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‘Much Ado About Nothing’
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THURSDAY • February 13, 2020 • $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Karen Smith of La Grande
District 2
hopeful
visits La
Grande
Climate
activists
swarm
Capitol
By Dick Mason
By Sam Stites and Claire
Withycombe
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Former
state legislator Jason At-
kinson of Central Point has
never voted for a tax increase
and he has no plans to start
if voters send him to Con-
gress later this year.
The 2nd Congressional
District candidate said he
has been committed to hold-
ing the line on taxes through-
out his 14-year stint in the
Oregon Legislature.
“I am the only candidate
in this race (who has served
in elective offi ce) who has
never voted for a tax or fee
increase,” Atkinson said
Wednesday morning during
a campaign stop at Cook Me-
morial Library, La Grande.
Atkinson was on a swing
through Eastern Oregon,
which included stops in
Hermiston and Pendleton.
He is one of eight Republi-
cans seeking the nomina-
tion in the May 19 primary.
Five Democrats are vying to
earn the crown from their
party. He said as a congress-
man he would maintain his
strong position against tax
increases.
“I would continue to be like
this as a congressman,” he
said. “Congress needs more
quality people. It does not
need more money.”
Based on the most recent
Federal Election Commis-
sion campaign fi nance data,
Atkinson has raised about
$96,000. Fellow Republicans
Jimmy Crumpacker of Bend
has raised almost $594,000
including $200,000 he loaned
his campaign, while Knute
Buehler, also of Bend, has
amassed nearly $386,000,
none of it in a loan.
Atkinson noted he at-
tempted to get Oregon’s
death and capital gains taxes
repealed or reduced while
serving in the Legislature.
Atkinson, who was in the
state House from 1999-2001
and the state Senate from
2001-13, said he faced enor-
mous pressure to vote for
gas tax increases but always
resisted. He was ready for
the fi restorms that followed.
See Atkinson / Page 5A
Oregon Capital Bureau
to year, all written by Ensler.
“Some of them are really
funny. Some deal with the
word ‘vagina’ itself, talk-
ing about your body, being
comfortable with your body,
coming to terms with appre-
ciating your body and the
beauty of it. Some of them
talk about sex,” Juarez said.
EOU alumnus Candi
Nielsen is doing a mono-
logue called “The Flood,”
which she said reminds her
of her grandmother.
“The monologue is about
an older woman rediscover-
ing her body and what that
is. I think back to my grand-
mother and everything was
quiet and hush-hush, and
(sex) was just for baby mak-
ing. You didn’t talk about
SALEM — Activists
seeking to clean Oregon’s
environment by reducing
greenhouse gas emissions
turned out by the hundreds
Tuesday at the Capitol,
pushing legislators to move
ahead with a cap-and-trade
policy.
All told, organizers
reported more than 1,000
people traveled to the Capitol
to support Senate Bill 1530,
which aims to cap and shrink
the state’s carbon emissions
and generate revenue for
environmental projects.
Demonstrators ranged from
Salem-area teenagers who
took time out from school to
middle-aged Wasco County
residents.
One of those local teens
was Angelique Prater, 17,
of Salem, who spoke to the
crowd about her activism.
In an interview, she said
her parents, immigrants
from Mexico who work in
agriculture, already were
feeling the effects of climate
change — extreme tempera-
tures in winter and summer.
She said she fi rst heard
about the proposal from
friends in school and then got
involved in activism.
“I’m here today to fi ght for
the climate crisis and to, you
know, push our legislators to
fi ght for strong climate leg-
islation,” Prater said, adding
that legislation was the most
important part of “solving
the climate crisis.”
The pending legislation
would establish a new limit
on certain emissions and
reduce them over time.
The limits would apply to
certain industries and major
fuel importers. The cap-and-
-trade policy would carve
up the emissions limit into
allowances that emitters can
buy and sell on a market.
The idea is that as emis-
sions targets get lower, fewer
allowances are available,
and industry would improve
pollution controls.
Opponents have criticized
the plan for its potential
impact on consumers and
small businesses, par-
ticularly through higher fuel
costs. Recent revisions to the
legislation spare counties
east of the Cascades from
regulations on fuel importers
and provide a way for natu-
ral gas companies to guard
their low-income customers
against higher costs.
