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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2017)
90/62 PENDLETON STOCKS UP ON WHISKY UMATILLA COUNTY FAIR RESULTS REGION/3A PAGE 8A WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017 141st Year, No. 222 WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar CTUIR to consider putting marijuana on ballot East Oregonian One year after the city of Pendleton voted to legalize marijuana sales, the sovereign nation next door will may make a similar decision at the ballot box. At a meeting Monday, the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation Board of Trustees will consider putting a referendum on legalizing marijuana on the tribes’ Nov. 14 general election, CTUIR spokesman Chuck Sams said Tuesday. Sams said the referendum consists of eight questions proposed by the General Council, which range from legalizing recreational consumption of marijuana to growing industrial hemp on the reserva- tion, although he didn’t know the exact language of each question because they have yet to be reviewed by staff. Under tribal government, the General Council is comprised of all tribal members 18 years and over and has its own offi cers. The General Council elects See MARIJUANA/10A Echo agrees to wastewater solution with Stanfi eld By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The Echo City Council has approved an agreement to send its recycled water to Stanfi eld instead of Michael Yunker’s ranch. Yunker had been preparing for a court battle after being notifi ed last December the city was considering using eminent domain to carve out a 10-acre piece of his ranch to deposit the city’s recycled water as part of a wastewater system upgrade. Instead, the city will begin searching for funding to pipe the water into the city of Stanfi eld’s system. Yunker said he was “delighted” that the city had found a solution that worked for everyone. “Man, that’s good news,” he said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m one happy camper.” Stanfi eld’s city council still has to vote to approve the agreement, but it was Stan- fi eld councilor Jason Sperr who came to an Echo City Council meeting earlier in the year to state Stanfi eld’s willingness See WASTEWATER/10A Staff photo by E.J. Harris A powered paraglider fl ies over the campground at the industrial park at the beginning of the eclipse on Monday in John Day. APOC-ECLIPSE? NO. Planning pays off for eclipse rush in rural Oregon By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian After months of bracing for massive crowds, gnarled traffi c and barren supermarket shelves, it turns out rural Eastern Oregon was more than prepared to handle the infl ux of visitors who came for Monday’s total solar eclipse. Locals were reportedly busy, but not overwhelmed by the number of eclipse watchers who fl ocked from around the world to tiny towns like John Day, Fossil and Spray to witness the rare cosmic event within the path of totality. Nick Green, John Day city manager, estimated they had more than 10,000 people stay in town, including 3,000 who camped at the city’s airport industrial park and the former Oregon Pine mill site. Both tent and RV campsites were booked solid, in addition to motels and landowners renting Staff photo by E.J. Harris additional space for guests. An Oregon National Guard Humvee sits on a street off Highway 395 on Sunday in John Day. “There were a lot of logistics, but it was a great event,” Green toward Prairie City, and members Strandberg with the Oregon He said eclipse travelers largely said. “Everyone had a great of the Oregon National Guard Department of Transportation heeded the agency’s advice to time.” were brought in to direct the fl ow said they did not have any major come early, though not as many While traffi c was mostly of traffi c downtown. wrecks or closures in the area. stayed late, which led to periods steady throughout the weekend, “We’ve never seen anything Strandberg, who serves as of congestion Monday. John Day did experience a hefty like that in Grant County,” he the spokesman for ODOT in Still, it could have been much backup along Highway 26 imme- said. Eastern Oregon, said they are still worse. diately following the eclipse on Despite the relatively high crunching the numbers to deter- “I think we were pretty Monday. Green said the line of volume of drivers on otherwise mine just how many vehicles did See ECLIPSE/10A cars stretched for eight miles east sparsely populated roads, Tom arrive and stay in Grant County. Gov. Brown signs transportation bill By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Pamplin Media Group Gov. Kate Brown quietly signed a $5.3 billion transportation funding bill Friday, but will travel to Malheur County next week for a ceremonial signing. The bill provides funding for a rail transloading facility for the area. SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown is scheduled to appear at a ceremonial signing of a $5.3 billion transportation funding bill in Eastern Oregon Aug. 28, the Capital Press reported Monday. Brown offi cially signed House Bill 2017 without notice or fanfare on Aug. 18. The governor and lawmakers have touted the legislation as a chief accomplishment of the 2017 legislative session, which concluded July 7. The ceremonial signing is set for 10 a.m. at the Ontario Train Depot. Brown is expected to visit Ontario to highlight a $26 million project in the bill to construct a reload facility central to moving products out of Malheur County, The Argus Observer reported Tuesday. The Governor’s Offi ce was not immediately available Tuesday morning to elaborate on the reasons for holding the ceremonial signing in Ontario. An author of the legislation, Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz represents Ontario. Bentz played a crucial role in negoti- See TRANSPORTATION/10A