Wednesday, December 7, 2016
OFF PAGE ONE
Earthquake rocks Indonesia’s Potential Oregon ballot measure
Aceh province; at least 25 dead targets ‘sanctuary’ immigration law
Page 8A
East Oregonian
By CONRAD WILSON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
By AYI YUFRIDAR
and NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press
BIREUEN,
Indonesia
— A strong undersea earth-
quake rocked Indonesia’s
Aceh province early on
Wednesday, killing at least
25 people and causing
dozens of buildings to
collapse.
A frantic rescue effort
involving
dozens
of
villagers, soldiers and police
was underway in Meureudu,
a severely affected town in
Pidie Jaya district. Three
excavators were trying to
remove debris from shop
houses where three people
were believed buried, said
Suyatno, who heads Aceh’s
search and rescue agency.
District chief Aiyub
Abbas said hundreds of
people in the district have
been injured and more than
40 buildings including
mosques, stores and homes
were flattened. The district is
located 11 miles southwest
of the epicenter.
Abbas said 25 people
have been killed in that
district alone. A local health
office said eight were young
children.
The U.S. Geological
Survey said the shallow
6.4-magnitude earthquake
that struck at 5:03 a.m.
was centered about 6 miles
north of Reuleut, a town in
northern Aceh, at a depth of
11 miles. There was no risk
of a tsunami.
AP Photo/Heri Juanda
Rescuers use heavy machine to search for survivors
under the rubble of a collapsed building after an earth-
quake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednes-
day. A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s
Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing a number of
people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.
Abbas said there is an
urgent need for excavation
equipment to move heavy
debris
and
emergency
supplies.
TV footage showed
rescue personnel taking
bodies in black bags away
from the rubble.
In the nearby district
of Bireuen, a teacher at an
Islamic building school died
after being hit by falling
debris, said health worker
Achmad Taufiq.
About 20 people were
being treated at a health
center and one person was
moved to a hospital because
of broken bones and a head
injury, said Taufiq.
Residents of the nearby
town of Lhokseumawe ran
out of their houses in panic
during the quake and many
people fled to higher ground.
The world’s largest archi-
pelago, Indonesia is prone
to earthquakes due to its
location on the Pacific “Ring
of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes
and fault lines in the Pacific
Basin.
In December 2004, a
massive earthquake off
Sumatra island triggered a
tsunami that killed 230,000
people in a dozen countries.
More than 160,000 people
died in Indonesia alone,
and most of those deaths
occurred in Aceh.
AIRLINE: Boutique says its planes
will offer a faster and quieter ride
Continued from 1A
Much of those troubles
surrounded
Pendleton’s
former provider of air
service — SeaPort Airlines.
Due to declining boarding
numbers, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Transportation
said in June that it would
strip Pendleton’s Essential
Air Service subsidy unless
the city could successfully
appeal the decision.
The
situation
was
compounded by SeaPort
declaring bankruptcy in
February.
Although
SeaPort
assured the city and its
customers that it intended to
exit bankruptcy as it honed
its focus on the Northwest,
the Portland-based airline
grounded its planes and
shuttered its doors in
September, a month after
Pendleton announced it
would choose the San Fran-
cisco-based Boutique over
SeaPort.
With Pendleton arguing
that SeaPort’s failures led to
At least two members
of the Oregon Legislature
want to repeal a 1987 statute
that prevents police from
enforcing federal immigra-
tion law.
Right now, law enforce-
ment agencies can’t use
their resources to apprehend
immigrants if their only
violation is being in the
country illegally.
But a potential ballot
measure would do away
with the long-standing state
statute.
“Law enforcement is
prohibited from enforcing
the law,” said Republican
Rep. Mike Nearman of
Independence.
Nearman, along with
Republican
Rep.
Sal
Esquivel of Medford, wants
to get the measure on the
2018 ballot. Oregon law
requires 1,000 signatures
to begin the process, which
they’ve already collected.
But the Oregon Depart-
ment of Justice has refused
to give Nearman a ballot
title.
The DOJ argues Near-
man’s group wasn’t clear
about what they were asking
people to sign when they
collected signatures.
“Based on our review,
it does not appear that a
person signing the petition
would necessarily have
understood that they were
signing a petition in favor
of repealing an existing
statute,” Assistant Attorney
General Shannon Reel
wrote in an Oct. 28 letter,
denying a request from the
Secretary of State’s Office
to draft a ballot title.
Nearman said he’s
working with attorneys to
determine whether to take
legal action against the DOJ
or collect the signatures
again.
“Law enforcement needs
this as a tool to be able to
make a dent in illegal immi-
gration. I think we’re going
in the wrong direction,”
Nearman said.
Oregon
lawmakers
passed the law in the 1980s
because several local police
departments and federal
immigration
officials
conducted raids that targeted
the state’s Latino commu-
nity, said Andrea Williams,
the executive director of
Causa, an advocacy orga-
nization that works with
Latino immigrants.
SKI: Spout Springs looking to sell facility
Continued from 1A
over the weekend, with
hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. Then,
starting Saturday, Dec. 17
through Sunday, Jan. 1, the
hill will be open daily for
the holiday break, excluding
Christmas Day.
Another 8 inches of
snow fell Monday night at
Anthony Lakes, continuing
into Tuesday. As of Tuesday
evening the resort has 25
inches at base, and 58
inches so far on the season.
The closest downhill ski
area to Pendleton, Spout
Springs, is also counting on
a stronger year. Owner John
Murray said they are now
hiring seasonal staff, and
could be ready to start by
mid-December.
Spout Springs is located
along Highway 204 near
Tollgate. Snow is in the fore-
cast through the weekend,
and Murray estimates they
already have close to 2 feet.
