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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Friday, June 8, 2018 Climate may have triggered toxic algae bloom hurting Salem’s water BRIEFLY ZACH URNESS Statesman Journal SALEM — One of the hottest and driest months of May on record may have contributed to the growth and spread of the toxic algae bloom wreaking havoc in Salem’s drinking water. The algae bloom was orig- inally spotted in Detroit Lake on May 8 and reached highly toxic levels around May 21, according to officials. The record heat and dry conditions apparently kept the bloom strong, allowing the toxins to spread from the res- ervoir, into the North Santiam River and finally into Salem’s drinking water for the first time at dangerous levels. Salem issued its second do-not-drink alert Wednesday for vulnerable populations following the discovery, for the second week in a row, of high levels of cyanotoxins in the drinking water. “We have a toxic algae bloom at Detroit Lake just about every year at this time,” said U.S. Forest Service Detroit district ranger Grady McMahan. “In most years, we get some rain that helps dissipate the bloom and kind of clear out the lake. But this year we just didn’t get rain — it was sunny and dry for an entire month which probably helped it.” The month of May was parched by every standard. It was the fourth-driest and sixth- hottest May in records dating back to 1892, National Weather Service officials said. In a normal May, the Wil- lamette Valley and Cascade Foothills would get 2.5 to 3 inches of precipitation. This year, only a quarter inch of rain fell, NWS officials said. Hot and dry conditions can fuel the growth and potency of toxic algae, said Rebecca Hillwig, natural resource spe- cialist with the Oregon Health Authority. Both Hillwig and McMa- han said toxic algae blooms have been more common, perhaps suggesting a link to the string of abnormally hot Connor Radnovich/Statesman-Journal via AP Robin Jennings from public works wipes sweat from her face while passing out bottled water at a water distribution site at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem on Wednesday. A limited no-drink warning for tap water in and around the Oregon state capital was re-issued Wednesday, reinstating for at least two days guidelines advising medically sensitive people to find other water sources as a city spokesman acknowledged a lag in testing for toxins in the water. and dry spring months Ore- gon has seen in the past four years. “I think it’s fair to say that factors associated with global warming — hotter and drier conditions and a rapid snowmelt — could definitely increase conditions that cause algae blooms,” Hillwig said. “There’s a lot of factors to consider, but it’s fair to say that we have the potential for more of these type of issues in the future.” The first evidence of an algae bloom at Detroit Lake occurred May 8, said Lacey Goeres-Priest, Salem’s water quality supervisor. The city regularly tests for toxins at Detroit and “we had good results for many days following” the first evidence of the bloom, Goeres-Priest said. In other words, the bloom hadn’t turned toxic yet. As the weather warmed, the bloom grew and devel- oped toxins — specifically, the cyanotoxins known as cylindrospermopsin and microcystin. Water samples taken May Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Circulation Manager: 541-966-0828 Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group Partly sunny Cooler; a few morning showers 82° 52° 65° 46° SUNDAY MONDAY Clouds and sun, a shower; breezy Mostly sunny and warmer PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 71° 46° 81° 54° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 71° 50° 87° 57° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 82° 76° 104° (1931) 52° 51° 34° (1919) 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" Trace 0.40" 6.07" 9.26" 6.91" through 3 p.m. yesterday HIGH LOW 86° 77° 102° (2016) 56° 52° 40° (2002) PRECIPITATION 0.00" 0.00" 0.19" 4.96" 6.42" 5.30" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Full June 13 June 20 June 27 Albany 65/50 Eugene 66/48 TEMPERATURE 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 86° 55° Spokane Wenatchee 77/51 78/54 Tacoma Moses 66/46 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 82/55 77/51 59/49 63/46 78/51 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 64/51 83/52 Lewiston 86/56 Astoria 83/57 59/50 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 