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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2020)
LOCAL FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020 PLAN Continued from Page 1A “In terms of those who are directly going into the mar- ket to purchase allowances, aside from the utilities, we’re really just looking at about nine or so industrial custom- ers at this point,” said state Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland. “Everyone else, it will be done through their utilities. And the big fuel importers.” The bill aims to reduce Oregon emissions 45% below 1990 levels in the next 15 years, and to 80% below 1990 emissions levels by 2050. The legislative concept is expected to be posted on the Legislature’s website on Fri- day. A legislative committee is expected to consider the legislation on Monday. Dembrow said in an inter- view that they are proposing four big changes from last year’s effort that derailed the Legislature. The fi rst change, Dembrow said, is that capping emis- sions from gasoline and die- sel would be phased in over the next several years. Fuel importers would not have to get emissions allowances with respect to rural areas of the state, though those areas could opt in to the regula- tions if they want. Starting in two years, fuel suppliers in the Portland metro area must obtain al- lowances. Three years later, in 2025, suppliers deliver- ing to areas receiving more than 10 million gallons of fuel would be covered by the program and face new limits. The second change cor- responds to how industrial users of natural gas would be regulated. The utilities or marketers supplying the gas would deal with the corre- sponding allowances. The new plan also would set aside money for envi- ronmental initiatives such as wildfi re prevention and CHEF Continued from Page 1A The noodle bowl consisted of Asian vegetables, rice noodles and a hot broth with fresh fried onions. The bun cha, which are similar to meatballs, were made with marinated and fi re-grilled steak that came from cattle the local 4-H club raised and sold at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show. Murray said the other ingredients also were straight from local farms. Having the ingredi- ents come to the school from within 100 miles means they are fresh, higher in quality and more likely to have a real connection to the students. “Chances are the student eating the dish knows the person who helped raise the ingredients for it,” Murray said. Taher Inc., the food service company for the La Grande School District, works to expose students to differ- ent types of food through organizing this event, accord- ing to Heather Torres, the district’s food service director. Torres said the students were excited to experience something different for lunch. “Food makes it easier to connect to the culture,” Tor- res said, adding, “It teaches them and expands their knowledge.” Jody Poskochil, food ser- vice specialist for Taher, said forest health, and task the Department of Environmen- tal Quality with regulating the system. Lawmakers dropped the idea of setting up a new state agency to manage the program. State Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, said change emerged out of conver- sations with legislators opposed to the program last year, many of whom were worried about creating a new state agency at a cost of millions. “I really see this as one of the ways in which we have eliminated creating new bureaucracy in the state,” Roblan said. Various iterations of the proposal have been passed around the Capitol in recent months. One version dated Dec. 23 spanned 100 pages of dense text. But it’s not a sure bet the latest proposal will fl oat on Oregon’s choppy political seas. Last year’s effort prompted Republicans to storm out of the building — and the state. The Republican senators re- turned only after they were assured Democrats didn’t have enough votes to pass the policy. The latest version of the plan began in the garage of the state Capitol. That’s where Roblan and Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, started talking about what could be done to address greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon, per Roblan’s ac- count. Their chat became the seed of a plan Roblan and Dem- brow shared with reporters on Thursday. While the effort started out on informal and amicable terms, Girod is no longer involved in the crafting of the policy, telling The Oregonian that changes intended to accommodate rural Oregon in the bill were “fake” and disdaining the process. some students learn cooking basics at home or in culinary classes, but this is a step up in cooking and consuming food. “We are adding a whole other level,” Poskochil said. “It is easy to get tied into tra- ditional meals, and switching it up and making something from another country makes it exciting.” Assisting chef Murray with the lunch was Jakob Evers’ culinary arts class. Murray visited with the LHS class for several days to instruct the students on how to prepare the dish and explain the culture behind the meal. He said if it wasn’t for events such as these, students may not get to know about bun cha or other foreign foods. Faculty and staff, includ- ing district administrators and high school principal Brett Baxter, helped serve the meal. Poskochil said this often makes students feel better with how the adminis- tration has taken an interest in the students. “It brings them (students and faculty) to an equal level for a little while,” Murray agreed. “Plus those helping are really nice.” This is the second time ever a special lunch like this was served at La Grande High School, and the district is hopeful for more events like this to help expose stu- dents to tastes and fl avors beyond La Grande. PACIFIC NORTHWEST ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO, MONTANA 5($&+PLOOLRQ3DFLÀF1RUWKZHVWHUQHUVZLWKMXVW2QH&DOO PNDC CLASSIFIED - Daily Newspapers 29 newspapers - 1,187,980 circulation Number of words: 25 z Extra word cost: $10 Cost: $540 (Runs 3 consecutive days including wkds.) PNDN 2x2 DISPLAY - Daily Newspapers 27 newspapers - 1,016,864 circulation Size: 2x2 (3.25”x2”) Cost: 1x 2x2: $1,050 More info: Cecelia@cnpa.com or call (916) 288-6011 THE OBSERVER — 5A LEWIS Continued from Page 1A led her to Nashville and the start of her career as a singer and songwriter. “I decided to say yes to anything that came my way,” she said. After graduating from col- lege and at the start of her career, Lewis experimented with different styles and genres of music. She played around with show tunes, classical music and sing- ing backup before deciding what she liked best was singing adult contemporary, or Americana, style songs she wrote herself. “I try to be positive, espe- cially in recent years,” Lewis said about her inspiration for songs. “I write about meaningful things to me, re- lationships beyond romance, obstacles and triumphs.” Her song “You were loved” is about a friend who passed away, and “Smoke” is about relationships and forgive- ness. The connection she makes with people is Lewis’ favorite part of her career. “I