NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Friday, January 13, 2017
Officials decline
Crook County snow
emergency request
Explosives considered to
clear ice from Snake River
By GORDON R. FRIEDMAN
The Oregonian
Officials in Malheur
County are asking the
National Guard to consider
using explosives to blast away
a mile-long ice floe blocking
parts of the Snake River,
according to an emergency
proclamation obtained by The
Oregonian.
That kind of operation
has never been done by the
Oregon National Guard
before, said Cory Grogan,
spokesman for the state Office
of Emergency Management.
“It’s like anything else
— it needs to be analyzed
and discussed,” Grogan said.
“We’re coordinating with the
Army Corps of Engineers to
see if that’s even a possibility.”
County
officials
on
Wednesday asked Gov. Kate
Brown to declare a state of
emergency for the area, citing
dangerous levels of snow and
ice and dwindling survival
supplies. That’s when they
made their request for explo-
sives.
Bryan
Hockaday,
a
spokesman for the governor,
said Brown has been briefed
on the situation in Malheur
County and is directing her
staff and state emergency
management officials to
“evaluate the recommen-
dations of local emergency
Photo by Leslie Thompson/Independent-Enterprise
Ice flows freely in the Snake River on Monday afternoon. The river breached a bank
north of Payette along River Road.
managers.” Brown declared
a state of emergency
Wednesday afternoon.
Though it may be amusing
to think of blowing up a mile-
long block of ice, the danger
it poses is no laughing matter.
Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John
Day, whose legislative district
covers Malheur County, said
the area may never have
seen such horrendous winter
conditions.
More than 30 onion sheds,
a Malheur County Fair-
grounds building and seven
“If we get a flood event
we’re in real trouble,” said
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario.
“This is not a joke. This is
bad.”
Ice melt and snow shovels
are all but unavailable as
retailers are sold out. Inmates
are being used to fill sandbags
at one county subdivision.
The unusually bad cold
snap is expected to continue in
Eastern Oregon. Temperatures
are forecast to stay below 20
degrees and snow is likely to
hit the area next week.
commercial buildings have
collapsed from ice, according
to the county’s emergency
declaration.
Looming ice jams pose
a serious flood risk on the
Snake River, Payette River
and Malheur River. When the
eventual melt arrives, some
residents near the riverbanks
may need to evacuate to avoid
floodwaters. Residents along
the Snake River — including
in
neighboring
Payette
County, Idaho — have been
given an evacuation notice.
BRIEFLY
lamation that the expansion
will create a landscape that
will connect vital habitat,
protect the watershed
and preserve the area’s
extraordinary biodiversity.
The monument, originally
65,000 acres, is home to rare
plant and animal species.
Conservation groups
and Oregon’s Democratic
U.S. senators praised the
decision.
Oregon Public Broad-
casting says detractors have
expressed concern that a
larger monument would
hurt the region’s economy
with limits on logging
and grazing. The Oregon
Cattleman’s Association said
Obama expands
Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument
ASHLAND (AP) —
President Barack Obama has
expanded the Cascade-Sis-
kiyou National Monument
in southwestern Oregon to
protect its rich biodiversity.
The expansion
announced Thursday adds
about 48,000 acres to a
landscape of rich forests,
grasslands and shrubs
that was established as
a monument in 2000. It
includes about 5,000 acres
in northern California.
Obama said in his proc-
in a news release that the
decision will have a rippling
effect on ranchers, farmers
and outdoor enthusiasts.
County Board of Commis-
sioners voted Wednesday to
withdraw from the suit.
The lawsuit alleges
the state failed to meet an
agreement to maximize
timber profits.
Clatsop County’s forest-
land represented 23 percent of
the land cited in the lawsuit.
The counties rely on
logging money from harvests
on state lands and say they
are owed $1.4 billion.
In voting to leave the
lawsuit, commissioners cited
concerns from residents that
the state would raise taxes if
it lost the legal battle to pay
counties the timber revenue
they say they lost.
