Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2020)
A8 REGION East Oregonian Sen.Wyden talks infrastructure, forest management at town hall By BEN LONERGAN East Oregonian PENDLETON — Infra- structure and forest man- agement were among the primary topics of concern during a Wednesday, Oct. 14, virtual town hall held by Sen. Ron Wyden for East- ern Oregon residents. Nick Powers, of Enter- prise, opened the meet- ing by expressing concerns about broadband infrastruc- ture in rural Eastern Oregon and the unusually high load placed on systems due to remote learning, telehealth and working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The fact is we can’t have big league quality of life in rural Oregon with little league connectivity,” Wyden said. Wyden cited the Move America Act as a pri- mary piece of legislation in dealing with ailing or insuffi cient infrastructure issues, such as rural broad- band. The bill, introduced by Wyden and Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, in 2019, would allow tax-ex- empt bonds and tax cred- its to support infrastructure projects, such as airports, railroads, fl ood diversions and rural broadband. “In 2021, probably one of the very fi rst bills will be expanding infrastructure,” said Wyden. “I’m going to make sure it includes broad- band and opportunities to expand education and health care.” Fuji Kreider, a founder and board member of the La Grande-based Stop B2H Coalition, took the oppor- tunity to discuss renew- able energy infrastructure and forest management as they relate to the proposed Boardman to Heming- way transmission line. She asserted that the proposed Saturday, October 17, 2020 Displaced residents describe apartment fi re Quick-thinking resident alerts neighbors to blaze By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a virtual town hall at the East Oregonian in Pendleton on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. The town hall, held virtually by Town Hall Project, allowed res- idents of Umatilla, Union, Morrow and Wallowa counties to pose their questions to the senator. 500-kilovolt B2H transmis- sion line from Boardman to Hemingway, Idaho, would pose severe fi re risk to the region. Wyden emphasized his support of renewable energy infrastructure, cit- ing his intent to repeal doz- ens of federal tax breaks for fossil fuels. “One of my fi rst bills will be to take those 44 energy bills that are really monuments to yesteryear — those energy tax laws — and throw them all in the garbage can and substitute the ones for clean energy and an alternative vision for Oregon and the country,” Wyden said. In addition to renew- able energy infrastructure, Wyden added that a combi- nation of smart forest man- agement and climate science are needed to help mitigate wildfi re risks. Wyden cited the National Prescribed Fire Act that he has before Con- gress as a key piece of leg- islation in the prevention of catastrophic wildfi res. Introduced in Septem- ber, the legislation would support pre-fi re season controlled burns as a way to help reduce hazardous fuels on the forest fl oor and reduce the severity of wildfi res. “Some people say the issue is all forest manage- ment or climate science,” he said. “I think the two are very much intertwined, smart forestry policy in rural Oregon is smart cli- mate science policy.” Wyden added that he feels the recent wildfi res throughout Oregon and other states have opened eyes to the severity of threat fi re poses to communities. “These last few months have really been transfor- mative in a lot of respects,” he said. “People night after night — for weeks — trag- ically saw how close fi re was getting to population centers.” In addition to fi re con- cerns, concerns over the handing of coronavirus relief funds were raised by Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann, who said he felt as though future rounds of funding should be dis- tributed directly to local communities and counties rather than going through the state. “We feel like local con- trol is the best control and we know what our com- munities need the best,” Drotzmann said. “Having those resources here on the ground that we can imple- ment is extremely helpful.” Wyden added that while he would like to see a way to better direct money, he did not want to see the return of senators earmarking money for specifi c locals, a practice he referred to as a “porkfest.” “There has got to be a way to get more fl exibility for local offi cials to be able to directly support services that they decide are priori- ties and not have that money funneled off,” he said. HERMISTON — Res- idents displaced by a fi re at Ridgeway Village apart- ments in Hermiston on Oct. 4 say they are still struggling to recover after losing their homes. According to Umatilla County Fire District No. 1, the district responded to the apartments at 2:13 a.m. on Oct. 4 to fi nd “heavy fi re” coming out of the fi rst-fl oor apartment and extending into the upstairs unit and eaves of the roof. Altogether, two apartments were damaged by fi re and two by smoke and water damage. The dis- trict also had to put holes in the building in some places to attack the fi re. Linda R. Schoen, who lives in the apartment above where the fi re apparently started, said she had gotten home and was “just trying to unwind” before getting into bed when she heard a com- motion outside. She said she has a neigh- bor with apparent mental ill- ness issues who frequently yells outside late at night, and at fi rst, she thought it was just that neighbor’s usual ruckus. Then she realized the woman was shouting the word “fi re.” “I thought, ‘I’d better look,’ and I opened my win- dow and smoke was pouring out the window,” she said. She ran downstairs and saw fl ames, so she pulled out her cellphone and called 911. She was so worried, she said, she couldn’t remember her own apartment number when the dispatcher asked. She said she ran back upstairs to get her dog, and then realized she had better pound on all the doors and windows in the building to make sure everyone got out. Mariza Altaf was one of those neighbors. She had fallen asleep with the televi- sion and a fan turned up loud in anticipation of the usual nighttime yelling episodes, but couldn’t ignore Schoen’s insistent knocking and yell- ing that there was a fi re. “I ran out in my under- wear,” she said. “Linda was yelling, ‘Get out, the build- ing’s on fi re.’ Every bone in my body was a noodle. I don’t know how I did anything, but I grabbed my pants and my dog and my shoes on the way out the door.” She said Schoen was insis- tent in making sure everyone got out, pounding on walls next to people’s bedrooms if they didn’t come to the door. Altaf said even though her apartment and belongings were severely damaged, she has a good renter’s insurance policy and expects to receive a payout to replace everything she lost. She said she was worried about Schoen, who lost everything and does not have the means to replace it. “This woman saved my life,” she said. “She was my friend before but now I’m indebted to her.” Schoen said the apartment complex was going to let her into her apartment to see what she might be able to salvage, and some people have offered to donate items. But right now she is staying in a small motel room, and said she doesn’t have any room to store items or the money to rent a storage unit. She also doesn’t know when she will get into a new apartment, as HUD was pay- ing for her previous housing and the waiting list to get into a HUD apartment is months long. According to a news release from UCFD1, no one was injured because “the occupants of the apartment complex were very effective at getting everyone out before fi re crews arrived.” THANK YOU LAW ENFORCEMENT "Senator Bill Hansell is a strong advocate for law enforcement. He always has our back." - Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan RE-ELECT SENATOR BILL HANSELL ENDORSED BY: Paid for by Friends of Bill Hansell