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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2017
College seeks Hundreds attend rally in
designation as Salem for immigrant rights
maritime center National drive
Bill likely filed
in Congress
By EDWARD
STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop Community Col-
lege is hoping a new piece of
federal legislation will desig-
nate the school as one of the
country’s few maritime cen-
ters of excellence.
College President Chris-
topher Breitmeyer said the
legislation — the Domestic
Maritime Centers of Excel-
lence Act of 2017 — is being
planned by 18 members of
the U.S. House of Represen-
tatives and 16 members of
the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. Secretary of
Transportation can designate
community and technical
colleges as centers of excel-
lence for workforce training.
The designation grants those
schools technical assistance,
surplus federal equipment
and funding from the federal
government.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne
Bonamici, D-Oregon, pre-
viously sponsored the Mari-
time and Energy Workforce
Technical Training Enhance-
ment Act in 2015. The leg-
islation would have created
the first-ever community and
technical college Centers
of Excellence program and
directed the U.S. Department
of Energy to award grants to
expand maritime training
programs and partnerships.
The bill was introduced but
never passed either chamber
of Congress.
Ali Mayeda, a spokes-
woman for Bonamici, con-
firmed the congresswoman
is working on a similar piece
of legislation with other con-
gressional representatives.
“Congresswoman
Bonamici strongly supports
workforce training pro-
grams that help people gain
high-demand skills and suc-
ceed in the workplace,”
Mayeda said in an email.
“Clatsop Community Col-
lege is uniquely situated to
continue to meet the needs
of the maritime workforce
with high-quality, hands-on
education. In the previous
legislative session she was
proud to advocate for more
resources to support work-
force training like” the col-
lege’s Marine and Envi-
ronmental Research and
Training Station.
Breitmeyer said he has
not been told when the leg-
islation might be introduced.
Quest for excellence
The college has been try-
ing for some time to become
a federally designated mar-
itime center of excellence,
which can provide additional
financial and other supports.
A year ago, the college
board approved applying for
capital construction bonds
from the state to add a sec-
ond story to the training sta-
tion’s main administrative
and classroom building, at a
cost of more than $8 million.
Breitmeyer said the proj-
ect has fallen to the bottom
of a funding priority list for
this biennium, likely because
of similar bonds the college
recently received for the
Patriot Hall redevelopment.
“If not funded now, we’ll go
for it in the next biennium,”
Breitmeyer said.
The
training
sta-
tion includes U.S. Coast
Guard-approved classroom
instruction and at-sea expe-
rience aboard the college’s
training vessel, the Forerun-
ner. The maritime sciences
program offers everything
from an associate degree
in vessel operations to one-
week classes for experienced
mariners seeking additional
certifications.
In 2013, the college was
named the only commu-
nity college with a Coast
Guard-approved Training
Ship Program, which bol-
sters the credentials of grad-
uating students trying to
become able-bodied seamen
and operators of uninspected
vessels in near-coastal and
inland waters. In 2014, the
college was named Oregon’s
Maritime Training College
by a state resolution.
Tribes lay remains of
Kennewick Man to rest
Associated Press
KENNEWICK, Wash.
— The ancient bones of the
Kennewick Man have been
returned to the ground.
The Tri-City Herald
reported that early Satur-
day, more than 200 members
of five Columbia Plateau
tribes and bands gathered at
an undisclosed location to
lay the remains of the man
they call the Ancient One
to rest. That’s according
to an announcement Sun-
day by the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation.
Umatilla board mem-
ber Aaron Ashley says they
always knew the Ancient
One was Indian. But tribes
waited more than 20 years to
rebury the bones.
Tribal representatives met
at the University of Wash-
ington’s Burke Museum in
Seattle on Friday to claim
the remains.
Former President Barack
Obama signed legislation
in December requiring the
8,400-year-old skeleton to
be given to the tribes within
90 days.
ner
Homeow ship and
Financial Education
Workshops
Commnunity Action Team
will be holding two (2) free education
workshops during the month of February
in Clatsop County. The classes are held on
Saturdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm in our
Astoria offi ce as follows:
Homeownership Workshop: Feb. 18 th
Financial Education Workshop: Feb. 25 th
The Homeownership Workshop teaches
shopping for a home, fi nancial
readiness, understanding mortgages, the
closing process and how to protect your
investment. The Financial Education
Workshop teaches budgeting, saving, goal
setting, credit management, and improving
overall fi nancial health. Community Action
Team is your local HUD Approved Agency.
