NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Oregon’s first immigrant Latina
lawmaker makes an impact
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
WOODBURN — Teresa
Alonso Leon envisioned
a better life in a promised
land when she was brought
from Mexico to America
as a young girl. Instead,
her family wound up in an
unheated house in Oregon
with no indoor plumbing,
eking out a living by picking
strawberries.
It is all the more remark-
able, then, that Alonso is
now one of the first people
brought to the U.S. illegally
to become a lawmaker in
America.
“I think it shows that
human potential does not
know immigration status,
and that among America’s
immigrants, especially those
who have come here as
children and benefited from
the right to education, their
potential offers leadership
for the country,” said Arturo
Vargas, executive director
of the National Association
of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials.
The irony that Alonso
was elected on the same day
Donald Trump beat Hillary
Clinton in the presidential
race is not lost on her.
“We didn’t get our
woman president that we
were hoping for, but they got
me as a legislator,” Alonso
said with a laugh in her
small office in the Oregon
Capitol.
Alonso, a Democrat,
became a U.S. citizen in
2012. Now, with Trump
stepping up immigration
enforcement, she sees herself
as a defender of her constitu-
ents. Her district is centered
around the predominantly
Latino town of Woodburn,
30 miles south of Portland.
U.S.
Customs
and
Immigration Enforcement,
known by its acronym as
ICE, already has focused
on the town, stopping two
vans loaded with workers
in February and taking
several people away. Alonso
is a former Woodburn City
Council member.
“When I think about the
folks in my community who
Contributed photo/Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office
A wreck near Fossil killed two motorcyclists
Saturday evening, and injured others.
Memorial Weekend crash
kills two motorcyclists,
injures several others
By ANGEL CARPENTER
EO Media Group
A
Memorial
Day
weekend crash killed two
motorcyclists and seriously
injured several other riders
late Saturday night on
Highway 19 near Fossil.
The crash occurred when
a vehicle traveling north
crossed into the oncoming
lane of traffic, striking a
large number of motorcycle
riders who were traveling
the opposite direction.
Motorcyclists
Aaron
Michael Polsfuss and
Donald Robert Pratt were
killed. Multiple others were
injured.
The driver of the vehicle,
Lisa Ann Niehaus, was
arrested and booked in
jail on multiple charges,
including two counts of
criminally negligent homi-
cide, three counts of assault
in the third degree and
several misdemeanors.
Wheeler County Sheriff
Chris Humphreys, who said
he was on the scene from
the start, called it “horrific.”
“It is definitely the worst
in Wheeler County history,”
he said.
Several
agencies
responded to the crash at
10:40 p.m. Saturday near
milepost 60, including
ambulances from Spray,
Fossil,
Condon
and
Arlington. Four helicopters
AP Photo/Andrew Selsky
In this May 18 photo, Oregon Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon, left, speaks with her
legislative aide, Audrey Mechling, in Alonso’s office in the Oregon State Capitol in
Salem. Alonso is Oregon Legislature’s first Latina immigrant lawmaker.
Alonso has joined three
other lawmakers in filing
a public records request
with ICE to obtain details
of enforcement actions, to
determine how they have
changed.
Among her bills is one
that would require Oregon’s
public universities and
community colleges to
promote inclusiveness and
diversity. Another would
prohibit state agencies from
contracting with companies
that don’t prevent sexual
harassment and discrimi-
nation. The Oregon Trial
Lawyers Association said
in support of the measure
that many workers face
on-the-job discrimination,
and that the state shouldn’t
spend taxpayer money with
companies that refuse to
have policies barring harass-
ment.
Some of Alonso’s fellow
lawmakers, however, are
unhappy about illegal immi-
gration. Republican Rep. Sal
Esquivel introduced a bill
that sought to repeal a 1987
law that made Oregon Amer-
ica’s first sanctuary state.
The bill died in committee.
“States need to comply
with federal immigration
laws,” Esquivel said in an
email.
AP Photo/Andrew Selsky
In this May 12 photo, a student walks through the
front lobby of Woodburn High School. Teresa Alonso
Leon has been making an impact as the first Latina
immigrant member of the Oregon Legislature. “Our
Latino students see her as inspirational,” said Victor
Vergara, principal of the high school’s Academy of
International Studies.
wake up so early to go to
work, and now they wake
up in the morning to go to
work and hope and pray that
they don’t get pulled over by
ICE, to me that’s just unac-
ceptable,” Alonso said in
an interview. Some kids are
even afraid to attend school,
she said, worried they’ll
return to empty homes, their
parents gone.
On a recent afternoon,
students streamed out of
Woodburn High School,
many chatting in Spanish
as they headed for their
yellow buses. Four out of
five students at the school,
which Alonso once attended,
are Latino.
“Our Latino students see
her as inspirational,” said
Victor Vergara, principal of
the high school’s Academy
of International Studies.
“They see her and think ‘We
can do that. She looks just
like us.’”
Since becoming the first
immigrant Latina lawmaker
in Oregon’s Legislature,
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
FRIDAY
THURSDAY
Cooler with clouds
and sun
Variable cloudiness
70° 54°
72° 52°
SATURDAY
Partly sunny and
pleasant
Sunny to partly
cloudy and nice
SUNDAY
Cooler with some
sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
74° 45°
79° 51°
67° 47°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
79° 56°
75° 57°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
87°
74°
102° (1931)
56°
50°
36° (1978)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.93"
1.34"
9.14"
5.54"
6.45"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
HIGH
LOW
93°
76°
102° (1983)
58°
50°
34° (1979)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.43"
1.09"
6.31"
4.23"
5.08"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
June 1
June 9
84° 53°
73° 51°
Seattle
70/55
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
80° 46°
5:10 a.m.
