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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2019)
A4 East Oregonian Friday, October 25, 2019 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner ANDREW CUTLER Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor JADE McDOWELL Hermiston Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW Amtrak: Unlikely, but idea has merit E nough time has passed — 22 years — since the last Amtrak passenger train rolled to a stop in Baker City, La Grande or Pendleton that some people likely have only a hazy memory, if any at all, of seeing the train parked at the Pendleton Station on South Main and Frazer streets. A group of people who think 22 years is too long for Umatilla County and the rest of Northeastern Oregon to go with- out train service plans to meet Saturday at La Grande to talk about their cam- paign to get Amtrak back on our local rails. The Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates (AORTA — railroads as transportation arteries, get it?) will meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cook Memorial Library, 2006 Fourth St. History — or at least the past 22 years of it — suggests their quest has more than a slightly quixotic flavor. But however unlikely, their goal is reasonable. Amtrak’s Pioneer route, which ran from Seattle to Chicago, passing through Pendleton, Baker City, La Grande and Ontario, among other stops, was can- celed due to budget cuts. But Jon Nuxoll of Eugene, AORTA’s president, argues that the need for passenger trains has increased rather than receded since 1997. He makes a compelling case. ued, Northeastern Oregon has been part of a gaping blank spot on the passenger rail service map. To the north, Amtrak’s Empire Builder runs between Seattle and Chicago, with connecting trains from Portland through the Columbia Gorge and the Tri-Cities, Washington. To the south, the California Zephyr rolls daily from San Francisco to Chicago by way of northern Nevada, Salt Lake City and Denver. Since 1997 there has been an occa- sional flurry of interest, sometimes involving members of Congress, in reviving the Pioneer route, or at least a version of it. In 2009, at the urging of lawmak- Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Transportation An Amtrak Cascades train leaves Portland’s station in this file photo. A group of people who ers including Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden think 22 years is too long for Umatilla County and the rest of Northeastern Oregon to go and Rep. Greg Walden, Amtrak com- without train service plans to meet Saturday at La Grande to talk about their campaign to piled a preliminary report estimating the get Amtrak back on our local rails. costs of restarting the Pioneer route. That Amtrak is not a perfect solution to Other forms of transportation haven’t report predicted annual operating losses rendered Amtrak superfluous in the past local transportation issues, to be sure. ranging from $25 million for a Seattle to It’s not the least expensive option. Rid- Salt Lake City route, to $35.3 million for two decades. Greyhound has only one daily bus on ing from, say, Portland to Spokane would a Portland to Denver train. Interstate 84 from Portland to Boise, and cost $93 to $219, depending on the type But after an absence of 22 years it’s one from Boise to Portland. of seat. difficult to predict how much pent-up For scheduled passenger flights, then And Amtrak is heavily subsidized by demand there might be in our region for as now, we have to drive to Pendleton or the federal government — close to $2 daily passenger trains. Costs and subsi- Boise. billion annually in recent years. dies aside, environmental factors could And the freeway has been more likely But taxpayers have been propping play a role, as well, as studies have to close due to inclement weather and up Amtrak since long before the Pio- shown that trains are more efficient, rashes of crashes over the past decade neer route was canceled. And for the past using less energy per passenger mile, than was the case during the 1990s. than buses, automobiles and airlines. 22 years, even while subsidies contin- OTHER VIEWS New economic catalysts boost Eastern Oregon counties I YOUR VIEWS McLeod-Skinner for secretary of state As we prepare for 2020 pri- maries, which are only seven months away, the public was afforded a great look at the Democratic candidates for sec- retary of state at the Demo- cratic Party of Oregon Sum- mit in Bend last weekend. The secretary of state is the sec- ond-highest elected executive in the state of Oregon, and as such deserves great attention. While the candidate pool is strong, I have decided to support Jamie McLeod-Skinner. I support Jamie for the fol- lowing reasons: • She has the depth and breadth of experience to address all major aspects of this role: supervising elections and audits, registering businesses, managing public records and management of public lands. She also has experience man- aging large numbers of govern- ment employees, which will be critical in this role. • She is a candidate that will keep her promises and hold true to her values even when under