A12 OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Saturday, June 22, 2019 Republicans: GOP senators threaten lawsuit in climate standoff Continued from Page A1 “It’s time for the Senate Republicans to show up and do the job they were elected to do,” Brown, a Democrat, said at a news conference Thursday. But none of the GOP senators appeared Friday morning. A GoFundMe to cover the rogue lawmakers’ expenses and fines raised over $4,000 in less than a day. State Police can force any senators they track down in Oregon into a patrol car to return them to the Capitol, although the agency said in a statement that it would use “polite communication” and patience to bring the rogue lawmakers back. Knopp con- firmed that he was contacted by the state police, but he said he declined the superinten- dent’s request to return back to the statehouse. The GOP senators will be fined $500 a day per per- son if enough of them remain absent to prevent a vote. Democrats have an 18 to 12 majority in the chamber, but need 20 members present for a quorum. One GOP senator recently died and has not yet been replaced. The state police don’t have jurisdiction outside Oregon. But the Oregon State Police confirmed Thursday eve- ning it was working with out of state agencies to track the Republicans down. Republicans aren’t just holding up a climate plan, but a significant portion of the state budget including fund- ing for the state’s health care, foster care and higher educa- tion agencies. “If we don’t get that passed, we’re going to see some real disruption in the services that people depend on,” said Sen- ate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland. The Legislature this week approved a continuing resolu- tion to prevent those agencies from shutting down, funding them at current service lev- els in the event a budget isn’t approved by June 30, the con- stitutional end of session. Knopp said Republicans would be willing to return to the statehouse to solely vote on budget bills. “We would come back if that’s what Democrats want to vote on,” he said. “At this time, that hasn’t been offered. As far as I’m concerned, the Democrats are responsible for this impasse.” Burdick said it’s not Republicans’ “job to dictate what we can pass and what we can’t pass.” “They’re responsible for being here,” she said. The walkout also puts other major Democratic pri- orities on hold, including affordable housing, tobacco taxes and paid family leave. Legislation addressing these topics sailed through the House Thursday, but their fate remains uncertain with the Senate shutdown. This is the second time in this legislative session that minority GOP lawmakers have used a walkout as a way to slow the process. Demo- crats have a rare supermajor- ity in the House and Senate, meaning Republicans don’t have many ways to influence the debate. Republicans walked out of the Senate last month to block a school funding tax package. The standoff lasted four days, until the governor struck a deal to table legisla- tion on gun control and vac- cine requirements. Under the proposed cap- and-trade bill, Oregon would put an overall limit on green- house gas emissions and auc- tion off pollution “allow- ances” for each ton of carbon industries plan to emit. The legislation would lower that cap over time to encourage businesses to move away from fossil fuels: The state would reduce emissions to 45% below 1990 levels by 2035 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Those opposed to the cap-and-trade plan say it would exacerbate a grow- ing divide between the lib- eral, urban parts of the state and the rural areas. The plan would increase the cost of fuel, damaging small busi- ness, truckers and the log- ging industry, they say. “We just don’t believe we need to be bystanders for the majority to push a Mult- nomah County agenda on the rest of the state when it’s going to damage our constituents irrevocably,” said Knopp, referencing the county containing the city of Portland. Democrats say the mea- sure is an efficient way to lower emissions while invest- ing in low-income and rural communities’ ability to adapt to climate change. It has the support of environmen- tal groups, farmworkers and some trade unions. The proposal also con- tains a $10 million invest- ment to protect workers adversely affected by climate change policy. California has had for a decade an economy-wide cap and trade policy like the one Oregon is considering. Nine northeastern states have more limited cap-and-trade programs that target only the power sector. School: Reese oversaw school budget during tough times Continued from Page A1 “Bob was without a doubt a man of integrity of the highest degree,” Jones said. “In the 10 years he worked for the district, he faced declining enrollment and years and years of cuts. He had strong ties to the community, but difficult decisions had to be made.” The decade at the school district was only a part of Reese’s professional jour- ney, which began with a job as assistant buyer for Bon Marche in Seattle (after earning a business degree at Washington State Univer- sity). Following additional schooling at University of Washington’s Executive Development School, he dove into the banking world, eventually landing at Pend- leton’s Western Heritage Federal Savings and Loan, which later merged with Benjamin Franklin Fed- eral Savings and Loan. He rose to vice-president and regional manager. Hap Cooley, manager of U.S. Bank and Columbia River Bank, valued Reese’s honesty and perspective. “Even though we were competitors, we grew to be close friends,” Cooley said. “Society could benefit from having more people like Bob Reese around.” When Reese’s banking career required a move to Portland in 1990, he found himself in a dilemma. “His 10-year-old twins informed him they were not going,” said Reese’s wife, Sherry. Instead of moving, Reese got a job at St. Anthony Hos- pital as vice-president of ancillary services. In 1995, he became a vice-president at Coldwell Banker Whit- ney & Associates. He joined the school district in 1999. After his retirement 10 years later, he worked part- time for the InterMountain EO File Photo Bob Reese speaks at a Pendleton Economic Development Board meeting on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, in Pendleton. Education Service District. In 2006, he ran for Uma- tilla County Commis- sioner. After handily