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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2016)
NATION/WORLD Saturday, August 6, 2016 East Oregonian Page 11A OYCC: Crew rescued a starving bald eagle Kerry to visit Turkey amid strained ties Continued from 1A counties. Grant funding comes from OYCC through CAPECO. Case, leader of the Umatilla County crew, has observed his foursome with awe. Thursday, he stood watching them scrape laking brick-red paint from the Summit Cabin. They were deep in concentration, working in a compact group. “I’ve been impressed with their ability to work with each other,” he said. “They are really eficient. There isn’t a lot of standing around.” He said they aren’t wild about having to wear long-sleeved shirts, jeans, boots and hardhats in sizzling summer weather, but they don’t complain. For two crew members, this is a irst job. Over the summer, the crew has concentrated its efforts on Forest Service campgrounds, including Jubilee Lake, Woodward and Target Meadows campgrounds. They picked up trash, cleaned ire rings, raked, pulled weeds and placed parking barriers. One day, they plucked 137 pounds of trash from the banks of the Umatilla River in Pendleton on a two-and-a-half-mile stretch from the Ken Melton Little League ields to Rudy Rada Skate Park. Since starting work seven weeks ago, the four individuals have meshed into one cohesive unit. “We learned to work as a team,” said Mikel. “We learned that you’ve got to pull your weight.” “We learned that if one person complains, it drags the entire group down,” said Heay. Their most memorable day included the rescue of a starving bald eagle spotted by some campers at Jubilee Lake — a rescue they jokingly named “Operation Make America Great Again.” Though the workday was almost done, the crew opted to stay late to search for the bird and attempt a rescue. With campers, they managed to capture the ledgling eagle in a marshy area and pass it off to Lynn Tompkins of Blue Mountain Wildlife. According to Tompkins, the bird is putting on weight and will most likely be released in the fall. Case, who teaches physical educa- tion at Sunridge Middle School, is in his irst year as crew leader after inheriting the job from outgoing crew boss John Summerield, who encouraged Case to apply. It was an easy sell to someone who loves both the outdoors and teen- agers. “I like being around kids,” Case said. “That’s why I became a teacher.” Case works in historical stops during their trips into the woods. On Thursday, Staff photo by Kathy Aney Members of Umatilla County’s Oregon Youth Conservation Corp listen as Jeff Bloom, recreation program manager for the Walla Walla District, gives the forest workers a tour of a vintage Forest Service barn during a break Thursday on the Umatilla National Forest. Photo contributed by Blue Mountain Wildlife A malnourished female bald eagle was rescued near Jubilee Lake and taken to Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton. Lynn Tompkins, who runs the bird rehabilitation center, hopes to release the bird this fall. they stopped along the Oregon Trail at a place on Spring Mountain where Marcus and Narcissa Whitman stopped before descending into Meacham Creek. At Summit Cabin, Jeff Bloom, of the U.S. Forest Service, lined out the crew for the day, but also told them about the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and 1940s and showed them a vintage CCC-built barn. The experience has helped the four crew members solidify their future goals. Heay, of Mission, hopes to eventually do conservation work for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla River’s Natural Resources Department. She has come a long way since her time as a rebellious teen in California. “I stopped coming home. I got into trouble. I was in the juvenile system and had to go into treatment,” she said. “I was so far behind in school that it seemed impossible to ever catch up.” A teacher took her under her wing and boosted her conidence. After coming to Oregon, she connected with Stuvland, who encouraged her to apply for the crew. Magers, a sophomore at Pendleton High School and the comedian of the crew, has his eye on two distinctly different career paths — acting or diesel mechanics. Mikel, who also works at Pendleton microbrewery Prodigal Son, plans to study at the California Maritime Academy to work as a Merchant Marine on an oil tanker. Van Dusen will enter Portland State University in the fall to study mechanical engineering. None of the four had much prior outdoor experience, save the occasional camping trip, but now plan to spend more time in the outdoors. All have new appreciation for those who maintain recreational areas. Friday was the team’s last day. Case said the four made the most of their time. “They learned teamwork. They learned what hard work looks like, and,” he said, laughing, “their social skills have lourished.” ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@ eastoregonian.com or call 541-966- 0810. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in Turkey later this month, Turkey’s foreign minister said Friday, amid strained relations with Washington over the possible extradition of a Muslim cleric accused of being behind an attempted military coup last month. The Turkish government has expressed growing annoyance with what it regards as a lack of soli- darity from international allies in the aftermath of the failed coup, as well as increased frustration over perceived foot-dragging by the United States over a Turkish demand that U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen be returned to Turkey to face trial. Turkey accuses Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt by rene- gade oficers in Turkey’s military. It has designated his movement, which runs charities, schools and busi- nesses across the world, as a terrorist organization and has launched a widespread crackdown on suspected members. Gulen has denied involvement or prior knowledge of the violent coup attempt that left more than 270 people dead. Washington for its part, has asked for evidence of the cleric’s involvement, and has said the extradition process must be allowed to take its course. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Kerry was scheduled to arrive in Turkey Aug. 24, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. He also spoke of the possibility of a separate visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Turkey on Thursday issued a warrant for Gulen’s arrest for allegedly ordering the failed coup, a move seen as a prelude to a formal extradition request. In New York, Taha Ozhan, chairman of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commis- sion who is leading a delegation to brief U.S. oficials on the failed coup, said “Gulen orchestrated the coup” and continued to pose threat to Turkey. Ozhan said “many docu- ments have been sent” and “we are doing our home- work in Turkey” where “prosecutors are forming a case.” He added that the FBI should be monitoring Gulen and he should be detained. “He’s still a threat and we don’t want to have another tsunami caused by July 15,” Ozhan said. But Gulen’s U.S. lawyers expressed conidence that he will not be extradited, saying the Turkish govern- ment doesn’t have any evidence against their client that would satisfy the U.S. legal system. Speaking Friday in Washington, Attorney Reid Weingarten suggested that the only evidence the Turkish government may have against Gulen is testimony from his sympathizers in Turkey, possibly obtained through torture. “We haven’t seen any evidence, direct or indirect, that would be persuasive to a fact inder that there is a scintilla of evidence - electronic or otherwise - implicating Mr. Gulen,” Weingarten said. “And these tortured confessions that they are expecting, that wouldn’t work in a U.S. court either,” Weingarten said. Since the coup attempt, nearly 70,000 people suspected of links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from the civil service, judiciary, educa- tion, health care and the military. About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested. BRIEFLY Amazon unveils cargo plane as it expands delivery network SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle-based Amazon is unveiling its irst branded cargo plane, one of 40 jetliners that will make up the e-commerce giant’s own air transportation network as it takes more control of its delivery process. The latest push to speed delivery of its products comes as the company ships an increasing number of packages worldwide. Amazon’s parcel volume was an estimated 1 billion packages in 2015. By way of comparison, in the 2016 iscal year FedEx delivered about 3 billion packages for hundreds of thousands of customers. Amazon has had issues with the reliability of air freight services. In 2013, it offered refunds to customers who received their Christmas orders late after bad weather and a jump in online shopping caused delays for UPS and FedEx. Analysts say it makes sense for Amazon to use an air leet it controls as another way to get its products to online shoppers drawn to fast, no-extra-cost delivery. “They’re such a big online retailer,” said Satish Jindel, president of shipping consultant ShipMatrix. “There’s so much volume that if you have to add transportation for yourself, why would you pay a retail price when you can get wholesale? It makes sense.” Amazon revealed its irst branded “Prime Air” cargo plane, designated Amazon One, on Friday at the annual Seafair Air Show. The plane buzzed over Seattle’s Lake Washington just before the Navy’s Blue Angels took to the skies. Amazon leased 40 Boeing jets from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group Inc., which will operate the air cargo network. Eleven of the planes already are delivering packages for Amazon’s annual Prime loyalty program, which offers free two-day shipping and other perks. The remaining freighters will be rolled out in the next couple of years. Steady hiring is now beneiting a broader group of Americans WASHINGTON (AP) — Years of steady job gains have inally begun to beneit a wider range of Americans, including those with less education and in lower-paying jobs. A second straight month of robust hiring — 255,000 jobs added in July — pointed to employer conidence that suggested that the economy is powering through a slump that struck early this year. The unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. Hiring has been solid for six years, but for most of that time there were caveats: Average hourly pay was stagnant. And millions were no longer either working or looking for work, leaving a smaller proportion of adults in the labor force. Evidence is emerging that those long-running weak spots are inally improving. Many businesses are offering higher pay to attract workers as competition to ill jobs heats up. Average pay is up 2.6 percent from a year ago — matching the best 12-month gain since the Great Recession ended in 2009 and comfortably above inlation of just 1 percent. The resilient job market is encouraging more Americans to begin looking for a job — a key trend that helps offset a drag from the growing retirements of aging baby boomers. Taken together, the two trends suggest that the economic recovery, now seven years old, is inally beneiting a broad spectrum of the population. WHAT ENERGY SAVINGS AWAIT YOUR HOME? LET’S FIND OUT. Start by doing a free online Home Energy Review from Energy Trust of Oregon. You’ll get customized energy-saving recommendations and learn all kinds of ways to get more from your energy. Plus Energy Trust can help you with cash incentives and inding a trade ally contractor for your home energy project. + Get more from your energy. Visit www.energytrust.org/start or call us at 1.866.368.7878. 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