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East Oregonian
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Access:
Long-term effects
Continued from Page A1
“I choose to live off the
grid because of my tinnitus,”
Larkin said. “It’s as close to
the wilderness as I can get
without fully being in the
wilderness.”
Larkin spent his profes-
sional years as a locomo-
tive engineer, before leaving
that job because of the tinni-
tus. He now tends to his
horses and works on his new
two-story house and shop
as he copes with his hear-
ing issues and seeks to live
a peaceful life alongside his
dogs — his father owns an
adjacent plot of land.
If the B2H plans were to
go through, Larkin would
have no choice but to leave
the property he has spent so
many years working on.
“If this transmission line
were to go through at this
location, I would no longer
be able to reside or fulfill
my lifetime dreams and goal
of living here,” Larkin said
at a public hearing in June
2019. “And I don’t have the
time nor the resources or
anything else to seek the
relief I’ve sought of the little
bit of tranquility to deal with
this issue.”
B2H not yet approved
Throughout the end of
2021 and the start of 2022,
Idaho Power filed a slew of
petitions to gain access to
private property across East-
ern Oregon via court orders.
More than 10 petitions were
placed in Union County,
including against Larkin and
his property.
Each petition is worded
Warfare:
Continued from Page A1
The vote sent the bill for a
pit-stop in the House Reve-
nue Committee, after which
it could advance to the floor
of the House for a final vote.
House Minority Leader
Vi k k i Breese -Iverson,
R-Prineville, has singled out
the farm labor overtime bill
as a possible trip-wire for
the use of tactics that could
slow or stall the remain-
ing 20 days of the 35-day
session.
Democratic leaders still
hope to move ahead with an
ambitious agenda on hous-
ing, health, environment and
criminal justice legislation.
“It’s not a big deal, we’ve
been here before and we
showed we can pass our
bills,” said Stephen Watson,
spokesman for the Senate
Democratic caucus. “We
are going to do what we need
to do to get the work of the
people done this session.”
But Republicans said
the communication and
compromise they are seek-
ing with Democrats has not
been sufficient.
“House Republicans are
still pushing for an Oregon
solution to HB 4002,” said
Andrew Fromm, spokes-
man for the House Republi-
can caucus.
The “Oregon way” or
“Oregon solution” is a catch-
phrase for taking the best
ideas from both sides of the
political aisle. It was popu-
larized in the 1970s during
the governorships of polit-
ically moderate governors
such as Republican Tom
McCall and Democrat Bob
Straub.
Fr o m m n o t e d t h e
committee vote on Feb. 14
along a 7-4 party line vote
despite comments by some
Democrats that the farm-
worker overtime exemp-
tion was “the original sin”
of state labor law, but House
Bill 4002 could make the
situation worse.
Rep. Paul Evans, D-Mon-
mouth, said given the
choice between failing to
change the exemption and
any economic fallout from
the bill, he would “bite the
bullet” to begin a possibly
painful reform.
“Sometimes our job is to
right the wrongs of the past,”
Evans said.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Greg Larkin, owner of a parcel of land off Morgan Lake Road, La Grande, on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, points out a map where
the Boardman to Hemingway power line project would cross his property.
similarly, requesting access
to the land in order to perform
a number of surveys and
examinations ahead of the
project’s potential approval.
Most of the work would be
done throughout the early
spring and into the start of
summer — crew size varies
from two people to upward
of 20 workers on site per day.
According to Jim Kreider,
one of the founders of the Stop
B2H Coalition, the Oregon
Department of Energy has a
set of procedures for conduct-
ing “over-the-fence” surveys
for landowners who choose
not to allow access to their
property. However, Idaho
Power is seeking access to the
properties through Oregon
Revised Statute 772.210, in
order “to acquire real prop-
From m said Demo -
crats who voted for the bill
despite reservations called
into question “the ability for
Democrats to consider any
sort of compromise because
of pressure they’re getting
from advocates.”
Republicans from both
chambers caucused Tues-
day morning to discuss their
next moves. The meetings
delayed the start of the day’s
legislative sessions, much to
the consternation of Senate
President Peter Courtney,
D-Salem.
“I’m working on self-con-
trol,” he said. “I am sorry
about this, I did not antici-
pate this,” he said.
Democrats hold a 37-22
majority in the House and
18-12 in the Senate. But two
quirks in the Oregon Consti-
tution leaves Republicans
with ways to control or kill
the pace of legislation.
