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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2020)
SPORTS Inside EOU survives scare Gun show will honor founder, 2A Volunteer saluted, 3A Follow us on the web TUESDAY • February 18, 2020 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Brent Silver of La Grande Oregon Legislature Wildfire bills moving forward Umatilla County Flood Farmers donate hay to help out ■ Will budgetary constraints extinguish bills’ momentum? ■ Off-road club works to deliver tons of hay donated by farmers and ranchers By Sam Stites Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Two bills Or- egon lawmakers are consid- ering this session could be the one-two punch the state needs to considerably reduce the impact of wildfi re on its landscape and citizens. In recent years, the on- slaught of smoke from major wildfi res has choked many parts of the state through the summer months. Fires threaten homes where for- ests meet urban sprawl, and timber owners are losing pre- cious resources for renewable building material and wood products. Wildfi re is one of the pre- eminent threats to Oregon’s way of life in a multitude of ways, but the state is hoping this year it can make head- way in minimizing its effects through an approach that takes both the short term and future into account. The fi rst is a bill — Senate Bill 1514 — creating 15 proj- ects to be led by the state For- estry Department that would clear trees, underbrush and other forest material consid- ered to be “fuel” for wildfi re. The projects would take place in locations across the state determined by the depart- ment within the 5.2 million acres identifi ed as high-risk areas by the Governor’s Council on Wildfi re Response. The projects would be funded by a $25 million allocation laid out within the bill. The second bill — Senate Bill 1536 — would overhaul the state’s approach to fi re mitigation and suppression and help communities adapt to smoke and fi re. It includes a lengthy list of new policies and regulations around: •Assessingwildfirerisk for utilities and having them create their own mitigation plans. •Bolsteringfireinsurance and setting standards that By George Plaven Capital Press nearby Walla Walla River jumped its channel and rampaged through their property. “It was like a fl ash fl ood,” Smith said. The volunteers moved the mud away from the sides of the couple’s house. Rock said this was important to take care of now to prevent mold from developing within the walls of the home. Rock operated a tractor to remove the mud. He said that was far less diffi cult than hand shoveling the mud, which others in his service party did. TOLLGATE — Recent fl ood- ing in Northeast Oregon has affected more than just homes and people. Livestock owners are also feel- ing the devastation after fl ood- waters washed away barns and pastures along the Umatilla and South Fork Walla Walla rivers, causing millions of dollars worth of estimated damage in commu- nities throughout the area. Members of a local off-road club are now working to deliver tons of hay donated by North- west farmers and ranchers to keep the animals from starving in the immediate aftermath of the fl oods. The fi rst 20 bales were delivered Thursday, and more arrived over the weekend. “Our goal was getting the hungry animals fed,” said Em- mitt Quintal, one of the found- ers of the Tollgate Off-road & Recovery Club. “We have hay on the ground now, and we have more hay coming.” Quintal, who lives on Tollgate Mountain about 40 miles north of Pendleton, started the club on Feb. 1 with friends Colton McGee and Teren Manning to promote off-road recreation and assist with rescue efforts in the steep and rugged terrain. By Feb. 6, the worst of the fl oods had arrived, as heavy snow in the Blue Mountains was followed by days of rain and warmer weather, sending a surge of water into the rivers. Quintal said the club re- sponded immediately, travers- ing waterlogged roadways to reach stranded homes and communities up the South Fork Walla Walla River from Milton- Freewater to Harris Park. “We were getting requests for See Volunteers / Page 5A See Hay / Page 5A Contributed photo by Aaron Cooper Union County residents worked Saturday to help clean up this property in Milton-Free- water, where the recent fl ooding from the Walla Walla River left a wake of devastation. Local groups of church VOLUNTEERS help flood victims ■ Latter-day Saints’ members provides aid in Umatilla County By Dick Mason The Observer UMATILLA COUNTY — Brett Smith of La Grande experienced an unsettling sense of deja vu Saturday just outside of Milton- Freewater. Smith was with a La Grande volunteer group from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helping an elderly couple who had much of their property wiped out in the fl ooding a week earlier. The high water stemming from rainfall and rapidly melting snow destroyed their barn, buried at least three vehicles in dirt and pushed thick walls of mud against the sides of their 40-by-60-foot double-wide modular home. For Smith, it was a painful and familiar sight. About two and a half years ago when he was living in Texas, he was among thousands of volunteers who assisted the fl ood victims in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. He saw how the storm’s severe fl ooding shattered the lives, homes and property of so many people. “There was a lot of deja vu,” Smith said of the scene in Milton-Freewater. Saturday, he and fellow La Grande resi- dents Chris Panike, Scott Carpenter, Wendell Rock, Aaron Cooper and his 11-year-old twin sons, Kole and Kade Cooper, joined up as a volunteer service group to help the Milton- Freewater couple, who were hit hard when the Contributed photo by Chris Panike The recent fl ooding from the Walla Walla River left this heap near a Milton-Freewa- ter couple’s home. Union County residents Saturday helped clean up the property. See Wildfi re / Page 5A Oregon Legislature Will Oregon timber deal help heal old wounds? ■ Timber deal hinges on legislation around aerial spraying, but cap-and-trade woes could blow up deal By Sam Stites Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The deal announced last week was intended to end the war in the woods that has beset Or- egon forestry issues for decades. But not everyone is cheering what Gov. Kate Brown described as a “historic” deal between timber fi rms and environmentalists. The critics suspect something is more at play than the pursuit of peace. Some characterize the agreement signed by several Oregon timber companies and a coalition of envi- ronmental groups as the fi rst step WEATHER INDEX Classified .......4B Comics ...........7B Crossword .....4B Dear Abby .....7B Home .............1B Horoscope .....5B Lottery............2A Obituaries ......3A THURSDAY Opinion ..........4A Sports ............6A Sudoku ..........7B Weather .........8B in healing, but it also has bearing on a much broader discussions in the Capitol, particularly over climate change. “There are people who had the rug pulled out from under them 30 years ago, and they never really recovered,” said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland. Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Wednesday 14 LOW 38/22 Clear and cold Sunny, but chilly CHANGEOVER AT ANIMAL SHELTER “That makes what we’re trying to do with the climate bill hard for them to accept. It’s interesting that all this is coming together at the same time. The question for those of us with a gavel is how to make the most of it.” The opening came after See Wounds / Page 5A CONTACT US HAVE A STORY IDEA? 541-963-3161 Call The Observer newsroom at 541-963-3161 or send an email to news@lagrandeobserver.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Issue 21 2 sections, 16 pages La Grande, Oregon Online at lagrandeobserver.com
