NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Fight on to save Columbia River
salmon from toothy invader
By COURTNEY FLATT
Oregon Public
Broadcasting
Hate makes a comeback
in the Pacific Northwest
By NICHOLAS K.
GERANIOS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The fight to save Colum-
bia River salmon could
hinge on a major battle tak-
ing place in the basin’s big-
gest reservoir. It pits biol-
ogists against a fish: the
invasive northern pike.
Northern pike are
aggressive. They eat any-
thing in their path —
they’ve even been spotted
chomping on ducks and
bats. That’s bad news for
soft-bellied fish, like rain-
bow trout.
“These pike here, they
can really prey on a lot of
fishes that these other fish
in the reservoir right now
can’t,” said Travis Rehm, a
fisheries biologist with the
Spokane Tribe of Indians.
Rehm is one of the
anglers standing in their
way as the Spokane Tribe
and other fisheries manag-
ers launch a counterattack.
Biologists are catching as
many northern pike as they
can in Lake Roosevelt, the
reservoir held back by the
Grand Coulee Dam.
“Native species here
haven’t evolved to deal
with a predator that’s quite
like pike,” Rehm said.
Northwest Public Broadcasting Photo/ Courtney Flatt
Biologists are catching as many northern pike as they can
in Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir held back by the Grand
Coulee Dam.
To push back the north-
ern pike’s steady progres-
sion, biologists will be
on the water for much of
the summer, setting and
checking about 15 gillnets
each day. The goal: snag-
ging as many northern pike
as possible.
Rehm and two other
biologists check the gill-
nets within 24 hours after
they’ve set them in place.
These biologists know
where to place the gill-
nets: near channels, in
shallower areas, where
the northern pike — apex
predators in these waters
— like to ambush prey.
Tribal biologists also set
gillnets for northern pike
last year.
“The hotspots hav-
en’t changed. The densi-
ties within those have, and
they’re just increasing,”
Rehm said.
Gillnets are controver-
sial because fish that aren’t
being targeted — like
smallmouth bass, walleye
and northern pikeminnow
— get tangled in the nets.
But Rehm said they’re try-
ing to be careful.
“We’re doing our best to
minimize bycatch and be
as cognizant of everything
as possible,” he said.
All of the non-native
fish the team catch are gut-
ted. If people will eat the
fish, the biologists filet it
and take it to the Spokane
Tribe’s food bank.
Nearly two decades after
the Aryan Nations’ Idaho
compound was demolished,
far-right extremists are
maintaining a presence in
the Pacific Northwest.
White nationalism has
been on the rise across the
U.S., but it has particular
resonance along the Ida-
ho-Washington
border,
where the Aryans espoused
hate and violence for years.
The neo-Nazi group was
based near Hayden Lake,
Idaho, starting in the 1970s,
and eventually was bank-
rupted in a lawsuit brought
by local activists and the
Southern Poverty Law Cen-
ter. Its compound was seized,
and supporters dispersed.
But a series of incidents
in recent weeks show far-
right sentiments never really
left the conservative region.
In the county that is home to
Hayden Lake, for instance,
Republicans last month
passed a measure expressing
support for U.S. entry of a
prominent Austrian far-right
activist who was investigated
for ties to the suspected New
Zealand mosque gunman.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
A t-storm in spots
in the p.m.
Partly sunny and
very warm
Partly sunny and
nice
Sunny to partly
cloudy
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
80° 56°
84° 59°
87° 59°
86° 57°
82° 50°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
87° 60°
91° 62°
94° 63°
92° 61°
OREGON FORECAST
88° 52°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
64/51
77/52
86/59
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
80/60
Lewiston
74/53
88/59
Astoria
63/53
Pullman
Yakima 89/60
76/51
81/58
Portland
Hermiston
77/57
The Dalles 87/60
Salem
Corvallis
73/52
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
73/51
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
75/53
75/49
72/53
Ontario
78/57
Caldwell
Burns
79°
59°
76°
50°
99° (1983) 33° (1951)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
75/52
0.00"
0.54"
1.05"
4.42"
4.96"
5.04"
WINDS (in mph)
75/53
70/47
0.02"
1.52"
1.29"
9.28"
6.07"
6.40"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 69/49
74/53
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
80/56
83/60
74°
54°
74°
50°
103° (1897) 34° (1924)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
76/53
Aberdeen
81/56
85/62
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
76/56
social media, groups “form
in dispersed locations”
and gatherings are “more
covert,” she said.
