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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017
141st Year, No. 122
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WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
PENDLETON
RURAL PRIORITIES
Gov. Brown promises attention outside metro areas
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
Alan Kenaga/Capital Bureau
Passerby Mike Wilson, Salem, inspects a tractor on display in
front of the Oregon State Capitol building during Oregon Rural
Days, April 4, in Salem, Ore.
Farmland protection fund
criticized as unaffordable
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A proposed fund
dedicated to protecting farmland
from development in Oregon
has come under fi re from critics
who say the state government
can’t afford it.
The Oregon Agricultural
Heritage Fund would buy ease-
ments from farmers that limit
their ability to develop property,
thus preserving the land for
agricultural production.
Organizations that “hold”
easements by enforcing such
constraints, such as land trusts,
would also receive money and
technical assistance from the
fund, as would farmers who
need help with succession plan-
ning.
Investment
decisions
would be made by a 12-person
commission under House Bill
3249, which creates the fund
without directing a specifi c
See FARMLAND/8A
SALEM — Oregonians
from Roseburg to Cascade
Locks gathered at the state
library Tuesday to talk
rural.
The
day’s
events
included exhibits from
economic
development
groups, school districts and
businesses.
In remarks to attendees
in the morning, Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown said she
was focused on education,
health care and economic
development in rural areas
of the state.
She said that while
Oregon has one of the
fastest growing GDPs
among U.S. states, and a
low unemployment rate,
those economic gains
have not always extended
outside of the state’s major
metro areas.
To boost economic
development, Brown said
she wants to invest in infra-
structure such as affordable
housing, roads and water
treatment; and invest in
“innovative technologies”
and workforce develop-
ment.
In response to a ques-
tion about bills before the
Legislature to reduce what
was characterized as the
“regulatory burden” on
rural health care providers,
Brown said that the expan-
sion of Medicaid had been
a boon for Oregon, adding
that more Oregonians are
insured and that the expan-
sion created jobs in the
healthcare sector.
But the governor said
that the “challenge” is
fi guring out how to pay
for it. Although the federal
government
initially
covered all costs associated
with expanding Medicaid
under the Affordable Care
Act, the amount of fi nancial
support is scheduled to
gradually shrink.
In terms of affordable
and low-income housing in
rural Oregon, Brown said
she wanted to encourage
more private-public part-
nerships for housing devel-
opment and encourage
the legislature to dedicate
more bonding capacity to
housing projects.
In this 2016 fi le
photo, heads of
wheat turn from
green to gold in
a fi eld outside of
Mission.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Schools
could turn
to layoffs
if funding
slashed
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Pendleton School Board members
wrestled Tuesday night with the vexing
task of creating a budget without solid
numbers from the state.
Because of uncertainty, the board paved
the way for layoffs to happen if the need
arises.
Board chair Debbie McBee explained
that state legislators are enmeshed in a
prolonged budget process that could stretch
into a special session this summer. That
leaves Oregon school districts struggling
to predict the future.
“We may not know from the Legisla-
ture until late June,” said McBee, “but our
school district has to provide a balanced
budget in May, despite the unknown data.”
“As we come closer to the end of the
academic year and deeper into the budget
season our fi nancial situation continues to
See SCHOOL/8A
PENDLETON
Winter scars
left on streets,
racking up
repair costs
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The snow and ice from Pendleton’s
historically harsh winter might have
melted away, but it’s left behind a more
lasting damage.
The potholes that now pock-mark the
city’s streets might be the most directly
felt by Pendleton drivers, but the damage
extends beyond that, according to a report
delivered by public works director Bob
Patterson at the Pendleton City Council
meeting Tuesday.
“This was not our typical winter,”
Patterson wrote before further detailing
Pendleton’s new infrastructure issues.
Patterson said the city has identifi ed
seven new streets that need extensive
repairs, which will be added to the city’s
list of paving projects.
See STREETS/8A
PENDLETON
Wicked Kitty owner inks
plea deal, avoids jail time
Lybrand gets three years
probation, $3,200 in fi nes
East Oregonian
Jason Lybrand
of Pendleton
stands in the
courtroom
of Umatilla
County Circuit
Court Judge
Jon Lieuallen
during a change
of plea hearing
on Tuesday in
Pendleton.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jason Lybrand, the owner of a Pend-
leton tattoo and piercing parlor, will not
face jail time after he was charged on
several counts of drug possession and
delivery.
He will also write a court-mandated
letter of apology to his mother.
At a court hearing in Pendleton
Tuesday, Lybrand changed his plea to
guilty on one felony count of metham-
phetamine possession and another misde-
meanor count of marijuana delivery.
The other fi ve charges — two felony
counts of delivery of methamphetamine,
a second felony count of metham-
phetamine possession, felony delivery
of a federal Schedule III substance
(methandrostenolone, a steroid) and
misdemeanor possession of the Schedule
IV opioid pain killer tramadol — were
dismissed by Circuit Court Judge Jon
Lieuallen as the result of a plea deal
reached by Lybrand’s attorney, Michael
Breiling, and the Umatilla County
District Attorney’s Offi ce.
In accordance with the deal, Lieuallen
sentenced Lybrand to three years proba-
tion and $3,200 in fi nes.
Besides avoiding jail time, Lybrand
also won’t have his driving license
See LYBRAND/8A