Business
AgLife
B
Thursday, June 17, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Terminal
Gravity
tapped to
help COLT
project
New law
may boost
use of
planned
fires
Brewery helps
highlight site
preserved by land
trust system
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown signed into law
House Bill 2571
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
By RONALD BOND
Capital Press
Wallowa County Chieftain
SALEM — Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown Monday, June
14, signed into law House Bill
2571, which could potentially
lead to a change in liability
standards for prescribed fire.
The new law may help
expand the use of prescribed
fire in Oregon.
Prescribed fire, also known
as “planned,” “Rx” or “con-
trolled” fire, is a fire set inten-
tionally to limit hazardous
fuels on the landscape — for
example, by burning brush
under trees in the spring to pre-
vent a larger wildfire in the
summer or fall.
House Bill 2571 directs
agencies and forest industry
leaders to study liability
options for prescribed fires.
This is important because land-
owners nationwide cite liability
concerns as one of the top rea-
sons they’re reluctant to use
prescribed fire.
“Stricter liability stan-
dards deter people from doing
prescribed burns because
they’re afraid of getting sued if
there’s an escape,” said Lenya
Quinn-Davidson, who directs
the Northern California Pre-
scribed Fire Council. “As a
burn boss, you take on a lot of
personal responsibility.”
Liability means the legal
responsibility a person holds
for their acts or omissions.
The U.S. has three main lia-
bility standards for prescribed
burning: strict liability, which
holds a person responsible for
harm even if he wasn’t negli-
gent; simple negligence, which
holds a person responsible if he
didn’t take reasonable care; and
gross negligence, which holds
someone responsible only if he
showed reckless disregard for
safety.
Most states, including
Oregon, have simple negli-
gence standards. Eight use a
gross negligence standard.
In states with lower liability
standards, people do more pre-
scribed burns. Oregon, for
example, a simple negligence
state, burned only 200,629
acres in 2019, while Florida, a
gross negligence state, burned
more than 1 million acres the
same year.
To incentivize more pre-
scribed burning on private
lands, Oregon is exploring
making the shift from simple
to gross negligence.
But the bill law passed June
14 won’t automatically change
Oregon’s liability standard.
Instead, it’ll open the conversa-
tion and prompt a study — first
steps.
“It’s not 100% clear yet if
changing the standard will
enable more prescribed fire,
but we do want to have that
conversation,” said Jenna Kno-
bloch, administrative coordi-
nator at the Oregon Prescribed
Fire Council.
The new law directs the
Department of Consumer and
Business Services to con-
sult with the state Forestry
Department, Oregon Forest
and Industries Council, Oregon
Small Woodlands Associa-
tion, Oregon State University,
the Oregon Prescribed Fire
Council and a representative of
the insurance industry to study
liability and insurance cov-
erage options for prescribed
fires.
See, Fire/Page 3B
Carlos Fuentes/The Observer
The AC Powersports building sits at its location on Walton Road on Monday, June 14, 2021. New owner Robert Bates plans to
change the name of the business to Legacy Powersports.
Under new ownership
New owner brings rebrand to AC Powersports
changing the name to Legacy
Powersports, the first of several
changes.
“We plan on expanding the
brands and models that we are
carrying,” he said. “For example,
we’re looking to get more side-
by-sides and also snowmobiles.”
According to Bates, both
a prime candidate for new own-
ership based on his experience
and resources at the Legacy car
ISLAND CITY — After 19
dealership.
years, AC Powersports in Island
“His company is going to
City has new ownership.
bring a lot of resources, including
Robert Bates, owner of
an experienced staff,” Richel-
derfer said. “He knows how to
Legacy Chrysler Jeep Dodge
sell cars so I think that’ll easily
Ram, bought AC Powersports in
transition into selling
late May after nearly
as well.”
two decades under pre-
“We plan on expanding the brands bikes
vious owner, Cody
Richelderfer bought
Richelderfer.
and models that we are carrying.” the company in 2002,
“The old owner
although his job as a race
— Robert Bates, owner of Legacy Chrysler Jeep Dodge
decided that it was
team technician has kept
Ram and new owner of AC Powersports
time for something dif-
him away from the busi-
ferent, and it was a very
ness in recent years.
smooth deal, so the pro-
“I’m not here that
cess itself was nice and easy,”
often, so I thought it would be
the sales floor and service
Bates said. “We were talking
better to leave it in other hands,”
shop occupy 5,000 square feet
about it for a couple of months,
he said.
and might be expanded with
and it just came together.”
