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TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017
141st Year, No. 71
She
Trump
pulls out
of TPP
See TPP/8A
the
People
By MATTHEW WEAVER
EO Media Group
Ag groups were split on
President Donald Trump’s
decision to withdraw the
U.S. from the Trans-Pacifi c
Partnership, a 12-nation
trade agreement signed by
the Obama administration.
Many U.S. agricultural
groups saw the TPP as a
boon. It included the U.S. and
11 other countries — Japan,
Canada, Mexico, Australia,
Vietnam, Chile, Malaysia,
Peru, New Zealand, Singa-
pore and Brunei Darussalam.
Japan, Mexico and Canada
are among the biggest trade
partners for U.S. agriculture.
Trump also committed
to renegotiating the North
American
Free
Trade
Agreement with Canada and
Mexico. If partners refuse
a revamped pact that gives
American workers “a fair
deal,” Trump said he will
give notice of intent to with-
draw the U.S. from NAFTA.
American Farm Bureau
Federation President Zippy
Duvall said in a statement
that his organization viewed
TPP as a positive for
agriculture. It would have
added $4.4 billion annually
to the struggling agriculture
economy, he said.
“With this decision,
it is critical that the new
administration begin work
immediately to do all it can
to develop new markets for
U.S. agricultural goods and
to protect and advance U.S.
agricultural interests in the
critical Asia-Pacifi c region,”
Duvall stated.
The Farm Bureau pledged
to work with Trump’s
administration to ensure
that American agriculture
can compete in the global
marketplace.
“American
agriculture
is virtually always a winner
when trade agreements
remove barriers to U.S.
crop and livestock exports
because we impose very few
compared to other nations,”
Duvall stated. “We need the
administration’s
commit-
ment to ensuring we do not
lose the ground gained —
whether in the Asia-Pacifi c,
North America, Europe or
other parts of the world.”
Any renegotiation of
NAFTA must assure that
U.S. agriculture trade with
Canada and Mexico remains
strong, Duvall said.
The U.S. wheat industry
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Protesters pack Pendleton
for Women’s March
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Donald Trump took offi ce Friday, but the cheers heard
Saturday in Pendleton weren’t for the new president.
Hundreds of people gathered at Pendleton City Hall
for the Women’s March on Pendleton, a companion to
the main rally in Washington, D.C.
Turnout was larger than expected — although
around 150 people said they would attend the march
on Facebook, organizers eventually told the crowd that
the protest ended up attracting 425 people in support of
various liberal causes.
The marching route was originally planned to wind
through Pendleton’s downtown area with stops at several
downtown restaurants before fi nishing at the Heritage
Station Museum. While the march did start at city hall
and end at the museum, the overabundance of partici-
pants meant marchers were redirected to walk toward
the Umatilla County Courthouse while Pendleton Police
Department vehicles provided an escort.
See MARCH/8A
Fallyn Sampson-Plume, 4, participated in the
Pendleton Women’s March on Saturday along
with her mother, Carrie Sampson.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Several hundred people who participated in Pendleton Women’s March on Saturday afternoon listen to speakers at the Umatilla County
Courthouse, one of three stops along the route.
ARLINGTON
HERMISTON
Water and sewer rates raised
Commissioner dies
six months after stroke to pay for smart meters, more
Will go up 5 percent in March
Groundquist remembered and Recycling Center, which today
employs 70 people.
by colleagues, congressman
Gilliam County Judge Steve
Shaffer said Gronquist also played
By GEORGE PLAVEN
a major role in attracting multiple
East Oregonian
wind farms to the county, and
establishing the Shutler Station
Dennis Gronquist, Gilliam Industrial Park south of Arlington.
County commissioner and former
“Dennis’ passion was economic
Arlington mayor, died
development,” Shaffer
early Monday morning
said. “That’s where he
in Kennewick, six
felt his skills could be
months after suffering
best utilized.”
a stroke that forced him
Gronquist was more
away from county busi-
than just a colleague,
ness and into assisted
Shaffer said. The two
care.
were longtime friends
The news came as
who played softball
a shock to friends and
together and socialized
family who hoped Gron-
regularly. And, while
quist would make a full Gronquist
Shaffer said Gronquist
recovery. He was 69.
wasn’t the kind of guy
Gronquist spent more than two who always said what everyone
decades as an elected offi cial in wanted to hear, he had a remark-
rural Gilliam County. As Arling- able ability to listen and make
ton’s mayor, he was instrumental in
siting the Columbia Ridge Landfi ll
See GRONQUIST/8A
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Water and sewer rates will
increase in Hermiston starting in
March.
The city council unanimously
approved the rate increases Monday.
Both water and sewer rates will
go up 5 percent in March 2017, 5
percent in October 2017 and 4.9
percent in March 2018.
Assistant city manager Mark
Morgan said the increased revenue
will help pay for maintenance,
“remote-read” water meters and
de-watering equipment for the
wastewater treatment plant.
Currently the city spends
$225,000 per year, including two
full-time employees, to read water
meters one by one. Morgan said
putting in meters that send data to
the city automatically will put that
down to the equivalent cost of one
half-time employee. The meters
are expected to pay for themselves
in about 7 years but not need to be
replaced for 15.
Besides saving the city money
and increasing employee safety,
Morgan said there will also be
benefi ts to the customers. They will
be able to track their daily water
usage, which could be especially
helpful for irrigators. The system
will also be much faster at catching
leaks or a running toilet, and users
can get a notifi cation on their phone
if a sudden, prolonged spike in usage
indicates a problem. Morgan said
he’s heard lots of stories of people
being hit with an unexpectedly huge
water bill because they didn’t know
for weeks that a pipe was leaking
into the ground.
“I went on a trip to Idaho and my
toilet was running and I came back
and my water bill was twice what I
expected it to be,” he said.
On the sewer side, the extra
revenue will pay for de-watering
equipment that will help more effi -
ciently take care of the solids fi ltered
See HERMISTON/8A