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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2015)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Thursday, November 19, 2015 ODOT: Would only reduce carbon emission by roughly 20 percent of original 2.02 million metric tons over a decade negotiations, I demanded Gov. Brown immediately could achieve that through request the resignation of a package of alternative fuel Director Garrett due to incentives and spending to gross incompetency at best improve public transit and and dishonest manipulation UHGXFHWUDI¿FFRQJHVWLRQ at worst,” Ferrioli said in a One part of the plan written statement. “Whether in particular resulted in Director Garrett knew the immediate skepticism by numbers ODOT provided environmentalists: proposed the workgroup were wrong technological improve- or he simply failed to provide PHQWV LQ WUDI¿F ÀRZV the updated numbers in his that were supposed to cut possession, his decision carbon emissions by 2.02 to surprise workgroup million metric tons over a members with new numbers decade. Together with other in a public hearing without components of the plan, any advance warning led these improvements were to the demise of a critical, supposed to reduce carbon bipartisan transportation emissions by as much as infrastructure package for 9.1 million to 11.22 million Oregonians that would metric tons over a decade. have resulted in real carbon Garrett said on June 24 the reduction.” technological improve- Records obtained by ments would yield roughly )HUULROL¶V RI¿FH VKRZHG 20 percent of the amount as early as June 8, Garrett calculated originally for and Brown’s sustainable the bipartisan group, which communities and transporta- meant the transportation tion policy adviser Karmen package would no longer Fore received emails from achieve the same amount of ODOT staff with lower carbon reductions predicted carbon reduction estimates. from the low-carbon fuel Amanda Pietz, manager standard. of ODOT’s transportation Ferrioli revealed on planning unit, wrote in the Wednesday that he had also email that a computer model asked the governor to seek had predicted that $400 Garrett’s resignation soon million in technological after the hearing. improvements to improve “In June, following the WUDI¿F ÀRZ FRXOG UHGXFH implosion of transportation carbon emissions by 2.02 million metric tons over a decade. Nonetheless, transpor- WDWLRQ RI¿FLDOV FRQWLQXHG to provide documents to the bipartisan group of lawmakers negotiating the transportation package — known as the Gang of Eight — that showed the state could achieve the same 2.02 million metric ton reduction in carbon emissions at half the price, $200 million over a decade. The ODOT estimates continued to sink lower, with Garrett passing along an updated prediction of 0.87 million metric tons in carbon reduction from $200 million in transportation improvements in a June 10 email to Fore and Brown’s energy policy adviser Margi Hoffman. However, ODOT and the governor’s advisers continued to tell lawmakers LQ XSGDWHG EULH¿QJ GRFX- ments that they could achieve 2.02 million metric tons in carbon reductions for $200 million. On the eve of the legis- lative hearing on the trans- portation package, Garrett asked his staff to double- check the numbers. Angela Crowley-Koch, legislative director for the Oregon Environmental Council, also questioned the calcula- Continued from 1A HORNECK: Scholarship fund also established in his name a chance to spur collaboration between OSU and BMCC. community, Horneck was an All these developments will avid rock hound, member of allow HAREC researchers to the Hermiston Lions Club, do things they’ve never been church leader and youth able to do before, Hamm said. soccer referee “I don’t want our faculty “Anything he was involved to be limited by facilities,” he in, he gave his heart and soul,” said. “If they’re successful, our Vicki Horneck said. “I think growers will be successful.” that’s what people loved about Nobody understood that him. He was a very giving better than Horneck, Hamm person.” said. The two worked closely Now, the community is together over the years and giving back to Horneck’s became fast friends. memory. While the OSU “Don meant a lot to us, College of Agricultural and a lot to this experiment Sciences provided $60,000 for station,” Hamm said. “If you the new $300,000 building, didn’t know Don, you missed the rest came out of donations out.” from local farms, businesses, Bryan Wolfe, chairman trade groups and the station of the HAREC advisory researchers themselves. committee, said the building A memorial scholarship will help to carry on Horneck’s fund has also been established legacy. in Horneck’s name, for “What Don advanced and students studying agronomy brought to our operations can’t and soil sciences. be measured,” said Wolfe, a “Everybody has done so Hermiston farmer. “He was many things to memorialize always thinking outside the him,” Vicki Horneck said. box.” “Those people who didn’t Dan Arp, dean of the know him will be able to see OSU College of Agricultural what he meant to all of us.” Sciences, also spoke at the Phil Hamm, station ceremony and thanked the director, said the Don