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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2017)
Page 8A NORTHWEST East Oregonian Saturday, May 20, 2017 Governor’s appointments closely match geographic populations By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian During her tenure as Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown has proposed 157 people to fill state boards and commissions. Seven of those nominees are residents of Eastern Oregon, 4.5 percent, which is almost exactly the same proportion of Oregonians who live on the east side of the state. Oregon has more than 250 boards and commissions with 1,364 executive appointments, according to public records the East Orego- nian obtained from the governor’s office. Brown’s appointments became an issue in March when she fired Melinda Eden of Milton-Freewater, Colleen Johnson of La Grande, and Morgan Rider of Portland from the Environmental Quality Commis- sion. The move irked Republican Sen. Bill Hansell of Athena, who in early May opposed Brown’s replacements on the commission, all who live west of the Cascades. All of the governor’s nomi- Governor forgives boy for swiping hazelnut, pen SALEM (AP) — The governor of Oregon has pardoned a fourth-grade boy who swiped a hazelnut and a pen during a recent tour of the state Capitol. Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday tweeted out a photo of the boy’s apology letter along with the hashtag #cutestmailever and the caption, ‘I think we can forgive Samuel, don’t you think, Oregonians?’ The tweet immediately got many likes and retweets. In the pencil-written letter, Samuel explains that he visited the Capitol Building on a classroom tour on April 19 and took the items. “These things were not mine and it was wrong for me to take them. I’m very sorry,” he wrote. “I hope you and the people of Oregon can forgive me.” Included with the letter were the pen and $1 to cover the cost of the stolen hazelnut. In a return letter, Brown said she accepted his apology and forgave him on behalf of all Oregonians. “Oregon is a special place. I hope we can work together to keep it that way,” the governor wrote. As a final gesture of goodwill, she enclosed a new pen for Samuel to “remember this event.” Eclipse a wild card during wildfire season Authorities think this summer is going to be average for wildfire activity. Despite a cool, wet winter, that still means about 4,000 small and large fires. And while oncoming El Niño ocean conditions may mean a warmer than usual summer, there’s no indication of drought. But John Saltenberger with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says there is one wild card. The hundreds of thousands of people who’ll be in the Oregon wilderness to watch the solar eclipse on Aug. 21. “Traditionally we see spikes in the number of human ignitions that come on holiday weekends such as July 4th such as Labor Day. This is going to outstrip all of that,” he said. “It’s unprecedented. At this point, I don’t have a feel for how many extra fire starts we may likely suffer during the eclipse event. But it’s not trivial,” said Saltenberger. nations must be approved by the Senate. After reviewing the complete list of appointments Hansell commended the governor for repre- sentational parity, but said it matters which boards rural Oregonians are on. He said it makes sense to have Eastern Oregon residents on the Environmental Quality Commis- sion even if state law does not require it. Brandon Persinger, Hansell’s legislative director, said state statutes establish the boards and commissions and some do have geographic requirements. The Water Resources Commis- sion by law must have three of its seven members from east of the Cascade mountains, Persinger said. Eric Quaempts of Adams is the north-central representative and Bruce Corn of Ontario is the eastern representative. An at-large member serves as the third. Geography is not a requirement of the 24-member Public Safety Standards and Training Board, which Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe serves on. Persinger said the board by law must have a minimum numbers or sheriffs, police chiefs, fire chiefs and other public safety professionals, along with one city administrator and one member from the public Hansell said he met with the governor’s office, which promised to work to have more rural Orego- nians on state boards. He also said he and Persinger would dig into the data to find out the extent of Eastern Oregon voices serving on boards and committees. Bryan Hockaday, Brown’s press secretary, said in an email that the governor “prioritizes diversifying each board and commission to include gender, gender identity, race, ability, veterans and geographic parity among the membership. She considers recommendations of stakeholders, legislators and staff to ensure Oregonians have access to leadership opportunities that move our state forward.” Hockaday also said the governor balances her appointments across the five congressional districts, which each have roughly the same population. Mike Thorne of Pendleton is a former state senator who serves as one of 15 members on the Oregon State University Board of Trustees. State law requires the board have one OSU student, one faculty member and one staff member, but the other seats can be filled at the governor’s discretion. Thorne said geography matters, but not at the expense of expertise and ability. “You want talented people that you also know can do the job,” he said. Thorne said in his years in the Senate — from 1973 to 1991 — as many as 35 residents of Umatilla County served on state boards at one time. To achieve that level of representation, he said he constantly fed names of talented locals to the governor’s staffer in charge of executive appointments. The state’s 30 senators and 60 representatives should know better than the governor who would benefit a board, he said, so if lawmakers are not satisfied BRIEFLY with the number of people from Eastern Oregon on boards and commissions, they should regularly propose names from their districts. Hansell said he is working on that and asked the governor’s office for a list of board vacancies. Specific details about executive appointments, including the interest form and membership handbook, are available online at this link: www.oregon.gov/gov/admin/ Pages/How_To_Apply.aspx. The state of Oregon’s population in 2016 was 4,076,350, according to data from Oregon Blue Book. The counties of Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler