NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Citizen-scientists to help swimmers ID bacteria-illed lakes
online at www.rogueriverkeeper.
org and accessible via a free smart-
phone app called “Waterkeeper
Swim Guide” so anyone can get
up-to-date information on the
quality of the water in which they
intend to swim or wade.
With studies showing that most
area streams often exceed water-
quality standards for bacteria at
different times each summer, swim-
mers deserve to know whether their
choices for cooling off are safe
ones, organizers say.
“There’s a lot of agreement
among people that water-contact
safety is a good thing,” says
Frances Oyung, Rogue Riverkeep-
er’s volunteer and water-quality
monitoring coordinator. “This
By MARK FREEMAN
Mail Tribune
MEDFORD — A small army of
citizen-scientists will help Rogue
Valley residents learn whether the
creek or swimming hole they hit
this summer is a good place to cool
off or might be a staph infection in
the making.
The Rogue Riverkeeper orga-
nization is amassing a group of
volunteers to regularly collect water
samples from area creeks, lakes
and rivers this spring and summer
for tests to determine whether these
popular swimming and wading
waters have unhealthful levels of
bacteria.
The information will be posted
makes for a real handy tool for
people to access this information,
and it can become a regular part of
their lives.”
To make that happen, Rogue
Riverkeeper and the state Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality will
hold a training session for potential
volunteers Tuesday at Bear Creek
Park in Medford.
The volunteers will collect
water samples at various locations
and take them to collection points.
Oyung will process the samples in a
mini laboratory at the organization’s
Ashland ofice.
Some, but not all, of the volun-
teers will get tools to also test for
water temperature and turbidity,
Oyung says.
Convicted criminals go free due
to crowded Crook County jail
BEND (AP) — Dozens of
convicted offenders in Crook County
have been set free because of a lack of
jail space.
Crook County’s Public Safety
Advisory Committee is recom-
mending the county build a new jail
as a study found 70 to 90 people
convicted of misdemeanors in any
given month are either released early
or avoid incarceration entirely, The
Bulletin reported. The committee,
created last year, is a group of 21
county residents, none of whom are
public oficials.
“Early on, we decided it’d be
best if we were a committee of
citizens,” committee co-chairman
Mike O’Herron said. “That way it’s
bottom-up as opposed to top-down.
At the same time, we realized we’re
not pros — we’re not experienced law
enforcement or with working in the
courts.”
Based on the study, the committee
is recommending a new jail with at
least 70 beds.
Currently, the county jail has 16
beds and rents an additional 25 beds
for prisoners in the Jefferson County
jail. On average, 103 people per
month were sentenced to jail time
in Crook County between 2014 and
2015, according to the committee’s
report.
Crook County Sheriff Joe Gautney
said the public safety issue that’s
created by convicted offenders
going free might encourage voters to
support a bond measure in November.
Previous efforts to pay for a new
facility have been unsuccessful.
“We’re in a crisis stage,” Gautney
said Friday. “It’s costing us too much
money, and we have too many people
walking the streets who are waiting to
do jail time.”
About 440 inmates were released
early in 2015 based on a matrix system
that helps determine which inmate
can be released if needed, according
to the committee report. The matrix
is a composite score based on the
offender’s criminal history and the
seriousness of the crime committed.
“We had a guy who was arrested
for stealing an antique car, and he was
convicted and put in jail. We had no
space for him — and he got released
and then he got arrested again for
setting a ire in an alley,” Gautney
said. “It’s a revolving door.”
Umatilla Co. opens some roads to ATVs
Umatilla County is planning
a one-year experiment to allow
recreational all-terrain vehicles on
certain gravel roads.
Commissioner Bill Elfering
said Jessie Shaw of Milton-Free-
water approached him last fall to
ask if the county could provide an
area for ATV riders to enjoy their
vehicles.
“We talked about it for a while
and then talked with the county
sheriff and our legal department
and determined it was possible
to do that,” Elfering said. “The
proposal has gone through a lot of
process.”
