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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2015)
NORTHWEST Saturday, January 31, 2015 East Oregonian Page 9A Gun background checks return to Legislature By HANNAH HOFFMAN The Statesman Journal Kumar makes zoo debut AP Photo/The Oregonian, Benjamin Brink Kumar, the 9-year-old male orangutan who came to the Oregon Zoo late last year, is now out where the public can see him in the outdoor Red Ape Reserve. LA GRANDE (AP) — Authorities in Union County say more than 80 farm animals have been seized from an Eastern Oregon property where investigators found more than two dozen carcasses. The La Grande Observer reported the property owners’ names were not released, and a grand jury will hear the animal neglect case. Among the animals seized were 72 head of cattle, including 22 calves, as well as mules, horses and pigs. The surviving animals are being fed and treated under veterinary care. Sheriff’s Capt. Craig Ward said deputies tried for some time to work with the owners, but it became evident authorities had to intervene. The property is near Summerville, in the Grande Ronde Valley about 12 miles northeast of La Grande. 25-year-old man killed in Yakima drive-by shooting YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Police gang unit detectives are investigating the drive- by shooting that killed a 25-year-old man Thursday night in Yakima. 2I¿FHUVUHVSRQGHGWR a report of a shooting and found the man dead at the VFHQH+HKDVEHHQLGHQWL¿HG as Elidoro Navarro of Yakima. Witnesses said multiple VKRWVZHUH¿UHGIURPDGDUN colored sedan. The Yakima Herald- Republic reports it was the second homicide in Yakima &RXQW\WKLV\HDUDQGWKH¿UVW in the city of Yakima. Logging rules don’t SURWHFW¿VKZDWHU By JEFF BARNARD Associated Press Federal regulators ruled Friday that Oregon logging rules GR QRW VXI¿FLHQWO\ SURWHFW ¿VK DQG ZDWHU IURP SROOXWLRQ caused by clear-cutting too close to streams, runoff from old logging roads, landslides and sites sprayed with pesticides. NOAA Fisheries Service and the U.S. Environmental 3URWHFWLRQ$JHQF\ ¿OHG WKHLU GHFLVLRQ LQ D ORQJUXQQLQJ negotiation with Oregon over meeting the standards of the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Program, a provision of the National Coastal Zone Management Program. 7KHUXOLQJZDVWULJJHUHGE\DODZVXLW¿OHGE\HQYLURQ- mentalists. 2UHJRQ LV WKH ¿UVW VWDWH FLWHG IRU IDLOLQJ WR PHHW WKH pollution standards since the program started in 1990. The state could lose access to some federal grants until the SUREOHPVDUH¿[HG However, EPA regional administrator Dennis McLer- ran and NOAA Fisheries regional administrator Will Stelle said they hoped penalties would not be necessary. Stelle said tightening Oregon Forest Practices Act rules for logging on private, state and county forests would speed habitat improvements needed to get threatened Or- egon coastal coho salmon off the threatened species list. He added that Washington and California forest practic- HVODZVGRDPXFKEHWWHUMRERISURWHFWLQJ¿VKDQGZDWHU quality than Oregon regulations. Richard Whitman, the governor’s natural resources ad- viser, said the state Board of Forestry is working on the streamside buffer issues. Solutions should be in place by the end of 2016, he said. Stelle said changes could include increasing the no-logging buffer zones along streams, doing detailed inventories of old logging roads and areas prone to landslides, and increasing no-spray buffer zones to keep pesticides out of the water. The solutions could be a mix of rules and voluntary programs. The no-logging buffers leave trees standing to shade streams and prevent them from warming to the point they DUHWRRKRWIRU¿VK7KHYHJHWDWLRQDOVRVHUYHVDVDQDWX- UDO¿OWHUNHHSLQJVLOWIURPZDVKLQJLQWRVWUHDPVZKHUHLW FKRNHVRXWVSDZQLQJEHGVDQGIRRGIRU¿VK J O U R N E Y to th e 4 0 s When: Friday, February 27th • 6-9 pm Where: Hamley’s Slickfork Saloon What: • no-host bar • hors d’oeuvres • silent auction • music by the PHS Jazz Band • dressing up optional but encouraged Cost: $40 pre-registration • $50 at-the-door Tickets: Armchair Books & Heritage Station Museum (541) 276-0012 Saudi royal did not receive degree at Lewis & Clark S U P P O R T O U R N E I G H O C A E L S , T H E L O C A L E L . W H E N W E Presented by: R B O T H R I V E S . L I V PORTLAND (AP) — Lewis & Clark College says Saudi Arabia’s new deputy crown prince did not graduate from the private school as the Saudi Embassy said last week, although he did attend classes. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was named deputy crown prince earlier this month after the death of Saudi Arabia’s king. After the announcement, the Saudi Embassy said that Mohammed had received a bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1981. The college said in a statement that records show he completed coursework in the late 1970s but did not get a degree. The Saudi Embassy said the error was the result of a mistranslation. While the prince’s resume in Arabic said he attended Lewis & Clark, the translator mistakenly assumed that’s where he received the degree. The college says it’s proud that Mohammed studied there and the Saudi royal is “remembered fondly by our alumni, faculty, and staff.” PAID ADVERTISEMENT SENTIMENTAL B a ck O M Y More than 80 animals seized in La Grande Paid for by Chuck Sandlin, 33656 E. Spearman Rd., Hermiston In Conjunction with Milton Freewater Chamber N C O BRIEFLY The Oregon Legislature appears primed for another debate over whether to expand the state’s requirements for who must un- dergo a background check to buy a gun, and a recent poll suggests most Oregonians would support that. The poll, paid for by Americans for Re- sponsible Solutions, found that 87 percent of Oregonians support expanded background checks and 83 percent of gun owners do. Those numbers dropped when people were asked about their “strong” support of expanded background checks — 70 percent and 59 percent, respectively — but they still showed support in strong majorities. That may bode well for Democrats in the legislature who would like to pass a bill that would require background checks for peo- ple who buy guns online and through other informal venues. Oregon currently requires them for all gun purchases at a licensed store or gun show, but there are still some sales that slip through the cracks. A bill has not been introduced yet, but the legislature tried to pass a similar bill in 2014. It never made it to a vote in the Sen- ate, where Democratic Sen. Betsy Johnson’s opposition would have doomed it to fail. This year, Democrats have a much larger majority in the Senate (18 to 12) and there- IRUH D PXFK KLJKHU OLNHOLKRRG RI ¿QGLQJ enough people to support the bill. Democrats also enjoy a sizable majority in the House of Representatives and an ally in Gov. John Kitzhaber, who is expected to sign the bill if it passes. Senate Judiciary chairman Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, told the Associated Press he plans to introduce the bill soon. It would require anyone selling a gun private- ly to call state police for a background check on criminal history and mental illness. It would exclude sales among family mem- bers, inheritances and antique guns. “I want to put closure on the only loop- hole we have on the background check law,” Prozanski said. “Most all of us gun owners, as well as the general public, believe we should take reasonable steps to stop felons from get- ting easy access to guns. This will do that.” The poll from Americans for Responsi- ble Solutions, released Wednesday, could be overstating Oregonians’ support slightly. The group is an advocacy organization set up by former U.S. Congresswoman Gab- by Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, in response to the 2011 mass shooting at a Giffords speaking engagement in Arizona. She was shot in the head, six people were killed and 12 more were injured. We Sell The Best and Service The Rest 610 1/2 Main Street Milton-Freewater, OR threedivas@q.com 541-938-3727 Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm 541.938.5692 214 N. Main Milton-Freewater OR. 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