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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2016)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian TRAINS: Three unit trains oI Frude oil pass through the Gorge every month Continued from 1A MerNley said he reali]es the 1TSB is stretFhed thin, Eut investigating oil train derailments should not Ee leIt up to disFretion. The MOSIE5 AFt Zould inFrease Iunding to the 1TSB to $10 million, Zith $2 million to hire additional investigators and inspeFtors. 8nion 3aFi¿F FonduFted its oZn investigation into the Mosier derailment, and traFed the Fause oI the aFFident EaFN to a Iailure oI metal Iasteners NnoZn as lag Eolts that FonneFt railroad ties to the rail itselI. Justin JaFoEs, a spoNesman Ior the railroad, previously told the East Oregonian they are inFreasing the IreTuenFy and intensity oI rail inspeFtions to maNe sure it doesn’t happen again. But :yden said having railroads investigate their oZn aFFidents is liNe “&olonel Sanders guarding the FhiFNen Foop.” “3eople are really looNing Ior independent and thorough investigations,” :yden said. “1oZ, Ze’re strengthening the investigative proFess aIter an aFFident.” In addition to Iederal investigations, the MOSIER AFt alloZs the )RA to plaFe a moratorium on unit oil trains iI it Ieels there are unsaIe Fonditions that need to Ee ForreFted. The Eill also reTuires the SeFretary oI Transportation and Department oI Energy to set a standard and reduFe the amount oI volatile gases in Frude oil Zithin nine months. The train that derailed near Mosier Zas Farrying BaNNen Frude oil, ZhiFh is highly volatile due to the amount oI natural gas it Fontains. JaFoEs said 83 hasn’t had a FhanFe to looN at the Eill yet, and Fouldn’t Fomment speFi¿Fally on the legislation. But in an earlier intervieZ, he said the railroad is adding a third rail inspeFtion every ZeeN through the &olumEia River *orge, along Zith an additional three “enhanFed” high rail inspeFtions per ZeeN. In a preliminary report, the )RA indiFated 83 is at Iault Ior the derailment sinFe it Iailed to maintain its traFN eTuipment. The railroad does operate main lines that also run through doZntoZn 3endleton and along the &olumEia River Irom +erm- iston’s +inNle <ard. JaFoEs deIended 83’s saIety reFord, and added that only three unit trains oI Frude oil pass through the Gorge every month. Overall, Frude oil maNes up less than 1 perFent oI Fommodities shipped through the region, he said. At the end oI the day, JaFoEs said the goal is to eliminate derailments and they Zill Fontinue to strive toZard that marN. “SaIety is a top priority Ior us,” he said. “In order to Ee saIer, Ze need to do these things.” :yden and MerNley, along Zith 12 other laZmaNers, have also signed on to the +a]ardous Mate- rials Rail Transportation SaIety Improvement AFt oI 201. That Eill estaElishes a Iee on older, outdated tanNer Fars in order to get them oII the traFNs Iaster. Money FolleFted Irom the Iee Zould pay Ior Fleanup Fosts stemming Irom rail- road aFFidents, hiring rail inspeFtors and training loFal ¿rst responders. The MOSIER AFt Zould Ee a Fompanion pieFe to that legislation. “BetZeen these tZo Eills, I thinN Ze’re moving toZard an approaFh that Zill solve the real proElems,” :yden said. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. MARIJUANA: ReFreational pot sales ta[ed at 2 perFent Continued from 1A EaFN aFross the state line. :hy are Ze maNing people Friminals Zhen it’s legal"” It’s the reason Lindsey is starting a La Grande voter initiative Ior the 1ovemEer Eallot, oI ZhiFh she is aZaiting revieZ Ey the Fity’s attorney, that Zould alloZ reFreational sales in the Fity. She has to FolleFt over 00 signatures Irom registered voters Ey Aug. 10, and she’s organi]ing a signing and eduFational event at the end oI the month. Lindsey hopes e[peri- enFes in other Fities suFh as +untington, aEout 0 miles southeast oI La Grande, shoZ the Iruits oI reFre- ational sales. In +untington, mediFal mariMuana dispensary 4209ille Eegan selling Ior reFreational use in )eEruary. :hen &huFN Guerri Zas a Fity FounFilor Ior Huntington, he voted against alloZing reFreational mariMuana sales during a 1ovemEer 201 meeting. Despite his vote, the FounFil approved the appliFation. 