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JENSON: ‘He was bright and deliberate and caring’
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East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Continued from 1A
lature came later in life.
Jenson, who grew up on a
Montana ranch and served
in the U.S. Air Force, taught
sociology and history for
26 years at Blue Mountain
Community College.
Bob and Evelyn met
at a teachers’ training in
Colorado and fell in love.
Evelyn, who also taught at
a community college at the
time, decided to change to
social work when they got
married, thinking it would be
a bad idea to work together at
the college.
She laughs about that now.
When Jenson first arrived in
Salem in 1997, Evelyn came
along to manage his office
and serve as her husband’s
first line of communication
for lobbyists and constitu-
ents. The Capitol was Bob’s
natural habitat, she said, and
he had all the right qualities
to succeed.
“He was bright and delib-
erate and caring,” she said.
“He tried very hard to be fair
to all sides and he always
tried to listen.”
State Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, agrees with that
description. As a Umatilla
County
commissioner,
Hansell worked with Jenson
for many years before joining
him in the Legislature in
2013. He called Jenson a
close personal friend and a
man of integrity.
“First and foremost he
voted for what he thought
was best,” Hansell said,
citing Jenson’s support for
local education, agriculture
and the Blue Mountain
Recovery Center in Pend-
leton. “His heart was in
Eastern Oregon.”
A centrist who didn’t
always toe the partisan line,
sometimes his non-confor-
mity got the lawmaker in
hot water with his own party.
In 2010, some predicted
Jenson’s political demise
after he voted with Demo-
crats to put two budget-bal-
ancing tax hikes on the
ballot (Measures 66 and 67).
Ultimately, he kept his seat.
He continued to pick his
AP Photo/Ken Ritter
Rancher and states’ rights figure Cliven Bundy,
center, emerges from court on Monday a free man,
flanked by his wife, Carol Bundy, left, and attorney
Bret Whipple, right, at the U.S. District Court build-
ing in Las Vegas.
BUNDY: Feb. 26 date
set for four defendants
still awaiting trial
Contributed photo
Rep. Bob Jenson leads fellow legislators on a field trip in the Hermiston area in the
late 1990s.
“Like everyone who comes down here, I probably had
visions of grandeur. I think I’ve made a little difference.”
— Bob Jenson, just before he retired
battles carefully, focusing on
such issues as water, educa-
tion, mental health and, near
the end of his career, wolves.
He got a reputation for being
crusty and courageous.
In 2009, Jenson got some
press after he, the elder
statesman, worked to find
a solution for water issues
with Jefferson Smith, a
young, green Democrat from
Portland. They became “the
Odd Couple,” a two-member
subcommittee on water
resources who put together
a water bill that brought
irrigation dollars to Jenson’s
district.
On Monday, comments
flowed from Salem and
beyond about Jenson’s
legacy.
Gov. Kate Brown tweeted,
“Bob Jenson was a dedicated
public servant and beloved
by many here in Oregon. He
will be missed! Sending our
thoughts and prayers to his
family and loved ones.”
Rep. Greg Barreto, who
won the seat after Jenson’s
retirement, offered condo-
lences to Jenson’s family and
thanks for helping during his
first term as a representative.
“For years, Bob stood as a
pillar of our district. He gave
so much to our friends and
neighbors over the years, and
will be remembered fondly
by many,” he wrote.
House Republican Leader
Mike McLane called him
“a true illustration of what it
means to be a servant leader.”
Rep. Greg Walden wrote,
“Bob Jenson served Eastern
Oregon thoughtfully, effec-
tively and with great civility.
I valued his friendship and
his counsel over the years
as we worked together on
federal and state issues.”
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner, former president of
Blue Mountain Community
College, called Jenson a
mentor and champion of
community colleges who
made sure community
colleges got their fair share
of state funding.
Jenson, a master card
player, moved his role as
strategist to the bridge table
after retirement. He focused
on his family, his annual
Alaskan fishing vacation and
trips to the family cabin near
Lostine. This year, he served
as chairman of the local
Gideons International chapter
and president of the Peace
Lutheran church council.
