NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
House convenes, disagrees
over committee appointments
another and to their constitu-
ents, especially to those with
perspectives different from
their own; and to “engage in
robust, constructive debate.”
Rep. Knute Buehler,
R-Bend, nominated House
Minority Leader Mike
McLane, R-Powell Butte,
for Speaker of the House.
McLane lost to Kotek by 10
votes.
Buehler criticized the
“tone” of the previous
legislative session in his
nomination remarks and
said the Legislature faced
challenges
requiring
leadership, including the
unfunded liability of the
state’s retirement system
for public employees, “a
revenue system which is just
not getting the job done,” and
a lack of affordable housing.
He also criticized the
discontinuation
of
the
House Committee on Rural
Communities, Land Use and
Water, of which McLane was
a member.
Speaker Pro Tempore
Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, later
said the committee was the
creation of House Democrats
and was not in place when
he entered the Legislature in
2004.
Legislators chose Holvey,
who replaces now-State
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — In the year’s
first meeting of the Oregon
House of Representatives
Monday, members of both
parties acknowledged the
legislative session’s immi-
nent hurdles and called for
communication across party
lines, despite a disagreement
over Oregon House rules
regarding committee assign-
ments.
The 60 members of the
house, including 14 new
state representatives, took
the oath of office Monday
morning. They reconvened
in the afternoon to review
nearly 800 bills.
Rep.
Tina
Kotek,
D-Portland, voted Speaker
of the House for a third
time, acknowledged the
“enormity” of the Legisla-
ture’s tasks in the upcoming
session, which formally
kicks off Feb. 1.
Several high-stakes issues
are looming, including a $1.8
billion budget shortfall, a $22
billion unfunded liability in
the state’s public employee
retirement system, low
graduation rates and a tough
rental housing market.
Kotek encouraged her
colleagues to listen to one
BRIEFLY
PORTLAND (AP) —
Oregon is allocating $5
million to help 40 school
districts — including Herm-
iston, Umatilla and Morrow
County — better teach
English as a second language.
Graduation rates and test
results from 2015 and 2016
show that three-fourths of the
state’s ESL students aren’t
proficient in math, 60 percent
can’t read well by the end of
middle school and one-third
never graduate from high
school, reported The Orego-
nian.
The state is providing
funding to the 40 districts
it says have done the worst
job of helping students learn
English. Each district is
required to make a custom
plan to improve its effective-
ness and will be judged on
the results achieved by 2020.
Umatilla, Bend-La Pine,
Reynolds and Jefferson
County school districts are
among 15 singled out as
having the deepest issues.
Those districts have a
large number of students
learning English as a second
language, and a dispropor-
tionate share of them are
low-income, have moved
frequently, arrived in the U.S.
recently or are homeless. The
second-language students in
those districts have shown
very little progress in math
ONTARIO — A woman reported
kidnapped Monday from an Eastern
Oregon convenience store and then found
dead minutes later after a head-on crash
during a police chase might also have been
stabbed, authorities say.
It’s not clear yet what caused the
woman’s death — the attack or the crash
— but police are now investigating it as a
homicide, said Ontario chief Cal Kunz.
Criminal charges are pending against
Anthony Montwheeler of Nampa, Idaho,
said Malheur County District Attorney
David Goldthorpe. He will present the case
to a grand jury, he said.
Ontario police received a 9-1-1 call
around 5:50 a.m. that reported the woman
being stabbed by a man outside the JNJ
corner store and gas station, Goldthorpe
said. They both got into a 2014 Dodge Ram
pickup and fled as Ontario police officers
were arriving.
Montwheeler apparently knew the
woman, but authorities wouldn’t reveal
how they were connected.
The pickup drove through the town,
got onto Oregon 201, sped into oncoming
traffic near Southwest 18th Avenue and
collided head-on with a 2001 Ford Excur-
sion, Goldthorpe said.
The woman in the pickup and the driver
of the SUV died at the scene, he said.
Montwheeler and a passenger in the SUV
also suffered serious injuries and are being
treated at a hospital in the area. Police
didn’t release the others’ names.
Movtwheeler is a former co-owner of an
Idaho-based scrap-metal company and was
convicted in 2012 of first-degree aggra-
vated theft in Grant County Circuit Court
for underpaying an elderly couple by about
$10,000 for scrap metal. He was sentenced
to two years in prison. His wife, Anita
Harmon-Montwheeler, was convicted of
the same charge and was sentenced to 16
months in prison, court records show.
The woman’s car was found abandoned
in Weiser, Idaho, about 20 miles north of
Ontario, Kunz said. The car was in the
middle of the street blocking traffic. — The
Oregonian
Treasurer Tobias Read, over
Oregon Rep. Andy Olson,
R-Albany, as Speaker Pro
Tempore.
Rep.
