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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2015)
77/53 SPORTS/1B SCHMIDT BLOSSOMS AT CARROLL Woman, 89, charged with hate crime REGION/3A TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2015 139th Year, No. 253 WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD 12 nations ink out trade deal One dollar BOARDMAN Gas giant on horizon Plant will provide power to 840,000 west-side users Wheat growers cheer pact; Congress will get final say WASHINGTON (AP) — Having hammered out an ambitious trade deal with 11 Paci¿ c Rim countries, the Obama admin- istration now faces a potentially tougher task: selling the deal to a skeptical Congress. The countries reached a contentious trade pact Monday that cuts trade barriers, sets labor and environmental standards and protects multinational corporations’ intel- lectual property after marathon negotiating sessions in Atlanta through the weekend. The Trans-Paci¿ c Partnership is designed to encourage trade between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. “This partnership Together, the countries levels the playing account for 40 percent fi eld for our farm- of world ers, ranchers, and economic output. manufacturers by “We think it eliminating more helps de¿ ne the rules of the road than 18,000 for the Asia-Pa- ci¿ c region,” taxes that various said U.S. Trade countries put on Rep. Michael Froman. our products.” For Pres- — President Barack Obama ident Barack Obama, the trade deal is a major victory on a centerpiece of his international agenda. Obama has pursued the pact against the objections of many lawmakers in his own Democratic Party and instead forged rare consensus with Republicans. Trade unions and other critics say the deal will expose American workers to foreign competition and cost jobs. Given the oppo- sition, the pact’s “fate in Congress is at best uncertain,” said Lori Wallach, a leading TPP critic and director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. Obama has cast the agreement as good for Americans workers and crucial to countering China and expanding U.S. inÀ uence in the Asia-Paci¿ c. See TRADE/10A By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Contributed photo by Michael Durham Parts of the steam turbine await installation during construction of the Carty Generating Sta- tion in August 2015. Pendleton Guard unit to provide heavy lifting against Islamic State By SEAN HART East Oregonian Family, friends and dignitaries gathered Saturday to bid farewell to a group of citizen soldiers who will soon take time away from their loved ones and careers in service of their country. About 60 Oregon Army National Guard soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment, were honored in a mobilization ceremony at the Army Aviation Support Facility at the Pendleton airport before deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Oregon Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins said the regiment would aid in United States and allied efforts against “the so-called Islamic State ... a true enemy of humanity.” “On behalf of Gov. Kate Brown, commander in chief of the Oregon National Guard, and for all of my fellow Oregonians, I am deeply honored to be here today and to have this chance to say how proud we are of all of you as you prepare to embark on a mission that is vital to our long-term security and that of our allies over seas,” she said. “... The name of the operation is very telling. It reÀ ects our shared determination and our ¿ rm resolve to turn back the tide of violent fanaticism that threatens countless innocent lives and has See GUARD/10A The road to Portland General Electric’s new 440-megawatt natural gas-¿ red power plant in Boardman is lined with stray onions, irrigation pivots and the lingering smell of beef cattle. Yet among this isolated stretch of farmland is an all-too-perfect intersection of water, gas and transmission lines to feed the steel beast under construction on the Eastern Oregon countryside. :hen ¿ nished, the Carty Generating Station will provide a dependable base load of electricity over the Cascades to roughly 840,000 PGE customers in the Portland metro area south to Salem. Of¿ cials say the plant should come online by mid-2016. PGE is certainly no stranger to the Boardman area. The Carty plant — named for the nearby Carty Reservoir — lies within a stone’s throw of the existing Boardman Coal Plant on Tower Road, while the Coyote Springs Gener- ating Station cranks out about 350 megawatts of power at the Port of Morrow industrial park. Carty is designed for a 30-year lifespan, tapping into the TransCanada gas pipeline 25 miles away in Ione. Natural gas will eventually rush to the station via a 20-inch-diameter pipeline buried four feet underground, weaving its way around crop circles and the nature conservancy. Project manager Jaisen Mody oversees the enormous development, which includes 600 construction workers running cranes, welders and a multitude of heavy machinery See GAS/10A PENDLETON Wheat growers called to engage with CBARC 3 scientists retire in last 2 years By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Staff photo by Sean Hart Oregon Army National Guard Sgt. August Radke hugs his 6-year-old daughter, Carleigh, before a mobilization cer- emony Saturday at the Pendleton airport. Radke is one of about 60 citizen soldiers being deployed to Kuwait to transport personnel and equipment using Chinook heli- copters in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center has seen plenty of turnover in just over two years. Three longtime scientists are now gone from the Pendleton station, including former director Steve Petrie, who left in 2013 for a job in the private sector. Agronomist Dan Ball and plant pathologist Richard Smiley also retired, taking decades of knowledge and experience with them. Local wheat farmers depend on CBARC — run by the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences — for the latest information on new crop varieties and growing techniques that can help them save money and increase production. After losing so many familiar faces, univer- sity and industry leaders say it will take time to forge new relationships, but they remain committed to working together. Blake Rowe, CEO of the Oregon Wheat Growers League, wrote a column for the October edition of Oregon Wheat Magazine reminding growers they too have a role in outreach. “There’s new people, new personalities. It’s See CBARC/10A