pressure. • She can serve all Orego- nians — as she demonstrated in her campaign for CD2 she will show up, she will listen to understand, and she will work together to address complex issues facing this state. Jamie understands that we have more in common than divides us, and is the candi- date for secretary of state that has the experience and skills to do the job and values building community across the state. Jamie McLeod-Skinner has my vote! Janet Marrs Cove Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. t’s often said “the only con- industry partners like Malheur stant in life is change.” Lumber, Oregon Torrefaction Recent visits to new eco- and Iron Triangle to develop new nomic catalysts growing in markets for forest products that Grant and Umatilla counties used to burn up in slash piles big- ger than semi-trucks. have shown me how both com- munities have embraced that And I’m working to get even adage to build on their traditional more biomass to support fam- ily-wage jobs by pressing the strengths to generate good-pay- ing jobs in Eastern Oregon. administration for even more Lots of rural Oregon faces real fuels reduction and thinning on economic hurt, which is the national forests. why I wrote the Secure This torrefaction proj- ect in Grant County and Rural Schools legislation the people behind it have that’s brought more than shown the entire country $3 billion over the years all that can be accom- to those communities for plished with biomass — schools, roads and pub- lic safety. and provided a valuable But earlier this month job-creating model to S en . R on at Malheur Lumber just learn from. W yden outside John Day, I also A similar good-news COMMENT saw new shoots of eco- Eastern Oregon eco- nomic story is play- nomic success when I ing out up U.S. 395 in Umatilla toured the new Restoration Fuels County. site. This plant taps innovative This summer, I toured the technology to take the biomass of small trees and convert it — via a Pendleton Airport hangar where process called torrefaction — into the aerospace company PAE ISR has set up shop to work on a non-fossil fuel energy source. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The technology is astounding. As at Malheur Lumber, the And so is the economic oppor- tunity — I heard firsthand from new technology developed by plant officials how they’re hiring PAE ISR — and the jobs they people in this rural Oregon town support in Eastern Oregon — at family-wage salaries. are impressive. In Pendleton, I These developments are a met with PAE ISR workers earn- ing six-figure salaries. And I met credit to farsighted leaders at PAE ISR manager Ken Bisconer, Malheur Lumber, such as com- pany owner John Shelk, who’s who’s passionate about creat- ing new education programs so committed to maintaining the sawmill in John Day. I was proud young people have the skills and training to work in this well-paid to team with Malheur Lum- ber, Iron Triangle and the for- field. est collaborative to push for a UAV technology is hugely 10-year stewardship contract that exciting for Eastern Oregon. I’m increased timber harvest and a a privacy hawk, but I think we steady, certain supply of biomass. can thread the needle and support This forest restoration work UAV technology for civilian uses isn’t easy. It requires folks work- like mountaintop rescue, preci- ing together to find common sion agriculture, fighting wild- fires and more without sacrificing ground, and it required local The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. privacy protections. And just as in Grant County with biomass, these changes in Pendleton didn’t happen by osmosis. They’re a credit to local visionaries such as Pendleton Mayor John Turner, Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock, Pendleton Economic Development/Airport Manager Steve Chrisman, and Oregon National Guard Colonel Alan Gronewald. Pendleton and Eastern Oregon can take justifiable pride in carv- ing out a big part in the core of a growing industry that pays well and creates a whirlwind of fresh economic activity. I see my job representing Ore- gon as setting the temperature for fresh new enterprises to grow in rural Oregon. And I’m honored to have partnered with local officials to ensure new enterprises such as UAV test ranges could develop in Pendleton as well as in Warm Springs and Tillamook. We have extended operation of these test ranges through 2023, and I will keep fighting for these proven job generators. Of course, there’s no single solution to ensuring the rural Oregon economy can flourish. But I believe these posi- tive examples of smart change in Grant and Umatilla counties are significant shoots of success that should be celebrated. These examples — along with support for historic rural Oregon enter- prises, such as agriculture, ranch- ing and forestry, as well as new opportunities in areas like recre- ation and hemp — can continue creating new good-paying jobs for generations to come. ——— Ron Wyden is the senior U.S. senator for the state of Oregon. Send letters to the editor to editor@eastoregonian.com, or via mail to Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
