REGION
STORM: Concern about packed snow becoming icy
Friday, December 16, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Continued from 1A
priorities, he said, are school
routes and arterial roads that
connect to state highways,
followed by lower volume
collector and residential
roads.
The issue with plowing,
Patterson said, is it pushes
snow into on-street parking
lanes and driveways. He said
gravel trucks were scheduled
to run through Thursday
night, if needed.
Mark Morgan, Hermiston
assistant city manager, said
the road department was
primed and ready for the
storm since Wednesday
morning. Workers spent all
day plowing, and employees
from the water and sewer
department also pitched in to
shovel the sidewalks around
city property.
“It’s all hands on deck,”
Morgan said.
Morgro, not salt
Umatilla County’s facili-
ties crew hits snow-covered
work sites starting at 6 a.m.
Facilities manager Mark
Tanner said that’s a must-do
to attack the recent winter
storms.
“The big thing is to get
on it as soon as you can,” he
said, before people trample
and compact the snow.
A three-person crew
clears walkways around the
courthouse and its parking lot
at 216 S.E. Fourth St., which
takes up the whole block, and
the public health building
across the street. Tanner said
they heft snow shovels for
tight places, including ramps
and stairs, but they use a John
Deere riding mower with
chains on the wheels and a
blade on the front to push
snow from the long straight
stretches.
Workers also give walk-
ways a coating of Morgro
Sno Plow, a non-toxic,
USDA-approved snow and
ice melter. Tanner said that’s
better than salt, which can be
hard on concrete.
Some Pendleton busi-
nesses reported they are sold
out of ice and snow melters.
But D&B Supply, 850 South-
gate Place, still had some,
though it was selling fast.
The business already had two
deliveries of the product this
week.
And Eastern Oregon
Rental & Sales, Pendleton,
also is selling melters, and
while it does not rent snow-
blowers, it has equipment
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A marshmallow peeks out from a layer of snow on
an inflatable Christmas decoration on Southeast
Emigrant on Thursday in Pendleton.
KINDNESS: Frank Brown,
89, busy clearing driveways
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A train passes by a railroad switch at a crossing on Southwest Third Street on
Thursday in Pendleton.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Snow tops the statues of Jackson Sundown and Chief
Clarence Burke on Main Street Thursday in Pendleton.
available to remove snow.
For more information, call
541-276-7368.
Cecil Jones, who has
worked for county for 18
years, said fertilizer spreaders
work well to disperse melters.
The spreader allows him to
accomplish the job around
the courthouse and the health
building in about half an
hour, he said. Dealing with
this storm, though, required
four 50-pound bags of the
stuff.
Tanner said the county has
a lot of sidewalk.
That includes the Stafford
Hansell Government Center,
Hermiston, and the justice
center outside Pendleton,
which is home to the sheriff’s
office, the jail, the communi-
cations center and parole and
probation.
Treacherous highways
Tom
Strandberg,
spokesman with the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion in La Grande, said their
crews were also burning the
midnight oil, running day and
night to keep highways clear.
“There’s
somebody
on shift pretty much at all
times,” Strandberg said.
Even that was not enough
Thursday, as Interstate 84
was closed by afternoon
from Pendleton to Baker
City due to multiple backed
up trucks and spun-out
vehicles blocking route along
Cabbage Hill.
Looking ahead, Strand-
berg said there is additional
concern about packed snow
becoming icy over the next
few days, causing additional
hazards. He recommended
people use extra caution,
and check www.tripcheck.
com for the latest updates on
traffic conditions.
“It’s going to be a chal-
lenge to keep things moving,”
he said.
Forecasts are calling for
bitterly cold temperatures
heading into the weekend,
reaching minus-5 degrees
in the basin Friday night
and minus-10 degrees in
the mountains. Wister said
the region should gradually
begin to warm up Sunday,
getting as high as 35-40
degrees Tuesday, before
becoming cold again for
holiday traveling.
“We could see some
winter-type weather toward
the end of (next) week,”
Wister said.
The sudden onslaught
of snow could also pose a
potential danger for people
recreating in the mountainous
backcountry this weekend.
Victor McNeil, avalanche
forecaster with the Wallowa
Avalanche Center, said some
locations in the Wallowa and
Elkhorn mountains have
received 2 feet of snow or
more over the last week,
which could tip the strength-
to-stress relationship in the
early season snowpack.
