NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Friday, May 13, 2016
Fight over plan to bottle water
in Cascade Locks is on ballot
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
CASCADE LOCKS —
This little town, set below
steep, forested mountainsides
at the bottom of the Columbia
River Gorge, stubbornly
persists, eight decades after
a dam was built downstream,
drowning the navigational
locks that gave the place its
name and main income.
Today, unemployment in
Cascade Locks is 19 percent,
four times the rate of the rest
of Oregon. Many businesses
have gone the way of the
Scenic Winds Motel, whose
cabins are crumbling, the
roofs greening with moss,
a no trespassing sign posted
underneath towering irs.
So when Nestle, the Swiss
transnational
company,
approached with a plan to
build a water bottling plant
from a local spring — plus
a promise of 50 jobs and
annual revenues of hundreds
of thousands of dollars —
town leaders jumped at it.
So did many of the 1,200
residents.
But the opposition —
including residents, Native
American tribes and orchard
owners — has grown so
ierce that the project landed
on Oregon’s May 17 primary
ballot. It’s now one of the
primary’s most heated
battles.
Measure 14-55 asks the
voters of surrounding Hood
River County to ban the
commercial production and
transport of bottled water.
The campaign has pitted
neighbor against neighbor
and demonstrates Cascade
Locks’ bigger dilemma of
AP Photo/Don Ryan
In this May 5 photo, Oxbow ish hatchery manager
Erin AnDyke looks out over crystal clear spring wa-
ter from Little Herman Creek, which feeds the hatch-
ery facility in Cascade Locks. A proposal for Nestle to
build a water bottling plant in Cascade Locks is set to
be one of the most heated battles in the state’s May
17 primary. Town leaders and some residents want it,
but others are iercely opposed.
generating income without
spoiling the jaw-dropping
scenery that makes the place
special.
Blue signs opposing
the project and red ones in
favor are staked in lawns
and afixed to fences all over
town.
“Right now, we have two
groups of people ighting
tooth and nail over it. I’ve lost
friends over it, just because
I put up a sign saying no to
the measure,” said Heather
Greene, a bronze sculptor
whose large-than-life statue
of Sacagawea adorns a city
park. She wants Nestle there.
Farm and orchard owners
have noted Hood River
County experienced drought
in 2015. Water bottlers would
compete with their orchards
and farms for the growing
population of the town of
Hood River and its shrinking
water supply, they said.
But rainfall isn’t consis-
tent across the county.
Cascade Locks has water
to spare, said city manager
Gordon Zimmerman. The
town gets an average of 77
inches of rain a year. That’s
about 2.5 times more than
Hood River, the county seat,
located about 20 miles east
on Interstate 84.
Nestle’s plan to use 118
million gallons of water
per year — which probably
wouldn’t happen before
2020 if its allowed — would
require some juggling.
The company would
pay Cascade Locks an
undetermined amount for
the water. But the town
must irst swap well water
for spring water with the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife. The state,
which uses the spring-fed
Little Herman Creek for
its Oxbow Hatchery, has
already agreed to trade.
Hatchery manager Erin
AnDyke noted that the
crystal-clear spring water
is pathogen free and is
gravity-fed into the hatchery,
while the city water will
be from a well and must be
pumped uphill. Pumps can
break down, he noted.
“We’re dealing with a
live product down there,”
AnDyke said. “You go to bed
thinking, ‘Are they going to
be all right?”’
The city would then sell
its new share of spring water
to Nestle for its Arrowhead
bottled water, branded as
sourced from mountain
springs.
In drought conditions,
Nestle, which would be
entitled to 0.5 cubic feet
per second of spring water,
could be using half of the
low, though it could be
only one-tenth after wetter
months, AnDyke said.
Studies by the ish and
wildlife department and one
commissioned by Nestle
say the hatchery won’t be
adversely affected, and that
conditions will be virtually
unchanged for wild salmon
swimming in the Columbia
that use Herman Creek
Cove to cool off during hot
weather.
Many folks aren’t buying
it.
They also object to trucks
making 200 trips a day to
and from the plant, which
would be in a business park
and not next to the springs.
Oregon was the irst state to
enact a bottle bill, in 1971, to
encourage recycling. Many
here reject contributing to
plastic waste.
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REGIONAL CITIES
SATURDAY
TODAY
Mostly sunny and
very warm
Not as warm
82° 50°
71° 52°
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Mostly cloudy, a
shower; cooler
Partly sunny and
warmer
TUESDAY
Sunny to partly
cloudy
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
63° 51°
72° 49°
72° 49°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
85° 54°
77° 55°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
83°
70°
102° (1931)
55°
46°
29° (1916)
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"
0.17"
0.45"
4.57"
3.61"
5.60"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
86°
72°
99° (1993)
44°
46°
31° (2012)
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"
0.59"
0.46"
3.57"
2.16"
4.48"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
May 13
May 21
5:26 a.m.
8:18 p.m.
12:26 p.m.
1:44 a.m.