1oZ the mayor oI the toZn oI 440, Guerri still isn’t an advoFate Ior reFreational use. “I thinN the mediFal aspeFt has some validity, and it looNs liNe it has some issues Zhere it helps,” he said. “But I’m not a Ian oI reFreational.” He is a Ian, hoZever, oI more revenue Ior his toZn. :ith the suFFess oI 4209ille, his stanFe, Zhile not Fompletely sZinging 10 degrees, has soItened. “LoFal Eusinesses have Eene¿ted,” Guerri said. “The restaurant has inFreased Eusiness, the FonvenienFe and the Iuel — they don’t give me perFentages, Eut most Eusinesses in toZn have reFeived some Eene¿t.” And that’s EeIore getting into potential ta[ revenue Ior Huntington. Oregon laZ stipulates that reFreational mariMuana sales Ee ta[ed at 2 perFent. The ta[ on reFreational pot eventually Zill Ee replaFed Zith a levy ranging Irom 1 perFent to 20 perFent, onFe the Oregon LiTuor &ontrol &ommission Eegins regulating reFre- ational mariMuana sales later this year. The Legislature set the Ease ta[ rate at 1 perFent, Eut Fities and Founties Fan adopt ordinanFes that add up to an additional perFent. Huntington Fity reForder TraFy MF&ue said the Fity still has to have a resolution on the 1ovemEer Eallot Ior voter approval, so it hasn’t FolleFted any ta[ revenue yet. To Eetter inIorm voters, MF&ue reFently reTuested some ¿gures on Zhat the Fity Zould have gained Irom 4209ille sinFe reFreational sales Eegan in mid-)eEruary. “)rom )eE. 1 to May 1, iI Ze Zere draZing it in, Ze Zould’ve FolleFted $,000 on that perFent,” MF&ue said, adding that’s very signi¿Fant Ior a toZn Huntington’s si]e. SFott MattheZs, the oZner oI 4209ille, did stipulate that a great deal oI his Eusiness is mediFal. But regarding reFreational pot, he said, sales have inFreased suEstantially every month. “Our proMeFted numEers are getting EloZn out oI the Zater. :e see some )ridays and Saturdays Zhere 00 people Fome through here,” MattheZs said. “:e’re proE- aEly averaging 10 to 200 people every day.” During the roughly halI- year reFreational sales have Eeen alloZed, MattheZs said, he’s hired tZo loFal residents as Iull-time ZorNers, Zith a Fouple others doing odd MoEs and part-time ZorN Ior 4209ille. Other than a parNing issue Zith a neigh- Eoring landoZner, there have not Eeen any proElems in the toZn, MF&ue, Guerri and MattheZs eaFh said. MF&ue said she Zasn’t a “pro vote” EeIore, Eut she has, along Zith Guerri, modi¿ed her outlooN. “I don’t thinN anyEody NneZ Zhat to e[peFt,” MF&ue said. “1oZ, Ze’re hearing aEout the potential revenue, and it’s liNe, µ:oZ.’ Some residents are a little more open noZ.” WORLD BRIEFLY Chinese businessman gets nearly four years in U.S. hacking case LOS A1GELES A3 — A &hinese Eusinessman Zas sentenFed to nearly Iour years in prison :ednesday Ior Fonspiring to e[port sensitive military inIormation to &hina aIter aFFessing the Fomputer systems oI 8.S. deIense FontraFtors, inFluding Boeing. Su Bin Zas sentenFed to 46 months in prison in Iederal Fourt in Los Angeles. He had IaFed 0 years in prison EeIore reaFhing a plea agreement Zith proseFutors in MarFh. His attorneys Zere reTuesting tZo and a halI years. The 1-year-old Bin admitted to Fonspiring Zith tZo unnamed haFNers in &hina to e[port 8.S. military inIormation to the Fommunist nation EetZeen 200 and 2014, aFFording to Bin’s plea agreement. The men targeted ¿ghter Mets suFh as the )-22 and the )-, as Zell as Boeing’s &-1 military Fargo airFraIt program, aFFording to Fourt reFords. Su, desFriEed Ey proseFutors as a &hina-Eased Eusinessman in the aviation and aerospaFe ¿elds, Zas arrested in British &olumEia, &anada, in July 2014 and Erought to the 8.S. in )eEruary. As part oI the FonspiraFy, proseFutors say Su Zould email the haFNers in &hina e[plaining Zhat people, Fompanies and teFhnology to target. OnFe data Zas stolen, proseFutors say Su Zould translate it Irom English to &hinese, and email the value oI the inIormation to those Zho Eene¿ted Irom its theIt. A report Ey the 8.S.