STATE
6A — THE OBSERVER
O REGON IN B RIEF
Oregon State police
looking for bighorn
sheep poacher
TROY — Oregon State
Police Fish and Wildlife
troopers are asking for
the public’s assistance in
fi nding whoever shot and
killed a bighorn sheep ram
in Wallowa County.
The illegal kill took place
the week of Jan. 27 near
Troy, state police reported.
The preliminary investi-
gation revealed someone
poached the ram on the
Wenaha Wildlife Area
along the road leading to
the feed site.
The ram was fi tted with
a telemetry collar and an
ear tag, according to state
police, and the collar and
severed ear were the only
items at the scene.
OSP asked anyone who
may have information that
will help identify a suspect
or suspects to call the Turn
In Poachers (TIP) line at
800-452-7888, *677 or Sgt.
Chris Hawkins at 541-963-
7575 ext. 4670.
The TIP program offers
preference point rewards
for information leading to
an arrest or issuance of
a citation for poaching or
waste of big game mam-
mals. The program also
offers cash rewards for
information leading to an
arrest or issuance of a cita-
tion for poaching or waste
of bighorn sheep, Rocky
Mountain goat and other
animals, including moose,
wolves and waterfowl.
Merkley in Elgin,
Baker City, Lostine
next week
WASHINGTON — U.S
Sen. Jeff Merkley next
week will hold town hall
meetings throughout
Oregon, including in Elgin,
Lostine and Baker City.
Merkley during the
town halls will update
constituents
on his work
in Washing-
ton, D.C., and
answer their
questions and
Merkley
invite their
suggestions
about how to tackle the
challenges facing Oregon
and the United States.
Merkley will be in Baker
City at 4:30 p.m. Thursday
at the Community Con-
nection-Baker, Main Hall,
2810 Cedar St.
The Wallowa County town
hall is Friday at 8:30 a.m. at
the South Fork Grange, 307
Rosewell St., Lostine.
The Union County town
hall is Friday at 11:30 a.m. at
the Elgin Community Cen-
ter, 260 N. 10th St., Elgin.
Since joining the Senate
in 2009, Merkley has held a
town hall in each of Oregon’s
36 counties every year. These
town halls will be his 409th,
410th, 411th, 412th, 413th,
414th, 415th, 416th, and
417th as a U.S. Senator.
From Elgin, Merkley will
depart to Pendleton for a
Umatilla County town hall
and continue west, wrap-
ping up the tour in Albany
and Eugene.
collars on 40 elk to monitor
their movements over two
years, and then combine that
data with information from a
grid of 119 trail cameras. The
fi ndings will be used to map
seasonal ranges, movement
routes and stopover areas,
according to the Interior
Department.
Other states that re-
ceived grants are Arizona,
California, Colorado, Mon-
tana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oregon, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming.
Concordia University
students protest
announced closure
PORTLAND — Concordia
University students walked
out of their classes Thursday
in protest of the Board of
Regents’ recent decision to
close the 115-year-old insti-
tution this year.
The private Lutheran
university’s board voted
last Friday to cease opera-
tions and sell Concordia’s
24-acre campus in North-
east Portland.
Concordia enrolls about
5,700 students, but sources
estimate only about 1,200 of
them attend classes on cam-
pus. Most of the students
study remotely through
Concordia’s online classes.
Students spoke on
campus Thursday morning
outside the president’s resi-
dence holding signs asking
Where did my money go?,”
“Almost graduated” and
“CU in court,” The Orego-
nian/OregonLive reported.
On a poster calling for the
walkout, students outlined a
list of demands targeted at
the Board of Regents: clear
fi nancial records, questions
answered regarding the
sudden closure, and a sup-
port plan for students, staff,
faculty and the surrounding
community.
On Wednesday, school
offi cials notifi ed the state
that the closure will elimi-
nate 1,518 jobs. It’s unclear
how many of those posi-
tions are full-time.
Portland man found
guilty of stabbing
father to death
PORTLAND — In De-
cember 2017, a Portland
man knocked at the door of
a pub and collapsed, bleed-
ing from a stab wound in
his back. In his last few
moments, court documents
say, Brian Nees told police
offi cers as they arrived that
his son had stabbed him.
Tyler Nees was convicted
Thursday of murdering his
father. A jury unanimously
found Nees guilty of mur-
der constituting domestic
violence and unlawful use
of a weapon.
KOIN News reported
that in closing arguments,
Tyler Nees told the judge
that his brother killed their
father. But documents show
that DNA evidence, as well
as 911 calls, pointed to
Tyler Nees. Nees acted as
his own attorney, had previ-
ously had several attorneys
in the case and threatened
to kill one of them.