“When you get a lot of
new snow in a short period
of time, it takes a while for
the snowpack to adjust to that
new load,” McNeil said. “It
looks like there’s all this fresh
snow for the taking ... You
have to make smart decisions
for yourself and the group
you’re with.”
A more complete advi-
sory is available at www.
wallowaavalanchecenter.org.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4547.
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
New taxes, fewer deductions offered to raise revenue
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A menu of
tax increases that could be
introduced in the House of
Representatives in 2017
has the potential to raise
several billions of dollars in
new revenue for the state,
according to a Legislative
Revenue Office document.
The list of ideas has been
widely distributed around the
Capitol and characterized by
some lobbyists as “House
Democrat Revenue Plan
Options,” but Legislative
Revenue Officer Paul Warner
said the list is a routine
product his office puts out
each biennium to serve as
a “starting point” in discus-
sions in raising revenue. The
options often include ideas
that have proposed in the past.
“We put those options
together every biennium
as part of our regular job,”
Warner said. “We were not
asked (by Democratic leader-
ship) to come up with a list.”
Specific options from the
list limit several personal
income tax deductions,
increase taxes on corporate
income, tobacco and alcohol;
and levy new taxes on corpo-
rate sales, soda and meals.
After the failure of Measure
97 last month, lawmakers are
looking for ways to raise new
revenue. The state faces a
$1.7 billion revenue shortfall
in 2017-19 and increasing
costs in health care and public
retirement benefits. There also
is interest in increasing invest-
ments in education, health
care and senior services, all of
which require new revenue.
Some of the options listed
are similar to the 2.5 percent
corporate sales tax measure
that voters rejected Nov. 8, but
the rates are lower and apply
to a broader base.
Personal income tax
limits
Ideas for curtailing personal
income tax deductions account
for about $1.5 billion of the
options. They include a variety
of choices for limiting deduc-
tions for mortgage interest and
property taxes and itemized
deductions. The state now has
no limits on mortgage interest
deductions, unless a filer owns
more than one home. There
also are no limits on property
tax deductions.
The highest revenue raiser
the possible personal income
tax changes would limit item-
ized deductions to 80 percent
of total deductions, which
would yield an estimated $498
million in revenue for the
2017-19 biennium, according
to the nonpartisan Legislative
Revenue Office.
Corporate sales tax
options
LRO estimated ha 0.39-
percent “gross receipts” tax
on corporations’ Oregon
sales exceeding $1 million
would generate $1.6 billion
in 2017-19 and $2.4 billion
in 2019-21. Another option
for 0.75-percent tax on sales
Live Music
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FRIDAY, DEC. 16
exceeding $1 million would
provide nearly $3.1 billion in
2017-19 and $4.6 billion in
2019-21.
“We will look at different
(sales)
thresholds
and
different rates as we continue
this discussion,” Warner said.
Corporate income tax
One option increases the
corporate income tax from
6.6 percent to 7 percent for
companies with less than
$1 million in income and 8
percent for companies with
more than $1 million. That
tax hike would provide $57
million in revenue in 2017-
19. Another item converts the
corporate minimum tax to 0.1
percent of total sales, which
would yield $88 million in
revenue in 2017-19 and $97
million in 2019-21.
Property tax
Eliminating the 2 and 3
percent property tax discount
for early payment would
bring in an estimated $337
million in 2017-19 and $366
million in 2019-21.
Sin taxes
The list of options also
examines a mix of sin taxes:
a new 5-percent tax on meals
and a 2-cent tax on every 12
ounces of soda. The meals
tax would provide about $278
million in 2017-19 and $520
million in 2019-21. Other
ideas call for increasing the
beer tax by $5 a barrel, from
$2.60 a barrel, and the wine
tax by $1 a gallon, from 67
cents a gallon.
Tobacco tax options
include increases of 25-50
cents per pack, raising $48
million to $88 million in 2017-
19. The cigarette tax is now
$1.32 for a 20-pack and $1.65
for a 25-pack. Lawmakers
also could consider boosting
taxes on other tobacco prod-
ucts by 20 to 35 percent.
Gov. Kate Brown has
called for a tobacco tax hike
of 85 cents in her proposed
budget, released Dec. 1.
911 tax
Another item would raise
the 911 tax from 75 cents to
$1.
Rep.
