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A8 LOCAL/REGIONAL Wallowa County Chieftain Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Joseph Charter students question Sen. Ron Wyden By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Views on education, the current unrest in the Middle East, the U.S. Capitol attack and taxes were all among questions Joseph Charter School students asked U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden during a “Listening to the Future” Zoom call Monday, May 17. The afternoon vir- tual meeting gave sev- enth through 12th graders at JCS an opportunity to inquire of the Democratic senator and chairman of the Committee on Finance anything they wanted. One seventh-grade stu- dent asked Wyden about his thoughts on the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6. The senior senator from Oregon called it “horren- dous,” and said his fi rst thought on it was that the attack was something one would hear about happen- ing in other countries, but not America. “This was, in my opin- ion, domestic terrorism, because domestic terror- ism is when you are will- ing to resort to violence to obtain a political objec- tive,” he said. “In our coun- try, the Founding Fathers said absolutely peace- ful protest, but violence is absolutely out. That applies in Portland, Ore- gon, that applies in Wash- ington, D.C. that applies in rural communities. Vio- lence, out.” He was also asked about education, and talked about both the cost of it and addressed a question about trade schools. He brought up a bill he has proposed, the Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act (though he didn’t state it by name) that would give employers an option to pay into their employees’ retirement plans an amount equal to a percentage of that employ- ee’s monthly student loan payment. He was also asked why education seems geared more toward college rather than trade school, and said he is working to change that. Coleman Oil Wallowa Cardlock is NOW OPEN “I am spending a lot of time trying to reimag- ine education,” he said. “A lot of trade schools are a much better fi t for a lot of students. They can see there is a path to a job that pays good wages. For a lot of young people, you may decide you want to pursue a trade.” He said part of that would be aided by compa- nies coming into schools to discuss their trades. Sophomore Maleah Murray asked Wyden where he stood in the Israel/Palestine confl ict, which has heated up again in recent weeks. Wyden said in his opin- ion, the best option is a two-state solution. “Right now we gotta have a case fi re. The Biden people should be hip deep in the middle of trying to tell people ‘We gotta work together,’” he said. “This is doing enormous damage to everyone in the region.” He also was asked about what employers should do given the challenges hiring employees — even with a high number of job open- ings — with the student citing current unemploy- ment benefi t levels as part of the reason people aren’t going back to work. Wyden said he is intend- ing to soon introduce leg- islation that would have unemployment benefi ts linked to the unemploy- ment rate, that bring the amount of benefi ts down as the rate decreased, and vise versa. “I think the fair approach for employers and for workers is let’s make future benefi ts tied to real life unemployment in our communities,” he said. “That is the kind of thing that I think is a winning strategy.” And when asked what a citizen who is too young to vote can do to get heard, he said what was happen- ing Monday in the students talking to their senator was an example of a step to take. “The fact you are par- ticipating today is a way to hold elected offi cials accountable,” he said. Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File Seventeen-year-old Weston-McEwen senior Bailey Munck testifi es remotely from Pendleton on March 25, 2021, for Senate Bill 649, known as Bailey’s Bill. The bill increases penalties for criminal sexual contact with an underage victim when the defendant is the victim’s teacher. Rarely used House rule saves Bailey’s Bill By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian SALEM — Members of the House Judiciary Com- mittee dusted off a sel- dom-used rule last week to force a hearing for Bailey’s Bill. Offi cially named Sen- ate Bill 649, Bailey’s Bill increases penalties for criminal sexual contact with an underage victim if the off ender is the vic- tim’s teacher. Currently, a coach convicted of sexual abuse in the third degree receives harsher penal- ties than a teacher who commits the exact same crime. The legislation is named for Weston-McE- wen High School student Bailey Munck, who testi- fi ed on March 25 to the Ore- gon Senate’s judiciary com- mittee, telling of sexual abuse in 2019 during a vol- leyball road trip by Andrew DeYoe, an English teacher and scorekeeper for the vol- leyball team. Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Ath- ena, and Sen. Kathleen Tay- lor, D-Milwaukie, intro- duced and shepherded • Conveniently Located • Accepting all Major Credit/Debit and CFN Cards • Easily Accessible for Semi trucks, Campers and RV’s • Non-Ethanol Premium • 24/7 Fueling 71051 HWY 82 Wallowa, OR 97885 888-799-2000 www.colemanoil.com the bill through the Sen- ate. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the full Senate, where it was passed without opposi- tion. The bill then headed to the House, where it seemed a legislative slam dunk. Last week, however, com- mittee Chairwoman Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clack- amas, indicated she likely wouldn’t be scheduling a hearing for the bill, essen- tially stopping its progress. nville police chief, said he knew about the rule because he studied the rulebook the same way he studied the criminal code as a law enforcement offi cer. “It’s in my nature to get a feel for what’s out there,” he said. Noble said committee members tried other strat- egies fi rst. When eff orts to urge Bynum to schedule a hearing failed, they fi nally resorted to House Rule 8.20. Noble said all nine mem- “PEOPLE WHO WE ENTRUST WITH OUR YOUTH MUST BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD.” — Rep. Ron Noble, R-McMinnville The deadline was Friday, May 14. So on Wednesday, May 12, Hansell feared the worst, but by the end of the day his worry had whipsawed to jubilation. Rep. Ron Noble, R-McMinnville, called to say that the nine mem- bers of the judicial commit- tee had invoked House Rule 8.20 that says if a major- ity of committee members request a hearing in writing, the chairman must schedule a hearing within fi ve days. “Every single Republican and Democrat on the com- mittee signed a letter request- ing a hearing,” Hansell said. “It’s scheduled for (Tuesday, May 18).” Chief House Clerk Tim Sekerak mused that he had never seen the rule invoked in his almost 10 years at the Oregon Capitol. He said Deputy Chief Clerk Obie Rutledge has worked there since the early 2000s and also doesn’t remember the rule being used. “This is an extremely rare occurrence,” Sekerak said. “When this many members of a committee want to do something, the chair usually works something out.” Noble, a former McMin- bers simply thought the bill deserved to be considered. “People who we entrust with our youth must be held to a higher standard,” he said. “They have to be held accountable.” Tactics kept bill stalled Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, who is shepherd- ing the bill on the House side, felt relief when the bill became unstuck. Bynum had stopped by Levy’s desk to let her know the bill was mov- ing again. Levy said she had com- municated with Bynum about her reasons for hold- ing up the bill, but said, “I’m going to let her speak for herself.” Bynum told Oregonian reporter Chris Lehman that she is frustrated about legis- lation designed to dial back the eff ects of Measure 11 that is stalled. She expressed no reservations about Bai- ley’s Bill, but seemed to be using it as a bargaining chip. “I don’t have any prob- lems with the bill itself,” she told the Oregonian. “I just have a problem with pick- ing and choosing who gets justice.” Levy is all in. She hopes to meet Munck, now 17, and tell her how proud of her she is. “It’s criminally wrong that teachers aren’t held to the same high standard as coaches,” she said. “Chil- dren are our greatest assets and we need to protect them.” Levy planned to testify May 18, along with Hansell, Munck and others. While testifying remotely to the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee of the Oregon Legis- lature in March, the teenager was direct. “What is the signifi cant diff erence between a teacher and a coach? Do coaches somehow carry more author- ity than a teacher might?” she asked the senators. “Coaches and teachers should be pros- ecuted equally as they both have responsibility for stu- dents’ safety and they both have positions of author- ity and power over their stu- dents and players.” If Munck’s abuser, DeYoe, had been a coach, he might have been con- victed of a Class C felony, a crime that carries sentences up to fi ve years in prison and a $125,000 fi ne. But DeYoe wasn’t technically a coach. Instead, DeYoe, 31, got a lighter sentence. In the plea deal, he forfeited his teach- ing license, terminated his housing lease in Athena and agreed to have no con- tact with minors who are not family members. He spent a night in the Umatilla County Jail and will serve fi ve years probation. He wasn’t required to register as a sex off ender. Adding the words “and teachers” to the existing law would close the loophole, said Munck and others who testifi ed that day. This is a simple fi x, they said. “This is a solid bipar- tisan bill,” Levy said. “It should pass out of the House with full support and go to the governor’s desk to be signed.”