Clatsop County
withdraws from
timber lawsuit
ASTORIA (AP)
— Oregon’s Clatsop
County has dropped out
of a class-action lawsuit
involving more than a dozen
counties seeking $1.4 billion
from the state over logging
harvests on state-managed
lands.
The Daily Astorian
reported that the Clatsop
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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.
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Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group
SATURDAY
Very cold with
periods of sun
Freezing fog this
morning
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Partly sunny and
frigid
Some sun, then
clouds and frigid
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
14°
16°
5°
6°
18°
4°
19° 13°
40° 37°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
16°
17°
7°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
10°
-6°
41°
27°
61° (1933) -19° (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
0.00"
1.06"
0.67"
1.06"
0.32"
0.67"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
13°
-11°
41°
28°
64° (1945) -11° (2017)
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
0.00"
0.61"
0.49"
0.61"
0.21"
0.49"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Jan 19
Jan 27
19°
6°
17° 13°
36° 33°
Seattle
38/28
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
9°
First
7:33 a.m.
4:35 p.m.
6:29 p.m.
8:14 a.m.
Full
Feb 3
Feb 10
Today
TUESDAY
Rain or snow
showers possible
Spokane
Wenatchee
18/10
15/8
Tacoma
Moses
39/22
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 17/8
22/11
42/28
38/23
21/5
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
35/23
Lewiston
14/7
14/7
Astoria
25/17
42/29
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
30/19
Pendleton 23/9
The Dalles 16/7
14/5
22/15
La Grande
Salem
25/11
31/17
Albany
Corvallis 33/22
33/22
John Day
32/15
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
20/8
33/22
24/6
Caldwell
Burns
21/9
16/-5
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
42
16
24
49
16
23
33
19
16
32
24
25
25
38
42
49
20
14
14
30
25
31
18
25
32
14
21
Lo
29
-1
6
35
-5
9
22
5
7
15
6
11
10
26
30
32
8
5
5
19
3
17
10
5
20
7
5
W
c
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
pc
Hi
45
17
25
49
19
26
36
20
17
33
29
27
27
42
45
50
19
17
16
32
23
33
22
28
34
15
20
Klamath Falls
24/6
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
30
1
9
36
-3
10
22
8
9
15
12
10
9
25
30
33
5
7
6
18
3
19
10
9
21
5
5
W
c
c
c
pc
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
s
c
c
pc
pc
pc
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
c
pc
pc
c
pc
Lo
15
60
42
31
41
18
31
33
13
80
37
W
s
c
pc
pc
pc
c
sn
r
s
pc
pc
Sat.
Hi
36
66
56
42
70
30
40
51
25
89
44
Lo
13
59
44
32
42
28
30
35
13
70
32
W
s
c
c
pc
pc
sn
sn
s
s
sh
c
(in mph)
Today
Saturday
Boardman
Pendleton
NE 4-8
N 4-8
NE 3-6
N 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Sunshine mixing with
some clouds today. Mostly cloudy tonight.
Clouds and sun tomorrow.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly sunny
and cold today; freezing fog across the
north in the morning.
Western Washington: Sunshine mixing with
some clouds today. Mostly cloudy tonight.
Mostly cloudy tomorrow.
Eastern Washington: Areas of freezing fog
in the morning; partly sunny today. Mostly
cloudy tonight.
Cascades: Mostly sunny today; cold. Mostly
cloudy tonight, except partly cloudy in the
south.
Northern California: Mostly sunny today;
very cold in the interior mountains.
Corrections
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and
sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in
the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
37
64
53
41
72
22
40
57
30
91
52
in southern Africa, and are
probably unknown to most
Oregonians.
House
Republican
leader said Thursday the
order was tantamount
to limiting employees’
right to self-defense. In a
statement, McLane said
he would ask Gov. Kate
Brown where the authority
for the new rules comes
from.
