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INTERSECTION: The site of multiple fatal wrecks
Page 12A
East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
The Hermiston Police
Department has traffic
cameras at several locations
along 395, including at
Southeast Fourth, Highland,
Main, Elm and Theater.
According to Edmiston,
the most problematic spot,
which has been the site of
several fatal accidents, is at
Highway 395 and Elm.
“That
intersection,
in my opinion, is a very
difficult one to enforce. It’s
surrounded by businesses,
so it’s difficult for officers to
find a place to sit and observe
whatever violations have
occurred without causing an
accident,” Edmiston said.
The most recent accident
at that intersection resulted in
the death of a cyclist, Javier
Estrada Gutierrez, who
collided with a semi truck.
A woman, Joan Reeske, was
hit and killed by a semi truck
there in 2008, and in 1974,
Edmiston’s own uncle,
Dean Schiller, was killed at
the spot.
“He was driving a motor-
cycle and had a passenger
with him when they were
struck,” Edmiston said. “I
do not believe any charges
were filed at the time. Dean
was the only fatality.”
Edmiston said the crash
occurred before he was born,
and he doesn’t know who
was at fault for the incident.
But the spot has become one
of many dangerous intersec-
tions in town.
Edmiston said part of
the problem with the inter-
sections with Highway 395
“In a perfect world, we’d have
a bypass. Obviously, resources
don’t allow for that.”
— Jason Edmiston,
Hermiston Police Chief
is the high volume of semi
trucks traveling through
town. A potential solution,
he said, would be to alter the
trucks’ route.
“Several years ago, all
the traffic in Redmond used
to go through downtown.
Then they built a bypass.
In a perfect world, we’d
have a bypass. Obviously,
resources don’t allow for
that, but we would fully
support it.”
Another idea that’s been
brought to the city is to
prohibit semi trucks from
turning right onto Highway
207 from 395, and instead
have them go all the way to
Highway 730.
“That’s not a city deci-
sion. It’s a state decision,”
he said, adding that it would
be difficult to enforce.
Edmiston
said
the
investigation for the most
recent crash, in early April,
is ongoing, but once it’s
over his department will be
able to meet with ODOT
to discuss some potential
changes.
Strandberg said ODOT’s
system allows them to
review those problem spots
to try and determine a few
things.
“Is there a construction
component that could alle-
viate some concerns? Is there
an education component?
We look at traffic speed
patterns and do studies.
What is the problem, and
can the problem be fixed?”
he said.
Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Sgt. Josh Roberts said
the bulk of crashes in their
jurisdiction usually take
place in the Hermiston area.
“You see a lot at 395 and
Feedville,” he said. “You’re
crossing four lanes of traffic
in front of a truck.”
That
problem
also
occurs at Highway 11 in
Milton-Freewater, another
location where the depart-
ment sees an uptick in fatal
crashes.
Roberts said he doesn’t
know the specific reasons
for the higher crash rates in
those areas, but guesses it
has to do with cars having to
cross more lanes of traffic.
Certain problem areas
have also caught the atten-
tion of citizens.
Erinn Breece, a Portland
resident, recently started a
petition to get a divider and
some improved lighting
on Westland Road, after
her brother and two of his
friends were in an accident
on the road a few weeks
ago. The car, carrying three
people, swerved out of the
way to avoid a drunk driver,
and ended up in a ditch. Her
brother had multiple cuts on
his face, a dislocated hand
and hip. He was flown to
Kadlec Hospital in Rich-
land, and his friends were
treated for a concussion and
major cuts and bruises at
Good Shepherd Hospital in
Hermiston.
“I was one of the first
cars up there when I got the
call,” Breece wrote on her
petition. “The roads were so
dark, I couldn’t even see the
bright red Ford sedan they
were in. We need to prevent
more lives from being
injured or killed.”
Breece is in the process
of collecting signatures, and
plans to send the petition to
Umatilla County officials in
the hopes of getting some
changes made to the road.
Westland Road has been
a problem in the past. In
July 2013, a woman driving
a Nissan Altima died when
her car hit a semi truck
head-on, causing both the
car and truck to catch fire.
The driver of the semi truck
suffered minor injuries.
Strandberg noted that
while a high percentage of
crashes are caused at least in
part by driver error, ODOT
is constantly looking for
ways to improve safety.