The event began at noon
with speeches on the Capitol
steps from activists and
political offi cials, including
remarks from Multnomah
County Commissioner Jessi-
ca Vega Pederson, Milwaukie
Mayor and congressional
candidate Mark Gamba
See Monologues / Page 3A
See Climate / Page 5A
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
La Grande’s Greenwood Elementary kindergarten teacher Kendra Carman teaches a small group of students
mathematics through learning about money during Wednesday’s class.
On the right track
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
UNION COUNTY — Kindergar-
ten students in Union County school
districts are on track or slightly
above the state average, accord-
ing to the Oregon Department of
Education 2019-2020 Kindergarten
Assessment.
The assessment during the fi rst
six weeks of school measured stu-
dents’ math, reading, writing and
social skills. In most assessments, the
schools of Union County scored at or
above the state average. However,
the Union School District was behind
in math, and Imbler and Elgin were
behind in social skills.
“The assessment is a quick snap-
shot,” La Grande’s Greenwood
Elementary School principal Ryan
Westenskow said. “It is only so useful.
What this data tells me is we are right
in the mix. We don’t want to toot our
horn, but we don’t want to freak out
about those numbers either.”
In math, which tested students
on 16 simple questions, La Grande
kindergartners scored 12.1, compared
to the state’s average of 11. In social
skills, such as self-regulation and in-
terpersonal skills, La Grande is right
along the state average of 3.6 rating
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Kindergarten students at Greenwood Elementary School, La Grande,
learn about math Wednesday through a variety of techniques, including
videos and hands-on instruction.
out of fi ve. And in early literacy, which
tests understanding of upper and low-
ercase letters and sound recognition,
La Grande students were above the
state average in all elements.
“The skills assessed on the Kinder-
garten Assessment align with early
learning and Oregon state standards,”
said Holly Dalton, an early learning
specialist at the state education de-
partment. “They are predictive of later
success in school. For instance, the
results of the Kindergarten Assess-
ment are largely correlated with our
third grade outcomes.”
Union Elementary School princi-
pal Chris Dunlap said the goals for
See Schools / Page 5A
‘Monologues’ share women’s stories
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Eve
Ensler premiered her play
“The Vagina Monologues”
in 1996, and since then the
cultural phenomenon has
been translated into nearly
50 languages, giving voice to
women’s stories across the
world.
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity groups are bringing the
play back for the fi rst time
since 2004 with showings
at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in Hoke
Union Building room 339,
and again at 7 p.m. Feb. 29
at hq, 112 Depot St., both in
La Grande. Proceeds from
the show will go to Shelter
From the Storm, the local
safe haven for survivors of
domestic violence, sexual
INDEX
Business ...... 1B
Classified ..... 3B
Community . 7A
Crossword ... 7B
actors performing 17 mono-
logues.
“It is people’s experiences
that you don’t know about
and you don’t hear about
a lot because they are not
amplifi ed,” EOU student
and performer Julia Huyg
said of the play. “Anything
that we can do to amplify
the voices of people who
have stories to tell is what
we want to do.”
The show consists of
individual and group mono-
logues that cover topics of
consensual and nonconsen-
sual sexual experiences,
body image, sex work and
more. Ensler interviewed
more than 200 women to
create the monologues, and
the number of monologues
and topics change from year
assault and stalking.
“It is really about raising
awareness and stopping
violence against women and
girls,” said Beckie Juarez,
the production’s director.
“The show talks about what
it is like to be a woman, and
our bodies, which unfortu-
nately is not very talked
about still in society. It is still
fairly taboo in 2020, which is
ridiculous.”
Three student groups are
coming together to present
the play: the Student Asso-
ciation for Gender Equality,
Mountainqueers and Sexual
Health Advocacy Group. But
the roles were open to all
community members, stu-
dents, faculty and alumni.
The cast is composed of 15
women and non-binary
WEATHER
Dear Abby .... 8B
Horoscope ... 5B
Lottery.......... 2A
Obituaries .... 3A
SATURDAY
Opinion ........ 4A
Spiritual Life 6A
Sports .......... 8A
Weather ....... 8B
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
30 LOW
40/30
A bit of snow
A snow shower
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Issue 19
3 sections, 26 pages
La Grande, Oregon
VALENTINE’S AND MENTAL HEALTH Online at lagrandeobserver.com