East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, March 21, 2020, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 2

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East Oregonian : E.O., March 21, 2020, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextNORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Saturday, March 21, 2020 CORONAVIRUS Farmers keep ﬂ exible in face of coronavirus impacts By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press SALEM — Growers, co-ops and agencies are ﬁ guring out ways to keep farms running amid a wave of coronavirus concerns. Several farmers and agency representatives spoke during a Washington Young Farmers Coalition web seminar on farm resil- ience in response to coro- navirus impacts that range from restaurant closures to a shortage of supplies. In Spokane, Washington, the LINC Foods cooperative primarily sells to restaurants and institutions. The major- ity of those customers are now closed, said co-founder Beth Robinette, who is also a rancher in Cheney, Washington. The co-op is shifting to its vegetable Commu- nity Supported Agricul- ture (CSA) subscription pro- gram as quickly as possible. The program usually begins in June, but LINC is ﬁ gur- ing out ways customers can order online sooner, Robi- nette said. “It’s deﬁ nitely pretty challenging times,” she said. “We’re just trying to play out as many scenarios as Capital Press Photo/Matthew Weaver Farmer Dan Sproule, left, of Medical Lake, Wash., with LINC Foods co-founder Beth Rob- inette. Robinette said during a webinar the co-op is shifting to its Community Supported Agriculture program because many of the restaurants it supplies are closed because of the coronavirus outbreak. possible and be prepared for whatever happens.” Many people are stock- ing up on meat, which ben- eﬁ ts Robinette’s custom beef operation that primarily sells directly to consumers. She may explore selling more beef by the cut, she said. “Our family ranch was really founded in the midst of the Depression, and we’ve basically operated with a Depression-era mentality for the last 80-some years,” she said. “In a lot of ways, I Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY think we have been prepar- ing for this moment for a long time.” The ranch is set up to be minimal-input, she said. “We have just been so averse to having any kind of debt on our ranch, which Partly sunny 62° 35° 63° 41° Cooler; a shower in the p.m. Some sun, a shower in the p.m. Cool with some sun PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 55° 33° 51° 33° 54° 34° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 68° 33° 67° 44° 60° 34° 57° 37° 59° 37° 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 53/36 56/30 66/31 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 61/38 Lewiston 60/34 68/33 Astoria 52/36 Pullman Yakima 66/33 59/32 61/36 Portland Hermiston 62/38 The Dalles 68/33 Salem Corvallis 62/33 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 58/29 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 63/34 61/28 58/31 Ontario 65/32 Caldwell Burns 63° 29° 59° 35° 76° (1947) 19° (1943) 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 62/32 0.00" 0.12" 0.61" 0.48" 3.49" 2.88" WINDS (in mph) 62/32 58/24 0.00" 0.61" 0.87" 4.67" 5.24" 3.42" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 55/26 62/35 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 62/35 67/35 62° 33° 56° 36° 75° (1911) 18° (1913) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 58/32 Aberdeen 57/31 62/35 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 57/39 Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 68/36 Sun. NW 3-6 WNW 6-12 SSW 4-8 SSW 4-8 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 55/24 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho House ended its legis- lative session on Friday after balancing fears of spreading the coronavirus with poten- tial vetoes of several bills representatives will now be powerless to override. The House voted 32-28 to end the session a day after the Senate went home. They would have needed to stay ﬁ ve more days to wait out a veto decision by Republican Gov. Brad Little. “Under ordinary circum- stance, we’d have stayed and let, and I believe the Sen- ate would have stayed, and let the ﬁ ve days toll,” said Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke. The coronavi- rus “caused enough concern that has made people wonder about the wisdom of going home and coming back on Monday.” One bill that could be vetoed bans transgender peo- ple from changing the sex listed on their birth certiﬁ - 6:56 a.m. 7:09 p.m. 6:18 a.m. 4:34 p.m. New First Full Last Mar 24 Apr 1 Apr 7 Apr 14 utive director of the Seat- tle Neighborhood Farmers Market, said her organiza- tion is surveying members to gauge immediate impacts and needs. Priorities are working with government to safely reopen permitted and regulated farmers markets and organizing emergency relief funding and fundrais- ing a stop-gap for farms that cannot pivot to new delivery methods, she said. Farmers who think their businesses could experi- ence economic impacts due to the virus are encour- aged to