REGION
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
Rep. Walden’s town hall turns testy in Athena
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
ATHENA — The Athe-
na-Weston area has typically
been friendly turf for Rep.
Greg Walden.
Amid a series of raucous
town halls hosted by GOP
members of Congress, the
Hood River Republican got
a polite reception in Weston
in early 2017, even as the
forum turned to hot button
issues.
When Walden accom-
panied Federal Communi-
cations Commission Chair-
man Ajit Pai on the Eastern
Oregon leg of his tour of
rural communities, a round-
table discussion in Weston
on rural internet access went
smoothly while the pair was
greeted by protesters at a
stop in Pendleton.
A Sunday afternoon town
hall in Athena followed
much of the same script
until some pointed questions
at the end of the event led to
some contention.
In his opening remarks
and his interactions with
the audience, Walden talked
about his work on multi-
ple bills that would allow
federal agencies to thin out
federally managed forests
further.
He said a thinner forest
would decrease fuel loads
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, answered questions Sunday,
during a mostly friendly town hall at Athena Elementary
School.
Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer, left, listens
during Rep. Greg Walden’s town hall on Sunday at Athena
Elementary School.
and keep forest fi re from
getting out of control.
Assisted throughout the
town hall by a staffer who
cycled through a slideshow
presentation, Walden cited
a statistic that states that 95
percent of the acres burned
in wildfi res in 2017 was in
U.S. Forest Service land.
“We’re 80 million acres
behind,” he said. “We’re
going to lose it all if we don’t
(do the work).”
Josh Walker, a town hall
attendee, pushed Walden
to acknowledge climate
change’s role in forest fi res
and asked him if he sup-
ported the Green New
Deal, a proposed resolu-
tion that would cut green-
house gas emissions to a net
zero over 10 years through
and investing in high speed
rail, and “(w)orking collab-
oratively with farmers and
ranchers in the United States
to eliminate pollution and
greenhouse gas emissions
from the agricultural sec-
tor as much as is technologi-
cally feasible.”
Aides for Rep. Alexan-
dria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.,
the legislator who co-spon-
sors the resolution, have said
a draft FAQ was mistak-
enly released and have since
taken it down.
As Walker and Walden
sparred over the Green
New Deal and “Medicare
for All,” some members of
the audience grew agitated
and directed that agitation at
Walker.
But Walden urged the
a job guarantee, universal
health care and investment
in green technology and
infrastructure.
Walden said he believes in
climate change, but opposed
the Green New Deal.
After noting its monetary
expense, Walden brought up
an FAQ for the Green New
Deal that referenced banning
cows and air travel while
promising “economic secu-
rity for all who are unable or
unwilling to work.”
Media fact checkers have
noted that the text of the
Green New Deal resolution
does not explicitly reference
airplanes and cows or the
“unwilling to work” line.
Instead, the resolu-
tion calls for “overhaul-
ing transportation systems”
Eastern Oregon sweep fi nds
12 violations at job sites
82
Milton-
Freewater
UMATILLA
3
204
11
o
Wash.
Ore.
Idah
Oregon Construction
Contractors Board
investigates job sites
from Ontario to
Boardman
Pendleton
Boardman:
Three violations
La Grande:
Two violations
84
WALLOWA
82
Enterprise
74
Inspections
yield violations
Source: Oregon Construction Contractors Board
license number.)
One for not carrying
employees and not having
workers’ comp insurance.
One for not listing all
Assumed Business Names
on the license record.
One for not having a
license to conduct lead-
based paint renovation.
Baker City
One for not listing all
Assumed Business Names
on the license record.
La Grande
One for not having a
license to conduct lead-
based paint renovation.
One for not meeting min-
imum contract standards.
Boardman
Two for not carrying
employees and not having
workers’ comp insurance.
One for advertising
violations.
Jessup said it was the
board’s policy not to pub-
lish contractor names until
there is a fi nal order. He also
stated the board does not
track specifi c sweep out-
comes after recording the
original allegation.
