NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Thursday, February 9, 2017 Judge restricts wildlife employees’ testimony on refuge standoff fear PORTLAND (AP) — Federal wildlife employees will again be barred from testifying about any fear they felt during last winter’s armed occupation of a national bird sanc- tuary in southeastern Oregon. U.S. District Judge Anna Brown prevented such testimony during a trial last fall in which occupation leader Ammon Bundy and six co-de- fendants were acquitted of conspiring to impede workers from doing their jobs at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during the 41-day protest. Four Bundy followers are being tried on the same felony charge this month. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Barrow asked the judge Tuesday to reconsider and allow the workers to testify about their fears. Brown declined. “I don’t for a minute doubt there was fear and negative emotions by these employees, but the charge is not ‘did defendants intend to raise distress,’ but intend to impede,” Brown said, according to The Orego- nian newspaper/OregonLive. At the first trial, refuge employees testified about how their supervisors told them not to return to work in January 2016 once Bundy and his armed supporters seized the refuge to oppose federal control of lands in the West and the imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers convicted of BRIEFLY AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file In this Jan. 9, 2016 file photo, a man stands guard after members of the “3% of Idaho” group along with several other organizations arrived at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns. Federal wildlife employees will again be barred from testifying about any fear they felt during last winter’s armed occupation of the national bird sanctuary. setting fires. The workers also described the disheveled state of their offices when they returned after the occupation. But they could not talk about their emotional state. In contrast, Bundy and several defendants testified at length about their state of mind and why they took of conventional and organic crops with biotech genes, which threatens markets for those farmers. The federal government doesn’t regulate GMO crops once they’ve been approved for commercial use. “We’re probably going to see even more lax regulation,” van Saun said. Oregon’s seed preemption law doesn’t apply to Jackson County, which was already set to vote on a GMO ban ballot initiative when the state legislation passed. Voters approved the Jackson County ordinance, creating a “GMO-free seed sanctuary” where seed crops can be produced without the threat of cross-pollination from biotech varieties, said Elise Higley, director of the Our Family Farms Coalition, which supported the GMO ban. “We’re in this unique economic opportunity,” she said. Supporters of HB 2469 haven’t given up on statewide GMO regu- lations but they hope the bill will provide local control over biotech crops until the Oregon Department of SALEM — Biotech critics are calling on Oregon lawmakers to overturn a prohibition against local government restrictions on genet- ically engineered crops because statewide regulations haven’t been enacted. In 2013, the Oregon Legislature passed a law that preempted cities and counties from setting their own rules over seeds, which blocked most local ordinances banning genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Groups that opposed the preemp- tion bill say state inaction since then has justified the passage of House Bill 2469, which would carve out an exemption allowing local GMO regulations. “Oregon farmers can’t wait another four years to protect them- selves from this harm,” said Amy van Saun, a legal fellow at the Center for Food Safety nonprofit group. Van Saun said measures are needed to prevent cross-pollination over the refuge. Jury selection begins Feb. 14, and opening statements are tentatively scheduled to begin a week later. The four defendants are Duane Ehmer of Irrigon, Oregon; Jason Patrick of Bonaire, Georgia; Darryl Thorn of Marysville, Washington; and Jake Ryan of Plains, Montana. 