Last
New
May 29
76° 52°
76° 52°
Seattle
82/56
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
68° 53°
June 4
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
73/49
80/56
Tacoma
Moses
83/51
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 82/56
76/49
75/51
84/49
85/57
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
85/53
81/56 Lewiston
86/57
Astoria
82/53
67/50
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
87/56
Pendleton 78/49
The Dalles 85/54
82/50
88/58
La Grande
Salem
81/49
84/52
Albany
Corvallis 82/50
81/52
John Day
86/55
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
87/53
79/52
80/49
Caldwell
Burns
86/49
81/46
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
67
82
80
60
81
78
79
80
85
86
80
81
79
88
57
60
87
85
82
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82
84
73
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85
81
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Sat.
Hi
60
72
62
57
70
70
61
69
77
70
61
71
69
67
56
59
81
77
71
66
66
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53
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
76
87
82
67
79
60
71
68
77
76
75
Lo
51
78
69
44
51
40
45
58
55
55
62
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Sat.
Hi
57
87
92
56
78
63
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66
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77
73
Lo
52
80
73
41
53
44
39
56
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WINDS
Medford
88/57
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
80/45
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Today
Saturday
NNE 6-12
N 6-12
N 7-14
NW 6-12
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
1
4
7
7
4
Jacob Arnold will remain
the head coach of the Herm-
iston High School varsity
lacrosse team and Krystofer
Lopez will coach the junior
varsity team. Incorrect infor-
mation appeared on Page 3A
and 1B of the May 11 edition
of the East Oregonian. The
East Oregonian works hard
to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you
notice a mistake in the paper,
please call 541-966-0818.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
Forecast
Corrections
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www.eastoregonian.com
PORTLAND (AP) — A
man who joined the security
team during the takeover of
a national wildlife refuge in
Oregon has pleaded guilty to
stealing government property.
Scott Willingham was
with occupation spokesman
Robert “LaVoy” Finicum on
Jan. 15 when Finicum took
down surveillance cameras at
a substation near Burns.
Willingham is the irst
refuge defendant to enter a
guilty plea, but he’s not one
of the 26 people scheduled
to go to trial later this year
in the larger conspiracy case
stemming from the 41-day
takeover.
Under a plea agreement,
Willingham is expected to
face six months in prison.
He’s agreed to undergo a
mental health evaluation and
spend up to several months at
a residential re-entry program.
The Oregonian reports that
Willingham said “absolutely,
without question” when a
federal judge asked Thursday
if entering the guilty plea was
the right decision.
Classiied & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
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ADVERTISING
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Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
In April, Orvie Danzuka,
a leader of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs,
appeared before the Cascade
Locks City Council and cited
global warming, salmon
die-offs and water conserva-
tion as reasons to reject the
bottling plant.
“I was told by my elders
that if you start selling your
resources, then they’ll go
away,” he said amid the
pounding of drums and
chants and ululations from
tribal members.
Nestle — also facing
a battle in drought-hit
southern California over its
long-standing use of spring
water in San Bernardino
National Forest — says it’s
being unfairly singled out by
Measure 14-55. The proposal
would “limit our ability to
pursue good jobs in a clean
industry for Cascade Locks,”
the company says.
Dave Palais of Nestle
pointed out only 1.38 gallons
of water are required to
produce one gallon of Nestle
bottled water, compared to
an average of ive gallons of
water for one gallon of beer.
Thunder Island Brewery
sits right along the Columbia,
near where the Bridge of
the Gods — part of the
Paciic Crest Trail — links
Oregon to Washington. Head
brewer Brian Perkey said
the brewery uses municipal
water and pays for it.
But for Perkey, the main
issue is not water.
“I see no place on this
green earth for water in a
plastic bottle,” he said. “Why
would I want to support
people putting water into a
plastic bottle for proit?”
Standoff
defendant
pleads guilty
to stealing
cameras
1
Coastal Oregon: Partly sunny today;
however, more clouds in the south; pleasant
across the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny
and very warm today. Partly cloudy tonight.
Eastern Washington: Mostly sunny today.
Partly cloudy tonight.
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
Cascades: Partly sunny and warmer today.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
Western Washington: Partly sunny today.
Northern California: Partly sunny today. A
passing shower at the coast tonight.
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: Rain will soak New England, while showers and locally gusty storms
extend from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf Coast and Southwest states today. Severe storms
will erupt over the central Plains.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 103° in Thermal, Calif.
Low 18° in Angel Fire, N.M.
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
85
81
65
73
50
79
87
65
89
73
66
67
84
72
68
91
78
48
83
86
68
90
74
97
82
75
Lo
58
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34
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Sat.
Hi
82
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67
74
56
79
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72
88
63
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76
65
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90
79
52
84
87
54
88
57
96
73
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Lo
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48
46
40
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61
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36
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65
55
36
73
66
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59
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Today
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Louisville
73
Memphis
79
Miami
87
Milwaukee
63
Minneapolis
50
Nashville
76
New Orleans
86
New York City
66
Oklahoma City
81
Omaha
71
Philadelphia
73
Phoenix
103
Portland, ME
64
Providence
67
Raleigh
79
Rapid City
54
Reno
85
Sacramento
79
St. Louis
77
Salt Lake City
84
San Diego
72
San Francisco
65
Seattle
82
Tucson
99
Washington, DC 76
Wichita
82
Lo
55
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Sat.
Hi
60
70
89
51
52
68
87
73
62
60
75
100
70
72
81
56
74
77
61
84
70
67
73
95
75
61
Lo
44
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68
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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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