2A — THE OBSERVER
THuRSday, apRil 30, 2020
STATE/REGIONAL
Daily Local national forests offer free firewood for personal use
Planner
By Dick Mason
The Observer
TODAY
Today is Thursday, April
30, the 121st day of 2020.
There are 245 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On April 30, 1945, as So-
viet troops approached his
Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler
committed suicide along
with his wife of one day, Eva
Braun.
ON THIS DATE
In 1789, George Washing-
ton took the oath of office in
New York as the first presi-
dent of the United States.
In 1803, the United States
purchased the Louisiana
Territory from France for 60
million francs, the equiva-
lent of about $15 million.
In 1970, President Richard
M. Nixon announced the
U.S. was sending troops into
Cambodia, an action that
sparked widespread protest.
In 1975, the Vietnam War
ended as the South Vietnam-
ese capital of Saigon fell to
Communist forces.
In 2004, Arabs expressed
outrage at graphic pho-
tographs of naked Iraqi
prisoners being humiliated
by U.S. military police;
President George W. Bush
condemned the mistreat-
ment of prisoners, saying
“that’s not the way we do
things in America.”
Lottery
Megabucks: $3.7 million
16-19-39-42-42-45
Mega Millions: $186 million
13-19-53-54-63-17 x3
Powerball: $43 million
1-3-21-47-57—PB-18 x2
Win for Life: April 27
23-35-61-72
Pick 4: April 28
• 1 p.m.: 3-9-0-9
• 4 p.m.: 1-8-7-2
• 7 p.m.: 3-5-3-4
• 10 p.m.: 9-7-5-6
Pick 4: April 27
• 1 p.m.: 4-0-9-8
• 4 p.m.: 3-3-3-6
• 7 p.m.: 0-7-3-0
• 10 p.m.: 3-9-5-8
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the office at 541-963-3161.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“There’s a difference
between a philosophy and a
bumper sticker.”
— Charles M. Schulz,
American cartoonist (1922-
2000)
LA GRANDE — People will be
allowed to cut and remove firewood
for free in two Northeast Oregon
national forests beginning Friday.
The Wallowa-Whitman and
the Umatilla national forests will
begin providing authorization for
free personal-use firewood cutting
for up to four cords of wood. The
Forest Service’s standard charge
to cut a cord of wood for per-
sonal use in the Umatilla or Wal-
lowa-Whitman national forests is
$5 a cord with a required minimum
purchase of four cords.
“This is not a huge cost, but we
realize that folks are hurting and
we want to eliminate this cost. That
is our guiding light. There are a lot
of people experiencing challenging
times now,” said Travis Mason-
Bushman, a public affairs officer
for the Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest.
The free firewood will be avail-
able through June 1.
A cord of cut wood is 128 cubic
feet, which is 4 feet high by 4 feet
wide by 8 feet long.
By Andrew Selsky
Associated Press
SALEM — Facing steep budget
shortfalls, the state of Oregon has
taken its first steps in furloughing
workers in order to save money,
among the few states in America to
do so to date.
A state economist predicted Ore-
gon’s leaders will have to grapple
with “balancing limited revenues
with increased need for programs
to help Oregonians” impacted by
the economic shutdown to stem the
coronavirus pandemic.
“Things won’t bounce back
overnight” after the restrictions are
lifted, Josh Lehner, who is helping
produce Oregon’s economic and
revenue forecast, said on a webcast
Friday.
Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle
announced late Monday that man-
agers in the agency she directs, the
Bureau of Labor and Industries,
must take one unpaid furlough day
per month through June 2021, the
end of the budget cycle.
“The coronavirus pandemic has
By Steven Mitchell
JOHN DAY — A sep-
aratist group seeking to
move Oregon’s border to
create “Greater Idaho”
is collecting signatures
to have the proposal on
the ballot for November’s
general election in Grant
County.
County Clerk Brenda
Percy said the petitioners
must submit 231 valid sig-
natures from active Grant
County registered voters.
The deadline to submit is
Aug. 5.
The petition is about
the “Greater Idaho”
effort, a movement that
advocates for the adjust-
ment of the state bound-
aries of Idaho, California
and Oregon, thereby
increasing the size of
Idaho to encompass sev-
eral rural counties that are
in California and Oregon.
Grant County is one of
the 19 Oregon counties
the group seeks to have
moved into the juris-
diction of of the state of
Idaho.
The petition mandates
the Grant County Court
hold three meetings a year
for the specific purpose of
discussing the merit of pro-
moting the relocation of the
ldaho border to encompass
Grant County within the
state of ldaho.
Greater Idaho
spokesman Mike McCarter
said the movement’s pur-
pose is to preserve rural
values.
According to the group’s
press release, although
few people are collecting
signatures in traditional
ways because of social dis-
tancing, petitions are avail-
able for online and at cer-
tain locations.
