Business
AgLife
B
Thursday, December 16, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Despite
downturn
incomes
keep rising
By MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian
SALEM — Incomes and wages
have been rising in Oregon, and con-
tinued that growth last year during
the the steepest, deepest economic
downturn in Oregon history. And the
income gains spanned the entire state,
reaching all 36 counties, according
to the Oregon Offi ce of Economic
Analysis.
The pandemic distorted many eco-
nomic measures, though. And infl a-
tion is devaluing some of this year’s
wage gains. So the picture may not be
quite as rosy as the numbers suggest.
Income includes wages but also
other sources of money, including
Social Security checks, investment
returns, unemployment payments and
stimulus checks.
Last year’s federal pandemic relief
bills played a big role in the rising
incomes. While temporary federal
unemployment bonuses were in place,
some people actually made more
while they were unemployed than
they did while working.
The eff ects of the federal payments
were largest in Oregon’s rural coun-
ties, where incomes are lower and so
the stimulus payments had a larger
impact in percentage terms.
Oregon’s rural counties also
See, Incomes/Page B2
$40 million
in forgivable
disaster loans
approved for
farmers
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon farmers
who’ve suff ered from drought and
other disasters will gain access to $40
million in forgivable loans under a
legislative package approved Monday,
Dec. 13.
The money will serve as a “bridge”
to keep farmers afl oat while they wait
for USDA assistance, but the loans
will be forgiven if growers don’t
qualify for federal disaster relief.
“We’re telling farmers and ag
workers across the state that we
acknowledge how hard it’s been to
survive this year,” said Rep. Bobby
Levy, R-Echo, before the House fl oor
vote.
Throughout 2021, farmers have
been plagued by winter storms,
drought, heat waves, insect infesta-
tions, wildfi res and fl ood damage, all
during a global pandemic.
“It’s been the hardest year for nat-
ural disasters in many Oregon pro-
ducers’ memories,” said Mary Anne
Cooper, Oregon Farm Bureau’s vice
president of public policy, during a
legislative hearing on the bill.
The forgivable loans are intended
to allow farmers to stay in business,
but won’t actually result in a prof-
itable year, she said. “I just think
that’s out of reach for the 2021 year.”
The Oregon Farm Bureau esti-
mates about $75 million was made
available to disaster-affl icted
growers in the legislative package,
which was passed during a Dec. 13
special session.
The idea for forgivable loans
sprang from concerns that niche
Oregon farmers face “gaps” in
USDA disaster programs, which
are primarily designed for major
commodity crops. For example,
damage from the ice storm and heat
wave this year may not directly kill
hazelnut trees or nursery stock.
However, yields and marketability
are adversely aff ected.
“Assistance is needed to help
See, Loans/Page B2
Don Mallory works on a silver
bit at his shop in Flora.
Sandy Mallory/Contributed Photo
Self-taught
Silversmith Don
Mallory learned the
craft after 20-year
career with ODOT
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
LORA — It’s mainly a
post-retirement hobby, but
Don Mallory really enjoys
the craft of silversmithing.
“I really like making bits
and spurs, but jewelry sells better,” the
longtime Flora resident said. “I’ve got a
better market for it than the bits and spurs.”
You won’t fi nd Mallory with a brick-and-
mortar shop or even an online presence.
“We don’t have a computer out here,” he
said, adding that internet connections in his
area are a bit sketchy.
Mallory and his wife, Sandy, live just
outside of Flora. He has two sons, fi ve
grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
F
His version of marketing is mainly word
of mouth, “and I do a few shows.”
Silver enthusiasts can fi nd Mallory’s
work at various shows and bazaars, such as
one held around Valentine’s Day at the Hur-
ricane Creek Grange, during Hells Canyon
Mule Days in September — for about 20
years — or, more recently, at bazaars held
during the Christmas season.
He’s also shown his stuff outside of
Oregon.
“I got invited to Sheridan, Wyoming, to
the Great Western Silver Exposition in 2011
by a silversmith out of California, Jeremiah
Watt,” Mallory said. “Somehow, he got my
address and invited me. He invited sev-
eral silversmiths from Australia, Germany,
Canada and all over the United States.
About 20 people were at that deal. It was to
show off your engraving and what you can
do.”
Largely self-taught
As Mallory neared retirement from
about 20 years working for the Oregon
Department of Transportation, he realized
he’d need something to fi ll the time.
“I fi gured I’d need something to occupy
my time,” he said. “It turned into a job after
I got started at it.”
In 1993, a cousin, Larry Bacon, who
lives near Lost Prairie in the northern
part of Wallowa County, went to a silver-
smithing school in Nampa, Idaho. Bacon
invited Mallory to accompany him, but he
didn’t think he should leave because of his
job with ODOT.
