A8
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Minimum
wage tax credit
proposal on hold
Community HEALTH BEAT
A group of associations
representing agriculture has
indicated it wants lawmakers
SALEM — A legislative WRWDNHPRUHWLPHWR¿JXUHRXW
proposal to offset the cost of those details, rather than push
minimum wage increases to through legislation this session,
small businesses, farmers and which is scheduled to end by
other natural resources employ- Sunday.
ers appears to be on hold until at
“The reality is that more time
least 2017.
is needed to fully run cost and
Reps. Brian Clem, D-Salem, EHQH¿W VFHQDULRV WR HQVXUH DQ\
and John Davis, R-Wilsonville, ZDJHUHOLHIDFWXDOO\EHQH¿WVWKH
had proposed giving tax credits agriculture industry as a whole,”
to certain employers who are representatives from the agricul-
PRVWOLNHO\WRVWUXJJOH¿QDQFLDO- ture industry wrote in a letter to
ly to meet the requirements of a Clem. “We believe there may
new three-tier minimum wage only be one shot at alleviating
plan. The plan was laid out in the burden S.B. 1532 impos-
Senate Bill 1532, which passed es on agriculture. The solution
both legislative chambers earlier must meet the needs of our
this month.
member families without pick-
During negotiations with ing winners and losers among
legislative leadership, the plan the industry.”
was whittled down to tax cred-
The letter was signed by the
its of no more than $15 million Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon
a year only for employers in- Dairy Farmers Association, Or-
volved in animal production, egon Association of Nurseries,
aquaculture, crop production, Northwest Food Processors As-
¿VKLQJ KXQWLQJ WUDSSLQJ DQG sociation, Oregon Cattlemen’s
food manufacturing.
Association, Oregon Blueber-
7KDWDPRXQWZDVLQVXI¿FLHQW ry Commission, Oregon Seed
to cover the additional costs of Council, Columbia Gorge
all of those employers, so law- Fruit Growers Association, Far
PDNHUVZRXOGKDYHKDGWR¿QG West Agribusiness Association
a way to prioritize how to divvy and Oregon Wheat Growers
out the tax credits, Clem said.
League.
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
Quality Healthcare Close To Home
170 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-1311 • www.bluemountainhospital.org
attached to a video camera
to evaluate the lining of the
colon (large intestine) and
rectum. It is done under
As a General Surgeon, a large sedation, and if any
part of my practice deals
abnormalities are found,
with Colorectal Cancer (CRC) surgical instruments can be
screening and treatment.
passed through the
Did you know that among
“scope”to painlessly sample
cancers that affect both men and usually remove the
and women, CRC is the 2nd
growths, or polyps. These
leading cause of cancer
polyps start as non-
death in the United States?
cancerous, benign tumors,
More than 140,000
but over time have the
Americans are diagnosed
potential to develop into
with the disease every year
cancer. Colonoscopy is
and more than 50,000 of
therefore unlike any
them are expected to die this screening tool we have in
year. This translates into a
medicine because it allows us
lifetime risk of about 1 in 20 to not only detect cancers,
for the average person, and
but also prevent future
can be 2 to 3 times higher if
cancers. It also increases the
you have a family history of
likelihood that if cancer is
colon cancer or polyps.
found, it will be at an earlier
stage when it is more likely
Fortunately, over 90% of
to be cured.
these cancers and deaths
could be prevented. Despite The American Cancer Society,
its high incidence, CRC is one the American College of
of the most easily detected
Surgeons and the American
and successfully treated
Society of Colorectal
forms of cancer, especially
Surgeons all recommend
when found early. In the
starting colonoscopies at age
past decade, CRC rates have
50 (younger for those at
decreased by 3% every year.
increased risk).
This can be directly
Unfortunately, only about
attributed to the increased
50% of patients over 50
use of colonoscopy, the
years old are being screened.