had a combined popula- tion of 181,900, or 4.5 percent of the state. Some 2 million people — a tick more than half the state’s population — live in Portland and its surrounding communities, according to U.S. Census data. Out of the 157 executive appointments made by Brown, 78 are from the Portland area — nearly 50 percent. Oregon Child Welfare director resigns after six months on job and calls for a culture change at the agency. Under Alhusseini’s direc- SALEM — The director of tion, which began shortly after Oregon’s beleaguered Child the agency released a detailed Welfare division of the state outside report on the foster care Department of Human Services system’s shortcomings, the is stepping down after six division seemed eager to make improvements. months on the job. Alhusseini came to Oregon Lena Alhusseini, who joined the agency in early November from Brooklyn, N.Y., where after it conducted a national she was executive director of the Arab-American search, submitted Family Support her resignation as Center. She did child welfare director not return a phone Wednesday after- message seeking noon. comment by dead- She did not return line. a phone message Earlier this year seeking comment by state lawmakers deadline. A depart- learned children ment spokesman being screened after declined Friday to Alhusseini reports of abuse and provide answers to neglect remained in further questions unsafe situations after being about Alhusseini’s departure. She will stay on at the deemed safe by DHS staff. In March, Alhusseini agency, leading an effort to recruit diverse employees, until unveiled a new training simulation for social workers. Sept. 1. DHS Director Clyde Saiki Last week, she announced an announced Alhusseini’s depar- initiative to equip caseworkers with iPhones and tablets, in ture in a statement Friday. “I respect Lena’s vision for what was portrayed as an effort child welfare — a framework to increase productivity and of community engagement and home visits. Saiki said that the agency support — and that essential work will continue,” Saiki said. would continue to emphasize “However, Lena and I agree child safety. “Moving forward, our focus that we have not been able to get the results we need to must be on the basics,” Saiki wrote, including correctly achieve.” Saiki himself is retiring Sept. screening reports of abuse and 1. He will be replaced by the neglect, ensuring safe place- current director of the Oregon ments and “ensuring ongoing Youth Authority, the state’s oversight and support in family agency overseeing juveniles in foster care and residential placements.” the criminal justice system. “In addition, we must Both departures come as DHS struggles to recover continue our efforts toward the after significant documented culture change needed to put problems in child welfare. children’s safety at the center Starting in 2015, news reports of every decision and action,” revealed the agency did a poor Saiki said. According to a spokesman job monitoring management and safety issues at a Portland for DHS, Alhusseini’s annual foster care provider, prompting salary of $150,000 will not further scrutiny of the system change with her new position. By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau Saerom England/Office of Oregon Governor Kate Brown via AP This photo provided by the Office of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown shows a portion of an apology letter from a fourth-grader to Gov. Brown, ex- plaining that his class had toured the Capitol on a field trip in April 2017 and how he took a hazelnut and a pen from the Capitol Building. In a note replying to the letter, which included the pen in question and a $1 reimbursement for the hazelnut, Brown thanked the young man and wrote “I accept your apology and forgive you.” Saltenberger’s main concern is that the eclipse coincides with really hot, dry, windy conditions. About half of all wildfires are started by humans. The rest are sparked by lightning. — Oregon Public Broadcasting Luxury hotel planned in Walla Walla WALLA WALL — By this time two years from now, guests coming to Walla Walla for its world-class wines will be able to stay overnight at what developers are calling the town’s first contemporary four-plus- star hotel. Developers who plan to revitalize the former 1907 Odd Fellows Building at 28 S. Spokane St. into The Penrose Walla Walla Hotel & Spa have provided a vision for the building, details of its ownership, and a rough opening for the massive downtown Walla Walla project. Anticipated for an early 2019 opening, the project includes a “significant” new building addition to complement the existing main building, the developers announced. The 82-room boutique hotel will have a restaurant, bar, meeting spaces and rooftop event terraces, and poolside food and drink service, all located in the restored building that is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The redevelopment of the property has been highly anticipated as Seattle architect and manager Stephen Day and partners have had contact with the city, county, Port of Walla Walla and Downtown Walla Walla Foundation over the last year. The construction is intended to complement what exists in the main structure. Similarly, the hotel development is designed to compli- ment what exists in Walla Walla with the emergence of an internationally recognized wine producing region. — Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Lawmaker won’t block push for presidential popular vote SALEM (AP) — Democrats are planning to make a final push this year to have Oregon join almost a dozen states that want to sidestep the Electoral College and elect the U.S. president by popular vote. Previous efforts to join the so-called National Popular Vote interstate compact have failed three times since 2009, with Democratic Senate President Peter Courtney blocking it in each instance. This year, however, Courtney says he’ll concede if Oregon voters have the final say. The National Popular Vote movement gained momentum after President Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory in November. It’s triggered when enacted by states that, collectively, have at least 270 electoral votes. House Bill 2927 would add Oregon’s seven electors to the compact, which currently has 165 votes. BAKER CHARTER SCHOOLS EXPERIENCED, TRUSTED, PERSONALIZED EDUCATION FOR GROWING MINDS. • FREE K-12 public education • Regional field trips • Certified teacher home visits • Customized curriculum
