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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2017)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Friday, February 17, 2017 Eastern Oregon job growth expected to trail behind state through 2024 Man who killed John Day cop will be freed By SEAN HART EO Media Group The man who pleaded guilty to killing a John Day police officer in 1992 will soon be freed. The Oregon Supreme Court denied a request Thursday to review an appeals court decision that reinstated Sidney Dean Porter’s 2013 prison release date due to legal errors that year by the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision. Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter said the board will now begin putting together a release plan for Porter, who killed Officer Frank Ward on April 8, 1992. “After all the hard work that my staff and I put in to ensure that Porter would remain incarcerated, the decision of the Supreme Court is disap- pointing, but not unexpected,” Carpenter said. Porter had pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. According to the appeals court opinion, Porter attacked Ward, who had responded to a report of domestic violence at Porter’s residence. Porter “bludgeoned Ward with his fists and a 10-pound piece of firewood,” according to the opinion, and the autopsy revealed a skull fracture and contusions in Ward’s Porter brain. After Carpenter’s testimony before the parole board in 2015, the board ruled Porter was a danger to the community and ordered him to remain in custody until at least 2020. In September 2016, however, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the parole board’s decision to postpone Porter’s 2013 prison release date, stating the board lacked authority to rescind a release date “absent a timely hearing,” according to the court opinion. “A defining principle of our legal system is that both sides have the opportunity to be heard before decisions are made which affect them,” Carpenter said. “The Court of Appeals found that Porter was not given such an opportunity, and the Supreme Court apparently agrees.” The appeals court ruled the parole board should not have postponed the 2013 release date without a timely hearing. Carpenter, who was elected in 2014, said a June 2013 release date was issued after a former district attorney failed to present evidence at an exit interview earlier that year. Although more evidence was provided after that inter- view, the parole board did not hold a hearing with Porter until September 2013, after postponing the June release date. The appeals court ruled evidence presented after the postponement of the release date could not be used to justify the postponement that already occurred. In his appeal, Porter argued the parole board erred in rescinding the planned release date, in postponing the release date and in reconvening an exit interview after the planned released date had passed. In its opinion, the Court of Appeals agreed the board committed legal errors and reversed the board’s determi- nation, stating that Porter was entitled to a timely hearing on rescinding the release date, that the board did not provide a statutorily valid reason for postponing the planned released date and that the board could not rely on information received later to justify a prior postponement of the release date. The appeals court opinion states Oregon law at the time required the imposition of a life sentence with a 30-year minimum period of incarcera- tion. The law also required the board to hold a hearing after 20 years “to determine if the pris- oner is likely to be rehabilitated within a reasonable period of time” if the prisoner requested it, which he did. By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Job growth in Oregon’s rural areas — particularly southeastern Oregon — is projected to trail behind the rest of the fast- growing state until 2024, according to the Oregon Employment Department. Oregon’s jobs are expected to grow 14 percent between 2014 and 2024, more than double the national expected rate for that period. But in Harney and Malheur counties, the number of jobs is expected to increase merely 3 percent until 2024. That’s compared to 6 and 7 percent in neighboring counties to the north and west, which is a rate on par with expected job growth nationally. Counties near the central Columbia River Gorge, meanwhile, are expected to see 11 percent job growth until 2024. The outlook comes in the broader context of the slow post-recession jobs recovery in rural areas of the state. While Oregon as a whole has made up the jobs it lost during the Great Recession, that’s not the case for many of the state’s rural areas — such as Gilliam and Wheeler counties. But the future may be brighter for them: Both are projected to exceed the country’s jobs growth rate until 2024. Construction, health care and professional and business services jobs are expected to grow the fastest, according to a presentation