The proposal would allow the
vehicles in the north part of the
county on certain two-lane gravel
county roads east of Highway
11 and north of Wildhorse Road
(county roads 685, 675W and 652)
and Abel Road (County Road
654). Elfering said that section
made sense because the riders
wanted to be able to take some
county roads into national forest
land.
The new county law would not
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
WEDNESDAY
TODAY
Mostly sunny and
very warm
Not as warm
85° 55°
77° 54°
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Mostly cloudy with
a t-storm
Pleasant with
sunny intervals
SATURDAY
Partly sunny and
pleasant
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
72° 50°
77° 52°
81° 50°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
88° 57°
80° 56°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
83°
67°
91° (1900)
44°
43°
27° (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
0.00"
0.00"
0.06"
4.40"
3.13"
5.21"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
86°
69°
92° (1937)
41°
43°
25° (1954)
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
0.00"
0.00"
0.08"
2.98"
1.79"
4.10"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
New
First
May 6
May 13
82° 57°
86° 52°
Seattle
73/52
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
77° 52°
Full
5:39 a.m.
8:05 p.m.
4:04 a.m.
4:24 p.m.
Last
May 21
May 29
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
81/55
84/60
Tacoma
Moses
74/49
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 86/56
79/49
63/49
70/49
86/56
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
71/51
84/58 Lewiston
89/58
Astoria
85/53
61/48
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
73/53
Pendleton 75/47
The Dalles 88/57
85/55
82/58
La Grande
Salem
80/50
72/51
Albany
Corvallis 71/52
70/53
John Day
81/52
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
83/49
69/51
74/47
Caldwell
Burns
82/53
77/43
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
61
79
74
59
77
75
69
82
88
81
69
80
79
74
58
59
83
88
85
73
76
72
81
78
72
84
86
Lo
48
42
47
51
43
47
51
52
57
52
46
50
47
54
47
51
49
56
55
53
46
51
55
46
52
58
56
W
sh
s
pc
c
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
c
c
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
pc
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Wed.
Hi
60
78
63
62
72
73
62
74
80
75
60
77
74
66
57
58
83
83
77
65
67
64
78
72
64
79
80
Lo
47
48
44
49
42
49
47
50
56
50
38
51
49
48
46
49
54
54
54
50
43
48
55
47
48
57
53
W
sh
c
t
c
t
c
sh
t
c
c
t
c
c
sh
sh
sh
c
c
c
sh
t
sh
c
c
sh
c
c
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
78
83
87
60
85
67
61
72
64
75
72
Lo
47
76
59
41
54
43
39
52
50
57
63
W
s
c
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
s
r
s
pc
Wed.
Hi
83
84
69
63
83
66
63
72
68
74
74
Lo
54
77
54
45
54
40
42
51
49
56
63
W
pc
sh
c
pc
t
sh
pc
t
s
s
r
WINDS
Medford
74/54
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
69/46
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Rather cloudy today with
a shower in places; cooler. Cloudy tonight
with showers.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny
and warm today; a thunderstorm in spots
near the Cascades.
Western Washington: Times of clouds and
sun today with a stray shower. A couple of
showers tonight.
Eastern Washington: Brilliant sunshine to-
day, but some clouds toward the Cascades.
Cascades: Mild today with clouds and sun;
an afternoon thunderstorm. A couple of
showers tonight.
Northern California: Mostly cloudy today;
a thunderstorm in spots in the interior
mountains.
Today
Wednesday
WSW 3-6
SE 4-8
WNW 4-8
N 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
1
4
6
6
4
Corrections
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www.eastoregonian.com
one-half hour before sunset.” And
the law has an expiration date of
June 30, 2017.
“If it works well, it will be
continued, and if it does not, it
won’t,” Elfering said. “But why
not give it a try?”
Rowan also said the county
would encourage riders to police
themselves and let the county
know when someone misuses an
ATV or drives one that is unsafe.
The county can revoke an ATV
permit if an operator violates the
new local law or state laws.
The board of commissioners
also will consider renewing
LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon
to provide insurance to county
employees for 2016-17 and will
reclassify certain jobs as part of the
public health and human services
departments merger to form the
new Health and Human Services
Department.
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211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Ofice hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
apply to other public roads within
the area.
