OREGON NEWS
6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
Klamath County
farmers gather to
protest water shutoff
KLAMATH FALLS (AP) — Farm-
ers were driving tractors and other
agriculture equipment from Merrill to
Midland in southern Oregon Friday
to express frustration about a meager
water season facing irrigators this year.
Hundreds were expected to attend
the “Shut Down and Fed Up” tractor
rally in Midland, spokesperson Molly
Jenkins told the Capital Press. Photos
of tractors lining up in Merrill Friday
morning displayed signs with slogans
such as “Food grows where water
fl ows,” the Herald and News reported.
The tractor convoy is traveling
through Klamath Falls and will cul-
minate in a rally with U.S. Rep. Greg
Walden among the speakers.
Tulelake farmer and an event
organizer Scott Seus said the event is a
way to allow irrigators to release anger
after they were told of an early shutoff
of irrigation water after many had
already planted crops.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
which determines water allocation for
the Klamath Project according to the
biological opinion, told irrigators in
RALLY
Continued from Page 5A
By noon, protesters all wearing
surgical or cloth masks were taping
posters to about 20 vehicles sitting
in the parking lot at the corner
of North First Place and Locust
Avenue. Signs included “Thank you
farm workers!” and “We are wearing
masks for you, not us!” One vehicle
sported a “Black Lives Matter” sign.
Organizer Diedre Torres said be-
fore the parade of vehicles departed
that she was going to take them on a
route through town that avoided the
other rally.
“I’m just trying to concentrate on
what we’re doing,” she said.
Luz Reyes said she was participat-
ing because she has friends who are
farm workers and she is concerned
about their safety. She said she
April that they would receive 140,000
acre-feet of water for farming. Many
planted crops accordingly, knowing
their water usage would be much lower
than half of a full 350,000 acre-foot
allocation.
After the Natural Resources
Conservation Service released a dry
May 1 forecast, with many crops in
the ground, it became clear that that
amount would likely be reduced to
80,000 acre-feet. Of that, 55,000 acre-
feet was left as of May 10. That amount
of irrigation water will run out around
July 1.
“We’re all in shock over here trying
to fi gure out how to deal with it,” Seus
said. “At every moment, we are trying
to deal with this crisis and how to avert
in any way, shape or form.”
Convoy and rally organizers are try-
ing to attract the attention of President
Donald Trump.
“I hope that we have his attention,
and if we don’t, I hope that we gain
it,” Seus said. “I would hope that his
administration would try to fi nd ways
to fi nd lasting solutions.”
wanted to make a statement for safe
working conditions, living wages and
job security.
“Being an essential worker, espe-
cially in an unsafe environment, es-
pecially not knowing what workload
to expect, can be diffi cult,” she said.
Hermiston City Councilors
Manuel Gutierrez and Roy Barron
were present at the Essential not
Sacrifi cial event. Gutierrez said
he wanted to show his support for
essential workers in Hermiston
and their desires to stay safe from
COVID-19.
“I don’t want to bring the disease
to my family,” he said, noting that he
is also of a high-risk age.
The essential workers protest
avoided any direct confrontation
with the “Hermiston Freedom Rally,”
though others opted not to stay
away.
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2020
Portland mayor asks governor
to call in Oregon National Guard
By Gillian Flaccus
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The mayor of
Portland, and Oregon’s federal
prosecutor, asked Gov. Kate
Brown on Monday to call up the
Oregon National Guard to help
police in the state’s largest city
with protests that have spun
into violence for three consecu-
tive nights.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a
news conference that Brown had
declined to call up the National
Guard on Sunday, instead opting
for more involvement by the
Oregon State Police. But when
asked, Wheeler said he agreed
with a call by U.S. Attorney
for Oregon Billy J. Williams to
bring National Guard troops to
the city to guard infrastructure
such as federal courthouses and
police offi ces.
