rate holds and atten-
dance peaks around 20,000
people by July 4 as the Forest
Main Street.
The federal government
will contribute up to $55,000
to disassemble the trusses and
transport them to the storage site.
If the process ends up costing
more than $55,000, the highway
administration will consider
allocating more money.
Since the Pendleton Enhance-
ment Project isn’t a formal entity,
the group is doing business
through the Pendleton Down-
town Association, a nonprofi t
associated with the group.
The association will be respon-
Two families are trying to get back on
their feet after a fi re Monday destroyed
the duplex where they were living. No one
was injured in the blaze, which started in
a fi eld near the Oxbow Trail. But a young
couple with a child and a baby on the way,
as well as an older couple, were displaced.
There are collections in progress for
both families. The Hermiston Church of
the Nazarene is collecting and storing
items for Miguel and Rebecca Godoy.
People can also make monetary dona-
tions through the Church of the Nazarene
website. A GoFundMe page has been
started for Ashlynn Beenblossom and
her fi ancée, Diego Lopez. The couple,
who is expecting a baby this summer,
is being put up in a hotel until mid-July
by Red Cross. There are also Facebook
campaigns started to help both families.
The fi re started in a fi eld beyond the
homes on Northwest 13th Street and West
Ridgeway Avenue, and is thought to have
been sparked by fi reworks. According to
Umatilla County Fire District 1, it was
pushed by wind from the fi eld toward
the homes, where it caught one duplex
building on fi re. The wind also steadily
blew smoke over the homes for more
than an hour, causing about 35 people to
be evacuated from their homes.
See BRIDGE/10A
See FIRE/10A
See POLICE/10A
PENDLETON
Council approves agreement that
moves Eighth Street bridge to Main
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The remnants of the Eighth
Street Bridge are one step closer
to downtown Pendleton.
The Pendleton City Council
met Tuesday to discuss one
issue — signing a memorandum
of agreement with the federal
government, the state historic
preservation offi ce and the Pend-
leton Downtown Association
to reuse the bridge’s trusses as
a decorative feature on the 500
block of South Main Street.
The Pendleton Enhancement
Project, a group of nonprofi ts and
government offi cials that support
new civic projects, has champi-
oned repurposing the trusses on
Main Street.
According to report from
City Manager Robb Corbett
and Public Works Director Bob
Patterson, the city has partici-
pated in weekly coordination
meetings with Chuck Wood, a
former city council and a leader
of the Pendleton Enhancement
Project.
Under the memorandum, the
city will retain ownership of the
trusses and store them on city
property on Southeast Byers
Avenue until they’re installed on
East Oregonian