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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2022)
Hermiston to make Funland more accessible | REGION, A3 TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2022 146th Year, No. 40 $1.50 WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW Setting priorities Three Eastern Oregon legislators line out what they are backing in the 2022 short session By ERICK PETERSON AND ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian SALEM — Eastern Oregon lawmakers looking at the upcom- ing legislative session are focus- ing their eff orts on more money for ranchers who lose livestock to wolves, increasing consumer protection and taking on illegal marijuana farms in Southern Oregon. Rep. Boby Levy, R-Echo, Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, and Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, told the EO Media Group about their priorities for the 2022 short session that begins Feb. 1 and must end by March 10. Wolf bill drawing Levy’s attention Levy named two bills as most important to her, starting with House Bill 4127, a million-dollar ask for the Wolf Management Compensation and Proactive Trust Fund. “Right now, Levy we have already close to $800,000 worth of cattle losses and miss- ing livestock, not to mention all the incremental costs that go along when wolves Smith have been chas- ing animals,” she said, adding animals have suff ered “contin- ued weig ht loss, low birth rates and more be cau se of Hansell wolves.” She also is big on HB 4154, a $400,000 request to provide the La Grande Airport with new fuel tanks. Levy said she will be co-spon- soring bills as well, including HB 4022 to put course curriculum on school websites, and HB 4042, which would require doctors who prescribe drugs for chemi- cal abortions to provide “certain information” to their patients. She said she also is adding her name to bills concerning animal predator control, a salmon habi- tat credit program and gun-free zone liability. See Preview, Page A9 Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian An Elite Taxi taxicab on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, navigates Southwest Court Avenue in Pendleton near Roy Raley Park. Pendleton’s lone taxi company faces opposition from members of the public who want the city to allow ride-hailing companies to operate in town. A call for ride-hailing Uber drivers lobby Pendleton for OK to operate; local taxi company pushes back By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian ENDLETON — Only one busi- ness in Pendleton has the author- ity to charge passengers to get from Point A to Point B. But a group of residents are pushing the Pendleton City Council to allow Uber to compete with the city’s only taxi company for in-town rides. At a Tuesday, Jan. 18, city council meet- ing, Alicia Reynen approached the podium P RIDE-HAILING VS. RIDE-SHARING According to The Associated Press, ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft let people use smartphone apps to book and pay for a private car service or, in some cases, a taxi. They also may be called ride-booking services. Ride-shar- ing, however, refers to app-based services that let people book a shared shuttle. And Zipcar and similar compa- nies are short-term car rental services. during the public comment period, intro- duced herself and asked the city to part- ner with drivers to allow Uber and similar companies into town. Reynan said opening Pendleton to Uber would be in line with the city’s mission state- ment, which encourages economic vitality and opportunity. “Pendleton would benefit extremely from the services and friendly competition is always good,” she said. “I believe your mission statement is true and the city holds to it. I’m asking the city transportation depart- ment to join me, to allow Uber into town.” ‘Let’s make a change for the here and now’ Alicia Reynen’s arguments are echoed by a Change.org petition started by her husband, Jesse Reynen. As of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 21, the online petition had attracted 272 signatures. In the petition, Jesse Reynen wrote they’re seeking to update the city’s law, See Drivers, Page A9 Marcus Whitman statue up for debate Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part article about the statue of Marcus Whitman on public display at Whitman College, Walla Walla. Part 2 is scheduled to run in the Thursday, Jan. 27, edition of the East Oregonian and focuses on arguments in favor of keeping the statue in place. By EMRY DINMAN Walla Walla Union-Bulletin WALLA WALLA — More than a dozen members of the Walla Walla community and others spoke in support or or in opposition to the removal of a statue of pioneer Marcus Whitman during a recent meeting of the city arts commission. The statue of Whitman, the physician and missionary who established a mission nearly 200 years ago just west of what is now the city of Walla Walla, stands on the campus of Whitman College, which bears the fi gure’s name. Whitman has come under renewed scrutiny in recent years for his role in the colonization of the region, helping to establish the Oregon Trail and the introduction of a measles outbreak that killed Native peoples. In 2019, a vandal defaced the statue with spray paint, misspell- Greg Lehman, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, File The Marcus Whitman statue at the corner of East Main Street and Boyer Avenue in Walla Walla, September 2020. ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL & OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED. ESTIMATED RESULTS IN 3-5 DAYS EVERY WEDNESDAY IN JANURARY 2022 11AM-1PM ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL 2801 ST ANTHONY WAY - PENDLETON FREE Covid Drive Thru Testing (Self Administered) ing the word “genocide” on its base. Still, other members of the community oppose removing the statue, arguing doing so erases the legacy of a founding father of the region who sought to heal the sick. The arts commission meet- ing Wednesday, Jan. 19, came in response to a request to deaccession, or remove, the statue of Whitman that was started by Emily Tillotson, a professor at Walla Walla Univer- sity. That process, which allows a city resident to request reconsider- ation of any piece of public art the city owns, was created specifi cally in response to complaints about the statue of Whitman, Deputy City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain previously told the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. In 2020, a local team of art researchers proposed removing the statue of Whitman and relocating it to Fort Walla Walla Museum. “The statue tells us a lot, and it has a rich and fascinating history, but again, that history is not the history of Marcus Whitman, it is not the history of the Walla Walla Valley, and it’s not the history of Whitman College,” Libby Miller, See Statue, Page A9 SAVE TIME REGISTER ONLINE WWW.DOINEEDACOVID19TEST.COM