Oregon is one of the
few states requiring more
than a majority to make a
quorum to do any business.
Though 17 members of the
Senate were on the floor,
Courtney could not start
because the constitution
requires two-thirds — or 20
of the 30-member Senate —
answer the roll call.
A not he r t wo -t h i rd s
requirement in the consti-
tution has allowed Repub-
licans to enforce an archaic
rule that bills be read in their
entirety before final passage.
In less contentious times, the
requirement was routinely
waived.
The time-consuming
reading — sometimes done
by machine — limits the
amount of legislation that
can be considered within
the normal time periods
that lawmakers meet. That’s
especially problematic in the
35-day session.
Since 2019, Republicans
have used a walkout or slow-
down to force compromise
from Democrats or, in the
case of the 2020 session, kill
all work until the legal time
period ran out.
The parliamentary tactics
have been used by both
parties in the past and occa-
sional attempts to extract
them from the constitu-
tion have fallen short. They
remain the law of the land.
“These are tools,” House
Ch ief Cle rk Ti mot hy
Sekerak, said last year. “If a
tool is available, someone is
going to use it.”
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erty necessary and conve-
nient for constructing and
maintaining power lines.”
The surveys vary per loca-
tion, but consist of largely the
same tests. According to the
petition, Idaho Power wants
to conduct the following
surveys at the Larkin loca-
tion in 2022 or 2023:
• Three-toed woodpecker
and northern goshawk.
• Rare plant inspection.
• Wetlands inspection.
• Terrestrial visual encoun-
ter survey.
• Raptor survey.
• Noxious weed survey.
• Cultural, archaeological,
and historic properties
management plan inspec-
tion.
• Land survey.
• Appraisal field visit.
“It’s kind of a bully tactic,”
said JoAnn Harris Rode,
Larkin’s partner.
Harris Rode has worked
fire watches in Eastern
Oregon for 34 years, which
led to her having additional
concerns related to the poten-
tial power lines. The lines
will affect ground tactics
as well as access by air in
the case of a wildfire — she
noted that the ridge is prone
to lightning and that a tree on
Larkin’s property was struck
by lightning last September.
Larkin has plans to build a
small fire tower on his prop-
erty, but the potential B2H
tower would be constructed
at the same spot on the plot
of land.
“A lot of this is coming
down to cost,” Kreider said.
“With these individual
landowners, we’re talking
through the processes. For
those that want to fight it,
we’re working with them to
find attorneys.”
Kreider stated that the
bigger picture needs to
be considered in the B2H
proposal, noting the value of
the scenery to landowners in
Eastern Oregon.
“For the Grande Ronde
Valley, one of the routes is
putting (the transmission
towers) right in the views-
hed. What is the loss of tour-
ism value? They don’t really
look at that,” he said. “They
look at the utilities point of
view and the public conve-
nience of having this addi-
tional energy or resiliency in
the transmission system.”
Those opposed to B2H
voice numerous concerns
about the long-term impacts
of the lines. Idaho Power and
its partner, PacifiCorp, would
make a one-time payment
to landowners in order to
provide compensation. For
Larkin, this money would be
used fully in finding a new
residence after having no
other option but to abandon
the land he has worked on for
years.
Larkin and other B2H
opposers also are concerned
about the loss of tourism at
Morgan Lake. Living just
a stone’s throw away from
the lake, Larkin witnesses a
plethora of visitors on a daily
basis walking dogs, watch-
ing the sunset and enjoying
the views.
“Even if I take myself out
of the equation up there, the
amount of people that just
come up to pass the lake and
watch the sunsets is substan-
tial,” Larkin said.
Kreider expressed opposi-
tion to Idaho Power moving
forward with land surveys
before the project is officially
approved and underway. In
the current pre-condemnation
process, the Stop B2H Coali-
tion is looking to work toward
legal representation for local
landowners impacted by the
lines.
As Idaho Power heads
to court in order to move
forward with its plans, local
landowners like Larkin are
left looking for answers to
protect their properties and
their way of life.
“Everything you read
from Idaho Power is that
it’s all ice cream and cake
for everybody,” Larkin said.
“It’s not.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Early morning sunlight May 12, 2021, illuminates a school bus at the Mid Columbia Bus Co. bus barn outside Pendleton.
Now the sun is setting on the relation between the bus company and the Pendleton School District, which on Monday,
Feb. 14, 2022, approved a bid for an Ohio company to provide school bus service.
