NEWS
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, OCTObER 2, 2019
Local officials consider gun storage laws
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
During the last legislative
session, a bill vying for gun
storage requirements was
scrapped after Senate Repub-
licans walked out. But stor-
age laws might live again as
a ballot measure, and some
officials in Eastern Oregon
are less than enthused.
“Personally, I think every
home should secure their
weapons but I would not
be in support of mandating
that,” said Rep. Greg Smith,
R-Heppner.
In 2019, the Cindy Yuille
and Steve Forsyth Act pro-
posed that gun owners be
required to secure firearms
with a trigger or cable lock
when not in use or face a
$500 fine. It also looked to
require gun owners to report
their firearms lost or missing
within 24 hours of discov-
ery, or else face a penalty of
$1,000. The bill was created
as a response to two peo-
ple who lost their lives —
Yuille and Forsyth — during
the Clackamas Town Center
shooting in 2012.
It argued that 22,000 Ore-
gon firearms had been sto-
len in the past decade and
that two-thirds of all school
shootings since the 1970s
involved weapons taken
from home or a nearby
neighbor. It also claimed
that evidence shows safer
gun storage may prevent
child suicide and injury.
Paul Kemp, the brother-
in-law of Forsyth, helped
turn in 2,000 voter signa-
Hermiston Herald file photo
These locks given out by Hermiston Police Department enable safe storage of guns with children in the home.
tures to Oregon’s election
office last week in an effort
to revive the conversation on
gun storage.
The group collecting
signatures, State of Safety
Action, would still need over
100,000 more to get the mea-
sure — which people are
also referring to as the Cindy
Yuille and Steve Forsyth Act
— a spot on the 2020 ballot.
Smith said he hadn’t seen
any statistics about school
shootings or suicides that
would support gun storage
restrictions, but that guns
being lost and stolen is a
reality. He said he plans to
draw up legislation in the
future advocating for gun
safety education in schools.
That’s something that
would interest Pendleton
Police Chief Stuart Rob-
erts, though he notes many
people feel that gun educa-
tion doesn’t belong in public
EOU looks to Umatilla, Morrow
counties for on-the-job learning
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity officials toured job sites
around Umatilla and Mor-
row counties on Thursday
as they search for new ways
to partner with businesses in
the region.
The university is bring-
ing a new focus on “experi-
ential learning,” with a hope
that every student will grad-
uate with hands-on experi-
ence in the business commu-
nity through internships, job
shadows, freelance work,
research projects on behalf
of businesses and more.
“As we’re looking at cur-
riculum, we’re having an
emphasis shift from what
classes are you taking, to
what skills are you learn-
ing,” said Edward Hen-
ninger, dean of EOU’s new
college of business.
To have those oppor-
tunities for every student,
the university will need to
look beyond La Grande and
into surrounding commu-
nities. Henninger and other
officials gathered business
leaders for a luncheon in
Hermiston during their tour
Thursday to solicit feedback
on building those opportuni-
ties in Umatilla and Morrow
counties.
Several of those pres-
ent on Thursday who work
in Eastern Oregon are EOU
alumni, including Greater
Hermiston Area Chamber
of Commerce Director Kim-
berly Nevil. But EOU Presi-
dent Tom Insko said when he
asks seniors in April about
their post-graduation plans,
the most common thing he
hears is that after gradua-
tion they plan to move to
Boise, Idaho or Seattle, and
then begin looking for a job
there.
He wants to see more stu-
dents tell him they already
have a job set up locally.
“Being an alum of EOU
and having had it transform
my life, for me it’s all about
the students and how we can
help them connect their edu-
cational experiences with
business and community,”
he said.
Now that the institution is
on more solid financial foot-
ing, there are new initiatives
it is turning its focus to.
Henninger was hired after
the school split its business
and education colleges this
year and gave each its own
Smith
Henninger
dean. EOU is also adding a
new major next year called
Sustainable Rural Systems,
which will help students
gain an understanding of
rural communities through
projects and classes around
subjects, such as environ-
mental resources and rural
economics.
EOU is starting the Rural
Engagement and Vitality
Center. The REV, as they’re
calling it, will reach out to
area communities and take
ideas about how to bet-
ter connect students to the
Seydel
settings.
“The reality is that we
encounter unsecured fire-
arms at homes frequently,”
Roberts said.
He said that firearms were
more frequently stolen from
cars than from homes, a frus-
trating phenomenon he’s
seen more than once.
But he also feels there
are some complications
involved with enforcing
gun storage restrictions, par-
ticularly when it comes to
reporting firearms missing
within 24 hours of discovery.
“There are going to be
too many people who are
going to resist because the
government is telling them
what to do,” he said. “Peo-
ple aren’t going to want to
report their firearms miss-
ing if they’re worried about
being charged for not storing
them properly.”
Both Roberts and Herm-
iston Police Chief Jason
Edmiston expressed con-
cerns about being able to
enforce storage laws.
“Bills like this don’t have
much teeth to them,” Edmis-
ton said.
He said he sympathized
with the spirit of a legisla-
tion made in honor of shoot-
ing victims, but that in order
for officers to know whether
a gun is being safely stored
in someone’s home, they’d
need a search warrant.
Umatilla County Com-
missioner John Shafer said
that when his children were
young, he chose to lock his
guns. But now the kids are
older, he doesn’t want any-
one telling him how to store
his guns.
“I guess my first thought
really is that any time you
start restricting a citizen’s
rights, it’s a slippery slope,”
he said.
Kimberly Lindsay, exec-
utive director of Commu-
nity Counseling Solutions
— which oversees mental
health care across Eastern
Oregon — said she wasn’t
well versed on solutions to
gun violence.
But she did feel certain
about something.
“Safe storage is a good
idea. I’m not sure how peo-
ple could argue about that.
You should be thoughtful
about the placement of fire-
arms,” she said. “Certainly,
when you have kids around
who may have no intention
of harming themselves and
inadvertently pick up a gun
that might be loaded.”
We Hear You!
You deserve total audiological care.
Professional. Experienced. Local.
Insko
local business community.
Academic Vice President
Tim Seydel said it will be a
one-stop place where peo-
ple interested in partnering
with students can present
their ideas and have EOU
staff look into the logistics
of making it a reality.
“Many times those things
turn into jobs,” he said.
As an example of on-the-
job learning, Greg Smith,
who runs EOU’s Small
Business Development Cen-
ter, brought two student
employees of the SBDC.
Renata Anderson, MA
Pam Wagenaar,
Administrative Assistant
2237 SW Court, Pendleton
541-276-5053
www.renataanderson.com
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Pendleton, Oregon
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