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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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
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c
c
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sh
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sh
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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
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
WINDS
Medford
59/39
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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
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541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com
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541-966-0827 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com
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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
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sn
pc
sf
s
sf
pc
pc
sf
pc
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pc
s
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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
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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
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pc
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sn
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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
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