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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2019)
A8 OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Thursday, March 7, 2019 Tobacco: Retailers would meet rules Continued from Page A1 the program, so no general fund money would prop it up. The county also would handle all the inspec- tions and ensure compli- ance, and not ask local law enforcement to handle that. The program partly would be for retailer edu- cation, she said, to make sure they comply with laws about selling tobacco, and also to reduce teen access to tobacco. Hinds said studies show 90 percent of smokers start when they are under 18 and 75 percent under 20. Restricting teen access to tobacco products means reducing tobacco-related health problems, diseases and deaths. “That’s our end goal,” she said. Carnes said she heard from one business in her town that was not keen on the council’s move, and she understands why councilor Raymond Doherty voted against it. No one wants new taxes, she said, and the fees that would go to sup- port the program are a tax. “It’s a tax, but one that can help the kids,” she said, and the council’s vote is for the future residents of Pilot Rock. Hinds and company make their next presen- tation on March 19 to the Stanfield City Council, and are working to line up more to gain wider com- munity buy-in. Pendle- ton Mayor John Turner said last year that he was opposed to “overly onerous restrictions on free enter- prise.” Hinds said the pro- gram would not be about curtailing free enterprise but about addressing a public health problem and holding retailers account- able for breaking the law. “This is something we can do locally for our com- munity,” she said. Hinds also said any- one with questions about the tobacco retailer license can call her at the Uma- tilla County Public Health Department, 541-278-5432. Staff photo by E.J. Harris A small herd of deer hunkers down in the snow on a hillside Wednesday off Highway 37 north of Pendleton. Snow: Late snow season continues Continued from Page A1 1897, when it recorded 12.7 inches of snow. While winter snow could help farmers with their water supply in the warm weather months, how much the current snow is helping their growth depends on the crop. Mary Corp, director of the Columbia Basin Agri- culture Research Center, said the snow has been used to the advantage of wheat growers. “We’re happy for the snow cover to protect the wheat crop, but we do need it to blow away,” she said. A mild winter up to the point when it started snow- ing heavily in February, Corp said the snow pro- tected wheat from the harsh winter winds, which can damage the crop’s leaves. Corp said the best sce- nario for wheat farmers going forward is for there to be a gradual melting of the snow in the coming weeks. Since the ground didn’t freeze over before the snow hit, Corp said the soil should be able to absorb the mois- ture from the resulting snowmelt. On the other hand, if an unexpectedly warm wind causes the temperature to rise by 10 or 20 degrees, a rapid snow melt could cause flooding and soil movement. It’s a different story on the west side of the county, where irrigated agriculture is more prominent. While potato and pea farmers might start seed- ing their land in February or March, Corp said those growers will have to hold off until the snow is cleared. Luckily for both sets of farmers — and residents tired of the constant precipi- tation — the forecast is call- ing for slightly warmer tem- peratures and drier weather. The anticipated weather for the coming week is sup- posed to range from the mid- to high 30s. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Gary Hildebrand listens to an EOCI inmate speak during a Toastmasters meeting Tuesday night at the prison. Next to him is volunteer Wendy Mullins. Toastmasters: A mentor to others Wolves: Management to states, tribes Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 Hildebrand discovered a love of leadership. He held administrative posi- tions in the wider Toast- masters organization and helped develop new groups, including several inside prisons and another at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Despite a diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer, Hil- debrand attends back-to- back meetings at EOCI every Tuesday night and usually goes to Pendleton and Wildhorse meetings too. Once or twice a month, he attends the Two Rivers’ High Desert club. He is a member of all five. In addi- tion, he spends additional hours doing administra- tive tasks. Hildebrand also works part-time as chief electrical inspector for the city of Pendleton. At the most recent meet- ings of EOCI’s two Toast- masters groups, Articu- late Ambassadors and the business-themed Creat- ing Entrepreneurs in Ore- gon, Hildebrand sat qui- etly and jotted notes as the men honed their speaking skills. The second club meet- ing of the night, Articulate Ambassadors, progressed in typical Toastmasters fashion. A designated grammarian kept track of grammatical errors and noted awkward pauses and filler words such as uh, um and so. The word of the day, he said, was “superfluous.” The night’s speakers ide- ally would work the word into their remarks. Four men gave speeches while others served as evaluators. The topics ranged from weight lifting to life as a gang member. In the back of the room, one member kept track of how long each speaker talked. Inmate Ricky Fey spoke Staff photo by Kathy Aney EOCI inmate Ricky Fey speaks about anger and its triggers during a Toastmasters meeting Tuesday at the prison. about anger and the ben- efits of joining one of the prison’s anger management groups. “More than 90 percent of the time when we feel anger, it’s because of one of three things: fear, hurt or frustration,” Fey told his audience. “What we do with that anger is up to us.” Hildebrand, sitting next to volunteer Wendy Mul- lins, listened closely and took notes. A couple of Tuesdays ago, Hildebrand got a sur- prise when EOCI’s Tom Lemens (assistant super- intendent of correctional rehabilitation) and Lavon Starr-Meyers (DOC’s vol- unteer program repre- sentative) popped