40/27
SPORTS/1B
TRUMP
CELEBRATES
TAX WIN
NATION/6A
JADE BURNS SETS
SCHOOL RECORD
WITH 1,000 POINTS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2017
142nd Year, No. 46
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
One dollar
Mistrial in Nevada standoff
is latest victory for Bundys
Ryan and Ammon Bundy and self-styled
Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.
Prosecutors were trying to prove
the four broke the law in a tense
armed confrontation between Bundy
supporters and government agents who
gave up efforts to confi scate Bundy
cattle in 2014.
Navarro didn’t dismiss the case
outright, but said she might after a Jan.
8 hearing. She also severely criticized
prosecutors for suppressing information
and violating constitutional due process
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — A U.S. judge in
Nevada dealt another defeat Wednesday
to federal prosecutors trying to punish
leaders of armed standoffs meant to
oppose federal authority over vast
swaths of land in the American West.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria
Navarro in Las Vegas declared a mistrial
in the long-awaited case against states’
rights fi gure Cliven Bundy, his sons
by failing to turn over all their evidence
to defense attorneys. She called the
conduct “willful.”
“The defense has a right to informa-
tion so it can go to a jury,” the judge
said, “so the jury can decide.”
The setback comes a year after a
federal jury in Portland acquitted Ryan
and Ammon Bundy of all charges after
leading an occupation of a U.S. wildlife
refuge in Eastern Oregon in early 2016
See STANDOFF/8A
AP Photo/John Locher
From left, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jeanette
Finicum, widow of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, Ryan
Bundy, Angela Bundy, wife of Ryan Bundy and Jamie
Bundy, daughter of Ryan Bundy, walk out of a federal
courthouse Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Carbon
‘Cap and
invest’ bill
takes shape
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Lynda and John Carraher of Umatilla sit behind a pile of requests for donations from charitable organizations on the coffee table in
their home on Wednesday. The Carrahers said they have received 508 requests for donations this year.
GENEROSITY OVERLOAD
Some charities see dip in donation during holidays
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
As Christmas approaches, it can seem
like the requests for donations are over-
whelming.
So much, in fact, that at the beginning of
this year, a Umatilla couple began keeping
track of the requests they received from
different groups asking for money.
“My husband told me the other day that
so far, he has received 86 appeals from
organizations supporting trying to save
Medicare,” said Lynda Carraher. “That’s
from one social issue. It’s just insane.”
Carraher and her husband, John,
counted 508 total requests since they
started collecting them in January.
“And there’s 10 mailing days left,”
Lynda said.
Piled up on the Carrahers’ kitchen
table were most of those envelopes, with
pleas from a range of organizations. They
included Planned Parenthood, the Oregon
Food Bank, the American Lung Association
and the American Civil Liberties Union.
John said he’s noticed a slight uptick
around the holidays. But while the couple
said they haven’t compared notes with
others, they wouldn’t be surprised if the
See CHARITY/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Stacks of donated canned goods sit on a table in
the gymnasium at the Salvation Army offi ces on
Wednesday in Pendleton.
PORTLAND — Two Demo-
cratic lawmakers have released
details of a carbon “cap and invest”
bill that their party has prioritized
for approval during Oregon’s
legislative session in February.
Modeled after a program in
California, their proposal would
effectively charge Oregon industry
for emitting carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere. The goal of the
program
is
to encourage
businesses to
embrace tech-
nologies and
practices that
curb the release
of greenhouse
gases that warm
the climate and
to invest in
projects
that
help the general population reduce
their carbon footprint.
A similar bill in 2016 drew
strong opposition from certain
Oregon business groups, including
Associated Oregon Industries,
since merged into Oregon Busi-
ness & Industry.
Since then, Democrats Sen.
Michael Dembrow of Portland and
Rep. Ken Helm of Beaverton, have
assembled a series of work groups
to address concerns from business
and industry, environmentalists
and advocates for minorities and
residents of rural areas.
A bill summary released
Wednesday outlines changes to
the proposal that address some of
those concerns.
“We have two competing
needs: We want to reduce emis-
sions, but we don’t want to put
businesses out of business so
See CARBON/8A
HERMISTON
Taco Bell employee known for jokes, hard work
Horizon Project links
developmentally disabled
people with jobs
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Regulars at the Hermiston Taco Bell
on weekday afternoons expect to be
greeted with a smile by Mark Leach, one
of the store’s most enthusiastic workers.
“I love my job,” he said.
Leach, 52, has been working at Taco
Bell for a year and a half through an
employment program at Horizon Project
that helps individuals with develop-
mental disabilities hold jobs. LaTonya
Avila, a Horizon Project employee who
accompanies Leach to his job, said he is
well-known by many customers, some of
whom even leave him tips.
“There’s people who always recog-
nize him, who really notice how hard he
works,” she said.
Hermiston’s own Mark Leach can be
found restocking the napkins, wiping
down tables and emptying garbage in
Taco Bell’s lobby on most days. He calls
himself the lobby supervisor.
“I help the customers that need it with
their pops, like the little kids that need
help to put their lids on,” he said.
Kelly Shockman of Horizon Project
said keeping the front of house organized
and stocked with cups, napkins, hot sauce
packets and other items is his “pride and
joy.”
See LEACH/8A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Mark Leach stocks hot sauce packets in the dining area
Tuesday at Taco Bell in Hermiston.