A8 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, April 15, 2015 6WDWHPXOOLQJKLJKHUZLOG¿UHSUHPLXPV By Hillary Borrud Capital Bureau SALEM ² 2f¿ cials at the 2regon Department of Forestry are getting anxious, as the state heads into ¿ re season without the wild¿ re insurance policy the state has traditionally pur- chased. Forest landowners, law- makers and other state of¿ cials are mulling over a proposal that would more than double 2regon’s wild¿ re insurance deductible, from $20 million to $50 million. “As far as the Department of Forestry is concerned, if there’s going to be a policy, we’d like to see it in place as soon as pos- sible because the last two years we’ve seen ¿ res early in the season,” said Rod Nichols, a File photo/Grant County Sheriff’s Department Lloyd’s of London has offered the state wildfire insurance coverage with substantially higher premiums and deductibles. spokesman for the 2regon De- partment of Forestry. “Because of the dry, warm conditions, we could see ¿ res early on be substantial. This is the ¿ fth year now of drought in the Northwest and 2regon.” The state usually has a pol- POT Continued from Page A1 01631 Katrina’s is now open. Mon-Fri, Walk-ins 9-noon..apts taken in the afternoon. Barbering services, Ladies, and Children’s haircuts too. Thank you for your patience customers and friends. You have been missed and I look forward to seeing you. Located beside Subway • 541-575-1358 1602 “Relying on a third party’s consent should be approached with caution,” he said in clos- ing. In response to the decision, Deputy District Attorney Matt Ipson ¿ led a motion to dismiss all three marijuana cases late Thursday, and Cramer issued that judgment the same day. Ipson said that without the evidence from the search, there was no basis to continue the prosecution. He also said he has no in- tention of appealing Cramer’s ruling on the search evidence. PLAN Continued from Page A1 As for any involvement by the Partners, he said, “It’s my understanding they are not interested in icy in place by April, but the past two costly wild¿ re seasons caused insurers to reconsider whether to issue coverage to the state. The state “sent a contin- gent to London” earlier this year to present a case for Lloyd’s to continue insuring the state, said Tim Keith, administrator of the Emergency Fire Cost Commit- tee that oversees money raised through fees paid by forest land- owners. 2regon State Forester Doug Decker is currently dis- cussing the proposal with law- makers and the other of¿ cials who will decide whether to pur- chase a policy this year. “He’s talking with them be- cause it is a major budgeting de- cision,” Nichols said. For several decades, the state has used money from for- est landowners and the general fund to purchase a policy from Lloyd’s, the London insurance market. 2regon is the only state in the nation to purchase a wild¿ re insurance policy. Se- vere wild¿ res in 201 and 201 caused the company to increase the cost of the policy this year. Nichols said there is no hard deadline for the state to decide whether to purchase the policy, but state lawmakers must pass a budget by June 0. This year, Lloyd’s said it would issue a policy with $25 million in coverage, which would kick in after the state spends at least $50 million on wild¿ re suppression. The premium would be $.5 million. Last year, the state paid a premium of $2 million and received $25 million in coverage, after it had spent “I understand and respect Judge Cramer’s ruling,” Ipson said. “It’s time to move on.” Supporters of Graves called it a victory for the right to use cannabis for medicinal and health bene¿ ts. In an Internet post, Mindi Grif¿ ths said that even as they awaited the of- ¿ cial dismissal by the court, “celebrations have already be- gun.” Robert Raschio, attorney for Martin, said his client is pleased to have the case end. “Being charged with a crime for exercising his sin- cerely held religious beliefs was excruciating for him,” Raschio said. “The court made a decision applying the law around search and seizure, and protected all of our rights to be free of unwanted government intrusion unless a warrant is obtained ¿ rst, as reTuired by the Constitution.” The case arose as the legal landscape for marijuana took a signi¿ cant shift in 2regon, with voters last fall approving a measure to make recreational marijuana legal, expanding on an already robust medical mar- ijuana program. In this case, however, rec- reational use was not an issue. Defense attorneys contended the marijuana was a religious sacrament, and Graves testi¿ ed early on that she is the leader of a branch of a Native American church that uses cannabis in healing rites. taking on that task on our behalf.” Members of the Part- ners have said the group acts independently and is not interested in working for the county government. They plan to continue their work focused on vegeta- tion management – timber and restoration – projects. The group, which in- cludes representatives of the timber industry as well as conservation communi- ty, also plans to continue providing input on the for- est plan revision. Asked a second time at last week’s meeting about the $20,000, Myers said, “We did not pay Blue Mountains Forest Partners $20,000, and we will not. The discussion has gone no farther.” Britton was not at the meeting last week. Con- tacted later, he said the idea of tapping the expertise of the Partners seemed like a good idea, but it was “just a concept.” He had hoped the group would take it on, with or without help with the costs, but he acknowl- edged that apparently they are not interested. “In retrospect, I think it’s wise for them not to take the county’s money,” Britton said. Join the Mt. Vernon Grange in saying farewell and best wishes to Gene and Barb Brady on their new adventure. They will be missed. Mt. Vernon Grange Hall on April 24 th beginning at 4 pm. Finger food and cake will be available. 01686 01680 $20 million on ¿ re¿ ghting . Nichols said it could raise Tuestions for some people that the state would consider an in- surance policy with a deductible twice the amount of the cover- age, but the state’s situation is different than many conven- tional purchasers such as an in- dividual who buys homeowners insurance. That is because the state views the $50 million de- ductible as its spending budget for ¿ re protection. Nichols said that during severe ¿ re seasons, the insurance policy is a buffer that prevents ¿ re¿ ghting costs from eating into the state gener- al fund and taking money away from other programs. 7KiV Vtor\ ¿ rVt aSSeared in tKe 2regon CaSitaO ,nVider neZVOetter 7o VuEVFriEe go to oregonFaSitaOinViderFom ROAD Continued from Page A1 Several in the audience raised earlier reTuests that the Court give the Forest Service a written notice to comply with the county’s public lands access ordi- nance, which reTuires clo- sures be approved by the Court and the sheriff. Myers said the Court al- ready has asked the Forest Service to present its clo- sure plans, and the Court is reviewing them “as we speak.” Asked if they were ap- proving or disapproving the proposals, Commissioner Chris Lahbart pointed to a stack of forest documents several inches thick, and said the Court still has a lot of reading to do. “We do have standing,” Myers added. “We will object if we do find some- thing to object to.” Myers deferred some Tuestions, noting the full Court is scheduled to hear from Sproul and the private group, Citizens for Public Access, at this Wednes- day’s meeting. Commis- sioner Boyd Britton was absent last week. Sproul said the Court should be aware that any road that’s been open 10 years or more is a county road, so the county has ju- risdiction over them. Mark Pengelly asked the Court what it is doing to restore membership in the county’s public access board. Five members of the board resigned earlier this year, citing a lack of sup- port from the Court. With just two members – Pengally and Steve Par- sons – remaining on the board, there isn’t a Tuorum to meet. Myers indicated no movement in that area. “We haven’t had that discussion, either formally or casually,” he said. Pengelly suggested the Court had a legal respon- sibility to put the board together, but Myers said advisory groups are not reTuired unless they are “statutory.” Ron Phillips reminded the Court they were elected “to represent us.” “It should be obvious we do not want our roads closed or access curtailed at all,” he said. Howard Geiger urged the Court to remember the im- portance of communication as it reviews forest plans. “Don’t leave us out,” he said. “Let us know what you’re talking about.”