“We want to know if
there are areas of high inci-
dent rates, and what we can
do about them,” he said.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
DEBT: State owned $3.3 billion in unpaid fees, taxes
Continued from 1A
renewing state contracts, and to report
outstanding debt and the amount they
think is collectible to the state’s chief
operating officer by June 1.
The order also asks the Department
of Revenue to “evaluate” making a
transparency website that lists “legally
appropriate information about (the state’s)
debtors.” The state’s open data portal,
using datasets from the state revenue
department, already publishes a list of the
top 50 delinquent debtors in both personal
income and business taxes.
“I think it’s critically important
that we be more aggressive and more
comprehensive in our approach to debt
collection,” Brown said in response to
questions from reporters Thursday.
Asked about the possible expense
of her debt collection proposal, Brown
said the state gets “big bang for our
buck” when hiring additional full-time
equivalent employees at the Depart-
ment of Revenue. Noting the state’s
hiring freeze, she said that “what’s
key about this is the comprehensive,
coordinated and aggressive nature
that we’re undertaking to collect those
dollars owed to the state.”
The details of Brown’s plan won’t
be available until she signs the order
next week, so it’s unclear how they will
differ from the state’s current collection
efforts.
It’s also unclear how much of the
outstanding debt can be collected.
The amount of money owed to the
state is constantly in flux, and there is a
finite amount that is actually collectible,
according to Bob Estabrook, a spokesman
for the Department of Revenue.
“Unfortunately, not all debt is
created equal,” Estabrook said.
For example, income tax debt
usually indicates that at one point the
debtor was making money, Estabrook
said. Court-ordered fines and judg-
ments, on the other hand, can occur
regardless of the debtor’s financial
circumstance or job status.
While DOR has ways to collect
debt, sometimes the agency lacks
enough information to find people with
outstanding debt, and sometimes the
people who owe money don’t have the
means to pay.
“We have kind of a standard set of
tools we use,” Estabrook said, “...And
once you’ve gone through the standard
steps, you can get to a place where
(debtors) don’t have assets we can
pursue, or we don’t have the informa-
tion to pursue that debtor.”
It is tough to say whether hiring
more people at the department, as a bill
before the Legislature proposes, would
greatly decrease the amount of money
owed to the state.
Senate Bill 89 is an effort to
centralize collections at the Depart-
ment of Revenue, a move that could
GROW: Neighbor has questions
Continued from 1A
money invested in this.”
Ramirez also said she
and the GhostTown team
are buying the building next
week from Echo farmer Kent
Madison, and they can start
up operations once they have
the commission’s OK.
Commissioner Maureen
McCormmach then asked if
anyone wanted to speak in
opposition. Kami Walborn,
office manager of DK Align-
ment, said she and DK owner
Don Kindsfather were not
for or against GhostTown,
but had concerns and plenty
of questions.
DK Alignment is at 2550
N.E. Riverside Place, behind
GhostTown’s new home,
and handles semitrailer
repairs. Walborn said the
two businesses will share
one road, and that could be
an issue when big rigs come
in for service. She also said
the new cash-only business
brings security concerns to
the neighborhood, and she
questioned what benefit
Pendleton would get from
having the grow.
GhostTown
member
Chris Strawn said the busi-
ness is not going to have
much traffic and no semis.
Moving their product, he
said, requires a “high-tech,
unmarked security vehicle.”
And security would be
the top priority, he said,
with 8-foot high fencing
topped with barbed wire, a
gate controlled from inside
the building and “security
cameras all over the place.”
Pendleton was not the
first choice, he said, but this
building has few doors and is
out of the public eye, and they
plan to keep it that way with
“no signage whatsoever.”
He added the hydroponics
mean water use is low, LED
lights mean lower electrical
demands, and large charcoal
filters will curtail odors.
GhostTown will pay a 3
percent tax to city, he said,
which will be a “tremendous
“ amount of money, though
all in cash.
Ramirez has to buy a city
business license, Strawn
said, and this is going to be
GhostTown Organix’s first
grow. At 51 years old he and
been around grows for 25
years.
“If you’re looking at
spending a million dollars on
something, you better know
what you’re doing,” he said.
