NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
HERMISTON
Portland leaders criticize
state pollution response
By FEDOR ZARKHIN
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — Oregon health
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within a half mile of two Portland
glass factories not to eat backyard
vegetables, even as authorities
moved to quell public concern
over elevated levels of carcino-
genic metals found in the area.
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it would pay for urine screenings
of Portland residents who couldn’t
afford to test for the presence of
metals such as cadmium, which
turned up in tree moss samples
near Uroboros glass in North
Portland and Bullseye Glass in
Southeast.
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announced that an initial study of
cancer data for the neighborhood
around Bullseye Glass found
no heightened incidence of the
illness.
Oregon’s top environmental
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remarks since his agency revealed
Feb. 3 that it had detected levels
of airborne toxic metals that raised
people’s cancer risks many times
above state benchmarks.
“We as an agency are not doing
enough to prevent — to reduce or
prevent — emissions from these
kinds of industrial facilities,”
said Dick Pedersen, director of
the Department of Environmental
Quality. “We need to do more.”
The director promised to start
working in March on changing
state rules that made the pollution
possible, while U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., said the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
was eyeing tighter rules for glass
makers.
Yet even as state and federal
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they were working on solutions,
local leaders indicated that they
are close to taking matters into
their own hands.
In a letter to Gov. Kate Brown
on Thursday slamming Pedersen’s
agency, Portland Mayor Charlie
Hales and Multnomah County
Commissioner Deborah Kafoury
said they intend to explore an
autonomous air pollution agency
for Portland that would supplant
the Department of Environmental
Quality.
“We believe, strongly, that your
leadership will force long overdue
accountability and action” for
the state environmental quality
department, the letter said.
The series of pronouncements
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Strong winds knock out power
ahead of a community meeting for
North Portland neighbors of one
of the glass companies, Uroboros.
The atmosphere contrasted
starkly with the muted response
that fueled outrage at a commu-
nity meeting Feb. 9.
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people from the area around Bull-
seye. Pedersen sat in the second
row and did not speak.
At Thursday’s gathering at
Harriet Tubman Middle School,
Pedersen sat with more than a
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the audience.
The public applauded after
Pedersen acknowledged problems
in regulations. But he continued
to take criticism — and respond
to it — on behalf of his agency
in a question-and-answer session
IROORZLQJ RWKHU RI¿FLDOV¶ SUHVHQ-
tations.
The Oregon Public Health
Division said vegetables grown
close to Bullseye Glass and Urob-
oros Glass could contain harmful
levels of chromium, arsenic and
cadmium.
The warning, coming in
wintertime, carried more reso-
nance than any immediate impact
on eating. It marked a public
DFNQRZOHGJPHQWRIVSHFL¿FZD\V
in which the health risks of toxic
metal emissions could be tangible.
Some families are having urine
tests done to check for harmful
levels of the metals. Any test
above a safe level will be sent to
the Oregon Public Health Divi-
sion, said Dr. Paul Cieslak, the
state’s director of communicable
disease. He announced at the
meeting that the state will pay for
the tests for any families who need
it, but asked that residents have the
testing done by their physicians if
they can.
The tests cost about $35 to $50
each, Cieslak said.
Regulators have known for
years that Portland has high levels
of the heavy metal cadmium in
the air, but didn’t know until 2015
what the likely sources were. They
got their answer in May, when
U.S. Forest Service researchers
gave the department data from a
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concentrations in moss.
The department’s own air
monitoring found arsenic levels
were 159 times higher than the
state’s safety goal in Southeast
Portland and cadmium levels were
49 times higher. The department
got the results Jan. 20 and told the
public Feb. 3.
East Oregonian
Strong wind gusts caused havoc
in Hermiston on Friday afternoon,
including a widespread power
failure and property damage.
