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East Oregonian
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Bill: ‘I want people to be able to protect themselves’
275 — Requires owner or
possessor of firearm to secure
firearm with trigger or cable lock
or in locked container except in
specified circumstances.
322 — Authorizes sheriff of
county to issue concealed handgun
license to eligible person residing
in adjoining county.
323 — Provides person with
privileges and legal defenses
available to person with Oregon
concealed
handgun
license
if person is licensed to carry
concealed handgun in another state
that recognizes Oregon concealed
handgun licenses.
501 — Requires person to
secure permit before purchasing or
otherwise receiving firearm.
Continued from Page A1
Senate Bill 501 from Sen. Rob
Wagner and Rep. Andrea Salinas,
both Lake Oswego Democrats,
also would limit a person to two
permits per month, one for a
handgun and another for a rifle
or shotgun. The bill also seeks
to ban magazines holding more
than five rounds, would require
a background check to buy or
receive ammunition and limit
that to a maximum of 20 rounds
every 30 days. The bill also
would fine and jail people who
don’t report gun thefts within 24
hours of discovering the loss.
This kind of measure also
raises concerns for Morrow
County Sheriff Ken Matlack.
“I want people to be able
to protect themselves, so I’m
pretty open to Second Amend-
ment issues,” he said, barring, of
course, people the law excludes
from possessing guns, such as
felons.
He said these kinds of laws
hurt law-abiding citizens and aim
to modify their behavior when
their behavior is not the problem.
“Bad guys,” he said, “are not
going to count their rounds.”
Lawmakers had until Friday to
submit bills. The online Oregon
Legislative Information System
shows about a dozen bills that
would regulate firearms, and the
Wagner and Salinas proposal
is the most restrictive. House
Republican Leader Carl Wilson
in a written statement this week
said the bill’s mandate for the
permit “is the very definition of
infringement on a right,” and,
“There is simply no way to make
this palatable. No acceptable
compromise.”
Other bills look to expand
gun possession. Senate Bill 322
would authorize the sheriff of
one county to issue a concealed
handgun license to eligible people
from an adjoining county. Lt.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A selection of long rifles lines the wall in the sporting goods section of the D&B Supply store in Pendleton.
Sterrin Holcomb, of the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office, oversees
concealed handgun licenses. She
said the sheriff’s office during the
past six months issued 363 new
licenses and 625 renewals. The
adjoining county proposal, she
said, carries a logistical concern.
People in counties with larger
populations might apply for their
concealed handgun license in
a nearby county with a smaller
population. Enough people do
that, she said, and the smaller
county soon lacks the staff to
keep up with the demand.
Matlack said he does not
oppose the idea, but Oregon law
already allows someone who
owns property in two counties
to apply for a concealed handgun
license in either. Moreover, he
said, sheriffs have the authority
to grant someone a concealed
handgun license depending on the
circumstances. An out-of-state
jewelry salesman, for example,
might seek a license to protect
self and property while working
in an Oregon county. Likewise, he
said, a Umatilla County family on
a hike in Wallowa County wilder-
ness might want to carry a gun.
“I don’t know of any other
justification you need to protect
yourself and your family than
when you’re hiking, camping, and
you’re in the middle of nowhere,”
Matlack said.
The larger issue, he said,
is Oregon does not recognize
concealed handgun licenses from
other states. He said he would like
to see a nationwide system for
concealed handgun licenses, but
Oregon should at least reciprocate
with its bordering states — Wash-
ington, Idaho and Nevada.
Gun regulation proposals
in the 2019 Oregon Legislature
Senate bills
5 — Makes shooting range
and person discharging firearm
at shooting range strictly liable
for injuries resulting from bullets
that stray outside boundaries of
a shooting range. Allows injured
person to bring civil action against
city or county that fails to regu-
late a shooting range after having
notice of dangerous condition.
Removes prohibition on local
government regulation relating to
shooting ranges.
