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‘LOVE/SICK’ IS A WHIMSICAL ROMANTIC COMEDY INSIDE coast w eekend Every Thursday • September 15, 2016 • coastweekend.com arts & entertainment ‘LOVE /SICK’ A PLAY ABOUT LOVE EVERY WHICH WAY PAGE 8 144TH YEAR, NO. 55 DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 Monumental warning ONE DOLLAR US slowdown would drag Oregon down State’s economy still healthy Committee on Finance and Revenue and the House Reve- nue Committee. SALEM — Oregon’s econ- The state’s quarterly eco- omy remains “healthy across nomic forecast showed the board,” outperforming employers in the state continue other states in job growth and to add nearly 5,000 jobs per other indicators, state econ- month, double the rate of U.S. job growth, McMul- omists told law- len said. makers in Salem “It is really unsus- Wednesday. tainable right now But the econo- how fast we’re grow- mists also warned ing,” McMullen said. that a slowdown in “We’re adding about the U.S. economy twice as many jobs as would likely drag we are workers so at down the state’s some point this has to economic boom. balance out.” “Given that Ore- Mark The brisk job gon has traditionally McMullen growth has created very much synchro- a tight labor mar- nized with the U.S. business cycle and our reve- ket, which is driving up wages, nues are very much tied to per- said state economist Josh Leh- sonal income, this is some- ner. Retiring baby boomers are thing we are watching very expected to make that labor mar- closely,” said state economist ket even tighter, Lehner said. But the national economic Mark McMullen. Lawmakers heard the fore- picture is not as bright . cast Wednesday at a joint See ECONOMY, Page 10A meeting of the state Senate By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Capital Press A sign posted in Jordan Valley opposes the Owyhee Caonyonlands National Monument in Malheur County. Jordan Valley is nearly surrounded by the proposed monument. Obama’s designation of a national monument in Maine has some Oregon ranchers concerned By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press J ORDAN VALLEY — President Barack Obama’s recent cre- ation of a national monument in Maine, despite local opposition, has Mal- heur County residents concerned. Ranchers and other Malheur County residents formed the Owyhee Basin Stewardship Coalition this year to fi ght a proposed 2.5 million-acre national monument in an area of the county known as the Owyhee Canyonlands. Malheur County resi- dents voted 9-1 earlier this year in opposition to the pro- posal, which is being pushed by the Oregon Natural Des- ert Association, an environ- mental group in Bend, and Portland’s Keen Footwear. Monument opponents believe supporters will ask President Obama to use his authority under the Antiq- uities Act to create the Mal- heur County monument. In August , Obama declared 87,500 acres of land in northeast Maine as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Residents who live near that site also opposed that plan, as did the state’s gover- nor, legislature and congres- sional delegation, according to the Washington Post. “It does heighten the concern he’s going to do it,” Submitted Photo New signs could help emergency responders prioritize after an earthquake or winter storm. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin President Barack Obama, shown here speaking at Yosemite National Park in June, recently created a national monument in Maine despite local opposition. Ranch- ers in Oregon are concerned the president might do the same in Malheur County. Jordan Valley rancher Mark Mackenzie said about the Maine declaration. Not entirely the same The two cases are not entirely the same. The Maine parcel was gifted to the government by the founder of the Bert’s Bees product line, while the site of the proposed Owyhee Canyonlands National Mon- ument is already controlled by the federal Bureau of Land Management. Even though the Maine monument involved private land “and had a little differ- ent twist to it, I didn’t sleep very well that night,” Mack- enzie said. Opponents worry a mon- ument designation will severely impact the county’s No. 1 industry, ranching, as well as mining, hunting and recreation because of restric- tions and regulations that would come along with it. “Of course the national monument in Maine is causing concern,” Malheur County rancher Sean Cun- ningham told Capital Press in an email. He said a lot of his oper- ation’s recent business deci- sions are taking into con- sideration “whether our backyard becomes a monu- ment and how that’ll affect our daily operations.” After the Owyhee Basin Stewardship Coalition ran a TV ad on MSNBC in the Portland region during the Democratic National Con- vention urging people to oppose the proposed national monument, its membership increased by about 2,500 in 10 days, said Mackenzie, who is a member of the coa- lition’s board of directors. See RANCHERS, Page 10A ‘OK/HELP’ signs could help guide emergency response Residents could use the tool in a crisis By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian With the fl ip of a sign, Clat- sop County residents can now tell emergency responders if they need help or if they are OK. County agencies and busi- nesses are partnering in Sep- tember — National Prepared- ness Month — to start a new ‘OK/HELP’ sign program. The signs — with “OK” written on one side, and “HELP” written on the other — are being offered for free to residents to use after an emergency . A resident can put the sign in a front window to help emer- gency responders tasked with checking on residents door-to- door after an earthquake, tsu- nami or winter storm. Clatsop County Emergency Manager Tiffany Brown said she ordered 5,000 signs that were delivered last week to various public and private enti- ties. Already, she said, some See SIGNS, Page 10A Losing out to China, some workers embrace Trump This is part of Divided America, AP’s ongoing explo- ration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society. By PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press HANNIBAL, Ohio — Crushed by Chinese compe- tition and feeling betrayed by mainstream politicians, work- ers in the hills of eastern Ohio are embracing Donald Trump and his tough talk on trade. For decades, they and oth- ers living across the Ohio River in West Virginia found work in coal mines and at a local aluminum plant — union jobs, with good pay and gener- ous benefi ts. But those jobs are going, if not gone. Coal is being wiped out by stricter environmental rules and competition from cheap natural gas. The Ormet alu- minum plant? It’s out of busi- ness, doomed by China’s dom- ination of the global aluminum market. In an angry election year, some of America’s angriest voters live in places like Mon- roe County where local econ- omies have been punished by price competition with China. Their frustration has fueled support for the Republican presidential nominee, with his belligerent rhetoric about the need to outsmart America’s economic rivals, tear up unfair trade deals and re-establish America as the world’s domi- nant player. “This is Trump country,” says John Saunders, an offi cial with the United Steelworkers in nearby Martins Ferry, Ohio. High unemployment The disaster that’s unfolded here isn’t obvious at fi rst glance, not in a region known See WORKERS, Page 10A AP Photo/Paul Vernon A pile of rubble lies next to a dust collector for a carbon storage room of the former Ormet plant, at the site in Han- nibal, Ohio. For decades, many workers in the area found work at the aluminum plant, which closed in 2014.