Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2015)
Hermiston man dies in head-on crash REGION/3A 91/62 HERMISTON BEATS STANFIELD AAU BASEBALL/1B WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015 139th Year, No. 179 WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Energy tax credit program generated untaxed gains ment of Revenue director Jim Bucholz told auditors to hold off because the Kitzhaber The state issued the tax taxes on those gains, which administration planned to credits to owners of renewable for some taxpayers amounted push for a bill in the 2013 HQHUJ\DQGHI¿FLHQF\SURMHFWV to more than $1 million. Audi- legislative session that would 3URMHFW RZQHUV FRXOG XVH WKH tors wanted to put energy tax UHWURDFWLYHO\PDNHLQYHVWPHQW credits to offset their taxes, or credits under a microscope, SUR¿WV IURP WKH WD[ FUHGLWV sell them at a discount to raise ZLWKDVSHFL¿FSURMHFWWRORRN non-taxable in Oregon. capital. Those sales produced a at tax returns of individuals That bill died in committee, capital gain for the purchaser. and corporations that claimed but the situation apparently Auditors discovered the credits. See TAX/8A purchasers were not paying Instead, Oregon Depart- Kitzhaber administration told auditors to stall investigation By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau SALEM — Auditors at the Oregon Department of Revenue in 2012 were told to ignore problems they found with the state’s business energy tax credit, or at a minimum not to scrutinize them too closely. THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR One dollar Heat wave poised to set record East Oregonian Barely a few days old, the summer season will waste no time reminding people of its arrival. According to the National Weather Service, this ZHHNHQGZLOOEULQJDUHFRUGEUHDNLQJKHDWZDYHWR the region. Douglas Weber, a meteorologist at the service’s 3HQGOHWRQRI¿FHVDLGD³ULGJHRIKLJKSUHVVXUH´ZLOO cause temperatures to rise to the triple digits for the next four to six days. The heat wave could start as soon as Friday, with WKHKRWWHVWWHPSHUDWXUHVUHVHUYHGIRUWKHZHHNHQG On those days, some areas of Eastern Oregon are H[SHFWHGWRMXPSWRGHJUHHV With the usual temperature range for this time of \HDUUDQJLQJIURPWRGHJUHHV:HEHUVDLGKHDW UHFRUGVIRUWKHPRQWKRI-XQHFRXOGEHWLHGRUEURNHQ Pendleton, Hermiston, John Day and La Grande are all cities that could see record temperatures. ,I+HUPLVWRQUHDFKHVGHJUHHVDVWKHVHUYLFH predicts, it will not only surpass the June heat record, but also come within a hair of the all-time record, ZKLFKLVGHJUHHVRQ$XJ *LYHQ WKDW 3HQGOHWRQ¶V UHFRUG SHDN ZDV GHJUHHV LQ WKDW UHFRUG VKRXOG VWD\ VDIH WKLV ZHHNHQG Extreme heat triggers health warnings for the elderly, the young and those without access to cooling. Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts wrote in an email that a rise in death investigations tend to follow DKHDWVSLNHHVSHFLDOO\DPRQJVWWKHHOGHUO\ Increased temperatures can also cause an increase LQ DFWLYLWLHV XQGHUWDNHQ E\ SHRSOH XQGHU WKH LQÀX HQFHLQFOXGLQJOLNHVZLPPLQJGULYLQJERDWLQJDQG ¿JKWLQJ Lastly, Roberts noted that tempers can frequently rise with the temperature. ³$ORQJZLWKKHDWFRPHVLUULWDELOLW\ZKLFKRIWHQ times manifests as assaultive/aggressive behavior ... PRVWRIZKLFKLVGRPHVWLF´KHZURWH Staff photo by E.J. Harris Ione wheat farmer Joe Rietmann holds his hand out at the height his soft white winter wheat should be at this time of year with proper temperatures and moisture in one of his fi elds north of Ione. Wheat farmers expect third straight down year By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian 6WDQGLQJLQD¿HOGRIJROGHQZKHDWWKDWUHDFKHG EDUHO\XSWRKLVNQHHV-RH5LHWPDQQVDLGWKLV\HDU¶V