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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2015)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Wednesday, August 19, 2015 Site of bomb blast reopens to public %$1*.2. $3 ² $ FHQWUDO%DQJNRNVKULQHZKHUH DGHDGO\ERPEEODVWNLOOHG people reopened Wednesday to the public as authorities searched for a man seen in a grainy security video who they say is the prime suspect LQDQDWWDFNDXWKRULWLHVFDOOHG the worst in the Thailand’s history. A stream of people arrived at the Erawan Shrine, NQHHOLQJ LQ SUD\HU OLJKWLQJ LQFHQVH DQG SODFLQJ ÀRZHUV at the site where 36 hours earlier an explosion scattered body parts across one of the capital’s busiest intersections. %XGGKLVW PRQNV LQ VDIIURQ robes joined members of the public to chant prayers at the popular Hindu shrine. Among those who paid UHVSHFWV ZDV DQ RI¿FH ZRUNHU 1XDQVXSKD 6DUXQ- VLNDULQZKRH[SUHVVHGVKRFN DQG VDGQHVV RYHU WKH DWWDFN which no one has claimed responsibility for. Authorities say it came by surprise, with AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit Buddhist monks walk at the Erawan Shrine, the site of the explosion, at Rajprasong intersection in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday. no clear motive. “I’m depressed for those innocent people who had to pay for something they’re not involved with and now have no chance to live their lives,” Nuansupha said. 3ROLFH VDLG WKH\ KDG QR doubt that the man seen in the video wearing a yellow shirt and carrying a large, GDUNFRORUHG EDFNSDFN ZDV UHVSRQVLEOHIRUWKHDWWDFN%XW authorities gave no indication that they were aware of his whereabouts. “The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the ERPEHU´ SROLFH VSRNHVPDQ /W *HQ 3UDZXW 7KDYRUQVLUL WROG7KH$VVRFLDWHG3UHVVRQ Tuesday. 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 3UD\XWK Chan-ocha called the bombing at the shrine, located in an upscale neighborhood of shopping malls and 5-star hotels, “the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand.” More than 120 people were injured in the DWWDFN DQG KH SURPLVHG WR WUDFNGRZQWKRVHUHVSRQVLEOH “There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aimed for innocent OLYHV´ 3UD\XWK VDLG ³7KH\ want to destroy our economy, our tourism.” 3UDZXW UHOHDVHG VHYHUDO photos of the man, with and ZLWKRXW WKH EDFNSDFN RQ social media. The images ZHUH DSSDUHQWO\ WDNHQ IURP closed-circuit video at the shrine before the bomb exploded. Video posted separately on Thai media appeared to show the same man sitting on DEHQFKDWWKHVKULQHWDNLQJ RIIWKHEDFNSDFNDQGOHDYLQJ LWEHKLQGDVKHZDONHGDZD\ LINES: Expected to cost between $880-$940 million Continued from 1A routes to avoid productive farmland. That bill ultimately died in committee. Mitch Colburn, engi- QHHULQJ OHDGHU RQ NLOR- YROWSURMHFWVIRU,GDKR3RZHU VDLG WKH\ KDYH ZRUNHG IRU several months with local VWDNHKROGHUVWRFRPHXSZLWK DSODQWKDWVWLFNV%RDUGPDQ to Hemingway on the west VLGH RI %RPELQJ 5DQJH 5RDG “We would avoid constructing a line on land- owner property that could ultimately remove acres of production due to reduced ODQG DYDLODELOLW\ DQG HTXLS- ment operability,” Colburn said. But, in order to do that, ,GDKR 3RZHU QHHGV D VWDPS of approval from the Navy. 1XPHURXV RI¿FLDOV DQG landowners signed on to a letter of support sent July 10 to Capt. Michael Nortier, FRPPDQGLQJ RI¿FHU IRU Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington, supporting a Navy easement for Boardman to Hemingway on the west side of Bombing 5DQJH5RDG If that easement is DSSURYHG ,GDKR 3RZHU would build roughly 10 