Phil
Barnhart,
D-Springfield, who chairs the
House Revenue Committee,
was not immediately avail-
able for comment Wednesday
afternoon, when snow had
driven many lawmakers from
the Capitol.
House Minority Leader
Mike McLane, R-Powell
Butte, said any tax increase
negotiations
need
to
accompany efforts to curtail
spending
and
promote
economic development.
helped push them through
an intersection or out of an
embankment. In Pendleton,
Elizabeth Conkey said
the driver of a Round-Up
Plumbing van jumped out
and helped her clear the
snow off her car.
“It was really nice to
know someone was looking
out for me,” she said.
Ashley Chandler, who
lives off Highway 730
near Irrigon, got off work
at 2 a.m. When she tried
to turn onto the side street
where she lives, her car got
stuck. After trying for half
an hour to dig it out and
get moving again, a man
she didn’t know turned his
truck around at the next side
street and came back to help
her out. She said she felt
the man was God’s way of
watching out for her.
Timmy
Clark
of
Pendleton spent the day
taking people to and from
doctor’s appointments for
free. Thursday afternoon
he was at the pediatrician’s
office with a mother and her
baby. He said after posting a
Facebook message offering
free rides to “places of
importance” he had picked
up five people so far and had
two more he still needed to
get.
“Honestly, this wasn’t
my idea,” he said in a private
Facebook message from the
doctor’s office, crediting his
friend Max Driskell. “He
came up with it during our
last snowstorm, because
he was sick of listening to
people complain about what
the city ‘isn’t’ doing, instead
of people finding something
we CAN do!”
Driskell said he had
posted on a community
Facebook page on Sunday,
making the same offer of
free rides, but hadn’t had
any takers. He was glad to
hear that Clark was having
more success.
“There was plenty of
negativity and people were
jumping on the bandwagon,
but if you put out a little
bit of positivity people will
jump on that just the same,”
he said.
North of Hermiston,
neighbors were grateful for
Frank Brown, who at age
89 was out with his tractor
clearing everyone’s drive-
ways. Cindy Gammell-
Thompson said the Brown
family has a long tradition
of helping her family and
other neighbors any time
there is a tree to be trimmed
or a driveway to be cleared.
Frank’s son Tom Brown
confirmed that his dad has
“always” been dedicated to
helping others, and his age
hasn’t changed that.
“He’s had that tractor
forever,” Tom said. “He’s
used it for putting out fires
and clearing snow and
keeping the street out here
graded.”
Umatilla police Sgt. Bill
Wright and officers Natalia
Tovey and Derrick Williams
helped citizens though the
night and into the morning.
“We pushed quite a few
cars and shoveled a few
driveways,” Wright said.
Aiding people in need
is of the department’s
standard, he said, but he
was proud of the effort his
officers gave in the freezing
weather.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
BRIEFLY
Santa Claus is coming to town
HERMISTON — A holiday breakfast offering people
a chance to have fun decorating their food before eating it
is featured this weekend.
Pancakes with Santa is Saturday from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
at the Hermiston Conference Center, 415 S. Highway
395. Tickets are $10 for ages 16 and up, $8 for ages 2-15
or $30 for a family of four. Tickets must be purchased by
5 p.m. Thursday.
The event also includes photos with Santa, art projects
and a Christmas story shared by staff from the Hermiston
Public Library.
For more information or to buy tickets, call 541-667-
5018 or stop by Hermiston Parks & Recreation, 180 N.E.
Second St.
Illinois students seek Hermiston tidbits
A fourth grade class at Aviston Elementary School,
located in southern Illinois, is learning about the
United Sates and are hoping area residents will provide
information about Eastern Oregon.
The class is studying about climates, natural resources
and highlights from towns across the nation. The kids
recently sent a letter asking Hermiston Herald readers to
send postcards, souvenirs or anything else they would like
to the class.
Located about 35 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri,
Aviston’s population is around 2,000.
To add to the children’s learning experience, send
information to: Fourth grade at Aviston Elementary, 350
S. Hull St., Aviston, IL 62216.
1100 Southgate
Suite 6
541-215-1564
Harrison Family Medicine is excited to
welcome Linda Harries PA-C to our team.
If you would like to continue seeing Linda,
or establish care with her, please call
or stop by our NEW LOCATION!
Elwood
www.harrisonmedicine.com
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