abnormally short crop is clearly feeling the effects of drought. ³7KLVLVDOOW\SLFDOGURXJKWVWUHVV´VDLG5LHWPDQQ RZQHURI-'5)DUPVLQ,RQH³,I\RXORRNRYHUWKH H[SDQVHRIWKH¿HOGDQGVHHWKHGDUNHUDUHDVWKDW¶V ZKHUHLW¶VVWXQWHG´ /LNH PRVW GU\ODQG IDUPHUV LQ (DVWHUQ 2UHJRQ Rietmann expects the hot, dry weather will cut into his winter wheat harvest and lower yields by more than half in some areas. Ione’s precipitation is three LQFKHVEHORZQRUPDOGDWLQJEDFNWR6HSWHPEHU — when winter wheat is usually planted — while ZHHNHQG WHPSHUDWXUHV IRUHFDVW ZHOO LQWR WKH WULSOH digits. If it weren’t for about an inch of rain that fell in Staff photo by E.J. Harris 0D\5LHWPDQQVDLGWKLQJVZRXOGORRNHYHQZRUVH Ione wheat farmer Joe Rietmann holds a malformed head of soft See WHEAT/8A white winter wheat. Low moisture and hot temperatures cause the heads of wheat to curl. AP Photo/Danny Johnston Confederate fl ag themed stickers are dis- played at Arkansas Flag and Banner in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday. Major retailers including Amazon, Sears and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., are halting sales of the Confederate fl ag and re- lated merchandise. South revisits Confederate flag’s legacy By BILL BARROW Associated Press HERMISTON Landscape ordinance would set standard for sprucing up It only applies to new develop- ment (including renovations or a change in business use) The Hermiston council and only to the section of land Hermiston mayor David also discussed turning actually being developed. Drotzmann provided a rare Newport Park into ³,W¶V RQO\ WKH DUHD \RX¶UH WLHEUHDNLQJYRWH0RQGD\QLJKW stormwater drain. 3A DFWXDOO\PRYLQJGLUW´6SHQFHU directing city staff to start the said. public hearing process on a DQRUGLQDQFHIRUODQGVFDSLQJ´ Under the ordinance landscaping ordinance. The ordinance, if approved, city planner Clint Spencer said. developers would have to get The ordinance requires 15 a landscaping permit approved would set minimum land- scaping requirements for new percent of multi-family residen- by the city, showing that their development on commercial, tial property, 6 percent in the C-2 plan follows the ordinance’s industrial and multi-family Commercial Zone, 3 percent in guidelines. Newly planted trees the C-1 Commercial Zone and 3 must be taller than four feet, for residential land. ³:H¶UH DERXW WKH RQO\ FLW\ percent or 10,000 square feet of See LANDSCAPE/8A in Oregon that doesn’t have industrial land to be landscaped. By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian More inside ATLANTA — Calls to remove Confederate imagery from public places multiplied rapidly across the South and beyond Tuesday, with opponents H\HLQJVWDWHÀDJVOLFHQVHSODWHVDQGVWDWXHVRI&LYLO War politicians and generals. 7KHVWDUWOLQJPRYHPHQWGULYHQE\WKHNLOOLQJRI QLQH EODFN FKXUFKJRHUV LQ DQ DSSDUHQW UDFLVW DWWDFN in Charleston, South Carolina, has made converts of politicians who have long supported or stood silent on such symbols. Many of the efforts appear to have the muscle to succeed. Statehouse displays such as the Confederate battle ÀDJ À\LQJ LQ 6RXWK &DUROLQD DUH FRPLQJ XQGHU WKH KHDYLHVW ¿UH %XW WKH IDPLOLDU EDQQHU ZLWK LWV VWDU VWXGGHGEOXHµ;¶RYHUOD\LQJD¿HOGRIUHGLVMXVWRQH of scores, if not hundreds, of state-sanctioned displays that honor the vanquished Confederacy and the era of Jim Crow segregation that lasted for more than a century after the end of the Civil War. The homages — from veterans’ memorials and statues of politicians to counties, streets, government buildings and public schools named for Confederate ¿JXUHVDQGVXEVHTXHQWZKLWHVXSUHPDFLVWV²KDYHQ¶W always generated the same political and social See FLAG/8A