Page 2A
NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Forest Service yanks $10M PR contract
GRANTS PASS — The
U.S. Forest Service has abrupt-
ly decided not to spend $10
-
wide public relations cam-
paign to brand itself as a public
agency that cares about people
and nature.
The agency was planning
on the campaign at a time
when it’s struggling to pay for
and wildlife.
The Forest Service issued a
statement Tuesday saying that
it had not accepted any con-
tract bids and would look for
other ways to enhance the pub-
lic’s access to national forests
and understanding about what
the agency does.
The agency wouldn’t say
why it withdrew the contract.
Andy Stahl, director of the
watchdog group Forest Ser-
vice Employees for Environ-
mental Ethics, said he thought
listened to Forest Service em-
ployees, and no one thought
this was a good idea.”
Stahl said that after he
learned of the contract, he
sent an email to 25,000 Forest
Service employees, and about
half of them opened it. He got
about 50 replies, all critical,
suggesting the money could be
SALEM (AP) — As Oregon
gets ready for legal recreational
pot at mid-year, some farmers
crops of hemp, the marijuana
cousin that won’t get you high.
are drafting rules that would
allow growers to produce in-
dustrial hemp this spring, The
Oregonian reports.
Hemp is a strain of the plant
that doesn’t contain much of
the psychoactive chemical in
recreational or medical mari-
juana, and its advocates tout it
for a variety of uses.
“It could save America,”
said Jerry Norton, a hemp
activist from Salem. “I am
Record production in 2014 from
Northwest nuclear power plant
-
ately return a phone message
asking for comment. Its web-
site describes the company as
a “full-service social change
agency that crafts and inte-
grates strategic and creative
services. We help our clients
with strategic communication,
multicultural engagement, or-
ganizational development and
resource development to build
a just and sustainable world.”
The website describes the
company’s work for the Forest
By JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press
trails and offering timber for
sale. It has also faced a major
public backlash in the West
over plans to close trails and
roads to motorized vehicles
due to a lack of money for
maintenance, as well as to pre-
BRIEFLY
AP Photo/Ben Margot, File
This 2007 file photo shows a sign depicting U.S. Forest
mascot Smokey Bear on a fire danger sign in South Lake
Tahoe, Calif., as smoke from a wildfire rises behind it. The
U.S. Forest Service has decided not to spend $10 million on
a nationwide public relations campaign to rebrand itself.
put to better use on recreation
programs, revising forest man-
agement plans, restoring eco-
systems, hiring more employ-
ees, and lifting a three-year
wage freeze.
Forest Service retirees also
objected. Al Matecko, retired
chief of public and legislative
affairs for the northwest region
and head of the Old Smokies,
which represents about 950
retirees, said he received 50
emails from members who
were strongly opposed. He
passed on those objections
to Forest Service leaders,
Matecko said.
“Retirees were just amazed
that at this time of shrinking
budgets, the Forest Service
said.
Last fall, the agency award-
ed a $526,799 no-bid contract
to Metropolitan Group of Port-
talking about everything from
biodiesel fuel to food to health
care products to paper. It’s end-
less. There are thousands of ap-
plications.”
He has begun lining up
equipment and land, but he’s
not sure yet how large an op-
eration he’ll have, Norton said.
Some of the regulations
under discussion have made
hemp proponents unhappy,
such as the $1,500 license for
three years.
Courtney Moran, an attor-
ney with expertise in hemp
production, called that “a huge
problem,” but she said some
producers will move forward
anyway.
land, Oregon, for a branding
campaign titled “Valuing Peo-
ple and Place” in Forest Ser-
vice regions covering Oregon,
Washington, southern Idaho,
Utah, Wyoming and Nevada,
according to the federal web-
site FedBizOpps.gov. It was
the only no-bid contract issued
by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture out of more than
3,000.
Another federal website,
USAspending.gov, shows the
Forest Service has paid Met-
ropolitan Group $3.6 million
since 2011, much of it for
the Valuing People and Place
campaign.
The area covers national
forests where the Forest Ser-
vice has faced intense pub-
lic backlash to plans to close
roads and trails on national
Metropolitan Group’s Port-
“I know lots of people ready
to go,” she said. “They want to
plant this summer.”
There are also objections to
a minimum-acreage require-
ment of 2.5 acres and the stip-
ulation that seeds be used to
cultivate a crop, not produced
for such uses as dietary sup-
plements and hemp oil, a food
ingredient.
