REGION
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
District 57 representative worries about saving for a rainy day
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Oregon Legislature passed a
balanced budget and funded
new programs and proj-
ects this year. But Rep. Greg
Smith, R-Heppner, is hoping
that the next budget cycle will
see a better balance of spend-
ing and saving.
Smith, who met with the
East Oregonian’s editorial
board on Aug. 8, said the state
needs to prepare for the next
economic downturn, when-
ever that may be.
“We balanced the bud-
get and we were able to fund
many good projects, but I will
share with you that comes at a
cost,” he said.
As the most senior mem-
ber of Oregon’s House of Rep-
resentatives, and as someone
with years of experience on
the Legislature’s revenue and
spending committees, Smith
knows that Oregon’s reve-
nue won’t stay “sky high” for-
ever. And when the economy
starts its next downward fluc-
tuation, reduced revenue will
mean cuts unless the state
sets aside more money now.
The
Oregon
Health
Authority is of particular
concern, Smith said. Nobody
wants to see people lose
their health insurance, but if
there’s a drop in revenue and
the state wants to continue
funding everyone on the Ore-
gon Health Plan, “that has to
come out of education and
public safety.”
One solution for setting
money aside would be chang-
ing Oregon’s kicker law. Cur-
rently, if tax revenues come
in more than 2% higher than
the state economist forecast
for that biennium, the excess
revenue is returned to Ore-
gon taxpayers in the form of a
rebate check based on income.
It takes a two-thirds majority
vote in both houses of the Leg-
islature to divert any kicker
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, speaks Friday during a legisla-
tive panel at the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit at Herm-
iston High School.
money elsewhere.
Smith called the kicker
“bad tax policy,” but said he
couldn’t see Oregonians vot-
ing to do away with it alto-
gether anytime soon.
“There no doubt in my
mind we need to set aside
excess revenue, but people
don’t trust the Legislature,”
Smiths said. “They think we’ll
use it to backfill PERS.”
That’s exactly what Gov.
Kate Brown proposed in
May. Under her proposal, the
next kicker would be capped
at $1,000 per person and the
extra $500 million would
be put toward helping K-12
schools with pension costs,
with a small amount also
going toward rural broadband
and housing.
House Speaker Tina Kotek
also introduced a bill this
summer to use half of the
kicker for seismic upgrades
to Portland-area interstate
bridges and pollution-fighting
initiatives.
Neither proposal went
anywhere.
Despite worries the state
isn’t saving enough for a rainy
day, overall Smith was pleased
with many outcomes of the
2019 session. His first focus is
always taking care of the five
counties in District 57, he said,
and the district came away
with several policy and fund-
ing wins.
While a wide variety of pri-
orities in Umatilla and Mor-
row counties did get funded,
including a mental health-fo-
cused upgrade for the Uma-
tilla County Jail and funding
for more early childhood edu-
cation classrooms in the area,
Smith said one of the things
that remains to be funded is
BRIEFLY
Hermiston schools get ‘Buddy Benches’
USFS seeks
volunteer
campground host
Class of 1999
help raise funds
to finish project
By JESSICA POLLARD
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — When
the recess bells ring later this
month, elementary school
students will have a place to
go if they find themselves
without a playmate thanks
to recent the installation of
10 benches across Hermiston
School District’s elementary
school playgrounds.
These aren’t just ordi-
nary benches. They’re Buddy
Benches — or “friendship
benches” — which are meant
to be a safe space for students
to sit when they’re lonely or
having a bad day. Other stu-
dents can visit the bench and
invite kids to chat and play.
“The Buddy Benches
create a beautiful opportu-
nity for students to be kind,
to see someone who doesn’t
have a friend to play with,
who may be having a bad
day,” said Melissa Purswell,
who teaches sixth grade
at Armand Larive Middle
School.
Purswell, who also heads
Armand Larive’s Kindness
Club, secured grant funding
from the Hermiston Educa-
tion Foundation for Buddy
Benches last year.
After meeting with prin-
Staff photo by Jessica Pollard
Alumni from the Hermiston High School Class of 1999 as-
semble a Buddy Bench at Rocky Heights Elementary School.
cipals at the elementary
schools, Purswell said it was
decided that each of the five
schools should have two
benches — one for their
smaller and one for their
main playground. Purswell
found herself five benches
short of this goal.
That’s when members of
the Hermiston High School
class of 1999, who celebrated
their 20-year reunion last
weekend, stepped in.
