Wednesday, September 2, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Merkley backs Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Oregon’s Democratic Sen.
Jeff Merkley on Sunday
became the 31st senator to
announce support for the Iran
nuclear deal, as momentum
builds behind the agreement
the Obama administration
and other world powers nego-
tiated with Tehran.
Merkley’s backing puts
supporters within reach of the
34 votes required to uphold
a presidential veto of a con-
gressional resolution disap-
proving the agreement, which
curbs Iran’s nuclear program
in exchange for billions of
dollars in sanctions relief.
Republicans are unani-
mously against the deal. But
with an overwhelming num-
ber of Senate Democrats in
favor, some have now begun
aiming to amass 41 yes votes,
which would allow them to
kill the disapproval resolu-
tion outright in the Senate and
protect Obama from having
to use his veto pen.
A vote on the nuclear deal
the U.S. and other world
powers negotiated with
Iran is scheduled for early
September.
Merkley said that while
he thinks the deal has “sig-
nificant shortcomings,” it
is the best strategy to block
Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapon.
“Because of these
shortcomings, many have
argued that the United States,
instead of implementing the
agreement, should withdraw
from it, persuade our partners
to set the agreement aside and
work together to negotiate a
better deal,” Merkley said in
a statement. “However, the
prospects for this are slim. All
of our partners ... believe that
the current deal — in regard
to its central goal of blocking
Iran’s pathways to a nuclear
bomb — is sound. They have
committed the good faith of
their governments behind
the agreement and intend to
honor the deal as long as Iran
does likewise, with or without
the United States.”
11
Off to a strong start...
photo by Jerry baldock
outlaws volleyball is building a cohesive squad that is off to a
strong pre-season start.
School rehires coach who lost job
By Austin Meek
The Register-Guard
EUGENE (AP) — The
Springfield School District has
rehired Bill Wagner as Spring-
field High School’s girls bas-
ketball coach, less than three
months after choosing not
to renew his contract amid
complaints from a parent.
Wagner was allowed to
reapply for the job after agree-
ing to meet with an outside
coaching consultant hired by
the school district. A nine-per-
son search committee recom-
mended Wagner for the posi-
tion following interviews with
other candidates.
“I’m very appreciative of
the support, not only from
my current players, but all
my ex-players — not only the
girls I coached at Springfield,
but kids I coached at North
Eugene,” said Wagner, who
coached both boys and girls
programs at North before tak-
ing the Springfield girls job in
2010.
In an interview with The
Register-Guard, district
Superintendent Susan Rieke-
Smith didn’t express regret
about the initial decision not
to renew Wagner’s contract,
saying it provided “an oppor-
tunity for us to take a pause
and look across our system.”
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After receiving input from
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ticipate in a training program
that will be offered to coaches
district-wide.
“If we offer that, in this
case to Bill, would he access
that?” Rieke-Smith said. “Yes,
he did.”
The district investigated
Wagner last year after receiv-
ing a complaint from Saul
Patu, a former University
of Oregon football player
whose daughter played on the
Springfield varsity team.
Patu accused Wagner
of using language that was
verbally abusive and cultur-
ally insensitive. Wagner was
allowed to return after the
district ruled that his con-
duct, while failing to meet
expectations, did not con-
stitute harassment. That
decision was upheld fol-
lowing an appeal in May.
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