Horneck donors who made the project building is a much-welcomed happen. addition to the HAREC Though Arp said he didn’t campus, which continues to know Horneck as well as grow. The 290-acre property others, he did get a chance added a pair of new green- to take a tour of the research houses in the spring, and plans station with Horneck during WREXLOGIRXUQHZRI¿FHVQHDU RQHRIWKHVLWH¶V¿HOGGD\V WKHFXUUHQWRI¿FHEXLOGLQJ “He exuded pride and Of course, Hamm said they enthusiasm for this station,” are excited to break ground in $USVDLG³<RXKDYHDWHUUL¿F late winter or early spring on group of individuals who the new $3.3 million precision serve you as growers, and irrigation center approved in serve the community. This the Blue Mountain Commu- building is really a tremen- nity College bond. The project dous gift to them, and allows is not only a great opportunity them to do their work more for students, Hamm said, but effectively.” Continued from 1A POPULATION: Irrigon had largest growth rate at 2.4 percent Boardman accounted for all of the growth. cycle (where growth leads to Irrigon had the largest more growth),” he said. “It’s growth rate at 2.4 percent, much better to be in a virtuous adding 45 residents for a total cycle than a death spiral. If of 1,930. The city added 50 you’re losing population, it residents the previous year doesn’t make sense for busi- — a 2.7-percent growth rate nesses to open in the area.” — and City Manager Aaron According to U.S. Census Palmquist said the growth data, Hermiston has grown by will improve the community’s 33.2 percent, 4,366 residents, livability, culture and stability since 2000 — including 775 in the future. residents since 2010. “I know that as we see in Pendleton — which has all areas — whether it’s our only grown by 3 percent since SROLFHDQG¿UHRURXUVFKRROV 2000 — added 145 residents any type of service which this year, a 0.9-percent cities are — there are going increase to a total of 16,845. to be some increases on the The previous year, the city demand for services, but lost 80 residents with a overall I think it’s going to be 0.5-percent decrease. positive,” he said. At 1.3 percent, Athena Boardman added 60 had the largest growth rate residents to a total of 3,505 in Umatilla County, adding with a 1.7-percent growth 15 residents for a total of rate — higher than the 1,140. Milton-Freewater previous year’s rate of 1.2 and Umatilla each added 10 percent. Since 2000, the city residents with a 0.1-percent has grown by 22.8 percent, increase to 7,070 and 7,060, adding 650 residents. UHVSHFWLYHO\ 6WDQ¿HOG DOVR Statewide, 51,135 residents added 10 residents with a were added since the previous 0.5-percent growth rate to year, and the 1.3-percent 2,125. While Milton-Free- growth rate carried Oregon water’s rate increased from beyond the four-million the previous year when no milestone to 4,013,845 total new residents were added, residents. Since 2000, the state the rates for Umatilla and has grown by 17.3 percent, 6WDQ¿HOGERWKGHFUHDVHGIURP adding 592,446 residents. the previous year. Umatilla County has Morrow County main- grown by 12.2 percent — tained its 0.9-percent growth 8,607 residents — since 2000, rate for a second consecutive and Morrow County has year, adding 105 residents to grown by 5.8 percent — 635 a total of 11,630. Irrigon and residents. Continued from 1A QUIT: E-cigarettes not on the list of FDA-approved interventions Continued from 1A Eighteen percent of the county’s 11th graders smoke. Jones stays posi- tive. “The amount of kids smoking has come down,” she said. “We’ve made progress.” Smokers aren’t blind to the long list of health risks associated with smoking — cancer, pulmonary disease, stroke, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and more. Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is the leading preventable cause of death. Then, there’s the cost of smoking. Pack- a-day smokers spend about $1,825 a year. Though smokers have plenty of motivation, many still struggle to pull away. “Every smoker on this planet knows they should quit smoking,” said Kristi Gartland, employee well- ness coordinator for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion and Wildhorse. “It just matters when the time is right for you.” Dayle Stinson, of Pendleton, quit almost cold Ready to quit smoking? Great American Smokeout WHERE: Good Shepherd Medical Center Main lobby, Pharmacy lobby or Medical Group lobby WHEN: Today, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Talk to cessation instructors and wellness experts. Learn insurance options. Receive a quit kit. Turn in tobacco products to become eligible for prizes. turkey a year ago, but the successful attempt came \HDUV DIWHU KHU ¿UVW try. Stinson, a multimedia consultant at the East 2UHJRQLDQ VDLG WKDW ¿UVW time around she quit for six months. She was so cranky that her 10-year-old son told her half-jokingly that she should start smoking again. One day, Stinson walked into the employee breakroom where some co-workers were smoking and asked for a cigarette. ³6RPHRQH ÀLSSHG PH one and that was it,” she recalled. A year ago, Stinson was ¿QDOO\ UHDG\ WR WU\ DJDLQ She smoked e-cigarettes for a few days, then stopped smoking completely. She