Cliff
Bentz,
R-Ontario, also called for
bipartisanship in remarks
in support of Olson, saying
working across party lines
was the answer to roadblocks
such as the PERS “debacle,”
affordable housing and envi-
ronmental issues.
“All these things, the
magic that will get us there,
is bipartisanship,” Bentz
said.
Rep.
Carl
Wilson,
R-Grants Pass, objected
to the adoption of Oregon
House rules, in particular the
role of the speaker in making
committee assignments.
The speaker appoints both
majority and minority party
members to committees.
The speaker is required to
appoint the same proportion
of majority to minority
members to committees as
are in the Oregon House as
a whole.
Legislative committees
review legislation in specific
policy areas. The dispute
followed some hubbub in
late December over the
removal of Buehler from the
House Committee on Human
Services and Housing.
skills and language, and they
are unlikely to graduate or go
to college.
Each of those districts will
receive $180,000 this year
and is expected to receive
the same amount in the next
three years.
The other 25 districts,
including
Hermiston,
Morrow County and Ione,
will each get $90,000 per
year to improve their English
learner programs.
Many advocates for
students who speak English
as a second language and
their families say Oregon
districts often teach immi-
grant children ineffectively
and spend money meant for
English learners on other
things.
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East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday
and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to
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Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
Mostly cloudy with
a bit of snow
Periods of snow,
1-3 inches
THURSDAY
Mostly sunny and
very cold
FRIDAY
Partly sunny and
bitterly cold
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
22°
29° 15°
8°
20°
6°
19° 11°
28° 18°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
25° 10°
29° 17°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
40°
21°
41°
27°
67° (1990) -18° (1909)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.13"
0.55"
0.51"
0.55"
0.06"
0.51"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
30°
15°
40°
28°
66° (1953) -10° (1974)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Trace
0.21"
0.36"
0.21"
0.05"
0.36"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
Jan 12
Jan 19
7°
18° 11°
26° 19°
Seattle
39/24
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
20°
New
7:34 a.m.
4:32 p.m.
3:13 p.m.
5:29 a.m.
First
Jan 27
Feb 3
Today
SATURDAY
Very cold with
periods of sun
Spokane
Wenatchee
27/3
25/10
Tacoma
Moses
41/22
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 26/9
29/10
40/26
39/23
30/12
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
40/26
28/16 Lewiston
30/15
Astoria
36/17
45/28
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
42/28
Pendleton 31/14
The Dalles 29/17
29/15
36/22
La Grande
Salem
34/18
44/30
Albany
Corvallis 42/29
41/31
John Day
36/23
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
34/27
42/32
34/13
Caldwell
Burns
37/28
33/21
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
45
31
34
52
33
31
42
32
29
36
37
34
29
45
44
48
34
30
29
42
37
44
27
30
44
28
30
Lo
28
14
13
40
21
14
32
14
17
23
25
18
13
36
32
39
27
12
15
28
13
30
3
10
29
16
12
W
r
sn
sn
r
sn
sn
r
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
r
r
r
sn
sn
sn
r
sn
r
sf
sn
r
sn
sf
Hi
38
18
27
46
27
25
40
23
25
28
34
24
18
42
41
47
30
20
22
33
23
38
15
24
33
17
23
Lo
24
1
6
33
-1
6
24
7
10
9
12
10
7
26
28
32
6
1
8
20
4
24
-1
3
21
9
3
W
c
sn
sn
sh
sn
sn
sf
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
r
r
r
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
r
pc
sn
sn
sn
pc
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
37/25
Boardman
Pendleton
Hi
39
73
52
48
72
19
46
46
31
87
54
Lo
17
66
35
44
41
15
38
26
17
73
37
W
s
pc
c
c
s
c
c
pc
s
pc
pc
Wed.
Hi
44
72
54
52
73
19
50
45
35
97
49
Lo
21
65
38
38
42
13
41
30
26
71
38
W
s
pc
s
pc
pc
c
r
pc
s
pc
s
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Rain today and tonight.
Periods of rain tomorrow, except dry across
the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Occasional snow
today and tonight, accumulating 3-6 inches
with up to a foot across higher elevations.
Western Washington: A couple of showers
today, except occasional rain and drizzle
across the south.
Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today; a
little snow, mainly later. Total accumulations
of 1-3 inches, locally higher.
Cascades: Heavy snow today, accumulat-
ing 10-15 inches across the north and 6-10
inches in the south and central parts.
Northern California: Downpours today;
heavy snow, accumulating 4-8 inches in the
interior mountains.
Today
Wednesday
NE 6-12
NNW 6-12
W 4-8
WNW 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
0
ASHLAND (AP) — GPS navigational
systems have been leading drivers to trouble
in southern Oregon.
The Daily Courier reports that in recent
days, several motorists have been caught in
icy, snowed-in roads after their devices told
them to leave the safety of Interstate 5 near
Siskiyou Summit south of Ashland.
