Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2018)
WEATHER East Oregonian Page 2A REGIONAL CITIES Forecast FRIDAY TODAY SATURDAY Very hot Sunny, breezy and not as hot 110° 70° 99° 62° SUNDAY Sunshine and cooler Mostly sunny PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 86° 54° 92° 60° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 102° 65° 111° 73° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 105° 89° 111° (1972) 61° 59° 40° (1893) 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" 0.00" 0.09" 6.49" 11.30" 8.04" through 3 p.m. yesterday HIGH LOW 102° 89° 108° (1972) 58° 59° 40° (1934) 0.00" 0.00" 0.05" 5.10" 6.59" 5.97" SUN AND MOON Aug 11 Aug 18 Full 5:48 a.m. 8:13 p.m. 3:34 a.m. 7:08 p.m. Last Aug 26 Sep 2 John Day 107/65 Ontario 106/64 Bend 103/61 Caldwell 105/61 Burns 103/53 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 73 106 103 64 103 103 97 107 111 107 98 106 104 103 65 68 106 109 110 98 107 99 105 105 96 110 106 Lo 58 54 61 53 53 63 57 70 73 65 52 61 58 66 57 58 64 65 70 64 60 60 70 55 61 77 67 W c s s c s s s s s s pc s s s c c s s s s s s pc s s s pc NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Hi 69 105 92 64 99 101 80 97 102 101 90 102 98 92 65 68 106 104 99 85 96 81 101 96 83 102 102 Lo 60 54 47 53 46 57 57 59 65 55 45 57 53 59 57 59 70 64 62 62 46 58 62 49 60 67 58 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W c s s c s s pc s s s pc s s s c c s s s s s s s s s s s WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 93 91 86 66 74 75 72 89 90 65 86 Lo 76 81 69 52 55 55 52 72 78 46 79 W pc pc s c t pc r s t s r Fri. Hi 94 88 88 69 74 80 75 89 94 72 89 Lo 77 81 70 54 55 57 56 72 77 53 79 W pc t s pc t s pc s pc s pc WINDS Medford 103/66 PRECIPITATION Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Albany 96/57 Eugene 97/57 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 96° 54° Spokane Wenatchee 105/70 105/76 Tacoma Moses 94/58 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 109/67 105/64 75/58 96/55 106/67 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 90/58 110/77 Lewiston 109/70 Astoria 112/70 73/58 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 98/64 Pendleton 103/63 The Dalles 111/73 110/70 108/75 La Grande Salem 106/61 99/60 Corvallis 96/57 HERMISTON Yesterday Normals Records 90° 53° Seattle 93/61 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 87° 54° Today MONDAY Sunny to partly cloudy 83° 54° Thursday, August 9, 2018 (in mph) Boardman Pendleton Klamath Falls 98/52 REGIONAL FORECAST Eastern Washington: Hazy sunshine today, but sunnier across the south. A star-studded sky tonight. Cascades: Hot today with plenty of sun- shine. Hazy tonight. Sunny to partly cloudy tomorrow. Northern California: Partly sunny at the coast today; hazy elsewhere. Friday WSW 10-20 W 8-16 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: Low clouds, then perhaps some sun today. Low clouds tonight. Mostly cloudy tomorrow. Eastern and Central Oregon: Very hot today with blazing sunshine. Clear tonight. Very hot tomorrow. Western Washington: Sunny today, except low clouds followed by sunshine at the coast. Today NNW 3-6 NNW 4-8 2 4 7 211 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 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 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 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. Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Circulation: 541-966-0828 Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group 2 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme SUBSCRIPTION RATES To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ 4 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 7 -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: Drenching thunderstorms will focus over the South Central states where there is a risk of flash flooding today. Storms will be scattered about the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Much of the West will stay dry. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 108° in Needles, Calif. Low 27° in West Yellowstone, Mont. 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 90 89 87 89 95 89 106 86 93 83 89 85 91 87 86 94 63 88 87 93 87 93 92 106 81 94 Lo 65 72 71 68 61 71 73 72 75 66 68 67 76 60 66 73 44 61 77 76 68 74 69 83 70 71 W pc t pc pc s t s t t pc t s c pc pc pc c s t t s t s s t s Fri. Hi 82 87 87 89 97 88 107 86 92 83 82 82 93 85 83 88 65 92 87 92 86 93 91 104 87 89 Lo 62 72 73 70 64 71 68 68 76 67 66 63 75 59 63 69 48 63 78 76 66 73 67 82 70 69 Today W pc t pc pc s t s s t pc pc t t pc pc pc pc s r t pc t t s t s Hi Louisville 89 Memphis 85 Miami 91 Milwaukee 85 Minneapolis 88 Nashville 89 New Orleans 90 New York City 87 Oklahoma City 87 Omaha 94 Philadelphia 90 Phoenix 101 Portland, ME 83 Providence 87 Raleigh 92 Rapid City 87 Reno 103 Sacramento 97 St. Louis 93 Salt Lake City 96 San Diego 89 San Francisco 69 Seattle 93 Tucson 92 Washington, DC 89 Wichita 91 Lo 71 72 77 68 69 69 78 72 68 69 72 83 66 69 69 59 63 61 70 67 77 53 61 74 73 67 W pc t pc t s c t pc t s pc t t t pc s pc pc s pc pc pc s t pc s Fri. Hi 89 85 90 78 88 87 88 88 90 90 89 100 82 89 93 91 99 97 92 98 88 69 81 92 90 93 Lo 72 70 77 66 69 68 78 71 68 66 72 83 59 67 69 62 64 62 69 69 75 53 60 73 73 67 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. 