Under Bates’ ownership,
increased demand. Along with
AC Powersports first opened
Richelderfer said he is confident
this, he plans on immediately
in 1998 and sells motorized sport adding a new hire to the cur-
that the business is going to grow
vehicles, such as ATVs, motorcy- rent team of four salesmen and
and continue providing quality
cles and dirt bikes.
service, something he always
improving service in the shop.
“We also plan on expanding
made a priority.
Their accessory store also
“I want to thank everyone
the service department because
sells replacement and add-on
that has supported us for the
parts for these vehicles, and their there’s not a whole lot of places
around that are able to do service last 20 years,” Richelderfer said.
service center provides mainte-
“It’s been a great experience,
on these vehicles, so we want to
nance and repair.
Bates has big plans for the
and I’m just hoping that they can
make sure we can offer a quick
business — starting with a name
make it even bigger and better
turnaround,” Bates said.
change. He is in the process of
than before.”
Richelderfer said Bates was
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
ENTERPRISE — Ter-
minal Gravity Brewing Co.
is cracking open a cold one
— and a new one — to help
the Coalition of Oregon Land
Trusts promote its new “The
Oregon I Am” map.
The Enterprise-based
brewery is among eight from
around the state that have cre-
ated a limited-edition beer
for the purpose of helping
COLT’s map, which highlights
81 locations across Oregon
— including two in Wallowa
County — that are preserved
by the state’s land trust system.
“Taking a whole step back,
this is about a celebration of
place, a celebration of people
and of Oregon,” COLT Exec-
utive Director Kelley Beamer
said. “These landscapes that
our land trusts are protecting
inspire many things. The angle
with covering the breweries is
they inspire food and drinks,
and beer in particular. There
have been examples in the past
of breweries working with land
trusts.”
Terminal Gravity is the lone
brewery east of Bend taking
part in the collaborative effort.
The East Moraine and Zum-
walt Prairie Preserve are two
Wallowa County lands featured
in “The Oregon I Am” map.
Grady Nelson, Terminal
Gravity’s marketing manager,
said when COLT reached out
around the first part of spring
to ask if the brewery would
take part, TG viewed it as a
“cool opportunity for a unique
beer, or to do something dif-
ferent for us.”
See, Beer/Page 3B
All-American Coffee serves everybody from everywhere
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — America
may not grow coffee but Amer-
icans sure drink it, and a new
mobile coffee truck is capital-
izing on that fact: All-Amer-
ican Coffee can be found parked
in many locations in Wallowa
County.
“We are at the Elks Lodge
some days, here (at the Pon-
derosa Motel) some days, the
lake during the summer,” said
Stefany Magera, one of the
owner-operators. “We try to
be mobile, like at the clinic,
at the Chieftain, at the school,
where we were just now making
a mobile delivery for the
teachers.”
“We’ll be at the Joseph High
School this afternoon,” said
Alicia Hayes, her sister and
partner. “We’re fully mobile, so
we go wherever we’re needed.”
She said where they locate
each day is flexible.
“Some businesses ask us,
‘Hey, you want to come park
here today?’ With the marina,
they have a contract with the
state, so we’re kind of a subcon-
tractor. … That’s our only con-
tract,” she said.
Although their coffee is
imported, most of their cus-
tomers aren’t. That’s reflected in
the All-American Coffee name
for the business.
“It’s because we serve every-
body,” Hayes said.
Operating since late May,
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
All-American Coffee co-owner-operator Alicia Hayes prepares the first drink of the morning Wednesday, June 9, 2021. The new
coffee truck can be found where it’s announced on Facebook and other social media.
the sisters had the truck built
in Portland to their specifica-
tions. A company there takes old
UPS and FedEx trucks, breaks
them down and rebuilds to new
owners’ specifications. Magera
found the company online and
ordered their truck in April.
“We had all of our equip-
ment ready to go,” Hayes said.
“We were busy buying while
the truck was being built. When
it got here, our husbands and
friends, we put everything in.”
Husbands James Hayes and
Sam Magera, as well as long-
time friends who operate
plumbing and electric busi-
nesses, helped out.
And then there’s Mom —
Susan Roberts.
“She is our biggest fan and
our biggest supporter,” Hayes
said.
The sisters’ daughters also
are involved.
“We also did this so we could
have our girls with us in the
summertime,” Hayes said. “My
nieces started a little lemonade
stand last year.”
She has a daughter going into
sixth grade, while her nieces are
going into the fifth and eighth
grades.
“They’re pretty excited
because it’s something fun for
See, Coffee/Page 3B