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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2016)
MARK SMAILLEY OF HERMISTON BB GUN VANDAL DAMAGES CARS HERMISTON/3A Enjoy a free pass to the Heritage Station Museum in Pendleton PENDLETON STATE CHAMPS 88/56 LITTLE LEAGUE/1B THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016 140th Year, No. 194 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2015 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD MOSIER Act would strengthen oil train derailment investigations Wyden Sens. :\den, Merkle\ propose legislation after Gorge wreck By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Merkley Oregon Sens. Ron :\den and Jeff Merkle\ have intro- duced legislation that would require independent federal investigations into all major oil train derailments across the countr\ — something that was missing after last month’s derailment in the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier. The Mandate Oil Spill Investigations and Emergenc\ Rules (MOSIER) Act of 2016 calls on the National Transportation Safet\ Board to investigate oil train derailments and gives the Federal Rail Administration the authorit\ to put a moratorium on oil trains until the investigations are complete. :\den and Merkle\, both Democrats, announced the bill during a conference call :ednesda\. Merkle\ said the derailment June 3 near Mosier further emphasi]ed the danger of oil trains, and independent investigations are needed to have an\ credibilit\ with the public. “As Oregon has seen ¿ rst- hand, these oil trains are rolling explosion ha]ards,” Merkle\ said. “Ever\ accident needs to be full\ and independentl\ investigated.” The NTSB opted not to investigate the Mosier incident, explaining that even though four cars caught ¿ re and oil spilled into the Columbia River, there were no injuries or fatalities. The board also felt that, based on information gathered b\ the FRA and Union Paci¿ c Railroad, the circumstances did not pose an\ new signi¿ cant safet\ issues. See TRAINS/8A One shop pushes for legal pot as neighbor down interstate thrives By JOSH BENHAM The (La Grande) Observer LA *RANDE — Rona Lindse\ said turning awa\ customers deepl\ troubles her. Of course, part of that is the business owner in her. But as a former administrator at the Union Count\ Chamber of Commerce, viewing tail lights as More inside car after car heads right back to Interstate 84 is Grant Co. approves medical marijuana tough to watch. “It tears me in two,” dispensaries the Hw\ 30 Cannabis Page 3A owner said. And it’s a scene she “They go to said unfolds dail\, with increasing regularit\ Walla Walla, since Januar\, when (Washington) the recreational sale of marijuana became legal and take chanc- in Oregon — but not in es on driving La Grande. Visitors from around back across the the region enter the state line. Why store, inquiring about what to do in the area. are we making Before the conversation gets too deep, however, people criminals Lindse\ has to ask one when it’s legal?” pressing question: “Are — Rona Lindsey, \ou a medical patient"” Some are, but plent\ Hwy 30 Cannabis owner are not. Depending on where the\ are from in Oregon or :ashington, for some customers bu\ing marijuana is like bu\ing a six-pack. “So \ou have to educate them on what the cit\ did with the opt-out,” Lindse\ said. Patrons’ reactions are similar, Lindse\ said: a mix of shock and incredulit\ that recreational marijuana sales are banned in La Grande. All she can do is nod her head and tell the visi- tors about activities to do in Union Count\, hoping the\’ll stick around and spend some mone\. But she said she’s aware the\ probabl\ won’t. “Now the\ have to stop in Huntington, or Hood River. Those are the closest (recreational dispensaries,” she said. “Or the\ go to :alla :alla, (:ashington and take chances on driving See MARIJUANA/8A Boating under the Blues Staff photo by E.J. Harris Boaters make use of the near-perfect weather Wednesday at McKay Reservoir south of Pendleton. Temperatures will remain in the 80s throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. PENDLETON Utility hike may help upgrade industrial park Some cit\ pipes more than 100 \ears old By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian The cit\ of Pendleton could soon see tangible bene¿ ts from the utilit\ increases the cit\ council passed in December. Public :orks Director Bob Patterson told the council at a workshop Tuesda\ that cit\ staff were preparing appli- cations for state loans that would leverage the additional revenue collected through hikes to the water and sewer rates. If approved b\ the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authorit\, the mone\ would go toward replacing some of the cit\’s water and sewer pipes, some of which are more than 100 \ears old, and expanding the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport industrial park’s utilit\ infrastructure. Cit\ Manager Robb Corbett referenced the recent Hill Meat Co. expansion as a reason the cit\ needed to expand the industrial park’s water and sewer capacit\. An undersi]ed water line prevented the expansion until the cit\ helped Hill Meat obtain a state grant to widen the line. Additionall\, Corbett said the cit\ still needed to extend utilities to the vacant industrial park, including a propert\ reserved for a possible data center. Expanding utilities at the airport doesn’t come without risks. “The (risk) to me is that \ou’re making an investment in \our industrial park and, just like Barnhart Road, it sits idle,” Corbett said. Councilor Paul Chalmers said the cit\ would never attract businesses without basic amenities like utilit\ connections, especiall\ when compared to the Port of Morrow. “If it’s not shovel-read\, See PENDLETON/8A UMATILLA Nursing shortage contributes to six open positions at TRCI More than one third of inmates older than 46 By JADE MCDOWELL and PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian EO fi le photo The Two Rivers Correctional Institution is currently in a nursing shortage with six open positions in the prison infi rmary. Facing both a nationwide nursing shortage and an aging inmate popula- tion, Two Rivers Correctional Institu- tion has six open nursing positions. The prison in Umatilla is looking Ior one part-time and ¿ ve Iull-time nurses to work with the 17 full-time and ¿ ve part-time nurses currentl\ on staff. ³In this econom\, pa\ is a big factor, and being that there is a shortage of nurses, offers come up and people take them,´ TRCI spokeswoman Sherr\ Iles said. “This is not a stress-free environment either.” The need for nurses in the correc- tions s\stem is signi¿ cant. TRCI housed 1,76 inmates as of Jul\ 1, according to the state¶s latest pro¿ le of inmate demographics. More than 400 of those are 46-60 \ears old, and 167 are older than 61 — that’s more than a third of the prison’s population. Meanwhile, 30 percent of inmates at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institu- tion, Pendleton, and 37 percent at the Oregon State Penitentiar\, Salem, are older than 45. The trend, Iles said, is a combina- tion of America’s aging population and Measure 11 sentencing that keeps See TRCI/8A