-&hina EFonomiF and SeFurity RevieZ &ommission last year Iound that &hina’s inFreasing use oI FyEer espionage has already Fost 8.S. Fompanies tens oI Eillions oI dollars in lost sales and e[penses in repairing the damage Irom haFNing. In many Fases, the report Ey the Iederal Fommission says stolen trade seFrets have Eeen turned over to &hinese government-oZned Fompanies. Obama: Still far from solving police, community issues :ASHI1GTO1 A3 — AmeriFa is “not even Flose” to Zhere it needs to Ee in terms oI resolving issues EetZeen poliFe and the Fommunities they serve, 3resident BaraFN OEama said aIter FonFluding a more than three-hour meeting :ednesday Zith Fommunity aFtivists, politiFians and laZ enIorFement oI¿Fials. OEama e[pressed optimism, hoZever, and said the partiFipants — Zho inFluded memEers oI the BlaFN Lives Matter movement — agreed suFh Fonversations need to Fontinue despite emotions running raZ. OEama has devoted his attention this ZeeN to the gun violenFe direFted at poliFe oI¿Fers as Zell as shootings Ey poliFe. The IoFus Fomes a IeZ days aIter a ElaFN Army veteran Nilled ¿ve poliFe oI¿Fers in revenge Ior poliFe shooting ElaFN men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Minneapolis suEurEs. On Tuesday, OEama attended a memorial serviFe Ior the ¿ve slain Dallas oI¿Fers and Falled the Iamilies oI Alton Sterling in Louisiana and 3hilando &astile in Minnesota to oIIer FondolenFes. He said he Zanted AmeriFans to have an open heart so that they Fan learn to looN at the Zorld through eaFh other’s eyes, and :ednesday’s meeting IolloZed that theme. OEama said it Zould Ee Ney to repeat the “Nind oI respeFtIul Fonversations Ze’ve had here” aFross the Fountry. Still no explanation for Dallas gunman’s honorable discharge DALLAS A3 — Almost a ZeeN aIter the Dallas sniper attaFNs, it’s still unFlear hoZ the gunman oEtained an honoraEle disFharge Irom the military even though Army oI¿Fials sent him home Irom AIghanistan Zith a reFommendation that he Ee throZn out oI the armed IorFes. An attorney appointed Ey the military to represent MiFah Johnson in a se[ual harassment Fase speFulated last ZeeN that Johnson’s Eehavioral reFord Fould Ee more serious. The attorney says he’s noZ under striFt orders not to disFuss the matter Zith reporters. Johnson, 2, served in the Army Reserve Ior si[ years EeIore the July sniper attaFN, ZhiFh Nilled ¿ve Dallas poliFe oI¿Fers. “:e are revieZing all oI his reFords,” Army spoNesman &ol. 3atriFN SeiEer said :ednesday. He Zould not elaEorate or disFuss any aspeFt oI the revieZ. Johnson’s laZyer said he had prepared doFuments Ior a more severe other-than-honoraEle e[it almost tZo years ago. Thursday, July 14, 2016 TRCI: 0ediFal treatment oI state inmates Fosts more than $100M per year Continued from 1A inmates in prison longer. “In general our popu- lation is aging, and that’s de¿nitely a FonFern Ior the 'epartment oI &orreF- tions,” she said. Iles said the preYalenFe oI longterm suEstanFe aEuse issues among inmates means they oIten Fome to T5&I Zith health proElems aEoYe and Eeyond those assoFiated Zith natural aging. T5&I also has the state ForreFtional system’s only dialysis unit, draZing inmates Zith Nidney Iailure to the prison, inFluding one Furrently on death roZ. “These guys that Fome in to us, sometimes they have some serious issues,” Iles said. “They’re not alZays in the healthiest Fondition.” 