NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Former councilor suing county, sheriff
“ W e
believe that
our rights
to privacy
and peace of
mind were
violated by
Ash
Sheriff Ash
and Baker
County. Having waited as
long as legally possible for
a better resolution, we per-
ceive a civil complaint as
the only appropriate course
of action. We will therefore
present the matter to a Fed-
eral jury and let the people
decide.”
Ash said that Nilsson
is “making false and inac-
curate accusations” in the
lawsuit.
Ash said an attorney is
representing himself and
the county.
In the lawsuit, Nilsson
writes that he “has experi-
enced 2 years of emotional
distress, inability to create,
imagine, work, or simply
be happy, due to stress and
anxiety.”
He also contends that he
is “regularly followed and
intimidated by local police,
and treated like a criminal
by the community,” and
that he has “required treat-
ment for depression result-
ing from sustained negative
bias against him.”
In the lawsuit Nilsson
cites an editorial in the
By JAYSON JACOBY
EO Media Group
BAKER CITY — A
former Baker City coun-
cil member who pleaded
guilty to criminal mischief
in November 2017 after he
was cited that summer at
the abandoned lime plant
near Huntington has filed a
civil rights lawsuit against
Baker County and Sheriff
Travis Ash, seeking $1.3
million in damages.
Adam David Nilsson,
48, filed the suit in August
in U.S. District Court in
Pendleton. He is demand-
ing a jury trial.
Nilsson, who is repre-
senting himself, claims the
county and Ash violated his
constitutional rights under
the Second and Fourth
amendments while serving
a search warrant in August
2017 at the Baker City home
where Nilsson and his wife,
Upekala, live.
Nilsson also claims that
sheriff’s deputy Gabe Mal-
donado violated his Second
Amendment rights during
the Aug. 1 incident at the
lime plant when he searched
Nilsson for a handgun, for
which Nilsson had a con-
cealed carry permit.
In a statement emailed
to the Baker City Herald on
Thursday, Nilsson and his
wife wrote:
EO Media Group Photo/S. John Collins, File
The abandoned lime plant near Huntington, which was dismantled in 2018, where then-Bak-
er City council member Adam Nilsson was cited for criminal mischief and trespassing on Aug.
1, 2017.
“We believe that our
rights to privacy and
peace of mind were
violated
by Sheriff Ash
and Baker County”
Adam David Nilsson
Herald that called for him
to resign as a city coun-
cilor, and an effort to recall
him from office that failed
because the petitioner
didn’t gather enough sig-
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Nice with clouds
and sun
Rather cloudy
Spotty showers in
the afternoon
Some sun, then
turning cloudy
Mostly cloudy with
a shower
81° 53°
77° 52°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
64° 49°
72° 48°
74° 50°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
84° 56°
80° 56°
72° 53°
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
66/59
75/50
78/50
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
81/60
Lewiston
71/57
85/57
Astoria
69/56
Pullman
Yakima 78/53
68/57
81/56
Portland
Hermiston
76/59
The Dalles 84/56
Salem
Corvallis
74/53
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
83/47
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
79/56
82/48
86/51
Ontario
88/51
Caldwell
Burns
82°
61°
80°
49°
94° (2009) 33° (2014)
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
76/54
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
88/54
0.00"
Trace
0.15"
4.61"
5.15"
6.27"
WINDS (in mph)
88/53
87/42
0.00"
0.58"
0.20"
10.32"
6.52"
8.58"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 81/46
76/56
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
81/53
80/55
79°
54°
79°
51°
97° (1948) 28° (1921)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
70/57
Aberdeen
70/52
73/56
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
70/59
Today
Sun.
WSW 6-12
WNW 4-8
WSW 7-14
WNW 7-14
the Baker City Public Arts
Commission as well as the
city council in 2017, said
he and a friend, Ashley E.
Schroder of Portland, had
ridden on his motorcycle to
the lime plant to view and
photograph a painting that
had been done on the prop-
erty, which is owned by
Baker County and is posted
with no trespassing signs.
In the lawsuit Nilsson
writes that he was nego-
tiating with the artist,
who goes by Thrashbird,
to procure public art for
Hunting, fishing to expand on
77 national wildlife refuges
Expansion adds
more than 1.4
million acres
nationwide
75° 50°
76° 52°
OREGON FORECAST
natures to put the matter on
the ballot.
Nilsson,
who
was
appointed to fill a vacancy
on the city council in Feb-
ruary 2014, declined to run
for a full term.
“Mr. Nilsson’s life, his
relationships with his com-
munity, his family, and with
authority, sustained perma-
nent damage,” the lawsuit
reads. “He will never again
believe in privacy, or expe-
rience the comfort of feel-
ing truly secure.”
Nilsson, who served on
Baker City.
