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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
Oregon Senate passes low-carbon fuel bill BUCKS BEAT HOOD RIVER BASKETBALL/1B 55/35 NORTHWEST/6A WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 139th Year, No. 89 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar Measles stage a comeback Legislators discuss ending vaccine exemptions By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian EO Media Group fi le photo Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, who will be sworn in as governor on Wednesday, speaks to Brad Johnson’s AP Government class in 2013 at Pendleton High School. The ceremony will be conducted in the chamber of the state House of Representatives at 10 a.m. Brown has experience with Eastern Oregon Details taking shape for inauguration By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian When Salem is mentioned in Eastern Oregon, the odds are good someone will comment that politicians in the state cap- ital just don’t have a clue what the dry side of the state is like. Incoming governor Kate Brown may hail from Portland but she has been a regular visitor to northeastern Oregon over her years as secretary of state. Pendleton councilwoman Jane Hill was one of Brown’s roommates in Salem while Brown served in the state legis- lature in the 1990s. Later Brown married Dan Little at Wallowa Lake, where he was working for the Forest Service. “She has a lot of ties to the By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau 6$/(0²6WDWHRI¿FLDOV are hurriedly arranging de- tails of the inauguration cer- emony Wednesday morning for incoming Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. The ceremony will be limited to approximately 30 minutes so the state House of Representatives can pro- FHHG ZLWK D VFKHGXOHG ÀRRU session , said Timothy Seker- ak, chief clerk of the House. Under the state Constitu- See INAUGURATION/6A route. “I think many of us who fol- ORZHG KHU RYHU WKH \HDUV GH¿ Schools wait to see what nitely wanted her to run and pur- new governor means for VXH D KLJKHU RI¿FH´ +LOO VDLG them. See page 3A ³:KHQ , ORRN DW WKH GLI¿FXOW situation over the last week, of region,” Hill said. “She has been DOO 2UHJRQ¶V HOHFWHG RI¿FLDOV , here many times over the years.” think she’s really the one to take She said Brown loves to hike, us out of this scenario.” kayak and ride horses and usual- Brown is no stranger to ly borrows a horse when she vis- Hermiston, either. Hermiston its Pendleton. During last year’s Chamber of Commerce director Round-Up, however, she wasn’t Debbie Pedro said Brown’s of- able to procure one for the West- ¿FHXVXDOO\FRQWDFWHGKHUZKHQ ZDUG+RSDUDGHDQGIRUWKH¿UVW the secretary of state was plan- time watched it from the side- ning a trip through Eastern Or- lines with Hill’s family. egon. “She absolutely loved it,” “She meets with our mem- Hill said. bership, with the governmental She said it isn’t a surprise to affairs team, with industry lead- see Brown reach the governor’s See BROWN/6A mansion, albeit by an unusual More inside Umatilla County residents push against power line By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Umatilla County farmers and property owners Tuesday told Idaho Power Company to keep its big, fat transmission line off their lands. And that was about the nicest thing they said about the com- pany and the proposal to stretch a 500 kilovolt power line 300 miles from Boardman to the Hemingway Substation near Melba, Idaho. About 50 miles of the line would cross Umatilla County. The Bureau of Land Man- agement in December released the draft environmental impact statement and land-use plan amendments for the project, which is several years in the making, and also opened a 90- day window for public com- ments that closes March 19. So the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing in the morning at the big meeting room in the county courthouse, Pendleton, to hear from folks in preparation of an RI¿FLDOVWDWHPHQWRQWKH%RDUG man to Hemingway line. The transmission line would add capacity for times of peak demand, and it is one of the transmission projects prioritized by the Obama administration to improve the power grid and allow for integration of more renewable energy sources, ac- cording to the Bureau of Land Management. More than 20 people showed up, and many spoke out and XUJHG FRXQW\ RI¿FLDOV WR NHHS the line out. A couple of Idaho Power employees were on hand to assist with the meeting, but they did not speak. Oregon Sen. 5RQ :\GHQ¶V ORFDO ¿HOG UHSUH sentative, Kathleen Cathey, also was on hand. Steve Platt, Pendleton cattle rancher, said compensation for the line would run out, but ef- fects on people and land would last generations and not add See POWER/6A To immunize or not to immunize your children, that is the question — but maybe not for too much longer. If a bill passes the Oregon Legislature, parents may no longer have a choice. Cur- rently, parents may opt out for non-medical reasons such as philosophical or religious beliefs. Oregon has the highest exemption rate in the country at nine percent. A measles outbreak originating at Disne- yland in December has revved up efforts in Oregon, California and Washington to get rid of non-medical exemptions. The out- break, likely brought into the park from out of the country, has sickened at least “I have enormous 121 and spread respect for pa- to more than 14 states, including rental authority, Oregon. but when they Rep. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, start putting their D-Portland, has a bill to eliminate own children and non-medical ex- others’ children at emptions. Hayward, a risk, that’s when I family physi- draw the line.” cian and Oregon Health & Scienc- — Rep. Elizabeth es University fac- Steiner Hayward, ulty member, is D-Portland, family physi- frustrated by Or- cian and Oregon Health & Sciences University egon’s low vac- faculty member cination rate and said the state is on the verge of a public health crisis. “I have enormous respect for paren- tal authority,” Steiner Hayward said, “but when they start putting their own children and others’ children at risk, that’s when I draw the line.” She knows some parents fear putting a potentially harmful substance into their child’s body. “The vaccines currently available are incredibly safe and very, very effective,” Steiner Hayward said. “There is a lot of misinformation out there.” Washington and California legislatures are also considering similar bills that would PDNHH[HPSWLRQVPRUHGLI¿FXOWWRREWDLQ The Washington bill, House Bill 109, re- ceived a public hearing on Tuesday. Wednesday is School Exclusion Day, the day children in Oregon won’t be allowed in school if records show missing immuniza- WLRQVSOXVQRH[HPSWLRQRQ¿OH/DVW\HDU state schools turned away 5,227 children and Umatilla County excluded 113. Umatilla County Public Health Ad- ministrator Meghan DeBolt admits to be- LQJ EDIÀHG E\ SDUHQWV¶ UHIXVDO WR JHW WKHLU children vaccinated. She recently spoke to See VACCINE/6A PENDLETON Council to explore marijuana dispensary regulations ijuana. State rules include the pro- hibition of dispensaries within Nine months into a yearlong 1,000 feet of schools or other moratorium on medical marijua- dispensaries, a clean criminal na dispensaries, the Pendleton background check for the person City Council voted unanimously responsible for the dispensary to direct staff to create a propos- and extensive security measures al for regulations regarding the to the dispensary’s facility. The council directed staff to placement and operation of dis- work with the Pendleton Plan- pensaries. Pendleton Police Chief Stu- ning Commission in creating art Roberts said the regulations guidelines members could con- could range from zoning laws to sider ahead of the May 1 mora- an outright ban on dispensaries. torium expiration. Councilman Chuck Wood Unlike recreational marijuana VWRUHVWKHFLW\KDVWKHEHQH¿WRI said time was of the essence. state regulations when consider- See MARIJUANA/6A ing how to regulate medical mar- By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Fiddle fi ngers Staff photo by E.J. Harris West Hills Elementary fourth-grader Jayce Cecil concentrates on his fi n- gers while learning how to play “Old Joe Clark” during a strings work- shop with Portland fi ddler Luke Price on Tuesday at Pendleton High School. Price is the 2014 National Old-Time Fiddling Champion and is teaching workshops to local string students all week. Price will be pre- forming with Isaac and Emily Muller Callender on Friday at the Pendle- ton Center for the Arts.