8:36 p.m.
11:46 a.m.
1:04 a.m.
Last
New
June 17 June 23
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
71/53
76/55
Tacoma
Moses
70/54
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 75/54
68/51
62/53
68/53
79/55
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
68/57
73/58 Lewiston
77/57
Astoria
75/57
62/54
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
72/58
Pendleton 72/47
The Dalles 75/57
70/54
78/59
La Grande
Salem
71/50
71/56
Albany
Corvallis 71/54
72/55
John Day
71/50
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
85/59
70/54
69/48
Caldwell
Burns
84/58
69/44
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
62
73
69
59
69
72
70
70
75
71
68
71
68
79
59
64
85
76
70
72
73
71
71
67
70
73
79
Lo
54
48
48
51
44
47
54
51
57
50
44
50
47
56
53
55
59
55
54
58
47
56
53
46
57
58
55
W
r
pc
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
c
c
c
pc
pc
pc
c
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
c
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
Hi
62
66
68
58
70
62
68
70
79
68
72
67
65
81
59
62
77
80
72
70
72
69
69
65
67
75
78
Lo
52
41
42
48
39
42
49
47
56
46
38
47
44
50
51
52
53
53
52
54
39
51
51
44
53
56
50
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
c
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
c
s
c
c
c
pc
c
pc
c
c
c
pc
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
93
87
82
70
72
65
76
78
80
61
80
Lo
61
81
57
53
58
52
59
58
64
50
67
W
pc
sh
s
pc
t
sh
pc
s
pc
sh
pc
Thu.
Hi
87
89
75
75
73
60
81
79
79
63
76
Lo
59
80
58
54
57
42
62
59
57
51
68
W
c
r
s
pc
t
r
pc
s
pc
s
r
WINDS
Medford
79/56
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
68/44
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today. A
little rain; arriving in the afternoon across
the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Intervals of
clouds and sun today; a shower or thunder-
storm in spots in central parts.
Western Washington: Mainly cloudy today;
a little afternoon rain at the coast. A couple
of showers tonight.
Eastern Washington: Clouds and sun today.
A shower or thunderstorm around in the
mountains tonight.
Cascades: Mostly cloudy, a thunderstorm in
spots this afternoon.
Northern California: A shower today, but
a thunderstorm in spots in the interior
mountains.
Today
Thursday
WSW 8-16
W 6-12
WSW 8-16
W 7-14
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
1
4
6
5
3
and a fixed-wing plane
transported patients from
the scene and from Asher
Community Health Clinic
in Fossil.
Volunteer
medical
crews and fire departments
responded, along with
Wheeler County Sheriff’s
office and Oregon State
Police.
Highway 19 was closed
for nearly nine hours as a
local crane operator assisted
in clearing the wreckage.
“I’ve seen some things in
the 20 years that I’ve been
doing this,” Humphreys
said. “It’s heartbreaking
on every side here. I’m in
contact with the families,
and it’s heartbreaking for
them.”
The motorcycle group,
which are self-identified
as members of the Gypsy
Jokers Motorcycle Club,
were headed to the 40th
Fossil Motorcycle Campout
at Bear Hollow Park south of
Fossil. Humphreys said they
believe more than 40 motor-
cyclists were riding together.
He added that getting a full
count was difficult.
In addition to the two
charges of criminally negli-
gent homicide, Class B felo-
nies, Niehaus was charged
with three counts of assault
in the third degree, Class C
felonies, for unlawfully and
recklessly causing serious
physical injury.
1
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Showers and thunderstorms will affect a large part of the Eastern
and Southern states today. Some of the storms can be briefly severe. Storms will dot the
Rockies, Sierra Nevada and Cascades.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 106° in Needles, Calif.
Low 26° in Dillon, Colo.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
77
81
72
80
86
83
85
68
83
75
71
73
92
82
72
83
65
77
85
88
75
87
80
96
87
71
Lo
57
65
62
57
58
64
59
59
70
54
52
53
73
52
51
63
40
48
73
71
51
69
62
72
66
59
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
t
pc
c
c
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
t
s
t
s
s
pc
pc
Thur.
Hi
79
85
74
77
88
84
75
75
87
77
78
73
87
82
76
88
70
83
85
84
77
87
82
94
84
75
Lo
59
68
60
55
57
68
54
55
69
56
58
55
72
54
53
66
46
59
73
73
60
69
66
72
67
59
W
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
r
pc
s
pc
s
pc
c
t
pc
t
t
s
c
pc
Today
Hi
Louisville
82
Memphis
88
Miami
91
Milwaukee
69
Minneapolis
73
Nashville
86
New Orleans
81
New York City
73
Oklahoma City
88
Omaha
79
Philadelphia
80
Phoenix
102
Portland, ME
63
Providence
74
Raleigh
83
Rapid City
78
Reno
73
Sacramento
78
St. Louis
83
Salt Lake City
92
San Diego
68
San Francisco
68
Seattle
70
Tucson
99
Washington, DC 81
Wichita
85
Lo
61
67
80
53
52
61
73
60
63
58
59
78
52
59
63
53
50
55
63
66
61
56
55
68
61
66
W
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
t
pc
pc
s
pc
s
c
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
c
s
pc
pc
Thur.
Hi
82
87
90
73
78
87
84
77
84
83
77
99
72
77
85
87
81
83
81
86
70
67
66
95
79
88
Lo
65
69
79
58
62
66
72
60
66
67
59
74
47
54
62
58
52
53
69
62
62
53
54
66
60
67
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
t
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
t
s
pc
pc
sh
s
s
t