“Gold Standard” tool used
Since colon polyps occur in at
for CRC screening.
least 20% of the adult
Colonoscopy uses a long,
population, and 90% of
thin, flexible fiber optic tube
Colorectal Cancer
Awareness Month
When asked “what are the
symptoms of CRC,”I recite a
long laundry list, including:
change in bowel habits with
constipation or diarrhea,
narrowed stools, blood in the
stool, abdominal pain or
cramps, bloating, weight loss,
weakness, nausea, vomiting
and fatigue. But the first
symptom is “No Symptoms at
All”. By the time symptoms
occur, the cancer is less likely
to be at an early state where
a definitive cure is possible.
The bottom line is
.
So if you are 50 years old or
older, get screened now. If
you think you may be at
higher than average risk
(example: personal and
family history of CRCs and
polyps, or a history of
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
(Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative
Colitis)) ask your doctor
about getting screened early
and schedule your
colonoscopy. It might just
save your life.
Keith J. Thomas, MD, FACS
Board-Certified General Surgeon
Blue Mountain Surgery
range. He also helped with branding.
BLUE MOUNTAIN CARE CENTER
Resident of the Month
RALPH WILSON
William “Ralph”
Wilson was born
on August 25,
1933 to Jonathan
“Pete” and Gladys
Wilson in Baker
City, Oregon. He
was raised in
Baker with four
sisters and three
brothers.
When he was 12
years old, Ralph
worked for a
gardener who grew vegetables to sell to the
stores in Baker, LaGrande and other places.
One of Ralph’s jobs was to mend lettuce crates
among other tasks.
Ralph was also a Boy Scout and was patrol
leader several different times. He had all the
badges up to Life and had almost acquired
that badge as well. Ralph used to go out and
help some of the ranchers at haying time, or to
help them drive the cattle out to summer
The Strawberry
Mountain
Community
Clinic SWCC is
now open at
7:00 AM Mon.-
Fri. as is Blue
Mountain
Hospital
Registration,
Lab, Radiology
Department,
and Physical
Therapy
Department.
those people are 50 years or
older, this leaves a huge
potential pool for cancers to
occur.
The summer of his Junior year in high school,
he went to work at the Bates mill. He had to
lie about his age, as he was only 17. In the fall
of that year, he quit his job at the mill and
went back to school half days and started
working for Montgomery Wards in Baker,
helping with freight and window displays,
later selling appliances. After graduation, he
went to work at the mill at Pondosa. Ralph
was also a National Guardsman. Being one of
very few men who could repair the M-1 Assault
Rifle, he was in high demand.
In 1954, he married Joann Cox and they moved
to Seattle, where Ralph worked for Boeing,
making model airplanes that were used to test
for larger aircraft. Ralph and Joann had two
children, a son and a daughter. Ralph moved
his family back to Grant County and worked
for saw mills in the area, before eventually
settling in Bates. He was a saw filer for over 35
years. He and Joann have been married for
over 60 years.
Ralph has three grandchildren and six great-
grandchildren. He enjoys playing cards,
hunting, hiking, getting firewood and just
being out in the woods in general. He also has
a fantastic imagination and tells wonderful
stories. Ralph came to the Blue Mountain Care
Center on October 6, 2014.
Presents...
March Visiting Specialists
2nd - Dr. O’Hollaren - Bend Urology
3rd - Dr. Riddock, Bend Cardio
4th - Dr. Sandefur - Baker Ortho
9th - Dr. McLellan - Bend Cardio
9th - Korena Farris - Bend Neuro
10th - Dennis Sell - Bend Hearing
21st - Dr. Rushton - Baker Podiatrist
28th - Dr. Rushton - Baker Podiatrist
30th - Dr. McLellan - Bend Cardio
03548
Competing energy
bills up for Senate vote
protect consumers and ensure
utilities use competitive bidding
WR DFTXLUH FRVWHI¿FLHQW QHZ
SALEM — Lawmakers in sources of renewable energy.
the Oregon Senate could on
Next, Republicans in the
Wednesday vote on two com- Senate, who oppose the bill,
peting bills to double the state’s brought it to a standstill by re-
renewable energy mandate, questing that lawyers draft a mi-
thanks to maneuvers by Demo- nority report. There is no dead-
crats and Republicans to either line to produce the report, so the
fast track or delay the legisla- move threatened to prevent the
tion.
