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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2019)
✷✞ ➋✟✠ ❖✡✄ ☛❱ ☛ ❲ ✁✂ ✄✁❆❨✱ ☎❆❨ ✆✆✱ ✆✝✶✾ REGION/STATE ❆■▲❨ ▲❆◆◆❊❘ ❚❖❉❆✶ ✷♦✸✹✺✻✼ ❲❡✸✽❡✼✸✹✺✾✿✹✺ ❀❀✾❁❂❡❃❄❀✽✸✸✹✺♦❅❀❇❃❈❊✷❂❡❋❡ ✹❋❡❀❀❛✸✹✺✼●❡❅❁ ✻✽ ❁❂❡✺❡✹❋❊ Union Pacific announces layoff of up to 195 employees at Hermiston ❇✂ ✄❛☎✆ ✝✞✟✠✇✆❡❡ ❛✡☎ P☛☞❡ ✌r☞✐☛✍ ✎✏✑✒ ✓✔✕✖✗✘✙✏✘ ❚❖❉❆✶❨❍ ■❏❑■▲❏❑■❚ ▼✽✿✹✺❀❀✾❃❈❈❀✾✹❅❁❡❋✹ ❋❡✻r✽●✹✼❁✻✽r✽❡✹❋●✺ ❛❇✺❡✹❋✼✾ ◆♦❂✽✽✺②✹❋✼♦✽❂♦✼❁❡✸sP②◗✼ ➇✷♦✽✻r❂❁❘❂♦❙❯❅♦❋❁❂❡❱✽✹● ❁✻t❡❳◆✹✺❩❡✽♦❁♦♦❬♦✈❡❋✹✼ ❂♦✼❁❁❂❋❡❡✸✹✺✼●✹❁❡❋❤❊ ❖❭❚■❏❍ ❉❆❚❪ ❫✽ ❃❴❵❴✾✹t✹❜♦❋❁❋✹✻✽ ❋♦❝❞ ❝❡❋✺❁♦♦❬❢●✹❣❡✽❡✹❋✿✹❋✼❂❞ ❱❡●✸✾❫✽✸✻✹✽✹✾✹✼t❡t❝❡❋✼ ♦❅❁❂❡✐❡✽♦r✹✽rt✹✸❡♦❅❅ ❙✻❁❂✇❈❵✾❇❇❇✻✽ ●♦♦❁❊ ❫✽ ❃❈❛❈✾❁❂❡❅♦❋❡✻r✽t✻✽❞ ✻✼❁❡❋✼♦❅❥❡❋t✹✽✺✹✽✸❫❁✹●✺✾ ◆♦✹❣❂✻t ✈♦✽✐✻❝❝❡✽❁❋♦❢ ✹✽✸❥✹●❡✹❦❦♦②✻✹✽♦✾✼✻r✽❡✸ ✹➇❧✹❣❁♦❅❘❁❡❡●❯ ❣♦tt✻❁❞ ❁✻✽r❁❂❡❁❙♦❣♦♠✽❁❋✻❡✼❁♦✹ t✻●✻❁✹❋✺✹●●✻✹✽❣❡❊ ❫✽ ❃❈❵❇✾✹✽❡✹❋❁❂♥♠✹❬❡♦❅ t✹r✽✻❁♠✸❡❈❊♣✾❁❂❡✼❁❋♦✽❞ r❡✼❁❡✈❡❋t❡✹✼♠❋❡✸✾✼❁❋♠❣❬ ✼♦♠❁❂❡❋✽②❂✻●❡✾❣●✹✻t✻✽r ✼♦t❡❃✾❵♣♣●✻✈❡✼❊ ❫✽ ❃❈❵❀✾②♦✽❁✻✽❡✽❁✹● q✻❋●✻✽❡✼✉●✻r❂❁❃❃✾❡✽❋♦♠❁❡ ❅❋♦t②❂✻❣✹r♦❁♦①✹✽✼✹✼ ②✻❁✺✾✿✻✼✼♦♠❋✻✾ ❣❋✹✼❂❡✸✹❅❁❡❋ ✹❝♦t❝✹❢❢✹❋❡✽❁●✺❝❋♦♠r❂❁ ♦✽❝♦✹❋✸❝✺✹❢✹✼✼❡✽r❡❋ ❡③❢●♦✸❡✸✾❬✻● ✻✽r✹●● ❄♣♦❣❞ ❣♠❢✹✽❁✼♦❅❁❂❡P♦❡✻✽r④❇④❊ ▲❖❚❚❪⑤✶ ⑥⑦⑧⑨⑩❶❷❸❹❺ ❻❼❽❼ ❾❿➀ ❿➁➂ ❵❞④❞❴❞❈❞❃❃❞❛♣ ⑥⑦⑧⑨ ⑥➃➄➄➃➅➆❹❺ ❻➈➉➈❾❿➀ ❿➁➂ ❃❇❞♣❇❞♣♣❞♣❵❞♣❴❞❃♣❞③♣ ➊➅➋⑦➌⑩⑨➄➄❺ ❻❼➍➍❾❿➀ ❿➁➂ ❀❞❃❇❞❀♣❞❵❵❞❵④❞❧P❀❵❞③❄ ➎➃➆➏➅➌ ➐➃➏⑦❺ ➑➒➓❼➔ ❃❛❞❛❵❞❄❇❞♣❄ ➊➃❷❸ →❺ ➛➝ ➑➒➓❼➣ ↔↕➙➛ ➜ ➞➟➠➟➡➟➢ ↔➤➙➛ ➜ ➛ ➝ ➡➟➥➟➦➟➤ ↔➧➙➛ ➜ ➜ ➛➝ ➛➝ ➞➟➥➟➢➟➦ ↔↕➠➙➛ ➤➟➧➟➦➟➥ ➊➃❷❸ →❺ ➑➒➓❼➔ ↔↕➙➛ ➜ ➜ ➛ ➛ ➝ ➝ ↕➟↕➟➤➟➡ ↔➤➙➛ ➥➟➠➟➥➟➧ ↔➧➙➛ ➜ ➛ ➝ ➡➟➡➟➢➟➥ ↔↕➠➙➛➜➛➝ ➠➟➨➟↕➟➞ ⑤❖❆❉ ⑤❪➩❖⑤❚ ➫➭➜➯➲➳➵➸➺➻➼➽ ➽➝ ↔➾ ↔➹➭➸ ➚➵➪ ➵ ➶ ➪ ➲➹➳➲➘➺➚➝➞➠➠➟➥➧➧➟➢➦➢➞➛ ➶➲➹➳➲➘➺➚➝➨➠➦➟➨➞➞➟➡➥➤↕➛ ❭❪➴❍➩❆➩❪⑤ ▲❆❚❪➷ ➬➮➱✃➓➱❐ ❐ ➁✃❒❿ ❮ ❾➒❰➱❒➁❰➱Ï ➀❿➮➱✃➓➁Ð✃ÑÒ❮➱✃➮➱✃❿ ➂ Ó➁➂❰❿ ➒❒❿❾➱➀ Ï ➓ ❾➒➂➂➱✃❽ÑÓÓ➒❮❿ ➁ ➂➒➀ ➀ ➓ ❒❿ ❾➁✃➱❰❿ ➁➂❮➱Ô❿ ❐ ❮ ×ÓÐ➀ ❒❒Õ➒❒❾➒Ö➱❰➱➀ ❿➮➱✃➓ ❒ ❽ Ø➏Ù➅❶⑨➌⑦➆➅Ú➅➆⑨Û➅Ú➅➌ ➌➅❶Ú⑦Ü❰➱➀ ❿➮➱✃➓❮Õ➁Ð➀ ❰ Ò➱ ➯➲Ý➺➳➲➨➝ ➦ ➠➙➛ ➜ ➛➾ Ý Þ➺➭➶➺➚➺➸ ✃➱Ó➱❿ ➮➱➓➁Ð✃ß➒ß➱✃ß➀➱➒❮➱Ó➒➀➀ àá➣Ï➉â➈Ï➈➣â➣❽ ãä❖❚❪ ❖å❚■❪ ❉❆✶ ➇❲❡❂✹✈❡✹●●✾ ✹❁♦✽❡❁✻t❡♦❋ ✹✽♦❁❂❡❋✾ ❝❡❡✽❢❡❋❅♦❋t❡❋✼✾✹✽✸ t✹✽✺♦❅♠✼✼❁✻● ✹❋❡æ❢♦●✻❁✻❣✻✹✽✼✾ ❢●✹✺❝♦✺✼✾❣✹❋✸✻✽✹●✼ ✹✽✸❬✻✽r✼❊❯ çèéêëìíîìïðñòñìëóôëñõñö÷ éîõøëùúøëíõ÷ñö ûéõìñí üýþÿó ûñìûñí üý ý ✾ ✁ The railroad looms large in Hermiston’s past, but it will likely play a much smaller role in the city’s future. Union Pacific Railroad filed notice with the state on Tuesday that it will lay off up to 195 employees at the Hinkle Rail Yard in Hermiston and close the yard’s supply warehouse and mechanical shop. It stated the 195 layoffs would be completed by July 19 and are expected to be permanent. The bulk layoff is an escala- tion of the scores of lay- offs that