hasn’t looked back. “It was my time,” she said. The former pack-a-day smoker said her sense of smell has returned and she no longer coughs. Gartland works one on one with CTUIR and Wild- horse smokers who want to quit. Employees who stop for at least six months receive $100. “Ten to 12 people quit that way every year,” she said. She said that Stinson’s experience with quitting is not unusual. “They can smoke for 30, 40 or 50 years and then something triggers a desire to quit,” she said. “If the method, motivation and timing come together, it can happen in the blink of an eye, but you have to be a 10 on the readiness scale.” Gartland believes smoking is more a mental addiction than a physical one. Cigarettes become old friends. “Nicotine leaves the body within 48 hours,” she said, “but people can crave cigarettes for six months.” Jones assures smokers that it’s never too late to quit. As an example, Jones pointed to her own mother, a veteran smoker who ¿QDOO\KDGDKHDUWDWWDFN “She quit smoking in the hospital at age 65,” Jones said. “She’s going to be celebrating her 86th birthday very soon.” She urged smokers to reach out for help. Those who call the toll-free Oregon Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW will receive advice from a quit coach and may be eligible for patches or gum. She said the jury is out on whether vaping helps conquer nicotine additions. “No studies have proven they help people to quit,” Jones said. “E-cigarettes are understudied and under-regulated.” E-cigarettes are not on the list of FDA-approved interventions. The list includes skin patches, nico- tine gum and lozenges and prescription-only medica- tions such as Chantix and Zyban. Jones urged smokers to keep trying to quit. “Don’t give up,” she said. “It’s never a wasted effort. Even quitting for one day shows you have power over nicotine.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810. PILOT ROCK: Has paid about $43,000 so far for no public purpose would probably lose. Councilman Ray Corwin brief stint, paid the $300 a criticized the “good old month to Koch’s widow, boy handshake deal” and Mary Koch. suggested there could be an City recorder Teri Porter escape hatch — terminating told the council at its Tuesday the lease with U.S. Cellular. meeting that after conferring The city has paid about ZLWK WKUHH ODZ ¿UPV LQ $43,000 so far, he said, for recent years, there seems no no public purpose. way out of continuing the Pilot Rock resident John payments. The 2006 city Taylor pointed out using council OKed the checks and public money for no public set a precedent, and if the city purpose could be a viola- stopped and the Koch family tion of Oregon law, and the sues, Porter said, the city council members could be on the hook for that. The council after some deliberation voted unani- mously to have city staff look into terminating the lease. Mary Koch nor her repre- sentatives were present. City staff and councilmen said she refuses to talk to them Continued from 1A and only uses lawyers to communicate. She also did not return a phone message Wednesday to the East Oregonian. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. CHRISTMAS TRIO 12 TH ANNUAL GIFT & CRAFT . - SHOW . - ) Friday, November 20 10am to 5pm Saturday, November 21 9am to 4pm COMFORT FOOD AT HAMLEY’S Walla Walla County Fairgrounds Community Building . New Winter Entrees Pacific Cod, Grandma’s Roast Beef Dinner, Patty Melt, Meatloaf, to name a few…. O P E N S E V E N D A Y S A W E E K ! H AMLEY S TEAK H OUSE & S aloon COURT & MAIN, PENDLETON • 541.278.1100 PAPER...GET YOUR PAPER HERE!!! We have newspaper roll ends available. $1.00 per roll OR Buy one Get 2 FREE!!! Great for crafts, table coverings, make your own wrapping paper. Moving? Great packing material to protect your items. 211 SE Byers Ave. Pendleton ) Free Entrance Door Prizes FREE Hot Dog for Kids 12 & under 597850 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Elaina, 4, and Taylor Jewett, 2, the granddaughters of Don Horneck, look at potato starts in the plant tissue culture room of the new Don Horneck Memorial Build- ing on Wednesday outside of Hermiston. tions in an email to ODOT assistant director Travis Brouwer that evening. “Can we please see the ODOT models for the carbon reductions from transit and transportation operation?” Crowley-Koch wrote. “I’ll admit surprise at the high level of carbon reductions from just $20 mil (annual) investment in transportation operations!” Chris Pair, a press secre- tary for Brown, attributed the failure to pass along updated information to lawmakers to the fast pace “in the waning hours of session” and the complexity of the legislation. “That said, Governor Brown has asked the Oregon Trans- portation Commission to oversee a third-party review of (ODOT’s) management practices,” Pair wrote in an email. Brown did not address her advisers’ handling of the information in a statement issued Wednesday after- noon. “If we are to ask Orego- nians to step up and provide additional resources for our transportation system, WKH\PXVW¿UVWEHFRQ¿GHQW that the resources currently available are being used responsibly,” Brown said in a statement. 333 E Main St. Hermiston For more information: 509-525-7918