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Wednesday, June 27, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Airport is an outstanding
community asset
By Mike Macon & Sharon Karr
Guest Columnists
Editorial…
Tariffs threaten newspapers
Tariffs on newsprint are threatening the
existence of community newspapers across the
country. Thanks to the support of the Sisters
community and our advertisers, The Nugget
remains a healthy and vibrant publication —
but we’re not sheltered from national trends.
The vast majority of economists will tell
you that protectionist policies and tariffs do
far more harm than good. In a global economy
— which the U.S. has operated in for well over
a century — imposing tariffs merely triggers
tit-for-tat retaliation. Protecting one industry
often causes harm to others.
That’s what’s happening with tariffs on
newsprint. In order to protect one paper
mill in Longview, Washington, employ-
ing approximately 400 people, the Trump
Administration has imposed tariffs on
Canadian uncoated groundwood paper that
threaten 600,000 jobs across a multitude
of industries. NORPAC (the North Pacific
Paper Co.) argues that it is unfairly impacted
by uncoated groundwood paper subsidized
by the Canadian government being sold
below market value in the United States.
Addressing unfair trade practices — where
they exist — is a laudable goal. But tariffs are
a blunt instrument at best, and igniting trade
wars with North American trading partners
will hurt everyone in the end.
The Commerce Department will decide this
summer whether to make the newsprint tariff
permanent. Hopefully, once the full rami-
fications of the policy are understood, offi-
cials will dump it. And Congress may act to
freeze the tariff while directing the Commerce
Department to better assess its impact.
Some community newspapers are seeing
printing costs increase by 20 to 30 percent. The
Nugget, which prints in Bend at The Bulletin’s
facility, has seen a smaller increase than that
— but there’s no assurance that that line can
be held.
If cost increases put newspapers and other
publishers out of business, the paper industry
as a whole will suffer a huge blow — which
is why the rest of the industry doesn’t support
the tariffs.
As Republican Senator Susan Collins, a co-
sponsor of the bill to suspend and reassess the
tariffs noted, tariffs are “harming the industry
they were intended to protect.”
Hopefully, in an overheated political envi-
ronment where ready, fire, aim seems to be the
norm, cooler heads will take into account the
broad and long-term effects of an ill-conceived
action.
Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
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Sunny
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The Nugget Newspaper, LLC
Website: www.nuggetnews.com
442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759
Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to
The Nugget Newspaper,
P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759.
Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon.
Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius
Production Manager: Leith Easterling
Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken
Graphic Design: Jess Draper
Community Marketing Partners:
Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett
Accounting: Erin Bordonaro
Proofreader: Pete Rathbun
Owner: J. Louis Mullen
The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area.
Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55.
Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which
appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for
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We attend the Sisters
Airport 4th of July Fly-In, no
matter what. This commu-
nity event started six years
ago to celebrate the airport
makeover, including the re-
paved runway, new hangars,
offices, and aviation fuel. The
festivities start at 7 a.m. with
pancakes, the buzz of planes
arriving, and the rumble of
classic cars for the hot-rod
show. The Sisters Fly-In is
just one of the many ways
Benny and Julie Benson con-
tribute to our community.
When the Bensons became
the owners of Sisters Eagle
Airport, the facilities were
in a sad state of disrepair.
The Oregon Department of
Aviation had designated the
airport runway as “failed.”
There was no business base,
and no jobs at the site. Under
the new ownership of the
Bensons, revitalization of
the dilapidated airport began
immediately. Every time
we drove by the airport, we
noticed projects underway,
from painting the fence to
digging up the house-sized
boulder that created the hump
in the runway.
The Bensons dedicated
their airport as a commu-
nity asset, and received
two ConnectOregon grants,
which provided 45 percent of
the project costs to resurface
the runway, and helipads for
emergency and fire services.
The Bensons paid the remain-
der. While most airports are
owned by a public agency
and receive funds for the
operation and maintenance,
the Sisters Airport is entirely
financed by the Bensons, but
still operates as a community
asset for the public.
The annexation of the
airport into the City of
Sisters was facilitated by the
Bensons, supported by an
unprecedented voter approval
of 87 percent, seven pub-
lic hearings, and unanimous
city council approval. The
34-acre airport property now
provides Sisters with addi-
tional tax revenue, along with
recreational uses, including
a fly-in campground and the
community garden. These
improvements drive tourism,
recreation and business to
Sisters.
The Bensons proved the
airport met the criteria to
be included on the Oregon
Department of Aviation
(ODA) list of Airports of
Significance, including a
public hearing which demon-
strated overwhelming support
of the community and Flight
Science students. Now listed,
the Sisters Airport is recog-
nized and protected for cur-
rent and future aviation uses.
Julie Benson helped start
the Flight Science program
at Sisters High School (SHS),
and then founded Outlaw
Aviation with the purchase
of a Cessna 172. Julie also
facilitated the donation of
the FAA-certified simula-
tor from COCC, which is
available for students to use
after school. The Bensons
plan to host a new Career
Technology Education class
at the airport starting next fall
for SHS students to build an
airplane.
The Bensons’ business,
ENERGYneering Solutions,
Inc, (ESI), employs more
than 50 living-wage employ-
ees, providing services for
over $10 million in renew-
able energy projects. ESI
also designed and built
the new biomass boiler at
SHS in 2011. As a traded-
sector business, ESI brings
revenue from distant proj-
ects back into the Sisters
economy. ESI received the
Sisters Pioneering Spirit
Award in 2013, Business of
the Year Award in 2014, and
the Oregon Business award
“Best 100 Companies to
Work for in Oregon” in 2015.
Their projects are making a
difference and are actually
changing the world. ESI’s
combined projects offset the
carbon footprint equivalent to
two million cars per year!
More than a half-million
dollars in infrastructure
and street improvements is
directly tied to the jobs being
created by ESI. Funding is
partially from grants, the
remainder was covered by the
Bensons.
Their community con-
tributions reach beyond the
airport. They donated HEPA
filters for all three Sisters
schools when unsafe levels
of smoke from fires filled
the schools, and they serve
as advisors for the SHS engi-
neering academy, Aspire
mentors, and Pursue Your
Passion programs.
The Bensons’ goal is to
provide an airport which is
a true community asset. We
congratulate Benny and Julie
for contributing tirelessly to
the Sisters community.
We hope you join us to
celebrate the 4th of July!
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.