87 — Allows gun dealer or
person transferring firearm, ammu-
nition or firearm component at gun
show to establish minimum age for
purchase of firearms, ammunition
or firearm components, provided
that minimum age is at least 21.
House bills
2251 — Defines “assault rifle.”
Prohibits transfer of handgun or
assault rifle to person under 21.
2291 — Establishes tax credit
against personal income taxes for
purchase of qualifying gun safes or
locking mechanisms.
2298 — Directs Oregon State
Police to create and maintain list
of states that recognize Oregon
concealed handgun licenses and
require demonstration of handgun
competency to obtain license
that is similar to requirement in
Oregon.
2479 — Authorizes sheriffs to
collect the $15 fee for the cost of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
nationwide fingerprint check for a
concealed handgun license.
2505 — Requires owner or
possessor of firearm to secure
firearm with trigger or cable lock
or in locked container except in
specified circumstances.
2546 — Creates a credit against
personal income tax for the cost of
the criminal history check the state
requires for transferring a firearm.
2705 — Directs Oregon State
Police to establish voluntary
firearm Do Not Sell List using
secure internet website.
Director: ‘I fell in love with
Eastern Oregon. I’m staying’
Continued from Page A1
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock thanks the crowd after receiving 2019 Man of the Year honors
from the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber: ‘To be up here is a great honor’
Continued from Page A1
McClintock was especially
exalted for her work with Altrusa
International of Pendleton, where she
started the Backpack/Feed the Child
program 11 years ago after discov-
ering that many children in the area
went hungry over the weekends.
What started as 20 backpacks
filled with food at one school is now
a program that serves 275 children
across the Pendleton School District
that operates with the assistance of
various community service organi-
zations and churches.
In addition to Altrusa, McClin-
tock is a longtime school volunteer,
a founding member of the Children’s
Museum of Eastern Oregon, and a
board member on the boards for the
Blue Mountain Community College
Foundation and the Umatilla County
Historical Society.
After walking up to the stage,
McClintock recalled how Altrusa
sent out ask letters to chamber
members once the “bright idea”
was introduced.
“Within 90 days we had $20,000,”
she said.
The announcement speeches
usually mete out clues before
signaling the winner, but if they
included the Man of the Year’s alma
mater in the beginning instead of
the end, it would have been a dead
giveaway.
In a sea of Beaver and Duck
fans, George Murdock’s passion for
his Washington State University
Cougars stands out.
But Murdock was recognized for
his contributions to Pendleton, not
Pullman, Washington.
Over his time in Pendleton,
Murdock has been a cattle rancher, a
publisher for the East Oregonian, and
the superintendent of the InterMoun-
tain Education Service District.
After retiring, Murdock was voted
onto the Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners and was recently
re-elected to a second term.
Known for his “hearty hellos”
and his “positive vibe,” Murdock was
also recognized for being involved
with Greater Oregon Behavioral
Health Inc., Pendleton Downtown
Association, Umatilla County Fair
Board, and the Wildhorse Founda-
tion, among other nonprofits.
After a few jokes, Murdock got
serious about the men and women
who had preceded him as first
citizens.
“I would have been perfectly
content to live in their shadow,” he
said. “To be up here is a great honor.”
Man and Woman of the Year
weren’t the only winners who took
home awards Friday.
Other winners include:
Business of the Year: Hodgen
Distributing
Employee of the Year: Greg
Duchek of Duchek Construction
Boss of the Year: Harry Geller of
St. Anthony Hospital
Customer Service of the Year:
Pendleton Police Department
Tourism Excellence Award: Pend-
leton Whisky Music Fest
President’s Award: Chuck Wood
CTUIR: Office likely to be operational in a few months
Continued from Page A1
Francke said he didn’t know
exactly how funding for the office
would be split, but said it would
likely be similar to the way county
veterans’ service offices are funded
— half by the county, and half by
the state. The employees are all on
county payroll, but the state handles
officer training and certification.
Sams said the office will likely be
operational within a few months. He
said the new state designation will
help residents and tribal members
with VA claims, especially for health
issues stemming from their time in
the service.