McCormmach
closed
the hearing, and after
some records keeping the
commission was ready to
vote. Commissioner Ryan
DeGrofft moved to approve,
and Brian Currin gave the
second. Commissioner Terry
Clarke was the lone vote
against.
Moments
before,
commissioner
Sunny
Harmeson commented on the
landscaping at the site, which
is rather plain.
“Kind of funny,” she said.
“Gonna have all the green
inside.”
cost the state about $2.4 million in
additional personnel costs. The bill
would require certain state agencies
using private collection agencies for
specific debts after 90 days to use the
collections services of the Department
of Revenue instead.
An analysis from the nonpartisan
Legislative Revenue Office says the
proposed measure has “indeterminate”
effects on the state’s revenue because
it depends on an unknown: whether the
Department of Revenue is more effective
at collecting debt than private collectors.
“Data are not available on the rela-
tive efficacy of collections efforts and
the population owing debts to various
agencies can vary greatly,” the analysis
states. If the Department of Revenue is
more effective at collecting debt than
a private entity, then revenues could
increase; but if they’re not, revenues
could actually decrease.
State Rep. David Gomberg, D-Cen-
tral Coast, who has advocated for
improving state debt collection, said
he believes there are several things the
state can get better at.
Among them, he thinks that the state
should keep track of state contractors
who have outstanding debt, a measure
the governor’s executive order plans to
call for. The state hasn’t tracked contrac-
tors who owe the state money because of
“antiquated computer systems that can’t
talk to each other,” Gomberg said.
CUTS: 78 percent of
budget goes to personnel
Continued from 1A
Michelle Jones, director
of business services, said
the district was on track to
have a $3 million shortfall
based on a projected $7.8
billion state education
budget. With 78 percent of
the district’s funding tied to
personnel costs, Jones said,
the goal has become how
to minimize the shortfall’s
impact.
“We did not take this
decision lightly,” she said.
“We worked on it for
months. It changed quite a
bit as different information
came to light.”
Board chair Debbie
McBee said the state
budget was the main driver
behind the shortfall and the
layoffs.
“These decisions are
not actions based on
poor decisions in our
district,” she said. “They
are not entirely related
to declining enrollment.
That is one of our issues,
but that is not causing the
full brunt of the situation.
The real base issue is the
insufficient funding by
the state of Oregon for
education. It impacts our
district immensely when
it’s coupled with declining
enrollment and other
issues.”
McBee added that
district
officials
are
continuing to work on a
strategic plan that would
help solve some of the
district’s funding issues.
There’s still time before
the layoffs are made
permanent. The budget
committee, comprised of
the school board and seven
community members, will
get their first look at the
district’s budget proposal
May 18.
The district expects to
adopt a budget June 12. If
the Legislature increases
the money going toward
education before Pendleton
adopts its budget, the board
could amend the proposal
to re-add the positions.
Bixler said those who
are laid off will be able to
apply for other open posi-
tions and will be treated
as an internal candidate,
guaranteeing them an
interview.
Superintendent Andy
Kovach did not attend
the meeting. When asked
about Kovach’s absence,
McBee said he was
apprised of the situation
but declined to provide a
reason why he wasn’t at
the meeting.
The board’s meeting
room was noticeably fuller
than usual, but no one from
the audience signed up to
speak during the public
comment portion of the
meeting.
Friday, April 28, 2017
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File
In this Feb. 2017 file photo, then-National Security Ad-
viser Michael Flynn sits in the East Room of the White
House in Washington.
Pentagon joins probe of
former Trump aide Flynn
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Investigations intensified into
President Donald Trump’s
ousted national security
adviser, Michael Flynn, on
Thursday as the Pentagon
watchdog joined lawmakers
in probing payments he
accepted
from
foreign
sources including a Russian
state-sponsored TV network.
At the same time,
documents released by the
top Democrat on a House
oversight committee showed
Flynn was warned by author-
ities after he retired from the
military in 2014 not to take
foreign government-sourced
money without “advance
approval” from the Pentagon.
Flynn, a former Army
lieutenant
general
and
Defense Intelligence Agency
chief, later accepted tens of
thousands of dollars for his
work on behalf of foreign
interests, including RT, the
state-supported Russian tele-
vision network, and a Turk-
ish-owned company linked
to Turkey’s government.