67/53 Pendleton 77/48 The Dalles 87/57 82/52 77/55 La Grande Salem 78/49 67/52 Corvallis 64/48 HERMISTON Yesterday Normals Records 78° 48° Seattle 66/50 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 71° 51° John Day 82/48 Ontario 89/58 Bend 77/45 Today TUESDAY Partly sunny and beautiful 65° 49° PORTLAND (AP) — A former Oregon first lady will file for bankruptcy pro- tection after accumulating about $125,000 in debts and penalties during a legal battle with The Oregonian newspaper, her lawyer said. Former first lady Cylvia Hayes’ lawyer, Eli Stutsman, said in a court filing Wednes- day that she plans to file for bankruptcy this week. Hayes, who was Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiance when he was elected to his third term in 2010, also faces a potential six-figure fine for violating state eth- ics laws, The Oregonian/ OregonLive reported . Hayes and the news- paper got into a legal bat- tle after it submitted a pub- lic records request in 2014 for her emails for an inves- tigation into her consult- ing contracts. At the time, Hayes argued that she was not subject to public records laws. Hayes is expected to drop an appeal challeng- ing the $125,000 she was ordered to pay the news- paper for its legal fees since the bankruptcy could shield her from paying the full legal costs. “Appellant will soon file for bankruptcy protec- tion and this court’s deci- sion, whether affirming or reversing, will not alter appellant’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection,” Stutsman wrote in his motion.“Either way, win or lose on appeal, appel- lant will soon seek bank- ruptcy protection and there is no need or benefit for any party or the court to incur further time on this matter.” She was the subject of influence-peddling scandal since her consulting busi- ness had increasingly relied on government contracts. In January, Oregon’s ethics watchdog found that she misused her position as first lady and a policy adviser to secure consult- ing contracts worth more than $200,000. ROCKAWAY BEACH (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 17-year-old Colorado boy who dis- appeared off the Oregon Coast while boogie board- ing after he was hit by a wave. The Coast Guard said Thursday in a press release that the boy’s father, 50-year-old Robert Joseph Allen, drowned while try- ing to rescue his son, Sam- uel Vicente Allen. The elder Allen’s body was recovered by a rescue swimmer but he could not be resuscitated. The younger Allen was presumed drowned in 58-degree water off Rock- away Beach in central Oregon. The Coast Guard says the teen’s stepmother called 911 about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to say both her husband and stepson had disappeared in the surf. REGIONAL CITIES Forecast SATURDAY Father drowns, son not found off Oregon Coast Burns 80/44 Caldwell 88/57 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 59 82 77 60 80 77 66 79 87 82 77 78 76 80 59 62 89 86 82 67 80 67 77 77 66 83 78 Lo 50 50 45 48 44 48 48 50 57 48 45 49 46 52 48 50 58 56 52 53 43 52 51 45 53 52 51 W sh pc pc pc pc pc r pc pc pc pc pc pc pc sh r pc pc pc sh pc r pc pc sh pc pc Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Lo 69 82 65 54 58 39 61 60 63 56 69 W c t s t pc r pc t pc c pc Lo 48 36 34 45 30 38 44 44 50 37 30 40 39 44 46 47 47 49 46 49 34 47 44 37 48 48 44 W t sh sh t t sh t t sh t t sh sh t t t sh sh sh t sh t c t t sh c Sat. Hi 75 90 86 72 79 57 80 77 84 63 83 Lo 61 81 65 55 59 42 63 61 61 54 66 W sh sh s pc pc pc t pc t sh pc WINDS Medford 80/52 (in mph) Klamath Falls 77/45 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST 5:06 a.m. 8:42 p.m. 2:25 a.m. 2:44 p.m. Last Coastal Oregon: Showers across the north today; rain and drizzle in central parts. Partly sunny in the south. Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny today; pleasant near the Cascades. Eastern Washington: Sun and some clouds today. Spotty showers tonight, except dry toward the Cascades. Cascades: Mostly cloudy today; occasional afternoon rain and drizzle across the north. Northern California: Partly sunny today; pleasant at the coast. Mainly clear tonight. July 6 Western Washington: Mostly cloudy today; brief showers; however, heavy showers at the coast. Today Saturday WSW 6-12 NW 6-12 WSW 8-16 SW 7-14 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 2 5 9 9 4 NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Business Office Manager: Janna Heimgartner 541-966-0822 • jheimgartner@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. WORLD CITIES Hi 90 88 88 71 78 58 78 76 78 66 80 EUGENE (AP) — Global cryptocurrency company Ripple will give $1 million in real money to the University of Oregon to support the study of the digital payment industry. The Register-Guard newspaper of Eugene reports San Francis- co-based Ripple will give the university the money in a five-year agreement. The university is among 17 to receive funding from the company, which is donat- ing more than $50 million in all. Ripple will also pro- vide technical support and resources. Uuniversity of Oregon Provost Jayanth Banavar says the university feels very fortunate and that the money will help in improve its efforts in this area. The newspaper says Ripple’s donation will sup- port a new program on cryptocurrency. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. Hi 59 58 56 57 57 53 60 61 71 55 55 55 53 61 56 59 73 68 65 63 59 62 58 53 61 63 68 Oregon gets funding from cryptocurrency Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com ADVERTISING Regional Publisher and Revenue Director: Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com Advertising Services: Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — TODAY levels were high in Blow- out Arm — the liver toxin “microcystin” was tested at 48.21 parts per billion. A health advisory is triggered when levels are 4 parts per billion. “It’s not the highest level of toxin that we’ve ever seen, but it is high,” Hillwig said. “If you get a high enough level, the toxins can travel a long way downstream, so it could make sense that that’s what happened here.” The toxins at Detroit Lake led to increased testing by city officials, including at Geren Island Treatment Facility on the North Santiam River. Those tests showed con- cerning data. Tests from May 23 showed the toxin cylindrospermop- sin at 6.9 parts per billion — above the safe threshold even for adults, according to OHA officials. 21 came back with results May 23 that revealed toxin levels high enough to trigger a health advisory for Detroit Lake. There is, again, nothing particularly unusual about that. Locals often reference the wildflowers and algae bloom- ing at the same time of year — it’s become part of life in the small tourist town. Salem officials were con- fident enough they issued a press release on May 23 titled “City of Salem drinking water remains safe to drink.” Even so, there were hints something was different about this bloom. Instead of one bloom — as was the case in 2017 — test- ing revealed toxic algae in three different locations at the lake: Blowout Arm, Heater Creek Arm and near the dam. More strikingly, the toxin Former Oregon first lady will file for bankruptcy 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. ©2018 -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: Rain and heavy thunderstorms will affect part of the Midwest, while severe storms rattle Nebraska and the Dakotas today. Storms will dot Florida while rain, mountain snow and colder air near the Northwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 105° in Needles, Calif. Low 25° in Bodie State Park, Calif. 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 94 90 75 83 83 93 89 78 84 89 72 80 95 93 81 103 70 81 88 94 90 89 86 102 94 81 Lo 65 69 64 67 59 70 59 60 71 64 62 64 75 59 63 76 47 64 75 75 70 71 67 78 72 62 W pc pc pc pc pc s pc pc t pc t pc pc pc pc pc c c pc pc pc t t s pc pc Sat. Hi 91 89 73 83 91 90 77 77 88 89 74 73 96 95 74 98 69 81 87 94 85 87 90 103 94 81 Lo 65 71 63 64 58 70 44 57 73 66 64 61 76 65 60 75 50 66 75 76 68 71 70 75 73 61 Today W s pc t t pc pc pc s pc t c r pc s r s sh t pc pc pc t pc s pc pc Hi Louisville 93 Memphis 94 Miami 89 Milwaukee 65 Minneapolis 76 Nashville 95 New Orleans 92 New York City 82 Oklahoma City 91 Omaha 90 Philadelphia 84 Phoenix 108 Portland, ME 77 Providence 80 Raleigh 88 Rapid City 84 Reno 87 Sacramento 87 St. Louis 91 Salt Lake City 89 San Diego 75 San Francisco 69 Seattle 66 Tucson 105 Washington, DC 85 Wichita 91 Lo 72 73 78 56 62 70 74 66 72 72 65 82 50 58 67 58 56 57 74 67 62 57 50 74 70 70 W pc pc t r t s s pc pc pc pc pc s pc pc t s s pc s pc pc sh pc pc pc Sat. Hi 88 92 87 67 77 92 91 80 95 90 80 110 75 80 90 86 74 79 90 95 76 67 63 104 84 97 Lo 71 74 76 55 64 70 75 62 72 72 63 82 50 57 70 59 42 54 73 59 63 54 48 75 67 74 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc pc t c c pc t t pc pc t s s pc pc t pc pc pc s pc pc t s t pc