think I was born to con- nect with people,” Lewis said. “Doing it with music is pow- erful and magical. I love con- necting with people through songs, and I love the friends Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson Singer/songwriter Nicole Lewis shares her knowledge and experiences in the music industry Thursday night at Side A Brewing, La Grande, as part of a pub talk. I’ve made and conversations I get to have. I think music can be healing, and when I hear that I’ve done that for someone with my music, it is so wonderful.” While meeting new people has been a highlight for Lewis, it was the con- nections and support from the local community she credits for her burgeoning music career. She said while audiences in Nashville and Spokane may be bigger, they are not nearly as supportive and personal as the people she performed in front of in La Grande. “I am beyond grateful for the support of this town,” FLU Continued from Page 1A “Education is a huge piece of pre- venting the spread of disease,” Sieders said in a video the center released. “It is important that we educate the community that vaccines are safe and educate them about the diseases that they prevent.” Certain communities are more vulnerable to the fl u. For infants and the elderly it can be especially danger- ous because of weakened immune systems. Students also are more likely to develop the fl u because of the close quarters and prolonged exposure dur- ing the school day. Some local schools have seen a decrease in attendance due to the fl u. “We do the best we can to stay on top of it, but once it is airborne it can be ZIEMLAK Continued from Page 1A While authorities were eventually notifi ed, the search for Ziemlak was slow to start due to the limited information Roberts and his department had, he said. Roberts said his depart- ment has basic information on patients at Salmon Run, such as general physical descriptions, dates of birth and the original offense they were charged with, but police did not have access to a recent picture of Ziemlak until later Sunday. Law enforcement also doesn’t have access to infor- mation about the specifi cs of each patient’s conditional Lewis said. “Going to Nash- ville, I had the support of my family and friends, and it just made me feel like I wasn’t moving to Nashville alone.” While in Nashville, Lewis has created her brand and marketed herself as a singer and songwriter. Besides producing her own music, she has worked with other companies, including Inspire Kindness and Keep it Kind, and is developing a music sharing app called Crowd. Lewis said she knew breaking into the industry would be extremely diffi cult, with streaming services and pirating giving away artists’ really hard,” Imbler Elementary school administrative assistant Wendy Crow said. According to Crow, Imbler elemen- tary had 23 of its 160 students out of school during December due to the fl u. Other schools, such as Union elemen- tary and La Grande, did not have such drastic attendance drops but have occasionally seen lower attendance. All of the schools reported they try to take measures to prevent further spread, including encouraging fl u shots, keep- ing facilities clean and reminding par- ents to keep their children home when they start exhibiting symptoms. Residents at Wildfl ower Lodge Assisted Living & Memory Care Community, La Grande, also have a higher likelihood of contracting the fl u because of close quarters. But Wildfi re community relations director Jenna release, Roberts said, which is intentionally limited to protect patient privacy. All patients on conditional release are entered into the law enforcement database, Bort said, but details of that release often fall under HIPAA protections. “We don’t want our pa- tients having their mental illness used against them for housing or employment,” she said. Court documents from 2017 show Ziemlak’s condi- tional release was modifi ed while a resident at McNary Place, a facility in Herm- iston. The modifi cation al- lowed Ziemlak to go on “solo passes” or “peer passes” away from the facility, so products for free. With the Crowd app, Lewis said she hopes to combat that issue. Crowd is like a movie the- ater for music, where songs are released for a limited time and fans can be paid for helping promote their favorite artists. It still is in development, but Lewis said she hopes the app will launch this year. “We are working to bring the value back into music,” Lewis said about Crowd. During her pub talk, which was part of a series organized by the Eastern Oregon University Entre- preneurship Club, Lewis gave 10 pieces of advice to those who are working on breaking into the music in- dustry, including “show up” and “embrace discomfort.” She said there are benefi ts to trying to solve problems on your own before ask- ing to get something, as it makes you learn to be resilient. “And celebrate the little victories,” Lewis said, “be- cause they are pieces of the entire puzzle.” Lewis said she wants to encourage people to do what they are passionate about and know there is a place in the music industry as long as they are persistent, strategic and work hard. Wright said the facility has not had a particularly high fl u rate this season. She said many residents got their fl u shots early, and if residents get sick, they are encouraged to stay in their apartments. For non-vulnerable populations, ac- cording to the Centers for Disease and Control, the fl u often is mild and does not require medical care or antivi- ral drugs. The CDC suggests stay- ing home, getting rest and avoiding contact with others as the best ways to prevent further spread of the fl u. If you suspect antiviral drugs are needed, the CDC said it is most effective to see your doctor earlier rather than later. “Preventing disease rather than just reacting to outbreaks is the most cost effective way and effi cient way to impact the health of our community,” Sieders said. long as he and whoever he was with carried a GPS- enabled device at all times. Bort said carrying a GPS- device is not a part of all conditional release policies and the supervision patients receive are “very case-by- case dependent.” What was troubling on Sunday, Roberts said, was the absence of a detainer or warrant to allow authorities to take Ziemlak into custody is someone found him. The security review board has “ultimate jurisdictional authority” over its patients, Roberts said, and local law enforcement was unable to make contact with someone from the board to authorize a detainer at the time. Instead, Pendleton police were only able to issue a report of a missing person. According to Bort, in this case, as in others like it, an order of revocation was eventually issued. “It’s essentially a warrant that allows a law enforce- ment offi cer, whether they know of the missing person’s report or the notice to locate, to pick them up and bring them to the state hospital,” she said. Roberts on Tuesday afternoon said he wasn’t aware of any order but later confi rmed one was issued on Monday. However, he said was unsure when it was entered into the law enforce- ment data system.
