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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016
141st Year, No. 46
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WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
GOP accuses Brown
of playing politics with
public records post
Governor’s plan moves
position under her control
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Snow drifts shut down Highway 334
An ODOT snowblower removes wind-blown snow from Highway 334 on Mon-
day north of Athena. Snow turning to rain is forecast for the area as a winter
storm along with above freezing temperatures moves through the area Tues-
day, according to the National Weather Service.
SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
came under fi re Monday from the state’s
Republican Party for a proposal to house
a proposed public records advocate at the
Department of Administrative Services.
In previous proposals, the position was
to be part of the Secretary of State’s Offi ce.
Republicans claim Brown, a Democrat,
now wants to move the position into a
department controlled by the governor now
that the Secretary of State’s Offi ce is about
to be taken over by Dennis Richardson, a
Republican.
“Such maneuvers by Gov. Brown serve
to damage public trust,” ORP Chairman Bill
Currier said in a statement.
He claimed that the move would undercut
Richardson’s oversight responsibilities.
“The secretary of state in Oregon exists in
large part to restore and maintain high public
confi dence, but needs all the tools possible to
do this. Voters elected Dennis Richardson to
restore balance and be this watchdog in order
to guarantee that the rest of the government
run by the governor is telling Oregonians the
truth.”
Under the arrangement proposed in
Trump wins, Oregon objects
Electors question
system as they cast
votes for Clinton
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon’s
seven Electoral College
members cast their votes
Monday morning at the
Oregon State Capitol for
Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Frank J. Dixon, an elector
and chair of the Democratic
Party of Oregon, said
during Monday’s vote on
the Oregon Senate fl oor that
he spoke for all the electors
when he voiced objection to
the electoral process.
“I just want to, on behalf
of the entire elector group
here today, object to this
process to preserve the record
to allow further inquiry of the
electoral process given the
interference by the Russian
government in our election
process,” Dixon said.
Amid cheering from the
gallery, Atkins called public
attendees to order.
Dixon then added:
“And to preserve for the
record our objection, this
process does not honor the
principle of one person, one
vote.”
Under the U.S. Consti-
tution, the winner of the
presidential election is the
candidate who wins the
majority of electoral votes,
not the winner of the popular
vote. Each state has a number
of electors that corresponds
See ELECTORS/8A
See POLITICS/8A
PENDLETON
Ag station
funding
back on
chopping
block
President’s budget calls
for program termination
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Anna Reed /Statesman-Journal via AP
Electoral college members take an oath before casting their votes for president and vice president at
the Oregon state Capitol in Salem, on Monday. All seven of Oregon’s presidential electoral votes went
to Hillary Clinton.
Anna Reed/Statesman-Journal via AP
AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File
Protesters encourage electors to vote against
Donald Trump and call for general electoral col-
lege reform outside the State Capitol on Monday.
In this Dec. 15 photo, President-elect Donald
Trump speaks during a rally at the Giant Center
in Hershey, Pa.
For the second consecutive year,
the Columbia Plateau Conservation
Research Center is at risk of losing
nearly half its annual funding from
the federal government.
Once again, the President’s 2017
budget calls for terminating one of
two research programs at the station,
which would cut $901,000 and elim-
inate three scientist positions.
The Columbia Plateau Conser-
vation Research Center operates
under the Agricultural Research
Service, the primary research arm of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The facility is located on Tubbs
Ranch Road north of Pendleton, and
shares a building with the Columbia
Basin Agricultural Research Center
— though they are two separate
programs.
Experiments conducted at the
station provide data to improve
farming practices for dryland crops,
especially winter wheat, which
accounts for more than $436 million
and 2,600 local jobs throughout the
See FUNDING/8A
UMATILLA
Dropbox offers safe disposal
of unwanted medications
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Umatilla area residents will have a
safer option for disposing of unused
medications in 2017.
Carlson Drug, 821 Sixth Street, is
adding a secure metal dropbox where
people can get rid of unused or expired
medications. The Umatilla Police
Department procured the dropbox with
grant funding from Good Shepherd
Community Health Foundation.
The box will be available for use by
the fi rst of the year.
Cathy Putnam, owner of Carlson
Drug, said people are always asking her
how they can safely dispose of the rest
of their prescription once they no longer
need the drugs they were taking.
“We get calls every day,” she said.
The large metal dropbox — similar
to the blue mailboxes in front of a post
offi ce — will be bolted securely to the
ground, locked and placed under the
watchful eye of pharmacy employees.
Deposited medications are then sealed
up and given to a company that disposes
of them using methods that keep
contaminants from entering the water
supply or posing other health risks.
“We don’t have to touch anything,
which makes it safe for everyone,”
Putnam said.
See DROPBOX/8A
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Liz Marvin, left, and Cathy Putnam show off a new medication
disposal dropbox at Carlson Drug in Umatilla.