Maldonado cited Nilsson
for trespassing with a fire-
arm and criminal mischief,
and Schroder was charged
with trespassing.
In
November
2017
Nilsson pleaded guilty
to one count of third-de-
gree criminal mischief, a
Class C misdemeanor, for
spray-painting graffiti at
the lime plant. The charge
of criminal trespass while
in possession of a firearm
was dismissed in a plea
agreement with the dis-
trict’s attorney’s office.
In January 2018 Nils-
son filed tort claim notices,
a precursor to a lawsuit,
saying he intended to sue
both Baker County and the
Baker City Police Depart-
ment and employees of both
agencies.
Nilsson’s
complaint,
both in 2018 and reiter-
ated in the lawsuit, stems
both from the incident at
the lime plant and the sub-
sequent search by police of
his home at 307 Hillcrest
Drive that took place on
Aug. 9, 2017.
In the lawsuit Nilsson
contends that the search
was in retaliation for his
decision to complain to
Ash, on Aug. 2, 2017, about
the way he was treated by
Maldonado and then-Lt. Jef
Van Arsdall.
By MONICA SAMAYOA
Oregon Public Broadcasting
WASHINGTON
—
The Trump administration
is expanding hunting and
fishing opportunities in 77
national wildlife refuges.
The U.S Fish and Wild-
life Service eliminated or
revised thousands of regula-
tions to closely match state
laws.
The expansion added
more than 1.4 million acres
nationwide and more than
doubled the acreage that has
been opened or expanded in
the last 5 years combined.
“We are pleased to offer
all Americans access to
hunting and fishing oppor-
tunities and other recre-
ational activities on refuge
and hatchery lands where
they are compatible with
our conservation manage-
ment goals,” U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Principal
Deputy Director Margaret
Everson said in a statement.
“This generations-old heri-
tage of hunting and fishing
is all about loving outdoor
traditions and time spent
with family.”
In the Pacific North-
west, 10 national wildlife
refuges and national fish
hatcheries have added or
expanded hunting and fish-
ing opportunities.
In Oregon, 100 additional
fishing days have been
added at Bandon Marsh
and Nestucca Bay national
wildlife refuges and 85
additional hunting days
at McKay Creek National
Wildlife Refuge.
In Washington, San
Juan Islands National Wild-
life Refuge and the Spring
Creek, Leavenworth, Little
White Salmon and Entiat
national fish hatcheries
will open to sport fishing
for the first time. In addi-
tion, the Billy Frank Jr. Nis-
qually National Wildlife
Refuge will open more land
to waterfowl hunting this
season.
The final rule also out-
lines a comprehensive revi-
sion and simplification of all
refuge-specific hunting and
fishing regulations in all 50
states to more closely match
state regulations while con-
tinuing to ensure safe and
compatible opportunities.
The U.S Fish and Wild-
life Service said it worked
closely with the states in
preparing the rule.
Critics say the Trump
administration’s
latest
efforts to open public land
to recreation and the oil
industry are coming at the
expense of the environment
and wildlife.
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
85/40
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
6:32 a.m.
7:09 p.m.
7:51 p.m.
6:48 a.m.
New
First
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 108° in Thermal, Calif. Low 11° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
Sep 21
Sep 28
BRIEFLY
Full
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Oct 5
Oct 13
Columbia River barge lock
to return to service Sept. 30
PORTLAND — Huge barges carrying
wheat, wood and other goods will remain
at a standstill for the rest of the month
while workers repair a critical navigation
lock at the Bonneville Dam on the Colum-
bia River.
The locks will reopen Sept. 30, officials
with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in Portland said Wednesday. The naviga-
tion lock was closed Sept. 5 after operators
detected problems and further investiga-
tion revealed cracked concrete.
The closure comes at the peak of wheat
harvest and could be devastating for farm-
ers who ship to Asia via barges that fill up
at more than two dozen grain elevators
along the river network as far inland as
Lewiston, Idaho.
“It’s important to recognize the patience
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
from our Columbia River users, who
depend on this critical piece of infrastruc-
ture to run their businesses,” Portland Dis-
trict Commander Col. Aaron Dorf said.
“It is not lost on anyone in the Portland
District that this outage has tremendous
impacts to Columbia River users. Between
now and Sept. 30, our teams will be work-
ing around the clock to construct the new
sill to restore Columbia River traffic.”
The crack in the concrete sill was dis-
covered after the lock was drained of water
over the weekend. On Monday, emergency
repair crews were working to demol-
ish the faulty concrete section so repairs
could begin, according to Chris Gaylord,
a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engi-
neers. Work on the lock also will include
drilling holes for rebar, forming the new
sill structure and allowing time for the
concrete to cure.
— Associated Press
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
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