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 Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com 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 With strong economy, FBI agent denies firing shots state jobs go unfilled By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Amid a strong economy and a tight- ening labor market, pri- vate employers across Ore- gon are struggling to fill job openings. And while state officials say there’s no definitive data on the subject, anecdotal evidence suggests that state government is having simi- lar problems. “We are definitely see- ing the same thing as the pri- vate sector,” said Steve Cox, workforce planning adminis- trator at the Oregon Depart- ment of Corrections. Using data reported by the state’s businesses, the Oregon Employment Department says about 64 percent of vacant positions in the private sector are “dif- ficult to fill.” About 30 percent of dif- ficult-to-fill vacancies were hard to fill due to a lack of applicants. About 17 per- cent did not attract qualified applicants, and 14 percent were hard to fill, employers said, because of unfavorable working conditions. State government had more than 5,800 job vacan- cies as of July 18, accord- ing to data provided by the state’s Department of Administrative Services. For context, as of June, there were 40,285 paid state workers, including full-time, part-time, seasonal and tem- porary workers. However, there are a number of circumstances that would cause a state job to remain vacant, says DAS spokeswoman Liz Craig. Vacancies may mean that the agency is holding the position unfilled to save money, or that it’s recruit- ing for the position but hav- en’t hired yet. Alternatively, the position may be being re-classified, or another employee is doing some of the position’s work as a rotation or development assignment. EO Media Group A robust economy is tightening the labor pool. Or- egon is actively trying to fill nearly 400 of the 5,800 authorized state government positions that are vacant. It may be more useful to look at open positions the state is actively recruiting for: as of July 18, the state had nearly 400 active job postings, and about 60 inter- nal job openings, according to DAS. Recruitment is top of mind for the Oregon Depart- ment of Corrections: the agency has created a recruit- ing team, increased its social media presence and held special one-day recruiting events in an effort to shep- herd job applicants through the process more quickly. The state’s corrections department has about 200 vacancies, says Steve Cox, the agency’s workforce plan- ning administrator. “With Department of Corrections, we have 14 institutions in the state, and each of those is like a small little city, so we’re hiring everybody from adminis- trative personnel to doctors, dentists and nurses,” Cox said Tuesday. Cox says it’s hardest to fill openings for nurses, doc- tors and correctional officers, especially when the agency has to deal with negative public perceptions about working in corrections. It’s also competing against coun- ty-level law enforcement agencies and private sector employers, such as Amazon, which is opening several new centers in the state this year and plans to hire thou- sands of workers. The Oregon Department of Transportation is also working to attract employ- ees, setting up a specific ODOT jobs account on Twitter, sending postcards to recent graduates, attend- ing job fairs and advertising online. It’s hardest to fill posi- tions for engineers, land sur- veyors and electricians, says Kevin Beckstrom, a pub- lic information officer for the department. He says it’s especially challenging to hire for licensed professions in the midst of a construction boom. “We’re competing against other (departments of trans- portation), and against con- sultants, so it’s just diffi- cult to grab that top talent,” Beckstrom said. He said that “compensation and location” are usually significant fac- tors in causing applicants to choose other opportunities. Corrections Wednesday’s story “National Night Out block par- ties spread out” reported Shauna Altman and Lisa Bork work for the Pendleton School District. They each work for different neighboring districts. The EO sincerely regrets the error. W pc t t pc s t pc pc s s pc pc s s pc s pc pc s pc pc pc c c pc t PORTLAND (AP) — An FBI agent who is on trial on obstruction and other charges denied Wednesday he fired any shots at a militia leader who participated in the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge. W. Joseph Astarita, who began testifying in his own defense late Tuesday, said he has never fired his weapon in the line of duty and did not remove shell casings from the scene. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Astarita also described his background and detailed his training. Astarita has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice after telling investigators he did not fire two shots that missed Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, a key figure in a group that seized the refuge for several weeks in early 2016 while protesting the imprisonment of two ranchers. The errant shots came as Finicum left his pickup while authorities tried to arrest him at a roadblock on Jan. 26, 2016. Oregon State Police fatally shot Finicum seconds later — a killing deemed legally justified. Investigators looking into the shooting were able to quickly identify those responsi- ble for six of the eight rounds fired that day. No one owned up to the other two. After an investigation into the mystery shots, Astarita was indicted in June 2017. During Wednesday’s testimony, Astar- ita said he didn’t fire his rifle when Finicum stepped from his truck because he was con- cerned about a potential crossfire situation. Astarita said his initial role was to “man the roadblock,” standing on a small ladder behind the front hood of an FBI rental truck that formed part of a V formation in the north- bound lane of U.S. 395. Agent John Neidert was on a ladder behind the hood of another FBI truck in the southbound lane. Astarita said he saw Finicum’s truck speeding toward them. He said he got onto the hood of the truck in front of him, and tried to get a sight on the driver’s side of Finicum’s pickup to see if he “could apply effective fire on that driver.” But he couldn’t see inside the cab of Fin- icum’s truck. Soon, the pickup veered into a snowbank and he heard a supervisor com- mand, “Bail out! Bail out! Bail out!” “I saw the truck come through the snow. I saw John disappear,” Astarita testified. “At that point, I thought John was dead.” Astarita testified that he started moving to help Neidert, and felt tremendous relief when he realized the agent had not been hit by the pickup. Astarita said he saw Finicum exit the truck, but noticed an Oregon State Police offi- cer in his backdrop. “Did you fire your weapon at that moment?” defense lawyer Robert Cary asked. “No, I did not,” Astarita responded. “Did you fire your weapon at all that day?” Cary continued. “No, I did not,” Astarita said. Prosecutors who rested their case earlier this week contend Astarita is the only one who could have taken the disputed shots.