Brown honors citizen-soldiers
By Alex Castle
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — National Guard
soldiers from Pendleton’s 1st Bat-
talion, 168th Aviation of the Oregon
Army National Guard were on a stan-
dard training mission when the news
fi rst broke of rising fl oodwaters along
the Umatilla River last Thursday.
The crew was told to go recon in an
area over the river when they wit-
nessed the disaster that was unfolding
on the ground.
“Once you get up there and realize
how much devastation and damage
there was, you see that it’s pretty sig-
nifi cant,” Chief Warrant Offi cer 3 Ray
Talkington said Friday.
After seeing the devastation below,
the crew went into rescue mode for
the next four days as fl oodwaters left
people stranded throughout Uma-
tilla County. Between Feb. 6-9, three
helicopters from the Oregon Army
National Guard rescued 54 people, 10
dogs, one cat and one rabbit from fl oods.
“These Oregon National Guard
Members took part in the largest
search and rescue operation in Or-
egon’s history,” said Stephen Bomar,
director of public affairs with the
Oregon Military Department. “They
did an amazing job supporting the
community and saving lives.”
Gov. Kate Brown landed at the
Pendleton National Guard Aviation
Facility Friday morning and promptly
presented Talkington and fi ve others
based in Pendleton the Oregon Meri-
torious Service Medal. Three others
were also presented with Oregon
Commendation Medals.
“It’s always nice to get a pat on the
back,” Staff Sgt. Steven Kirkpatrick
said.
The meritorious medals are
awarded to those who show outstand-
ing individual performance in sup-
port of the state of Oregon, while the
commendation medals are awarded
to those who provide an act or series
of acts in support of the Oregon Army
National Guard.
A Clark County Superior
Court jury on Thursday
convicted Ryan Burge
of killing his girlfriend’s
5-year-old daughter while
babysitting.
Jurors found Burge
guilty of second-degree
murder and manslaughter,
The Columbian reported.
The jury also determined
that Burge was guilty of
factors that made his crime
particularly egregious, in-
cluding that the victim was
vulnerable and he betrayed
a position of trust.
— Observer staff
and wire reports.
Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown speaks Friday morning with members of the
1st Battalion, 168th Aviation of the Oregon Army National Guard during a
medal ceremony at the Oregon National Guard Aviation Support Facility
in Pendleton.
Talkington’s performance during
last week’s rescues wasn’t just for the
state of Oregon though — it was for
the community he was raised in.
“Being able to go out and help the
community you live in is nice,” he said.
“It’s very rewarding. That’s the part
we look forward to, not the recognition
of what we get doing these interviews
or getting these awards. Being able
to go out and help people, that’s the
important part.”
Kirkpatrick, who also received a
meritorious medal Friday and grew
up in Pendleton, was proud of how he
and the rest of the crew were able to
respond when they were needed most.
“You always want to be there, and
that’s what we’re here for,” he said. “A
life is a life. There’s not one better than
the other.”
Though successful, the rescue mis-
sions weren’t easy.
A combination of windy weather,
trees, wires and the waters constantly
encroaching on any viable landing
spots for the crew’s helicopter made
Talkington’s job as pilot even more
challenging.
“That was the hardest part, to
actually fi nd somewhere to land,”
Talkington said. “It’s not the smallest
helicopter in the world.”
While Talkington and Chief War-
rant Offi cer 2 Jeremiah Williams, an-
other pilot, managed to fi nd landing lo-
cations on their initial trips, the rising
waters kept changing the landscape as
some areas became covered in water
and others became a muddy mess.
“Every spot you go to and every time
you go there is different,” Talkington
said.
During other trips, such as those to
Thorn Hollow where two men were
trapped on a roof the fi rst night of the
fl oods, the crew had to be wary of blow-
ing them off and causing more harm.
Ultimately, Talkington credited
the mission’s success to the com-
munication and collaboration of the
crew, which was made easier by their
familiarity with one another. Talking-
ton said he’s known both Williams and
Kirkpatrick for more than 15 years.
“That’s what really matters and
helps in times like this,” Talkington
said.
Arlington-based landfill took 2 million
pounds of radioactive fracking waste
The Associated Press
ARLINGTON — A chemi-
cal waste landfi ll near the
Columbia River in Oregon
accepted hundreds of tons
of radioactive fracking
waste from North Dakota in
violation of Oregon regula-
tions that has alarmed
environmental advocates.
But the company won’t be
fi ned because state offi cials
believe landfi ll operators
misunderstood state guide-
lines, authorities said.
The Oregonian/Oregon-
Live reported that Oregon
Department of Energy of-
fi cials on Thursday issued a
violation notice to Chemical
Waste Management for its
landfi ll near the small town
of Arlington for accepting a
total of 2 million pounds of
Bakken oil fi eld waste de-
livered by rail in 2016, 2017
and 2019. Arlington is about
140 miles east of Portland.