Jackson County sheriff’s Sgt. Shawn
Richards says on Thursday, three families
drove off of I-5, got stuck and spent the
night in the cold because of out-of-date
Google maps information. Richards says at
the time of the incidents, the freeway was in
good condition and completely open.
Search and rescue volunteers are now
manning Colestin Road to keep drivers off.
Richards says on Friday at least another nine
drivers tried to take the short cut on their
way to California, but they were intercepted.
Company wants its hard-to-
kill GMO grass deregulated
PORTLAND (AP) — Federal agriculture
officials could decide this week to give up
its oversight of a spreading grass that was
engineered to resist an herbicide.
The Oregonian reports Scotts
Miracle-Gro is no longer planning to
commercialize the grass and wants federal
agriculture officials to deregulated it.
Scotts partnered with Monsanto to
engineer the hard-to-kill grass. Scotts was
fined $500,000 by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture for letting it spread.
Federal officials also made the company
responsible for controlling the grass.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife found the grass
puts endangered plant and animal species at
risk.
0
0
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0
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Wed.
WINDS
Medford
45/36
GPS directions lead drivers
to trouble in Ashland
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PORTLAND (AP) — The Oregon State
Medical Examiner has confirmed that a
Portland woman found dead in a downtown
parking garage succumbed to hypothermia
after being outside in freezing temperatures.
The woman has been identified as
52-year-old Karen Lee Batts.
Central Precinct officers responded to
the parking garage Saturday after getting
a report that a woman had been removing
her clothing while appearing to struggle in
the cold weather. She was deceased when
officers and paramedics arrived.
BEND (AP) — The Central Oregon
Avalanche Association is warning that
warmer temperatures and additional snow
are expected to increase the potential for
avalanches.
The Bulletin reports that the forecast
over the next week calls for wet snow in
the Cascades, which would blanket the dry
powder that fell over the past week. Those
conditions could increase the risk of an
avalanche.
The Avalanche Association’s Trevor
Miller says trained spotters who regularly
visit backcountry spots hadn’t seen signs of
heightened risk as of Friday.
Miller’s organization hosts a free seminar
Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255
before noon Tuesday through Friday
or before 10 a.m. Saturday
for same-day redelivery
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
Autopsy: Woman in Portland
garage died of hypothermia
Central Oregon forecast
could increase avalanche risk
Subscriber services:
For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
about avalanche awareness in Bend once a
month during the winter. He says the talks
offer tips about how to assess avalanche risk
in backcountry skiing areas.
Head-on crash as police chase
kidnap suspect; two killed
Oregon sets aside $5 million for
teaching English as second language
Umatilla to receive $180k in ESL funding
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Snow, a wintry mix and rain will fall over the Midwest and Northeast
as warmer air with gusty winds and showers affect the Mississippi Valley. A storm will bring
rain and mountain snow to the West Coast.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 85° in Fort Stockton, Texas
Low -24° in Clayton Lake, Maine
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
57
53
44
39
16
57
35
39
61
50
45
44
75
48
40
70
-5
12
81
77
47
68
48
61
64
62
Lo
33
46
39
36
-4
56
28
38
45
45
29
37
57
33
31
44
-18
-6
63
64
33
46
34
49
54
54
W
s
s
c
c
sn
pc
sn
sn
pc
c
r
i
c
pc
sn
s
pc
pc
pc
c
sh
pc
pc
pc
c
c
Wed.
Hi
57
64
52
52
7
65
33
48
71
56
42
50
78
51
44
70
-5
1
82
79
55
72
51
63
71
63
Lo
32
49
42
42
-2
57
15
38
53
53
31
46
63
27
39
42
-14
-12
68
68
52
52
19
46
61
52
W
pc
c
c
c
sn
c
sn
r
pc
r
sh
sh
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
r
s
c
pc
sh
r
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
52
61
76
42
27
56
73
39
67
39
38
69
36
42
43
28
47
55
59
42
65
59
39
73
38
61
Lo
45
58
65
24
9
53
61
38
42
27
37
49
35
40
37
4
36
48
34
37
55
50
24
45
36
37
W
sh
sh
pc
r
sn
c
pc
r
pc
c
c
s
c
r
pc
pc
sh
r
c
r
c
r
sn
s
c
pc
Wed.
Hi
60
68
79
39
16
64
76
49
73
32
51
66
45
49
54
6
42
56
60
40
64
56
34
71
52
64
Lo
55
62
69
23
1
60
62
43
43
9
41
49
33
35
47
-3
26
41
51
24
54
45
21
43
46
21
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
r
c
pc
sh
sn
sh
pc
c
pc
c
c
pc
r
r
c
sn
sf
c
sh
sh
r
c
pc
pc
c
pc