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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2020)
Sports Inside Kindness matters, 2A Focus on veggies, 1B Tiger girls take third Follow us on the web TUESDAY • February 25, 2020 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Joyce Hatch of La Grande Oregon Legislature Oregon looks upstream to the lower Snake River GOP heads for the exits DAMS DEBATE ■ Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: Removal of Snake River dams critical to saving salmon ■ Oregon Senate Republicans walk out over climate bill By Claire Withycombe, Jake Thomas and Sam Stites Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Republicans in the Senate boycotted a fl oor session Monday morn- ing, putting a stop to the chamber’s consideration of controversial greenhouse gas emissions legislation that has been a political lightning rod. The Senate requires 20 senators be present to take votes. Eighteen Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend, were present for the 11 a.m. ses- sion Monday. The remaining 11 Republicans disappeared to protest the legislation, thus denying the Senate the quorum to act. The Senate needed at least two Re- publicans on the fl oor if all Democrats were there. Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, issued a call of the Senate to get any absent Republicans in the Capitol building to come to the fl oor. Before the fl oor session began, state troopers roamed the legis- lative halls. Courtney then adjourned the fl oor session until 11 a.m. Tuesday after an admonish- ment that policy and budget bills couldn’t get done if sena- tors were absent. Lawmakers are facing a March 8 deadline to close the session. He “implored” his “fellow senators” to return to the Senate. A vote in the legislative budget committee hours earlier that sent Senate Bill 1530 to the full Senate triggered the shutdown. The committee rejected a Republican plan to refer the matter to voters. Republican senators were hard to fi nd on the third and fourth fl oors of the Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers SALMON IRRIGATION Spring Chinook salmon are one of the most highly prized fish in the Northwest. In a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee this month, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown stated that removing the earthen portions of the four lower Snake River Dams could increase salmon popula- tions — a win for migrating orcas and tribal fishing rights. Ice Harbor Dam on the lower Snake River holds back Lake Sacajawea, a source of irrigation water for 47,000 acres of farm- land. Farmers are skeptical the water could be replaced if the dam were to be breached, according to a study funded by the state of Washington. Ben Lonergan/ EO MEdia Group Ben Lonergan/ EO Media Group WHEAT TRANSPORTATION According to Pacifi c Northwest Waterways Association, the Columbia Snake River System is the largest wheat export gateway in the U.S. United Grain Corps relies heavily on this export terminal at the Port of Umatilla shown on Friday afternoon. Kim Puzey, general manager of the Port of Umatilla, explains the operations of the port Friday at its Industrial Park He fears removing earthen portions of the four lower Snake River Dams could result in heavy reliance on higher carbon emitting rail and trucking industries for transporting goods to market. By Jessica Pollard EO Media Group PASCO, Wash. — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown shifted the political debate from cap and trade during the short session in Salem to the waters of the Columbia River’s largest tributary — the Snake River — and the four lower dams on the Eastern Washington portion of it. Brown on Feb. 11 wrote a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee expressing her support to remove the earthen portions from the four concrete lower Snake River dams. She stated the science was clear — remov- al is the most probable answer to salmon and steelhead population recovery in the Columbia River Basin, which could aid or- cas in their forage for fatty spring Chinook salmon off the mouth of the Columbia in late winter each year. However, she added, “much must be done before this is accomplished in order to help minimize and mitigate for potential harm to other vital sectors.” Utilities call out problems with removal The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the mid-1970s built the Lower Granite Dam, the Little Goose Dam, the Lower Monumental Dam and the Ice Harbor Dam east of Pasco where water discharges into the Columbia. The dams supply water to irrigate farmland, hydropower and transportation routes. Cooperatives, such as Umatilla Electric in Hermiston and Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative in Baker City, purchase the majority of its power from the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal hydro- power agency. Member-owned Oregon Trail serves more than 31,000 homes and businesses in four counties in Eastern Oregon. The cooperative expressed its opposition to Brown’s proposal in a written statement: “Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative is extremely disappointed with Gov. Kate Brown’s stunning decision to support the re- moval of the four lower Snake River Dams. It is shocking that during a serious legisla- tive debate on carbon reduction, Gov. Brown supports a course of action that is estimated to increase CO2 emissions by over 2 million metric tons — every year.” That output, according to the statement, is the equivalent of adding 421,000 pas- senger cars to the region’s roads each year. Keeping the dams, then, makes more sense See Exits / Page 5A See Dams / Page 5A Eastern Oregon University Experiencing culture with dinner and a show ■ Annual dinner allows guests to experience world culture By Sabrina Thompson The Observer LA GRANDE — When Uta Tokuda opened her lunches at her grade school in Japan she often found onigiri, a small ball of rice shaped into a triangle and wrapped in nori — seaweed — as part of the meal her mother made. Tokuda now is an international student studying at Eastern Or- egon University, La Grande, and Saturday shared this part of her past and her culture at the 33rd annual International Student WEATHER INDEX Classified .......3B Comics ...........7B Crossword .....5B Dear Abby .....8B Home .............1B Horoscope .....5B Lottery............2A Obituaries ......3A THURSDAY Opinion ..........4A Sports ............7A Sudoku ..........7B Weather .........8B Association Dinner and Show at the Gilbert Center on the EOU campus. Tokuda was among 18 in- ternational exchange students who presented dishes and performances from their culture that night. “Arts and culture should be ac- cessible to everyone,” said Mika Morton, Eastern’s assistant direc- tor for student diversity and inclu- Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Wednesday 31 LOW 48/27 Partly cloudy Mostly cloudy ANIMAL SHELTER SHAKE-UP sion and international programs. “If we can bring culture to the community through this dinner and show, and invite people in to experience things, we make that culture more accessible.” In addition to onigiri, dishes included Argentinian empanadas, fi sh and chips from England, Nige- See Culture / 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 24 2 sections, 18 pages La Grande, Oregon Online at lagrandeobserver.com