With landfi ll offi cials’
permission, a Montana
company dumped the waste,
some of which registered ra-
dium at 300 times the state’s
limits. On average, the waste
dumped at the landfi ll about
eight miles from the Colum-
bia River registered radium
at 140 picocuries per gram,
according to Jeff Burright, a
state nuclear waste remedia-
tion specialist.
Picocuries are a measure
of radioactivity and the
state’s maximum level for
waste stored at the landfi ll is
5 picocuries.
The state’s Energy
Department regulators said
the landfi ll won’t be fi ned
for accepting the radioactive
waste because offi cials be-
lieve landfi ll operators were
unaware of the violations.
Environmental advocates
plan to pressure state leaders
to determine how Oregon
became “a fracking dumping
ground,” said Dan Serres,
conservation director of the
Columbia Riverkeeper group
that lobbies to protect the
river and its water quality.
“The big question now
is what happens to this
waste that has been illegally
dumped in Oregon. Do they
have to clean up this mess
they created by accepting
this waste from North Da-
kota?” Serres said. “The level
and scale of this infraction is
alarming and galling.”
Ken Niles, the state en-
ergy department’s assistant
director for nuclear safety,
said the agency can only fi ne
companies — ranging from
$60 to $500 a day — under
certain circumstances.
“That could change if
something were to change in
our knowledge,” Niles said.
“But the company has been
taking this very seriously.
They have been very coop-
erative and want to do the
right thing.”
Regulators said they
determined the biggest
risks would be if the waste
were ingested or inhaled, if
people faced direct exposure
or if it emitted radon.
Burright said the state
does not believe those issues
are a risk because of how
the waste is stored.
Burright said landfi ll
workers avoided direct
exposure.
Audit shows state tourism agency has
deficiencies that need addressing
By Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
Man found guilty in
Idaho, other western death of Vancouver
states to study big
5-year-old girl
game rangeland
VANCOUVER, Wash. —
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho
has been awarded a grant
to study how elk herds
move through a northern
Idaho migration corridor
also used by grizzly bears
and wolverines.
The grant, announced by
the U.S. Department of the
Interior on Friday, is part of
$3.2 million in funding for
big game rangeland studies
in 11 western states.
Idaho’s research will
focus on the McArthur Lake
area, which serves as a link
between the Selkirk and
Cabinet mountains used by
grizzly bears, wolverine and
elk. Scientists will put GPS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020
SALEM — The semi-independent
Oregon agency overseeing tourism
initiatives should be more transparent
about managers’ pay and strengthen
controls on contracting, Secretary of
State Bev Clarno said in an audit
report Thursday.
The Oregon Tourism Commission
— also known as Travel Oregon — is
a small agency that is supposed to
help boost Oregon’s $11.8 billion tour-
ism industry. While Travel Oregon
is subject to government ethics and
public records and meetings laws, it is
exempt from some laws that govern
public spending and pay.
“Travel Oregon is not subject to
many of the existing mechanisms that
provide oversight, transparency, and
accountability for taxpayer dollars,”
auditors wrote. “With continuous fund-
ing, autonomy, and exemption from
some state laws, it is therefore even
more important for Travel Oregon to
be independently transparent and
accountable about its use of taxpayer
dollars to ensure appropriate steward-
ship of public funds.”
The agency’s budget has tripled
in the past decade, due in part to an
increase in the lodging tax in 2016.
That’s where the agency gets its
revenue.
Oregon, at about $32 million per year,
now has the eighth-largest state tour-
ism budget in the country and ranks
sixth among state governments spend-
ing on tourism per capita. The agency
could seek more competitive pricing for
services such as marketing, the auditors
wrote. About half of the agency’s two-
year budget goes toward marketing.
Auditors looked at 77 contracts the
agency entered between 2017 and 2019,
fi nding Travel Oregon has “suffi cient”
procedures to oversee contracts. But
some vendors didn’t issue invoices that
had the level of detail the contracts re-
quired, and in two cases vendors sought
reimbursement for travel expenses their
contracts did not not allow.
Auditors also pointed to manage-
ment salaries, fi nding managers at
Travel Oregon “are some of the high-
est compensated managers” compared
to managers at state agencies who
“oversee more expansive and complex
budgets; manage large numbers of em-
ployees and contractors; and perform
many diverse, technical and critical
government services, including es-
sential public health and public safety
responsibilities.”
Executive salaries at Travel Oregon
have increased 76% since 2012. Its
CEO, Todd Davidson, received gross
pay of about $31,000 a month as of
June 2019.
“While the Oregon Tourism Com-
mission has the freedom to set the
CEO’s compensation and the CEO to
set the employees’ compensation, the
agency should take steps to ensure it
is accountable to taxpayers for how
it decides to compensate staff with
public monies,” auditors wrote.