Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2015)
Page 10A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Saturday, March 21, 2015 POLICE: 0HDVXUHJRHVLQWRHIIHFW-XO\ Continued from 1A drop from 344 in 2013 to 285 in 2014. Measure 91 goes into ef- IHFW-XO\DQGDOORZVVRPH- one 21 or older to have up to DQRXQFHRISRWLQSXEOLFDQG 8 ounces and four marijuana SODQWVLQDUHVLGHQFH+HUP- LVWRQ SROLFH &KLHI -DVRQ (G- miston said that means more people are going to be driving while high. Beyond the obvious public safety problem, he said there also will be a greater need for drug recognition experts, or DREs in cop lingo — of- ¿FHUV ZKR XQGHUJR WUDLQLQJ through Oregon State Police to catch high and drunk driv- HUV+HUPLVWRQKDVWZR'5(V now, he said, but some small- er departments have none. And there is no requirement for a department to have any. Trying to determine if a driver is drunk, Edmiston said, is an arduous process WKDWUHTXLUHVRI¿FHUVDQGVXV- pects to jump through a lot of hoops. “It’s gonna get worse from impaired drivers due to marijuana,” he said. The chances will be slim WKH RI¿FHU ZKR PDNHV WKH stop is a DRE, he said, so that means sending the expert to KHOSWKHDUUHVWLQJRI¿FHU7ZR cops for one stop eats resourc- es, he said, and drug stops can mean waiting for search war- rants for urine and blood. “It’s going to get very cumbersome very quick,” Edmiston said. $QG RI¿FHUV QRW FLWLQJ people for possession of less than an ounce will not make this situation a wash, he said. A cop spends 30-45 minutes processing a typical posses- sion citation, including lock- ing up marijuana in evidence, Edmiston said, while the av- erage stop for driving under WKH LQÀXHQFH RI LQWR[LFDQWV takes closer to two-and-a-half to three hours. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said he also expects a spike in stoned drivers. Washington and Col- orado have seen driving under WKH LQÀXHQFH RI PDULMXDQD increase with the implemen- tation of their recreational pot laws, he said, and it is fair to anticipate Oregon will follow that trend. Measure 91 also could have a teeter-totter effect in diversion programs, Primus said. Courts offer diversion for offenders dealing with a charge of possession of less than an ounce of pot, and adults will be able to have that much under Measure 91. But the increase in people driving while stoned, he said, will result in a corresponding increase in prosecutions and duii diversions. And beyond that, he said, no one knows what is coming because regulations for recre- ational pot won’t be in place until 2016. There also is no bead on how much marijuana is in the community already. Pendleton police Chief Stuart Roberts said police usually discover grow sites when neighbors report seeing marijuana growing in some- one’s back yard or through calls for service at grow properties. But the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program protects growers’ right to pri- vacy and does not provide a list of grow operations. Po- lice can call a hot line with D VSHFL¿F QDPH RU DGGUHVV he explained, and receive a yes or no answer concerning whether or not the person/ property is registered with the state. But that number works only 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Local police also do not track or map the legal grows WKH\¿QG3ROLFHOHDGHUVVDLG such a list could be valuable, but would mean violating people’s rights. “Law en- forcement in general is often accused of being too ‘Big Brother,’” Edmiston said, “so tracking something that has been legal by the voters is not something I am willing to dedicate limited resources on.” Police said there is prob- ably no way to measure how much pot is out here, but Measure 91 means there will be more of it. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0833. MARIJUANA: Draft ordinance prohibits dispensaries from being within 1,000 feet of the Pendleton Library Cemetery and land southeast RI+LJKZD\ The draft removes lan- The Planning Commis- guage prohibiting dispensa- sion is scheduled to vote on ries and retailers from being an ordinance April 2, with a within 1,000 feet of licensed city council vote to follow on daycares because daycare fa- April 7. All of these votes will cilities tend to be temporary in be ahead of the expiration of a nature. moratorium on marijuana dis- ³,W¶VGLI¿FXOWWRUHJXODWHD pensaries. moving target,” MacKenzie Councilman Chuck Wood said. said the city could buy some The draft ordinance also time by refusing to issue busi- prohibits dispensaries and ness licenses to marijuana fa- stores from being within a cilities because they would be 1,000 feet of the Pendleton in violation of federal law, a Public Library and would set tactic he’s heard many smaller store hours from 9 a.m. to 5 cities will take. p.m. But interim city attorney A city also provided a map Nancy Kearns advised against showing where dispensaries investing in that strategy due and stores could be located to the lawsuits it could attract. if the draft ordinance were Kearns also recommended passed. against the suggestion that city Areas in Pendleton where council members testify at the marijuana facilities could be upcoming Planning Commis- located includes the south- sion meeting, saying it would eastern portion of town sur- VHWXSDFRQÀLFWRILQWHUHVW rounding Interstate 84, a To research the topic, smaller area east of Olney :RRGVDLGKHYLVLWHG+Z\ Continued from 1A Cannabis, La Grande’s sole medical marijuana dispensary. Wood said he