have happened incrementally at the rail yard since October 2018. Hermiston Mayor Da- vid Drotzmann said his conversation on Tuesday with UP spokesman Aar- on Hunt was a difficult one. The city of Herm- iston’s June 2018 finan- cial report listed Union Pacific as one of the city’s largest employers at the time, estimating the company employed about 500 people at Hinkle. Drotzmann said it was his understand- ing the latest layoffs will leave between 40 and 45 employees. “It was both a con- versation of frustration and sadness to realize an organization that has made such an impact on the community over the last 25 years is reducing to one-eighth of what it was,” he said. He said the loss of so many jobs in the com- munity will have an eco- nomic impact as families move away or cut back their spending signifi- cantly while facing un- employment. But he said he was more concerned about the effects on the individuals who lost their jobs. “Those were good-pay- ing jobs with great ben- efits,” he said. After Union Pacific laid off more than 80 employees during the fall of 2018 and winter 2019, UP spokesman Tim Mc- Mahan declined to share how many employees Hinkle had, but said UP had 1,506 employees throughout Oregon. On Tuesday, he again de- clined to answer most questions submitted by the East Oregonian about the number of em- ployees who will remain at Hinkle or what opera- tions will continue there, ❚☞✌✍✎☞✏✑✒✓ ✔✌✑✕✖✌✑✏ ✫ ✗✌ ✘✑✌✙✕✏ ✔✌✑✕✖✌✑✏ but stated the company would move some of Hinkle’s operations to yards in Portland; Spo- kane; Ogden, Utah; Po- catello, Idaho; and Nam- pa, Idaho. “The workforce reduc- tion is the result of accel- erating (Union Pacific’s) continuous improvement plan and implement- ing Precision Scheduled Railroading principles,” he wrote in an email. Union Pacific an- nounced its Unified Plan 2020 last year to improve efficiency. It announced record earnings in 2018 of more than $6 billion, and during a first quarter earnings call with share- holders on April 18 an- nounced record 2019 first quarter net income and a 15% increase in earnings per share compared with 2018, despite the fact that total volume decreased by 2% compared with the previous year. During the call, Chief Operating Officer Jim Vena said UP increased train length by 7% and was focused on reduc- ing “touch points” where trains are handled. He said the company had “stopped humping cars at Hinkle and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and