“This process streamlines it, so
we’re within the state and federal
system,” Sams said.
He said the tribes started
discussing the potential of a
Veterans’ Service Office about a
year ago.
The office will be only the second
tribal veterans’ service office in
Oregon, with the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs getting one
last summer. Sams said he hopes
other tribes will follow soon.
“I think other tribes will see
Warm Springs and Umatilla as
models they can use, and hopefully
their veterans can get those bene-
fits,” Sams said.
The topic had been of
interest to Bonnie Sager of Pilot
Rock, and under Lund-Jones’
encouragement, Sager cata-
logued timber cultures across
the county and took pictures of
their remnants.
The timber culture exhibit
led to an interesting discovery at
a neighboring exhibit dedicated
to century farms: Many of the
farms that are 100 years old or
older were located in the same
place as the tree grows started
under the Timber Culture Act.
“An exhibit like this really
opens it all up,” she said.
Like the exhibits, Lund-
Jones’ career has some surprises
of its own.
Although she grew up on a
“near-century farm” of her own
in northwest Iowa, Lund-Jones
started her career in academia.
She taught at St. Peters
University in New Jersey and
Pennsylvania State University
before taking a position at New
York University in the 1970s.
As a professor at NYU’s
Tisch School for the Arts,
she taught film language and
history at the prestigious
performing and visual arts
program that counts Ange-
lina Jolie and Martin Scorsese
among its alumni.
After facilitating the start
of her students’ careers, Lund-
Jones soon felt the pull to start a
new career of her own.
She sought the mentorship of
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett,
the chair of the performing
studies department who also
had extensive experience in
museum work.
With her help and NYU’s
tuition remission program,
Lund-Jones was able to get a
advanced degree in museum
studies.
With the degree in hand, she
got a job with the Museum of
the City of New York before
landing back in Iowa in 1996 to
take a curator position with the
Danish Immigrant Museum,
which is now known as the
Museum of Danish America.
With her background in agri-
culture and her experience with
museums and culture, Lund-
Jones thought she would be a
good fit when she interviewed
for the executive director
position at Heritage Station
Museum in 2009.
The museum agreed and
she suddenly found herself in
Eastern Oregon, a very different
place than the previous trips she
had taken to the coast.
Lund-Jones said she came to
the museum at a time when the
newness of its 2003 expansion
was starting to wear off and the
economy was in the throes of
recession.
She focused on organizing
volunteers to help maintain the
collection and was involved in
starting a new exhibit on the
water of the Umatilla River.
As one of Umatilla Coun-
ty’s dominant industries, Lund-
Jones said wheat was a natural
follow-up exhibit.
But Lund-Jones decided to
step down before Umatilla Gold
debuts in August.
With Umatilla Gold and
other new projects in the works,
Lund-Jones said the museum
needed someone with more of
a promotional background to
highlight the museum’s new
experience.
A sales representative for the
Elkhorn Media Group before
becoming the historical soci-
ety’s director of development
and membership in February
2018, Kari Brooks fits that bill.
Promoted to take over as
executive director, Brooks said
she wants the museum to be
a destination for all tourists
visiting Umatilla County and
returning visitors who haven’t
been to the museum in a while.
She also wants people to
know that the museum just isn’t
about the history of Pendleton,
but the whole county.
In the meantime, Lund-Jones
is ready to start a third career.
She said she’s long been
interested in writing children’s
books and has even shared some
work with her close friends.
In her retirement, she would
like to work toward creating a
published piece of work.
Instead of local history,
Lund-Jones said the themes in
her children’s stories are more
interested in the intersection of
children’s and adult’s imagina-
tions, exemplified by works like
“Peter Pan” and “Winnie the
Pooh.”
And although Lund-Jones’
new job wouldn’t tie her to
a specific place, she has no
plans to return to Iowa or New
York.
“I fell in love with Eastern
Oregon,” she said. “I’m
staying.”