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proceedings and argued that
the ballot violated rules the
party adopted in October.
The rules called for the
party to vote for their top
10 choices for at-large del-
egates. The 10 candidates
who received the most votes
would win seats on the del-
egation, while those who
ranked 11th to 20th in num-
ber of votes would win posts
as alternates.
Instead, Republican Par-
ty Chairman Bill Currier in-
structed party members to
vote for 10 delegates and 10
alternates, and he rejected the
challenge of the ballot.
A party member then re-
quested a vote on whether to
uphold or reject Currier’s de-
cision. Currier held a stand-
ing vote in which a majority
rejected his decision and
clariied that the body would
be voting only for their top
10 choices. The top 10 choic-
es would become delegates;
the second top 10 vote getters
would serve as alternates.
Yamhill County Precinct
Committeeman Jim Bunn, a
former U.S. representative
for Oregon, said the ballot
failed to follow the rules
adopted in October and also
gave the grassroots unity
slate an advantage.
“The rules were very
clear, and they didn’t accom-
modate a slate,” Bunn said.
“I am not going to judge peo-
ple’s motives, but the ballot
would have given an advan-
tage to the slate.”
If the slate had just 51 per-
cent of the vote, it could have
selected both the 10 delegates
and all 10 alternates, he said.
“There are people who
are not running on slates, and
with a slate and that kind of
ballot, you can lock down
all of the voices on the del-
egation,” Bunn said. “I don’t
know if the slate has 51 per-
cent of the body, but one
group shouldn’t get together
and control the whole dele-
gation.”
Republican
National
Committeeman Solomon Yue
Jr. said party leaders faced
a dilemma when they deter-
mined the ballot instructions
because some candidates
had iled only as alternates.
A vote for the top 10 choic-
es for delegate would have
effectively forced those can-
didates out of the running
for alternate, because party
members would only be cast-
ing votes for delegates.
“In a democratic society,
candidates have a right to
stand for election, and voters
have the right to vote for the
candidates they want,” Yue
said. “If you ask the body
only to vote for 10 and the
other 10 get elected by de-
fault, I think that’s a prob-
lem, but I have respect for
the body’s decision, if that is
what they want.”
Yue said he disagrees the
ballot to vote for 10 delegates
and 10 alternates gave the
unity slate an advantage. The
body may vote for which-
ever mix of candidates they
choose, he said.
“The slate is a group of
people who decided to get
together because we have
something in common so
let’s run together,” Yue said.
The grassroots unity slate
was running on the premise
that they would unify the
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party. All of the candidates
had to sign a pledge to refrain
from changing the “main ele-
ments of the Republican Par-
ty Platform.” That includes
the party’s principles of pro-
life, traditional marriage, the
right to bear arms, free en-
terprise, smaller government
reforms and lower taxes.
Yue said the slate’s dual
endorsements by the Cruz
and Trump campaigns were
unique.
“Oregon has the only
grassroots slate endorsed by
the Trump and Cruz cam-
paign,” Yue said. “In other
states, they are still ighting
each other. In Oregon, we are
already working together.”
In the end, nine of the 10
at-large delegates elected
were from the unity slate.
More than 800 people at-
tended Saturday’s conven-
tion. Out of those, 654 were
precinct committeepersons
who were responsible for
voting for the party’s dele-
gates and alternates.
The party was scheduled
to select a total of 28 dele-
gates to represent the state
at the national convention
July 18-21 in Cleveland.
Eighteen of the delegates are
pledged to Trump; ive each
are pledged to Cruz and Ohio
Gov. John Kasich.
Out of the 28, three are
chosen from each of Oregon’s
ive congressional districts.
Another 10 are elected to ill
at-large positions, and three
so-called “automatic dele-
gates” serve by virtue of their
positions as state chairman,
national committeeman and
national committeewoman.
The event marked the irst
time in at least 30 years that
the Oregon Republican Party
has held a consolidated state-
wide convention.
During the last presi-
dential election in 2012,
the party held ive different
conventions, one for each of
the state’s congressional dis-
tricts. Oregon was the only
state in the nation that year
without a centralized caucus
to select delegates to the na-
tional convention.