6o Iar in 2016 there have Eeen 11 inmate deaths at TZo 5ivers. Iles said that’s more than usual Ior the prison, Eut Iour Zere hospiFe patients and several others had serious health proElems. %y laZ, the state must provide mediFal treatment Ior all oI its more than 14,00 inmates, at a Fost oI more than $100 million per year. Inmates are treated Ey on-site nurses, doFtors, dentists and mental health proIessionals. :hen needed, they are also trans- ported to loFal hospitals Ior surgery and other advanFed Fare. Iles said Eeing a nurse in a prison isn’t easy. All prison employees IaFe stresses — one reason ForreFtional oI¿Fers have an average liIe e[peFtanFy oI Must years. “They have to Ee in a Fonstant state oI alertness and aZareness, and it’s not easy to rela[ sometimes aIter they go home,” she said. As a result, the Depart- ment oI &orreFtions has reFently Eegun maNing the mental and physiFal health oI employees a top priority, Iles said, inFluding oIIering mindIulness Flasses to prison staII to help them praFtiFe healthy Foping meFhanisms. As Ior the numEer oI nurses needed at T5&I, Iles said ¿ve employees Tuit reFently and one Zas ¿red. 6he deFlined to disFuss the personnel issues Iurther. The Oregon State Board oI 1ursing’s reFords shoZ ¿ve nurses in 8matilla &ounty IaFed Eoard disFi- pline during the past year Eut does not speFiIy Zhere the nurses ZorNed. A report released in April Ey the Iederal +ealth 5esourFes and ServiFes Administration prediFts Oregon Zill have a shortage oI 6,000 nurses Ey 202. AEout one third oI the state’s nurses are e[peFted to retire in the ne[t 10 years. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536 PENDLETON: Identi¿ed $2.M in pipe replaFement needed in ne[t ¿ve years Continued from 1A you’re underneath the radar sFreen and you get sNipped over liNe yesterday’s lunFh,” &halmers said. The Fity’s other Iunding option is implementing system development Fharges, ZhiFh Zould Fharge developers an up-Iront Iee Eased on the development’s impaFt on utilities. “:hat I’ve overZhelm- ingly heard is that Ze don’t Zant to stiÀe Eusiness Ey implementing those Iees,” &orEett said. In an intervieZ aIter the meeting, 3atterson said loZ interest rates Fould inFrease the Fity’s EorroZing FapaFity. The Fity proMeFted a perFent interest rate over 20 years, Eut 3atterson said the state’s interest rates are Furrently EetZeen 2 and perFent. That means the Fity Fould EorroZ up to $2. million, instead oI the planned $1. million. 3atterson said the Fity’s utility master plan identi- ¿ed $2. million in Zater and seZer pipe replaFement needs in the ne[t ¿ve years. The rest Fould Ee used Ior other Zater and seZer proMeFts, liNe the industrial parN utility e[pansion. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. Breast Cancer Care Specialist ... 541-278-3224 Cancer Clinic................................ 541-278-6576 Cardiopulmonary Services ......... 541-278-8284 Family Clinic OPEN Weekends! Walk-Ins Welcome Appointments Preferred Hours 8am - 7pm • Mon - Thurs 8am - 6pm • Fri 10am - 6pm • Sat - Sun 541-966-0535 3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton Located in the hospital medical offi ce building Diabetes Education ..................... 541-278-3239 Education ..................................... 541-278-2627 Home Health Care/Hospice......... 541-276-4100 Lactation Services ....................... 541-966-2541 Nutrition Counseling ................... 541-278-3235 Sleep Disorders Lab .................... 541-278-3685 Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging ... 541-278-3228 Maternity and OB Care ................ 541-278-3261 Outpatient Physical Therapy ...... 541-278-6610 Family Clinic ................................ 541-966-0535 541-276-5121 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton
