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
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for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold
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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