UMATILLA COUNTY â Historically, when the East Oregonian has compiled top-10 stories of the year lists, it has polled the staff on the top stories and compiled the list based on those results. When we went down that path, it was apparent that the voting was for stories two through 10, because there is no question what the yearâs top story would be â the COVID-19 pandemic.
That left stories like the February flooding that ravaged Umatilla County, summer protests in Hermiston and Pendleton, the sudden death of a Pendleton city councilor and the permanent closure of the Boardman Generating Station competing for space with COVID-19 stories on the list.
Timber tax cuts cost Oregon towns billions. Then clear-cuts polluted their water and drove up the price.
Updated on Jan 01, 2021;
Published on Dec 31, 2020
The 400 residents of Wheeler, Oregon, where muddy logging runoff filled the town’s reservoirs. (Brooke Herbert/The Oregonian) Brooke Herbert/The Oregonian
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On a damp night in November 2019, dozens of residents packed into the local firehouse in Corbett, Oregon, a town about 30 miles outside of Portland. Water manager Jeff Busto told the crowd that logging had devastated a creek that provided part of the town’s drinking water supply.
A timber company had clear-cut thousands of trees along the creek, leaving only a thin strip standing between the town’s drinking water and recently flattened land strewned with debris. A single row of trees was left on either side to protect it from mud, herbicides and summer sun. After many of those trees were bowled over by wind, the creek flow dropped so
Timber Tax Cuts Cost Oregon Towns Billions. Then Polluted Water Drove Up the Price. ProPublica 1/1/2021 by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and Rob Davis, The Oregonian/OregonLive
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This article was produced in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting and The Oregonian/OregonLive. You can sign up for The Oregonian/OregonLive special projects newsletter here and Oregon Public Broadcasting’s newsletter here. Oregon Public Broadcasting is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.
On a damp night in November 2019, dozens of residents packed into the local firehouse in Corbett, Oregon, a town about 30 miles outside of Portland. Water manager Jeff Busto told the crowd that logging had devastated a creek that provided part of the town’s drinking water supply.
Electronics
Community members can recycle electronics at NextStep Recycling in Eugene, where staff will refurbish the device and remove any data or personal information. Then the device is either given to someone who doesn’t have technology access, or recycled through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The organization also accepts unwanted Christmas lights and donates proceeds to a charity of the organizations choosing. NextStep’s Donation and Training Center is located 245 Jackson Street in Eugene. Donations are accepted Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The donation center will be closed Jan. 1.
Christmas Trees
Boy Scout Troop 182 will pick up trees without flocking or painting on weekends through Jan. 31 for a suggested donation of $11 Get more information on the Troop’s website.
DEQ study tracks quality of Walla Walla Basin groundwater eastoregonian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eastoregonian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.