QUEST
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responding to what is going
on around you.” The agency
considers distracted driving
an epidemic in Oregon.
From 2010-14 in Oregon,
according to the department,
distracted driving resulted in
16,987 crashes with 14,186
injuries and 58 fatalities.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
An ambulance awaits as “amputee patient” James Mabe is wheeled away by
ambulance driver Krystin McClung, left, and EMT Lee Teague.
DRILL
Continued from Page A1
Kohield, who is Blue
Mountain Hospital’s EMS and
Healthcare Emergency Pre-
paredness Program director,
said the training was excellent
overall, and a good learning
experience.
“The local participation of
all agencies was very import-
ant, and it was a huge success
with everyone who was pres-
ent,” she said.
BMH Chief Clinical Ofi-
cer Karen White was incident
commander.
Joining in the test of re-
sources were BMH para-
medics and EMTs, John Day
Police Department, Oregon
State Police, John Day Volun-
teer Fire Department, Oregon
Department of Transportation
and Oregon Department of
Forestry.
Fire Marshal Dave Fields
was also on hand for the inci-
dent.
Kohield said the training
helps identify weak areas.
Some communication fail-
ures happened, and she said
this is the No. 1 issue nation-
wide.
“Emergency services over-
all did an excellent job on
scene,” she said.
John Day Fire Chief Ron
Smith also called the event a
success.
Drivers reported to be us-
ing a cellphone at the time
of the crash caused 1,419 of
those wrecks with 1,175 in-
juries and 15 fatalities. Driv-
ers 16 to 18 account for 131
crashes in that subset, which
resulted in 120 injuries but no
deaths.
Convictions in Oregon for
distracted driving during the
same period totaled 88,626.
The transportation depart-
ment contends there should
be more, but the distracted
driving law, Oregon Revised
Statue 811.507, does not take
into account how people are
using modern technology
while driving.
The law prohibits drivers
from communicating on a
Ambulance driver Errol McPheeters assists a
“patient” during Thursday’s disaster drill.
John Day volunteer firefighters extinguish a
“vehicle fire” at the disaster drill site on Highway
26 east of John Day.
“Probably the biggest thing
to come out of it was law en-
forcement, EMS and ire were
working all together,” he said.
He added it was a good
learning tool for the ireight-
ers.
“Anytime you deal with 20
patients in a mass casualty, or
hand-held device while driv-
ing, but the law says nothing
about using a smartphone to
listen to music, for example,
or as a navigation system or to
check social media. The Ore-
gon Court of Appeals on Aug.
19, 2015, ruled a state trooper
did not have probable cause
to pull over a driver after see-
ing her look down at a mobile
device in her hand because he
never saw her “put the device
up to her ear, move her lips
as if she were talking, or push
any buttons.” The appeals court
found the state law applies only
to “use of a mobile communi-
cation device for the purpose of
voice or text communication.”
Merely looking down at a
mobile device, according to
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even 10 or fewer with critical
injuries, that team has to work
together lawlessly,” he said.
“I was impressed, and I hope
we can continue to work to-
gether. My ireighters got to
play some roles on the EMS
side that they don’t normally
get to participate in.”
the appeals court, does not
violate the law. Offenders
in court then, according to
ODOT, can claim they used
the phone as a music device
and avoid legal consequences.
The new speed limit on
Interstate 84 in Eastern Ore-
gon and on some other state
roads is 70 mph. Cars at that
speed cover almost 103 feet in
one second. The Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute in 2009
found drivers who text take
their eyes off the road 4.6-sec-
onds over a 6-second interval.
Shannon was in Pendle-
ton about two weeks ago to
help the Oregon Department
of Transportation and Ore-
gon State Police make public
service ads on the dangers of
distracted driving. Alexxyss’s
story is central to the cam-
paign. Turner said those ads
could start airing in the next
week or so.
Shannon said since her
daughter died, she has stopped
messing with her phone when
she drives, and she sees it ev-
erywhere she goes. She said
she gets on relatives, friends
and co-workers who do it.
“Just pull over if it’s that
important,” she said. A few
seconds of distraction can
change your whole world, she
said, and her daughters were
her world.
“ ... My world kind of
crashed,” Shannon said. “I
have only half a world.”
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