According to the contrac-
Milton Freewater, OR
iver
7
BAKER
N
84
a k 10 miles
e Ri
v
26
Ontario: Six
violations
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
tors board, “Nearly every-
one who repairs, remodels
or builds a home needs a
CCB license, meaning they
are bonded and insured and
can pull required building
permits.”
To verify licenses, visit
www.oregon.gov/ccb, and
type the license num-
ber or name in the orange
“Search” feature. You can
see if licenses are active,
whether the contractor car-
ries the endorsement for
residential work and if the
name and other information
on the license matches the
contractor you are consider-
ing. You also can call 503-
378-4621 for help search-
ing or understanding the
results.
Contractors and con-
sumers can report unli-
censed contractors and
other illegal activity on the
CCB’s website or by calling
503-934-2246. Addition-
ally, the contractors board
provides mediation ser-
vices to help iron out dis-
putes that arise between
homeowners and licensed
contractors. And people
who use unlicensed con-
tractors don’t have access
to the service.
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Program highlights new
landlord tenant laws
TIGARD — The Oregon State Bar will
host a free public seminar addressing sig-
nifi cant changes to landlord-tenant laws in
Oregon
“Legal Q&A: An Update to Landlord/
Tenant Law in Oregon” is Wednesday, July
10 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The presenta-
tion is designed for non-lawyers, both land-
lords and tenants. It will explain key legal
changes that affect those who live in or own
Oregon rental properties.
The program is available via live web-
cast or in-person at the Oregon State Bar
center, 16037 S.W. Upper Boones Ferry
Road, Tigard. While the event is free,
pre-registration is required.
To register for the live webcast, visit
www.tinyurl.com/LandLordTenantWeb-
cast or for the in-person event, go to www.
tinyurl.com/LandlordTenantUpdate. For
questions, call 503-431-6413 or 1-800-452-
8260, ext. 413.
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The Oregon Construction Contractors Board found a dozen
violations during a sweep June 3-7 in Eastern Oregon. Five
fi eld investigators visited 115 sites in all from Ontario to
Boardman.
Three advertising viola-
tions (all advertising must
include the contractor’s
SUMMER
203
30
er
The Oregon Construction
Contractors Board found a dozen
violations during a sweep June
3-7 in Eastern Oregon. Five field
investigators visited 115 sites in
all from Ontario to Boardman.
Ontario
CLEARANCE SALE!
Baker City:
One violation
UNION
Snak
e R
244
Sn
PENDLETON — Spot
inspections in early June
at construction jobs sites
in Eastern Oregon found a
dozen possible violations of
contracting regulations.
The Oregon Construc-
tion Contractors Board
reported the sweep was
part of an 11-state action
the National Association
of State Contractor Licens-
ing Agencies coordinated
to target the construc-
tion industry. The Ore-
gon agency concentrated
its investigators at job sites
from Ontario to Boardman
and is sending notices of
intent to issue civil penal-
ties for violations.
Chris Huntington, CCB
administrator, stated the
enforcement highlights the
board’s efforts to protect
consumers and business
throughout Oregon.
“All Oregonians deserve
protection from unlicensed
contractors,” he said, “just
as all legitimate contractors
deserve to benefi t from a
level playing fi eld.”
Stan Jessup is the
enforcement program man-
ager for the Oregon board.
He said fi ve fi eld investiga-
tors visited 115 sites June
3-7 and alleged fi nding an
even dozen violations of
contractor laws or rules.
“The violation count
is low probably due to the
distance between sites and
the fact that contractors
will gravitate to areas with
higher volumes of work,
such as the bigger towns,”
he said.
The team ran 20 checks
for state Building Codes
Division licenses, visited
30 homes for lead-based
paint renovation and found
52 “unattended active job
sites.” Jessup provided the
following breakdown of the
local inspections:
395
MORROW
Ore.
Idah
o
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
237
audience to be respectful
and the town hall eventually
moved on.
