A8
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, March 22, 2019
Manager: ‘It’s an
exciting time to come
to the Round-Up’
Continued from Page A1
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File
In this March 14, 2019, file photo, a worker walks next to a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane parked at Boeing Field in Seattle.
Boeing to make safety feature
standard on troubled Max jets
By DAVID KOENIG
and TOM KRISHER
Associated Press
Boeing will make stan-
dard on its troubled new air-
liner a safety feature that
might have helped the crew
of a jet that crashed shortly
after takeoff last year in
Indonesia, killing everyone
on board.
The equipment, which
had been offered as an
option, alerts pilots of faulty
information from key sen-
sors. It will now be included
on every 737 Max as part of
changes that Boeing is rush-
ing to complete on the jets by
early next week, according
to two people familiar with
the changes.
The people spoke on con-
dition of anonymity because
Boeing and federal regu-
lators are still discussing
details of the upgrade to
the Max fleet, which was
grounded worldwide after
a second deadly crash this
month in Ethiopia.
The cause of the acci-
dents has not been deter-
mined, but investigators
probing the crash of a Lion
Air Max jet have focused
on an automated system
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File
In this March 21, 2018, file pho-
to, a Thai Lion Air employee
displays a ceremonial key to
the company’s newest plane,
Boeing’s first 737 MAX 9 jet,
following a delivery ceremo-
ny to the airline in Seattle.
designed to use information
from two sensors to help
prevent a dangerous aerody-
namic stall.
The sensors measure
whether the plane is pointed
up, down or level in relation
to the direction of onrushing
air. Software on the Max can
push the plane’s nose down if
data from one of the sensors
indicates the plane is tilted
up so sharply that it could
stall and fall from the sky.
In the Lion Air case,
the sensors malfunctioned
and gave wildly conflicting
information, and the plane
crashed minutes after take-
off. A preliminary report
described a grim fight by the
pilots to control the plane as
it pitched downward more
than two dozen times.
It is not known whether
the same flight-control sys-
tem played a role in the
March 10 crash of the Ethio-
pian Airlines jet shortly after
takeoff from Addis Ababa,
but regulators say both
planes had similar erratic
flight paths, an import-
ant part of their decision to
ground the roughly 370 Max
planes around the world.
The Lion Air plane also
lacked another optional fea-
ture: gauges or displays
that would let pilots see at
a glance the up-or-down
direction of the plane’s nose.
It was unclear whether such
“angle of attack” or AOA
gauges will also become
standard equipment on the
Max.
Boeing declined to say
why the options were not
standard equipment sooner.
American Airlines has
both options on its Boeing
737s. Dennis Tajer, a Boe-
ing 737 captain for Amer-
ican and spokesman for its
pilots’ union, said he could
not understand why Boeing
would make the alert system
standard but not do the same
with the gauges.
“Anyone who suggests
that we should just have
one of those two items —
the alert and not the AOA
gauges — is not embracing
giving pilots all the infor-
mation they should have,” he
said.
Tajer said the plane can
be flown safely without the
gauges — most small planes
don’t have them — “but it’s
a broader margin of safety if
you’ve got it.”
Pilots often rely on sepa-
rate sensors measuring air-
speed to determine if they
are in danger of stalling.
That is true of the earlier
models of the Boeing 737.
The Max is different because
flight-control software called
MCAS can pitch the nose
down based on readings
from a single AOA sensor.
Max jets flown by Lion
Air and Ethiopian Airlines
lacked both the sensor-dis-
agreement warning and
AOA gauges, according to
the New York Times, which
first reported Boeing’s deci-
sion to make the warning
standard. Boeing declined to
comment on details of cus-
tomer orders.
“I feel honored to have
been selected to be part of
this iconic organization and
can’t wait to get started,”
she said in a press release.
“I look forward to being
part of its future.”
O’Neill was effusive in
praising Patton in a state-
ment of his own.
