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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2016)
The 17 seniors on the Heavy Metal team try to get traction in the gelatinous pit of sludge during Pendleton High School’s Mud Wars on Wednesday night at the Happy Canyon arena. The slippery event is in its 21st year. Staff photo by Kathy Aney THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016 140th Year, No. 259 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD MILTON-FREEWATER Lawmakers looking at changes to Measure 97 By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Staff photo by E.J. Harris Residents of the Locust Mobile Village in Milton-Freewater have been without potable water for more than fi ve months, since by the Oregon Health Authority issued an E. coli contamination warning in May. Don’t drink the water Unsafe water remains constant at Locust Mobile Village By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Residents living in a trailer park on the outskirts of Milton-Freewater have been without clean drinking water for fi ve months. They must buy drinking water by the gallon from town, and the chlo- rine-treated water that comes HARRY HEADLEY OF WESTON Visit the Pendleton Round-Up Gift Shop for a free keychain out their pipes is harsh on their skin and caused at least one child to break out in welts. Park owner Nancy Shaw said she is doing all she can to combat the presence of E. coli bacteria in the water at Locust Mobile Village, 1501 N. Elizabeth St., which has been a problem in the park’s well for many years. “We’re putting a lot of chlorine in the water,” Shaw said, but the chemical is beginning to erode the park’s two water storage tanks. The manufactured homes, camp trailers and vehicles along the park’s potholed road stand in various states See WATER/8A SALEM — Before Oregonians even cast their vote on a $3 billion corporate sales tax proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot, state lawmakers are considering ways to redesign the tax in the 2017 legislative session. The “gross receipts” tax, contained in Measure 97, requires “C” corporations to pay the state 2.5 percent of their annual Oregon sales exceeding $25 million. If Measure 97 passes, “this will be the dominant issue of 2017,” said Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, chairman of the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee. Hass’s committee already has fi led placeholder bills to address the measure after the election. While Gov. Kate Brown released some general goals in June to dampen the negative impact on certain businesses, this is the fi rst time lawmakers have spoken publicly about possible proposals they could offer next session. See MEASURE 97/8A Depot land handoff stalls over water By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Locust Mobile Village resident Jose Diaz holds a drinking water warning that was reissued to residents Oct. 6 by the Oregon Health Authority, cautioning them about E. coli in their drinking water. Water is still a sticking point in the transfer of the Umatilla Chemical Depot land to local control, which the Army now estimates won’t happen until December 2017. At a Columbia Development Authority meeting Wednesday, executive director Greg Smith told the board that after the CDA and Oregon National Guard worked out an agree- ment to give the National Guard 23 percent of the depot’s water, he received a “string of emails” from the National Guard bureau in Washington, D.C., saying that less than 44 percent was unacceptable. “That 23 percent represents almost double the amount needed, based on their own study,” See DEPOT/8A One killed in train collision By TIM TRAINOR East Oregonian A train collided with a vehicle Wednesday night, dragging the truck for about a half mile and killing the driver. The crash occurred about 5:30 p.m. at White Road, a designated crossing about 10 miles east of Pendleton near River Road on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. A Union Pacifi c train was heading eastbound when it struck the vehicle, according to Justin Jacobs, corporate relations and media director for the company. Pendleton Fire Chief Mike Ciraulo confi rmed the person who was driving the truck was killed, and there were no other injuries. Ciraulo said bystanders saw the crash and attempted to perform CPR, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Jacobs noted that motor- ists “need to be very aware of the hazards associated with trains and should never be on the train tracks or attempt to cross anywhere other than a designated crossing when signs and signals permit.” Staff photo by E.J. Harris Rescue personnel from Tribal Fire, Tribal Police and Pendleton Fire respond to the scene of a truck that was struck by a train off of River Road east of Mission.