The public can give input
on the new local law when the
board of commissioners holds
the irst reading during a meeting
Wednesday at 9 a.m. in room 130
at the county courthouse, 216 S.E.
Fourth St., Pendleton.
Sheriff Terry Rowan said state
law allows for farm use of ATVs,
but expanding the use of the vehi-
cles means more rules for safety.
He said the county would require
ATV drivers to be 16 or older,
have a valid driver’s license, a
valid Oregon ATV permit or other
state-issued permit and a Umatilla
County ATV permit, as well as
an Oregon ATV safety education
card. And adults must accompany
ATV drivers younger than 18.
Riders will have to carry insur-
ance, and drivers and passengers
must wear helmets. And the ATVs
must have rear-view mirrors,
lights, a minimum of 150 cc
engine capability and meet other
requirements for safe operation.
The county also would limit
the use of ATVs to daylight hours,
according to the proposal, from
“one-half hour after sunrise to
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
the summer that we’re not meeting
water-quality standards.”
Sources can vary widely, but irri-
gation water lowing over ields with
manure piles on them are common
sources of bacteria, Meyers says.
Other common sources are rain
events that lush raccoon excrement
out of storm drains, illegal dumping
of RV waste, not cleaning up after
pets and throwing pet waste in
creeks or irrigation canals, he says.
Meyers says DEQ adds these
volunteer collections into its data-
bases and that they are valuable
assets.
He says it will take a “cultural
shift” to reduce bacteria loads in
area creeks, but awareness through
efforts such as this will help.
The tests are planned from
June through October at Emigrant,
Applegate and Lost Creek lakes,
the Rogue River at Gold Hill
and Grants Pass, Bear Creek in
Ashland, Wagner Creek in Talent,
Baby Bear Creek in Medford and
the Applegate River at Cantrall-
Buckley County Park.
Unhealthful levels of bacteria
such as E.coli are chronic problems
throughout the Rogue River Basin,
especially in late summer when low
lows offer less dilution, says Bill
Meyers, the Rogue Basin coordi-
nator for DEQ.
“When it’s 100 degrees out
there, we should be able to let our
kids play in the creeks,” Meyers
says. “But it’s very common late in
1
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
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-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: Showers and storms will extend from the Gulf Coast to much of the
Atlantic Seaboard today. Showers will dot the Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest and coastal
Northwest. Storms will affect the Four Corners.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 94° in Zephyrhills, Fla.
Low 12° in Aspen Springs, Colo.
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
70
78
59
66
75
76
82
51
83
68
66
58
74
64
64
83
56
70
85
76
62
86
67
84
72
76
Lo
47
57
50
50
49
53
57
44
66
49
46
45
57
39
49
59
36
39
73
53
47
66
49
66
51
59
W
s
t
r
r
s
c
s
sh
t
c
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
sh
pc
s
pc
pc
t
pc
s
s
pc
Wed.
Hi
77
73
56
68
81
75
85
54
82
64
53
62
80
73
56
85
59
68
85
81
59
83
68
90
80
72
Lo
51
52
49
50
54
50
57
47
58
45
38
44
56
46
44
63
33
46
73
56
40
57
43
64
52
58
W
s
pc
sh
pc
s
s
c
c
pc
t
c
t
s
s
sh
s
pc
s
pc
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t
s
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Today
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
67
72
88
65
68
72
80
60
72
70
64
92
56
54
77
70
74
82
68
73
70
66
73
90
68
73
Lo
52
53
75
43
44
50
64
50
48
47
52
70
41
43
59
42
51
56
54
51
60
53
52
62
55
48
W
pc
c
t
pc
pc
c
t
r
pc
pc
r
s
pc
r
t
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
s
r
pc
Wed.
Hi
64
76
87
51
63
73
79
59
77
69
63
98
53
58
74
74
69
74
69
80
68
64
63
96
68
75
Lo
46
53
68
38
44
47
63
50
50
43
50
70
41
46
52
46
47
51
46
59
60
53
51
62
54
47
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
t
s
t
pc
s
pc
s
c
s
s
sh
s
c
c
t
s
c
c
pc
pc
pc
c
sh
s
c
s