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