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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2018)
HEPPNER MAN KILLED IN CRASH REGION/3A MEET PENDLETON’S NEWEST STAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR TYLER NEWSOM SPORTS/1B MORE SHAKEUPS IN D.C. NATION/6A FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018 142nd Year, No. 112 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Your Weekend • • • “March For Our Lives” Saturday in Pendleton Jilt rocks at Wildhorse Women and Words weekend in Joseph For times and places see Coming Events, 6A OREGON’S 2ND DISTRICT Red all over, again Catch a movie Melissa Sandven Pendleton names new principal Universal Pictures via AP Pacific Rim: Uprising East Oregonian For showtime, Page 5A For review, Weekend EO Weekend Weather Fri Sat Sun 52/33 52/27 50/32 Wildfire disaster fund to end borrowing By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON — A spending bill approved by the House includes a bipar- tisan plan to create a wildfire disaster fund to help combat increasingly severe wildfires that have devastated the West in recent years. The bill sets aside more than $20 billion over 10 years to allow the Forest Service and other federal agencies end a practice of raiding non-fire-related accounts to pay for wildfire costs, which approached $3 billion last year. The House approved the measure Thursday, with Senate action expected soon after as Congress faces a Friday night deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Western lawmakers have long complained that the current funding mechanism — tied to a 10-year average for wildfires — makes budgeting difficult, even as fires burn longer and hotter each year. See BUDGET/8A Staff photo by E. J. Harris Rep. Greg Walden wears a Make Onions Great Again hat during a visit to the BMCC campus Sept. 29 in Pendleton. Walden safe bet for re-election — for now, probably By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian M ost national pundits see Republican Greg Walden as a lock to win an 11th term representing Oregon’s 2nd District in the U.S. House. Political analysts Charlie Cook, Larry J. Sabato and Nat Gonzales all have Walden rated as “safe” for re-election. Yet the grip he and the GOP have on the district shows signs of slipping. The district is larger than 29 states and primarily conservative. But Oregon political analyst Bill Lunch said that has not curtailed energized Democrats this year, with seven vying in the primary for their party’s nomination to challenge Walden. “I think that reflects the level of unhappiness among active voters with the Trump Admin- istration,” Lunch said. “And we’re seeing that all over the country.” Thinkstock Image The U.S. has about 7,400 seats in state legisla- tures, and many of those offices are effectively held by one party, he said — predominately Republican or Democrat. “But we’re seeing Democrats filing for lots and lots of seats, which (had been) effectively out of reach for them,” he said. Republicans and political insiders considered the 18th congressional district in Pennsylvania out of reach for Democrats. The Cook Political Report even rated it the same as Oregon’s 2nd — solidly Republican. Yet Democrat Conor Lamb squeaked out a win in the March 13 special election against Republican Rick Saccone in a race where there was no incumbent. The Pennsylvania 18th consists largely of southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, but there are rural swaths on its eastern side. Voters in the rural parts shifted Democrat, but Lunch said that shift away from Republicans in the suburban areas was “massive.” Using the 18th as a model for what could take place in the Oregon 2nd, Lunch said Walden See WALDEN/8A The Pendleton School District on Thursday hired a new principal for Pendleton High School. Melissa Sandven, currently the principal at Rainier Junior/Senior High School in Rainier, will take the position. According to a press release, Superintendent Chris Fritsch said “Ms. Sandven brings a wealth of experience to the district, from working in a smaller district to working in the largest district in our state. She has a strong background in curriculum and instruction and will be a positive addition to our team.” Rainier’s secretary said Sandven was on a school field trip to China and was unavail- able for an interview, but Sandven volunteered some biographical information about herself on the Rainier website. According to the website, Sandven graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and teacher’s certification from Whitman College in Walla Walla before moving to Albuquerque to get a master’s degree in Latin American studies and an educational administration certification from the University of New Mexico. She would start her educa- tional career in Albuquerque, becoming a teacher and then an administrator while starting a family. Looking to be closer to her family in Oregon, Sandven took an assistant principal position at Sam Barlow High School in Gresham, a school with an enrollment of about 2,000 students. She stayed in an urban environment for her next job as the principal of Hosford Middle School in Portland, a school that housed dual language immersion programs in Mandarin and Spanish. See SANDVEN/3A Pendleton dreams and draws possibilities By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian It was a vision for the future of Pendleton rendered in blocky graphics. At the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce’s annual economic outlook event March 9, Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman pulled up a slide of the Pendleton Convention Center. But instead of the convention center’s usual earthy façade, the facility was surrounded by a computer generated wraparound three- story hotel, which was adorned with the title “Round-Up Inn & Convention Center.” Chrisman’s next slide made something out of nothing. Rendered onto bare land north of Interstate 84, the computer program showed a Pendleton Sports Complex with five softball and baseball fields, three soccer fields and a football field. See PENDLETON/8A