WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
NORPAC's $4.5 million offer
is last step in bankruptcy
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The former NORPAC is proposing to pay $4.5 mil-
lion to settle with its former farmers for crops they de-
livered to the agricultural processor in 2019 while the
company was starting its bankruptcy proceedings, but
it’s about a quarter of what the farmers are owed.
In the filing submitted Tuesday by Tonkon Torp at-
torney Albert Kennedy, who is representing the bank-
rupt co-op now known as North Pacific Canners and
Packers, farmers who delivered crops to the company
in 2019 were owed over $16 million.
For the settlement to move forward, farmers with
85% of the outstanding claims must sign the agree-
ment.
The settlement is the last financial uncertainty in
the unraveling of what at one time was one of Oregon’s
largest agricultural processors.
Court documents show the settlement was reached
after a mediation sessions with Bankruptcy Judge Da-
vid Hercher on June 30 and July 2.
The co-op was owned by over 140 farmers and ap-
proximately 100 of them have filed claims for fruits and
vegetables delivered, most of them coming after the
company for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Au-
gust 2019.
Many of the farmers are owed hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars for the goods they delivered.
See NORPAC, Page 4A
The former NORPAC group has proposed a
settlement with its farmers who went unpaid in 2019,
but for the deal to move forward, farmers with 85%
of the outstanding claims must agree to it.
STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE
Mail-in voting
concerns are
addressed for
Nov. 3 election
Whitney Woodworth Salem Statesman
Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River was constructed in 1953. STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE
Judge rules dam
operations are
imperiling fish
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to meet
timelines in implementing fish passage and temper-
ature controls at dams in the Willamette River basin
has imperiled threatened native fish species and re-
sulted in poor water quality, a district court judge
ruled this week.
U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez grant-
ed a summary judgement in a case brought by four
environmental groups, finding the Corps is years be-
hind the timeline needed to complete the work as re-
quired under a 2008 decision and hasn’t altered oper-
ations in the interim.
Under the ruling, the Corps will have to change how
it operates dams in the basin so threatened Upper
Willamette River Chinook salmon and steelhead don’t
See DAM, Page 4A
Chinook salmon fry entering the Fall Creek
Reservoir. U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Last lawsuit involving
Traeger Grills now settled
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The last of the lawsuits involving Traeger Pellet
Grills has been settled.
The company’s suit against rival Dansons in Arizo-
na District Court was dismissed with prejudice by
Judge Douglas Reyes after the companies reached a
settlement in the case.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The suit, filed in July 2019, centered on accusations
that Dansons copied Traeger in advertising for the
company and the designs for its line of pellet grills.
Parts of the Arizona suit and a separate suit in Flor-
ida involving Dansons use of Traeger founder Joe
Traeger and the Traeger barn in Mt. Angel in advertis-
ing for Dansons was settled in December 2019 with
See TRAEGER, Page 4A
Vol. 139, No. 36
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QEAJAB-07403y
Cuts to the U.S. Postal Services and the growing
dependence on mail-in voting has many worried
about whether their mailed ballots will be counted in
time for the Nov. 3 election.
But elections officials in Oregon say they’re work-
ing to ensure every voter in the state has the chance
to cast their ballot.
Concern over the reliability was heightened after
dozens of letter collection boxes were removed,
President Donald Trump ordered cuts to the Postal
Service and a letter penned by USPS General Counsel
Thomas Marshall warned Oregon Secretary of State
Bev Clarno of potential delays in mail-in voting.
Oregon was among the dozens of states to receive
the warning.
In the letter, Marshall said Oregon’s deadline,
which generally has official mail ballots to voters 14
days before Election Day, “appears to be compatible”
with the Postal Service’s delivery standards, but only
if ballots are mailed to voters 14 days before the elec-
tion and are mailed back by Oct. 27.
Concerns eased a bit Tuesday after
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said
he would pause further operational
changes until after the November elec-
tion
Clarno said her office will continue
to work with the Postal Service to
Clarno
monitor any potential impact on both
the mailing out of ballots and the return of ballots.
“Fortunately, Oregon has two decades of experi-
ence working with our local contacts at the United
States Postal Service and has an excellent partner-
ship with them to ensure ongoing support for our
elections,” Clarno said in a statement. “The USPS
recognizes that Oregon leads the nation with Vote by
Mail and that we are using the latest USPS technol-
ogy to streamline the process.”
Clarno said her office will continue to work with
their partners, like county clerks and USPS, across
the state to make sure all Oregonians know the best
options to return their ballots, whether it’s through
the mail or in secure drop boxes to meet election
deadlines.
Marion County Clerk Bill Burgess echoed Clarno’s
reassurances.
“We have confidence that the post office is going to
get the job done in Oregon,” Burgess said.
After talking with officials from the U.S. Postal
Service, Burgess said the county was still planning
on mailing out ballots 20 days before the election.
He stuck with the usual recommendation for vot-
ers to mail-in ballots at least seven days before elec-
tion day on Nov. 3.
Polk County Clerk Val Unger said her office has
been receiving calls from voters concerned over pos-
sible delays.
She said Oregonians have been voting by mail for a
long time and she is confident that there will be no
issues with delivering and receiving ballots to those
in Polk County.
Unger did express concern over possible delays in
mailing for out-of-the-country voters and has been
working with those in the military and others living
internationally to ensure they can cast a vote.
Ernie Swanson, a spokesman for USPS, said he is
not aware of any significant mail delays in Oregon.
“We are encouraging voters to mail in their ballots
for the Nov. 3 general election about a week before
the election date just to be sure the ballots are in the
election offices in time to be counted,” Swanson said.
He also said a 90-day moratorium has been placed
on removing mail collection boxes.
The USPS later announced there would be no
postal service changes until after the November elec-
tion.
Mail-in voting, long a staple in Oregon, has also
seen a recent uptick.
About 35% of ballots in Marion County were
mailed in previous years, Burgess said.
The Oregon Legislature voted in 2019 to add post-
See MAIL-IN, Page 2A