A2
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
FAMILY
Legislative logjam rolls on toward do-or-die day Friday
The logjam will get looser
this Friday with the fi rst “witch-
ing hour,” the legislature’s
self-imposed deadlines for
most bills to move or die. Most
policy bills that are not sched-
uled for a work session by Fri-
day go into the trash can for this
year’s regular session.
The deadline does not aff ect
budget bills or those in “safe
harbor” committees such as
Rules or Ways & Means, which
are exempt from the time rules.
The size of the cull won’t be
known until Monday when
the chief clerks of each cham-
ber will have a list of surviving
bills.
More bills will fall away on
Bill for Oregon MIA
advances
The fi rst bill of the day that
was read out loud had com-
plete bipartisan support. The
House unanimously approved
HB 2700, which would include
Oregonians who were listed
as missing in action in wars,
but whose remains were later
found and returned to Oregon,
among those eligible for road-
side memorial signs.
The bill is being champi-
oned by veterans activist Dick
Oregon Capital Bureau fi le photo
The House chamber in the state Capitol in Salem.
Tobiason of the Bend Heroes
Foundation. Rep. Jack Zika,
R-Redmond, thanked Tobiason
on behalf of the Legislature for
bringing the issue to them.
“They may be gone, but are
not forgotten,” Zika said.
The bill next goes to the Sen-
ate, where passage is expected.
About 1,000 servicemem-
bers from Oregon remain MIA,
mostly from World War II.
Power trio appears at
subcommittee meeting
The three most powerful
politicians in Salem appeared
together — virtually — on
Monday for a Joint Ways &
Means Subcommittee on Edu-
cation hearing.
Gov. Kate Brown, Sen-
ate President Peter Courtney,
D-Salem, and Kotek spoke in
support of their joint proposal
for a $250 million summer
learning and childcare package.
Supporters say the program
will help thousands of Oregon
children catch up on learning
and socializing after a year of
mostly virtual schooling.
The legislation “will set our
kids up for success by letting
them be kids again, in envi-
ronments that foster creativity,
learning, and joy,” Brown said.
Hearings on the program
and other education spending
will continue Wednesday.
U of O tops list of Oregon
COVID-19 cases
A New York Times review
of COVID-19 cases published
March 2 shows 3,189 cases of
All Grant County adults will
soon be eligible for the COVID-19
vaccine.
Kimberly Lindsay, the county’s
public health administrator, encour-
aged all adults who have not already
done so to add their names to the
county waitlist. She said the health
department will contact people on
the waitlist as soon as they become
eligible to receive the vaccine. Any-
one who has already submitted their
name to the waitlist will be con-
tacted when eligible.
She said the county would begin
administering 300 doses by appoint-
ment on Mondays for the next sev-
eral weeks to any adults over 18 until
demand for the vaccine diminishes.
Lindsay said she is working on
dates and locations for vaccine clin-
ics in Seneca, Monument, Long
Creek and Dayville within the next
three weeks.
She said the health department
will begin scheduling people on
the waitlist and that anyone inter-
ested in getting a shot can email vac-
cine@ccsemail.org with their name,
date of birth, phone number, mail-
ing address and any chronic health
conditions. Lindsay said the health
department will send a confi rmation
email within 48 hours.
Lindsay said those who cannot
email can call the health department
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays
through Fridays at 541-575-0429,
or Strawberry Wilderness Clinic at
541-575-0404, to ask to be on the
waitlist.
She said email allows the staff to
track those interested in getting the
vaccine more effi ciently and reduces
demand on the phone lines at both
the health department and urgent
care center.
S234982-1
Thank you,
Jeannette, Bill & Scott
Monday - Thursday
7am-
6pm
Monday
- Thursday
7am-
6pm
Friday
8am
- 5pm
Friday
8am
-
Mendy Sharpe 5pm
FNP
Senate Republicans who
staged a one-day walkout last
month, and their counterparts
in the House requiring the read-
ing of bills in full, both say one
of the central issues is their
demand to reopen the Capitol
to the public.
“What the people of Ore-
gon want is for this Capitol to
be open and to have access to
in-person hearings,” said Sen.
Tim Knopp, R-Bend, during
comments on the Senate fl oor
last Thursday. “Many other
states are already doing this
with greater COVID problems
than exist in Oregon today.”
The Capitol has been
closed for a year because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The ZIP
code around the Capitol has
had the highest number of pos-
itive cases of any in the state.
Control of the Capitol falls to
the Legislature.
Len’s Pharmacy will also be
scheduling appointments to admin-
ister 100 doses of the Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine. To sign up for
vaccination at the pharmacy, call
541-575-0629.
Owner Greg Armstrong said the
pharmacy will begin administering
the vaccine by appointment only,
from 10 a.m. to noon. Mondays
through Wednesdays.
Armstrong said the pharmacy
would need to schedule at least 10
people per appointment period as
the vaccine has a short shelf-life
after the bottle is pierced.
He said Len’s would be in sync
with the county in respect to eligi-
ble groups.
The health department originally
announced last week that all adults
18 and older were eligible for the
vaccine, before changing the state-
ment to all adults are eligible for the
vaccine waitlist.
