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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.”