“Erika has the talent,
energy and background to
successfully lead our day-
to-day operations and exe-
cute strategic planning
necessary to navigate the
rapid growth of the Pend-
leton Round-Up Associ-
ation,” he said. “It is espe-
cially rewarding to bring
on somebody from our area
that knows our story and is
personally invested in our
community. That truly is a
template for success.”
In a Thursday interview,
O’Neill said Happy Canyon
and Round-Up convened
an executive committee of
officers from each board
to sift through the approx-
imately 20 applications the
association received.
Although previous expe-
rience managing a rodeo
was preferred, O’Neill said
it wasn’t a requirement,
adding that the structure of
the 17-member Round-Up
Board and the 12-mem-
ber Happy Canyon Board
means that many rodeo and
night show operations are
already handled by board
members.
In Patton, the members
of the executive commit-
tee saw the experience in
business management and
finance they wanted in their
next general manager.
O’Neill said it was also
important to them that Pat-
ton already lives in the
community.
“There’s a whole cul-
tural component to it,” he
said.
Originally from Enter-
prise, Patton said she
moved to Pendleton in 2001
after spending her youth
as a competitor in junior
and college rodeo and as a
member of the Chief Joseph
Days court. Her husband
and two children are also
active in the sport.
O’Neill also pointed to
her civic participation in
various community groups,
which includes a stint as
the president of the Pendle-
ton Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors.
Patton will assume lead-
ership over the Round-Up
and Happy Canyon during
a time of expansion.
“It’s an exciting time to
come to the Round-Up,”
she said.
The press release men-
tions that Patton’s skills
will be an asset to the con-
struction of the new retail
store and office space
across the street from the
Round-Up Grounds, the
renovation of the announc-
er’s booth, and an electrical
upgrade in the Happy Can-
yon Arena.
She’ll also be involved
in the establishment of the
Blue Mountain Regional
Training Center, a planned
$12.5 million indoor arena
and classroom space that’s
a partnership between the
Round-Up
Association,
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College, and other
local agencies.
Beard was selected as
the organization’s first gen-
eral manager in 2014, more
than a century after the
rodeo was founded. In the
past four years he has over-
seen record ticket sales and
national awards.
“We are sad to see such
a good man like Casey
Beard leave our organiza-
tion,” Happy Canyon Pres-
ident Tanner Hawkins said
in the press release, “but we
are also excited to see what
Erika has in store for the
future.”
Patton said she’s in a
good position as the sec-
ond general manager in
Round-Up history, which
allows her to build in the
areas where Beard has
already paved the way.
Tobacco: A tax increase remains a priority
Continued from Page A1
In addition to funding
health care, the increased
tax would drive down
tobacco
consumption,
advocates say.
Jon Hart, an economist
for the Oregon Department
of Revenue, testified to the
House Committee on Reve-
nue that estimates show a 10
percent increase in cigarette
price causes a 4 percent
decline in consumption.
Hart said the price
increase would likely deter
more young smokers who
have less income.
Hart also warned of
seeing consumption and
sales as the same thing. As
tobacco prices rise, he said,
smuggling cigarettes from
other states becomes more
prevalent. Currently, Ore-
gon reaps “significant” ben-
efits from Washington’s
cigarette smugglers.
Oregon taxes ciga-
rettes at $1.33 per pack and
research shows the average
price in 2017 was $6.12 per
pack. Washington taxes cig-
arettes at more than $3 per
pack. That causes Washing-
tonians to drive into Ore-
gon to buy cigarettes. Hart
said some people likely buy
large amounts of cigarettes
for friends and family.
Purchasing
cigarettes
in other states is now the
easiest way to avoid high
state-imposed taxes. In
2005, credit card compa-
nies stopped facilitating
online cigarette purchases,
and companies like FedEx
and UPS stopped shipping
cigarettes.
Hart said there is essen-
tially a semicircle over
southwestern Washington
that is dictated by Oregon’s
tobacco taxes: the higher
the tax, the smaller gets the
circle of potential buyers.
Smokers living in the cir-
cle are likely to stock up in
Oregon rather than buy in
their home state.
