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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2015)
Page 6A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian MARIJUANA: Opting out of Measure 91 would be a step backward Continued from 1A those four commercial oper- ations. Winkles said that vote would not affect medical marijuana dispensaries, which fall under House Bill 3460 from the 2013 Legisla- ture, nor could such a ban in- fringe on the right to possess marijuana. Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts disagrees, however, and said an opt out would do just that. Under Oregon law now, Roberts said, possession of less than an ounce of mari- juana is a violation, akin to a “You don’t go to jail for a ticket,” he said. But a cop can arrest you if you have an ounce or more of pot in your possession. Roberts said that’s the level the law looks at for delivery purposes. The circumstances of the arrest and the prosecu- tor can determine if the crime is a felony, misdemeanor or a violation. Pendleton Mayor Phillip Houk said he sees the opt out as a means to prohibit all retail sales of pot and pot products in the city. He said there are growers in town who could provide the drug for medical marijuana card holders, but he saw no rea- son for a pot shop or dispen- sary on Main Street. Pendleton attorney Will Perkinson sits on the Uma- tilla County committee that is studying how to regulate sales of marijuana. Prohibit- ing it, he said, only keeps the status quo, and that means allowing the black market to operate unchecked and giv- ing minors easy access to the drug. “I think ... preventing adolescents and teens from having access to marijuana is a good social value,” he said. Opting out of Measure 91 would mean a step back- ward, he said, and while a dispensary system would not be foolproof, it would estab- lish barriers to help keep the drug away from youth. Rick Jackson, director of the BENT narcotics enforce- ment team, said it is current- ly much easier for Pendleton High School students to get marijuana than alcohol. Perkinson also said the social stigma around pot will continue, particularly in Eastern Oregon, and legal- izing it may not be that big of a deal on a local level. He said the deeper issue is how easy the stuff is to get now, in spite of any law. Winkles said all the opt out talk could be for naught. Marijuana bills are already piling up for the 2015 Legis- lature that starts in February. And the timeline for opting out seems to favor the law. Measure 91 goes into effect July 1, but the Oregon Li- quor Control Commission in January 2016 will review licenses for marijuana retail shops and deliver regulations for their operation. If voters get a local opt-out initiative they can vote is November 2016. “There is a lot to talk about, a lot to discuss,” Win- kles said. “But from the city perspective, the one thing we want to impress is that most of the burden of implemen- tation of 91 will fall on local government.” That is something Rob- erts also has stressed. And it may be much of what the state liquor commission hears about during its public listening session Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Pendleton Con- vention Center. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. DOWNTOWN: District received return of $62,100 from Jump Start loans Continued from 1A Before moving to Pend- leton, Denight worked at Portland and Honolulu and worked with clients like the Hawaii Visitors and Conven- tion Bureau and the precur- sor to Travel Oregon. Wood said Denight’s ex- tensive marketing resumé made him the most attractive candidate. “He’s used to working - ers who could be coming to town,” Wood said. Even though his day job for the past 13 years required he work outside city limits, over recent urban renewal projects. As the chairman of the Pendleton Chamber of Com- merce’s tourism marketing committee, Denight helped coordinate the development and installation of a series of signs around town that direct visitors to Pendleton attractions. In addition to the chamber, Denight has also volunteered with the Pend- leton Farmers’ Market, the Pendleton Arts Commission and Pendleton Friends of the Library. Although no stranger to downtown development, Denight has a fresh set of challenges in growing the district. After investing more than $1.3 million in the Façade Restoration Program from 2006 to 2013, the commis- sion only dispersed a meager $2,703 last year. Anticipating a slow stream of applications for the façade grant over the sec- the commission reallocated $10,000 of its budget to fund a new grant to reimburse businesses for city permit fees. Denight said that since many of the façades have already been improved, the next step for the district is businesses. He pointed toward the district’s Jump Start loan program — which provides funding for new or expand- ing businesses — as an area that could receive more fo- cus. The district received a return of $62,100 last year from Jump Start loans after investing $122,688 in 2013. While Main Street’s growth has been strong over the past few years, the de- cline of the surrounding area front area is prime real estate for housing and commercial businesses, the land has yet to see any major develop- ments. Denight said the work ahead of him is made a lot easier by the connections and planning the commission has already done. Through the commis- sion’s various programs and committees, Denight has easy access to bankers, con- tractors and business owners. While the business en- vironment is important, Denight said other factors like infrastructure, education one of Denight’s top priori- ties. “That’s how I’ll measure my success,” he said. Another area of interest for the commission could be development of the land sur- rounding the Umatilla River. Although multiple city - in convincing businesses to move to Pendleton. “There’s a saying in mar- keting,” he said. “‘More goods are bought with the heart than with the head.’” ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. SPILL: 3,278 carloads of crude oil shipped through Oregon in 2013 Continued from 1A a lot of help, but we are the technical specialists on this team.” What they don’t have available is a large stockpile of foam and personal protec- tive gear on hand to account for the dramatic rise of oil- by-rail coming through Or- egon. That’s something the to see change. A survey conducted by conjunction with the Ore- gon Fire Chiefs Association, - wide and found 81 percent did not have the necessary equipment to respond to a crude oil incident. Of those who took the online survey, 88 percent said the most ef- fective solution would be for the hazmat teams to create their own regional caches of material. A committee of hazmat team members recommend- ed they locate six foam trail- ers and personal protective gear throughout the state. Along with training, per- sonnel and support, their proposal would cost a little more than $2.7 million. And that’s just for the start-up ex- penses; further maintenance costs would likely require a bigger budget for future years. A funding source has yet to be determined. The re- port was submitted to Gov. John Kitzhaber as part of his statewide review of rail safe- ty ordered last year. It is not certain whether one of the trailers also would be located in Hermiston, but Phillips said having more equipment would clear- responders. “From my standpoint, doing everything it can to make sure our teams have everything they need to re- spond to any incident,” he said. 3,278 carloads of crude oil through Oregon in 2013. Oil moved along both primary routes through the state, in- cluding the Interstate 5 cor- ridor through Portland and along the Columbia River Gorge where lines meet at Hinkle Yard near Hermiston. Cancer-causing agent detected in water after Montana pipeline spill GLENDIVE, Mont. (AP) — Eastern Montana resi- dents rushed to stock up on bottled water Tuesday after authorities detected a cancer-causing component of oil in public water supplies downstream of a Yellowstone River pipeline spill. Elevated levels of benzene were found in water samples from a treatment plant that serves about 6,000 people in the agricultural community of Glendive, near North Dakota. Scientists from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the benzene levels were above those recommended for long-term consumption, but did not pose a short-term health hazard. Residents were warned not to drink or cook with water from their taps. Some criticized the timing of Monday’s advisory, which came more than two days after 50,000 gallons of oil spilled from the 12-inch Poplar pipeline owned by Wyoming-based Bridger Pipeline Co. Adding to the frustrations was uncertainty over how long the water warning would last. Also, company and effective way to recover the crude, most of which appears to be trapped beneath the ice-covered Yellowstone River. A mechanical inspection of the damaged line Tuesday revealed the breach occurred directly beneath the river, about 50 feet from the south shore, Bridger Pipeline spokesman Bill Salvin said. The cause remained undetermined. By Tuesday, oil sheens were reported as far away as The company claims to - provided training for more Phillips said the railroad has been good to work with, and has provided information on basic tank car recognition, planning and damage assess- ment. “Whatever information they can pump out to us and whatever we can learn about this, the better off we’ll be,” he said. Pendleton Fire Chief Jason Walker said he is training and ability to work together to keep communi- ties safe. Four hazmat tech- nicians work in Pendleton, hours every month working on hazmat response. The primary areas of con- cern are downtown Pendle- ton and the Umatilla River, Walker said, where an oil spill could cause the most damage to people and the environment. When disaster strikes, you always wish for more resources, he said. But they are “absolutely” ready to handle an incident. - “I believe we have a very professional crew that takes this task very seriously,” Walker said. “The whole idea is to prepare for the worst that could happen.” Oil train derailments can come with devastating con- sequences. In 2013, a crash and explosion outside of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec, Canada, killed 47 people and caused more than $400 million in damage. Another derailment last year in West Virginia spilled up to 25,000 gallons into the James River. Umatilla County Emer- gency Manager Jack Re- millard said Pendleton and Hermiston can call for mutu- al aid from across the county if they are overwhelmed in their initial response. In the case of the 2013 bus crash on Deadman Pass that killed nine people and injured 39 others, he said they also got help from as far as Walla Walla and Union County. “Overall, I feel fairly comfortable with our situa- tion here,” Remillard said. “If we have trouble, we’re going to get some help, I’m sure.