The windstorm, with speeds
above 50 mph, knocked out power
on a 115 kilovolt line transmission
line serving Umatilla Electric
Cooperative and Hermiston Energy
Services at 2:08 p.m., temporarily
disabling seven substations affecting
9,935 customers in Hermiston, Echo
and Umatilla. By 2:41 p.m. Umatilla
Electric Cooperative reported that
power was “partially restored” and
crews were continuing to work
on the problem. By 4:30 p.m.
spokesman Steve Myers said power
was restored to all but 739 Herm-
iston customers, who were affected
by a separate incident where a tree
tore down wires near the Hermiston
Butte. Those customers regained
power shortly before 5 p.m.
According to the National
Weather Service in Pendleton, wind
speeds at the Hermiston Airport
reached 53 mph at the front of the
squall line. Several people reported
seeing a tornado, but Mary Wister,
WKH VFLHQFH DQG RSHUDWLRQV RI¿FHU
for the NWS, said none had been
FRQ¿UPHG
At Hermiston Cinema on
Theater Lane, a wind gust blew
the building’s HVAC system off
the roof, dropping it on the gravel
parking area on the north side of the
building. Hermiston Fire & Emer-
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Spotty showers in
the afternoon
50° 31°
50° 32°
Partly sunny
TUESDAY
Mostly cloudy
Sunshine mixing
with some clouds
50° 27°
51° 28°
49° 29°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
51° 29°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
54°
48°
68° (1930)
39°
30°
8° (2006)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.03"
0.81"
0.78"
2.32"
1.49"
2.16"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
58°
49°
66° (1995)
40°
29°
9° (1936)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.04"
0.34"
0.65"
1.44"
1.05"
1.93"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
Feb 22
Mar 1
53° 26°
52° 27°
51° 28°
Seattle
51/39
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6:50 a.m.
5:28 p.m.
3:47 p.m.
5:29 a.m.
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WEDNESDAY
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
TODAY
EUGENE (AP) — A Coquille pastor and his wife
who were convicted of tax evasion have pleaded
JXLOW\WR¿OLQJIDOVHDQGYLQGLFWLYHOLHQVDJDLQVW
IHGHUDORI¿FLDOVLQYROYHGLQWKHLUFDVH
The Register-Guard reports that 72-year-old
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false retaliatory liens against District Judge Ann
$LNHQ0DJLVWUDWH-XGJH7KRPDV&RI¿Q&OHUNRIWKH
Court Mary Moran and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott
Bradford. His wife Dorthea Joling pleaded guilty to
¿OLQJDIDOVHOLHQDJDLQVW$LNHQZKRKDQGOHGWKHLUWD[
evasion trial in 2014.
The Jolings were convicted of tax evasion and
WKHQÀHGWR$UL]RQDWRDYRLGVHQWHQFLQJ7KH\ZHUH
later arrested by U.S. marshals and are both serving
prison terms.
PORTLAND (AP) — A Muslim advocacy
group is asking authorities to look into the death
of an Oregon man as a possible hate crime.
The Oregonian reports that the Council on
American-Islamic Relations has asked the
:DVKLQJWRQ&RXQW\6KHULII¶V2I¿FHWRLQYHVWLJDWH
whether the death of 68-year-old Abdul Jamil
Kamawal was motivated by anti-Islamic
sentiments.
Kamawal was found dead outside his family’s
suburban Portland home Feb. 10 without his shoes
on. Because Muslims remove their shoes during
prayer, Rabah Khamis, a volunteer at Kamawal’s
mosque, says some believe Kamawal was praying
when he was killed in Tigard.
Authorities arrested Michael Troxell, who was
arraigned Thursday on a count of murder.
Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Bob Ray says
investigators have neither enough evidence to
indicate or rule out a hate crime. He says federal
authorities have asked for information on the
investigation.
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www.eastoregonian.com
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Portland
Enterprise
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The Dalles 55/29
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47/30
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Albany
Corvallis 52/35
52/35
John Day
48/29
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
52/30
53/34
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Caldwell
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51/27
40/19
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
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Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
52
43
46
54
40
42
53
48
55
48
46
47
42
54
53
56
52
57
50
53
48
53
44
43
51
51
53
Lo
41
23
27
42
19
23
34
27
29
29
25
30
28
34
43
43
30
29
31
38
25
34
28
24
37
34
28
W
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Sun.