apply for the U.S. Small Business Administra- tion’s disaster and economic injury loans, said Laura Raymond, manager of the state Department of Agri- culture’s regional markets program. “State, local and fed- eral agencies right now are in fast emergency response mode,” Raymond said. “There are a lot of people out there who are ready to help, and they’re trying to ﬁ gure out how. We’re all in it together, and there is a lot of action happening.” The seminar drew 300 to 400 people.Two-thirds were producers and one-third were service providers. Idaho House ends legislative session By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press Sunshine I recognize is way easier when you rented and bought land in the 1930s and 1950s than now,” she said, not- ing the operation relies on older vehicles and equip- ment. “We just really try to be extremely conservative in our ﬁ nancial planning.” Puyallup, Washington, farmer Amy Moreno-Sills said “everything is so new that we’re not making any hard-and-fast decisions right now. Everything is business as usual as far as what day- to-day work looks like.” Moreno-Sills raises veg- etables for the wholesale market on 30 acres and has 6 acres of U-pick blueber- ries. Her biggest concern is procuring supplies, such as packaging, she said. “We’ve been getting our- selves into a bit of debt to pre-purchase those products we need right now so we’ll have them on hand when things become harvestable,” Moreno-Sills said. Labor is up in the air, she said. “Maybe we’ll have a lot of folks looking for work or maybe we won’t have (any) at all,” she said. “We just have to be ﬂ exible, like every farmer is every year.” Jennifer Antos, exec- cates despite a federal court ruling a previous Idaho ban was unconstitutional, and that the Idaho attorney gen- eral’s ofﬁ ce says could end up costing the state $1 mil- lion if it goes to court again. The other bill bans trans- gender women from com- peting in women’s sports despite also getting warn- ings that such a law is unconstitutional. Both bills had over- whelming support among Republicans in the House and Senate in numbers great enough to override a veto. The governor has until next week to make a deci- sion. Little hasn’t indicated his intentions. A handful of large Idaho businesses have asked him to veto the bills because they make the state look intolerant. Little on Fri- day was traveling to health districts around the state to shore up defenses against the coronavirus as new cases are being reported almost daily. And if Little vetoes any bills? “We will complain from home, I guess, because there’s no ability to call our- selves back into session,” said Bedke, noting the cur- rent system could ultimately be changed because it puts the legislative branch at a disadvantage. Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt sponsored the bill banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports that would apply to all sports teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universities. She has consis- tently argued that allowing the practice would negate Title IX, the 1972 law barring sex discrimination in edu- cation and is credited with opening up athletic competi- tion for girls and women. On Friday she voted to keep the House in session. She said she personally felt safe from the virus, but understood the votes of oth- ers to go home. “I support everyone in how they personally felt they needed to vote and what they needed to do,” she said. “These are unusual times.” PUBLIC NOTICE NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 90° in Immokalee, Fla. Low -15° in Garrison, N.D. OUTREACH FOOD PANTRY Outreach Food Pantry located at 440 SW Emigrant Ave is changing hours and procedures due to the Coronavirus. NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY We are doing this for the safety of our clients as well as our staff. We are reducing hours of food distribution to Mon - Thurs from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM. We will still distributing a standard food box at those times. It would be very helpful for existing clients to bring the Link2Feed cards. All clients need to call in the mornings Mon - Thurs from 10:00 Am- 12:30 PM to arrange pick up of food boxes in the afternoons. 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. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Oﬃ ce 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 110s high low Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES EZPay 52 weeks 26 weeks 13 weeks 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 Outreach phone # is 541-276-2878. The Outreach Thrift Store will suspend operations until further notice, but food assistance will continue as long as we are able. We thank the public and our volunteers for their support during this difficult time. 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 Oﬃ ce Coordinator • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com Classiﬁ ed & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classiﬁ eds@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 Oﬃ ce Manager: 541-966-0824 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com