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-564-4547. STUDENT OF THE WEEK Tony Papol P ENDLETON H IGH S CHOOL Tony is an outstanding citizen and student leader at PHS. He is currently our ASB president, actively involved in student leadership, National Honor Society and ASTRA. Tony has achieved a 4.38 accumulative Weighted GPA while taking the most difficult courses PHS and BMCC have to offer. Tony will graduate high school with 68 college credits. He also participates in varsity football and baseball. Upon graduation Tony plans to attend an Ivy league school and major in physics. The school is yet to be determined. Proudly Sponsored by 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR • 541-276-5121 Wednesday, January 21, 2015 HANSELL: Senator but won’t be the last Continued from 1A grants to apply for driver’s cards. The ad, paid for by Capitol Watch PAC, also roasts Hansell’s support of Cover Oregon, the Colum- bia River Crossing project and a bill to release certain criminal offenders early as a strategy to save state money. Hansell said, via email, that the attack blindsided him. “To my knowledge I have never had one vis- it from Jeff Kropf or Hansell wrote. Kropf, who was elect- ed in 1999 to the Oregon House for District 17, founded the PAC. Kropf dropped out of his re-elec- tion race in 2006 after learning the radio station where he had a conserva- tive radio show would be required to give equal time to his Democratic chal- lenger, Dan Thackaberry, a Democrat from Lebanon. The seat is now held by Re- publican Sherrie Springer from Scio. Kropf now operates a small grass seed farm in Sublimity, about 15 miles east of Salem, with his wife. He is executive di- rector of the Oregon Cap- itol Watch Foundation, a watchdog group that gives the annual Petunia’s Porker Award to people or public entities the organization deems wasteful. “The PAC’s purpose is to make sure the voters and constituents of legislators know how the legislators are voting,” Kropf said. “Especially, if we see that they are out of sync with the constituency.” Hansell, Kropf said, is he won’t be the last. “We’re going to keep it up,” he said. “We are work- ing on a couple of other legislators right now.” Kropf wouldn’t say who, nor would he divulge ad campaign. A look at the Oregon Secretary of State website shows that the PAC formed last month and has reported no contributions or expenditures yet. The group must declare contri- butions within 30 days. Hansell refuted the PAC’s accusation that he doesn’t care about opinions of people in District 29. Re- garding the driver’s card, Hansell said he talked ex- tensively with constituents, receiving encouragement from the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners, the agriculture community, a Milton-Freewater judge, Hispanic leaders and even tea party leader Larry Nye in Milton-Freewater. “There was strong sup- port across the spectrum for the need of such a card,” Hansell said. The bill was passed by both houses and signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber in spring 2013, but sent back to the voters in a referen- dum and shot down in the November election. In the Senate, six Republican senators voted for driver’s cards, while seven voted against. In the House, 15 Republican representatives supported the cards, while seven voted no. Hansell wrote an op-ed for the East Oregonian af- ter passage explaining his vote, noting he “did not receive a single negative comment or phone call.” “Having been elected to represent the needs of my constituents, it is im- perative that I seek their opinions prior to a vote,” he said. Kropf also jabbed Hansell about rubbing shoulders with Democrats. “It’s become painful- ly obvious that on some of our core issues, Sen. Hansell is voting with the Democrats,” Kropt said. “We formed the PAC to in- form him.” Hansell doesn’t apolo- gize about working with Democrats. He said he ex- pects a major water bill that Oregon to pass with bipar- tisan support during the up- coming legislative session. “I think it is very im- portant when possible to collaborate across the aisle,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that the Republicans are in a super minority in both houses. There is not a single bill of importance to the good people of District 29 that can pass without support of members from across the aisle.” Kropf, a tea party lead- er and former director of Americans for Prosperity, isn’t a fan of collaboration that goes against what he calls the party’s core val- ues. He remains unim- pressed with Hansell on this front. “We’re watching him,” Kropf said. “We’re watch- ing him very closely.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.
