ELECTION COVERAGE ON PAGES A3, A6-A9
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
152nd Year • No. 42 • 18 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
Election
2020
Alex Spenser makes
Cliff Bentz plans to
underdog run for 2nd take lessons learned
Congressional District in Oregon to Congress
Klamath Falls Democrat calls for ‘path to unity’
Republican contender hopes GOP-held Senate,
presidency will provide leverage in House
Spenser says she wants
to go to Congress to help
By Steven Mitchell
unify the country after four
lex Spenser, a writer years of divisiveness under
Blue Mountain Eagle
and political cam- President Donald Trump
paign strategist from and his Republican allies in
ith U.S. Rep.
Klamath Falls, is the Demo- Congress.
Greg
Walden
cratic candidate for the 2nd
retiring,
voters
“We need a path to
Congressional District.
in rural Oregon will elect a
unity,” Spenser said in a
Spenser’s
political statement for the 2020 Vot-
new leader to Congress for
role in the past has been ers Pamphlet.
the first time in over two
behind the scenes. She
The
coronavi-
decades.
rus
pandemic
coached
Jamie
Former state
that has killed
McLeod-Skin-
Sen.
Cliff
ner, the CD2
over 212,000
Bentz, who
Democratic
Americans
won
a
nominee in
this year has
crowded
2018, on pub-
upended the
Republican
lic speaking
way lawmak-
primary
in
ers
should
and debates.
May, will face
approach their
Spenser
had
Democrat Alex
jobs, Spenser said.
signed on as 2020
Spenser for the
Cliff
“ T h e
campaign
open seat to rep-
Alex Spenser
resent Oregon’s
‘COVID-19
manager for
2nd Congressional District.
Revolution’ that has been
Raz Mason of The Dalles.
When Mason dropped thrust upon us has left us
Based on the demograph-
ics of the historically conser-
out before the primary for needing leadership-leaders
vative district, Bentz is the
personal reasons, Spenser willing to stay in the room
frontrun-
jumped in and ran herself. and do the
ner.
She won the May 19 pri- hard work
mary with 32.1% of the of com-
2ND CONGRESSIONAL a Bentz,
vote, outpacing her near- m u n i c a -
law-
yer from
est challenger, Central Point tion,” she
Ontario,
business consultant Nick said.
served 10
Spenser
Heuertz, by 797 votes.
A native of Dallas, said the
years in
Texas, Spenser earned an pandemic has shown the
the state’s House of Repre-
sentatives in District 60. He
associate degree in biology need for universal health
resigned in 2018 after being
from Richland College in care so that all Americans
appointed to Oregon’s Sen-
Dallas and studied English can get treatment for the
ate District 30. He stepped
at Texas A&M University in virus, not just those able
down from that seat earlier
College Station. She moved to use influence or money
this year to campaign full
west, working at Lava Beds to get top doctors and
time.
National Monument and medicines.
Bentz played an instru-
Death Valley National Park.
“We need health care as a
mental role in 2017 by get-
Spenser has lived in matter of good government
ting Republicans and Dem-
Klamath Falls for 10 years. infrastructure,” she said.
ocrats in the Legislature
A single mom, she has “Just as good government
to come together to pass a
homeschooled her daughter
See Spenser, Page A18
landmark $5.3 billion trans-
to the fifth grade.
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
A
W
DISTRICT
portation package. The bill
included taxes and fees to
fund congestion-reducing
projects, highway and bridge
improvements and transit
projects across the state.
Bentz said he learned
some valuable lessons about
bipartisanship.
“The party in power
has to be in some
fashion moti-
vated to work
with a party
that’s not in
power,” Bentz
said.
Bentz was
one of 11 law-
makers to leave the
Bentz
state last year
after negotia-
tions with Democrats broke
down over a proposed cli-
mate bill. He continued
working on climate legis-
lation from March through
December of last year —
including 16 round-trip
flights from Boise to Port-
land and another seven
by car — but said he was
“frozen out” of the cli-
mate change discussions in
December. He said, despite
the expertise he brought to
the talks, Democrats kept
him out solely because he
was a conservative.
“They couldn’t bring a
bill into the committee and
keep all of their environmen-
tal organizations with them
if a Republican helped put
it together,” he said. “Didn’t
matter if I was Einstein.”
See Bentz, Page A18
Half a pound of meth, cash
and vehicle seized Oct. 2
Lucas, Bryan arrested on multiple charges
Blue Mountain Eagle
Nearly a half-pound of
methamphetamine was seized
Oct. 2 in Grant County.
The Grant County Inter-
agency Narcotics Team
seized the drugs, cash and a
vehicle the afternoon of Oct.
2 during drug operations,
according to a press release
from Undersheriff Zach
Mobley.