Sue Petersen of Pendle-
ton, a member of the Uma-
tilla County Democratic
Party, asked Walden about
the “concentration camps”
that house immigrant asy-
lum seekers near the
U.S.-Mexico border.
Walden disagreed with
calling the detention centers
“concentration camps,” and
later added that “we need to
secure our borders.”
He recalled a trip he
took to an Offi ce of Refu-
gee Resettlement facility
near the border, describing a
place where minors receive
medical and mental health
services, attend classes, and
are allowed to call family in
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their home countries.
But Petersen continued to
push Walden on the condi-
tions at the facilities, saying
that there were babies who
were going without diapers.
Walden said he wasn’t
familiar with that spe-
cifi c complaint, and later
expressed sympathy for the
people running the deten-
tion facilities.
“Can you imagine run-
ning any kind of facility
where you have no control
of who comes in the door
every day, and that you’re
responsible for?” he said.
“It’s a humanitarian crisis.
It’s a border that’s not secure
and it’s a broken immigra-
tion system. We have a lot of
work to do.”
Amid some of the con-
tentious exchanges, Wayne
Kostur, a retired educa-
tor and Athena city coun-
cilor, asked about why there
couldn’t be more bipartisan
agreement.
Walden said there’s
plenty of bipartisan legis-
lation that passes through
Congress, it just doesn’t get
the same kind of attention
that the more polarizing
issues do.
At the beginning of the
town hall, Walden high-
lighted his work to combat
robocalls, which he said has
bipartisan support.
City prepares to reapply for
$25 million grant
PENDLETON — The city of Pendleton
is set to take another swing at a big federal
grant.
At a meeting Tuesday, the council will
consider approving a $2 million match for
a $25 million BUILD grant that would sig-
nifi cantly alter the Interstate 84 Exit 209
interchange to ease traffi c.
The city unsuccessfully applied for the
grant last year, but according to a staff
report, Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion told city offi cials that Pendleton’s proj-
ect just missed the fi nal cut.
With ODOT also providing a $2 million
match, the city would use the grant to pay
for the $26 million fi rst phase of the project.
The fi rst phase is focused on the north
side of the interchange and would involve
access improvements, right-of-way pur-
chase, street widenings, and a new signal-
ized intersection.
The staff report states that the city and
ODOT don’t have enough money for the
second and third phases of the project,
which would include improvements to the
Tutuilla Road-Southwest Hailey Avenue
intersection.
If the council approves the match, the
$2 million would be paid for by borrow-
ing money from the Oregon Transportation
Infrastructure Bank. The council would
need to decide on a funding source and the
payment terms at a later meeting.
The grant application is due at the end of
July and the U.S. Department of Transpor-
tation will make a decision in the fall.
The council meeting will be held Tues-
day at the council chambers in city hall, 500
S.W. Dorion Ave.
Driver cited after crashing
into commercial truck on I-82
UMATILLA — A two-vehicle crash
on Interstate 82 Friday morning resulted in
one driver being transported to the hospital
and cited for following too closely.
According to Oregon State Police Ser-
geant Seth Cooney, Michael P. Coulson, 22,
of Mattawa, Washington, was driving a red
Nissan Rogue eastbound on Interstate 82
near milepost 2 when he struck the back of
a commercial semi-truck driven by Edward
T. Garduno, 70, of Thornton, Colorado,
shortly before 11 a.m.
After striking the truck, Coulson’s vehi-
cle traveled across the median into oncom-
ing traffi c on the westbound side, struck an
orange construction barrel, traveled back
to the eastbound side and stopped in the
median.
“He narrowly missed a bus (on the west-
bound side),” Cooney said.
Coulson was transported with minor
injuries to Good Shepherd Medical Center
and was cited for following too closely.
Oregon State Police, Umatilla Police
Department, Umatilla Rural Fire Protection
District and Umatilla County Fire District 1
and the Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion assisted at the scene.
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