Midco:
Continued from Page A1
Timothy Wulf, First
Student’s director of busi-
ness development, wrote in
bold font that his company
was unlikely to be the lowest
bidder because of the costs
associated with dealing with
the bus driver shortage.
But Wulf then pivoted
to what First Student could
offer the district, including a
new bus facility.
“As the District is fully
aware of, a bus facility is
more than challenging to
find in Pendleton,” he wrote.
“However, we did! We found
an excellent facility and
would like to offer it to the
District to control the lease.
This alone, is worth making
a change.”
Wulf went on to summa-
rize First Student’s bid: 28
new buses plus eight older
models, a driver salary range
of $18.71 to $23.32 per hour
with a $500 signing bonus,
an “optimization study”
meant to reduce ride times
and possibly reduce routes
and new technology, includ-
ing a school bus tracker app
for parents.
First Student stated it
could provide its services for
$795,831 per year plus rate
based fees that vary depend-
ing on bus usage.
The Pendleton School
District started contracting
with Midco in 1982, but the
company’s roots in Eastern
Oregon extend further than
that. Midco began its life
as Flatt’s Trucking Service,
a mail and freight trans-
portation business, before
expanding into the school
bus business when it bid on
a contract for the Condon
School District in 1956.
Midco eventually expanded
its operations to include
districts all over rural
Oregon and Idaho. In 2015,
the Flatt family sold Midco
to Landmark Student Trans-
portation, a Canadian school
bus company.
Rough patch
But recent years haven’t
always gone smoothly for
Midco.
Pe n d le t o n p a r e nt s
frequently complained of
late buses, long routes and
unchecked bullying on
the buses. Some of those
complaints filtered up to the
school board level, where
Midco representatives
attributed the shortcomings
to a nationwide bus driver
shortage. Last summer,
Midco attempted to revamp
its recruitment strategy by
upping bus driver wages.
Chuck Moore, Midco’s
region vice president, leaned
on Pendleton and Midco’s
shared history in the compa-
ny’s bid cover letter.
“We are confident that as
an Oregon based company
with local knowledge, we
have the ability to be more
efficient, responsive and
will swiftly be able to iden-
tify and make any changes
or adjustments needed,” he
wrote. “Our enthusiastic
staff is thrilled to continue
to work closely with admin-
istration personnel and is
committed to continue to
build relationships with
each Principal, Secretary
and Teacher.”
Midco’s bid was $645,721
per year plus rate based fees.
Several Midco employees
and community members
used the public comment
section of the meeting to
defend the company, high-
lighting how much they
enjoyed working with the
district and questioning why
the district didn’t consult
with drivers or parents
before making the decision.
Midco administrators struck
a bittersweet note, thanking
the district for working with
them and expressing hope
that they will work together
again in the future.
Ultimately, the public
comments didn’t deter the
school board from unani-
mously approving the First
Student bid. First Student
will take over bus services
on July 1, ahead of the 2022-
23 school year.
Although First Student’s
bid promises the district a
bus facility, Fritsch said in an
interview after the meeting
that the terms of the deal are
still being negotiated.
Another district
moves on from Midco
Pendleton isn’t the first
district to drop Midco as its
school bus provider.
The Stanfield School
District transitioned from
Mid Columbia Bus Co. to
providing its transportation
services in-house at the start
of the 2021-22 school year.
Superintendent Beth Burton
said she appreciated Midco’s
years of service to Stanfield,
but her district felt like inter-
nalizing bus operations was
the best move for students.
“After penciling it out and
looking at the flexibility we
would gain to run our own
transportation department, it
just made more sense and it’s
gone really well for us this
year,” she said. “We have not
had complaints. We’ve been
able to schedule things with-
out having to consider Herm-
iston and Umatilla and other
districts and what they’re
doing. We’ve been able to
focus on our own programs
and what makes sense for us
and that’s been super refresh-
ing.”
As part of building out its
own transportation depart-
ment, Stanfield acquired
two 14-passenger buses, two
77-passenger buses and an
80-passenger bus. To oper-
ate the buses, Stanfield hired
four drivers and a transporta-
tion supervisor who is certi-
fied to drive and maintain the
buses. The move hasn’t come
without tradeoffs — Stan-
field no longer transports
elementary students who live
within one mile of campus or
secondary students who live
within a mile-and-a-half —
but Burton said the district is
happy with its decision.