“What I saw at the Justice
Center …. was sickening. This
has to stop and in order for that
to happen in the city of Portland,
we need help,” Williams said.
“We need bodies, we need more
numbers to do something to stop
this ridiculous violence. This just
cannot keep up.”
During a few of the speakers on
Saturday, a young black man stood
holding a bright green sign with an
expletive message written in sharpie
directed at President Donald Trump,
while rallygoers tried to block it from
view using American fl ags.
Hodges said he was asked to
make the man leave the rally but
that he wanted to welcome those
who opposed them.
“Perfect, that’s what it should
be,” Hodges said. “Stand up for your
beliefs while we stand for ours.”
Other speakers included Rob
Lovett, president of the Greater
Hermiston Area Tea Party, Rob Tay-
lor, a Second Amendment activist
from Coos County, Jonathan Lopez,
former candidate for Umatilla
County commissioner, and Mark
Hodges, Colin’s father and former
head coach of the Hermiston High
Brown’s offi ce did not im-
mediately reply to a request for
comment.
Portland remains under a
curfew order that takes effect at
8 p.m. nightly, but police did not
stop several thousand protesters
who violated the order late Sun-
day, in part because the crowd
was so large, said Deputy Chief
Chris Davis.
Police arrested 12 adults dur-
ing protests Sunday and early
Monday morning after authori-
ties said projectiles — including
“large, industrial grade mortar-
type fi reworks” — were thrown
at offi cers as demonstrations
over the killing of George Floyd
continued in Oregon’s largest
city. Two juveniles were also
detained.
The violence came after thou-
sands of protesters held a largely
peaceful demonstration outside
the Multnomah County Justice
Center in downtown Portland.
At one point, some police offi cers
took a knee with protesters and
three people in the crowd had
a private talk with Police Chief
Jami Resch, authorities said.
“We saw people at their very
School football team.
“I think they did a good job of
assembling people with different
points of view,” said Steven Cran-
ston, who attended Saturday’s
rally with his family and said he
wasn’t concerned about the risks of
COVID-19.
While the rally was explicitly ad-
vertised as apolitical, it also featured
tables and petitions for the newest
initiative to recall Gov. Kate Brown,
a movement that multiple speakers
voiced support for on Saturday.
Some speakers delved into topics
like abortion and vaccinations, while
others directly accused Democratic
leaders of deliberately implement-
ing the “lockdown” to harm people.
During his speech, Mark Hodges
called public health offi cials doing
contact tracing “murderous merce-
naries.”
worst and we saw people at
their very best,” said Davis, who
thanked protesters who re-
mained peaceful. “Our strategy
last night was to make sure that
whatever happened, the police
bureau was not the cause and
so we decided to give them a
greater space and give them the
time to express themselves.”
Police said protesters
smashed windows at the federal
courthouse and through loud-
speakers authorities declared
the late-night gathering a civil
disturbance.
The Multnomah County GOP
criticized the police response in
a statement on Monday, saying
the Portland Police Bureau and
Wheeler were being too easy on
protesters and should not have
allowed them to violate the cur-
few order without consequences.
“After all of Portland’s experi-
ence with mass protests, can the
police really be so incompetent
as to fail to encircle these crowds
and arrest them all? Of course
not. This is a deliberate policy
choice to promoting further
disorder,” said Chairman James
Buchal.
Though he said he’d prefer to
foster an environment more akin
to an “academic forum” rather than
the “pep rally” atmosphere that de-
veloped Saturday, Colin Hodges felt
the speakers stayed on track.
“They were more just so about
freedom and about the government
sort of encroaching on those free-
doms and what we should do about
it,” he said. “I think that was pretty
consistent.”
Hodges also led the rally though
prayer both to start and conclude
the rally and made faith and reli-
gion a central tenet of Saturday’s
message.
After organizing and coordinat-
ing his fi rst rally, Hodges said he’s
determined to do more and has
targeted the Fourth of July as the
next potential date for another rally
in the area.
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