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TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2017
141st Year, No. 126
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WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Roadkill
bill cruises
through
Senate
Oregon would join other states
that allow salvage permits
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
from their callers: Where is
the problem, what’s going
on, who’s involved, when did
it happen, and are there any
weapons involved? While
they’re getting this information,
they try to keep the caller calm.
“We’re able to ask people
questions without knowing
(them) they’re giving info,”
said Communications Sergeant
Karen Primmer. “With ‘in prog-
ress’ calls, we try to stay on the
phone with the person.”
With the exception of
Oregonians may soon be able to
salvage the meat from roadkill deer
and elk under a bill sponsored by Sen.
Bill Hansell (R-Athena) and Rep. Greg
Barreto (R-Cove).
Senate Bill 372 would allow the
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to
issue salvage permits
for deer and elk that
are accidentally killed
in a vehicle collision.
The bill passed the
Senate on April 6 by a
vote of 29-0.
Approximately
20 other states have
a similar law on the
books,
including
neighboring
Wash-
ington and Idaho. Washington enacted its
roadkill salvage program on July 1, 2016,
issuing 1,100 permits over the fi rst six
months, according to Hansell.
That’s 1,100 animals that were
salvaged in one degree or another, Hansell
said, rather than simply being left to rot on
the side of the road.
“Those accidents are very unfortu-
nate,” he said. “It seemed there’s just got
to be a better way to take care of that.”
The bill applies only to deer and elk,
and does contain a few provisions to
discourage poaching. For example, the
animal cannot be hit and killed off road,
and salvage is allowed only for human
consumption of meat. Antlers must be
turned over to ODFW.
One potential pitfall revolves around a
state law that allows people to kill crip-
pled or helpless wildlife “when the killing
is done for humane purposes.” SB 372
would not grant salvage permits under
that rule, unless the person asking for a
permit was the driver who hit and crip-
pled the animal fi rst in a vehicle collision.
ODFW staff — including Shannon
Hurn, deputy director for fi sh and wildlife
programs, and Doug Cottam, wildlife
division administrator — testifi ed on
See DISPATCH/8A
See ROADKILL/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Umatilla County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher Ben Johnson talks with a Pendleton Police offi cer while handling a call
Monday at the Umatilla County Justice Center in Pendleton.
County dispatchers respond fi rst in emergencies
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Umatilla County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher Justine
Griffi th talks with a caller Monday at the Umatilla County
Justice Center in Pendleton.
The voice you hear when
you call 911 is going to pepper
you with questions, but the most
crucial one is simple: Where are
you?
“The most important thing
for us to fi nd out is where the
person is,” said Eva Van Beek, a
dispatcher for Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Offi ce. “If the call gets
disconnected, we know where
help is needed.”
Though all their work is
away from the public eye, the
fi rst point of contact in any
call for help, whether a house
fi re or a home invasion, is a
dispatcher. They are looking
to quickly get key information
Editor’s note: April 9-15
is National Public Safety
Telecommunicators Week
PENDLETON
Radio show to broadcast
live from Slick Fork Saloon
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Live Wire will record its
public radio show live in
Pendleton later this
month.
The show, based
out of Portland,
will be hitting the
road and traveling
to the Slick Fork
Saloon at Hamley
SteakHouse
on
Saturday, April 29.
Host
Luke Burbank
Burbank described
Live Wire as a variety show
that features “creative people,
musicians and people who
have had crazy experiences”
with the energy of a live
audience.
Pendleton’s show will
feature James Lavadour, the
founder of Crow’s Shadow
Institute of the Arts on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
and world renowned print
artist, and Jim
Brunberg, a former
Live Wire producer
who has since
created a podcast
called
“Roam
Schooled” where he
and his twin seven-
year-old daughters
travel around the
country in search
of answers to his
daughters’ questions. Brun-
berg’s daughters, Vern and
Dana, will join him as guests.
Burbank said the show is
lining up musical guests to
fi ll out the program.
Burbank said that Pend-
leton is the smallest city the
program ever broadcast in
by “a factor of 20,” but it
See LIVE WIRE/8A
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Sasquatch scrum with Salem
Beau Skinner, of the East Oregon Sasquatch rugby team, tackles Salem’s
Luke Weber during Saturday’s game at Grecian Heights Park in Pendleton.
For more on the game see Sports 1B.
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