miles of line along the eastern edge of the bombing range, which would replace an existing NLORYROW %3$ OLQH RQ WKH property. Umatilla Electric Coop- erative owns and operates a NLORYROW OLQH RQ SULYDWH property across the road, and ZRXOG FRRSHUDWH ZLWK %3$ to maintain electrical service for customers displaced by WKH UHPRYDO RI WKH NLOR- volt line. Towers would follow the 1DY\¶VUHTXHVWHGKHLJKWOLPLW RIIHHWWRDYRLGFRQÀLFWV with military operations, DFFRUGLQJ WR ,GDKR 3RZHU The Boardman Bombing 5DQJH LV FXUUHQWO\ XVHG DV the principal training ground for Boeing EA-18G Growler aircraft based at Whidbey Island. Colburn said he hasn’t received a clear answer \HW IURP WKH 1DY\ 5LFN McArdle, community plan- QLQJ OLDLVRQ RI¿FHU IRU WKH Navy’s Northwest Training 5DQJH &RPSOH[ GLG QRW return a call Tuesday for comment. -HUU\5LHWPDQQFRRZQHU of the Ione-based Wheat- ridge Wind Energy, said the SODQZRXOGPDNHEHVWXVHRI both energy corridors to meet the region’s power needs. The route along the east VLGH RI %RPELQJ 5DQJH 5RDG FRXOG DOVR EHFRPH a singular site for new wind energy transmission, 5LHWPDQQ VDLG :KHDWULGJH Wind Energy is proposing a 500-megwatt wind farm in southern Morrow and Umatilla counties. “The different wind companies have been ZRUNLQJ RQ D VLQJOHXVH electrical corridor to the /RQJKRUQ6XEVWDWLRQ´5LHW- mann said. “It would have some impact, but not the NLQGRILPSDFW%RDUGPDQWR Hemingway would have.” 'RQ 5LFH GLUHFWRU RI operations at the 24,000-acre Boardman Tree Farm, said WKHDFWLRQZLOOWDNHFRPSUR- mise on everyone’s part, but appears to be the most promising solution available. “It’s the only plan the parties have been able to FRDOHVFH DURXQG´ 5LFH VDLG ³7KH NH\ WR PDNLQJ LW DOO ZRUN LV DQ DJUHHPHQW IURP the Navy.” Colburn said it was good IRU ,GDKR 3RZHU WR KHDU from communities during the recent public comment period, and fully understand where landowners were coming from. ³:H DUH VDWLV¿HG´ KH VDLG ³:H¶OO ¿QG D ZD\ WR minimize impacts while at the same time achieving our project’s objectives.” Boardman to Hemingway is expected to cost between $880-$940 million and come online by 2020. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. FIRE: 0RUHWKDQSHRSOHEDWWOLQJ¿UHVQHDU&KHODQ Continued from 1A The troops are all coming from the 17th Field Artillery Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma and will be sent to D ¿UH QRUWK RI 5HSXEOLF D town in central Washington, about 30 miles south of the Canadian border. Fire managers at the center are able to enlist military help when there are not enough civilian ¿UH¿JKWLQJWHDPVWKDQNVWR a 1975 agreement between the Defense, Interior and Agriculture departments. The help can be crucial in SDUWLFXODUO\DFWLYH\HDUVOLNH this one, when the center’s ¿UH¿JKWLQJWHDPVDQGHTXLS- PHQW DUH ¿JKWLQJ KXQGUHGV RI ¿UHV DFURVV PDQ\ VWDWHV ,QWKHODVWWZRZHHNVDORQH PRUH WKDQ VTXDUH miles have burned in the Lower 48 states, center VSRNHVPDQ .HQ )UHGHULFN said. ³,W¶V OLNH WKH ¿UH VHDVRQ gas pedal has been pushed WRWKHÀRRULQDUHDOO\VKRUW period of time, and that’s stressed our resources,” )UHGHULFN VDLG ³$QG WKDW¶V got us relying on help from resources we don’t normally use.” 7KH ¿UHV LQ WKH 3DFL¿F Northwest get top priority when it comes to allocating pinched resources. More than 1,000 people DUHEDWWOLQJWKHPDVVLYH¿UHV near Chelan that have burned PRUHWKDQVTXDUHPLOHV and destroyed an estimated 75 buildings. They are just some of the huge blazes raging in the West. $ OLJKWQLQJVSDUNHG ¿UH LQ 2UHJRQ¶V 0DOKHXU National Forest has grown WR VTXDUH PLOHV DQG destroyed at least 26 houses. An additional 500 structures