65/51
BANNON REMOVED
FROM NATIONAL
SECURITY COUNCIL
PENDLETON
HOSTS LEAGUE
OPENER
Umatilla to
choose new
mayor soon
NATION/7A
TENNIS/1B
REGION/3A
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017
141st Year, No. 123
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
As deadline looms, no clear PERS plan
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — With a legislative
deadline less than two weeks away,
it’s not yet clear what legislators
may propose this session to reduce
the costs of the state’s public
pension system.
The chair of the senate committee
vetting proposals that would affect
the Public Employees Retirement
System said Wednesday that there
is no specifi c policy proposal
edging out others.
“Right now, I would say that
all of them are up for discussion at
this point,” Sen. Kathleen Taylor,
D-Portland, said. “That’s the
climate that we’re in, we’re still
talking about all of the different
proposals.”
Committees vetting policy,
such as the Senate Workforce
Committee, have to schedule work
sessions on bills by Friday. April 18
is the last day bills can move out
of committee in the chamber where
they are proposed.
As of Wednesday evening, some
proposals that have taken center
stage in the public process in the
fi rst two months of the legislative
session — such as capping the
salary amount used in calculating
benefi ts to $100,000, or calculating
an employee’s fi nal average salary
over fi ve rather than three years
— were not scheduled for a work
session, according to the state’s
legislative information system.
Workforce Committee Vice
Chair Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend,
said Monday that those two ideas —
contained in bills he has sponsored
— seemed to have momentum. But
he also said that other proposals are
still “on the table.”
See PERS/8A
HERMISTON
Dispatch
will start
allowing
9-1-1 texts
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Umatilla County residents will
be able to start texting emergency
dispatchers later this year after the
county commission approved purchase
of software to allow text messages to be
sent to 9-1-1.
Dispatch
commander
Kathy
Lieuallen told the commission that
residents will still be encouraged to call
instead of text when they can, as infor-
mation can be relayed more quickly that
way. But texting
9-1-1 will be
an
additional More inside
tool for people Committee gets
who are hearing fi rst look at
impaired, experi- county budget
encing a medical Page 3A
emergency that
prevents
them
from speaking or in a situation where
they would be in danger if they were
heard calling for police.
“I think this is a great service for the
hearing impaired or deaf community,”
she said.
Lieuallen said the state is working
on a statewide system, but until then
has agreed to pay the full cost of interim
measures, including the software the
commission approved. The invoice for
installation will go directly to the state.
Lieuallen said when the launch is
ready, her offi ce will work to educate
the public on its use.
“The message is always call if you
can, text if you can’t,” she said.
On Wednesday the commission
also gave the fi nal approval for leases
between the Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center and the Umatilla County
Fair and Farm-City Pro Rodeo.
Under the terms of the 50-year
leases, the fair will pay $10,000 per year
for use of the fairgrounds for a month
each summer, while the rodeo will pay
$10,000 per year for use of the rodeo
arena during fair week plus access
at other times for maintenance and
preparation. The rodeo board will also
pay $500 per year for year-round use of
See COMMISSION/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston Chamber of Commerce director Debbie Pedro, right, and Kelly Schwirse take phone calls Tuesday in the offi ce at the
Hermiston Conference Center.
Chamber to relocate
City will take over Hermiston
Conference Center in 2018
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The City of Hermiston is currently in the process of remodeling the
basement of the old Carnegie Library and has offered the chamber
that space rent free.
Rainbow owner
loved racing cars,
reading Irish verse
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Not many were more Irish
than Steve McGee.
The gregarious owner of
the Rainbow Café, who died
last Wednesday at age 76,
loved all things Ireland. He
donned a Kelly green top
hat on St. Patrick’s Day and
opened the annual daylong
celebration at the bar by
reciting some Irish verse.
“Then he would say, ‘Let’s
drink,’” said Betty Adair, who
has worked at the Rainbow
going on 36 years.
McGee spent each St.
Paddy’s Day presiding over
the happy scene, which
included a short-lived but
See MCGEE/8A
The Greater Hermiston
Area Chamber of Commerce
is looking to move downtown
after being notifi ed that the
city does not plan to renew the
chamber’s contract for running
the Hermiston Conference
Center in 2018.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said a detailed
plan for having the city’s parks
and recreation department take
over operation of the confer-
ence center will be presented
to the city council at a future
meeting for their approval.
He said the plan would
continue the building’s use as
a conference center, but would
see it run directly by city staff
instead of through a contract
with the chamber.
In a news release, chamber
leadership asked members
to keep in mind that “the
chamber is a separate business
from the conference center,
and there will always be a
Greater Hermiston Chamber
See HERMISTON/8A
Photo by Ryan Krusee
Steve McGee drives along the freeway just south of Sacramento three years ago
in his 1953 Chevy. McGee, who had a passion for restoring cars, didn’t quite
complete the Chevy. A group of car friends dubbed the Dirty Dozen will fi nish the
job and take it to car shows on McGee’s behalf.