East Oregonian reforms newsroom
WEEKEND EDITION
|
REGION, A3
June 25 – 26, 2022
146th Year, no. 81
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
ROE V. WADE
BOARDMAN
Oregon
will retain
abortion
rights
By GARY WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The governors of
California, Oregon and Washing-
ton on Friday, June 24, pledged to
maintain access to safe, legal abor-
tions following the U.S. Supreme
Court 5-4 decision radically revis-
ing the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade
ruling.
“Abortion is health care, and no
matter who you are or where you
come from, Oregon doesn’t turn
away anyone seeking health care.
Period,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
said soon after the ruling.
Brown said the decision in the
case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s
Health Organization means about
33.6 million women around the
country now live in states that will
outlaw abortion.
Brown, California Gov. Gavin
newsom and Washington Gov. Jay
Inslee pledged themselves to a new
Multi-State Commitment to Repro-
ductive Freedom. Details can be
found here.
On the local front, Suni
Danforth, umatilla County Repub-
lican Party chair, said the overturn-
ing of Roe v. Wade does not mean
abortion is not allowed anymore.
“It simply means the decision
goes back to the states, and despite
what the left may say, I believe
it is still legal to get an abortion
in Oregon,” she said. “It’s very
important what the Supreme Court
has done to follow the constitu-
tion. In the Constitution it guaran-
tees life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness, and nowhere in it does
it say abortion. Today is a good
day for umatilla County and for
Oregon.”
Briana Spencer, founder, Pend-
leton Action Community Coali-
tion, also stressed abortion remains
legal in Oregon, but said the ruling
affects more than half of the nation
in states that already have over-
turned abortion protections.
“There are several potential risks
that pregnant people face because
of this,” Spencer said. “Forcing
births is deadly. The maternal death
rate in the U.S. has risen 37%.”
She said the decision espe-
cially affects the BIPOC — Black,
Indigenous and people of color
— community. And while some
pro-life supporters imply adoptions
or foster care should be used, that
attitude lacks compassion.
“Over 420,000 children are in
foster care,” she said. “not every-
one is adopting, and pro-lifers who
support adoptions aren’t adopting
See Abortion, Page A8
Photos by Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Patrick Keeley, left, of the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, and Paul Grey, Morrow County emergency manager, unhitch a trailer Thurs-
day, June 23, 2022, containing cases of bottled water.
Water emergency draws help
City of Boardman works
to let its residents know
their water is safe, not
from tainted sources
BY ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
B
OARDMAn — Morrow County
emergency Manager Paul Gray
helped to move hundreds of cases of
drinking water Thursday, June 23, for
people dealing with nitrates contaminating
their water.
“My muscles are hurting right now,” Gray
said.
He was sweaty, red-faced, panting and
shaking at the end of the day, but he said he
was optimistic about his efforts. He expressed
happiness that he soon would receive addi-
tional help, thanks in part to a decision
Morrow County commissioners made one
day prior.
Board of commissioners grant aid
In a 2-1 vote June 22, Morrow County
Commissioners approved $100,000 for an
emergency effort to deal with groundwater
contamination in Morrow County.
Commissioners Jim Doherty and Melissa
Lindsay voted in favor of the aid. Commis-
sioner Don Russell voted against it, and he
brought up concerns about an emergency
budget that was not as detailed as he would’ve
preferred.
Doherty on June 23 said money would
help in various ways, including sending
workers to assist with water delivery. This
would take much of the physical labor away
from the emergency manager.
“He’s leaned in and is doing a great job,”
Doherty said.
He credited the emergency manager as
a “do-er,” someone who has moved water
and transported pipes in this recent emer-
gency. The commissioner said Gray, who has
done his part getting his hands dirty, soon
should transition to work that is less physi-
cally taxing, though.
Helpers emerge in emergencies
“emergency management deals with a lot
of stuff,” Gray said.
According to Gray, it is his responsibility
to be on the front line of an emergency. In the
past, he has set sand bags and has done other
work to stave off disaster.
He said he is ready for other troubles, too,
such as flooding, storms and nuclear acci-
dents. In all these cases, he said, he would do
anything he could to protect his community.
Fortunately, he added, other people have
acted on the same feelings.
Patrick Keeley was one of the people
assisting Gray. A work crew supervisor
Paul Grey, Morrow County emergency manager, shows a test strip Thursday, June 23,
2022, that shows nitrate levels in water.
and officer for the Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office, he was dressed in a police uniform
that included a heavy vest. He was onsite,
accompanying another worker, a man who
was doing community service.
Keely admitted this wasn’t his usual work,
and he wasn’t exactly dressed for it, but he
Boardman, there is a “rapid test,” which can
read nitrate levels up to 15 parts per million.
Meanwhile, the Boardman Foods tests can
reveal if nitrate levels are even higher, though
it takes a full week to get an answer about
levels of nitrates. As such, Raddie said she
does not yet have test results.
“WE WANT BOARDMAN CITY RESIDENTS TO
KNOW THAT THE SAFETY OF FAMILIES IN OUR
COMMUNITY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY.”
— Karen Pettigrew, Boardman city manager
was glad to be lending a hand.
Gray said other people helped, too. Work-
ers included people from the Morrow County
Health Department, local businesses and
other organizations.
Boardman Foods is one of the helpers,
according to Debbie Raddie, Boardman
Foods vice president of operations. She said
the company is distributing drinking water
and testing samples of well water at its facil-
ity, 71320 Columbia Blvd., Boardman.
She said the site has collected around 30
samples a day in this first week of testing.
The Boardman Foods site is one of three
places where workers are testing well water
for nitrate levels.
At the Irrigon site and at Sam Boardman
Elementary School, 301 Wilson Road S.W.,
According to Raddie, Boardman Foods
and other local companies are coming
together to help, and they are working in the
interest of the public.
“The primary reason we got together is
because we care about our employees; we
care about our community,” she said. “We
always have. We’re always rising to the occa-
sion of any kind of situation.”
City of Boardman responds
The city of Boardman on June 23 reported
it is using a number of communication tools
to address the concerns Morrow County’s
recent emergency declaration raised relating
to contamination in rural drinking wells. The
See Water, Page A8