DUHWKUHDWHQHGE\WKHÀDPHV near the community of John Day. ,Q WKH 1RUWKHUQ 5RFNLHV VR PDQ\ ZLOG¿UHV KDYH ignited this month that RI¿FLDOV DUH OHWWLQJ VRPH that might be suppressed under normal circumstances Photo contributed by Mark Moulton A wildfire burns Saturday south of the John Day airport in Grant County. burn because manpower and HTXLSPHQW DUH FRPPLWWHG elsewhere. The area experienced a QRUPDO¿UHVHDVRQXQWLOODVW ZHHN ZKHQ D FRPELQDWLRQ of drought, high tempera- WXUHV DQG OLJKWQLQJSDFNHG storms created new blazes across western Montana and Idaho. As of Tuesday, at least ¿UHVZHUHEXUQLQJLQWKH two states, about 30 of them considered large, according WR WKH 1RUWKHUQ 5RFNLHV Coordination Center in Missoula. That included a group of ¿UHV LQ QRUWKHUQ ,GDKR WKDW KDYH VFRUFKHG VTXDUH miles and destroyed 42 homes in the last several GD\VDVZHOODVDZLOG¿UHLQ the western part of the state that led about 120 residents to evacuate and others to SUHSDUHWRÀHHQHDU0F&DOO California is doing well in terms of resources, despite a pair of massive blazes in the QRUWK2I¿FLDOVSUHSDUHGIRU DGURXJKWIXHOHG¿UHVHDVRQ by bringing in several KXQGUHG PRUH ¿UH¿JKWHUV than in previous years. In Chelan, about 180 PLOHVHDVWRI6HDWWOHÀDPHV burned through grass, brush DQG WLPEHU $LU WDQNHUV established containment OLQHV WR NHHS WKH ÀDPHV from reaching downtown, DQGXWLOLW\ZRUNHUVUHSODFHG burned power poles and inspected wires. No buildings have been ORVWLQWKH&KHODQ¿UHVLQWKH SDVWWZRGD\VRI¿FLDOVVDLG But nearly 1,000 people remained under mandatory evacuations. 2Q 7XHVGD\ VPRNH ZDV WKLFNLQWKHDLURIGRZQWRZQ &KHODQ3DUWLFOHVRIDVKIHOO IURPWKHVN\6RPHUHVLGHQWV ZRUHVXUJLFDOPDVNVDVWKH\ ZDONHGWKURXJKWRZQ 7KH ¿UH¿JKWHUV VOHHS in the woods, get up every PRUQLQJ DQG ZRUN D IXOO day, said Allen, the deputy incident commander. “It’s hot. It’s dirty,” said $OOHQ ZKR XVXDOO\ ZRUNV for the Bureau of Land 0DQDJHPHQW LQ $ODVND He said authorities were ORRNLQJIRUDOOWKHUHVRXUFHV they could muster. “The military has been activated. We have National Guard here to help us out,” Allen said, adding that Canada loaned resources, too, and authorities were DOVRWDONLQJWR1HZ=HDODQG and Australia. (YHU\RQH LV ZRUNLQJ WR save Chelan, at the south HQG RI /DNH &KHODQ LQ WKH &DVFDGH5DQJH ³&KHODQ LV VWLOO DW ULVN EXWZHKDYHYHU\VLJQL¿FDQW amounts of structure protec- WLRQ´ VDLG ¿UH VSRNHVPDQ Brian Lawatch. “The name of the game today would be going on offense.” 7KH &KHODQ ¿UHV DUH about 30 percent contained, Lawatch said. That includes deliberate burnouts in some areas, plus trying to direct WKH ¿UH LQWR SUHYLRXVO\ burned areas or areas with little fuel. FAIR: Morrow County Fair runs through Saturday Continued from 1A year Clough, along with .DUHQ 6PLWK*ULI¿WK have headed up the foods department. Both are retired educators and said volunteering has expanded WKHLUFXOLQDU\NQRZOHGJH “This is all new, I’m learning a lot,” Smith-Grif- ¿WKVDLG³,W¶VDPD]LQJWKH judge can taste if someone KDV XVHG ROG ÀRXU RU ROG yeast.” Wynona McCurdy, a two-time Umatilla County )DLU KRPHPDNHU RI WKH \HDU LV LQ KHU ¿UVW \HDU judging at the Morrow County Fair. She enjoys seeing youths and adults who are HQWHULQJIRUWKHLU¿UVWWLPH McCurdy said even though VKHKDVFRRNHGDQGFDQQHG her whole life, she is still learning. $IWHU ZRUNLQJ LQ WKH department last year, 6PLWK*ULI¿WK ZDV PRWL- vated to spend time in KHU RZQ NLWFKHQ SULRU WR this year’s fair, entering several items. She was pleasantly surprised to UHFHLYHD¿UVWSODFHULEERQ for her zucchini bread and a second for dinner rolls. ³$VDNLG,GLGVHZLQJ RQH \HDU ² RQH VNLUW That was about the extent