“The deadline for our
petition effort is Aug. 5, so
For an electronic authorization
packet for the Wallowa-Whitman,
send an email to to SM.FS.
wwnf-webmail@usda.gov with the
subject: “Firewood Authorization.”
Include your name and city of res-
idence in the email, and National
Forest staff will reply with an
authorization form and 2020 fire-
wood guide in PDF format.
An authorization packet for the
Umatilla National Forest may be
requested electronically by sending
an email to r6_umatilla_public_
inquiries@fs.fed.us. A Forest
employee will assist individuals
Oregon begins furloughing workers, slow bounce back expected
Movement to change
Idaho border working
in Grant County
EO Media Group
EO Media Group file photo
The Wallowa-Whitman and the Umatilla national forests will begin provid-
ing authorization for free personal-use firewood cutting beginning Friday.
with completing proper documenta-
tion to receive the electronic autho-
rization packet.
Forest users also can obtain
free firewood cutting authorization
packets from several local busi-
nesses. Authorization packets are
available for the Umatilla National
Forest from stores including Elgin
Food Town, Athena Convenience
Store, Zip Zone 2 in Milton-Free-
water and Rhode’s Supply in
Ukiah.
Free firewood cutting autho-
rization packets for the Wal-
lowa-Whitman National Forest can
be obtained at businesses including
The Dollar Stretcher in Enterprise,
the Sports Corral in Joseph and
D&B Supply in Baker City.
Authorization packets are lim-
ited to one per person and only to
those age 18 and older.
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest officials urge the public to
plan ahead and contact their local
Ranger District prior to starting
their trip, according to the news
release.
Many forest roads are still not
accessible due to mud and snow.
“Rural counties
have become
increasingly
outraged by laws
coming out of the
Oregon Legislature
that threaten
our livelihoods,
our industries,
our wallet, our
gun rights, and
our values. We
tried voting those
legislators out but
rural Oregon is
outnumbered, and
our voices are now
ignored. This is our
last resort.”
Mike McCarter, Greater Idaho
spokesman
coronavirus is not enough
to make us give up,” McCa-
rter said. “You can still
download and print the
petition from GreaterIdaho.
org or pick one up at an
essential business that has
them.”
McCarter continued to
voice his frustrations in a
press release: “Rural coun-
ties have become increas-
ingly outraged by laws
coming out of the Oregon
Legislature that threaten
our livelihoods, our indus-
tries, our wallet, our gun
rights, and our values. We
tried voting those legislators
out but rural Oregon is out-
numbered, and our voices
are now ignored. This is our
last resort.”
collapsed our economy,” Hoyle
said. “This is the Bureau of Labor
and Industries’ first step toward
dealing with the significant budget
shortfalls that our state will likely
be facing.”
The quarterly economic and rev-
enue forecast, due on May 20, that
Lehner is busy working on will
indicate how much expected rev-
enue has shrunk amid massive lay-
offs of workers who are no longer
contributing state income taxes
into the common pot. Personal
income taxes account for 80% of
the state’s general and lottery fund
revenues, according to Lehner.
Liz Merah, a spokeswoman for
Gov. Kate Brown, said furloughs,
reducing services and supplies,
and hiring freezes are all being
explored as options at the state
level. Meanwhile, the governor’s
office has directed agencies to slow
non-critical spending, including
holding non-critical positions
vacant, Merah said.
On the plus side, Oregon has
$2.74 billion in reserves, composed
RE-ELECT
of $1.15 billion in a general fund
ending balance and $1.58 billion
in the reserve fund, he said. Also,
revenue is expected, for the first
time, from a corporate activity tax
that took effect on Jan. 1 and which
applies to taxable commercial
activity in excess of $1 million.
An initial bounce back in
the economy is expected in the
summer and into fall as restrictions
begin to be lifted, Lehner said in
the webcast. For example, bars
and restaurants will be going from
no jobs to having skeleton crews,
and then having one-third to one-
half of normal staff levels as a next
step.
But economic growth won’t
really take off until after a
COVID-19 vaccine or some other
treatment is developed, or in a
worst-case scenario some type of
herd immunity develops, Lehner
said. On the other hand, massive
amounts of firm failures would
permanently damage the economy,
he said. Federal bailouts are
helping mitigate that.
There have been seven addi-
tional deaths from COVID-19 and
61 new cases, the Oregon Health
Authority reported Wednesday. Of
more than 54,000 tests, 2,446 have
come back positive for the corona-
virus in the state. The death total
reached 101 on Wednesday.
Facing pressure to balance their
budgets amid declining revenue,
some other states have already
dipped into their rainy day funds.
In addition, Michigan has fur-
loughed about 3,000 of roughly
48,000 workers who must miss 10
straight days of work. Pennsylvania
laid off or temporarily stopped
paying 16,500 state employees,
according to Pew Charitable
Trusts.
Several states, including
Indiana, Maryland and Tennessee
have announced hiring freezes. But
many have not gone as far as fur-
loughing state workers.
