Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2018)
Tuesday, October 16, 2018 NORTHWEST IN BRIEFLY Buehlers invested $100,000 in BETC Southern Oregon wildfire guns, knives and batons. credits before lambasting the program The right-wing Patriot Prayer group flares up prompting East Oregonian Page 2A was holding a “Flash March for Law and Order” when the counter-demonstrators, some of whom identified themselves as members of the militant group Antifa, con- fronted them and scuffles broke out. No weapons were seized, but the Port- land Tribune reports police in riot gear broke up fights. evacuations PORTLAND (AP) — A southern Ore- gon wildfire burning for months has flared up, prompting new evacuations and a decla- ration from the governor that clears the way for more resources to be sent to the blaze. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Klondike fire spokesperson Kale Casey says people in about 40 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders Monday morning. Gov. Kate Brown on Monday declared a conflagration for the fire, which flared up Sunday south of the community of Agness in 20- to 30-mph winds and extremely dry conditions. Casey says winds picked up embers from within the Klondike fire perimeter and carried them up to 6 miles. He says the fire remains active. Fire marshal’s office personnel were arriving Monday to protect homes and buildings. Casey said there were no reports of injuries. Oregon man dies after being shot in head DALLAS (AP) — A Polk County man died after being shot in the head during an incident south of Independence. The Statesman Journal reports Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton says 31-year- old Joseph Sieg died in the Thursday night shooting. A call came in at 8:38 p.m. notifying authorities of the incident. Garton says multiple attempts of lifesaving measures on Sieg were successful. Garton ruled out suicide, but says no arrests have been made in the case. Police probe brawl of rightist, leftist Oregon protesters Snake River prison on lockdown after assault on staff PORTLAND (AP) — Oregon author- ities have launched assault investiga- tions after a Portland street brawl erupted between demonstrators with a right-wing group and left-wing counter-protesters. Media reports Sunday said there were no immediate arrests following the clash Sunday, but police say they are investigat- ing and seeking help from witnesses. KGW-TV reported four people received medical attention. Police say officers saw people at the demonstration with hard-knuckled gloves, ONTARIO (AP) — An Ontario, Ore- gon prison was placed on lockdown hours after an inmate allegedly assaulted a staff member. KTVB-TV reports that officials with the Snake River Correctional Institution say the assault happened around 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The staff member was taken to the hos- pital with unknown injuries. Seven other security personnel who responded to the assault were taken to the hospital but have since been released. Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Plenty of sun Plenty of sunshine Brilliant sunshine Plenty of sunshine Pleasant with plenty of sunshine 65° 37° 66° 39° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 69° 38° 69° 39° 70° 40° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 66° 33° 67° 36° 70° 37° 70° 38° OREGON FORECAST 71° 38° ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 72/46 63/37 68/34 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 65/42 Lewiston 75/41 66/34 Astoria 73/48 Pullman Yakima 66/32 69/36 66/39 Portland Hermiston 76/48 The Dalles 66/33 Salem Corvallis 78/37 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 64/33 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 78/38 67/33 68/35 Ontario 64/33 Caldwell Burns 64° 29° 66° 39° 84° (1963) 20° (1969) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 78/37 0.00" 1.14" 0.26" 6.29" 7.19" 6.82" WINDS (in mph) 62/33 64/24 0.00" 1.39" 0.49" 7.91" 12.55" 9.43" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 63/32 79/40 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 65/37 70/38 64° 33° 64° 40° 84° (1991) 23° (1897) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 68/37 Aberdeen 61/34 65/41 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 69/48 Today Medford 81/42 Wed. NE 3-6 N 4-8 Boardman Pendleton NE 3-6 NNW 4-8 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 70/30 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Knute Bue- hler stumped on the floor of the Oregon House of Rep- resentatives to decry the state’s controversial busi- ness energy tax incentives. Buehler, now the Repub- lican nominee for gover- nor, left out one fact in his speech. He and his wife once had personally invested in $100,000 of the tax credits that later mushroomed into a multi-million dollar scandal at the state Energy Depart- ment, according to agency records. Buehler didn’t respond to a telephone message Fri- day seeking comment. His campaign instead issued a statement in response to questions from the Oregon Capital Bureau. “The Buehlers purchased tax credits years before he was a lawmaker and before state mismanagement of the program forced the legisla- ture to repeal the program,” campaign spokeswoman Monica