of my 4-H experience,” 6PLWK*ULI¿WKVDLG Volunteering at the fair provides an opportunity for the retired teachers to visit with friends and former students. ³7KH NLGV DOZD\V JHW really excited to see you ORRNLQJDWWKHLUDQLPDOVRU projects,” Clough said. In her second year as fair secretary, Ann Jones is pleased with the increase in HQWULHV-RQHVZKRZRUNHG in child care for 12 years, FDPH RQ ERDUG VL[ ZHHNV prior to the 2014 fair. /RRNLQJ IRU D QHZ challenge, she is enjoying the experience. Jones said meeting new people and having more family time has been a plus with the job. Also, she gained insight regarding the magnitude of the job in putting on a county fair. “The volunteers are essential,” she said. “If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have a fair.” The Morrow County Fair runs through Saturday. Admission is $3 or $1 for youths ages 6-12. For a schedule of events, visit www.morrowcoun- tyoregon.com. ——— Contact Community Editor Tammy Malgesini at tmalgesini@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4539 MARIJUANA: Three residents WHVWL¿HGLQIDYRURIGLVSHQVDULHV Continued from 1A YRWHUVKDGVSRNHQLQIDYRU of marijuana legalization, reminding them that Umatilla voters did not join the statewide majority in passing Measure 91. ³7KH YRWHUV VSRNH DQG they’re the ones who drove this decision,” he said. “The west side wanted it, EXW IRONV RXW KHUH WKH\¶UH a little more conservative and they’re not there yet.” &RXQFLORU0HO5D\VDLG he had been “up in the air” about whether to pass the ordinance banning dispen- saries until the council’s Aug. 3 meeting, when planning commissioner Boyd Sharp pointed out that a new ordinance can always replace the ban if the council felt new circumstances warranted it. The city’s morato- rium, which was already extended once, runs out Thursday. The city has no regulations in place for commercial marijuana operations after sending the planning commission EDFN WR WKH GUDZLQJ board on a proposed set of commercial zone regulations the council had planned to pass earlier in the summer. 5D\ VDLG WR KLP LW VHHPHG OLNH D ³YHU\ reasonable move” to pass a ban under those circum- stances. Steve Bunn, owner of Honey Bunnz Hideout, blasted the council for both its anti-dispensary stance and for declining to consider his petition to host DEHHUJDUGHQQH[WZHHNWR celebrate the strip club’s “The west side wanted it, but folks out here, they’re a little more conserva- tive and they’re not there yet.” — Roak TenEyck, Umatilla City Council member one year anniversary. He said the council shouldn’t single out certain business owners to treat differently. “You guys chase every business out of town,” he said. 6WHYH 5RGDUWH DQG William McMillan, who WHVWL¿HG DW SUHYLRXV PHHW- ings in favor of allowing Umatilla residents to purchase medical mari- juana locally, also urged the council not to ban marijuana dispensaries at the beginning of the meeting. Despite the council unanimously passing an ordinance prohibiting commercial marijuana activity within city limits, 7HQ(\FNVDLGKHGLGDSSUH- ciate the tenacity of those who had returned meeting after meeting to testify on the issue. “If we could get that NLQG RI HQHUJ\ EHKLQG some of those other things ZHQHHGWRWDNHFDUHRIZH could do so much,” he said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastore- gonian.com or 541-564- 4536. 3234 S.W. Nye Pendleton, OR Join us at 5 pm on August 20 th for our for our annual ROUND-UP BBQ! ROUND-UP QUEEN & COURT HAPPY CANYON PRINCESSES MAIN STREET COWBOYS SIDE SADDLERS GOOD FOOD GREAT ENTERTAINMENT WITH VENUES INSIDE AND OUT.