Blue Mountain Eagle
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, announced
that his offi ce has begun accepting submis-
sions for the 2021 Congressional Art Com-
petition. High school students from across
Oregon’s Second District are invited to
compete in this annual visual art competi-
tion for a chance to have their artwork dis-
played in the United States Capitol.
Submissions for the Congressional Art
Competition will be reviewed by a panel
of experts which includes local artists and
art professors. One winner and several run-
ners-up will be selected.
In addition to a coveted spot in the 2021
national student art exhibit in the Capitol,
the winner could receive complimentary
round-trip airfare for two to visit Wash-
ington, D.C., a chance to see their artwork
on display and an invitation to a reception
held in their honor.
Runners-up will receive local recogni-
tion, and their artwork will be displayed in
one of Congressman Bentz’s offi ces.
To enter the contest, high school stu-
dents living in Oregon’s Second Con-
gressional District should submit the Stu-
dent Release Form and no more than two
photos (.jpeg) of their two-dimensional
artwork to Wyndess James at wyndess.
james@mail.house.gov by April 23.
For further information, visit https://
bentz.house.gov/services/art-competition.
American Legion Auxiliary to meet
Blue Mountain Eagle
The American Legion Auxiliary
Ellis Tracy Unit will meet at 2 p.m.
Friday, March 19, at the Grant County
Chamber of Commerce.
All members are encouraged to
attend.
Mattie L. Osborne
Joyce May Hendricks
Mattie L. Osborne, age 75, passed away Saturday, March 6,
at her residence in Fox, Oregon. Memorial contributions in her
honor can be made to the Hamilton Cemetery through Driskill
Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.
To leave an online condolence for the family, visit driskillme-
morialchapel.com.
Joyce May Hendricks, age 90, passed away Saturday, March
13, at Settler’s Park Assisted Living in Baker City. She had lived
most of her life in Grant County.
A recitation of the Rosary will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Fri-
day, March 19, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in John Day.
A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March
20, also at the church. A committal service will take place at St.
Andrews Catholic Cemetery in Canyon City immediately fol-
lowing the Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to the
American Cancer Society or to Blue Mountain Hospice through
Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR
97814.
To off er online condolences to Joyce’s family, visit driskill-
memorialchapel.com.
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Last Week’s Temps
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Legislation that would
allow Pendleton to join Bend
and Redmond in an aff ord-
able housing pilot program is
scheduled for a House vote on
Tuesday.
Republicans push for
Capitol reopening
OBITUARIES
The family of Homer Harrison would
like to sincerely thank everyone for the
many cards, calls, and prayers sent to us
as expressions of sympathy for our loss.
John Day ...........................................................HI/LO
Tuesday ........................................................... 48/28
Wednesday ..................................................... 47/27
Thursday .......................................................... 51/32
Friday ............................................................... 52/25
Saturday .......................................................... 59/28
Sunday ............................................................. 58/33
Monday............................................................ 44/30
Pendleton aff ordable
housing vote Tuesday
HB 2160, sponsored by
Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo,
would greenlight Land Conser-
vation and Development Com-
mission approval for an even-
tual plan to build on up to 50
acres outside of Pendleton’s
current urban growth boundary.
The bill passed the
House Housing Committee
unanimously.
Bentz announces 2021
Congressional Art Competition
Everyone 18 and older in Grant County
eligible for COVID-19 vaccine waitlist
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
the disease linked to Oregon
colleges since February 2020.
The University of Oregon
had the highest reported posi-
tive test count at 1,479. Oregon
State is second at 787 cases,
and Eastern Oregon University
was third at 111 cases.
The Times put an asterisk
next to Oregon Health & Sci-
ence University in Portland,
which reported 335 cases early
in the pandemic. The campus
includes a medical center and
other facilities that serve the
community.
The review compiled
535,000 cases at more than
1,900 colleges and universi-
ties. The Times estimated this
as an undercount because of no
standardized reporting, contact
tracing or infection database for
all colleges.
The Times said it had identi-
fi ed more than 100 campus-re-
lated COVID-19 deaths nation-
wide, primarily among school
employees in 2020. It did not
break out the deaths by state or
institution.
S232613-1
Friday is ‘do-or-die’
deadline
Brakes vs. no breaks
Monday was “National
Napping Day,” which felt
appropriate for many law-
makers and observers. House
Republicans again required
that each bill be read out loud
in its entirety, as a way of tap-
ping the brakes on the Demo-
cratic supermajority’s pace of
approving their agenda.
Normally, bills are read
by title only unless there is
an objection. The GOP has
objected each fl oor session.
House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, has countered by
cutting into scheduled breaks
and extending evening fl oor
sessions.
S234723-1
With a third of the session
gone, the Oregon Legislature
has 4,000 bills on its plate, with
House Republicans using a par-
liamentary slow-down to delay
legislation already running late
because of COVID-19.
About 90 committees are
scheduled to meet this week,
and the House and Senate have
each scheduled fl oor sessions. A
busy week, but also one that will
push a big portion of the logjam
into the legislative abyss.
April 13, the deadline for those
work sessions, where commit-
tees amend and vote on bills.
S234737-1
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
541-523-6377
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-576-2160
W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF M ARCH 17 - 23
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Mostly
sunny
Partly
sunny
Chance
of rain
Partly
sunny
Mostly
sunny
Chance
of rain/snow
Partly
sunny
56
62
51
47
49
48
56
37
37
30
29
34
26
30