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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2016)
Visit Elite Guns & Bows in Pendleton for a free hat JOANNE ISON OF PENDLETON SALMON FISHING CLOSES EARLY ON COLUMBIA BUCKS BATTLE BAKER REGION/3A SOCCER/1B FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 141st Year, No. 4 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Your Weekend • • • • • A Very Poplar Run Saturday in Boardman Echo Oktoberfest; music, food, drinks Discovery Day at Family History Center “Hammerstein!” musical revue at BMCC Umatilla County Potato Show in Weston For times and places see Coming Events, 5A Weekend Weather Fri 59/43 Sat 61/43 Sun 60/46 One dollar HERMISTON Walden talks troubled VA fi xes Congress has taken stronger hand in oversight of veterans programs By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Rep. Greg Walden’s visit to the Hermiston VFW on Thursday stayed focused on veterans’ issues despite an ongoing presidential campaign that has left little room for political discourse on anything else. Walden shared with veterans in attendance the work that Congress has done to promote their welfare, including the recent passage of an appropriations bill that allocated additional funding for veteran health care and housing in rural areas. “Additional help is on the way for that,” he said. After the 2014 controversy caused by revelations that the Department of Veterans Affairs had been covering up the extent of its claims backlog while veterans died waiting for care, Walden said Congress has worked to hold the VA more accountable. They have begun requiring quarterly reports on the backlog and have improved whistle blower protections for VA employees who come forward about unethical practices. They also banned the practice of giving adminis- trators bonuses despite failing to meet their performance standards, and expanded See WALDEN/3A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Rep. Greg Walden talks to veterans on Thursday at the VFW post in Hermiston. Walden spoke about the Department of Veterans Affairs and later took questions from the audience. Watch a game PENDLETON vs. Stanfi eld vs. Heppner Friday, 7 p.m., at Heppner Malheur standoff trial goes to jury Oregon Public Broadcasting Closing arguments are fi nished in the trial of seven people charged in the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year. The case now heads to the 12-person jury for deliberation. Attorney Matt Schindler, hybrid counsel for defendant Ken Medenbach, delivered a thunderous argument to the jury in defense not just of his client, but of the occu- pation as a whole. “How did any of these people benefi t from protesting the death of rural America?” Schindler said. Defendants are charged with conspiracy to impede federal employees from doing their jobs by force, threat or intimidation. Schindler cast the seven See TRIAL/10A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Library gets parks-themed makeover Volunteer Colleen Sanders of Pendleton dips a brush into a can of paint while painting trees on a forest mural Thursday at the Pendleton Public Library. The library is transforming their programing space into a National Parks-themed room with grants from the Wildhorse Foundation and from the Oregon Community Foundation. One of the stipulations of the grant from the Oregon Community Foundation was that the money should be spent in a way that promotes the National Parks system. DIVIDED AMERICA Seeing options shrinking, white men ask why EDITOR’S NOTE — This is part of Divided America, AP’s ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in Amer- ican society. By MATT SEDENSKY Associated Press DALLAS — The voices cascade into the studio, denouncing political hypoc- risy and media bias and disappearing values. Hillary Clinton is a liar and a crook, they say; Donald Trump is presidential and successful. By the time the 16th caller reaches the air this day, the Rick Roberts show has reached an impassioned crescendo of anger and lamentation. Roberts, WBAP’s AP Photos by LM Otero Radio talk show host Rick Roberts speaks with a caller during his program in Dallas on Sept. 6. “I want America to be America,” he says. Listeners Jon Hayes (upper right) and Ken Hindman (lower right). bearded, rodeo-roping, husky-voiced host, has heard enough, and he is primed with a message for his listeners. “I want my country back,” he begins. He repeats that sentence a half-dozen times in a 4½-minute rant that darts from fear of crime to outsourced jobs to polit- ical correctness. He pans soulless politicians and has-been celebrities and psycho-babble hug-a-tree experts; he pines for a time when everyone spoke English and looked you in the eye and meant what they said. It’s a fervent soliloquy that dismisses transgender people and calls for faith to regain public footing and for economic opportunity to return. “I want America to be America,” he says. “I don’t recognize this country anymore.” This is a white male voice preaching to a largely white male audience that has expressed similar senti- ments, in dribs and drabs, See POLITICS/10A
