WEEKEND EDITION BULLDOGS BATTLE AT KENNISON FOR LOVE OF BLUEGRASS STARS PAY RESPECT SPORTS/1B LIFESTYLES/1C NATION/10A SEPTEMBER 1-2, 2018 142nd Year, No. 216 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Buehler seeks PERS changes to fund Oregon schools By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Knute Buehler aims to posi- tion himself as Oregon’s educa- tion governor and the reformer of the Public Employee Retirement System. The orthopedic surgeon and Republican state representative from Bend challenging Democrat Gov. Kate Brown in the Novem- ber election swung through East- ern Oregon this week. From Tues- day through Friday, he and his team held meet-and-greets and other campaign events in six counties and nine cities, including Burns, Ontario and La Grande. Buehler stopped Thursday after- noon in Pendleton for an hour- long discussion with the East Ore- gonian editorial board. Buehler stressed Oregon needs more and better leadership, and it starts with education. “I think the single biggest fail- ure of Gov. Brown is her indiffer- ence to our public schools,” he said. Oregon schools rank in the bot- tom five across crucial metrics, he said, namely length of school year and graduation rates. And that is occurring while state revenues are at a robust $2 billion. Too much of that money, he said, is paying for PERS. Buehler said as governor he could move Oregon schools from See BUEHLER/12A Staff photo by E.J. Harris State Rep. Knute Buehler speaks with the East Oregonian editorial board on Thursday in Pendleton. Buehler is running as the GOP’s candidate for governor of Oregon. Sheriff Matlack plans trip to Washington to discuss immigration By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Morrow County is almost 2,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. But its sheriff has taken a vocal stance against illegal immi- gration, and will be traveling to Washing- ton, D.C., this month to discuss it with the Presi- dent, and 40 other sheriffs nationwide. Sheriff Ken Mat- lack sent out a letter Fri- day morning to several media outlets, stating that he will be traveling to the nation’s capitol on Sept. 5 and 6 for a meeting called Matlack the “White House Nation- wide Sheriffs Fly-In.” Matlack states in the letter that the White House has invited sheriffs from each state to talk about their experiences on issues of immigration and the impact it has had on their communities. He said President Donald Trump is expected to host the group. Matlack said he’s not exactly sure what conclusions the group will reach at the meeting. “I don’t know what direction other peo- ple will be taking,” he said. But he said he hopes to discuss potential solutions to what he believes is a major problem. “Perhaps (Trump) may hear a few new ideas on working to repair our broken immi- gration system,” he said. Matlack said they intend to tell Congress that their failure to deal with immigration for 20 years has compromised the safety of local communities. “We will also take the opportunity to express and thank President Trump and his See MATLACK/12A Photo courtesy of Kari Greer with the U.S. Forest Service A helicopter using a drop bucket works on extinguishing spot fires on the Taylor Creek and Klondike fires in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest west of Grants Pass, Oregon. Spread thin by wildfire Oregon fires have already cost $321 million in 2018 By BRITTANY NORTON East Oregonian arren Giles is in the wildfire fighting business. And busi- ness is booming. Giles got involved more than 20 years ago after a friend, who wanted to start his own firefighting company, asked him to join in. “You’re perfect for this job, why don’t you give it a shot?” he said. So Giles became his part- ner and they worked together for a few years. Then Giles W Photo courtesy of Cecilio Ricard with the U.S. Forest Service A presenter talks during the morning briefing in prepa- ration for the Taylor Creek Fire in Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon. took over the business and his son stepped in to help him run it. The company, A-Team Wildfire Contract Engines, Inc. is a family-run business in La Grande that operates eight engines and can be con- tracted to a fire anywhere in the country. It was an endeavor that began with the help of his son and continues today with the assistance of his two daugh- ters, who lead engines into fires across the nation. Giles said the number of fires his team is called out to in recent years has increased drastically. “The weather is not kind to what’s going on with fires,” he said. The company is low on the priority list, and is only called when other resources have been exhausted. And it only gets paid if it is called to an incident. The team shows up fully staffed and fully loaded See WILDFIRE/12A Mike Huckabee to visit Pendleton Oct. 6 By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian In the midst of a competitive primary, future President Barack Obama and for- mer President Bill Clinton, stumping for his wife, made campaign stops in Pendle- ton in 2008. He’s a decade late, but Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and a Repub- lican presidential candidate in 2008 and 2016, will be making an appearance in Pendleton. Huckabee will be speaking at the Pend- leton Convention Center on Oct. 9, not as a part of a campaign, but to promote Preg- nancy Care Services, a Pendleton will speak, “Unite for life,” will anti-abortion nonprofit that pro- not be a political rally. vides counseling services, parent- Instead, the event will be ing classes, and other resources to focused on Pregnancy Care Ser- vices and their plans to expand. expecting mothers and fathers. Within the next few years, Pregnancy Care Services Jensen said Pregnancy Care Ser- Executive Director Laura Jensen vices wants to add a nurse to their was at an anti-abortion confer- ence where a speaker asked them staff and upgrade its 311 S.E. to “think big.” Dorion Ave. facility to include Huckabee prenatal services like ultrasound An event featuring Huckabee immediately sprung to Jensen’s mind and services. While the event isn’t supposed to be when she reached out to Huckabee’s repre- sentatives, she was surprised to hear back explicitly political, Jensen said she hoped that he accepted the invitation. See HUCKABEE/12A Jensen said the event where Huckabee