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received more
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Continued from 1A
money, the residents end up
with a $14 million facility. As
an investment, he said, that is
a “no brainer.´
The county over the last
four years has put more than
$3.6 million into EOTEC,
not including the $600,000
promised at the last meeting,
according to county ¿gures.
The biggest chunk came
from the $3,006,619 the
county received in 2012 after
selling the fairgrounds to the
Hermiston School District.
The district will use that
property to expand Hermiston
High School.
In addition, the county
paid $107,500 for half of
the purchase price of access
property south of the EOTEC
site. And the county — along
with the city of Hermiston —
put up $25,000 a year for the
center’s operating costs. The
county also paid $14,727 to
cover some project expenses,
including a $12,280 cultural
study. Umatilla County also
passed along $410,130 it
received from a federal grant.
When the Hermiston City
Council voted at its Oct. 26
meeting to give $600,000 to
EOTEC, city manager Byron
Smith told councilors the
city had enough money in its
reserves to meet the request.
Smith was out of town
at a conference Friday, but
assistant city manager Mark
Morgan said while it was
possible some portion of the
money could end up coming
from another fund, enough
money was in the general
fund to cover the request
completely.
“We have a pretty healthy
fund balance we’ve been
rolling over every year, so it
shouldn’t be an issue,´ he said.
Hermiston general fund’s
ending balance was about
$3.2 million in September,
according to the September
2015 ¿nancial report. And the
city expects more revenue as
property taxes begin to roll in
this month.
Hermiston’s
¿nancial
policy requires a minimum
reserve of at least 15 percent
of annual budgeted operating
expenses, which for 2015-
2016 would be $1.36 million.
Morgan said if the city cuts
a check to EOTEC before
the end of the ¿scal year, the
council will have to approve
a formal budget amendment.
He said the council will also
need to approve an ordinance
allowing hoteliers to raise the
Tourism Promotion Assess-
ment by $1 per room per night
to raise their portion of the
EOTEC funding.
Elfering said EOTEC
should be able to generate
enough money to cover oper-
ating costs and even create a
rainy day fund once it is up
and running. The center will
be able to host events the fair-
grounds cannot, he said, and
that would mean more money
in the coffers.
“I just don’t know why it
wouldn’t work,´ he said.
And covering the county’s
EOTEC bill also will work,
he said. Getting there, though,
could mean emptying some
county funds and raiding
others.
———
East Oregonian reporter
Jade McDowell contributed to
this story. Contact Phil Wright
at pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
Russia suspends
ÀLJKWVWR(J\SW
MOSCOW (AP) — In
an abrupt turnaround,
Russia on Friday suspended
all passenger Àights to
Egypt after days of resisting
U.S. and British suggestions
that a bomb may have
brought down a Russian
plane in the Sinai Peninsula
a week ago.
The move dealt a sharp
blow to both countries’
tourism sectors amid fears
about security in Egypt.
Russia’s federal aviation
agency said airlines would
be allowed to send empty
planes to bring home
travelers, but it was unclear
when the Russians in Egypt,
estimated to number at
least 40,000, would be able
to return home as planned
from the Red Sea resorts
including Sharm el-Sheikh.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Obama quashes Keystone XL
in bid to boost climate leverage
By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
Long road to rejection
WASHINGTON — Ending a
seven-year political saga, President
Barack Obama killed the proposed
Keystone XL pipeline on Friday,
declaring it would have undercut
U.S. efforts to clinch a global
climate change deal at the center of
his environmental legacy.
Obama’s decision marked an
unambiguous victory for environ-
mental activists who spent years
denouncing the pipeline, lobbying
the administration and even chaining
themselves to tractors to make their
point about the threat posed by dirty
fossil fuels. It also places the presi-
dent and fellow Democrats in direct
confrontation with Republicans and
energy advocates heading into the
2016 presidential election.
The president, announcing his
decision at the White House, said
he agreed with a State Department
conclusion that Keystone wouldn’t
advance U.S. national interests. He
lamented that both political parties
had ³overinÀated´ Keystone into
a proxy battle for climate change
but glossed over his own role in
allowing the controversy to drag out
over several national elections.
“This pipeline would neither be a
silver bullet for the economy, as was
promised by some, nor the express
lane to climate disaster proclaimed
by others,´ he said.
Although Obama in 2013
said his litmus test for Keystone
would be whether it increased U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions, his ¿nal
decision appeared based on other
factors. He didn’t broach that topic
in his remarks, and State Department
of¿cials said they’d determined
Keystone wouldn’t signi¿cantly
affect carbon pollution levels.
Instead, the administration cited
the “broad perception´ that Keystone
would carry “dirty´ oil, and suggested
approval would raise questions abroad
about whether the U.S. was serious
about climate change.
“Frankly, approving this project
would have undercut that global
leadership,´ the president said.
Obama will travel to Paris at
the end of the month for talks on a
global climate agreement, which the
president hopes will be the crowning
jewel for his environmental legacy.
Killing the pipeline allows Obama
to claim aggressive action, strength-
Sept. 19, 2008 — TransCana-
da submits an application for a
presidential permit for the Key-
stone XL pipeline. The pipeline
would extend from Canada’s
tar sands through Montana,
South Dakota and Nebraska
and connect with existing
pipelines to carry more than
800,000 barrels of crude oil
a day to specialized refineries
along the Texas Gulf Coast. Be-
cause the pipeline crosses the
border, the State Department
must determine whether it is in
the national interest.
Oct. 15, 2010 — As the per-
mit is reviewed, then Secre-
tary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton says the department is
“inclined” to approve project.
“We’re either going to be de-
pendent on dirty oil from the
Gulf or dirty oil from Canada,”
she said. The project begins
to galvanize the environmen-
tal movement to pressure
the administration to act on
climate change. Republicans
and other project supporters
argue the project will create
jobs and juice the economy.
