Wednesday, January 3, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
15
Oregonians can register Starfish making comeback Oregon
to vote in six languages after syndrome killed millions teacher
pleads
guilty
By Andrew Selsky
Associated Press
SALEM (AP) —
Reflecting increasing diver-
sity in Oregon, voter reg-
istration forms have been
expanded to six languages,
including Somali, a language
from one of the nations
targeted by the Trump
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’s t r a v e l
ban.
The Elections Division
made the announcement on
Twitter, using letters and
characters from the six lan-
guages: English, Spanish,
Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali
and Russian.
Musse Olol, president
of the Somali American
Council Of Oregon, took the
announcement as a rebuttal
of President Trump’s travel
ban, which targets refugees
from 11 mostly Muslim
countries, including Somalia.
“It’s how you want to
respond, including the lan-
guage of people he had bad
names for and that he put on
the banned list,” Olol, who
has lived in Oregon for 36
years, said in a telephone
interview.
The development shows
how much Oregon’s popu-
lation is changing. Schools
in Salem that used to have
almost all-white student bod-
ies three decades ago are now
filled with Latino students,
Pacific islanders and even
some refugees from East
Africa.
Today, some 10 percent
of all Oregon residents are
foreign-born, and more than
12 percent are U.S.-born
with at least one immi-
grant parent, according to
the American Immigration
Council.
Oregon has long been pri-
marily white. Its constitution
even prohibited black people
from residing in the state, a
clause that remained until
1927.
Oregon’s population of
people of color has grown
by 15 percent since 2010,
though the state ranks 32nd
in the nation in diversity,
according to the Oregon
Employment Department.
The voter registration
forms are offered in the six
languages both online and
on paper, the Oregon elec-
tions division said in its
tweet.
Users of the secretary
of state’s web site can now
click on one of those lan-
guages, which opens a page
in that language listing eligi-
bility requirements — being
a U.S. citizen at least 17
years of age and a resident of
Oregon. A link is provided to
register in the six languages
if the requirements are
met.
There was no indication
of plans to offer ballots or
election materials in addi-
tional languages. Officials
at the elections division and
its parent agency, the sec-
retary of state’s office, did
not respond to requests for
comment. The registration
forms had previously been
in English and Spanish, and
the other four languages
were added for the first
time.
The move “represents
inclusiveness of America
today,” Olol said over the
phone from Portland, which
has become a magnet for
Somali immigrants. He
said older immigrants who
have a tougher time learn-
ing English will especially
benefit.
The elections division of
Multnomah County, which
encompasses Portland, said
most of the requests for
language assistance before
the November 2016 elec-
tion came from Spanish
speakers, followed by the
deaf and then by Somali
speakers.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA
(AP) — Starfish make a come-
back on the West Coast, four
years after a mysterious syn-
drome killed millions of them.
From 2013 to 2014, Sea
Star Wasting Syndrome hit sea
stars from British Columbia
to Mexico. The starfish would
develop lesions and then dis-
integrate, their arms turning
into blobs of goo. The cause
is unclear but researchers say
it may be a virus.
But now, the species is
rebounding. Sea stars are
being spotted in Southern
California tide pools and else-
where, the Orange County
Register reported Tuesday.
“They are coming back,
big time,” Darryl Deleske,
aquarist for the Cabrillo
Marine Aquarium in Los
Angeles, told the newspaper.
“It’s a huge difference,”
Deleske said. “A couple of
years ago, you wouldn’t find
any. I dove all the way as far
as Canada, specifically look-
ing for sea stars, and found
not a single one.”
Similar die-offs of star-
fish on the West Coast were
reported in the 1970s, ’80s
and ’90s, but the latest out-
break was far larger and more
widespread, according to a
report by researchers at the
New Year, New Smile!
University of Santa Cruz.
Beginning with ochre stars
off Washington state, the dis-
ease spread, killing off mot-
tled stars, leather stars, sun-
flower stars, rainbows and six-
armed stars. It hit Southern
California by December 2013.
“When it did (arrive), you
just started to see them melt
everywhere,” said Deleske.
“You’d see an arm here, an
arm there.”
The recovery has been
promising. Four adult sea
stars, each about 7 to 8 inches
long, were spotted this month
at Crystal Cove State Park in
Newport Beach.
“It’s a treasure we always
hope to find,” said Kaitlin
Magliano, education coor-
dinator at the Crystal Cove
Conservancy.
“We lost all of them,” she
said. “It’s good to see we have
some surviving and thriving.
Maybe the next generation
will be more resilient.”
The stars aren’t out of
danger yet. The wasting syn-
drome never completely dis-
appeared in Northern and
Central California and it has
reappeared in the Salish Sea
region of Washington state,
according to a November
report by the University of
Santa Cruz.
MERRILL (AP) — A
former teacher in Klamath
County has been sentenced
to probation after admitting
he threatened a student not to
disclose details of their sexual
relationship.
The Herald and News
reports Jeffrey Vincent
pleaded guilty December 19
to witness tampering. Charges
of coercion and official mis-
conduct were dropped in the
plea deal.
The 35-year-old Vincent
was arrested in July after
police learned of his relation-
ship with a young woman
that began when the woman
attended Lost River High
School in Merrill.
Though the student was
above the age of consent,
the relationship violated
school policy. Authorities say
Vincent threatened to end the
victim’s scholarships if she
reported their relationship.
Vincent has agreed to
not contest any disciplinary
action taken by the Oregon
Teacher Standards and
Practices Commission.
SAVE
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AVV E GAS.
G AS. EX
EXTEND TIRE LIFE.
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a l
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PUBLIC NOTICE
541-382-0410
410 E. Cascade Ave., Sisters
CentralOregonBracePlace.com
To my Wonderful Customers
of Paws -n-Claws Pet Resort…
…As of January 19, 2018, we will be closing our business. I want
to thank all my customers for their trust and friendship over the
years. For 25 years, I have had the privilege of taking care of your
beloved pets. I have loved each and every one. It is time for me to
retire, so I have to say goodbye. I will miss all the furry visitors and
their owners very much. I know I will never
forget any of you and your pets. I want to
wish you all a blessed New Year full of
adventures, love, laughter &
good health. Th ank you,
again, for everything,
—Janet Herring,
Paws-n-Claws
Pet Resort
Sisters Urban Renewal Agency Annual Report