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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
A18 News wallowa.com April 5, 2017 Wallowa County Chieftain Pacifi c Power pursues clean energy One injured, one killed in ATV crash Pacifi c Power continues to pursue cleaner energy as it moves forward in providing “smarter” and more affordable energy for its 750,000 customers, according to a recent report released by Pacifi c Power and their parent company Pacifi Corp. Pacifi c Power reports that their more integrated usage of produc- tion has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 12 percent for 2016 versus the previous fi ve-year average. That comes out to 6 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equiv- alent of taking over 1.1 million One man was killed and another in- jured in an All Terrain Vehicle crash at Wallupa Road, about 16 miles south of Troy, on the evening of March 31. Brent Lewis Bieren, 64, residence un- known, was pronounced deceased at the scene. An unidentifi ed passenger in the side- by side vehicle was airlifted from Wal- lowa to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. Wallowa County Dispatch received the call at 6:08 p.m., and responding units included Wallowa County Sheriff’s Of- fi ce, Oregon State Police and an Enter- prise Police Department offi cer. –– Steve Tool STRONG Continued from Page A1 Strong visibly blanched at the bail amount and even West looked surprised. Frolander cited the statute for commercial-related drug offenses. FUNDS Continued from Page A1 The USFS did exactly that for Wallowa County on March 7. Because of the de- cline in timber revenue from lack of harvest, Wallowa County received $74,906.28 – 25 percent of the revenue generated from forest service land and nearly 93 percent less than the county received last year: more than a million dollars. History The act is properly called “The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter- passenger vehicles off the road for a year. Making the grid more fl exible in using available renewable gen- eration also reduced energy costs for Pacifi c Power customers, by nearly $50 million for the year, the company reported. The amount of renewable en- ergy capacity connected to the parent company Pacifi Corp grid increased 41 percent last year. The 2,960 megawatts of so- lar and wind energy generation capacity now serving customers represents 29 percent of custom- ers’ peak energy demand and rep- ment. Upon entering, “Capa” went to work and alerted of- fi cers to a number of locations within the residence. Approx- imately 9.8 grams of metham- phetamine, scales, packaging materials, drug records and $347 cash were seized, along with a butane honey oil (hash- ish) lab and components, hon- ey oil product and 10 adult marijuana plants. EPD Chief Joel Fish said that he greatly appreciated the use of the K-9 unit from Baker City. Wallowa County deputies and a probation offi - cer were also part of the bust. “Sgt. (Wayne) Chastain was really in touch with that dog,” Fish said. “Every alert from Capa turned up evi- dence. I really want to thank (Baker police) Chief Lohner for the use of Chastain and Capa.” In a post on the EPD Face- book page, Chief Fish wrote: “We want the drug trade in Wallowa County to stop. It’s devastating to our citizens. We have active drug cases going. We have warned sev- eral suspected drug dealers to stop dealing. We will contin- ue to put cases together, and we will come after those who choose to continue the drug trade.” mination Act of 2000.” It was the brainchild of Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D) and Idaho’s Mike Crapo (R) in response to ailing rural coun- ties with large tracts of U.S. Forest Service land. Counties from Alaska to Louisiana and beyond benefi ted. SRS was designed to run into 2006 to give its benefi ciaries time to fi nd other sources of revenue, but many communities, such as Wallowa, are too isolated from main thoroughfares to attract industry, so the act was renewed each year with some grumbling that participating counties needed to survive on their own. The last few years have seen a steady decrease in allocated funds, but nothing so drastic as this year Although the act is called Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determina- tion Act, most of the money from the act goes to fund the county’s road department. In the past about $200,000 year- ly went to local schools. The state will make up the educa- tion shortfall this year and in the years to come according to local school offi cials. oversees SRS, and although Wyden is on the committee, it is chaired by Alaska repub- lican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The SRS renewal never made it out of committee onto the senate fl oor, usually a deci- sion of the chair. Sen. Jeff Merkley is on the Senate Committee for Appro- priations and his media rep- resentative said that Merkley would use his position on the committee and every tool he has as a senator to fi ght for programs critical to rural Or- egon. His top priority is reau- thorizing SRS and PILT (Pay- ment in Lieu of Taxes) with mandatory funding to ensure that counties have a reliable and consistent stream of fund- ing for essential services. The future for renewing the funding doesn’t exactly look bright. On Feb. 17, Wyden and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in submitting an urgent request to Mick Mul- vaney, Director of the Offi ce of Management and Budget, to include adequate funding for the Secure Rural Schools program in the president’s budget for fi scal year 2018. The recently released pro- posed 2018 budget includes very little, if any money for SRS. “Restoring Secure Ru- ral Schools funding for rural counties in Oregon and na- tionwide is urgent business because those funds help pay for dependable law enforce- ment, safe roads and strong schools,” Wyden said. “I am proud to have co-authored the original SRS legislation and am committed to working on a long-term solution in this Congress to provide rural Ore- gon with the certainty it needs to plan budgets and ensure re- sources for their citizens.” Chris Marklund, Associ- ate Legislative Director of the