In late April, a self-de-
scribed “American Nation-
alist” named Brittany Petti-
bone appeared at a meeting
of Kootenai County, Idaho,
Republicans to ask for help
to bring her boyfriend, Mar-
tin Sellner, to the country
from Austria. Pettibone, 26,
said Sellner wants to marry
her and live in Post Falls,
Idaho.
Pettibone was a big pro-
moter of the hoax known
as “Pizzagate,” telling her
online followers Hillary
Clinton and other high-pro-
file Democrats were involved
in satanic rituals and child
sex trafficking tied to a
Washington, D.C., pizza
restaurant.
Sellner is a leading fig-
ure in the extremist “iden-
titarian” movement, which
espouses a white national-
ist ideology and has swept
over Europe amid an influx
of migrants and refugees. He
has confirmed he exchanged
emails with the suspected
New Zealand shooter, who
donated money to Sellner’s
group. But Sellner denies
involvement in the attack.
MONDAY
2 Oregon House
Republicans yield
to supermajority
A t-storm in spots
in the p.m.
In 2018, at least nine
hate groups operated in the
region of Spokane and north-
ern Idaho, including Identity
Evropa, Proud Boys, ACT
for America and America’s
Promise Ministries, accord-
ing to the Southern Poverty
Law Center. The center does
not track how many mem-
bers belong to each group.
Keegan
Hankes,
a
researcher for the Southern
Poverty Law Center, said
the number of hate groups
is growing across the U.S.,
driven in part by a toxic
political culture. The human
rights group counted 784
active hate groups in the U.S.
in 2014 and 1,020 in 2018.
In
particular,
white
supremacist groups are
growing because of fears that
the country’s racial makeup
is changing. “That drives a
ton of anxiety,” Hankes said.
These new far-right activ-
ists are more scattered than
the ones who used to gather
at the Aryan Nations by the
dozens, experts say.
“It is no longer neces-
sary to go to a compound in
Hayden Lake, Idaho,” said
Kristine Hoover, director
of the Gonzaga Institute for
Hate Studies in Spokane.
With the proliferation of
OREGON IN BRIEF
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Today
SW 4-8
NW 4-8
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
82/54
Fri.
WSW 4-8
NW 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
70/45
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:11 a.m.
8:35 p.m.
3:35 a.m.
4:35 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
June 3
June 9
June 17
June 25
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 102° in Jacksonville, Fla. Low 24° in Aspen Springs, Colo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
SALEM (AP) — A GOP
stalling tactic to slow prog-
ress on Oregon House Dem-
ocrat’s platform came to
an end Wednesday after
two Republicans broke
party lines, saying it’s time
to “face the music of a
supermajority.”
Reps. Bill Post and Mike
Nearman joined House
Democrats
Wednesday
in voting to suspend the
requirement that all legisla-
tion be read from start to fin-
ish. That gave the chamber,
overwhelmingly controlled
by Democrats, the votes
needed to end a month-long
stalling tactic that required
that hundreds of pages of
legislation be read aloud.
Post, from Keizer, said
that he and Nearman are
still “principled conservative
Republicans,” but that the
stalling tactic wasn’t produc-
tive with only four weeks left
in the legislative session.
Democrats had already
pushed through many of their
main priorities, said Post,
including a $1 billion school
funding package dependent
on a half a percent tax on
some businesses.
“I think we’re all ready to
vote and go home,” he said.
“It’s time to move on and face
the music of a supermajority.”
Oregon approves
temporary ban on
‘fracking’
SALEM (AP) — The con-
troversial oil exploration tac-
tic known as fracking will be
temporarily banned in Ore-
gon until 2025 under a bill on
its way to the governor.