was pleased with the store exterior and interior appearance and the owner’s professionalism. According to Wood, the owner said 135 of her regular customers came from Pendle- ton. Whatever the outcome of the city’s ordinance, the status of the state’s marijuana laws DUHLQÀX[ Police Chief Stuart Rob- erts said the Oregon Liquor Control Commission won’t formulate rules on recreation- al marijuana retailers until 2016 while the rules govern- ing medical marijuana from WKH 2UHJRQ +HDOWK$XWKRULW\ could still be changed. $GGLWLRQDOO\ &DYH -XQF- tion’s outright ban of med- ical marijuana dispensaries is being challenged by the state in court, the outcome of which could have bearing on statewide marijuana laws. FOOD: Could be years before average customer can buy them ment,” Carter said. The apples are dubbed Arctic Apples, and Carter said he wants them to be labeled DV VXFK 7KH ¿UVW WZR YDUL- eties will be Granny Smith and Golden Delicious. Carter VDLGWKHUHZRQ¶WEHVLJQL¿FDQW plantings until 2017. Simplot calls its potatoes Innate and the varieties se- lected include Ranger Russet, Russet Burbank and Atlantic. “We’re trying to improve potatoes so everyone gets a Continued from 1A convenient snack with its non-browning version. The company says bagged apples wouldn’t have to be washed in antioxidants like they are now, a process that can affect taste. Company founder Neal Carter said Okanagan wants to see bagged apples become as pro- OL¿FDVEDJJHGEDE\FDUURWV “We know that in a conve- nience-driven world, a whole apple is too big of a commit- better experience, just like it’s ULJKWRXWRIWKH¿HOG´VDLG+D- ven Baker, vice president of plant sciences for Simplot. But it could be years be- fore the average customer is able to buy one. The compa- ny has about 400 acres of In- nate potatoes in storage from the 2014 harvest that it plans to deliver to growers, pack- ers and shippers to be sent to a tightly-controlled network for use in small-scale test markets. Pepsi Primetime @ the Museum “ The Lost Fish ” Documentary film and Speaker Aaron Jackson March 28, 1pm FIRST FRIDAYS ARE FREE! Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm 541.429.7700 www.tamastslikt.org CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS Oregon - Utah - Valid 35 States PENDLETON Red Lion - 304 SE Nye Ave. April 2 nd • 1:00 pm or 6:00 pm Walk-Ins Welcome! OR/Utah: (Valid in WA) $80.00 or Oregon only: $45 www.FirearmTrainingNW.com • FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com 360-921-2071 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Oregon Gov. Kate Brown launches a Oregon National Guard RQ-7B Shadow un- manned aerial vehicle Friday at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton. AIRPORT: Brown has long been aware of Pendleton’s need for airport hangar space WATER: +DQVHOOVDLG Senate very supportive of the project Continued from 1A Continued from 1A drone business to establish a location in Pendle- ton. In an interview after her speech, Brown said she has been aware of Pendleton’s need for han- gar space for some time. Brown said she sat down with Steve Chris- man, economic development director and airport manager, over a beer a year ago and discussed the needs of the range. When she assumed the governorship a month DJR %URZQ VDLG SXWWLQJ WRJHWKHU WKH ¿QDQFH package was one of her top priorities. Before the speech, Brown held a brief meeting ZLWK 62$5 2UHJRQ D QRQSUR¿W WKDW DGYRFDWHV for the state’s three test ranges. $FFRUGLQJWR+RXNUDQJHPDQDJHU-RKQ6WH- vens will soon join SOAR Oregon as chief oper- DWLQJRI¿FHU Stevens was employed by Peak 3 Technical Services, an Anchorage, Alaska-based company contracted by Pendleton to develop and manage the range. Stevens is the latest Peak 3 employee involved with Pendleton’s range to leave the company. Both Peak 3 Vice President Brian Prange and test range operations manager Ian Mortensen have departed for other positions in recent months. Brown concluded the event by launching an Oregon National Guard drone into the sky. The governor said she merely pressed the launch button while ceding control of the vehicle WRDTXDOL¿HGRSHUDWRU “It’s a long way from your toy plane,” Brown said, “but it’s pretty cool.” ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastorego- nian.com or 541-966-0836. by the Ways & Means Committee. Brown, who replaced Kitzhaber on Feb. 18, said the biggest hurdle to getting the development fund ap- proved would be if the fund becomes a bargaining chip. She said she is encouraging leadership to pass the funding early in the session and let other pieces of the budget be decided from there. 6WDWH 6HQ %LOO +DQVHOO 5$WKH- na) said the Senate is very supportive of the project and willing to carve out the dollars early, but he’s not so sure DERXW WKH +RXVH +H VDLG %URZQ¶V visit east is a show of support, and he hopes that when she returns to WKHFDSLWROVKHZLOOKHOS¿QDOL]HWKH funding. The $51.6 million would help fund a three-phase plan developed by the Northeast Oregon Water As- sociation that would allow farmers to pump extra water from the Columbia Basin and also fund upstream proj- ects that would help restore native ¿VKUXQV7KHSODQFRXOGSXW acres of farmland into production in Umatilla and Morrow counties. Richard Whitman, who served as Kitzhaber’s top natural resourc- es advisor, has continued his role LQ%URZQ¶VRI¿FH+HWUDYHOHGZLWK the governor this week and said he has a high level of comfort in the policy that has been presented to lawmakers.