Pre-registration is required.
Call (503) 325-8098 or
e-mail cindkp@cat -team.org.
counters Trump
Associated Press
SALEM — Hundreds of
people demonstrated Sunday
in front of the Oregon State
Capitol to support immigra-
tion rights.
Yesica Navarro braved the
cold weather and spoke in the
Capitol Mall about growing
up as an immigrant. She said
she came to the U.S. as a child
with her family, and they man-
aged to succeed despite the
odds.
“We love this country, and
we want to be accepted. This
is our home,” Navarro told the
Statesman Journal.
The crowd, which orga-
nizers
said
approached
1,000, cheered and clapped
as cars driving along State
Street honked, the newspaper
reported. The rally was part of
a national effort called Immi-
grants’ March Presidents Day
2017.
The people drawn to the
event were a mix of immi-
grants and nonimmigrants.
Donna and Mark Maynard
of Salem, along with their dog
Maiah, held a sign that said:
“We the people are greater
than fear.”
The couple, who come
from a family of immigrants,
said they had previously stayed
away from political activism.
Now, however, they feel
the need to speak up for immi-
grants’ and women’s rights.
Molly J. Smith/Statesman Journal
Hundreds gather at an immigration rights rally in front of the Capitol on Sunday in Sa-
lem.
Molly J. Smith/Statesman Journal
Maya Lopez, one of the
event’s organizers, claps
as DACA recipient Leo
Reyes speaks about his ex-
perience as an immigrant.
Moayad Adham speaks
about his journey as a Syr-
ian immigrant at an immi-
gration rights rally.
Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia
speaks at an immigration
rights rally.
“This year is different,”
Donna Maynard said. “It feels
like we have to.”
Micki Randall of Silver-
ton and his three children held
posters depicting a Lego figu-
rine saying: “Immigrants are
awesome!”
Maya Lopez of Portland
said a small group started
organizing the gathering about
three weeks ago.
Molly J. Smith/Statesman Journal
Molly J. Smith/Statesman Journal
Timber companies sue over
expansion of Oregon monument
Associated Press
MEDFORD — Two Ore-
gon lumber companies are
challenging the legality of for-
mer President Barack Obama’s
expansion of the Cascade-Sis-
kiyou National Monument.
Murphy Co. and Murphy
Timber Investments LLC sued
in federal court in Medford Fri-
day naming President Donald
Trump and federal agencies.
The Mail-Tribune says the
Trump administration could
choose not to defend the
lawsuit.
Before leaving office,
Obama added about 48,000
acres to the monument in
southwestern Oregon days to
protect its biodiversity.
Murphy Co. President John
Murphy says more than 80 per-
cent of the federal land in the
expansion area is dedicated to
timber production under the
O&C Lands Act.
He says removing those
acres from the timberland base
managed by BLM will reduce
the supply of timber sold and
jeopardizes the company’s log
supply.
Murphy Timber Invest-
ments argues the expansion
will reduce the value of about
2,100 acres of timberland it
owns within the boundary as
well as land outside it.
Bill advances in Washington that would
exempt some info about wolf attacks
By PHUONG LE
Associated Press
SEATTLE — A bill that
would exempt from public
disclosure personal informa-
tion about people who report
or respond to wolf attacks in
Washington state has cleared a
House committee.
The Washington Depart-
ment of Fish and Wild-
life and other supporters cite
death threats received by state
employees, ranchers and oth-
ers and say the measure is
needed to protect those who
deal with wolves.
Opponents say the bill would
make it impossible for the pub-
lic to know who, including state
employees and contractors,
is involved in the state’s wolf
management programs.
The bill would exempt
from disclosure personal infor-
mation of people who report
wolf attacks as well as those
who participate in state pro-
grams aimed at preventative
measures such as range riders.
House Bill 1465 was
amended and passed out of
the committee on state gov-
ernment, elections and infor-
mation technology. It now
awaits a House vote.
State Rep. Zack Hudgins,
D-Tukwila, who chairs that
committee, said a state wild-
life employee presented com-
pelling testimony earlier this
month about the threats work-
ers face from carrying out the
state’s wolf policies. Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife wolf
policy lead Donny Martorello
told lawmakers that he put his
family in a hotel last year over
such concerns.
“It creates exemptions and
it does remove information
from the public domain, and
I think the reason we did that
was to protect the (state’s wolf)
policy and the people that are
involved,” Hudgins said in an
interview Friday.
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