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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2016)
Paint the paper Pink! Join us throughout the month of October as we focus on Breast Cancer awareness, education & prevention FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016 EPA regional head didn’t see What’s Upsteam as ‘legal issue’ VOLUME 89, NUMBER 41 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 New life for old By DON JENKINS Capital Press Turn to UPSTREAM, Page 12 Reclaimed lumber from barns, outbuildings popular among renovators and woodworkers By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press S UVER, Ore. — Staring up into the innards of a partially dismantled grain elevator, decon- struction expert Steve Marlega could barely contain his enthusiasm. Though much of the wood in the roughly 70-year-old structure was too insect-damaged to be reclaimed, the massive old-growth timber beams sup- porting its frame were in superb condition. “I’ll tear this whole thing down just for those,” said Marlega, project manager for Northwest Reclaimed Wood, a deconstruction fi rm. While the old Pacifi c Seed grain elevator in Suver, Ore., was no longer useful to its current owner, the Wilbur-Ellis farm supply company, lumber from the structure will live on in various forms. Like the wood from ancient barns and other outdated and dilapidated agricultural build- ings around the region, it will be turned into furniture and used in home renovations by people who value its unique heritage. “History is huge. You don’t want it to just die,” said Danuta Burris, co-owner of Salem Sal- vage, a reclaimed wood company that buys material from Marlega. Danuta Burris of Sa- lem Salvage puts the finishing touches on a table made from reclaimed wood at the company’s yard in Salem, Ore. Old wood from barns and other farm buildings is popular among woodworkers and home renovators. ‘A big thing’ People often prefer to use lumber that was milled at about the same time as their older homes were built because it fi ts better aesthetically and dimensionally, she said. Such lumber is also used as a decorative element in newer homes, Burris said. “Barn wood is a big thing right now. Everybody wants that barn wood look.” Dismantling an old barn or grain elevator is much more time-consuming and complicated than simply bulldozing it or setting fi re to it. The added care is necessary to extract the valuable lumber in- tact, said Marlega. “You can’t get it by knocking it over.” In some cases, quickly demolishing or burning down a structure simply isn’t safe or practical. The Pa- cifi c Seed grain elevator, for example, was too close to other buildings and a railroad track. Turn to WOOD, Page 12 Photos by Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Darell Braman of Northwest Reclaimed Wood, a deconstruction company, dismantles a grain elevator in Suver, Ore. Old wood from barns and other farm buildings is popular among woodworkers and home renovators. Big wheat crop fails to yield big payday By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Good growing weather bol- stered wheat yields this year compared to 2015, but growers aren’t seeing the growth in their wallets. Washington’s winter wheat production this year topped 130 million bushels, up 46 percent from 89 million bushels har- vested in 2015, according the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Spring wheat production was 27 million bushels, up 18 percent over last year. “It was a perfect year for growing wheat, with the excep- tion of falling numbers,” said Mary Palmer Sullivan, vice president of the Washington Grain Commission. Many farmers are seeing lower prices due to low falling number, a test run by grain ele- vators for starch damage. Turn to WHEAT, Page 12 Capital Press File Though the amount of wheat harvested is up across most of the Pacifi c Northwest compared to last year, low prices are cutting into this year’s farm income. EVER WONDERED WHAT TO DO WITH THAT OLD, WORN OUT COMMODITY TRAILER? Our Rebin Program can turn your old trailer into a new trailer! We will remove all working mechanical parts, and replace the bin with a new Stainless Steel STC Bin on your existing running gear. All parts deemed reusable are reinstalled on the new bin. All of this at the fraction of the cost of a new trailer! WWW.STCTRAILERS.COM 494 W. Hwy 39 Blackfoot, ID 83321 208-785-1364 41-2/#16 The Environmental Pro- tection Agency’s top North- west offi cial asked What’s Upstream last year to not sin- gle out farmers as responsible for Puget Sound pollution, but he also reassured the group’s leader that spending EPA funds on the advocacy cam- paign wasn’t a “legal issue,” according to newly available EPA records. The records, released in response to a Freedom of In- formation Act request by the Capital Press, shed new light on the depth of concern some EPA staff members had about the legality of What’s Up- stream, led by Swinomish In- dian tribe environmental poli- cy director Larry Wasserman. The campaign sought in- creased regulation of agricul- ture to improve Puget Sound water quality. The campaign collapsed in April as some federal law- makers charged the EPA with funding malicious and illegal lobbying activities. The EPA’s inspector general is auditing the spending, and the Wash- ington Public Disclosure Commission is investigating whether What’s Upstream broke state law by failing to report lobbying activities. According to the just-re- leased records, What’s Up- stream had the attention of wary EPA staff members for several years, particularly af- ter Wasserman proposed in 2013 using EPA funds to push a ballot initiative to restrict farming near waterways. The tribe dropped the pro- posal, but continued to pursue a lobbying campaign with the help of Seattle fi rm Strategies 360. As lower-level EPA offi - cials were exploring in 2015 whether Wasserman’s sin- gle-minded focus on regulat- ing agriculture was grounds for cutting-off funding, Was- serman requested a meeting with Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran. According to EPA notes of the July 16, 2015, conference call, Wasserman, joined by tribe attorney Nate Cushman, told McLerran that he didn’t think the EPA could legal- ly withdraw a grant already awarded to the Northwest In- dian Fisheries Commission to fund “public outreach.”