Just before he retired,
Jenson did a little self-as-
sessment about his time in
Salem.
“Like everyone who
comes down here, I probably
had visions of grandeur,” he
said. “I think I’ve made a
little difference.”
———
Daniel
Wattenburger
contributed to this story.
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or 941-966-0810.
Continued from 1A
gallery crammed with
Bundy supporters.
It comes after prose-
cutors failed to gain full
convictions in two trials
against six other defen-
dants who acknowledged
carrying
assault-style
weapons during the April
2014 confrontation outside
Bunkerville, 80 miles (129
kilometers) northeast of
Las Vegas.
Jurors in Portland,
Oregon, also acquitted
Ryan and Ammon Bundy
more than a year ago of
taking over a federal wild-
life refuge in early 2016
and calling for the U.S.
government to turn over
public land to local control.
The judge ended the
latest case by ripping
government prosecutors,
led by First Assistant U.S.
Attorney Steven Myhre, for
“intentional abdication of
... responsibility,” ‘’flagrant
misconduct” and “substan-
tial prejudice.”
Navarro found “delib-
erate attempts to mislead
and distort the truth”
and blamed FBI agents
for “reckless disregard”
of requirements to turn
over evidence relating to
government snipers and
cameras that monitored the
Bundy homestead.
The defense also should
have been given records of
government threat assess-
ments that concluded the
Bundys would probably
protest but not become
violent if agents enforcing
court
orders
began
rounding up their cattle, the
judge said.
Navarro set a Feb. 26
trial date for four defen-
dants still awaiting trial,
including two more Bundy
sons, Mel and David.
Nevada’s
newly
appointed acting U.S.
attorney, Dayle Elieson,
released a one-sentence
statement saying she will
make a determination about
whether to challenge the
ruling before the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ian Bartrum, a Univer-
sity of Nevada, Las Vegas,
law professor who has
written about the Bundy
case and federal land
policy, called the complete
dismissal a “pretty incred-
ible result” for the family
and its followers.
“In some ways, it
vindicates what they’re
claiming,” Bartrum said of
people who believe federal
agents and prosecutors
overreached to indict 19
people on charges including
conspiracy, assault and
threats against federal
agents.
“Not only did they not
go to prison, but they drew
attention to their political
cause — rethinking land
management policy in the
West,” Bartrum said.
Kieran Suckling, an
official with the Center
for Biological Diversity,
which fought for decades to
protect endangered desert
tortoises on rangeland
where Bundy cows graze,
called the prospect of a
wider audience for the
states’ rights figure cause
for concern.
“Federal
prosecutors
clearly bungled this case
and let the Bundys get away
with breaking the law,”
Suckling said. “The Bundys
rallied a militia to mount
an armed insurrection
against the government.
The failure of this case will
only embolden this violent
and racist anti-government
movement that wants to
take over our public lands.”
HERMISTON: Will also create
more jobs in the area indirectly
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Pendleton Round-Up Association has purchased the old Albertsons store across from the Pendleton Round-
Up Grounds. The store has been vacant since 2014.
ROUND-UP: Building will be remodeled and repurposed for exhibits
Continued from 1A
street,” he said.
Thomas
said
the
Round-Up is convening
a facilities committee to
determine how to use the
Round-Up’s new properties.
Potential projects like a
complementary hotel for
Pendleton
Convention
Center or the Blue Mountain
Community College indoor
rodeo arena would require
the Round-Up to reorganize
its campus, he said.
While a press release
states the Round-Up “will
provide future updates on
their plans for the building
as they become available,”
a consent judgment between
the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
and the association reached
last year shows one of the
possible options.
“The existing building will
be remodeled and repurposed
to contain exhibits related to
the Pendleton Round-Up
Rodeo,” states the judgment,
which Umatilla County
Circuit Court Judge Christo-
pher Brauer signed Oct. 27.
“The Pendleton Round-Up
and Happy Canyon Hall of
Fame museum is located
across the street from this
Property but does not have
capacity to display larger
items (i.e. wagons) exhibits.
