WEEKEND EDITION
THE
WEEK IN
PHOTOS
HERMISTON GIRLS CROSS-COUNTRY
TEAM BEST IN RECENT MEMORY
SPORTS, B1
THE DIFFICULT ROAD TO RECOVERY
FROM ADDICTION
THA BACK PAGE, A10
REGION , A3
MARCH 27-28, 2021
145th Year, No. 69
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Senate OKs bill banning guns in Capitol, state buildings
Bill also would raise
initial CHL fees
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — All fi rearms would
be barred from state buildings, and
local governments would have the
option of barring them from their
own buildings, under a bill that is
halfway through the Oregon Legis-
lature.
The Senate voted 16-7 on Thurs-
day, March 25, for Senate Bill 554. It
goes to the House after a debate last-
ing more than three hours and refl ect-
ing the national arguments about gun
regulation.
Majority Democrats defeated a
Republican-proposed substitute that
would have affi rmed the constitu-
tional right to bear arms and required
a study of gun-free zones. They also
rejected seven other Republican
motions that would have delayed or
killed the bill.
The bill would bar about 300,000
holders of concealed handgun
licenses from bringing their fi rearms
into state buildings, including the
Oregon Capitol. Some places, such
as state courts, already are off -limits.
Cities, counties, schools and other
local governments would have the
option under the bill to bar fi rearms
from their buildings, although adja-
cent garages and parking lots are
excluded. A ban also can apply to
airport terminals; the federal Trans-
portation Security Administration
oversees boarding areas and the ship-
ment of fi rearms in stored luggage.
Violations would be considered a
Class C felony, maximum penalties
for which are a $125,000 fi ne and fi ve
years in prison, although unlikely to
be levied on a fi rst off ense.
The bill also would raise initial
fees for concealed handgun licenses
from $50 to $100, and renewals from
$50 to $75.
The debate got so heated that
Senate President Peter Courtney —
who apologized earlier for a comment
about “crushing opponents” that
referred to Oregon opponents in the
NCAA basketball tournaments —
said, “People are getting angry about
this measure from all sides.”
But it was clear that Democrats
had the votes to prevail, rejecting
Republican motions to send the bill
to various committees.
The Senate Judiciary Committee
spent four hours Feb. 22 listening to
testimony, much of it from gun rights
See Guns, Page A9
UMATILLA COUNTY
County
to receive
$15M in
stimulus
Commissioners say
plans have yet to be
made for how funds
will be used
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Umatilla
County government will be
receiving $15.12 million from
the most recent federal stimulus
bill in response to the economic
impact brought by the COVID-
19 pandemic.
In addition, Umatilla County
cities in total will be receiving
approximately $11.36 million,
according to a database provided
to the EO Media Group. Fund-
ing will be distributed to each
city by population, with the larg-
est amounts going to Hermiston,
$3.62 million, and Pendleton,
$3.42 million.
Umatilla County commis-
sioners said that plans have yet to
be made for how the funds will
be used on the county level. The
fi rst half of the funds are expected
to reach the county in May, with
the remaining half coming about
a year later, the commissioners
said.
“I was kind of blown away
when I fi rst saw how much we
would be getting as a county,”
Umatilla County Commissioner
John Shafer said. “We can do a lot
with that kind of money. We can
make a lot of positive changes.”
The Umatilla County commis-
sioners said that discussions about
See Stimulus, Page A9
New state rules on
social distancing
requirements has
schools anxious to
move forward
By ANTONIO SIERRA and
JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
U
MATILLA COUNTY
— Going into the
Oregon Department of
Education’s latest update
on its COVID-19 rules, InterMoun-
tain Education
Service District
Superintendent
M a r k Mu lv i-
hill said Eastern
Oregon adminis-
trators were look-
ing for two things
— reducing the
Mulvihill
social distancing
requirement from 6 feet to 3 feet
and removal of the cohort limit.
When the state made its
announcement on Monday, March
22, they got both.
“It’s very exciting news,”
Mulvhill said. “It’s a game
changer.”
The day after the state changed
the rules, Hermiston School District
sent out an announcement of its
own — all students would resume
full-time learning fi ve days a week
starting April 13.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Students in Lucas Eivins social studies class sit socially distanced during class at Sandstone Middle School in
Hermiston on Thursday, March 26, 2021.
Superintendent Tricia Mooney
said the 6-foot requirement had
been the thing holding the district
back from off ering full-time school
sooner. Once 6 feet was merely
recommended, but only 3 feet was
required, the district was anxious to
move forward.
“We might have to look at how
we use some spaces diff erently,
but we’re excited to have everyone
back,” she said.
Building administrators are
working out plans for their build-
ings now. Six feet of space will
still be required in some situations,
such as while students take their
masks off to eat lunch, so Mooney
said students will be spread out in
smaller groups in common areas
and outdoor spaces to make lunch-
time work. Students who don’t
bring lunch from home will be
given a sack lunch to take to their
designated area, and breakfast for
the next morning will be sent home
with students rather than eaten in
the classroom.
Mooney said another key change
in the Ready Schools, Safe Learn-
ers guidance, updated March
15, changed rules for “cohorts”
designed to limit the spread of
outbreaks by limiting the number
See Schools, Page A9
Brothers accused of storming U.S. Capitol remain in custody
Klein brothers
appeared separately in
federal court on Friday,
March 26
By MAXINE BERNSTEIN
The Oregonian/OregonLive
PORTLAND — Oregon brothers
Matthew Leland Klein and Jonathan-
peter Allen Klein, who are accused
of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan.
6, were ordered Friday, March 26, to
be held in custody pending trial on six
felony charges.
The two appeared separately
from Portland before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Zia M. Faruqui in the District
of Columbia federal court via Zoom
video conference.
Matthew Klein, 24, and Jona-
thanpeter Klein, 21, are expected to
Federal Bureau of Inveestigations/Contributed Photo
Jonathanpeter Allen Klein, 21, on right, a self-described Proud Boy, with
brother Matthew Leland Klein, 24, on left, according to the FBI.
remain in custody in Portland at least
until their next video-feed hearing on
Thursday, April 1, before a federal
district judge in Washington, D.C.
That also will allow Matthew Klein
to resolve pending gun possession
charges in Multnomah County. The
brothers are being held at the Mult-
nomah County Detention Center.
The federal magistrate judge cited
a ruling out March 26 from a panel of
the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia that stemmed
from a challenge of detention by a
31-year-old Tennessee man and his
57-year-old mother from Georgia,
who were charged in the Jan. 6 riot.
The appeals panel specifically
wrote that in its view “those who actu-
ally assaulted police offi cers and broke
through windows, doors, and barri-
cades and those who aided, conspired
with, planned or coordinated such
actions, are in a diff erent category
of dangerousness than those who
cheered on the violence or entered the
Capitol after others cleared the way.”
In the cases against the Klein
brothers, prosecutors allege they
See Brothers, Page A9
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