Final rate hike
for Hermiston
water, sewer
U.S. HEADED TO
WORLD CUP FINAL
WOMEN’S SOCCER/1B
99/65
REGION/3A
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015
139th Year, No. 184
WINNER OF THE 2013 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
County still
swatting bugs
at dispatch
Network failures, software issues
frustrating county, law enforcement
she explained in an email.
“It has to be quick, ef¿ cient
and easy to use, but when
Umatilla County got we freeze up during emer-
gencies that is not
some
answers
acceptable.”
Tuesday to the
Dispatchers
problems plaguing
have to reboot their
operations in the
computers,
and
sheriff’s
of¿ ce
other
computers
9-1-1 and commu-
are not able to
nications center.
take over. She said
Time and again
the situation puts
the dispatch system
people’s lives at
has failed. Infor-
stake and adds
mation from Sun
unnecessary stress
Ridge
Systems Lieuallen
to already stressful
Inc., the company
providing
the
center’s situations.
software, shows while their New software
product has bugs, the coun-
ty’s computer network also
Tony Richards is the pres-
has been wobbly.
ident of Sun Ridge Systems,
C o m m u n i c a t i o n s and he said he understands
commander Lt. Kathy Lieuallen’s frustration. After
Lieuallen said the 9-1-1 side all, the county paid more
of things works ¿ ne, but the than $700,000 in 2014 to
computer aided dispatch use his company’s software
does not. Sometimes the for dispatching services and
issues are minor, according records management, and
to reports of ¿ xes, such as during the past couple of
certain functions pausing for months the county has expe-
several moments or arrest rienced a À urry of glitches.
locations not displaying But he said many of those are
correctly.
related to the county’s own
But the real grief comes network.
when dispatch stations
According to Sun Ridge’s
freeze.
tracking,
the
county’s
“The computer system network failed 150 times this
seems to have problems with year, including 100 times
the multi-agency computer )eb. 19-21. +ermiston police
aided dispatching (CAD),
See DISPATCH/2A
which our center requires,”
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
It’s legal.
Now what?
PGG marketing deal Local police
intends to increase
wait on rules
co-op’s income
to enforce
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
When it comes to
marketing and selling wheat,
Pendleton Grain Growers is
banking on greater strength in
numbers.
PGG recently announced
it will join a growing alliance
of Northwest grain coopera-
tives to improve their overall
market access and fetch more
competitive bids for members
across Eastern Oregon and
Washington.
The agreement with
McCoy Grain Terminal LLC,
a trading company based in
Colfax, Washington, lumps
PGG’s 10-17 million bushel
grain handle under one
partnership that will market
50-60 million bushels.
At that volume, wheat can
be blended and offered to
exporters in larger packages
for potentially more money,
said Jason Middleton, director
of grain operations for PGG.
“By that, we’re able to
go out for a better bid,”
Middleton said.
A better bid means a better
bottom line for the co-op,
which gets passed down to
members, Middleton said.
McCoy Grain Terminal
started as a joint venture in
2012 between Cooperative
Agricultural Producers of
Rosalia, Washington, and
Paci¿ c Northwest )armers
Cooperative of Genesee,
Idaho. Together, they built
and co-own a $17 million
grain handling facility just
outside of Rosalia, a small
farm town in the Palouse
region of Washington.
Last year, McCoy Grain
Terminal added Mid-Co-
lumbia Producers of Moro as
a partner to boost marketing
capabilities. Now with PGG
in the fold, the company can
market grain from more than
70 countryside elevators and
eight river terminals — three
See PGG/8A
One dollar
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Oregon is now one of just four states that has legalized marijuana for recreational use.
East Oregonian
Although July 1 marks a sea
change in the way the law deals
with marijuana, the Pendleton and
+ermiston police chiefs agree that
the implications of legalization
will depend
heavily on
rules
the
Legislature is
still working
on.
The rules
laid out in
the
ballot
measure
include age Roberts
restrictions,
volume of
possession
and
use
restrictions.
It is illegal to
possess or use
marijuana
for anyone
under 21, and
a felony to
provide any Edmiston
form of the
drug to a minor. A legal user can
have eight ounces and four plants
in their home, or one ounce away
from home, and all use must be on
private property and out of “public
view.”
Also, all commercial sales are
temporarily prohibited, though
Senate Bill 460 passed the legis-
lature today and would allow
recreational users to buy up to a
See POLICE/8A
Cities, counties prepare
for marijuana sales
What’s legal?
Private recreational and medical
marijuana use is legal for everyone
21 and older. Possession of up to 8
ounces is also allowed, as are up to
four plants per household, regardless
of number or age of residents. Peo-
ple 21 and older can also deliver 1
ounce of homegrown marijuana and
1 pound of cannabinoid products.
What’s illegal?
Selling recreational marijuana is
still illegal in Oregon, and use in
public is outlawed. The Oregon Li-
quor Control Commission is writing
rules for growing and selling legal
pot and plans to accept applica-
tions from prospective farmers on
Jan. 1. It says retail sales could
start about harvest time next fall.
Last week, the Legislature’s joint
marijuana committee voted to start
retail sales sooner, by Oct. 1 by go-
ing through the existing medical
marijuana dispensaries, now more
than 300 strong.
How did Oregon get here?
In 1973, Oregon was the fi rst
state to lower penalties for small
amounts of pot, “decriminalizing”
it. Medical marijuana followed in
1998. In 2012, voters rejected a
fi rst attempt to legalize recreation-
al marijuana, but in 2013 the state
approved dispensaries to sell medi-
cal pot, replacing a system that al-
lowed patients to grow their own or,
more commonly, designate some-
one to grow it for them. In Novem-
ber, voters approved Measure 91 by
12 percentage points, 56-44.
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Lighting up a joint after work may be
legal in Oregon, but buying the marijuana to
roll that joint still isn’t.
The state won’t be ready to approve the
¿ rst marijuana dispensary and commercial
grower licenses until 2016. Meanwhile the
list of rules designed to keep those businesses
out of Eastern Oregon is growing despite the
fact that cities don’t yet know which of those
laws will end up being approved.
“There will be a lot of growing pains,
and that’s not a pun,” Weston mayor Duane
Thul said.
Voters in Thul’s city actually passed
Measure 91 by a handful of votes — the
only city in Umatilla County to do so. But
Thul said he believes that can be attributed to
low voter turnout, and at its last meeting the
Weston City Council amended its business
license rules to exclude businesses in viola-
tion of federal law.
A bill is in the works that would allow
cities to ban dispensaries but would require
the ones where voters approved Measure 91
to put it to another citizen vote. Thul said it’s
too bad the state legislature didn’t get the bill
passed before July 1 so cities could know
ahead of legalization what ordinances were
legal for them to pass.
“I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt us
later, but there isn’t a whole lot you can do
at this point,” he said. “We’re just going to
have to see what happens.”
Where will marijuana dispensaries and
commercial grow sites be allowed when
the dust settles? Inside today’s paper is a
look at the rules passed by Umatilla County,
Morrow County and their respective cities
that suggests there won’t be many options.
See MARIJUANA/8A