Hi
54
44
50
54
43
46
53
49
51
56
49
49
46
52
53
55
52
51
50
51
52
53
44
48
49
50
50
Lo
41
22
27
43
19
27
36
30
29
39
27
29
28
36
42
42
31
29
32
39
23
36
29
28
37
36
29
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
r
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sf
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WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
39
65
61
55
77
27
55
58
44
79
55
Lo
16
58
48
52
42
15
50
41
20
72
52
W
s
c
pc
r
s
pc
sh
s
pc
t
r
Sun.
Hi
42
65
57
58
79
20
55
60
38
80
58
Lo
20
61
44
42
46
17
45
48
19
71
42
W
s
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c
sh
s
s
pc
pc
WINDS
Medford
54/34
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
46/25
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Eastern Washington: Clouds, then some sun
north, near the Idaho border and mountains;
partly sunny in south, central and Cascades.
Cascades: Times of clouds and sun today;
a morning snow shower in spots across
the north.
Northern California: Mostly cloudy today;
warmer in central parts. Partly cloudy
tonight; cold.
Today
Sunday
WSW 4-8
WSW 4-8
NW 3-6
W 3-6
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Clouds and sun today.
Mostly cloudy tonight; a shower in spots
across the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Clouds and
sun today; cloudy in the morning, then
some sun across the north in the afternoon.
Western Washington: Variable cloudiness
today; a shower in spots at the coast during
the morning.
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no structural damage.
Guardian Angel Homes reported
that they lost part of their roof to the
gust, but the interior of the home
remained intact and no one was
injured. Their construction site for
their new buildings also suffered
damage, including broken windows,
moderate siding damage and a
destroyed fence.
Other Hermiston residents
posted photos and descriptions
on Facebook of damage to their
property or workplace, including
uprooted trees and missing shingles
and gutters.
gency Services and Cascade Natural
Gas responded after employees
reported smelling gas.
At Shelco Electric a parked
semi-truck blew over on its side,
landing on a pickup truck. A Shelco
employee said no one was in either
vehicle when it happened. Herm-
iston Fire & Emergency Services
assisted in cleaning up diesel leaking
from the truck.
At Good Shepherd Medical
Center a jumble of metal siding and
debris stripped from the building
landed on the south side of the
campus. It looked calamitous, but
spokesman Nick Bejarano described
Coquille pastor, wife plead guilty
Oregon man killed; Muslim
advocacy group fears hate crime in false liens case
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333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
2I¿FHKRXUV0RQGD\WKURXJK)ULGD\DPWRSP
&ORVHGPDMRUKROLGD\V
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A “squall line” blew a parked semi-truck onto a pickup truck
Friday afternoon at Shelco Electric in Hermiston.
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
Saturday, February 20, 2016
0
1
2
2
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Milder air will pour into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic today with
warm air also dominating the southern tier of the nation. Drier weather will return to the
Northwest.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 92° in McAllen, Texas
Low -11° in Watertown, N.Y.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
73
69
57
64
50
70
49
53
72
64
56
58
78
61
55
82
13
38
81
80
64
76
71
74
72
73
Lo
40
53
46
41
27
58
32
38
53
49
33
32
62
28
31
49
0
20
69
63
40
50
40
49
60
51
W
pc
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pc
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Sun.
Hi
69
69
57
59
50
68
52
50
73
57
41
42
71
49
43
78
32
26
81
79
51
78
58
76
71
79
Lo
37
54
40
37
32
52
34
30
56
36
27
24
50
28
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45
8
22
68
61
31
53
33
49
48
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Today
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Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
68
71
75
48
44
65
77
60
80
63
65
85
48
53
65
56
56
64
73
49
69
60
51
83
65
72
Lo
55
61
67
32
30
57
60
43
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35
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32
37
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Sun.
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61
70
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39
37
64
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53
69
52
58
86
48
52
70
49
62
68
55
48
73
64
50
84
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Lo
37
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24
41
61
35
42
29
37
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23
30
50
23
32
42
35
33
54
49
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33
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
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