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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2020)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Court ruling could green light contested energy projects By JAKE THOMAS Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Two contro- versial energy projects in the Columbia River Gorge area could move forward as the result of a ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court. The court’s ruling on Jan. 15 concerns admin- istrative rules adopted in 2018 by the state Energy Facilities Siting Coun- cil, which oversees and imposes conditions on the construction and opera- tion of large energy proj- ects. The rules would have changed the process for the certification of energy sites and drew a challenge by conservation group Friends of the Columbia Gorge. Last year, the court determined that the rules were invalid after Friends of the Columbia Gorge argued the council didn’t follow the right procedures in adopt- ing them. In response, the council adopted nearly identical rules but on a tem- porary basis. Friends of the Colum- bia Gorge, joined by other conservation groups, again challenged the rules. But the court found the state could legally adopt the rules on a temporary basis. Nathan Baker, staff attorney for Friends of the New York Times Photo/Leah Nash, File Turbines spin at a large wind farm launched more than a decade ago in Sherman County in north-central Oregon. Other projects would bring more turbines to Eastern Oregon if approved. ects that have drawn hun- dreds of public comments in opposition. He said the state authorization for both projects were issued years ago and would have expired if not for amendments allowed under the contested rules. One project affected is the Summit Ridge Wind Project, proposed for a site 14 miles southeast of The Columbia Gorge, said his group’s primary concern was that the way the rules were adopted shut out the public and made it difficult for citizens to participate. “That’s never a good thing,” he said. “There needs to be transparency and an open public process.” He said the temporary rules were used to advance two controversial proj- Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Dalles in Wasco County. According to the state council’s website, the proj- ect would include 72 wind turbines that would have a peak generating capacity of 194 megawatts that would be sold to the Bonneville Power Administration. Friends of the Colum- bia Gorge contended the project would impair views along the lower Deschutes A few showers in the afternoon 43° 35° 44° 41° Cloudy; rain at night Mostly cloudy Rather cloudy PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 54° 44° 53° 42° 55° 40° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 44° 34° 45° 40° 53° 43° 55° 43° 56° 41° OREGON FORECAST 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 48/43 39/31 42/28 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 42/36 Lewiston 49/44 44/37 Astoria 50/44 Pullman Yakima 41/32 47/42 42/31 Portland Hermiston 50/44 The Dalles 44/34 Salem Corvallis 51/43 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 42/30 Bend 53/44 44/33 43/31 Ontario 41/29 Caldwell Burns 0.00" 0.13" 0.84" 0.13" 1.14" 0.84" WINDS (in mph) 45/30 40/23 PORTLAND — Mari- juana sales in Oregon along the Idaho state line are 420% the statewide average, according to a state report. Idaho residents are pur- chasing recreational mari- juana in Oregon because it is illegal in Idaho, the report released Friday by the Ore- gon Office of Economic Analysis said. The report also showed stronger marijuana sales for Washington along its bor- der with Idaho in 2019 than along its borders with Ore- gon or Canada. “The sales in counties PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene 41° 31° 42° 29° 60° (2010) -32° (1930) 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 51/44 0.00" 0.86" 1.00" 0.86" 1.45" 1.00" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 41/27 51/44 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 43/35 41/35 39° 30° 42° 28° 67° (1968) -18° (1930) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 48/41 Aberdeen 38/32 36/28 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 49/44 Today Medford 48/39 Wed. SSW 4-8 S 6-12 Boardman Pendleton S 4-8 S 6-12 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 38/27 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:28 a.m. 4:45 p.m. 4:52 a.m. 1:56 p.m. New First Full Last Jan 24 Feb 1 Feb 8 Feb 15 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 77° in Hollywood, Fla. Low -30° in International Falls, Minn. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY -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. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2020, EO Media Group 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front Chiloquin man arrested following shooting, house fire that closed Highway 97 KLAMATH FALLS — A Chiloquin man is in custody after a prolonged standoff in which Klamath County Sheriff’s Office deputies were shot at and a home set on fire, according to a sheriff’s office news release. Steven Earl White, 55, is being held at the Klamath County Jail. At approximately 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Klamath County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call of shots fired in a resi- dence on U.S. Highway 97 near Chiloquin, about 100 miles south of Bend. Upon arrival, deputies were fired upon by a subject inside the residence. Deputies made several unsuccessful attempts to encourage the suspect to give himself up, and at approximately 9:30 p.m. deputies prepared to make entry into the res- idence in order to take the subject into cus- tody. The subject had started a fire in the res- idence in an attempt