That contributes to much
higher sales rates for ciga-
rettes in Oregon. Hart testi-
fied that federal data shows
Washington’s smoking rate
is about 14 percent and Ore-
gon’s is about 16 percent.
The per capita sales rate is
significantly different. In
2017, Washington sold 17
packs of taxed cigarettes
per capita. Oregon sold 38.
“We’re actually at a
point now where Oregon
is selling more taxed packs
overall than Washington
is,” Hart said. “Washing-
ton’s population is not quite
twice what Oregon’s is.”
It’s still not clear which,
if any, of the bills will rise
to the top of the order as
committees throughout the
Legislature are working to
set priorities for the second
half of the session.
House Speaker Tina
Kotek’s spokesman, Danny
Moran, said a tobacco tax
increase remains a priority.
Brown has repeatedly
talked up the tax increase in
her press briefings. A rep-
resentative from her office
was scheduled to go before
the House Revenue Com-
mittee on Thursday.
“I understand the mango
flavor of the product called
Juul – J-U-U-L – is very
tasty,” Hart said. “I don’t
have any direct experience
of that.”
———
Reporter Aubrey Wie-
ber:
aubrey@salemre-
porter.com or 503-575-
1251. Wieber is a reporter
for Salem Reporter who
works for the Oregon Capi-
tal Bureau, a collaboration
of EO Media Group, the
Pamplin Media Group, and
Salem Reporter.
Breach: Nine email accounts were frozen on Jan. 8
Continued from Page A1
compromised. That work
will cost the state $480,000.
According to the release,
nine
DHS
employees
opened a spam email which
appeared to be from a gov-
ernment account. It asked
recipients to click a link and
login with their email and
password. That gave the
hacker access to those nine
accounts.
Oakes said the nine
employees were spread
throughout the agency. He
didn’t know how many
total employees received
the email, but said it was
“extensive.”
Oakes said all 8,500
DHS employees have to go
through training to protect
against this sort of thing,
which tells them to avoid
anything questionable and
provides resources they can
seek if they fear an email
could be a scheme. But this
one was sophisticated, he
said.
“It looked like something,
depending on your role, that
you would do through the
normal course of business,”
Oakes said.
Those nine email boxes
contained nearly two million
emails. Those nine accounts
were frozen on Jan. 8 as state
experts worked to under-
stand the issue, Oakes said.
The outside firm is now
working to directly identify
those whose information
was exposed. It will then
contact those people and
inform them on how to pro-
tect themselves.
Starting Friday, people
who are worried their infor-
mation was involved can
call 800-792-1750 or go to
http://ide.myidcare.com/ore-
gonDHS for help.
Adkins
Round-Up books Trace
Adkins for kickoff concert
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Less than a year after the
Pendleton Whisky Music
Fest brought in Blake
Shelton, the Pendleton
Round-Up and Happy Can-
yon are bringing in a coun-
try star of their own.
The singer of such hits
as “Just Fishin’,” “Hot
Mama,” and “Honky Tonk
Badonkadonk,”
Trace
Adkins will take the Happy
Canyon Arena stage as a
part of the rodeo kickoff
concert Sept. 7, according
to a Happy Canyon press
release.
With Adkins having
sold 11 million albums, won
three American Country
Music awards, and received
three Grammy nomina-
tions, the press release
states that artist is known
for his “energetic, fiery
personality and trademark
deep voice.”
“I’m gonna bring a band
and turn it up real loud,” he
said in a statement. “And
we’re gonna have a good
time!”
Round-Up
President
Dave O’Neill and Happy
Canyon President Tanner
Hawkins lauded Adkins as
a good fit for the opening
show.
“Trace Adkins has
a great combination of
high-energy crowd pleasers
and relatable ballads that
will connect with many dif-
ferent folks,” O’Neill said in
the press release.
Tickets go on sale at
6:30 a.m. on March 29.
Tickets range from $46-
$150 and can be reserved
at www.pendletonroundup.
com.