“It’s all speculation, but
this does look like a good
year with a December
opening,” he said. “If we
get good snow, I’m positive
we’ll have a good turnout.”
Last year, Spout Springs
opened Dec. 26 and ran
through the second week
of March. Murray said he
needs at least 30 inches of
packed snow before he feels
comfortable opening.
“It has to be safe,” he
said.
Murray, who also runs
a dry dock in Portland,
is looking to sell Spout
Springs after 18 seasons.
At a price of $1.25 million,
he said he’s received a half-
dozen inquiries, both local
and out-of-area, but did
not disclose any potential
buyers.
Cross-country skiers are
also getting ready to capi-
talize on the recent snow,
including the Blue Moun-
tain Nordic Club, which
maintains and grooms
18 miles of trails at the
Meacham Divide Nordic
Area between Pendleton
and La Grande.
Club president Anne
March said they have about
18 inches of snow in the
area, which should allow
them to start grooming trails
as early as this weekend.
“This last storm really
made a good base for us,”
March said. “We’re really
excited.”
Earlier this year, the club
sold its old Bombardier
groomer and purchased
a smaller Thiokol Super
Imp
Snow
Machine,
which March said should
be cheaper to operate and
allow them to groom more
often, up to two or three
times per week during the
season.
At an elevation of 4,100
feet, March said conditions
at Meacham Divide can be
highly variable throughout
the season, but if the snow
keeps up skiers should be in
for a good winter.
“You just have to be
ready for whatever the
weather brings,” she said.
Meacham Divide Nordic
Area can be accessed off
Summit Road, exit 243
along I-84, and offers views
of Meacham Canyon and
Spout Springs Ridgeline.
The trails are now open. A
Sno-Park permit is required
for parking.
For more information
about the Blue Mountain
Nordic Club, visit www.
new.onc.org/bmnc.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-66-0825.
Photo contributed by Boutique Air
Boutique Air, which uses the Pilatus PC-12 plane, will
begin service between Pendleton and Portland Dec. 19.
a low passenger count, the
DOT restored the city’s EAS
subsidy and gave Boutique
the green light to start as
soon as possible.
Boutique has centered
its appeal around its fleet of
Pilatus PC-12 planes, which
the company says will offer
a faster and quieter ride than
SeaPort’s fleet of Cessna
Caravans.
While it is relatively new
to EAS contracts, Boutique
also staked its reputation on
its ability to dramatically
increase the passenger
counts of the communities
it serves, some of which
were previously covered by
SeaPort.
Besides Pendleton, the
airline currently has routes
in Arizona, Alabama, Cali-
fornia, New Mexico, Texas,
Colorado, Nebraska, Minne-
sota, Mississippi, Tennessee,
Georgia and Utah.
TM
HOUSING: Auditors recommend the agency boost
planning efforts for housing preservation projects
Continued from 1A
Secretary of State Jeanne
Atkins said in a statement
Tuesday. “The loss of even a
single rental unit could mean
one or more Oregon families
may not be able to find a
home.”
In multiple instances,
auditors found the agency
failed to monitor contracts
for pricing and results.
For example, since 2003,
OHCS has continuously
renewed a contract with
Neighborhood Partnerships
of Portland without putting
the contract out to bid. The
contract is for managing
individual
development
accounts,
a
matching
savings system that helps
low-income families build
financial management skills
and save toward homeown-
ership.
Low vacancy rates and
a growing population have
driven up home values
across the state by 12.5
percent since 2015, while
rents have climbed by nearly
7 percent per month, making
it increasingly challenging
for low-income families to
find housing.
Auditors found that
OHCS has failed to
complete a required annual
statewide housing plan that
would identify and find
ways to meet needs, largely
because the agency has not
kept an accurate inventory
of affordable housing around
the state. Outdated data
systems have contributed to
barriers the agency faces in
completing an accurate and
comprehensive inventory,
the audit noted.
“Partnerships
with
housing developers, funders,
advocates, and others in the
housing community, are a
crucial part of preserving
low-income
affordable
housing,” Atkins
said.
“However, the audit found
that OHCS needs to improve
its
relationships
with
stakeholders through better
communications and trans-
parency.”
Auditors recommended
that the agency boost
planning efforts for housing
preservation projects and
work with the Legislature
to increase the availability
of funding for housing
developers to promote more
housing units in the state.
“Our auditors found that
crucial
communications
between OHCS leadership
and the Housing Stability
Council are lacking, and
that the council needs clarity
about its role,” Atkins said. “I
urge the Legislature to work
with the council and agency
leadership to help define this
essential relationship.”
The agency also faces
organizational
problems,
including poor commu-
nication with employees,
inconsistent staffing and
workloads, and inadequate
policies and procedures, the
audit found.
Gov. Kate Brown hired
Margaret Salazar, formerly
of the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Devel-
opment, in late September
to direct OHCS and steer
improvements at the agency.
Less than a month after
starting her new job Nov.
1, Salazar responded to the
audit’s preliminary findings.
In her response, Salazar
said she is working to
address the shortcomings
found in the audit.
“While I am new in my
role as director of OHCS, I
have come to quickly under-
stand the need to address
these
critical
issues,”
Salazar wrote in her Nov. 29
response.
The agency is in the
process of updating its
computer systems and plans
to have a new system for
tracking multifamily housing
finance data installed at the
agency by the end of 2017.
“The age of the systems
and … workarounds make
it difficult for staff to extract
information,” the audit
states. “Only a few staff have
the long-term knowledge
and expertise to do so.”
The agency also plans to
debut its first housing plan in
many years, Salazar said.
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