WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019
143rd Year, No. 185
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
$1.50
Brown, Democrats tout session a success
Democrats cite work
to attack the state’s
housing crisis as a key
accomplishment
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The highly pub-
lic downfall of a legislative plan
to cap the state’s greenhouse gas
emissions cast a long shadow
over the last two weeks of the leg-
islative session.
Despite its acrimonious con-
clusion, though, Gov. Kate Brown
and other Democrats were quick
to tout their successes during the
session.
People across the state, from
working parents to students to
business owners, will be affected
by the Legislature’s work, which
concluded Sunday evening.
Democrats cite as key accom-
plishments work to attack the
state’s housing crisis, provide
paid leave from work for new
parents and other caregivers and
to ask Oregonians whether the
state can set limits on campaign
donations.
“I just think this has been an
incredibly productive session,”
said Senate Democratic Leader
Ginny Burdick of Portland.
“We’ve achieved things that have
been kind of the Holy Grail for
years, primarily school funding.”
Brown told reporters on Mon-
day that she’d been fi ghting for
See Brown, Page A8
We hope you enjoy this
expanded holiday edition of
the East Oregonian.
We will not publish a paper
on Thursday, July 4, but have
included comics for Thursday
(Page A7) in today’s paper. We
will publish our next edition
on Friday, July 5.
PENDLETON
City council
takes second
shot at $25
million grant
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
New Milton-Freewater superintendent Aaron Duff poses for a portrait outside Gib Olinger Elementary School. Duff , a 14-
year veteran of the district, will offi cially begin his duties as superintendent this week.
Aaron Duff hired as next Milton-Freewater school district superintendent
By ALEX CASTLE
East Oregonian
M
ILTON-FREEWATER
—
It didn’t take long for Mil-
ton-Freewater Unifi ed School
District to fi nd its next leader.
Within less than a week of the posi-
tion’s opening, MFUSD tabbed Aaron
Duff as its new superintendent on June
24.
The district’s chief position opened
after Rob Clark, who had served as
superintendent over the past six years,
announced his resignation on June 18.
Duff, 39, has spent the last two years as
the director of business and operations
for the district and will offi cially replace
Clark following his departure on July 3.
“I, to be honest, was not quite pre-
pared for it to come about as quickly as
it did,” Duff said.
Upon his resignation, Clark recom-
mended Duff to the school board. Hav-
ing worked with him over the last two
years, Clark said he saw Duff’s poten-
tial to replace him just six months into
their time together.
“He’s a great individual and a solid
educator,” Clark said. “What you see
with him is what you get. He’s a very
forward guy.”
PENDLETON — Banking on
some positive signs from a previ-
ous failure, the city of Pendleton is
gearing up for another run at a $25
million federal BUILD grant.
At a Pendleton City Council
meeting Tuesday, members unani-
mously agreed to approve a $2 mil-
lion match to the grant from the
U.S. Department of Transportation.
Combined with a $2 million
match from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation, the city
plans to use the resulting $29 mil-
lion to fi x a longstanding traffi c
issue — the Interstate 84 Exit 209
interchange.
As Southgate transitions to
Southeast Emigrant Avenue going
northbound, vehicles line up in the
left turn lane as they wait to turn
onto Southwest 20th Street.
The turn lane queue combined
with heavy traffi c going both ways
makes it diffi cult for Exit 209 traf-
fi c north of the freeway to turn left
on Emigrant or proceed forward
onto Southwest Frazer Ave.
To remedy this issue, the city
and ODOT are proposing street
widenings and a new signalized
intersection.
The grant would also fund the
extension of a section of Southwest
Perkins Avenue south of the Inter-
Mountain Education Service Dis-
See Super, Page A8
See Grant, Page A8
Oregon lawmakers expand Farm-to-School Program
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon’s Farm-to-
School and School Garden Network
is poised to expand after state law-
makers approved a bill tripling the
program’s budget.
House Bill 2579 passed June 29
as Senate Republicans returned to
work from a nine-day walkout in
opposition to a controversial carbon
pricing scheme known as cap and
trade. The senators rushed to vote
on numerous bills over two days in
order for the Legislature to adjourn
by June 30.
That included HB 2579, which
cleared both the House and Senate
unanimously.
The Farm-to-School Program
awards non-competitive grants
to school districts across Oregon,
reimbursing them for buying locally
grown and processed food. Any dis-
trict can opt in, and funding is deter-
mined based on the number of meals
served under the National School
Lunch Program — with a minimum
award of $500 for smaller districts.
Districts can also apply for sep-
arate competitive grants to fund
school gardens and educational
activities, teaching kids about
agriculture.
Rick Sherman, Farm-to-School
and School Garden coordinator for
the Oregon Department of Educa-
tion, said the program started in
2012 with just $200,000. The cur-
rent budget is $4.5 million, and now
HB 2579 will provide an additional
Capital Press Photo, File
See Farm, Page A8
Students are served beef sandwiches in Yamhill as part of the Farm-to-School
Program.