into an EOCI Toastmasters meet- ing to award him a hand- some plaque recognizing his dedication. “He’s passionate about Toastmasters and passion- ate about these guys being successful when they are released,” Lemens said. “He gets them started down the right road. He’s given up a lot of his per- sonal time.” Micah Kennedy, a mem- ber of both EOCI groups, said Hildebrand’s dedica- tion is impressive. “Gary comes here through hell and high water,” Kennedy said. “He works his tail off to make sure we have a group. He has a huge positive impact on a lot of people’s lives.” Brandon Long, a char- ter member of the EOCI Toastmaster clubs, said Hildebrand’s involvement means everything. “If not for him, this group wouldn’t exist,” Long said. “He’s been a huge anchor for both groups. He’s here every single week — even on his anniversary.” Hildebrand said he’s only missed three meetings at EOCI since the first club started almost 10 years ago. Once he was sick. Another time he had out-of-town Toastmasters business. A winter storm kept him away from a third. And, yes, he did attend a meet- ing on his anniversary. “I have a really support- ive wife,” he said. Hildebrand worries a little about what will hap- pen to his prison Toastmas- ters when he is gone. He trusts that other volunteers will fill in. He tries not to dwell on his lung cancer, concentrating instead on helping others get comfort- able behind a podium. He counts his blessings. “I’ve had a really great life,” he said. — — — Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0810. Fish and Wildlife removed wolves from the state Endangered Species List in 2015, allowing for wildlife managers in Eastern Oregon to kill wolves that repeat- edly attack livestock under certain circumstances, as defined in the state Wolf Conservation and Manage- ment Plan. Wolves remain feder- ally protected, however, west of highways 395, 78 and 95, limiting ranchers to non-lethal forms of deter- rence such as range riders and fladry — lines of rope mounted along fence lines with colored flags that flap in the wind, intended to scare wolves from pastures. Veril Nelson, a south- west Oregon rancher, serves as co-chairman on the cat- tlemen’s association wolf committee. He said local produc- ers need the ability to kill problem wolves that repeat- edly prey on cows, citing the Rogue pack near Crater Lake that has notched mul- tiple confirmed attacks on livestock over the past year in Jackson and Klamath counties. “With that wolf pack, killing has become habit- ual,” Nelson said. “They’re going to keep doing that.” ODFW spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said that, if wolves are delisted, the Oregon wolf plan would apply statewide. West- ern Oregon would begin in Phase I of management rules, which requires four confirmed attacks on live- stock within a six-month period before the agency will even consider killing wolves from an offending pack. Eastern Oregon is cur- rently in Phase III of the plan, which requires just two confirmed attacks over any given time period. And Dennehy is quick to add that, just because those Telegraph Herald via AP/Dave Kettering, File In this April 11, 2018, file photo, a gray wolf stands at the Os- borne Nature Wildlife Center south of Elkader, Iowa. qualifications are met, it does not mean lethal take is automatic. “There are other consid- erations,” Dennehy said. “Non-lethal (deterrents) must be in effect, but not working, for any lethal con- trol authorization.” At last count, Oregon had a minimum of 124 wolves at the end of 2017. The 2018 ODFW annual wolf report and population estimate will not be avail- able until April, Dennehy said. ODFW is also in the process of updating its wolf plan, which is now four years past due. A draft plan will be released sometime this month, Dennehy said, though the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has not yet scheduled a public hearing and final vote on the changes. In Washington, the state has 22 wolf packs, mostly concentrated in the north- east corner of the state. Scott Nielsen, president of the Stevens County Cat- tlemen’s Association, said cattlemen are pleased to see a potential delisting at the federal level, but issues still remain with how the Wash- ington Department of Fish and Wildlife handles wolf attacks and investigations. “This has been really hard on the ranchers,” he said. “I am highly critical of WDFW. I’ve watched what they’ve done and how they’ve done it, and I feel betrayed by them.” Meanwhile, environ- mental groups slammed the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to delist wolves, describing it as premature. “Given that gray wolves in the Lower 48 states occupy such a small per- centage of their historical habitat, it is almost laugh- able for the Fish and Wild- life Service to determine that they are successfully recovered,” said John Mell- gren, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. “On its face, this appears to be politically moti- vated,” Mellgren said. “We look forward to reviewing the draft delisting rule, and look forward to taking the Fish and Wildlife Service to court should its proposal not be based on what the science tells us.” Collette Adkins, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said delisting would essentially be a death sentence for gray wolves across the country. “The Trump administra- tion is dead set on appeasing special interests that want to kill wolves,” Adkins said. “We’re working hard to stop them.” Imagine The Difference You Can Make Save with Frontier Internet Bundles Pay one price for two great services: high-speed Internet Serious speed! and a full-featured home phone Bundle and save today Simply Broadband Max BROADBAND ULTRA + PHONE + SECURE 19 99 Per Month With Qualifying Phone Service 6 Mbps + Free Wi-Fi Router + 1 Year Price Lock Call today and pay less 67 97 1-844-533-9173 Help Prevent Blindness Get A Vision Screening Annually 12 Mbps + Free Wi-Fi Router + 2 Year Price Lock Protect Your Identity, Devices & Files You can’t get BS from a buffalo. *Internet access service and charges not included. 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