The Senate voted 17-11
Wednesday to prohibit
hydraulic fracturing or
“fracking,” which injects
high-pressure liquids into
underground rock to extract
oil and gas. Environmental
advocates say that process
can contaminate groundwa-
ter and pose other environ-
mental risks.
The bill previously banned
fracking for 10 years but
the Senate cut that timespan
roughly in half, something
that must now be approved
by the House before heading
to the governor’s desk.
There are currently no
fracking operations in Ore-
gon and there are only a
handful of ongoing explora-
tion activities. The measure
will still permit the more
common methods of oil and
gas exploration already used
in the state.
Teen who brought
gun to high school
pleads not guilty
PORTLAND (AP) — A
student who was tackled by
a football coach after bring-
ing a shotgun into an Ore-
gon high school classroom
has pleaded not guilty to
multiple charges.
Angel Granados-Diaz,
19, entered not guilty pleas
Wednesday in Multnomah
County Circuit Court to pos-
sessing a firearm in a public
building, discharging a fire-
arm at a school, possessing a
loaded firearm in public and
reckless endangerment.
Defense attorney Adam
Thayne
said
Wednes-
day after the hearing that
depression played a role in
the teen’s decision to bring
the gun to a class at Park-
rose High School in Port-
land May 17, The Orego-
nian/OregonLive reported .
Thayne also cited unspec-
ified mental health issues
that led Granados-Diaz to,
according to witnesses, pull
out the gun from underneath
a trench coat after walking
into his fourth-period gov-
ernment class before lunch.
Thayne praised football
coach and security guard
Keanon Lowe who stopped
Granados-Diaz from hurt-
ing himself or anybody
else.
“He is a hero,” Thayne
said. “Things I’ve heard
from my client confirm the
things that have been said.”
Lowe said he had walked
into the classroom about
20 seconds before Grana-
dos-Diaz that day and was
looking for the student in
response to a security call.
Lowe was called because
two students had told a
staff member of “concern-
ing behavior” from Grana-
dos-Diaz, according to the
Parkrose School District.
In college, Lowe was
a star wide receiver at the
University of Oregon, play-
ing from 2011 to 2014.
Police
say
Grana-
dos-Diaz had a single round
in his shotgun while on cam-
pus and wasn’t carrying any
other weapons or ammuni-
tion. He didn’t fire the gun
while at the school.
Under Oregon law, a per-
son can be charged with dis-
charge of a firearm if they’re
accused of firing or trying to
fire a gun.
Longtime Oregon
state Sen. Jackie
Winters dies
SALEM (AP) — Veteran
Republican state Sen. Jackie
Winters has died, accord-
ing to House Speaker Tina
Kotek. She was 82.
Kotek
made
the
announcement on the floor
of the House on Wednes-
day, and called for a minute
of silence.
Winters,
who
was
re-elected in the 2018 elec-
tion to represent the Salem
area, had been ill with cancer
and had been absent from the
Legislature for some time.
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
EastOregonian.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255
or go online to EastOregonian.com
and click on ‘Subscribe’
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday,
Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers
Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR.
Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Copyright © 2019, EO Media Group
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
Subscriber services:
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
EZPay
52 weeks
26 weeks
13 weeks
Local home delivery Savings (cover price)
$13/month
60 percent
$173.67
41 percent
$91.86
38 percent
$47.77
36 percent
*EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit
or debit card/check charge
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday through Saturday
Circulation Manager:
Bonny Tuller, 541-966-0828
ADVERTISING
Regional Publisher and Revenue Director:
• Christopher Rush
541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com
Advertising Services:
• Angela Treadwell
541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com
• Grace Bubar
541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com
Multimedia Consultants:
• Jeanne Jewett
541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Office Coordinator
• Dayle Stinson
541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
Classified & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News:
email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini
at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818.
• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit eastoregonian.
com/community/announcements
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
Business Office Manager:
541-966-0824
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com