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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 2020)
PRAIRIE CITY BOYS WIN DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP | PAGE B1 Wednesday, February 26, 2020 152nd Year • No. 9 • 22 Pages • $1.50 MyEagleNews.com GRATEFUL FOR BEING A JUDGE Cramer reflects on past 23 years as only judge to be elected for 24th district By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle S ince the 24th Judicial District was created 23 years ago, one judge has presided on the bench over Grant and Harney counties. After more than two decades of service, Judge Wil- liam D. Cramer Jr. has officially retired. Although he is still currently covering the two counties until a replacement is appointed or elected, his new role as a senior judge will take him on temporary assignments throughout the state. Cramer never planned on returning to Eastern Oregon or becoming a judge, but the journey has given him valuable insights into rural courts and many positive memories along the way. Becoming a judge The Eagle/Rudy Diaz Circuit Court Judge William D. Cramer Jr. shakes hands with Corrections Sgt. Wade Waddel at Cramer’s retirement party on Jan. 2. “WHEN I LEFT BURNS, THERE WERE TWO THINGS THAT I WASN’T GOING TO DO. I WAS NOT GOING TO BECOME AN ATTORNEY ... AND I WAS NOT COMING BACK TO BURNS. AS I LEARNED SO OFTEN IN LIFE, NEVER SAY NEVER. AS I GOT OLDER, I REALLY APPRECIATED WHAT EASTERN ORE- GON HAS, AND I THINK ITS A GREAT PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY.” Judge William D. Cramer Jr. Before becoming a judge, Cramer worked as a general prac- tice attorney for 15 years, practicing law with his father in Burns where he was born and raised. Cramer has lived in East- ern Oregon most of his life with the exception of going to col- lege in Boston and then going to law school at the University of Oregon. “When I left Burns, there were two things that I wasn’t going to do. I was not going to become an attorney — because my dad was one, and everybody thought I would follow in his footsteps — and I was not coming back to Burns,” Cramer said. “As I learned so often in life, never say never. As I got older, I really appreciated what Eastern Oregon has, and I think its a great place to raise a family.” See Judge, Page A12 Republicans walk out of both chambers over climate bill By Claire Withycombe Oregon Capital Bureau A day after their counterparts in the Senate vacated the Capitol, Republican representatives brought the House to a halt Tuesday, skipping a daily session in protest of a contro- versial climate bill. Their absence blocked the House from taking votes. If all Democrats are present, the House still needs at least two Republicans to act on bills. A spokeswoman for the House Republicans, Tayleranne Gillespie, said she didn’t know how long their Sen. Lynn Findley boycott would last and that she didn’t know where any of them were. House Republi- cans’ absence could further jam up the already-uncertain session, which is facing a March 8 deadline. On Monday, 11 of the 12 Senate Republicans left the Capitol to stop that chamber from acting on the cli- mate change legislation, Senate Bill 1530, and repeated their no-show Tuesday. One Republican, Tim Knopp of Bend, has attended the Mon- day and Tuesday floor sessions. Sen. Lynn Find- Rep. Mark ley, R-Vale, said in Owens a statement Monday the emissions leg- islation will do more harm to fami- lies and small businesses than any other legislative proposal the state has seen. “I refuse to allow the super-ma- jority to abuse their positions of power by steamrolling this legisla- tion throughout without a fiscal anal- ysis or economic impact statement of the bill,” Findley said. “Not only is it unfair to our constituents for us to take such a significant vote without all the information we need, it’s not wise policy making.” Other bills that lawmakers are considering — everything from flood relief money for the Umatilla Basin to money for more homeless shel- ters — could be delayed or scrapped entirely. Republicans are pushing to refer the emissions legislation to voters. The proposal aims to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions through a mechanism known as cap and trade. It would impose new regulations that would make carbon-intensive energy sources more expensive. “Oregon House Republicans are taking a stand, with working families, in opposing cap and trade and this rigged process,” House Republi- can Leader Christine Drazan said in a statement. “We will continue to keep all lines of communication open. I call on Governor Brown See Climate, Page A12 State changing approach to oversight of ag water quality enforcement By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle Next year the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture will change its water quality enforcement process from a complaint-based approach to an active review of any property conditions that might lead to a lack of compliance with the state’s agri- cultural water quality standards. The ODA, the lead agency for regulating agricultural concerning water quality under the Agricultural Water Quality Management Act, has the authority to enforce administra- tive rules, and these rules apply to private property owners whose land is used for agricultural purposes. Kyle Sullivan, district manager of the Grant Soil and Water Con- servation District, said since 2003, enforcement of water quality con- cerns has been com- plaint driven. Now, he said, ODA is pro- posing an alterna- tive, known as the Strategic Implemen- tation Area process. Roger Ediger Sullivan said the Strategic Imple- mentation Area pro- gram selects specific watersheds within Grant County and will conduct field evaluations that use remote imagery to Kyle Sullivan identify manure piles, bare ground or other potential hazards from farming operations. ODA will consider the presence of livestock, cropping and other agricultural operations and how close they are to bodies of water. The type of stream, field slope and other factors will be considered when identifying potential water quality concerns. Strategic Implementation Areas are selected based on the ODA’s statewide prioritization of water- sheds near agricultural lands. This includes parameters of water qual- ity, temperature, bacteria, nutrients and sediment. The criteria also takes into account Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s priorities for native fish recovery and input from stakeholders. Soil and water conservation dis- trict board members said their input has not been taken into consider- ation by ODA. “They made this plan without consulting the stakeholders, the landowners,” board member Pat Voigt said. Board member Roger Edi- ger said, when the legislation was passed in 1993 to monitor water quality, the board worked closely with ODA. He said today that is not the case, and interest groups, along with DEQ, pressured the ODA to take an aggressive stance on water quality enforcement. Ediger said the new approach will alienate private landowners from the conservation district and turn the district into regulators. “We are not going to be the regu- lators,” he said. “We are here to help people come into compliance.” Sullivan said the new approach is not grounded in the spirit in which the water quality legislation was written. See Water, Page A12