measure from coming to a vote
The controversial legislation, before the end of the session.
which is a top priority for utili-
Supporters of the bill, in-
ties, environmental groups and cluding Democrats in both
Democrats in both chambers, chambers and Rep. Mark John-
could be among the last major son, R-Hood River, respond-
policy proposals lawmakers ed with a plan on Thursday to
vote on before the end of the insert a new version of the re-
short legislative session.
newable energy mandate legis-
Both bills would require lation into a different bill, Sen-
3DFL¿&RUS DQG 3RUWODQG *HQ- ate Bill 1547, that had already
eral Electric to use sources passed in the Senate. Lawmak-
such as solar and wind to serve ers negotiated that legislation
50 percent of their customers’ in closed-door meetings with
energy demand by 2040. The representatives of the utilities,
bills would also require the two environmental and renewable
investor-owned utilities to stop energy groups.
using coal power to serve their
Although two representa-
Oregon customers.
tives of the Public Utility Com-
However, there are also sig- mission attended the negotia-
QL¿FDQW GLIIHUHQFHV EHWZHHQ tions, none of the public utility
the bills including caps on how commissioners were involved
much the utilities can raise rates nor did they testify last week
each year to cover their costs, in- when a House committee voted
FOXGLQJDSUR¿WRQQHZUHQHZ- to insert the negotiated language
DEOH HQHUJ\ IDFLOLWLHV 7KH ¿UVW into Senate Bill 1547. Members
bill, House Bill 4036, calls for of the Public Utility Commis-
the Oregon Public Utility Com- sion have said an earlier version
mission to adopt regulations that of the legislation would be cost-
encourage competitive bidding ly for consumers but do little to
and diverse ownership of renew- reduce greenhouse gas emis-
able energy facilities, something sions from coal plants.
not required under the second
Many House Republicans
bill, Senate Bill 1547. That sec- also oppose the bill and they
ond bill also includes incentives decided to try the same delay
to boost wood-burning power tactic as their Senate colleagues
plants.
by requesting a minority report.
Senate Bill 1547 has more However, it did not buy much
momentum, thanks to support time because of different rules in
from environmental groups and the House. The minority report
the two investor-owned utilities. would make several changes
Brad Reed, a spokesman for the to Senate Bill 1547, including
SROLWLFDOO\ DFWLYH QRQSUR¿W 5H- making it easier for cities to
new Oregon which represents start new municipal utilities by
environmental and renewable giving them three years to meet
energy groups, said Senate Bill the renewable energy mandate,
1547 appears to have the clear- according to House Republican
est path forward. “And this bill 2I¿FHFRPPXQLFDWLRQVGLUHFWRU
enjoys support from clear ma- Preston Mann.
jorities in both the House and
By Monday, Senate Repub-
Senate,” Reed wrote in an email licans had decided to withdraw
Monday afternoon.
their minority report, allowing
Utility representatives have House Bill 4036 to be scheduled
also said they dislike the 3 per- for a vote Wednesday.
cent annual cap on renewable
Caitie Butler, communica-
energy rate increases in the tions director for the Oregon
¿UVWELOODQGWKH\ZRXOGSUHIHU Senate Republicans, wrote in an
the 4 percent cap on renewable email Monday that Republicans
rate increases in the second bill. withdrew the request “because
The utilities can request the re- (House lawmakers) stripped
newable energy rate increases most of the ratepayer protections
on top of broader periodic rate out of the stuffed Senate bill ...”
increases.
Butler wrote that Senate Repub-
House lawmakers already licans still do not support either
voted 39-20 to pass House Bill bill. Senate Bill 1547 is sched-
4036, in mid-February. After XOHG IRU D +RXVH ÀRRU YRWH RQ
news reports that Gov. Kate Tuesday, which means it could
Brown’s administration had told DOVRJRWRWKH6HQDWHIRUD¿QDO
public utility commissioners not up or down vote Wednesday.
to go public with their concerns House Bill 4036 would have to
about the bill, a Senate commit- JREDFNWRWKH+RXVHIRUD¿QDO
tee added language to the bill to up or down vote.
By Hillary Borrud
Capital Bureau