The repurposing of this Prop-
erty will provide substantial
public benefit by providing
employment and education
opportunities for the commu-
nity as we as addressing one
of the several large vacant
commercial
properties
present in Pendleton.”
Thomas said a wagon
museum is one of the ideas
being considered, in addition
to expanded retail space,
but the association hasn’t
committed to a concept yet.
In use since at least the
1920s, the property has been
occupied by the Umatilla
County road department
and a farm equipment and
supply store before the
current facility was built in
1972. Pesticides, fertilizers
and petroleum were reported
in the soil and groundwater
during a 1998 remodel along
the south side of the building,
necessitating a consent judg-
ment between the Round-Up
and DEQ.
Thomas said the judgment
requires the Round-Up to
address any contamination
issues should they arise
during a construction project.
Additionally, the judgment
states the DEQ will review
the property every five years
to make sure it isn’t harming
public health or the environ-
ment.
The building may have
been operated by Albertsons,
but the 3.5-acres of land at
1300 S.W. Court Ave. have
been owned by the same
family since 1960s.
Ester and Cash Dove
entered into a lease in 1971
with Buttrey Food & Drug,
a regional grocery chain
acquired by Albertsons in
1998.
The Doves passed on
the property to their grand-
children — a group of six
cousins — who continued
to maintain the lease with
Albertsons.
Albertsons’
parent
company bought Safeway in
2014, and to avoid competing
with itself, the Pendleton
Albertsons was shut down.
Despite
the
store’s
closure, Dick Cook, one of
the six cousins who owns
the property, said the family
wasn’t able to get out of the
lease until October 2016. By
the following month, Cook’s
cousins and the Round-Up
had a handshake deal, he
said.
After negotiations and
the DEQ judgment, the deal
was finalized Friday. Both
Thomas and Cook declined
to disclose the property’s
purchase price, but Cook said
it was a fair price.
Spread across Pendleton,
the Walla Walla area and
Idaho, Cook thought the
family was happy with the
agreement and its potential to
benefit the community.
“I probably felt just as
happy for the Round-Up as I
did for myself,” he said.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
Morgan said the city
and county plan to work
together to use the $1
million per year from
Lamb Weston to invest in a
water infrastructure project
designed to spur increased
housing development in
Hermiston, which should
in turn create even more
jobs in Hermiston as
workers previously living
in the Tri-Cities instead
pay for things like car
insurance or doctors’ visits
locally. He cited a study
done by Washington State
University estimating that
for every job created in the
potato processing industry,
5.4 more jobs are created in
the area indirectly.
Councilor John Kirwan
said the city has been
working for a long time
to lay the groundwork
for large investments like
Lamb Weston’s, and it was
exciting to see that work
start to pay off.
“We have 140 jobs, but
that 140 jobs is not just
140, it’s going to multiply
by five,” he said.
Mayor David Drotz-
mann said the project was
an example of how public
investment often leads to
private investment, and
said he was pleased to see
that the city and county
planned to re-invest the
payments by Lamb Weston
back into a growth-in-
ducing project instead of
just melting it into their
general fund.
During the time for
public comment on the
project, Umatilla County
Fire District 1 Chief Scott
Stanton
congratulated
the city on landing such
a “big fish” and said he
was pleased that the city
was growing. However,
he said while the city will
be getting payments from
Lamb Weston in lieu of
property taxes, other taxing
districts like the fire district
will not, creating an added
burden for the district
without any added revenue.
“There is no funding for
public safety in this at all,”
he said.
Ric Sherman, who is
on the fire board, said
the project would create
a need for the district to
increase staffing of Station
23, nearest Lamb Weston,
to 24 hours a day. He and
Stanton both urged the city
to consider setting aside
some of the money paid by
Lamb Weston over the next
15 years to help the fire
district cover the costs of
protecting extra infrastruc-
ture and workers.
Drotzmann said those
were important points to
consider, but overall the
agreement was a win for
the community.
“These are the things
you have to do to stay
competitive and over time
these things pay off,” he
said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.