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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2019)
HOOPS: Pendleton falls to Wilsonville in quarterfinals | SPORTS, 1B E O AST 143rd year, No. 101 REGONIAN Thursday, March 7, 2019 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD U.S. to lift gray wolf protection Interior department poised to turn management over to states, tribes By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group a proposal to lift endan- gered species protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states is inflaming old tensions between Northwest ranchers and wildlife advocates. On March 6, acting secretary of the Interior david Bernhardt announced the u.s. Fish and Wild- life service will soon come up with a plan for delisting wolves, return- ing management to states and tribes. “recovery of the gray wolf under the Endangered species act is one our nation’s great conserva- tion successes, with the wolf join- ing other cherished species, such as the bald eagle, that have been brought back from the brink with the help of the Esa,” said Fish and Wildlife spokesman Gavin shire. Jerome rosa, executive direc- tor of the Oregon cattlemen’s association, said the announce- ment confirms that wolf recovery is on track, and gives ranchers in Western Oregon more ability to address conflicts between wolves and livestock. “hopefully this will add more tools for our ranchers in the rest of the state to control this species that is really growing at a successful rate,” rosa said. The Oregon department of See Wolves, Page A8 Toastmaster General Gary hildebrand, who once fainted before a speech, helps others learn to speak up By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Gary hildebrand hasn’t always adored public speaking. The Pend- leton man remembers feeling ter- rified in high school after walk- ing to the front of the class to give a report. suddenly, things went black. “I stood up in front of the class- room and passed out,” he said. Times have changed. hildebrand now owns the room when he speaks. he helps others find their voice, too. Recently Hil- debrand received an award from the Oregon department of correc- tions for launching and shepherd- ing public speaking clubs inside Eastern Oregon correctional Insti- tution and Two rivers correctional Institution. hildebrand’s entry into the world of public speaking came about 20 years ago when he joined a club called Toastmasters Interna- tional in Pendleton to find skills he could use in his professional life. he learned about body language, speaking confidently and struc- turing his speeches. hildebrand, a state electrical inspector based in Pendleton, started by speaking about things he knew well. In one of his first speeches with the club, he explained how to bend conduit. Becoming proficient at speaking wasn’t a huge shift for hildebrand, who has always been gregarious. “He’s a social butterfly,” said his wife, cynthia Protheroe, shooting a sideways grin at her husband. “I refuse to go to Walmart with him. he goes by himself and three hours later, he comes home.” hildebrand marveled at the transformations of some of the introverted people who joined the group. “a lot of them come in terri- fied,” he said. “Toastmasters is a good place to get over that.” It was in Toastmasters that See Toastmasters, Page A8 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Gary Hildebrand listens to EOCI inmate Vlad Volynets speak about the benefits of weightlifting during a Toast- masters meeting Tuesday night at the prison. “A LOT OF THEM COME IN TERRIFIED. TOASTMASTERS IS A GOOD PLACE TO GET OVER THAT.” Gary Hildebrand, who leads public-speaking groups for prison inmates Staff photo by Kathy Aney Members of the Articulate Ambassadors listen to EOCI inmate Ricky Fey speak Tuesday night about anger and the benefits of joining one of the prison’s anger management groups. Tobacco licensing plan finds support foothold Pilot rock council endorses plan requiring retailers to comply with county rules By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian umatilla county Public Health has its first city coun- cil on board with a program to license tobacco retailers. The Pilot rock city council at its Feb. 19 meet- ing voted 5-1 to support requiring that stores and businesses obtain a license from the county to sell tobacco products. Pilot rock Mayor Virginia carnes and Mariah hinds, the county health department’s tobacco prevention coordinator, said the program is about protecting youth from the harmful effects of tobacco. The county began devel- oping the program in 2016 and in early 2018 pitched it to the Pendleton city coun- cil, which was skeptical about placing a burden on businesses. hinds said the pro- gram would not be about making a business jump through a bunch of hoops to sell tobacco but would focus on making sure busi- nesses comply with the law and not sell to minors. The non-compliance rate for tobacco sellers in the county in 2015-16 was 22 percent, she said, and increased to 24 percent for 2017-18. “so illegal sales are hap- pening in our county,” hinds said, and the health depart- ment also is concerned with the trend of electronic cig- arettes. according to the Oregon health authority, e-cigarette use in 2017 was higher among 11th graders in Eastern Oregon than cig- arette smoking. The amer- ican Lung association reports e-cigarettes contain and produce harmful chemi- cals, aside from tobacco and nicotine. hinds explained the licensing program would run through the county’s environmental health divi- sion, which licenses and inspects restaurants, pools and septic systems. The cost of the license would pay for See Tobacco, Page A8 Late snow season continues into March By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Whether the latest snow- storm is considered signifi- cant or pedestrian, boon or bane is all about the frame of reference. Take the National Weather service’s records of the storm, which started Tuesday night and contin- ued through the early after- noon with a mixture of snow, freezing rain and sleet. as of late Wednesday morning, meteorologist Marc austin said the ser- vice had recorded 1.6 inches in Pendleton and 1.1 inches in hermiston. austin said most of the region ranged between 1-2 inches. The Pendleton airport’s inch count was good to establish a snowfall record for March 6 and the snow depth — which the service had never recorded above 3 inches in March — is now at 8 inches. since the most recent snowstorm is providing the lion’s share of snowfall for the month, Pendleton hasn’t yet repeated Febru- ary by rewriting the record books. But whether Pendleton has a shot at breaking the all-time record is a matter of which measuring instru- ment the weather service uses. The service’s instru- ment at the airport has a March record of 2.8 inches in 2008, suggesting one more decently sized snow- storm could push 2019 over the top. But the weather service has a second instrument in Pendleton that has records going back to the late 19th century. That instruments suggests the March record was set all the way back in Staff photo by E.J. Harris See Snow, Page A8 Snow covers a stubble field off Despain Gulch Road on Wednesday outside of Pendleton.