employment department officials made to lawmakers on the state’s workforce committee Thursday. The high-tech sector is also expected to continue growing — a recent dip in jobs can be attributed to layoffs in the semiconductor industry, but the overall trend is upward, said Nick Beleiciks, a state employment economist with the Oregon Employment Department. Filling those new jobs may be a challenge in rural Oregon, too, though. Some employers in rural areas say they struggle to attract and retain young talent, Melisa Drugge, a business development officer for Busi- ness Oregon’s Eastern region, told lawmakers. There are a number of factors at work. For example, many millennials gravitate toward urban centers with cultural amenities. And finding adequate housing for workers in communities such as Joseph in Wallowa County — where many homes are vacation properties — is a challenge, Drugge said. State Rep. Mark Johnson, R-Hood River, said some employers in the Columbia River Gorge are busing in workers from the Portland and Vancouver areas because they can’t find or afford local housing. “It really defeats the purpose of trying to create communities,” Johnson said. Environmentalists sue over USDA’s authority to kill wolves By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Environmentalists claim the USDA’s contract to kill wolves on behalf of Oregon wildlife officials is unlawful because the federal agency hasn’t properly analyzed the environmental impacts. The USDA, meanwhile, argues a lawsuit over the agreement is baseless because Oregon can kill problematic wolves even without federal assistance. “This is predominantly a state program. The USDA is very much a bit player,” said Sean Martin, attorney for the agency, during oral arguments on Feb. 16 in Eugene, Ore. Wolves in Eastern Oregon are no longer listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act but their population in that region is still managed under a state plan. USDA’s Wildlife Services division killed two wolves at Oregon’s behest in 2009, which prompted environmental groups to sue the agency. Under a settlement deal, USDA agreed to conduct an environmental assessment of its lethal wolf removal agreement with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 2014, the USDA’s analysis concluded its wolf control activities didn’t have significant environmental impacts, but five environmental groups — Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, Wildearth Guardians, Predator Defense and Project Coyote — challenged that finding in federal court last year. The plaintiffs asked U.S. District Judge Michael McShane to prohibit Wildlife Services from killing wolves in Oregon because USDA’s environmental assessment of the contract violated the National Environmental Policy Act. USDA failed to take a “hard look” at the impact of killing wolves on the species’ population and ecosystem, said John Mellgren, attorney for the environmental groups. Reducing predation on livestock by killing wolves hasn’t conclusively shown to be effective over the long term, so the strategy requires a greater degree of scrutiny by USDA, he said. “It’s not settled science. There is controversy in the scientific community,” Mellgren said. USDA’s analysis didn’t sufficiently consider the disruption to pack structure from lethal removal and neglected actions against wolves taken in neighboring states, he said. The plaintiffs also argued that Wildlife Services will dispatch wolves more efficiently than Oregon wildlife managers, which casts doubt on the USDA’s claim that Oregon’s lethal control activities will proceed without federal help. Non-target animals can be also killed by traps intended for wolves, but the USDA didn’t analyze those impacts as required, Mellgren said. “We don’t know that because it’s not disclosed anywhere in the record,” he said of the number non-target killings. The cumulative effects of USDA’s involvement in Oregon’s wolf control program should have triggered a more comprehensive environmental impact statement, or EIS, he said. The USDA countered that even if Wildlife Services was ordered to desist from killing wolves, Oregon’s lethal control efforts would continue. “This isn’t some brand new course of action,” Martin said. The lethal expertise offered by USDA doesn’t trigger the need for an EIS because killing a few problem wolves has minimal consequences for the species, said Martin. Lethal removal isn’t meant to be a long-term strategy against livestock predation, but rather a response to an immediate problem, he said. “We’re talking about very limited removal of wolves under very circumscribed conditions,” Martin said. The USDA minimizes unintentional killing of non-target species by using devices that reduce the chances smaller animals, such as coyotes and foxes, are caught in traps. Larger animals, such as cougars and bears, are unlikely to be caught in traps set for wolves anyway, the USDA said. Even if some coyotes, foxes, cougars and bears are caught in the wolf traps, they’re abundant enough in Oregon to render the environmental impact negligible, the agency said. Didn’t receive your paper? 