As for Oregon, “after the May
budget forecast, we will have more
information about the extent of
future budget cuts,” Hoyle said.
BOYD
RASMUSSEN
for
SHERIFF
"Without reservation
and with great
enthusiasm, we
support Sheriff Boyd
Rasmussen for re-
election as Union
County Sheriff. It is
his achievements as
Sheriff combined with the integrity of his
character that motivate our endorsement.
He has a proven track record of success and
professionalism and we will be best served
by electing him". Jim and Rita McMahan
“I have known Boyd for many years.
He has done an outstanding job as
Union County Sheriff. He is honest,
hard working and will continue to do
a great job when re-elected as
our Sheriff.” Greg Baretto
“I have had the privilege of working
with Boyd as he and his office have
provided Law Enforcement services for
Elgin. He is a hardworking man of
h o n e s t y, i n t e g r i t y & f a i t h . ”
Allan Duffy Mayor - City of Elgin
WE SUPPORT SHERIFF BOYD RASMUSSEN
Joaquin Grant
Gregory Acres
Craig Nightingale
Gordon and Barbara Gribling
Fred Alexis
David R. Orcutt
Gary and Ginny Hager
Walt and Linda Anderson
Chris and Linda Panike
Risa Hallgarth
Katherine Austin
Michael and Tracy Partney
Andy and Cindy Hale
Martha J. Bailey
Ralph Patterson
Mr and Mrs Boyd Harmon
Greg Barreto
Tony Pedro
Mark and Linda Harris
Greg M. Baxter
Skip Pereira
Phil and Trudy Hassinger
Sharon Beck
Joseph and Cathy Petrusek
Jamie and Mike Hicks
Dan Bellmore
Howard and Suzanne Perry
Lanny Hildebrandt
Wes and Teri Berry
Tim and Jenny Phelps
Doug and Patty Hislop
Austin & Jeana Bingaman
Wes and Marie Rampton
Dixie
Hofmann
Ross and Carrie Bingaman
Mike and Nikki Robertson
Bart Hoffman
Russel and Patty Bingaman
Amy and Gunnar Rolf
Curt and Annette Howell
Wade and Angie Bingaman
Robb Rea
Tod and Angel Hull
Julie Bodfish
G and Val Royes
Brent
and
Donna
Huntsman
Jack and Jennifer Boyd
Brett Rudd
Matt and Melanie Insko
Kem Brainerd
Todd
and
Gidget Sannar
Sonny and Mary Jane Johnson
Jim Brainerd
Terry
and
Annie Secl
Don’s Lawn Service (Don Junker)
Keith and Helen Brindell
Ed Schmittle
All
Air
HVAC
Service
(Scott
Kaber)
Betty Bronson
Lance C. Shoemaker
Bruce and Karen Kevan
JD and Audrey Cant
Rick Simmonis
Ken Knott
Christine Carlson
Mark
Simmons
Jim Kopp
Shari Carpenter
Troy Simmons
Alicia Koller
John Cavin
Wayne and Ernestine Simonis
Dave and Zee Koza
Cathie Clark
Doyle and Connie Slater
Ken and Beccy Kramer
Wendy Clerget
Betty Sprenger
Barney Kuensting
Lynn and Jody Combe
Linda and Sheldon Strand
John Lamoreau
John C Cuthbert
Andy and Julie Tarvin
Denny and Colleen Langford
D.R.C.’s Property Management Inc
Billy Taylor
Eric Laurence
Aaron and Hilary Dahle
Bill Teeter
Marc Lee
Larry and Edna Davidson
Terry and Kathy Thimmes
Todd and Melanie Livingston
Loren and Michelle Davidson
Sean White
Lee and Edith Lowe
Joe and Erin Davidson
Tom and Karen Waldrip
Rich McConnell
William A and Sharon DeLashmutt
Don and Lila Waldrop
Dan and Nancy McDonald
Cresta DeLint
Bob and Kathy Walker
Mike McLean
Ves and Lois Doty
Kris and Bud Walker
Jim and Rita McMahan
Allan and Michelle Duffy
Hank Warg
Bill and Stacy Merrigan
Bonnie Dunn
Guy and Peggy Weishaar
Michelle McKinney
Kent Dutson
Theora Mickey
Mary West (Imbler)
Verl Miller and Kathryn Lusk
Brock Eckstein
Mary West (Elgin)
Glenn and Anita McIntosh
John and Melissa Fullerton
Bev White
Rick and Janice Muilenburg
Dr Gerrie Gardner
Mike Wisdom
Steve Neumann
Randy and Pam Glenn
Bill and Linda Whittemore
Maureen O’Connell
James and Tracey Gorham
Rich and Rachel Zinzer
Paid for by the Committee to Re-Elect Boyd Rasmussen Sheriff, Rita McMahan, Treasurer, 62436 Mink, Summerville