Eighteen states, including
-
dustrial hemp as distinct from
marijuana and have removed
barriers to its production, said
Lauren Stansbury, a spokes-
woman for the Hemp Indus-
tries Association. Only three
states — Colorado, Kentucky
its roots, discover its future,
and “rediscover the meaning
behind (Forest Service found-
er) Gifford Pinchot’s early
money into education won’t improve graduation
rates or student achievement.
kick off his fourth term, the Democratic governor
spelled out his vision to use state funding to
nudge school districts to make the education
changes he seeks.
He’s proposed a budget that would direct
most new education money toward preschool
programs. Ensuring children are ready for
kindergarten and reading with their peers by
third grade will keep them from falling behind
when they reach high school, Kitzhaber has long
said.
He also wants to change the school funding
formula to reward schools that show success in
certain areas, such as getting English language
learners up to speed and investing in new career-
focused classes.
“The money has to come from somewhere,”
Kitzhaber said, and pulling it out of some
areas to funnel toward education may have a
detrimental impact on children.
“The money we’re spending on housing, the
money we’re spending on mental health, the
money we’re spending on stabilizing families
has a huge impact on the ability of these young
kids to succeed,” Kitzhaber told the executives,
lawmakers and lobbyists gathered at the annual
Oregon Business Summit in Portland.
Some school advocates have said the
governor’s proposed budget wouldn’t provide
enough money to reduce class sizes or provide
training for teachers.
Bids were to close Dec. 26, the
day after Christmas.
“It’s called the ‘Take out the
trash season,’” Stahl said. “It’s
when government does things
it doesn’t want people to know
about.”
Stahl sent out his email
Dec. 26, and the Forest Ser-
-
ing the bid period to Dec. 29. A
week later, it announced it was
not accepting any bids.
and Vermont — planted crops
this year.
In 2009, the Oregon Leg-
islature approved industrial
it became apparent the crop
wouldn’t run afoul of federal
law enforcement.
Democratic Sen. Floyd
Prozanski of Eugene, a propo-
nent of industrial hemp, said
the state’s law and the rules
that will guide the new industry
may need to be tweaked, but
Corrections
An article in Tuesday’s East Oregonian incor-
rectly stated when full operations will resume at the
Williams Northwest Pipeline LNG plant in Plym-
outh, Washington. Full operations will resume at
the plant by November 2015. The East Oregonian
works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets
any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper,
please call 541-966-0818.
in strong support of us moving
forward and getting the rules of
the current statute in place,” he
said.
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PORTLAND (AP) — Gov. John Kitzhaber
on Tuesday defended his proposed budget from
critics who say it shortchanges education, telling
notice Nov. 28, the day af-
ter Thanksgiving, that it was
soliciting bids to expand the
campaign nationwide at a cost
Didn’t receive your paper?
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Governor defends education
budget at business summit
good.’”
The website adds that Met-
ropolitan Group was helping
train Forest Service employ-
ees to deal with the public on
the agency’s so-called Travel
Management plans, which re-
fers to the road and trail clo-
sures.
Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The only nuclear
power plant in the Northwest, the Columbia
Generating Station at Richland, produced more
electricity in 2014 than in any year in its 30-year
history.
Energy Northwest says the Columbia
Generating Station sent nearly 9.5 million
megawatt hours of electricity to the grid, beating
its previous record of 9.3 million megawatt hours
in 2012.
The Tri-City Herald reports the plant operated
at nearly 99 percent of its capacity. It ran every
day in 2014.
The Columbia Generating Station has
30 years remaining in its operating life. The
power is sold through the Bonneville Power
Administration.
To submit a Letter to the Editor:
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TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Mainly cloudy
Partly sunny and
chilly
Mostly cloudy
42° 28°
37° 28°
40° 30°
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
51°
40°
70° (1914)
36°
26°
-6° (1942)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Trace
0.18"
0.35"
0.18"
0.02"
0.35"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
49°
40°
58° (2009)
36°
28°
-8° (1974)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Trace
0.10"
0.24"
0.10"
0.02"
0.24"
SUN AND MOON
Jan 13
Jan 20
Times of clouds
and sun
37° 29°
39° 29°
First
Jan 26
39° 29°
40° 29°
39° 31°
40° 28°
Seattle
51/39
PENDLETON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Mostly cloudy
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
through 3 p.m. yesterday
Yesterday
Normals
Records
SUNDAY
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Forecast
SATURDAY
7:35 a.m.