Senate
Republican
Leader Ted Ferrioli said the
Brown administration “has
no business confiscating
self-defense rights from
public servants, volunteers
and others, who have
committed themselves to
serving our state.”
The order does not
appear to apply to
lawmakers.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Sat.
WINDS
Medford
38/26
SALEM (AP) — Oregon
officials banned state
employees from carrying
weapons in the workplace
unless they’re needed for
their jobs, causing conster-
nation Thursday among
Republican leaders in the
Legislature.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Administrative
Services said it imposed
the ban, which became
effective on Jan. 6, in
hopes of “providing a safe
and secure environment for
employees and visitors.”
Banned are firearms,
daggers, slingshots, and
a host of other speci-
fied weapons. Oddly,
even knobkerries were
mentioned. Knobkerries
are clubs used by indige-
nous people like the Zulus
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
“They were under-
standing of the situation
and respected the county’s
decision to declare an
emergency,” said Craw-
ford, “but due to the state’s
limited resources they
were unable to provide the
county with services before
Friday, and even then they
would charge us.”
He said it’s been
arranged for a private
company to plow the
private rural roads that the
county doesn’t maintain on
Thursday.
Office of Emergency
Management spokesman
Cory Grogan said the state
is trying to be responsible
with taxpayers’ money and
the county still had local
options it could turn to.
“It was determined
that their resources hadn’t
been exhausted enough,”
Grogan said.
Oregon bans weapons
in state workplaces
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Subscriber services:
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TODAY
BEND (AP) — Oregon
officials have rejected
Crook County’s request for
money and manpower to
help dig out its snowed-in
rural neighborhoods.
The state concluded
Wednesday that the county
hadn’t used all of its
resources, reported The
Bulletin. Officials did,
however, offer assistance
from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation for
an estimated $55 per hour,
plus equipment costs.
The county declined that
offer, said Crook County
Judge Seth Crawford. It
had been hoping for state
financial assistance and
National Guard equipment.
Crawford
discussed
the county’s emergency
request with representa-
tives of Gov. Kate Brown’s
office on Wednesday
morning.
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
-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: An ice storm will unfold from the southern Plains to part of the Ohio
Valley today. Rain and thunder are in store farther to the south. Rain showers with moun-
tain snow will push well inland over the Southwest.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 87° in Zapata, Texas
Low -35° in Cotton, Minn.
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
73
51
50
26
72
23
43
77
44
26
29
62
36
29
72
-2
6
83
77
36
74
22
55
48
62
Lo
41
52
31
29
10
53
10
18
52
36
21
22
51
23
21
50
-8
-2
67
63
27
52
21
45
41
48
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
r
s
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
t
c
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
c
pc
pc
i
r
c
pc
Sat.
Hi
57
70
37
33
27
73
22
29
68
44
32
33
65
41
34
70
2
14
83
76
34
71
31
60
56
67
Lo
39
51
32
30
12
51
8
25
46
37
20
24
56
24
21
49
-27
1
67
63
27
52
25
42
45
49
Today
W
r
pc
sn
i
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
sh
c
sn
r
pc
c
pc
sn
s
s
c
i
pc
i
s
r
s
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
42
54
81
23
9
51
74
46
34
25
48
65
39
46
68
21
36
54
33
33
61
54
38
69
52
30
Lo
35
48
68
20
0
47
56
27
29
15
28
51
8
19
41
7
19
34
31
20
50
41
28
47
32
23
W
r
c
pc
pc
c
c
pc
pc
i
c
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
i
sf
sh
s
s
pc
pc
i
Sat.
Hi
46
64
79
33
19
61
72
33
40
30
33
66
24
31
48
29
34
54
36
29
63
55
41
63
37
32
Lo
36
50
68
16
1
49
57
29
35
18
30
50
14
23
43
7
21
36
31
15
52
45
30
43
33
28
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
r
r
pc
c
pc
sh
pc
sn
i
pc
sn
c
pc
pc
c
s
pc
pc
i
s
pc
pc
c
c
i
i