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Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SATURDAY Chilly with clouds and sun Cloudy, showers around; chilly 45° 33° 41° 32° SUNDAY MONDAY Mostly cloudy with a little rain Clearing, a shower Rain, mixed with snow early PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 44° 34° 47° 36° 52° 32° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 42° 31° 46° 36° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 57° 47° 66° (1902) 37° 29° -8° (1936) 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 0.34" 0.84" 0.66" 2.49" 2.17" 2.04" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 39° 48° 69° (1982) 32° 29° -5° (1936) 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 0.22" 0.66" 0.55" 2.35" 1.34" 1.83" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Last New Feb 18 Feb 26 6:54 a.m. 5:25 p.m. none 10:19 a.m. First Full Mar 5 46° 37° 52° 33° Seattle 53/42 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 44° 33° Mar 12 Today TUESDAY Spokane Wenatchee 43/29 39/29 Tacoma Moses 53/39 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 40/32 47/33 51/39 53/38 44/33 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 53/39 49/33 Lewiston 46/34 Astoria 53/36 52/40 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 52/39 Pendleton 43/29 The Dalles 46/36 45/33 43/33 La Grande Salem 46/33 54/41 Albany Corvallis 53/40 53/43 John Day 44/32 Ontario Eugene Bend 41/33 53/41 44/30 Caldwell Burns 48/38 38/30 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 52 42 44 55 38 43 53 46 46 44 45 46 43 54 52 56 41 45 45 52 48 54 43 45 53 49 44 Lo 40 30 30 43 30 29 41 33 36 32 31 33 31 41 42 44 33 33 33 39 33 41 29 31 40 33 33 W pc pc c r c pc c c pc pc r pc c r c c c pc pc c c c pc c c pc c Hi 50 40 39 50 39 40 51 42 42 43 44 44 40 52 51 52 41 41 41 49 44 52 38 42 51 38 45 Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 21 63 33 41 43 29 36 49 19 73 41 W s pc s pc pc sn pc pc pc t s Lo 38 28 30 42 25 30 39 30 31 32 29 33 29 38 42 43 29 28 32 37 30 38 30 29 37 32 31 W sh sn c pc c sn c c sh c sn sn sh r sh c sh sh sh sh c sh sn c sh sh sn Lo 27 63 35 41 45 27 34 40 24 66 38 W s s s pc s sf pc sh s t r WINDS Medford 54/41 Klamath Falls 45/31 (in mph) Today Saturday Boardman Pendleton NE 3-6 ENE 4-8 WNW 2-4 VAR 2-4 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today; a little rain in the south. Eastern Washington: Times of clouds and sun today. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy today; however, some sun across the north; a shower near the Cascades. Western Washington: Mostly cloudy today; a brief shower or two at the coast. Cascades: Cloudy today with a shower in places during the afternoon. Northern California: Cloudy today; rain, but a shower in the interior mountains. 0 1 2 1 0 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. Sat. Hi 50 74 50 53 76 36 51 58 36 82 49 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 NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. WORLD CITIES Hi 44 74 46 52 73 31 52 59 35 92 66 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com 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 • Danni Halladay 541-278-2683 • dhalladay@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 Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 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. 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 storm will bring heavy rain and major flooding to California today. Showers will dampen parts of Texas and Louisiana. Warmth will build in the Midwest and Southeast as chill holds on over the Northeast. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 80° in Tamiami, Fla. Low -9° in Champion, Mich. 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 61 68 47 49 54 67 50 36 71 61 59 52 75 64 47 66 19 50 83 71 60 75 75 61 69 62 Lo 38 48 34 31 30 48 40 25 47 42 42 42 57 33 39 47 -4 34 69 58 43 44 44 52 48 55 W pc s s s pc s c s s pc s pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc sh s s s r pc r Sat. Hi 61 63 64 64 52 63 50 46 75 67 61 61 78 65 60 68 14 47 82 82 60 74 68 57 66 64 Lo 41 49 48 46 36 47 38 37 53 47 36 39 58 37 37 47 -11 35 67 62 42 52 46 50 48 52 Today W c c pc pc pc sh sh pc c pc s s pc pc s c s pc pc pc pc t pc r c sh 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 66 69 79 46 60 68 67 42 72 74 44 76 36 35 65 59 47 57 71 51 65 62 53 74 53 75 Lo 47 52 66 42 35 48 55 35 47 33 34 57 16 23 41 32 35 49 50 41 58 51 42 54 37 41 W s s pc s s s sh s s s pc c s s s pc c r s c c r c pc s s Sat. Hi 61 64 84 56 55 60 76 58 68 63 62 67 39 47 70 62 52 62 67 56 64 59 50 66 67 70 Lo 46 51 70 38 35 45 58 43 49 41 47 53 33 35 47 39 35 44 47 41 54 49 38 47 51 46 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W c sh pc s pc sh pc pc c s pc r pc pc pc pc sh sh pc c r c r r pc s