4:28 p.m.
7:26 p.m.
8:43 a.m.
Full
Feb 3
Spokane
Wenatchee
37/25
43/31
Tacoma
Moses
50/31
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 42/28
45/30
55/38
50/32
47/28
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
53/33
42/32 Lewiston
41/30
Astoria
47/33
56/40
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
52/34
Pendleton 43/25
The Dalles 43/30
42/28
46/33
La Grande
Salem
48/24
52/34
Albany
Corvallis 52/37
53/36
John Day
51/22
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
38/26
51/35
51/29
Caldwell
Burns
36/25
42/18
Medford
57/32
REGIONAL CITIES
Today
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
REGIONAL FORECAST
Eastern and Central Oregon: Sunshine to-
day, except mostly cloudy across the north;
fog in the upper Treasure Valley.
Western Washington: Partly sunny today;
areas of fog in the morning. Areas of fog
late tonight.
Eastern Washington: Mainly cloudy today;
a bit of freezing drizzle in the north during
the morning.
Cascades: Partly sunny today. Patchy clouds
tonight. Partly sunny tomorrow.
Northern California: Partly sunny today.
Partly cloudy tonight. Times of clouds and
sun tomorrow.
Lo
40
22
29
46
18
25
35
29
30
22
28
24
24
32
45
43
26
29
28
34
25
34
25
29
31
32
28
W
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
c
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
c
pc
s
pc
c
pc
pc
c
c
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
57
38
47
59
40
42
53
39
40
48
54
45
42
58
59
60
36
41
37
52
47
53
36
46
52
39
44
Lo
41
24
30
46
18
24
35
28
30
27
29
26
25
38
45
45
28
30
28
36
26
34
22
28
35
31
31
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
40
69
41
49
67
5
43
56
28
83
48
Lo
19
57
35
47
44
2
39
43
14
69
37
W
pc
r
sn
c
pc
c
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
Hi
46
68
42
50
62
15
51
57
31
84
48
Thu.
Lo
21
57
35
42
41
13
41
45
19
70
35
W
s
s
sh
r
pc
c
r
c
s
s
pc
WINDS
Boardman
Pendleton
Today
Thursday
VAR 2-4
N 3-6
NNE 3-6
NNW 3-6
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Partial sunshine today;
pleasant in the south. Patchy clouds tonight.
Hi
56
41
51
63
42
43
51
44
43
51
55
48
46
57
59
61
38
44
42
52
52
52
37
48
51
42
47
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
WORLD CITIES
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
55/28
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
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Real Estate Advertising: Jodi Snook
Copyright © 2014, EO Media Group
43° 30°
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(USPS 164-980)
0
0
1
0
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Cold air will extend over much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation
today. Bands of heavy snow are forecast downwind of the Great Lakes. Most areas west of
the Rockies will be dry, sunny and warm.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 87° in Fullerton, Calif.
Low -23° in Black River Falls, Wis.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
42
37
32
29
30
35
38
30
53
20
2
14
36
30
12
52
-1
2
77
53
5
61
7
66
33
81
Lo
24
15
15
11
26
12
29
0
18
8
-11
4
18
24
3
29
-15
-4
62
29
-9
26
-4
41
11
55
W
sn
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
sf
pc
sf
pc
sn
pc
sn
sf
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
Hi
46
31
26
24
27
30
37
21
37
22
12
15
40
44
10
50
15
12
79
43
14
46
26
65
30
75
Thur.
Lo
27
23
21
18
-7
21
29
19
22
21
0
10
30
14
6
35
10
-9
64
35
8
32
6
41
25
53
W
pc
s
s
s
sn
s
pc
s
s
pc
sf
c
s
s
sn
pc
pc
sf
s
pc
pc
sh
s
pc
s
pc
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
19
31
80
3
-1
26
52
26
22
1
26
77
24
29
38
19
57
63
10
46
73
66
51
74
28
15
Lo
2
13
56
-8
-10
5
26
10
12
-7
11
51
-6
1
14
14
27
40
-1
30
53
47
39
48
16
4
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
sf
pc
s
sf
pc
sf
sf
pc
s
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
21
27
72
11
13
25
42
21
37
27
21
71
16
22
27
32
57
63
25
45
72
63
50
66
25
31
Thur.
Lo
20
23
65
2
-5
20
33
19
21
4
17
49
14
19
17
-5
29
41
15
27
54
48
40
48
23
14
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
s
sh
sn
sn
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
c
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s