Brandie Lucas, 44, of
Long Creek was arrested
for delivery of methamphet-
amine, possession of meth-
amphetamine,
criminal
conspiracy to deliver meth-
amphetamine and manufac-
ture of methamphetamine,
according to the release.
Kenzon Bryan, 53, was
also arrested for delivery of
methamphetamine, posses-
sion of methamphetamine
and criminal conspiracy to
deliver methamphetamine.
The press release states
the case is ongoing and more
information will be released
in the future.
Kenzon Bryan
Brandie Lucas
EOMG file photo
Trees are logged in an Oregon forest with a feller-buncher. Ore-
gon’s Board of Forestry has voted to proceed with a habitat con-
servation plan analysis opposed by the timber industry.
Oregon to proceed with
‘habitat conservation
plan’ process
Plan would absolve ODF from
liability for incidental take
ceptable to us,” Storm said.
Under the ODF’s interpre-
tation, logging would initially
Oregon forest regulators decline under the HCP but the
have unanimously rejected the plan would eventually result in
timber industry’s arguments a larger volume of timber har-
against moving forward with vest over 75 years compared
a “habitat conservation plan” to the current “take avoidance
for several protected species strategies.”
The agency claims the
on state forestlands.
On Oct. 6, the Oregon HCP will provide “increased
Board of Forestry voted in certainty” compared to other
favor of proceeding with an forest management methods,
environmental analysis of the which will also likely result in
plan, which timber advocates reduced logging as more spe-
wanted to prevent due to fears cies are listed and more acre-
age must be
of reduced log-
ging and harm to
“DO I CARE protected.
The Oregon
rural economies.
ABOUT
Forest & Indus-
The
habi-
tat conservation
tries
Coun-
plan, or HCP, ENDANGERED cil, which rep-
the
would aim to SPECIES? YES, resents
timber industry,
mitigate harm to
BUT THERE counters that the
16 species that
sets aside
are listed under
IS ALREADY HCP
too much for-
the Endangered
estland for con-
Species Act or
SO MUCH
servation with-
could gain fed-
GROUND SET out taking into
eral protection.
However,
the
ASIDE FOR account
the plan would
adverse impacts
absolve the Ore-
THAT NOW.” to the threat-
gon
Depart-
ened
spotted
Mike Pihl, logger from
ment of Forestry,
owl from the
Vernonia and president
which manages
more aggressive
of Timber Unity
barred owl.
the forestlands,
The organization also wor-
from liability for “inciden-
tal take” — the killing of pro- ries that ODF’s data mod-
tected species or destruction els and logging projections
of their habitat.
are flawed, which will result
Currently, ODF manages in
greater-than-anticipated
the affected 640,000 acres to restrictions on timber harvest
avoid incidental take, which when the HCP is implemented.
“We have a lack of confi-
the HCP anticipates will be
dence in the harvest numbers,”
tougher to do in the future.
Representatives of the tim- said Seth Barnes, OFIC’s for-
ber industry and rural com- est policy director.
munities argue the plan is too
Representatives of state
restrictive compared to simi- and federal agencies, which
lar HCPs on private and pub- have been developing the
lic property elsewhere in the HCP since 2017, testified in
support of conducting a fed-
Northwest.
“Do I care about endan- erally required environmen-
gered species? Yes, but there tal analysis under the National
is already so much ground Environmental Policy Act.
Only after that NEPA eval-
set aside for that now,” said
Mike Pihl, a logger from Ver- uation is complete in mid-
nonia and president of the 2022 will the Board of For-
Timber Unity group, which estry decide whether to
advocates on behalf of rural implement the plan.
The HCP will reconcile
communities.
Much of Oregon’s forest- competing demands for wild-
land is under federal owner- life habitat, clean water, tim-
ship and effectively cannot ber revenues and other pub-
be logged, while the state also lic values, said Paul Henson,
has extensive regulations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
harvesting timber on state and Service’s state supervisor for
Oregon.
private lands, he said.
The plan “does the most
“We already have tons of
protection in place,” Pihl said. benefit for the greatest group
The plan ignores the eco- of folks,” he said.
nomic and social needs of
Members of the Board of
rural communities while tak- Forestry ultimately agreed
ing a hands-off approach to with proponents of the HCP,
management that has led to voting 6-0 to proceed with
fire danger and other problems the NEPA analysis at the con-
on federal property, said Rex clusion of the Oct. 6 online
Storm, lobbyist for the Associ- hearing.
ation of Oregon Loggers.
The environmental anal-
“This HCP would repeat ysis will provide more
the failures of federal forest
See Plan, Page A18
management, which are unac-
By Mateusz Perkowski
EO Media Group