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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2020)
LOCAL & STATE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A Two GOP candidates campaign in Baker City audits division, and serving as administra- tor of public records. Two Republican candidates hoping to In regard to elections, Oregon was the accomplish what has become a rare feat fi rst state, in 1998, to have all elections by for members of their party in Oregon mail-in ballots. The topic has generated brought their campaigns to Baker City considerable publicity this year, as states Thursday evening. look to limit in-person voting due to the Kim Thatcher, who is running for Or- coronavirus pandemic. President Donald egon secretary of state, and Jeff Gudman, Trump has expressed concern about the a candidate for state treasurer, spoke to prospect for widespread election fraud. a group of about 35 people at Geiser-Poll- Thatcher said she believes Oregon has man Park. avoided such problems with its vote-by- The event was organized mail system. by Baker County Republi- “I think we do a pretty darn good job,” cans. she said. “We have safeguards in place and Republican candidates we’ve worked on it for a long time.” have fared poorly in state- Thatcher said that as secretary of state wide elections over the past Thatcher she would ensure that the state remains two decades, including races vigilant in making sure Oregon voters can for state offi ces and for U.S. be confi dent in their electoral process. senator. As for public records, Thatcher believes Since 2002, Dennis the state has failed to uphold the purpose Richardson is the only Re- of the 1973 law, and made it too diffi cult publican to win such a race, for people to access public records to which when he defeated Democrat Gudman they’re legally entitled. Brad Avakian in the secre- Obstacles include the cost of having tary of state’s race in November 2016. public offi cials review requested records Richardson died on Feb. 26, 2019, and for items that could be legally redacted, Gov. Kate Brown appointed Bev Clarno, as well as just “foot-dragging” by agencies, also a Republican, to replace him. Thatcher said. Thatcher, who has served in the Oregon She said that as secretary of state she Legislature since 2005, initially as a repre- would seek to make public records more sentative and currently as a senator, said readily available, in particular by posting in an interview prior to Thursday’s event them online. that she doesn’t believe she has an advan- Thatcher has been a member of the tage because both Clarno and Richardson Transparency Oregon Advisory Com- are also Republicans. mission, which deals with public records Indeed, Thatcher, 55, who lives in Keizer, issues, since 2009. said she misses Richardson, a friend and Thatcher, who is a former co-chair of the former colleague in the Legislature. Joint Legislative Committee on Audits, Thatcher said she expected that it Information Management & Technology, would Richardson’s name on the Nov. 3 said she strongly supports the secretary of ballot, seeking a second term as secretary state being aggressive in using the audits of state, rather than her own. division to make sure state agencies are Thatcher said she takes heart, though, spending tax dollar wisely. by Richardson’s victory in 2016. “They are very good at what they do,” “Dennis showed it could be done, that she said of the state’s auditors. people still do cross over in Oregon, and Thatcher believes audits can be espe- look at the candidate rather than the cially vital in the near future because the party,” she said. state will have to deal with a signifi cant In any case, Thatcher contends that the decline in tax revenue due to the economic secretary of state is a “managerial” posi- effects of the pandemic. tion and that the holder of the offi ce has Finding, and eliminating, wasteful “what should be nonpartisan responsibili- spending is more crucial than ever, she ties.” said. Those include serving as the state’s See Candidates/Page 6A chief elections offi cial, overseeing Oregon’s By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Dave Killen / The Oregonian-OregonLive Protests in downtown Portland on Aug. 25. Governor Brown calls for end to violence By Andrew Selsky Associated Press SALEM — With protests in Portland nearing the 100- day mark, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday called for an end to violence even as fed- eral agents were continuing to arrest protesters who allegedly assaulted law enforcement offi cers. Protests have erupted daily in the Pacifi c Northwest city since the killing of George Floyd. They are now are punctuated by clashes between Black Lives Matter demon- strators and far-right counter- protesters. One man who was a supporter of a far-right group called Patriot Prayer was shot dead last Saturday. “The violence must stop,” Brown wrote. “There is no place for white supremacy or vigilantism in Oregon. All who perpetrate violent crimes must be held equally accountable.” The statement does not single out the small minority of left-wing protesters who have been setting fi res, vandalizing “The violence must stop. There is no place for white supremacy or vigilantism in Oregon. All who perpetrate violent crimes must be held equally accountable.” — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown buildings and throwing objects at police. But Brown’s spokes- man, Charles Boyle, said it “is a collective call to action for an end to violence in Portland and affi rms that those who commit violent acts must be held ac- countable.” Brown’s condemnation of violence was also signed by almost two-dozen state and local politicians, a host of orga- nizations including the local NAACP chapter, and profes- sional sports teams like the Trailblazers NBA team, the Timbers soccer team and the Thorns women’s soccer team. Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell has denounced protesters who broke windows and set a fi re this week to a business in the upscale apart- ment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler lives. Protesters are angry that Wheeler has not stopped offi cers from using batons and tear gas against Black Lives Matter protesters. Wheeler now reportedly plans to move out of the building. Two people arrested by federal agents appeared in federal court on Thursday. As of a week ago, 74 people were facing federal charges for crimes allegedly commit- ted during demonstrations in Portland since at least May 29, U.S. Attorney Billy Wil- liams said. “Violent agitators have hijacked any semblance of First Amendment protected activity, engaging in violent criminal acts and destruction of public safety,” Williams said last week. Dog deaths investigation continues Samples from dogs that died recently in Haines are being tested for poison, the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce said Friday. The Sheriff’s Offi ce has confi rmed that six dogs have died, all in Haines, according to a press release. One resident reported that two of his dogs died between Aug. 27-29. On Aug. 31 deputies responded to a call from a Haines resident whose dog was suf- fering from seizures. Deputies took the dog to the Animal Clinic in Baker City but the dog died en route. BENEFITS Continued from Page 1A The information about the smaller repayment came from the Baker Education Associa- tion, which represents teach- ers, said Michelle Glover, the District’s business manager. Glover said District offi cials, who believe the overpayment resulted from ambiguous in- structions on a state-provided form, are advocating for the state to not punish employees. The situation affects teach- ers and other employees who work during the school year but not year-round, Glover said. To ensure employees quali- fi ed for Oregon’s Work Share program, the District reduced their pay by the equivalent of one work day per week during May, equating to 25% given the usual 4-day school week. While the state probably won’t seek immediate repay- ment, the employees could be required to repay the money before collecting any future unemployment benefi ts, Witty said. In an email to the Herald, Witty wrote that the amount overpaid would be considered a balanced owed to the state, and that amount would be deducted from any future unemployment benefi ts to which district employees are entitled. “It was a glitch in the way the contract is built and the The Sheriff’s Offi ce also received reports that three other dogs died within a 24-hour period. Deputies have been going door to door in Haines, talking to residents and asking dog owners to keep their pets contained in their yards and to watch for symptoms such as heavy panting or convulsions. The Sheriff’s Offi ce has been in contact with the Animal Investigation Unit at the Oregon Humane Society, and anyone with information about the incidents should call the county dispatch offi ce at 541-523-6415. way Work Share was put into law,” he said. Here’s the glitch: For the week of Memorial Day, the employees’ work week totaled 44 hours under their contracts — 36 hours of instruction time and eight hours of holiday pay, accord- ing to the email from Witty. The Work Share pro- gram, however, does not pay benefi ts to employees who work more than 40 hours per week, the District learned when notifi ed by the Employment Department on Aug. 25. That information was not included on any forms or communication provided earlier to the District, Witty said. “If we’d have known we wouldn’t have applied for that week,” he said. The employer instructions for the weekly benefi ts in- cludes this sentence: “Please indicate the employee’s cus- tomary work week (if other than 40 hours).” In the email, Witty wrote that district offi cials, based on that instruction, weren’t aware that the customary work week couldn’t exceed 40 hours. And although he says he recognizes the Employ- ment Department has been swamped with a heavy workload and an unusu- ally high volume of cases to handle during the pandemic, Witty faults the department for paying the claims in the fi rst place. “They accepted it and paid it,” Witty said. “I wish they would have caught it right at the gate. That would have been great.” Witty said the District will continue to advocate for a resolution to the problem for the benefi t of its employees. “I wish they would own the mistake and drive on, as opposed to trying to col- lect the money from people who’ve already spent it, essentially,” he said. “I am hopeful that in the next few days we can get it resolved and move on, but there are no guarantees.” Although the employees’ work week was reduced by 25% in May, they did not suffer pay cuts because they became eligible for not only weekly state Work Share benefi ts, but also the weekly federal benefi ts included in the coronavirus relief bill. The District expects to save about $300,000 through its participation in the Work Share plan, and would push that savings into the next bi- ennium when school budgets are expect to face heavy cuts because of declining state revenue resulting from the current recession,Witty said. Jayson Jacoby of the Baker City Herald contributed to this story. 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