Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2019)
BROWN SAYS VIRGINIA’S NORTHAM SHOULD RESIGN NORTHWEST, A2 PENDLETON’S RENDON CHASING A STATE TITLE PENDLETON HIGH SCHOOL TO BUILD NEW GREENHOUSE SPORTS, B1 REGION, A3 E O AST 143rd year, No. 82 REGONIAN Friday, February 8, 2019 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Your Weekend $1.50 Here comes another one as second winter storm nears, crews work to keep roads clear HERMISTON Nonprofits help people stay warm • Last chance to see “The Wizard of Oz,” Hermiston • Youth Outdoor Skills Day, Pendleton Convention Center • SAGE Center Takeover, Boardman FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS CHECK COMING EVENTS, A5 By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Weekend Weather FRI SAT SUN 27/23 27/13 20/10 continuing into Sunday. between 4-8 inches of snow will fall in portions of the blue Mountains, with 3-6 inches across the Columbia basin. Snowfall and windy conditions with gusts of up to 35 mph are expected to create hazardous travel con- ditions through the weekend, with sub-freezing tem- peratures through the week. Hermiston is only halfway through a cold snap, with a win- ter storm expected Friday night through Sunday morning. east- ern Oregon is expected to get another heaping of snow this weekend. That has some local organiza- tions busy trying to help people stay warm. The Warming Station, which offers a free, warm sleeping place during winter months, has hosted 12 to 14 people a night in the past week. addie Zumwalt, vice chair of the nonprofit’s board, said the emergency shelter usually sees more like eight to 10 people. “We’ve had a little more than usual,” she said. Zumwalt said when it gets extra cold or snowy numbers don’t jump up as significantly as might be expected because the weather often inspires extra gen- erosity from friends and fam- ily of potential guests. The shel- ter has a capacity of 24 people, including the two volunteers per shift. Some local groups have seen an uptick in the number of peo- ple coming in seeking warm clothing. Jamie Crowell, a community health educator at Good Shep- herd Medical Center, said they just finished a monthlong coat drive, and distributed some of them during last week’s Home- less Point-in-Time count. Crowell said they gave out eight to 10 coats, as well as gloves, hats and socks, but they still have lots left over. “anybody that needs them can get one from us,” she said. dave Hughes, director of Hermiston’s agape House, said he hasn’t seen an increase in peo- ple coming in to get food, but has noticed more people asking for coats and blankets. While they still have some left, the supply is quickly growing smaller. “That’s where we can help,” he said. See Storm, Page A8 See Nonprofits, Page A8 Lawmakers look to align marijuana, workplace interstate cannabis commerce and employee rules addressed in bills By AUBREY WIEBER Oregon Capital Bureau Oregonians would no longer be compelled by employers to avoid off-duty use of marijuana under a proposal being consid- ered at the Legislature. Legislators also are con- sidering opening the door to exporting the state’s mari- juana crop, which far exceeds demand in the state. Senate bill 379 would make it illegal for employers to tell employees they can’t use mar- ijuana outside of work hours. Senate bill 582 would allow the governor to make agreements to buy and sell marijuana with other states. The Senate Judiciary Com- mittee heard testimony on both Thursday morning. Both bills would conflict with federal law, which prohib- its marijuana consumption. While the state allows Ore- gonians to buy and use mari- juana, many Oregon employers don’t. See Marijuana, Page A8 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Traffic negotiates a snow-covered stretch of Southwest Isaac Avenue on Thursday in Pendleton. By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian L ocal crews with the Oregon department of Transportation are ready to salt highways as more snow moves in to cover over the area. The National Weather Service warned a winter storm is expected to hit eastern Oregon this week- end, with snowfall beginning Friday afternoon and Hermiston’s Joseph Franell testifies before Congress By JADE McDOWELL East Oregonian Contributed photo Joseph Franell, president of Eastern Oregon Telecom, testifies before the Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday in Washington, D.C. eastern Oregon Telecom Pres- ident Joseph Franell jumped into the fray of Congress’ net neutral- ity debate Thursday. Franell traveled from Hermis- ton to Washington, d.C., to tes- tify in front of lawmakers from the House’s energy and Commerce Committee by invitation of rep. Greg Walden, the committee’s top-ranking republican. Walden has introduced legislation that would prohibit internet service providers from practices, such as blocking or throttling traffic to lawful websites and requiring sites to pay for prioritization. The idea that all websites, from a small local business’ order page to amazon.com, should be treated equally is known as net neutrality. Video of Franell’s testimony shows he told lawmakers he believed internet service providers, such as eOT, should be able to prioritize some traffic over others — a 911 call over other calls, for example, or emergency medical information over online gaming. “Students participating in dis- tance education or online stan- dardized testing should get pri- ority over those streaming online movies for entertainment,” he said. defenders of net neutral- ity — which Franell accused of “fear-mongering” —have pushed See Franell, Page A8