beat- ing four challengers in the primary, Reese lost to Mil- ton-Freewater-area rancher Larry Givens in the general election. Current Commissioner George Murdock backed Reese’s campaign. As Store: Round-Up Association plans new construction after 2019 rodeo Continued from Page A1 and architects have spent the past year collaborating on the design phase. O’Neill said the design process wasn’t beset by obstacles and delays. Rather, the length of the process was a result of each side wanting to be thorough. A sense of deliberateness has permeated the Round- Up’s expansion plans, which will see the venerable rodeo expand its property footprint west and south. The Round-Up started purchasing land west of Southwest Byers Avenue in 2017, but the association only mentioned Blue Moun- tain Community College as a potential partner for a project on the land. The Round-Up has since publicly committed to the Blue Mountain Regional Training Center, and is wait- ing on word from the Ore- gon Legislature to fund so it can donate land to BMCC for an indoor arena and classroom space. The association also staved off years of spec- ulation about its interest in the vacant Albertsons property, only publicly announcing its definitive interest in the property after purchasing it in Jan- uary 2018. The Round-Up then held discussions about the future use for about six months before settling on its current plans. The Round-Up’s new building, to be located on the northeast corner of the parking lot, will consolidate its retail, ticket, and admin- istrative operations under one roof. All of them are currently spread around the Round-Up grounds and the Round-Up and Happy Can- yon Hall of Fame. O’Neill said contractors will break ground on the new facility after this year’s Round-Up, with an expected completion date of August or September 2020. The Round-Up presi- dent also said progress is being made on their west- ern expansion. He said the construction crews will soon be on scene to demolish the Southwest Byers strip mall that used to be anchored by Fron- tier Tavern. Workers will also demolish a few vacant houses, their residents already having relocated to new homes. The long-term vision for the property is to serve BMCC’s purposes for the Blue Mountain Regional Training Center, but in the interim the Round-Up plans to use it for parking for con- testants, rodeo contractors, and production personnel during Round-Up week. Although the park- ing isn’t open to the public, O’Neill said it could lead to more parking in other places. With more space avail- able for rodeo personnel, O’Neill said that could open up public parking from pri- vate landowners within a 1-mile radius who previ- ously served cowboys and their cohorts. “That’s a step in the right direction,” he said. Plastic: Retailers prepare to lose plastic bags Continued from Page A1 “It inconveniences people to make them feel better,” he said. His market uses sin- gle-use plastic bags now, but he said they would prob- ably switch to paper. A lot of the neighborhood mar- ket’s customers walk to the store, however, and he said he had yet to find a paper bag with good enough han- dles to allow them to carry home more than one bag at a time. “We sell a lot of beer and drinks that are pretty heavy,” he said. Major retail chains, such as Walmart and Safeway, have already been deal- ing with such a ban in other states and cities. “Walmart is aware of the legislation and will be ready to comply with any new laws,” Tiffany Wilson, direc- tor of communications for Walmart, said in an email. In February, the company announced new initiatives to reduce plastic waste not only from the bags people use to carry their groceries home, but also in the packaging for products. One of its goals is to “achieve 100 percent recy- clable, reusable or industri- ally compostable packaging for its private brand packag- ing by 2025.” It also set up bins at stores for people to drop off their used bags to be recycled into new ones, and is developing alternatives to plastic products like sin- gle-use forks. “This announcement sends a positive signal to the marketplace, especially in the United States,” Steve Alexander, CEO of the Asso- ciation for Plastics Recyclers, said in a statement. “We applaud Walmart for estab- lishing such a strong recy- clable packaging goal and encourage others to pursue similar ambitions.” Oregon’s plastic bag ban is also joined by a bill requiring restaurants to only give plas- tic straws to customer who specifically ask for them. A third bill, which would have banned styrofoam take-out containers, did not pass. superintendent of the Inter- Mountain ESD, Murdock had worked closely with Reese on financial matters. “School districts across Eastern Oregon and beyond respected his understand- ing of school finance and business issues in general,” Murdock said, “and he was frequently called upon as a resource.” Reese wore many other hats over the years, serving on a plethora of boards and commissions. He also had a love for sports. His father, William “Red” Reese, amassed a 473-298 win-loss record as head coach of football, bas- ketball and track at East- ern Washington University. Reese joked that he learned to read while looking over his father’s shoulder as he read the sports pages. Reese, always a diehard Mariners and Washing- ton State University foot- ball fan, played baseball in high school. His father missed most of his games, because of college games and recruiting trips. Reese’s wife, Sherry, said her hus- band vowed to attend his children’s athletic events. He became a swim dad, poolside as all four children swam for the Pendleton Swim Association. As the starter for 17 summers of swimming, he had a great view of the action. In the past four years, Reese’s health grew pro- gressively worse. The cou- ple moved to Seattle to be near their son. Reese read a lot, with five or six books going at once. He loved Zane Grey or anything about history. At the end, he watched movies with Sherry, even chick flicks, she said. She laughed as she thought about that, but got serious as she reflected back on Bob’s life. “He knew he had an administrative gift and he loved to use that gift for the betterment of every- one he was working with,” she said. “He did it with humility.” Reese’s friend Warren Stewart agrees. “He was a gracious man,” he said, “who spread a lot of good will around Pendleton.”