FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
Sen. Merkley holds town hall Truck
recovered
• HUNTINGTON
CHOSEN FOR
ANNUAL BAKER
COUNTY TOWN
HALL MEETING
BY EILEEN DRIVER
Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Senator Jeff Merkley
held his annual Baker
County Town Hall Meeting
at the VFW Hall /
Community Center in Hun-
tington on Thursday, July 2
at 1:30 p.m.
Merkley has held a town
hall meeting in every
Oregon county every year
since being elected; this
is the seventh in Baker
County.
Merkley told the assem-
bled county-wide commu-
nity leaders and citizens,
“I could not imagine doing
my job without the input
from town halls like this
one.”
The meeting began with
Mayor Travis Young of
Huntington leading the
assembly in the Pledge of
Allegiance and Introduc-
ing Senator Merkley by
highlighting some of the
Senator’s accomplishments
to date, including having
“emphasized fighting for
the success of Oregon’s
working families. That
means fighting for good
paying jobs, strong public
schools and affordable col-
lege and health care.”
Senator Merkley began
his time at the podium
by asking the commu-
nity elected officials and
office-holders in the room
to introduce themselves
and them asking the rest of
the assembly to give those
people an ovation to thank
them for their service and
dedication to the communi-
ties they serve.
Representatives of the
National VFW organiza-
tion thanked and com-
mended Senator Merkley
for pushing through the
change in the US Depart-
ment of Veteran’s Affairs
policy on C123 veter-
ans who flew in planes
contaminated with agent
orange, which will now
mean those veterans will
get agent orange related
benefits which they were
previously denied.
The senator asked
Huntington Fire Chief Eric
Bronson to come to the
podium, and presented him
with a Certificate of Ap-
preciation and an American
Flag for the volunteer fire
department, then thanked
them for their work in
Huntington and the sur-
rounding communities.
The senator began his
talk by stressing that he
Submitted Photo.
Superior Towing and jeeps from Locked & Loaded
arrive near the Marble Creek trailhead.
Eileen Driver / The Baker County Press
Sen. Jeff Merkley takes the mic while Huntington Mayor Travis Young watches
on.
and his staff are always
available to help Orego-
nians with problems or
questions about govern-
ment programs and agen-
cies. They can help with
a wide arrange of issues
including but not limited to
Social Security, veteran’s
benefits, Medicare/Medic-
aid, student loans, mort-
gage and foreclosure, taxes
and environmental issues.
He spoke about the Sage
Grouse issue and said
that he was hopeful that it
would stay out of federal
control.
He said he was happy
that the small rural post
offices in Unity, Hereford
and Durkee were able to
remain open even though
there was a reduction in
hours of operation.
The meeting was opened
to questions from the as-
sembly and some of them
were as follows:
The first question was
asked by recent High
School graduate Mandy
Guerri who asked, “How
can state law supercede
Federal law on recreational
marijuana?”
Merkley replied, “The
federal government could
stop it but they have much
bigger issues to deal with
such as gangs, black mar-
ket crime and much bigger
criminal issues.”
He also says that enough
states have changed their
drug laws that they are
looking at changing the
classification of marijuana
and spending the money
currently used to prosecute
“marijuana crimes” on
more important areas.
Huntington resident
Maryanne Lovell stated,
“We have roads here in
Huntington and around
Baker County; they have
needed fixing for years, but
every time they are sched-
uled to be repaired we hear
that the money was sent to
the western part of the state
over us. What can we do
about this?”
The senator explained
that ODOT has to put the
money where it is seen to
be most needed on a high-
est priority first basis.
Shellie Nash, Huntington
Deputy City Recorder,
asked the senator, “What
can we do about the drastic
lowering of the water level
in the Snake River every
year immediately after the
4th of July, that seriously
impacts the tourism in our
area which we depend on
to survive?
Merkley replied that
there are many regulations
and policies that must be
followed by Idaho
Power, who controls the
water level in the Snake
River and he was not
versed on all of them but
that he would look into it.
The final question was
again asked by Mandy
Guerri who wanted to
know, “What can we do in
a small town to get in-
volved?”
The Senator replied,
“Volunteer to help a
senator for a day. Become
a page or when you’re
in college become an
intern like I did for former
Oregon Senator Mark Hat-
field—or get involved in
local community organiza-
tion.”
Merkley also held a
Community Leadership
Meeting at 1 p.m. just
before the start of the town
hall.
Community Leaders
from around the County
were called by the sena-
tor’s office and invited
to attend this meeting in
order for the Senator to get
information on what they
felt was the most impor-
tant issues for this area.
Present at this meeting
were representatives from
City of Huntington, Baker
County Commission,
Baker County Chamber
of Commerce, BLM and
the Wallowa- Whitman
National Forest.
The chief concerns for
Huntington were the tim-
ing of the raising and low-
ering of the Snake River,
the pressing need for jobs
and economic development
and the lack of availability
of local EMT/medical/ fire
training for volunteers.
The issues most im-
portant to Baker County
Commission was the Sage-
Grouse plan, new proposed
powerline issues and lack
of public transportation in
Baker County. The Baker
County Chamber brought
forth the concerns over the
proposed new minimum
wage and added gas taxes
and their impact on Baker
County residents.
Senator Jeff Merkley is
a native Oregonian born in
Myrtle Creek. His fam-
ily moved with the timber
industry to Roseburg and
then to Multnomah County.
He was elected to the
Oregon House of Repre-
sentatives in 1998 and in
2007 became the Speaker
of the House until his elec-
tion to the U.S. Senate in
2009.