to evade arrest. White was arrested and is being held at the Klamath County Jail. Law enforcement officers from Klamath Falls Police Department, Oregon State Police and the U.S.Forest Service assisted Klamath County Sheriff’s Office in taking White into custody. There were no injuries suffered by 110s high low SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings (cover price) $13/month 60 percent $173.67 41 percent $91.86 38 percent $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1.50 Tuesday through Saturday Circulation Dept. 800-781-3214 75% of Oregon sales and about 35% of Washington sales in counties along the Idaho border were caused by the border effect. Idaho borders three states that have legalized recreational marijuana sales including Oregon, Wash- ington and Nevada, officials said. Advocates for legaliz- ing medical marijuana have started collecting signatures to get an initiative on the general election ballot, the Idaho Statesman reported. The number 420 is a colloquial term referenc- ing marijuana or cannabis consumption. responders or White and light damage to one KCSO patrol vehicle when it came under fire from the suspect. Grand jury charges SOU hall-of-famer in Ashland poaching case ASHLAND — A Southern Oregon Uni- versity football Hall of Famer who had a brief career in the NFL will face a felony charge for an alleged deer poaching within Ashland city limits in which a bullet struck a house. A grand jury charged Dustin “Dusty” McGrorty, 38, of Riddle, with a felony charge of unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor poaching and trespassing crimes surrounding the taking of a “4x4” trophy-class buck last fall, according to documents filed earlier this week in Jackson County Circuit Court. McGrorty allegedly fired a round from the seat of his truck while the animal was sleeping underneath a large bush near a house, accord- ing to an Oregon State Police press release issued days after the Oct. 16, 2019, shooting. After the gunshot passed through the animal, the bullet hit a home near its front door. McGrorty briefly went pro after his time at SOU, according to the Hall of Fame, after he signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams. — EO Media Group CORRECTION: In the Page A1 story “Vintage Discovery,” published Thurs- day, Jan. 16, Sandra J. Parker should have been credited as the person who started the Parker House bed-and-breakfast at 311 N. Main in 1994. The B&B is now known as the Pendleton House. Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 EZPay 52 weeks 26 weeks 13 weeks along the Idaho border were much stronger than I antic- ipated,” analyzer Josh Leh- ner said. “Obviously, rec- reational marijuana is not legal in Idaho, but even after throwing the data into a rough border tax model that accounts for incomes, num- ber of retailers, tax rates and the like, there remains a huge border effect.” A border effect occurs when two neighboring jurisdictions have different rules prompting residents to travel to nearby regions to take advantage of the dif- ferent regulations, experts said. The report found about BRIEFLY Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s comment. Asked if the proj- ect was moving forward, he replied, “We hope so.” Jennifer Kalez, com- munications director for the Oregon Department of Energy, said in an email there are three other energy facilities currently under review for amendments. The projects, which don’t appear to have generated controversy, include two wind farms near Arlington, as well as a transmission line between Eugene and Medford. The state council will consider making the dis- puted rules permanent at its meeting in Hood River on Friday, Jan. 24. A dozen conservation groups, including Friends of the Columbia Gorge, sub- mitted a 22-page letter ask- ing the council to not make the rules permanent, citing concerns that they would conflict with state law and reduce public input. Baker said the rules would allow staff to decide on project site expansions that should be made by the council. He said his group believes that the rules would conflict with state law and they could draw a third court challenge. “It all depends on what (the council) does next week,” he said. Report: Oregon marijuana sales are 420% stronger near Idaho Associated Press A couple of rain or snow showers River and the Columbia River Gorge National Sce- nic Area, in addition to harming bald and golden eagles. The state council cer- tified the project in 2011. LotusWorks, the Vancou- ver-based company behind it, has been granted mul- tiple amendments to its certification. The second is the Peren- nial Wind Chaser Sta- tion, a natural gas facil- ity that would produce up to 415 megawatts of elec- trical power on approxi- mately 20 acres in Umatilla County, according to the council’s website. Accord- ing to its application, the facility would be used to compensate for when wind energy can’t meet demand for electricity. Baker said there were concerns that the natu- ral gas facility would pol- lute air in the gorge. Rep- resentatives for the project could not be reached for comment. Both projects need to be completed by 2023. But Baker said there are doubts that the companies are even actively pursuing the projects. Steven Ostrowski, the president of LotusWorks, said he wasn’t aware of the court ruling and declined to ADVERTISING Regional Publisher and Revenue Director: • Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com Advertising Manager: • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Lora Jenkins 541-276-2214 • ljenkins@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Business Office Coordinator • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Business Office Manager: 541-966-0824 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
