Thursday, June 13, 2019
143rd year, no. 171
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Brush fire near Hermiston kicks off fire season
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
herMIsTOn — a series of
fires along railroad tracks near
Hermiston kept firefighters busy
Wednesday afternoon.
The five fires, which started at
roughly 11 a.m., burned between
Walls road and highway 730
northeast of hermiston. uma-
tilla County Fire district Chief
scott stanton said the cause of the
fires were under investigation, but
looked like they had likely been
sparked by a train.
On Wednesday afternoon about
3 p.m. stanton was supervising
mop-up operations at the fires.
he said they were not large — the
one he was at looked to be about
5 acres.
“They were in heavy brush and
trees, not just grass, so that made it
more difficult,” he said.
umatilla rural Fire Protection
district, echo Fire department
and Boardman rural Fire Protec-
tion district assisted in the effort.
stanton cautioned area res-
idents to be extremely careful
during what he predicts will be a
dangerous fire season.
“The grasses are cured and
ready to burn,” he said. “It’s going
to be a windy day tomorrow, and
it’s getting hot and dry.”
The national Weather ser-
vice in Pendleton also warned
of an increase risk for wildfires
Thursday.
The agency reported thunder-
storms were likely Wednesday
evening over central and east-
Judge Johnson
ern Oregon and portions of cen-
tral Washington. Then winds will
increase over the area Thursday.
The gusts and the low humidity
will lead to “red flag conditions.”
The red flag warning is for
Thursday afternoon until 10 p.m.
Westerly winds of 15 mph will
increase to 25 mph, and humidity
will be 15-20 percent. “Any fires
See Fire, Page A8
OCB Photo/Claire Withycombe
Log truck drivers rallied at the Cap-
itol on Wednesday to protest House
Bill 2020, which will implement a
cap-and-trade program. Despite their
presence, the bill passed out of its fi-
nal committee 13-8. It will get a vote
in the House on Monday.
air horns of
protest can’t
stall climate bill
By AUBREY WIEBER
Oregon Capital Bureau
of the CTuIr Board of Trustees and
chairman of the CTuIr General Coun-
cil — the only tribal member ever to do
that.
In 1980, he began serving as associ-
ate judge in the umatilla Tribal Court
and then acting chief judge. His first
term as chief judge began in 1988.
a few accomplishments during John-
son’s time as chief judge especially
stand out.
In 2011, at Johnson’s urging, the
CTuIr Board of Trustees voted to cre-
ate an independent judiciary with sep-
aration of powers. This was a neces-
sary move, he said, that ensured that
the court was autonomous from tribal
democrats appear to have the
support to move forward on a mas-
sive environmental plan to price
carbon after a week of turmoil and
uncertainty.
house Bill 2020, which would
implement a cap-and-trade program,
passed out of the Joint Committee on
Ways and Means on Wednesday. It
now goes to the House floor for a vote
scheduled for Monday. It’s the most
significant piece of legislation still in
the works, with the legislative session
ending in two weeks.
The legislation — and the 116th
amendment proposed on it — passed
out of committee on a 13-8 party vote
with sen. Peter Courtney, d-salem,
temporarily sitting in for sen. Betsy
Johnson, d-scappoose. Johnson, the
most conservative of the senate dem-
ocrats, has been a vocal opponent of
the bill, saying it would destroy the
state’s economy.
at about 20 minutes, it was easily
the shortest of the 20 hearings the bill
has endured.
Business trade groups have long
opposed the bill, but individuals
working in industry have also made
themselves seen in hearings for
months. Wednesday was no different,
as log truckers rallied in front of the
Capitol in the morning before filling
See Judge, Page A8
See Climate, Page A8
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Judge William D. Johnson, right, is sworn in by Judge David Gallaher during a ceremony Wednesday at the Nixyaawii Governance
Center in Mission.
Judge first CTUIR member to pass Oregon bar
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
PendLeTOn — Judge William
d. Johnson stood in the rotunda at the
nixyaawii Governance Center and
raised his right hand.
This wasn’t the first time for John-
son. he was swearing in for his fourth
10-year-term as chief judge of the uma-
tilla Tribal Court. The 90,635-square-
foot governance center where he stood
on Wednesday afternoon didn’t even
exist the first time he took the oath.
Johnson is the first member of the
Confederated Tribes of the umatilla
Indian reservation to graduate from law
school or to pass the Oregon Bar. Before
the ceremony, he agreed to sit down and
talk about his long career and his pas-
sion for tribal law.
he traces his interest in law to a mag-
azine story he read in the early 1970s.
“I saw a newsweek article about
Indian lawyers,” Johnson recalled. “It
said there were only two in the whole
nation at the time. I saw that and thought,
‘I could do that.’”
The Pendleton high school graduate
did his undergrad work at Oregon state
university and then studied law at the
university of Oregon.
Johnson runs through his bio in an
understated way.
after a stint as a prosecutor for Lane
County, he headed back home to prac-
tice as an attorney. still in his 20s, he
simultaneously served as both chairman
Council sets rules for buying fire station
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PendLeTOn — as the Pend-
leton Fire department prepares to
move to its new digs at 1455 s.e.
Court Ave., its current fire station
at 911 s.W. Court ave. will go on
the market for the first time in its
59-year history.
But the city isn’t simply looking
for the highest bidder to take over
the property. Pendleton city staff
explained how they expect to find
the ideal buyer for the site through
the request for proposal process at
a Pendleton City Council workshop
Tuesday.
City Planner George Cress said
staff developed the process to pro-
vide the city with flexibility in
deciding who should own the fire
station next.
a draft letter advertising the
request states that the city is looking
for an experienced developer that
proposes a concept that contributes
to Pendleton “fiscally, socially, and
environmentally.”
“The project should be finan-
cially successful on its own as well
as having a broader catalytic or sim-
ulative effect that will lead to fur-
ther redevelopment, higher property
values and increased spending in the
downtown,” the letter states. “Ide-
ally the Project should go beyond
something that is minimally feasible
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
See Council, Page A8
A Pendleton Fire engine backs into one of the bays of the Court Street fire
station after returning from a call Wednesday in Pendleton.