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Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group SATURDAY FRIDAY Cloudy, a little rain; milder Mostly cloudy with a shower 50° 36° 48° 30° Mostly sunny and chilly SUNDAY Some sun, then clouds and chilly MONDAY Mostly sunny and chilly PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 44° 29° 45° 29° 40° 28° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 47° 30° 43° 35° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 30° 25° 45° 29° 75° (1996) -21° (1929) 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 0.05" 0.29" 0.36" 1.94" 1.73" 1.74" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 30° 26° 46° 29° 66° (1945) -26° (1929) 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 0.04" 0.27" 1.73" 1.15" 1.55" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Last Feb 10 Feb 18 New Feb 26 43° 28° 40° 32° Seattle 55/42 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 45° 26° 7:06 a.m. 5:13 p.m. 4:08 p.m. 6:05 a.m. First Mar 5 Today Spokane Wenatchee 44/33 34/29 Tacoma Moses 55/40 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 35/32 44/33 52/44 55/40 41/33 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 53/43 47/36 Lewiston 41/33 Astoria 48/37 54/43 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 54/41 Pendleton 45/34 The Dalles 43/35 50/36 41/35 La Grande Salem 48/39 57/44 Albany Corvallis 56/44 57/45 John Day 50/36 Ontario Eugene Bend 46/35 58/43 49/32 Caldwell Burns 49/37 43/26 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 54 43 49 56 43 45 58 47 43 50 50 48 47 59 55 57 46 40 50 54 53 57 44 49 56 47 41 Lo 43 28 32 44 26 34 43 32 35 36 32 39 31 39 45 46 35 32 36 41 33 44 33 32 42 36 33 W r r sh r c r r r r r r r r r r r sh i r r sh r r r r r i Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 47 41 43 49 39 42 47 45 47 44 42 44 40 51 48 50 46 45 48 46 46 47 41 43 47 46 45 Lo 20 50 42 31 42 21 30 45 15 72 38 W s s pc sh s c pc c pc s r Lo 39 22 25 38 17 25 35 28 30 24 21 30 27 33 38 40 28 31 30 37 25 37 26 26 35 30 26 W r c sh r pc r r pc c sh r sh sh r r r c c c sh sh sh r pc sh r pc Fri. Hi 42 63 58 37 75 26 38 59 26 95 48 (in mph) Klamath Falls 50/32 Boardman Pendleton Lo 20 53 41 31 46 23 28 44 17 75 35 W s pc s c s c s sh pc s pc REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Windy today with rain. Mostly cloudy tonight with showers. Oc- casional rain tomorrow. Eastern and Central Oregon: A couple of showers today, except dry in the south. Eastern Washington: A wintry mix, 1-3 inches in the north and little or none in the south. and toward the Cascades today. Cascades: Windy today with periods of rain. Western Washington: Periods of rain today. A couple of showers tonight. A couple of showers tomorrow. Northern California: Rain, some heavy today; windy. A few showers tonight. Today Friday SSW 3-6 S 8-16 SW 7-14 SSW 7-14 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 0 1 1 1 0 NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. WINDS Medford 59/39 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Today PORTLAND (AP) — Police arrested 15 men from Oregon, Washington and Canada during a one-week undercover sex trafficking operation. The Portland Police Bureau said Wednesday that investigators posted ads on sex trafficking websites from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 and that the men contacted undercover officers to arrange payment for sexual acts. Police say the men who responded and came to a Portland hotel were arrested on a misdemeanor charge of commercial sexual solicitation. Those arrested in Oregon include: Gregory Laubsch, Juan Lopez and Kurt Parker of Portland; Matthew Schrader of Johnson City; Ravikumar Dojad of Beaverton; and Jeremy Tanner of Dayton. Men arrested in Washington include: Danil Nyukeyev, Gilberto Ramirez, Darrin Maxey, Joel Garcia-Cruz and Charles Wilson II of Vancouver; Chad Andrews of Ridgefield; Cory Ryan of Everett; and Vishwambhara Adiga of Kirkland. Gilles Barjon of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was also arrested. Corrections WORLD CITIES Hi 37 63 56 40 75 24 44 57 29 84 41 15 men arrested in sex trafficking sting An article in Wednesday’s East Oregonian provided incorrect infor- mation about the election of Kat Brigham to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees. Brigham won the election with 150 out of 455 total votes. 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. REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SALEM (AP) — A bill in the Oregon Senate would expand protections from lawsuits stemming from mishaps on properties that are popular with outdoors enthusiasts. In 2016, the Oregon Supreme Court noted that a law shields owners of free recreation sites from lawsuits if someone gets hurt, but not employees. A bill that is backed by the League Of Oregon Cities would extend that protection to such agents. The 2016 court ruling has resulted in the closing of a motocross track in Pilot Rock and climbing wall outside Redmond. Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Elizabeth Freemantle 541-278-2683 • efreemantle@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Chris McClellan 541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com • Stephanie Newsom 541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com 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 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — More than 50 fishing companies and environmental groups are asking President Donald Trump to take a fresh look at removing four dams on the lower Snake River to help restore wild salmon runs. The group sent a letter to the White House this week saying the dams must be removed to save wild salmon and steelhead runs. Supporters of the dams say they produce many benefits for the region, including electricity and barge shipping for commodities like wheat. But fish advocates blame the dams for decimating salmon runs and have called for years for removal of Ice Harbor, Lower Granite, Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams. CORVALLIS (AP) — Commissioners in a county in Oregon have approved a zoning code amendment that will help a Colorado company looking to expand further into the Oregon pot market. The Corvallis Gazette-Times reports the Benton County Board of Commissioners approved the amendment Tuesday, allowing businesses with a valid state license to grow, process and sell marijuana wholesale at an industrial park in Corvallis. The decision allows 1749 Airport Road LLC, a limited liability company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, to purchase a building in the park and lease space to another Colorado business, Doctor’s Orders Group. Doctor’s Orders has dispensaries and growing space in Colorado. In Oregon, the company owns a marijuana dispensary in Portland and land for an outdoor growing operation in Cave Junction. Agriculture or lawmakers decide to take action, said Ivan Maluski, policy director of the Friends of Family Farmers nonprofit. “We have no expectation the state of Oregon will move forward on these types of policies,” he said. Oregonians for Food and Shelter, an agribusiness group that supported the preemption bill, is disappointed that biotech critics are still trying to regulate what crops farmers are allowed to plant, said Scott Dahlman, its policy director. Cities and counties aren’t equipped to regulate crop production, which is the province of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, he said. The ODA hasn’t determined specific rules are necessary for GMOs, which the federal government dereg- ulates after determining they pose no greater risk than conventional crops, Dahlman said. Lawmakers never committed to statewide regulations when passing the pre-emption bill, he said. “There were no promises I was aware of at the time.” Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — Bill in Oregon Legislature focuses on free recreation sites Pot growing gets approval at Corvallis industrial park Bill seeks reversal of Oregon GMO preemption By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Bureau Dam opponents send letter to Trump seeking dam removal 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: A snowstorm will hit areas from the upper part of the mid-Atlantic to central and southeastern New England today. A storm will bring heavy rain and gusty winds with rising snow levels in the Northwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 96° in Cotulla, Texas Low -29° in Hallock, 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 68 52 38 36 47 51 54 30 64 33 25 26 62 68 24 78 -3 18 78 70 23 69 35 77 50 76 Lo 42 31 19 18 38 30 39 10 33 17 18 17 45 45 15 49 -20 16 63 50 17 38 29 58 32 60 W s pc r sn c pc sh sn pc sf s sf pc pc sf pc pc pc s s s pc pc pc s pc Fri. Hi 73 59 33 38 47 63 52 24 57 45 42 35 73 73 33 83 -13 44 79 75 44 64 63 73 67 65 Lo 45 42 26 29 25 48 30 15 43 40 34 33 61 45 31 53 -41 26 69 67 39 46 45 56 54 56 Today W pc pc s pc c s pc s s c c sf pc pc sn pc c c sh pc pc s pc c pc r 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 35 46 84 21 18 40 64 31 56 29 33 84 19 30 53 43 61 62 34 62 72 63 55 86 41 48 Lo 22 33 64 16 15 24 49 17 40 26 17 59 5 9 23 40 41 52 28 50 59 53 42 55 23 36 W pc s t s s pc pc sn pc pc sn pc sn sn pc pc sh r s pc pc r r pc sn pc Fri. Hi 54 65 78 42 44 61 71 30 73 59 31 86 19 24 50 53 56 62 62 54 68 59 47 91 41 72 Lo 47 55 64 35 31 49 59 28 52 32 28 61 7 16 38 31 32 43 49 36 59 46 38 58 36 49 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc s s c pc pc s pc pc pc pc c pc s pc pc r sh pc r r sh sh pc pc pc