Cody Hawes, a 1999
alumnus who now lives in
Utah, caught wind of Pur-
swell’s plan to get Buddy
Benches to Hermiston’s
schools.
“We have Buddy Benches
in Utah, and they’re really
helpful for limiting bully-
ing,” Hawes said.
He, in partnership with
other class of 1999 alumni,
started a GoFundMe cam-
paign, which raised more
than $1,200 in three days.
Most of the donations,
Hawes said, came from the
group of former Hermiston
High School graduates.
A crew of seven alumni,
along with Purswell and her
son, installed the benches
Saturday. Purswell said
Armand Larive’s Kind-
ness Club will be making an
informational video for stu-
dents about how to use them.
“It’s our job as adults to
not only create opportuni-
ties for our students to prac-
tice kindness in action but
to model it. I can’t wait for
the students to use these
benches,” she said.
Pendleton woman faces attempted murder
East Oregonian
WALLA WALLA —
Milton-Freewater
bur-
glary suspect Amanda
Maria Warren remains
in jail in Walla Walla on
charges ranging from theft
to attempted murder after
police in Burbank, Wash-
ington, shot her.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Office identified
Warren, 38, of Pendleton,
as the suspect who ripped
off an elderly man on July
26 at his home on Birch
Creek Road northeast of
Milton-Freewater. Accord-
ing to the sheriff’s office,
Warren offered to clean the
man’s residence, but she
left with his wallet and two
handguns.
Warren on Aug. 3 was
involved in a police chase
that ended with gunfire.
According to the Wash-
ington State Patrol and
other agencies, Warren
and another woman, Chey-
anne Weems were suspects
of a burglary at a home in
Waitsburg,
Washington,
and took off from the scene
in a Toyota Prius. Walla
Walla County sheriff’s dep-
uties spotted the car and
gave chase on Highway 12.
Speeds reached 100
mph, and law enforcement
backed off due to the dan-
ger. Weems bailed out near
Dixie, Washington, where
police arrested her.
Warren kept on until
police stopped her at Bur-
bank. According to author-
ities, she waved a gun, and
a Franklin County deputy
and two Washington State
Patrol troopers fired their
handguns, striking her at
least once.
Warren remained in
a hospital until Thurs-
day, when the Walla Walla
County Sheriff’s Office
arrested her on numerous
charges for the run from
and show-down with the
police. She faces counts
of eluding, possession of a
stole vehicle, failure to com-
ply with police, burglary,
theft, robbery, unlawful
imprisonment, second-de-
gree assault and first-degree
attempted murder.
According to the Walla
Walla County Sheriff’s
Office, some of the charges
stem from Warren trying
to pull off the same bur-
glary scheme as in the Mil-
ton-Freewater case.
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The sheriff’s office
reported Warren earlier on
Aug. 3 offered to clean the
house of an 88-year-old
man near College Place.
She then attacked the vic-
tim and took off in the
Prius. Weems, 29, may have
joined Warren at that point.
Warren also faces charges
in Columbia County, Wash-
ington, for felony attempt
to elude.
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla National Forest
is looking for volunteers to
serve as campground hosts
at Bull Prairie Lake Camp-
ground from now until Octo-
ber — duration is dependent
on user use, but no later than
Oct. 15.
A camp host greets camp-
ers, provides information on
the surrounding area, and
generally makes campers
feel at home. Hosts will visit
with campers and day-use
visitors, clean and maintain
restrooms, restock supplies,
occasionally clean up after
campers, and carry out minor
maintenance as needed. They
keep an eye on things and set
a good example for others in
the campground.
Individuals or couples can
apply to be hosts. Retirees
often apply to the camp host
program, finding it the ideal
way to spend the summer
in a beautiful setting. Hosts
need to be friendly, flexible
and responsible. Host appli-
cants may be subject to a
criminal background check.
Those who apply will
need to supply their own
trailer, camper, or motor
home. Camp hosts will be
provided a campsite, usu-
ally near the main entryway
to the campground. Though
the host program is a volun-
teer program, a food allow-
ance and propane is offered,
and personal vehicle mile-
age associated with hosting
duties is reimbursed.
Bull Prairie Lake Camp-
ground is located 36 miles
south of Heppner.
Police department
warns about
business scam
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Police Department
is warning the local business
Garbage rates
increase for west
side of county
HERMISTON — Uma-
tilla County customers of
Sanitary Disposal Inc. of
Hermiston will pay more for
garbage service come Sept. 1.
