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Film captures wildfi re impacts, 2A
More places could ban guns, 6A
In Outdoors & Rec
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MONDAY • February 27, 2021 • $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Paul Shorb of La Grande
Oregonians
face taxes
on stimulus
payments
Lawmakers consider
fixes, including refund
on next year’s taxes
By MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian/OregonLive
SALEM — Last year’s federal
stimulus payments will generate
$112 million in additional Oregon
taxes because of a quirk in state
tax law.
The taxes will hit 877,000 Ore-
gonian taxpayers, about half of
all those who received federal
stimulus
payments
ELSEWHERE
in 2020
Inside: Legislature
and early
should act fast to
in 2021,
head off taxes on
according
stimulus checks,
Page 4A
to the
Online: For more
state. They
news, including
would
about Oregon
owe an
Senate Republi-
average of
can’s protesting
about $130
Gov. Kate Brown’s
extension of her
apiece,
emergency
including
declaration, go to
many
www.lagrande
lower
observer.com.
income
workers
who would owe $100 or more.
Lawmakers from both parties
say that’s unfair, and the Legisla-
ture is examining a fi x that would
wipe out the higher tax bill. But
with the April tax fi ling date fast
approaching it’s not clear there’s
consensus to make a change.
Here’s why this is happening:
Last March, Congress autho-
rized $1,200 in stimulus checks
for adults and an additional $500
for children, with the amount
declining for wealthier tax-
payers. A second round autho-
rized in December, and paid early
in 2021, paid $600 per adult and
another $600 per child — again,
with the totals declining in more
affl uent households.
The stimulus payments were
structured as a tax rebate, which
means they aren’t subject to fed-
eral or state income taxes. But
Oregon is one of six states that
allow taxpayers to deduct a por-
tion of their federal tax payments
from their state income taxes.
Most years, the deduction
functions as a state tax break.
But when the feds hand out free
money it reduces the size of that
break. A lower federal tax bill
means there’s less to deduct from
your state taxes.
The Legislative Revenue Offi ce
estimates Oregon will collect an
See, Taxes/Page 5A
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
K-9 unit Molly bolts from Union County sheriff’s deputy Dane Jensen’s police vehicle Feb. 24, 2021, behind the Island City Walmart. Molly is
the lone police dog in the sheriff’s offi ce.
THIN BLUE LEASH
Union County sheriff’s deputy and K-9 Molly work to make a difference
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
UNION COUNTY — Molly is one of the
most popular dogs in Union County.
Unless you happen to be a criminal sus-
pect trying to fl ee from the cops.
She is the sole K-9 unit at the Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce. As a Dutch shep-
herd, she’s one of the smallest breeds
of police dogs available to law enforce-
ment agencies. She also is one of the most
affectionate.
Molly and her handler, deputy Dane
Jensen, started their shift Wednesday, Feb.
24, behind Walmart in Island City for obe-
dience training. The sun was out and the
day was clear. Molly began to get excited as
they neared the location. For her, training is
akin to playtime.
When Jensen issues commands to Molly,
they’re in German.
“It was easier for me to learn her lan-
guage than it was to teach her English,” he
said.
A delivery truck began to offl oad mer-
chandise nearby, but Molly sat as still as a
statue, her attention on Jensen. He started a
stopwatch to record their training. He must
log at least 15 hours a month of training
with the canine to keep her certifi ed.
The training is mostly routine, but Molly
is enthused. Jensen said it’s important
that police dogs have fun — if they don’t,
they’re not as effi cient and they won’t work
for you.
He returned Molly to the vehicle then
rubbed a spent shotgun shell and a cell-
phone on his chest underneath his shirt and
tossed them into a bush. It’s training for
fi nding evidence that fl eeing suspects drop
or discard.
Approximately 20 minutes later, Molly
exited the SUV and followed Jensen obedi-
ently to the area to search for the articles,
but she needs a special cue in order to do
her task.
Jensen began dancing.
“They say K-9 handlers are the goofi est,”
he said.
She understood the cue and took off on
her search. She found the shell in less than
30 seconds.
In July 2020, Molly had her fi rst big
tracking win as a K-9.
There was a drive-by shooting in Cove,
and the driver of the vehicle dropped off
INDEX
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Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Union County sheriff’s deputy Dane Jensen and K-9 unit Molly train Wednesday, Feb. 24,
2021, behind the Island City Walmart. Jensen logs at least 15 hours a month of training with
Molly to keep her certifi ed.
fi ve juveniles with the fi rearm in Riverside
Park, La Grande. Law enforcement appre-
hended two of the suspects, but they could
not fi nd the fi rearm. Molly sniffed out the
gun in a bush under the footbridge in a
matter of minutes.
Getting Molly
In January 2019, Jensen had been
tracking a string of burglaries. They almost
had the suspect at one point, but he man-
aged to slip away.
“There was snow on the ground, and
offi cers followed his tracks to an alley and,
well, in the alley there’s a bunch of tracks,”
the deputy said. “They ended up at some
house that was far away, when in reality he
was two blocks from where he ditched the
car.”
The man went on to commit fi ve more
burglaries, Jensen said, before catching the
suspect in March that year. For Jensen, this
was the catalyst for restarting the county’s
K-9 program.
“I was upset,” Jensen said. “If we’d
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had a dog, we would have caught him that
fi rst night and prevented all these other
victims.”
With the help of Erik McGlothin, the K-9
handler for the Clackamas County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce, Jensen did the research and put
together a plan for getting Molly.
In total, the briefi ng he presented to
then-Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen was four
pages long. It included budget, operating
costs and benefi ts that would help the sher-
iff’s offi ce solve cases.
To top it off, the Clackamas County’s
Sheriff Offi ce donated a K-9 cruiser to
Union County.
“The sheriff looked at it and said, ‘I
didn’t know dogs could do this much,’”
Jensen recalled.
Jensen’s passion for the project was the
tipping point.
He received the go-ahead, and from
there it was all nerves. Jensen had little
experience working with police dogs.
See, Molly/Page 5A
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Issue 25
2 sections, 12 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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