Aug. 26, 2011 — The State
Department issues its final en-
vironmental impact statement
determining “there would be
no significant impacts to most
resources along the proposed
project corridor.”
June 25, 2013 — Obama
declares he will only approve
the project if it doesn’t worsen
carbon pollution.
Feb. 19, 2014 — A Nebraska
judge overturns the state law
that allowed the pipeline, throw-
ing the project into legal limbo.
April 18, 2014 — The State
Department announces it is
again delaying its review, cit-
ing the legal dispute over the
Nebraska route.
Feb. 11, 2015 — Congress
again tries to push the Obama
administration to decide on the
permit by passing legislation
forcing the decision and sending
it to the White House. Obama
vetoes the bill days later.
Sept. 22, 2015 — Clinton,
now seeking the Democratic
nomination for president, says
she opposes construction of
the Keystone pipeline.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conversation Voters,
speaks during a gathering in front of the White House to celebrate
President Barack Obama’s rejection of the proposed Keystone XL
pipeline Friday in Washington.
ening his hand as world leaders
gather in France.
Though environmental groups
hailed Friday as a “day of celebra-
tion,´ Obama’s decision was unlikely
to be the last word for Keystone XL.
TransCanada, the company
behind the proposal, said it remained
“absolutely committed´ to building
the project and was considering
¿ling a new application for permits.
The company has previously raised
the possibility of suing the U.S. to
recoup the more than $2 billion it
says it has already spent on develop-
ment.
“Today, misplaced symbolism
was chosen over merit and science.
Rhetoric won out over reason,´ said
TransCanada CEO Russ Girling. His
criticism was echoed by Republicans
including House Speaker Paul Ryan,
who said Obama had rejected tens of
thousands of jobs while railroading
Congress.
“This decision isn’t surprising,
but it is sickening,´ Ryan said.
On the other side, climate activists
noted the widespread assumption
early in Obama’s presidency that
he’d eventually approve Keystone,
and said his apparent about-face
proved how effective a no-holds-
barred advocacy campaign could be.
“Now every fossil fuel project
around the world is under siege,´
said Bill McKibben of the environ-
mental group 350.org.
Already, the issue has spilled
over into the presidential race. The
Republican ¿eld is unanimous
in support of Keystone, while
the Democratic candidates are
all opposed — including Hillary
Rodham Clinton, who oversaw the
early part of the federal review as
Obama’s ¿rst-term secretary of state.
TransCanada ¿rst applied for
Keystone permits 2,604 days ago in
September 2008 — shortly before
Obama was elected. As envisioned,
Keystone would snake from Cana-
da’s tar sands through Montana,
South Dakota and Nebraska, then
connect with existing pipelines to
carry more than 800,000 barrels of
crude oil a day to speciali]ed re¿n-
eries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
But Democrats and environ-
mental groups latched onto Keystone
as just the type of project that must
be phased out if the world is to
seriously combat climate change.
Meanwhile, Republicans, Canadian
politicians and the energy industry
argued the pipeline would create
thousands of jobs and inject billions
into the economy. They accused
Obama of hypocrisy for complaining
about a lack of U.S. infrastructure
investment while obstructing an $8
billion project.
Amid vote after vote in Congress
to try to force Obama’s hand, the
president seemed content to delay
further and further. Most pipelines
wait roughly a year and a half for
permits to cross the U.S. border, but
Keystone’s review dragged on more
than 5 times as long as average,
according to a recent Associated
Press analysis.
Mormon church issues rules
for gay members, their kids
SALT LAKE CITY
(AP) — Mormon church
of¿cials have issued a rule
change that says members
in same-sex marriages can
be kicked out and their
children must wait until
they’re 18 and disavow
homosexual relationships
to be baptized.
The revisions triggered
a wave of anger, confusion
and sadness for a growing
faction of LGBT-sup-
portive Mormons who
were buoyed in recent years
by church leaders’ calls
for more compassion and
understanding for LGBT
members.
“It feels like they are
extending an olive branch
and hitting you with it,´
said Wendy Montgomery,
who is Mormon and has a
17-year-old gay son. “It’s
like this emotional whip-
lash.´
The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints
disseminated the handbook
changes this week to local
church leaders around
the world. The goal was
to provide clarity to lay
leaders who run congrega-
tions, church spokesman
Eric Hawkins said. He
noted the church has long
been on record as opposing
same-sex marriages.
“While it respects the law
of the land, and acknowl-
edges the right of others to
think and act differently, it
does not perform or accept
same-sex marriage within
its membership,´ Hawkins
said in a statement.
Montgomery
said
Friday the news left her
son sobbing and forced
her and her husband to
consider leaving a religion
they’ve belonged to for
generations.
Free Car Seat Check
November 13, 2015
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
St. Anthony Hospital Parking Lot
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C o ntes t
Help us decorate
the East Oregonian’s
Christmas tree
and win a prize!
3 Categories:
Ages 2-6, 7-10 & 11-14
Deadline December 11, 2015
Winner announced
December 19, 2015
Bring us an ornament decorated by your child by December 11 th
along with the form below with your signature. The winner will
be announced in the Dec. 19th issue of the East Oregonian.
For more information, call Paula at 1-800-522-0255
Child’s Name
Child’s Age
Your Name
7 out of 10 children are improperly restrained
for travel. Come and get your seat checked by a
Child Passenger Safety Technician and make
sure your child is as safe as possible!
For more information, call 541-278-2627
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
www.sahpendleton.org
Yes, I give permission to include photos of my child
with ornament in the East Oregonian
Your Signature
Your Phone Number
Deliver to:
East Oregonian
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR
or e-mail to classifieds@eastoregonian.com