SOCCER: Dawgs’ Emilio Leal signs letter of intent | SPORTS, B1
E O
AST
143rd Year, No. 161
Merkley
touts
wildfi re
bill
Wildfi re-Resilient
Communities Act
aims to reduce
the risk of out-of-
control fi res
REGONIAN
THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Moving on,
moving
See Wildfi res, Page A7
Crowd
opposes
charter
proposals
Umatilla County
Commissioners
also object to
potential changes
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
By KATY NESBITT
For the East Oregonian
BEND — With a
Deschutes National Forest
prescribed burn project as
a backdrop, Sen. Jeff Merk-
ley, D-Oregon, announced
Wednesday his Wildfi re-Re-
silient Communities Act
to reduce the risk of large
fi res that endanger property,
wildlife and watersheds.
Merkley addressed mem-
bers of the press, in person
and via a live video stream
on Facebook, at the West
Bend prescribed burn unit
where 284 acres were burned
at the end of April. Merkley
touted timber harvest, thin-
ning and prescribed fi res as
ways to reduce the risk of
out-of-control wildfi res that
can quickly consume entire
neighborhoods when fuel
conditions, wind and fi re
starts combine.
The senator said his bill
would pump a billion dollars
into fuels treatment projects
across the country.
“With a guaranteed
increase of a billion dollars
a year in fuels reduction and
new authorities and incen-
tives for communities to
work to improve the resil-
ience of their forests, we can
stop catastrophic wildfi res
from becoming a staple of
western summers,” Merk-
ley said.
Merkley was joined by
forest, wildfi re and local
leaders. John Allen, forest
supervisor for the Deschutes
National Forest, said it is too
early to predict the fi re sea-
son, but prescribed fi re is an
example of how forest man-
agers intend to protect val-
ues at risk.
“The West Bend pre-
scribed burn project is
essential in our eyes and a
natural part of ecosystems,”
Allen said. “Bringing fi re
back makes a healthy forest
more resilient for long-term
conditions.”
Allen
credited
the
Deschutes Forest Collabo-
rative, an assembly of forest
managers, private citizens,
industry and environmen-
talists who meet regularly to
discuss forest management.
$1.50
Umatilla celebrates students’
post-high school plans
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
Almost 70 high school seniors signed symbolic letters of intent for colleges or other post-secondary plans on
Wednesday at Umatilla High School. Above left, Adrian Corta and Julian Gutierrez announce their post-second-
ary choice as Blue Mountain Community College during Signing Day on Wednesday at Umatilla High School.
Above right, Hope Cameron announces her college choice as Oregon Tech during Signing Day.
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
As high school seniors get
ready to write the next chapter of
their life, Umatilla High School is
celebrating those who are commit-
ted to furthering their education in
some form.
“Any plan is a great plan, as
long as you made it happen,”
superintendent Heidi Sipe told stu-
dents on Wednesday.
Students were gathered in the
gym for a talent show followed
by the school’s “college signing”
day. Graduating seniors with post-
high school plans were cheered on
by underclassmen and teachers as
they introduced themselves one by
one and declared their commit-
ment to a school, trade or other
option. Afterward they signed
“letters of intent,” mimicking a
ritual often performed by athletes
committing to play a sport at the
college level.
Counselor Dee Lorence told
students post-secondary education
wasn’t limited to a university — it
could also mean community col-
lege, the military, a trade school
or apprenticeship. She said this
year 69 of the school’s 90 gradu-
ating seniors had some sort of plan
in place for increasing their skills
beyond a high school diploma.
A few students were recognized
individually for their plans to play
a sport at a college level or enlist
in the National Guard. Emanuel
“THEY’RE DEFINITELY PUSHING US
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, PUSHING
US TO SUCCEED.”
Andrew Wilson, who plans to attend Western Oregon University.
Tejada was recognized as the win-
ner of the Ronald Reagan Leader-
ship medal, awarded to a student
who “exemplifi es drive, humility
and service before self.”
Tejada is planning to attend
Oregon State University. He said
after the ceremony that he plans to
study civil engineering.
“I like the mathematics and the
science that goes into it,” he said.
He was debating between Ore-
gon Technical Institute and OSU,
but ended up choosing OSU
because his brother attends there.
He said he was looking forward
to both the social and academic
aspects of college.
Roughly half of the students
who shared their plans Wednes-
day are bound for Blue Mountain
Community College. Cece Card-
nas-Perez said she chose the local
school because it is “affordable
and closer to home.”
She wants to pursue some sort
of career in the medical fi eld — she
hasn’t quite fi gured out what yet —
and attending community college
before transferring to a university
later will allow her to save money.
Alexandrea Ford, who is plan-
ning to study at BMCC to become
a sonogram technician, said when
seniors talked about their post-sec-
ondary plans they often talked
about trying to walk onto a sports
team in college, or “what their liv-
ing situation is going to be and
how they can afford it.”
“It’s really expensive,” she said
of going the university route. “We
live in a small area and not a lot
of parents can afford to send their
kids to school.”
Alana Wilson knows about that.
She watched her son Andrew Wil-
son participate in the signing cere-
mony Wednesday by declaring his
intention to attend Western Ore-
gon University.
She said government fi nancial
aid comes about $10,000 a semes-
ter short, leaving Andrew to pay
for the rest through a job and sup-
port from his parents.
“There’s a pretty big difference
there that we have to make up,” she
said.
Andrew is planning to pursue
a master’s degree so that he can
teach high school physics. He said
See Signing, Page A7
The group recommend-
ing changes to Umatilla
County’s government felt
pushback Wednesday eve-
ning against its proposals.
The opponents sang a song
of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t
fi x it.”
The eight-member char-
ter review committee pre-
sented its fi ndings and three
potential ballot measures to
the board of commission-
ers during a work session
at the county courthouse,
Pendleton. The simplest
measure would change the
charter’s description of the
law enforcement depart-
ment to the sheriff’s offi ce
and rather than spelling out
most of the duties of the
sheriff refer instead to Ore-
gon law.
Elections also change.
Per the proposal, if no more
than two candidates fi le,
there would be no May pri-
mary election and the can-
didates would advance to
the November general. If
more than two run, the two
who win the most votes in
the primary face off in the
general.
The biggest proposal
changes the county from
three full-time commis-
sioners to fi ve part-timers
who would be responsible
for hiring the county coun-
sel and a county manager.
That also drew the most
resistance.
Commissioner Bill Elf-
ering said the lack of a full-
time commissioner is a
concern.
“Some have tried this
the other way, and it hasn’t
worked very well,” he said.
Commissioner John Sha-
fer hitched on, pointing out
that Clatsop County is con-
sidering nixing its manager
and volunteer board for
full-time commissioners.
Charter review mem-
bers strove to defend the
position, arguing the size
of the county and the size
of the county’s budget
demands a professional
at the helm. Michele Gra-
ble, the charter commit-
tee chair, and other mem-
bers argued commissioners
should focus their time on
policy, county advocacy
and strategy and not the
“nitty-gritty” of manage-
ment. Grable recalled one
night when Commissioner
George Murdock oversaw
the problem of a leak in the
district attorney’s offi ce on
the third fl oor of the court-
house. She said commis-
sioners have better things
to do with their time.
Some old habits are hard
to break, Murdock said in
his defense, but there was a
greater issue.
“I have an uncomfort-
able feeling we are rush-
ing to judgement,” he said.
“I’m still at a point I want
to ask questions.”
One of those, he con-
tinued, was about how a
manager would affect the
public’s access to com-
missioners. Yet he also
said having he and his
See Charter, Page A7