The Pentagon’s acting
inspector general’s office
confirmed Thursday he has
launched an inquiry into
whether those payments
qualify as coming from
foreign governments and
whether Flynn properly
informed military authorities
about them.
The
White
House
defended its hiring of Flynn
and attempted to shift blame
for any problems with his
vetting onto the Obama
administration,
which
handled the reissuance of his
security clearance in January
2016.
Rep. Elijah Cummings,
D-Md., who released the
documents, said during a
news conference that Flynn
had been clearly informed he
needed to get permission to
receive foreign payments and
there’s no evidence he did so.
“The Pentagon’s warning
to General Flynn was bold,
italicized and could not have
been clearer,” Cummings
said.
In a key 2014 document,
Flynn was told by a Defense
Intelligence Agency official
that the U.S. Constitution’s
emoluments
provision
prohibits any monetary
payments or gifts “from a
foreign government unless
congressional consent is first
obtained.”
The Oct. 8, 2014, letter
— which was sent to Flynn
at his request — explained
that such “advance approval”
would need to come “from
the relevant service secre-
tary.”
Earlier
this
week,
Cummings and Repub-
lican Rep. Jason Chaffetz,
chairman of the House
committee, said that they
had found no evidence
Flynn asked the Army for
permission to receive foreign
payments or informed the
military he had accepted
them. Army spokeswoman
Cynthia O. Smith said the
Army had no records that
Flynn requested that permis-
sion.
DEPOSIT: Capped at
350 containers per trip
Continued from 1A
return rate dropped from 70
percent in 2012 and 2013 to
68 percent in 2014, and 64
percent in 2015.
The Bottle Drop station
in Hermiston opened in July
2016. Before that, people
could deposit their bottles
and cans at individual
grocery stores.
Some at the Hermiston
Bottle Drop were encouraged
to start recycling beverage
containers after the redemp-
tion rate increased.
“This is my first time
here,” said Susan Carlson,
after depositing a cart full of
bottles.
“It’s actually pretty easy.
Before, at the grocery store,
it was cold and it would spit
the cans out sometimes. But
here, there’s nice, friendly
help. I definitely think I’ll
come back.”
Carlson also signed up
for an account at the Bottle
Drop, in which customers
receive two green bags and
an account cart. They can fill
and drop off up to two green
bags filled with containers
per day.
Others have been using
bottle drop stations for years,
but are now starting to see
more returns.
“It’s a pretty good deal,”
said Sobotta, who has been
coming in since before the
deposit increased. “I think
I’ll use it more.”
Jules Bailey, chief stew-
ardship officer and director
of external relations for the
Oregon Beverage Recycling
Cooperative, said the state
has overall seen double the
returns they had before the
deposit increased.
“That’s true for Herm-
iston,” he said. Bottle drop
centers around the state are
also expanding and hiring
more people.
John Kasuba is new to the
Hermiston area, but has been
depositing bottles and cans
for years in Gresham, where
he used to live.
Kasuba said he likes that
more people might recycle
because of the increase, but
isn’t convinced it will benefit
everyone. He said while
people might deposit more
in the hopes of getting some
more money back, it won’t
make a real dent in people’s
incomes.
“People are still not
making enough to rent an
apartment in Multnomah
County,” he said. “That’s
why I’m out here. I don’t
think incomes are going to
increase in correspondence
with the increased bottle
deposit.”
Still, he said, the increase
may encourage some to
drop off bottles when they
wouldn’t have before.
“I met a lady over there,
she was familiar with the
stigma,” Kasuba said. “Her
friends wouldn’t deposit
them, they’d just throw
them away. But now, with
the higher deposit, she’s
going to collect bottles
from all her friends. These
centers are nicer, and it’s
easier to load, too. So
maybe there is some good
out of it.”
The station also has
several bins for recycling
plastic bags, cans, glass
and cardboard, and has
five self-serve stations and
a staffed customer service
table. Starting Jan. 1, 2018,
beverage containers for tea,
coffee, hard cider, fruit juice,
kombucha and coconut water
will also be redeemable for a
deposit.
The station is open 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. every day, and there
is an outside drop station as
well. There are daily limits
on how much an individual
can deposit: Two green bags
per person per day and 350
containers per person per
day.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com