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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Friday, August 30, 2019 Walden acknowledges gun bill error Oregon representative inaccurately describes House-passed bill in radio interview their ranch.” Jenkins added that Walden was also concerned that, under the bill, ranchers could face penalties if they loaned an employee a gun to protect livestock from predators. The Eastern Oregon leg- islator has walked a careful line on gun issues. Walden said he’s willing to tighten some gun laws. But he has also maintained an “A” grade from the National Rifle Association, which has taken a hard line against attempts to tighten restric- tions on guns. The group strenuously lobbied against the background checks bill that passed the House. Following the mass shoot- ings earlier this month in El Paso and Dayton, Walden declined several requests by OPB to discuss gun issues. He did release a statement last week that defended his overall approach, but he did not address gun legislation now under discussion by President Donald Trump and congressional leaders. In an interview Tuesday with KEX Radio talk show host Mark Mason, Walden said he supported efforts to “clean up the background check system” and ensure that “we can keep the guns By JEFF MAPES Oregon Public Broadcasting PORTLAND — Ore- gon Rep. Greg Walden acknowledged Wednes- day that he inaccurately described a House-passed bill he opposed that calls for expanded criminal background checks on gun purchases. In an interview this week on KEX Radio in Portland, Walden said he voted against the measure because it would make it illegal for some- one to swap shotguns with a companion while hunting if they didn’t first go through a background check. However, the bill explic- itly exempts the temporary transfers of firearms for hunting, fishing and trap- ping purposes. Walden spokeswoman Molly Jenkins said in an email that the Republican congressman “acknowl- edges that he misspoke on KEX. What he was intend- ing to reference was if they were out shooting around Staff photo by Kathy Aney Rep. Greg Walden answers a question Wednesday at a town hall in Heppner. out of the hands of the crim- inal elements.” But he defended his Feb. 27 vote in the House against a measure that would expand background checks to cover private transfers of firearms. “I admit I voted ‘no’ on it and here’s why,” Walden told Mason. “You know, if I’ve got a farmer out in East- ern Oregon and his son-in- law shows up and they go out pheasant hunting, under their law they tried to pass in the House, if he loaned his son-in-law his shotgun — they just traded shotguns — without going some- where and getting a back- ground check, it would be a Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY Partly sunny and very warm Very warm with some sun Clouds and intervals of sunshine Mostly sunny and nice Plenty of sunshine 90° 60° 90° 63° one-year [in prison] felony, $100,000 fine.” However, that legisla- tion, H.R. 8, says someone can temporarily transfer their firearm if it is “reason- ably necessary for the pur- poses of hunting, trapping, or fishing.” During the debate over the House legislation, Repub- licans repeatedly sought broader exemptions for farmers and ranchers. They also wanted to expand the exemption from background checks for family members to include a broader circle of those with family ties, such as in-laws. Democratic lead- ers refused, saying they did 88° 61° 85° 58° 87° 58° 93° 66° 93° 64° 91° 63° 88° 61° OREGON FORECAST 90° 60° ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 71/60 84/55 90/57 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 91/65 Lewiston 77/58 95/63 Astoria 71/56 Pullman Yakima 92/59 76/54 92/63 Portland Hermiston 79/61 The Dalles 93/64 Salem Corvallis 78/51 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 87/54 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 82/55 87/52 89/57 Ontario 95/59 Caldwell Burns 89° 66° 85° 54° 102° (1972) 36° (1937) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 80/53 Trace 0.05" 0.19" 4.61" 5.15" 6.11" WINDS (in mph) 93/58 87/48 Trace 0.12" 0.40" 9.73" 6.52" 8.35" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 83/53 81/55 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 90/60 87/60 89° 68° 84° 55° 106° (1915) 36° (1927) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 78/56 Aberdeen 85/60 88/63 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 78/61 Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 92/59 Sat. WSW 7-14 WNW 6-12 WSW 6-12 W 6-12 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 85/50 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 6:13 a.m. 7:38 p.m. 6:16 a.m. 8:16 p.m. New First Full Last Aug 30 Sep 5 Sep 13 Sep 21 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 109° in Needles, Calif. Low 27° in Yellowstone N.P., Wyo. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY dren and six adults. A bill requiring back- ground checks on all firearm sales at gun shows, spon- sored by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Vir- ginia and Republican Sen. Patrick Toomey of Pennsyl- vania, failed to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. And when Democrats took con- trol of the House following the 2018 elections, one of their first priorities was to pass a more expansive back- ground check bill. Following the violence in Dayton and El Paso, Trump and congressio- nal leaders have been dis- cussing whether they can reach agreement on gun legislation. Walden told KEX that he might also support national legislation on so-called “red flag” laws. Those allow judges to temporarily remove firearms from peo- ple deemed to be in immi- nent danger of violent action against themselves or others. Walden noted that Ore- gon has a red flag law that has raised some questions but that “seems to be working.” At the same time, Walden said he also has “an obliga- tion to stand up for the Sec- ond Amendment.” Union County man pleads not guilty to murder charge By SABRINA THOMPSON La Grande Observer PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST not want to introduce too many loopholes. Still, the first example that Walden mentioned — a rancher and a son-in-law out shooting on the ranch — could be covered by the hunt- ing exemption. And depend- ing on the circumstances, so could the second example. Robin Lloyd, manag- ing director for the Giffords Law Center, a gun-control group, said the exemption in the bill is intended to cover limited loans for hunting. What would not be covered is a long-term loan, she said. “It was not meant to bur- den everyday Americans who are passing firearms along to their sons or daugh- ters, or who use them regu- larly for hunting and trap- ping,” Lloyd said, adding that “it was meant to create a system that does not have the loopholes that exist in our system today.” The legislation passed the House last February on a 240-190 vote, with only eight Republicans in support. Democratic and Republican leaders have been heatedly wrangling over background checks ever since the 2012 shoot- ings in Newtown, Connecti- cut, that led to the deaths of 20 elementary school chil- LA GRANDE — Ronald Lee, who was arrested in Feb- ruary and charged with mur- der and conspiracy to com- mit murder of his soon-to-be ex-wife, Loretta Williams, in November 2018, pleaded not guilty in a hearing Tuesday. Lee, 71, has remained in the Union County Jail since his arrest. Tuesday’s hearing was to state his plea, and for the state of Oregon to prove that he is rightfully being held without bail. Lee is accused of having shot and killed Williams at her Cove home. She called 911 about 1:40 a.m. about a man in her yard, and dispatch- ers overheard a confrontation in the background and a loud noise before losing contact with her, according to the 911 call. When officers arrived they found Williams dead of one or more apparent gunshot wounds, The Observer previ- ously reported. During the hearing, the state submitted 50 pieces of evidence in addition to wit- ness testimony to prove there is reason to hold Lee without bail. Evidence included the 911 call Williams made, tes- timony from Union County Sheriff’s Office lead detective Jason McKaig and ballistics information. When McKaig took the stand, Union County Dis- trict Attorney Kelsie McDan- iel asked him to detail the events that led up to, during and after Nov. 17, 2018, when Williams was killed in her home. McDaniel asked Det. McKaig questions regard- ing the case and the evidence they had found as part of the investigation. Prior to her death, Wil- liams and Lee were going through a tumultuous divorce, McKaig said. The record and testimony by McKaig showed Williams filed for divorce on July 18, 2018. According to McKaig’s investigation and court doc- uments, during this time Lee had hired an associate, Deva Williams, to drive him around because Lee’s license had been suspended for driv- ing under the influence of intoxicants. According to McK- aig’s testimony, Williams recalled Lee making state- ments about wanting to kill his wife and saying he could kill her and get away with it. Also according to McKaig’s testimony, Williams said Lee’s behavior was getting increasingly erratic and vio- lent in November 2018, and he planned to stop acting as Lee’s driver. During this time, Loretta Williams’ friends and family said, she had begun making plans for the future, including getting a new job and selling the house. The divorce depo- sitions were set for a week after Thanksgiving, five days before she was killed. The audio of the 911 call Williams made the night she was murdered was played for the court Tuesday. In it Wil- liams can be heard talking about a man in her yard wear- ing a black jacket. The dis- patcher asks for her address, and Williams identifies the man in her yard as her hus- band, Ron Lee, according to McKaig and the judge’s remarks regarding the 911 call, which lasted about two minutes. In the recording, Williams yells, “Ron Lee, stop!” The sounds of gunshots and glass breaking are heard, and Wil- liams cries out that she has been shot. In all, a total of five shots can be heard on the audio. “It’s the victim of a homi- cide speaking beyond the grave,” McDaniel said. When the Union County Sheriff’s deputies and Oregon State Police troopers arrived at the scene, they found the house’s sliding glass back door had been shattered and Williams was dead on the floor between the dining room and the kitchen, according to McKaig’s testimony. Within a few hours, the police found Lee in his trailer, McKaig said Tuesday. When told of his wife’s death, Lee did not seem upset by the news, McKaig said. Lee later agreed to an interview with the police. In the interview he described Williams as “crazy” and as having suicidal tendencies, and he claimed he was the one who wanted the divorce, according to McK- aig’s testimony. BRIEFLY Magnitude 6.3 earthquake rumbles 150 miles off Oregon coast COOS BAY — An underwater earth- quake with an initial 6.3 magnitude has struck off the Oregon coast. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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