Senator Merkley keeps
offices in Portland, Bend,
Medford, Salem, Eugene,
Pendleton and Washington
DC.
His number in Portland,
where constituents call for
help on programs issues,
is( 503)326-3386.
The Pendleton office
number is (541) 278-1129.
Citizens can also connect
with him or see what he
is working on at merkley.
senate.gov.
National Cattlemen sue EPA
The National Cattle-
men’s Beef Association
(NCBA) and Public Lands
Council, along with other
producer and land use
groups, filed a complaint in
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Texas
against the EPA and Army
Corps over their “waters of
the United States” (WO-
TUS) final rule.
“The WOTUS rule
remains a top priority for
our producers and for all
landowners nationwide,”
said Philip Ellis, NCBA
president and Chugwater,
Wyoming, cattleman.
“While cattlemen have
long asked for greater clar-
ity around the Clean Water
Act, this rule does the op-
posite, rendering jurisdic-
tional determinations so
vague and subjective that
our members cannot pos-
sibly make a determination
as to what basic ranching
activities will subject them
to criminal and civil penal-
ties under the Clean Water
Act. We remain commit-
ted to working with the
administration, Congress
and through the courts to
stop this rule,” he said.
The complaint charges
that this rule by the EPA
and the Corps exercises
broad control over land
use, far beyond what
Congress authorized in the
Clean Water Act. More-
over, the ambiguity and
breadth of this rule violates
the U.S. Constitution.
“As cattle producers
and landowners, we are
extremely concerned by
this regulatory overreach
by EPA and the Corps,”
said Brenda Richards,
PLC president and Idaho
rancher.
Richards added, “Liti-
gation is a last resort to
exercise our rights against
regulation, but producers
have determined that this
is a necessary step. Several
states filed similar litiga-
tion requesting injunctive
and declaratory relief from
this administration’s regu-
latory rampage.”
Similar suits have been
filed by officials represent-
ing 27 states, all within
two days of the rule’s
publication on June 29.
NCBA and PLC’s other
co-plaintiffs are the Ameri-
can Farm Bureau Federa-
tion, American Petroleum
Institute, American Road
and Transportation Build-
ers, Leading Builders of
America, National Alliance
of Forest Owners, Na-
tional Association of Home
Builders, National Asso-
ciation of Manufacturers,
National Corn Growers As-
sociation, National Mining
Association, and National
Pork Producers Council.
Submitted Photo.
The pickup abandoned by Robinson was in a steep
location, creating a challenge to remove it.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Back on that May 12 afternoon, according to Baker
City Police Chief Wyn Lohner, officers pulled Robinson,
41, over in a traffic stop near the intersection of 4th Street
and Virginia Avenue. Robinson was suspected of being
a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. He is listed online
as a registered sex offender whose past includes assault
and burglary convictions. Robinson’s vehicle temporarily
yielded and then accelerated away from officers. Three
Baker City Police units pursued Robinson’s vehicle out
of the city and up Old Auburn Highway. Two Oregon
State Police units and four Baker County Sheriff’s units
joined in the pursuit, which wound its way up to Marble
Creek pass where the vehicles could go no further.
Robinson abandoned his 4x4 truck and fled on foot, at
which point it was snowing and darkness had fallen, forc-
ing law enforcement off the mountain. The next morning,
Robinson surfaced near Mowich Loop between Baker
City and Sumpter, where an armed, law-abiding citizen
held him at gunpoint until officers arrived to make the
arrest.
Christy said around the first of June his company
initially went to the area to look at what it would take
to remove the abandoned Dodge, then returned along
with members of the Locked & Loaded off-road group
for more detailed reconnaissance June 15-16. Locked &
Loaded often volunteers for road cleanup projects and
sought a way to help with this particular removal.
After competing tow companies also surveyed the
scene and bowed out, “It was down to us or a helicopter,”
said Christy. The helicopter option out of Bend turned
out to be cost-prohibitive at $1,000 per hour per pound
removed. “That’s about $7,000 per hour,” he said.
The truck, as it turned out, was not owned by Robinson
at all, but rather the estate of a deceased grandparent,
which was set to be ticketed by the United States Forest
Service (USFS) after June 24.
“A team of eight of us from Superior Towing and
Locked & Loaded went. We had three jeeps, one heavy
tow truck, one side-by-side, and half a mile of line—wire
rope.”
The jeeps—along with drivers Don O’Grady, Tim
Shively and Corey Younger— were stationed in 300-foot
increments along the route of recovery in case materials
needed to be passed up and down the mountainside. On
foot, without those jeeps in place to relay supplies, it was
taking 45 minutes for the team to climb from truck to
crest.
“It [the truck] was sitting in water in a ditch bank at the
bottom,” he said. “It was near the trailhead, right in the
headwaters of Alder Creek.” Whether or not the pickup’s
situation in those waters will technically be treated as
an environmental hazard is still being determined by the
USFS.
Christy said the incline of the pickup was so steep that
the oil had run out of the motor, making it unable to be
started until the last 100 feet of that long half-mile uphill.
“We could barely turn it,” he said. “Everything we did
made it want to turn over.”
Christy said Superior has been working with the USFS
and also the estate’s insurance company. Sorting out the
payment process for the job will likely prove to be time-
consuming. But the pickup was removed at dusk, just
prior to the USFS’s deadline for fines.
“No one was hurt in the recovery,” said Christy, “but
we did roll the side-by-side.”