Gail
Whitsett in favor of
independent OIT board
State Rep. Gail Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, is in Salem this week for three days of legislative informational hearings.
The session is for house members to hear from committees and state departments about statewide issues. Whitsett is a member of four house committees: agriculture and natural resources, energy and environment, human services and housing, and university governing and special operations.
She heard testimony from
the university
governance committee
about whether Oregon
Institute of Technology
(OIT) and other public
Oregon universities
should have their own
governing boards.
“Being a technical
university, OIT is
different than other
universities in the
state. I’m in favor of
them having their own
governing board,”
Whitsett said.
In the energy and
environment sessions,
Whitsett heard from the
Oregon Department of
Agriculture about bee
health and pesticide
use. Presentations were
also given about coastal
multi-species
conservation and
management plans and
regulations for boat
check laws on invasive
aquatic species from the
Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife and
Oregon State Marine
Board.
No votes are made during
this session.
Water
quality rules
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden,
R-Ore., met with Rep.
Doc Hastings, R-Wash.,
and members of the Food
and Drug Administration
last week to discuss
what he calls
“common-sense rules” for
agricultural water
quality standards.
“Common-sense rules will
make sure our food is
safe without driving
Oregon farmers out of
business,” Walden said
in a press release. “We
are pleased the FDA
seems willing to work
with us and the growers
who have expressed
concerns.”
Under a new draft for
the Food Safety
Modernization Act,
Northwest farmers face
the possibility of more
than 200 crops being
grouped into one
category. According to
Andrew Malcolm, press
secretary to Walden, the
draft would require
water for growing onions
to be as clean as
recreational water used
for activities such as
swimming.
“If we can even get the
water that clean, it
could put (farmers) out
of business,” Malcolm
said.
The more restrictive
water quality standards
are a result of the FDA
focusing on improving
food safety by reducing
risk of disease,
according to Malcolm. At
the meeting, Walden
presented findings from
the Oregon State
University Malheur
County Experiment
Station showing dry bulb
onions grown in Eastern
Oregon pose no risk of
E. coli contamination.
The FDA has agreed to
review the water quality
draft.
Gentry
visits the White House
Klamath Tribes chairman
Don Gentry traveled to
Washington, D.C., last
week to meet with
President Barack Obama
and others for the fifth
annual White House
Tribal Nations
Conference.
The conference provided
an opportunity for
representatives from 566
tribes to meet with the
administration to
discuss tribal needs and
social and economic
development. Gentry
represents the Klamath,
Modoc and Yahooskin
tribes.
He said the conference
was an affirmation of
the administration’s
commitment to tribes.
“President Obama has
committed to following
through with obligations
to tribes and to honor
treaties,” Gentry said.
During the conference,
Gentry spoke about the
Mazama Forest
acquisition at an
economic tribal
development breakout
session. He said the
session was an
opportunity to open a
dialogue about
generating support and
finding administrative
consultants for the
90,000-acre acquisition,
which is part of the
Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement
signed in 2010.
“It’s been identified as
an important economic
area for the tribes for
some time now,” he said.