The company holds the
waste collection franchise
for Hermiston and asked
the county to approve a rate
increase. Mike Jewett, pres-
ident of Sanitary Disposal,
told the county board of
commissioners at its meeting
Wednesday the company has
about 3,200 customers in the
county and most would pay
$20.10 per month for service,
an increase of $1.70.
He explained Sanitary
Disposal lost approximately
$296,000 last year due to the
lack of recycling stemming
from China no longer taking
recyclables from the United
States. The rate increase
would account for inflation
for 2019, 2020 and 2021, Jew-
ett said, and make up for the
loss in revenue.
He
added
Morrow
County approved the rate
increases, which went into
effect in Boardman in July
and becomes effective on
Jan. 1, 2020, in Irrigon.
Umatilla County com-
missioners approved the rate
increase with a vote of 3-0.
— East Oregonian staff
8/13
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August 14-17, 2019
Fair Admission: FREE
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FAIR: www.co.morrow.or.us/fair
Wednesday, Aug. 14 th
Thursday, Aug. 15 th
Bounce Houses~Arcades
4-H/FFA Conformation
Judging Ventriloquist Vikki
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4-H Food Contest
FREE Tillamook Ice Cream
Perry Gerber Band
Ventriloquist Vikki Green
FFA Floral Design
4-H Food Contest
Small Animal Showmanship Grand Champion Market
Drive
Talent Show
Murray’s Wine Tasting
4-H/FFA Livestock Judging
Featuring: Brady Goss
4-H Fashion Revue
RDO Tractor Pull
Trevor Tagle
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community about a scam tar-
geting employees.
On Facebook, the depart-
ment encouraged business
managers to contact law
enforcement if they received
a call from a person claim-
ing to be an investigator and
wanting information about
cash on hand.
In an interview Monday,
Police Chief Stuart Roberts
said the warning was spurred
by an incident at Shari’s
around 1:15 a.m.
An employee answered
a call from a person claim-
ing to be an investigator from
Shari’s corporate office who
wanted to know how much
money was in the till and
safe.
Roberts said the employee
hung up and reported the
call to the police. He said the
caller may have been trying
to find out how much money
Shari’s had on hand for a
future robbery, but he added
that it was just speculation.
If residents receive a sim-
ilar call or any other kind of
phone scam, Roberts advised
them to obtain the scammer’s
phone number and informa-
tion before hanging up.
Scammers can be difficult
for law enforcement to locate
because they’re often calling
from overseas and use tech-
nology to obscure the phone
number they’re actually call-
ing from.
Roberts said police hear
about potential scams each
week and a few people each
year are unfortunate enough
to fall for them.
He urged residents to
think critically when receiv-
ing calls asking for personal
or financial information.
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a behavioral health center in
Morrow County.
He had hoped that the jail
upgrade in Pendleton would
help serve the Morrow County
area too, but said further con-
versations with law enforce-
ment have helped him see
Morrow County needs fund-
ing to take care of people in
crises closer to home.
Smith said during the next
two legislative sessions he
also wants to see more focus
on initiatives to help com-
munity colleges and other
higher education, as they were
“neglected” in this session’s
focus on early childhood edu-
cation and K-12 funding.
He said the Legislature
also needs to come up with a
way to balance concerns about
pollution and climate change
with concerns about stifling
business and industry. The
Senate Republicans’ walkout
put a halt to the cap-and-trade
bill this session, he said, but
that issue is not going away.
THANK YOU TO ALL
OUR SPONSORS!
Friday, Aug. 16th
OMSI~Bounce Houses~Arcades
4-H/FFA Showmanship
Ventriloquist Vikki Green
Frappes & Flowers w/ Murray's Country Rose
Perry Gerber Band
Chili Cook-Off Contest
Dunk Tank - County
commissioners~administration~employees
Master Showmanship
OTPR/Ranch Rodeo
Music after rodeo by:
Dan Burns 3D productions
Saturday, Aug. 17 t h
OMSI~ Bounce Houses~Arcades
Parade
Ventriloquist Vikki Green
FFA Awards
Buyers Luncheon
Livestock Auction
OTPR/Ranch Rodeo
Music after rodeo by:
Dan Burns 3D productions
www.facebook.com/oregontrailprorodeo
www.facebook.com/morrowcountyfairheppneroregon