curtailed yard operations in Salt Lake City, the Kansas City complex and Butler Yard in Wisconsin, to name a few.” State Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, called the cuts at Hinkle “devastat- ing” for the area. “These are good fam- ily wage jobs with ben- efits,” Smith said. “That job loss is going to have a significant economic effect throughout the re- gion.” State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, said he found out about the job cuts on Tuesday afternoon. Hansell questioned whether legislation, such as the recent gross receipts tax, is making neighboring states more attractive to business. That’s been the talk in some circles at the Capi- tol, he said, and perhaps Union Pacific relocating operations from Hinkle to Idaho and Washington signals that is happen- ing. However, Hansell cautioned, he does not know if that’s the case here. George Murdock, chair of the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners, said Union Pacific has long been a “major em- ployer” in the county. “These are the kind of jobs people occupy for an entire career, so their loss is particu- larly acute,” he said. “I had heard rumors that it was a possibility, but had hoped it was only a rumor.” Murdock said his un- derstanding was Union ✚✛✜✢✣✜ ✤✥✦✧★ ✜✥✩✪✢✩✦✫ ✪✥ have a presence at Hinkle and the county will remain a major freight route. He said it will be important to work with the unions and ✛✬✫✜✪✫★ ✫✭✮✧✥✯✫✫✰ ✢✩ ✪✱✫ coming months. While the jobs repre- sent a significant loss for the area, Hermiston’s increasingly diversified economy helps absorb the blow. Drotzmann pointed to the closure of the Simplot plant in 2004 and the closure of Hermiston Foods in 2017 as an example of times that Hermiston lost one of its largest employers but continued to grow. “This community is re- ally resilient,” he said. That might be small comfort to the employees whose jobs have been cut in recent months. Locals took to community Face- book forums on Tues- day to share that family members had been laid off or to share condo- lences with friends who had lost jobs. Oregon has designated CAPECO in Pendleton as the lead organization for when major job losses occur in Hermiston, and CAPECO will conduct trainings and job fairs for former Hinkle em- ployees in June. In the meantime, some employ- ees will be eligible to ap- ply for transfer to one of Union Pacific’s other rail yards. ❘❊●❖◆ ■◆ ❘■❊❋ ✹✺✻✼ ✽✿✺❀ ✺❀❁✻✺❂❃ Oregon Senate passes $15M