National Association of Counties, is advocating for SRS funding, but noticed it’s getting increasingly diffi cult. “For the last few years, it’s been diffi cult for programs with spending associated with them, and SRS is one of those programs,” he said. Although SRS has strong support from both parties, it apparently has not been a high priority. Marklund said it was pos- sible the bill was shelved last year due to the uncertain po- litical climate, but with the new president in place and the congressional leadership de- termined, he’s hopeful. “If we’re talking of invest- ing in American infrastruc- ture, as the president said he desired to do during his cam- paign, Secure Rural Schools provides a direct investment into local communities and helps promote infrastructure in very rural, public lands counties across the United States,” he said. Nash. “I don’t like to see us going to the government with our hats in our hands when we have what we need right here to keep this county going.” Senior commissioner Su- san Roberts echoed the senti- ment. Since utilizing natural resources is not something the county can depend on in the near future, tough times are ahead. She’s not happy with congressional inaction on SRS and blames both parties. “With the way things are, people in congress are wor- ried about losing their own funding, so they’re not willing to take a chance on giving it away,” she said. ek WALLOWA HIGH SCHOOL in expansion, including repower- ing existing wind power, adding 3,000 MW of new wind and solar. Long-term projects also include building 1,100 megawatts of new wind projects, primarily in Wyo- ming, by the end of 2020; adding another 859 megawatts of new wind capacity (85 megawatts in Wyoming and 774 megawatts in Idaho) between 2028 and 2036, and building 1,040 megawatts of new solar capacity between 2028 and 2036. The plan incorporates the com- pany’s environmental compliance obligations for its coal-fi red plants. “I’m not a criminal; at most I’m an addict,” Strong said. After an April 10 prelimi- nary hearing was set, Strong was transported to Umatilla County jail. The bust highlighted the use of a canine offi cer from the Baker City Police depart- e W e h t f o t n e d Stu Daniel Delancey resents an important milestone towards more zero-emission gen- eration. Pacifi Corp provides electric service to 1.8 million custom- ers in six western states. Operat- ing as Pacifi c Power in Oregon, Washington and California and as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. In 2016, nearly one-third of all Pacifi Corp’s electric generation capacity was from zero-emitting plants. On April 4, the company an- nounced a long-term energy plan that includes investing $3.5 billion Daniel Delancey is the son of Tim and Gabriella Delancey. Daniel is a junior at Wallowa High School. He has been involved in baseball, honor society and cross-country. Daniel’s teachers state that Daniel is a delight to have in class and is a natural born leader. He is also extremely witty, creative and honest. Daniel is also a dedicated student academically and is currently enrolled in AP English, Spanish II for college credit, and trigonometry, earning high marks in each of these classes. Daniel’s claim to fame is that he makes really good homemade macaroni and cheese. Proudly sponsored by Joseph 432-9050 Enterprise 426-4511 Wallowa 886-9151 Politics The U.S. House of Rep- resentatives did not renew SRS, which is handled under the auspices of the House Appropriations Committee. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden is not on the committee, but wields clout through his seniority. When asked about the failure in the House, his press rep- resentative Andrew Malcom spoke of the need for more activity. “We have to change fed- eral forest policy to increase timber harvests,” Malcom said. “This will improve for- est health and provide need- ed revenue to counties for schools, roads and law en- forcement. We need a sustain- able solution, rather than one more year of a patch.” The Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. Time for a Computer Tuneup? Spyware Removal • 541-426-0108 103 SW 1st St., Enterprise Chief Joseph Days Coronation Feel the THUNDER! Local repercussions All of the county commis- sioners see the ultimate prob- lem as one of resource man- agement. While all agree that the newly approved Lower Jo- seph Creek Restoration Proj- ect is a step in the right direc- tion, no other resource-based projects are on the horizon. While growing tourism has helped fi ll the gap, it does not pay into the county’s coffers in the same way timber reve- nue does. “We’re a natural resourc- es-based county,” said newly elected commissioner Todd Roads The county’s road depart- ment will take the biggest hit, with its budget essential- ly shaved by half – down to $800,000, a tough blow after the long winter. However, the commissioners said they fore- saw future funding problems and planned accordingly. Lon Andrade, head of the county’s road department, said that some of the prepa- ration included not replacing retiring road crew personnel. The road crew had 16 mem- bers 10 years ago and is now down to 11. Andrade said that the past winter led to a lot of overtime, and most of the crew tries to take comp time in exchange, but the increased plowing also led to increased fuel consumption “We’ll actually run all right for the next two or three years. We’ve known for quite a few years that SRS was in danger of not being replaced. We’ve been tightening our belts for a day like right now. Hopefully, they’ll come up with some money,” he said. Saturday April 15th 2017 • • • • • If you haven’t seen what BEO can do for you, stop in and experience banking with us today. 2017 Royalty: Maddi Tracy-Mallory, Haley Miller, and Caitlin Robb Joseph Community Center Social hour @ 5:30 pm, Dinner @ 6:30 pm Coronation @ 8:30 pm, Dance @ 8:45 pm Dinner by Appleflat Catering Dance Only: $5 at the door Advance tickets available for $20.00 (including dance) at Sports Corral, all 3 Community Bank branches & Joseph Chamber Office 72nd Annual Chief Joseph Days Jolene Cox Branch Manager Enterprise 101 Hogan Street beobank.com 541.426.4205 Member FDIC