THE WEEK
IN PHOTOS
THE BACK PAGE, A12
WEEKEND EDITION
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OCTOBER 17-18, 2020
145th Year, No. 1
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WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
COVID-19 ‘on the march again’ in Oregon, U.S.
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The fi ght against
COVID-19 is being undercut
by precaution fatigue, willful
ignorance and mixed messages
between health offi cials in Oregon
and Washington, D.C.
The result is that after a late
summer lull, new cases of the
sometimes deadly virus are on the
rise again in the state and U.S.
“COVID-19 is on the march
Allen
Sidelinger
again in Oregon,” Pat Allen, direc-
tor of the Oregon Health Authority,
said at a Friday, Oct. 16, briefi ng.
In the past two weeks, cases
have risen more than 24% in Ore-
gon. Allen called the increase a
“stark reversal” of gains the state
had made previously on tamping
down the virus spread.
The state on Oct. 16 recorded
418 new cases and six deaths,
bringing the statewide totals to
38,935 cases and 617 deaths since
the virus fi rst appeared in Oregon
in February.
Allen said it was part of a con-
tinued high count of cases.
“Last week’s total set a new
high for the pandemic,” Allen
said. “On three consecutive days
last week we exceeded 400 cases,
including a record daily total of
484.”
Tests for the infection are cur-
rently coming back 6.4% posi-
tive. Health offi cials have a target
of 5% to keep the virus at a pla-
teaued level. Even a small percent-
age increase can lead over time to
exponential growth.
If cases continue on their cur-
rent trajectory, Oregon could see
570 reported cases and 40 new
hospitalizations each day.
“This is a troubling scenario,”
said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s
top infectious disease expert.
Social gatherings continue to
be the main way the infection is
spread as people from different
households mingle in sometimes
multiple-family situations.
Allen said it is understandable
that human nature is to let your
guard down around people you
See COVID, Page A10
UMATILLA CITY COUNCIL
DOC rejects prison education proposal from BMCC and other community colleges
Cases are
made at
candidates’
forum
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — Candidates for
Umatilla City Council painted a rosy
picture of Umatilla while participat-
ing in a forum on Wednesday, Oct.
14,
All four candidates who partici-
pated touted the city’s recent growth
and promised great things to come
for the community.
“This is a very exciting time to be
involved,” incumbent Roak TenEyck
said. “We have so many things teed
up that we’re ready to smash down
the fairway.”
TenEyck has been on the council
since 2013. He is being challenged
for Position #6 by Ivan Gutierrez,
who was not present at the forum.
Incumbent Ashley Wheeler’s
challenger, Isis Ilias, who is run-
ning against Wheeler for Position
#4, was also absent. In her closing
remarks to the audience, Wheeler
said Umatilla’s growth has meant
much more of a time commitment
as a councilor, with one city council
See Forum, Page A9
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
S
ALEM — The Oregon Department of
Corrections is moving ahead with its
plan to end most of its adult education
contracts with Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College and other Oregon commu-
nity colleges in 2021, jeopardizing 27 jobs
locally.
The state’s two-year schools had been try-
ing to appeal to the department to change its
mind, but after some back and forth, depart-
ment Director Colette Peters reaffi rmed the
decision in a Friday, Oct. 16, letter.
It’s an especially tough blow to BMCC,
which teaches classes at Eastern Oregon Cor-
rectional Institution, Two Rivers Correctional
Institution and Powder River Correctional
Facility in Baker City.
“I’m massively disappointed,” BMCC Pres-
ident Dennis Bailey-Fougnier said.
The department told the colleges that it
intended to move much of its education pro-
gramming in-house over the summer, but it
seemed like they might get a reprieve from
DOC if they met a narrow set of parameters.
In a Sept. 30 letter, Peters wrote that the state
prison system would reconsider its decision if
all colleges agreed to a standardized contract
and more fl exible and consistent schedules and
other concessions. Peters added that the letter
shouldn’t be construed as the opening of nego-
tiations, but instead represented a fi nal offer
that required a response by Oct. 14.
The Oregon Community College Associa-
tion, acting on behalf of BMCC and fi ve other
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution can be seen beyond a sign for Blue Mountain Communi-
ty College along Westgate in Pendleton on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020.
community colleges with DOC contracts,
came in with a counterproposal at the deadline.
The response letter, signed by Bai-
ley-Fougnier, association director Cam Preus
and the other community college presidents,
agrees to consolidate all college contracts into
one contract with DOC, cut total expenses by
15% and expand their educational offerings
to two other state prisons in the Willamette
Valley.
But the signees also critiqued the prison
system’s plan to replace the schools’ services
internally, pointing out that the corrections
department would no longer be able to access
funds from the Higher Education Coordinating
Commission, college employees offered more
experience and expertise, and the plan’s educa-
tional programming hours were “unrealistic.”
While Bailey-Fougnier felt that the commu-
nity colleges met “95%” of what the depart-
ment asked for, a rubric included with Peters’
Oct. 16 letter states that they met only one
See Reprieve, Page A10
Boardman Generating Station powers down permanently
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
BOARDMAN — Boardman
Generating Station went offl ine for
good on Thursday, Oct. 15, mark-
ing an end to Oregon’s coal-burn-
ing era.
The plant, located just south
of Boardman and run by Portland
General Electric, was the last coal-
fi red generating plant in the state
and could burn as much as 8,000
tons of coal per day. According to
the Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality, it was the larg-
est single source of greenhouse
emissions in Oregon.
“Our customers are counting on
us to deliver a clean energy future,”
PGE President and CEO Maria
Pope said in a statement. “PGE’s
Boardman closure is a major step
on our path to meeting Oregon’s
greenhouse gas emission reduction
goals and transforming our sys-
tem to reliably serve our custom-
ers with a cleaner, more sustainable
energy mix.”
The plant employed 110 PGE
employees and a variety of con-
tractors in its prime, and had 67
employees remaining at the time
of its closure. “Many” of the plant’s
employees have transferred to jobs
at other locations within the com-
pany or retired, according to the
news release, while others will no
East Oregonian, File
See Coal, Page A9
A stacker reclaimer digs up scoops of coal to feed a conveyer belt that
fuels the Boardman Coal Plant in this undated fi le photo.
COVID-19 NUMBERS
WEEK ENDING TOTALS FOR 10/15/20
IN UMATILLA COUNTY
RISK LEVEL TOTAL
HIGH CASE COUNT
88
TOTAL
CASE GOAL
8
OR POSITIVE
LESS TEST RATE
%
13.7
POSITIVE
6.6 TEST GOAL
%
5 %