Wroblewski said. The Bend surgeon invested in the state’s busi- ness energy tax credit pro- gram — referred to as BETC, pronounced “Betsy” — that was designed to encourage businesses to develop renewable energy projects. Nearly 30 years after its creation in 1979, the incen- tive became a boondoggle for the state. Lawmakers questioned the program in 2008, when the state issued $180 million in credits, tri- ple the amount of the previ- ous year. The state shut off the credits in 2014 and soon after it became a talking point for state lawmakers who didn’t like how the state was managed. That included Buehler. In 2015, the then-fresh- man lawmaker from Bend lambasted the incentives during a debate on the state’s low carbon fuels standard on the House floor. He said a proposed fuels program was “another risky taxpayer financed energy jobs scheme having zero credibility.” He said the state had “presided over a scandal- ous and perhaps even crim- inal waste of tax credit giveaways that mostly ben- efit out-of-state corporations and well-heeled investors at the expense of Oregon tax- payers, and more import- 7:13 a.m. 6:08 p.m. 2:31 p.m. 11:50 p.m. First Full Last New Oct 16 Oct 24 Oct 31 Nov 7 EO Media Group file photo Representative Knute Buehler, the Republican can- didate for Oregon governor, invested $100,000 with his wife in the business energy tax credit program in about 2008, and later as a legislature harshly criticized the program as a “scandalous and perhaps even crimi- nal waste of tax credit giveaways.” ant funding priorities like K-12.” In about 2008, accord- ing to state records, Buehler bought $50,000 in tax cred- its for $33,500. His wife, Patricia, had an identical but separate transaction at the same time. In purchasing the credits, the couple were pass-through partners in an arrangement that allowed them to buy tax credits at a discounted rate from SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel LLC, for a new biodiesel production plant, according to Energy Depart- ment records. Buehler’s campaign didn’t respond to written questions about when the purchases were completed or whether the tax cred- its were claimed on his tax returns. The credits would offset other tax liabilities. A year ago, Buehler criti- cized the tax credit program again in an opinion piece he wrote for The Oregonian. “Oregon is just beginning to clean up the mess from its notorious business-energy tax credit scandal, which sent millions of tax dollars to energy speculators and well-to-do investors that could have been better spent on Oregon students,” Bue- hler wrote on Oct. 22, 2017. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s campaign said in a statement that Buehler should release all of his tax returns. He disclosed his 2016 and 2017 tax returns in June. “We’ve been calling on Knute Buehler to release his tax returns for this very rea- son,” said Christian Gaston, a spokesman for the Brown campaign. “Voters need to be able to see what other special tax breaks he’s taken, and what else he’s hiding. It’s amazing that he took advantage of these cred- its, and then turned around and decried that well-to-do investors were benefiting.” The infamous tax credit was back in the spotlight this week, as the Oregon Depart- ment of Justice announced it was recouping $13 mil- lion from Tesla Energy Solutions. Tesla Energy Solutions bought SolarCity, a solar energy company that the state said reported inflated project costs to get more tax credit money from the state. “The BETC program was meant to channel pub- lic funds to help local busi- nesses, create clean energy jobs, and stimulate the econ- omy during a period of eco- nomic uncertainty. Unfor- tunately, some companies abused the program,” Attor- ney General Rosenblum said in a statement Thursday. ■ Reporter Claire Withy- combe: cwithycombe@ eomediagroup.com or 503- 385-4903. Withycombe is a reporter for the East Ore- gonian working for the Ore- gon Capital Bureau, a col- laboration of EO Media Group, Pamplin Media Group, and Salem Reporter. 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. GROCERY STORE TOUR! NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 93° in Brownsville, Texas Low -8° in Bodie State Park, Calif. Join Registered Dietitians, Christine Guenther and Melissa Naff, for this FREE interactive tour! NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY We will help you: • Understand food labels • Eat healthy on a budget • Make better choices from aisle to aisle Thursday, October 18, 2018 • 10:00-11:30 AM Safeway – Pendleton • 203 SW 20th Ave (Meet at the store in the produce section) Space is Limited – Call (541) 278-3235 to register. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s cold front — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 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 www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ 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. Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front high 110s low Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 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 Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Circulation Manager: Bonny Tuller, 541-966-0828 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
