TENNESSEE PICKS
MARIOTA AT NO. 2
Cinco de Mayo
celebrations
NFL DRAFT/1B
REGION/3A
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015
139th Year, No. 141
Your Weekend
WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
State must keep promise to retirees
Court rules Oregon can’t change COLA formula for
retirees; current employees subject to negotiation
•
•
•
Farmers’ market opens
for season in Pendleton
Inland Northwest
Orchestra Concert
Pendleton Adult Prom
at Recreation Center
For times and places
see Coming Events, 5A
By PETER WONG
Capital Bureau
SALEM — The Oregon Supreme
Court ruled Thursday that a cost-of-
living adjustment for public retirees
cannot be changed retroactively.
The decision strikes down a
change made by the Legislature in
2013 to reduce the system’s long-
term liability.
The court, in a long-awaited
decision, also ruled that lawmakers
can change how that cost-of-living
increase is applied to employees who
retire after the changes were made.
The court also rejected appeals
by out-of-state retirees of the
Legislature’s decision to discontinue
payments granted years ago to help
retirees offset state income taxes.
The decision has no immediate
effect on the contribution rates of
the Oregon government employers
that cover 95 percent of the public
workforce. The Public Employee
Retirement Board set the rates last
fall for the 2015-17 budget cycle,
which starts July 1.
But it is unclear how the decision
will affect the system’s future liability,
Catch a movie
Jay Maidment/Disney/Marvel via AP
For showtime, Page 5A
For review, Weekend EO
78/45
72/42
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Sun
Oregon lawmakers have approved a statewide ban
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The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 2534 on
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animals or interfere with other hunters.
Previously, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wild-
life allowed tracking big game with unmanned aircraft,
but stipulated sportsmen couldn’t go hunting within
eight hours after doing so.
Brian Jennings, Oregon state coordinator for Back-
country Hunters & Anglers, said they felt the regulation
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backed HB2534 as a way to solve the issue and promote
fair chase.
Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, took up the bill and it
was met with universal approval at the Capitol. It passed
the House 59-0, with Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson,
D-Portland, excused from voting.
73/41
Navy to
accompany
U.S.-flagged
ships in Gulf
By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer
WASHINGTON — U.S.
Navy ships will begin accom-
panying U.S. commercial
ships during their transit
through the Strait of Hormuz
at the mouth of the Persian
Gulf to ensure they encounter
no interference from Iran,
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Thursday.
The new policy, which
has not yet been announced
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response to what Washington
views as provocative Iranian
behavior. Earlier this week
Iran Revolutionary Guard
Corps naval vessels report-
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cargo ship and have detained
it and its crew.
Iran says it intervened with
the Maersk Tigris because the
Maersk shipping line owes it
money awarded in a lawsuit.
Iranian naval patrol boats
also surrounded a U.S. cargo
vessel in the strait last Friday
See NAVY/10A
See RETIREES/9A
Bill passes unanimously
Weekend Weather
Sat
which lawmakers tried to pare with
their 2013 changes.
The system has about 128,000
retirees.
Retirees and public employee
unions went to court to challenge
those changes. They argued that
the changes violated the contract
between government employers and
workers.
“We conclude that petitioners
State Senate
bans hunting
with drones
The highly anticipated
Marvel sequel, “Avengers:
Age of Ultron.”
Fri
One dollar
See HUNTING/10A
PENDLETON
Photo courtesy of Harriet Isom
Harriet Isom stands near the shrine of 13th century Persian poet Saadi in Shiraz.
Isom in Iran
‘Iran has been
a bit of a mystery’
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A work crew from Pioneer Construction of
Mission repaved the surface of Southwest Nye
Avenue on Thursday in Pendleton.
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Iran.
We associate the name
with hard-edged things like
nuclear weapons negotiations,
a death-to-America attitude
and long-bearded Ayatollahs.
But a Pendleton woman
recently experienced the
softer side of Iran. Harriet
Isom traveled to the country
earlier this month with nine
other American tourists under
the auspices of the World
Affairs Council of Pennsyl-
vania. Starting in the capitol
city of Tehran, she soaked in
impressions and let precon-
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Those acquainted with the
articulate Isom know she can
be downright encyclopedic
when she shares insights
gained during her world
travels, but she is also capable
of elegant simplicity. When
asked to describe the sights
and sounds of Iran, she let it
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“Poets and picnics,” she
said. “Gardens and carpets.
Cedars and saffron. Squares
and squinches.”
Isom elaborated.
Regarding poetry, she said
Council, citizens
talk infrastructure
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
plantings, trees, pathways,
pools and pavilions. Isom
noted admiration for trees,
especially the stately cedar
that “is symbolic of man’s
strength and dignity.” She saw
exquisite handwoven Persian
carpets all around.
Then, there were the
squares
and
squinches.
Historic buildings were built
square to honor the sacred
elements of earth, water,
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squinches were invented by
Iranians as a way to attach
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infrastructure at the Pendleton Convention Center
Wednesday night.
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from the audience, which was composed of the entire
Pendleton City Council and a handful of community
members.
The problem lies in a lack of funding. According to a
presentation led by Public Works Director Bob Patterson,
the city would need an additional $7.4 million per year
to cover needed maintenance and improvements to the
city’s infrastructure.
The roughly $5 million in property taxes the city
takes in per year doesn’t even completely cover public
safety costs, much less infrastructure.
Of the $7.4 million in infrastructure costs, $4.8
million is needed for water, sewer and storm water
drainage utilities.
The city is considering a series of rate hikes and
system development charges to cover utilities and a
bond to cover the $850,000 a year needed to keep city
facilities in operation. That leaves $1.7 million in street
See IRAN/9A
See PENDLETON/10A
Photo by Harriet Isom
A young Iranian family walks on the grounds of the
18th century Golestan Palace in Tehran.
she was immediately aware of
its presence.
“You’re not there very long
before you understand the
reverence for Persian poets,”
she said. “They build them
elaborate shrines and quote
their poetry in daily life. I’ve
never been to a country with
more emphasis on poetry.”
Iranians also seem to love
picnics and gardens. Isom
noticed multitudes of people
sitting outside sharing pastries,
kabobs, basmati rice, yogurt,
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tour group also visited elabo-
rate Persian gardens with lush