CATTLE BARONS
GEAR UP FOR
10TH YEAR
73/49
200 TURN OUT FOR THE BUTTE CHALLENGE
REGION/6A
SPORTS/1B
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017
141st Year, No. 146
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Legislators
offer $5B
roads plan
Town hall audiences question Rep. Greg Walden on health care bill
Calls for increase in fuel tax,
vehicle registration fees
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Legislators on Monday
announced a blueprint for raising $5 billion
over the next decade to pay for projects to
relieve congestion and maintain roads and
bridges.
The plan represents the fi rst comprehen-
sive framework for crafting a transportation
package this year.
“We are running the most transparent
transportation process I think this building
has ever seen, so now it’s time for public
input,” said House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland. “We still have plenty of time to
work out the details, but this is an important
turning point in terms of having specifi cs
See ROADS/8A
PENDLETON
Staff photos by E.J. Harris
ABOVE: U.S. Rep. Greg Walden talks about the bills that have been passed recently in Congress during a town hall meeting
Monday in Baker City. BELOW: Walden speaks with constituents after the Baker City town hall.
Walden answers for vote
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
More online
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden faced
vocal and passionate crowds
during three town hall meetings
Monday in Eastern Oregon, with
most of the discussion centered
on the Republican-backed Amer-
ican Health Care Act that passed
the House of Representatives last
week.
Walden, who serves as
Oregon’s
lone
Republican
congressman, has been at the
forefront of repealing and
replacing the Affordable Care
Act, commonly referred to as
Obamacare. A number of local
constituents angrily opposed
the GOP bill and relayed their
concerns during assemblies in
Baker City, Elgin and Wallowa.
Not all feedback was negative
in the strongly conservative
counties. Boos mixed with cheers
Hawthorne,
high school
won’t merge
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
For video visit
eastoregonian.com
as Walden laid out his positions
on health care, natural resources,
rural infrastructure, Russian
interference in the 2016 presiden-
tial election and the latest federal
appropriations bill that includes
full funding Payments in Lieu of
Taxes.
Inevitably, however, the topic
shifted back to the AHCA, which
Walden defended as an effort to
make health care sustainable and
affordable.
“People are being priced out
of the market today,” Walden
told the audience of more than
100 people Monday morning
at Baker High School. “We’re
trying to fi gure out how do we
save these exchange markets so
they will work.”
When asked how many
Oregonians stand to lose
coverage under the new proposal,
Walden said he did not think it
would be easy to predict at this
point, drawing jeers from the
crowd. Walden was also asked
why lawmakers did not wait for
an updated analysis from the
Congressional Budget Offi ce
before passing the AHCA.
Walden said the CBO did
provide guidance on the base bill,
and while Congress values that
Pendleton’s Hawthorne Alternative
High School will remain its own entity for
at least one more year.
The Pendleton School Board took no
action on a proposed motion to merge
Hawthorne into Pendleton High School,
effectively postponing such a move for at
least a year, if not longer.
Interim superintendent Matt Yoshioka
said merging the schools would not cause
the alternative education program to fold.
“It is not a decision, in any way, shape
or form, on what the alternative program
will look like,” he said. “The alternative
program continues, regardless of the deci-
sion tonight.”
The most signifi cant change under the
reconfi guration is that instead of the two
schools producing separate diplomas, state
See WALDEN/8A
See HAWTHORNE/8A
Drone delivers food to
hunters during rescue
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Rescuers brought two local
bear hunters across the rushing
Umatilla River, and a drone
brought them a snack after a
long night in Blue Mountains.
Tony Bolin of Umatilla
and Jacob Perry of Herm-
iston were a little worn out
and hungry after the ordeal,
said Sgt. Dwight Johnson,
who heads up search and
rescue for the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Offi ce, but
were otherwise OK.
The pair went hunting
Saturday and crossed the
river east of the Umatilla
Forks Campground, Johnson
said, then drove along
the south side of the river
before setting out on foot to
mountain ridges, which offer
expansive and clear views of
the territory.
They spotted and shot a
bear, Johnson said, and the
wounded animal fl ed down
the ridges toward the river.
They tracked it, fi eld dressed
it and decided they could
hike along the river to their
Hermiston celebrates
Cinco de Mayo
TOP: The Hermiston Cinco de Mayo court, Daisy
Cardenas, Natali Armenta and Jaleslie Torres, waves
from a convertible during the parade
that kicked off the two-day event Sat-
urday afternoon.
LEFT: Isabel Vargas, of the Aztec Danc-
ers, of Yakima, dances with her troupe
during the Hermiston Cinco de Mayo
celebration on Saturday.
The two-day celebration at Butte Park
included music, food, and an appear-
ance by Mexico’s consul general for
Oregon, Francisco Maass Peña.
For the full story see page 3A. More photos online.
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
See RESCUE/8A
Hermiston Offi ce:
Pendleton Offi ce:
GLENN SCOTT
JENNIFER OLSON
Veteran's Service Offi cer • 435 E Newport Ave.
Veteran’s Service Offi cer • 17 SW Frazer
Ph: 541.667.3125 • Cell: 541.848.8120
Ph.541.278.5482
glenn.scott@umatillacounty.net
jennifer.olson@umatillacounty.net
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