verdict reduced to $683K for woman election-security bill in light rail crash on election day SALEM — County clerks in Oregon would be required to audit re- sults after each election under a bill that over- whelmingly passed the Senate on election day. The bill requires county clerks to conduct hand- count or risk-limiting au- dits after every primary, general and special elec- tion. Risk-limiting audits are based on counts of statistical samples of pa- per ballots. Ballots were due Tues- day in Oregon’s special elections. Candidates ran ✲✥✳ ✰✜✱✥✥✧ ✴✥✛✳★✰✵ PORTLAND — A judge has ruled that a woman who lost her leg when she dashed in front of a MAX light rail train is lawfully entitled to only $682,800 of the $15 million in dam- ages awarded by a jury. The Oregonian/Ore- gonLive reported Andrea “Amy” Laing and her at- torneys contended that she should receive 58% of the verdict, or $8.7 million, because the jury in February found Tri- Met and its driver 58% at fault. But TriMet argued that an Oregon law limiting the tort claim liability of government agencies en- titled Laing to no more than $682,800. On Monday, Mult- nomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Ram- ras agreed with TriMet. Laing was struck by a train at a Beaverton sta- tion in November 2015. TriMet declined com- ment. Laing’s attorney Sonia Montalbano said Tuesday they haven’t yet decided whether to appeal. ✣✳✫ districts and other of- ✣✜✫✰✵ ✛✩★ ✧✥✜✛✧ ✪✛✶ ✧✫✷✢✫✰ were decided. In Oregon, voters mail in ballots or ✧✫✛✷✫ ✪✱✫✭ ✢✩ ✥✸✜✢✛✧ ★✳✥✮ boxes. Sen. Lew Frederick, a Portland Democrat, said the bill ensures more au- dits happen to make sure election results are cor- rect. The bill requires audits after every election, in- stead of just general elec- tions. It goes next to the House. ðñòòóôõö÷ ðñôôøùöõñô õôúõöøû ÷ñó öñ ðøüøýþÿöø ü øþ òøþõùÿôû ñôö ✁ ✂ ✄ ☎ ✭✠✓✑✞✮✝✝✡ ✯✟✮✰ ✕ ✱✠✠☞ ✲✕✞✳✔ ✴✝✕✓✍ ✠✞ ✵✰✝✝✓✍✔ ✆✝✞✟✠✡ ☛☞✌✟✍✠✡✎ ✏✠✑✞✒✟✓✔ ✕✞☞ ✖✠✡✝✗ ✘✙✚✛✙ ✜✛✢✙✣✤ ✥✦✙✚✛✧ ✜✦✙✣✦✧ ★ ✩✪ ✫✧✪✙✬✦ ✃❐❒ ❮❰ÏÐÑÒ ÐÓ❮Ô ÙÚÛÜ Ý àáâããäå Þß æç èéêéëì íìéîèï ➤➥➦ ➧➨➩➫➭ ➧➯➲➳➵ ➸➩ ➺➻➩➼➨➲ ➽➾➦➚➪➤➶➚➹➤➘➦ ➸➩➺➻➩➼➨➲➴➩➷➼➬➳➮➱➫ ✃❐❒ ❮Ñ Ï ÕÖ×Ø Ð ÙÚÛÜ Ý àáâããäå Þß æç èéêéëì íìéîèï ➛➜➝➞ ➟➠➡➢ ➃➄➅➆ ➇➄➅➈➈➉ ➊ ➃➄➅➆ ➌➍➎➎ ➏ ➐➈➉➑➒➉➑➒ ➓➉➑➅ ➔➉➑➉➑➒ ➐→➣↔ ↕➍ ↕➄➅ ➙➍➎➒➅ ❳❩❬❭ ❭❪❫❳ ❴❩❵ ❜❝s❞ ❡❢❝❣ ✚✚✛✛ ✜✢✣✤r✥ ✦✥t ✧★✩✢r ✪✬✭✮ ✯ ✰✲✳✴✰✵✸✴✸✸✹✳ ✵✵✳✵ ■✣❧★♥✺ ✻✼✢t ▲★ ✽✿❀❁❂❃ ✯ ✰✲✳✴❄❅✰✴❅✳✰✵ ▼✤♥✺★✮✴❇r✬✺★✮ ✹✴❄ ✯ ❈❀✥❉r✺★❛ ❊✴❄ ✯ ✦❉♥✺★❛ ❋✴✰ ♣●❍❏❍❑ ◆❍P ◗❘❘✉❑❏P❙❏◗❍✐ ❍✐❘❯ ❤❥❥❤❥ ❦♠♦♦q✈♠ ✇♠①② ③④⑤⑥✈♠⑦ ⑧ ❦♠♦♦q✈♠ ✇♠①②⑨ ⑩❶②⑤q❷ ⑧ ❸❹❺❻❹❼❽❻❾❿❽❺ ⑧ ✈♠♦♦q✈♠♦♠①②➀➁q➂