“I didn’t go because I thought sure it
would snow — it was January,” he said.
“He came back with bit and spurs. He’s the
one who helped get me started in it.”
From there, he taught himself.
“It was all hit and miss. I basically
taught myself,” Mallory said. “When I
needed help, Larry would help.… The rest
of it I would learn on my own.”
Working with silver
Mallory said he buys the silver in 16-24
gauge sheets that are about 6 inches wide
and 18 inches long.
“That’ll last you quite a while,” he said.
He starts by determining and cutting
the pattern of whatever he’s making with
an air-powered pneumatic engraver. He
said it has a blade that’s about an eighth of
See, Silver/Page B2
Pollution from Columbia River dams leads to lawsuit
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
PORTLAND — An Oregon
environmental group is suing
the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers claiming the agency pol-
lutes the Columbia River with
heated water, oil and other toxic
chemicals at three hydroelec-
tric dams between Portland and
the Tri-Cities in Southeastern
Washington.
Columbia Riverkeeper fi led
the lawsuit on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
It alleges the Corps has failed to
obtain permits regulating pollut-
ants discharged into the Columbia
River at The Dalles, John Day and
McNary dams, in violation of the
federal Clean Water Act.
Miles Johnson, senior attorney
for Columbia Riverkeeper, said
the dams are making the river too
warm for endangered salmon and
steelhead.
“Our runs of salmon and steel-
head in the Columbia Basin are
in serious trouble,” Johnson said.
“It’s really disappointing to see
the Army Corps refuse to even
comply with our basic laws for
protecting clean water.”
According to the lawsuit, pol-
lution is occurring daily at the
dams, threatening the health and
survival of anadromous fi sh.
Columbia Riverkeeper initially
sued the Corps in 2013 over dis-
charges. The lawsuit was dropped
a year later after the agency
agreed to apply for Clean Water
Act permits through the Environ-
East Oregonian, File
A lawsuit fi led on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, by the Columbia Riverkeeper, an Or-
egon environmental group, alleges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pollutes
the Columbia River with heated water, oil and other toxic chemicals at three hy-
droelectric dams, including McNary Dam, shown here, between Portland and
the Tri-Cities in Southeastern Washington.
mental Protection Agency.
Those permits still have not
been issued seven years later,
Johnson said.
“We don’t think anyone, espe-
cially the federal government, is
above the law,” he said. “We’re
asking for the Army Corps to
follow the law and reduce pollu-
tion going into the river.”
Matt Rabe, spokesperson for
the Corps’ Northwest Division,
said the agency applied for the
EPA permits in 2015 and takes
its Clean Water Act obligations
seriously.
“Our team is working tire-
lessly to fi nd solutions that bal-
ance all of the purposes of the
system, including the needs of
fi sh and wildlife, fl ood risk man-
agement, navigation, power gen-
eration, recreation, water supply
and water quality,” Rabe said.
Water temperature is one of
the “pollutants” regulated by the
EPA under the Clean Water Act.
Both Oregon and Washington
have established a maximum tem-
perature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit
for the Columbia River to protect
salmon and steelhead runs.
Temperatures higher than 68
degrees can cause stress and dis-
ease among salmonids, leading to
signifi cant die-off s.
A recent EPA report for the
Columbia and Snake rivers con-
cluded that water temperatures
regularly exceed 68 degrees at the
dams between July and October.
Johnson said Clean Water
Act permits could address this
problem several ways. They might
require the Corps to improve fi sh
ladders at the dam, or draw down
the reservoirs during the warm
summer months to keep cooler
water moving quickly through the
system — rather than sitting stag-
nant and absorbing sunlight.
However, Rabe said that
though the pools behind the lower
Columbia River dams are consid-
ered reservoirs, they are largely
not storage reservoirs but rather
run-of-river facilities.
“This limits our ability to
impact water temperatures by
drawing down water levels in the
spring,” he said.
Other users of the Columbia
River system have questioned
the temperature standard for
salmon, arguing it is not realisti-
cally achievable and threatens the
dams’ continued operations for
navigation, hydropower and water
supplies.
Kurt Miller, executive director
of Northwest RiverPartners, said
the temperature standard adopted
in Oregon and Washington is set-
ting the dams up for failure.
Northwest RiverPartners is a
group based in Vancouver, Wash-
ington, that advocates for hydro-
electricity, transportation and
agriculture within the Columbia
River system.
Looking at the EPA’s report
released last year, Miller said
water coming into the system
from farther upstream was
already warmer than 68 degrees
See, Lawsuit/Page B2