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CapitalPress.com
August 11, 2017
Judge hears case that seeks to save farmland
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — The fate of a pe-
tition that seeks to ask voters
to stop a planned development
on 1,400 acres of farmland near
Boise is in a judge’s hands fol-
lowing an Aug. 8 court hearing.
Members of the Dry Creek
Valley Coalition, which in-
cludes farmers, filed a petition
with the Ada County Clerk’s
office to put an Ada County
Board of Commissioners de-
cision regarding the planned
development to a referendum
vote during a special election.
The clerk didn’t accept the peti-
tion, which resulted in the coa-
lition filing a complaint against
the clerk’s decision in court.
The developer, Boise Hunt-
er Homes, also filed a com-
plaint with a different judge
that asked for a court writ pro-
hibiting the clerk from accept-
ing the petition.
District Judge Jonathan
Medema on Aug. 8 accepted a
motion by the commissioners
to consolidate the two cases
and took under advisement a
motion by the county board to
intervene in the case.
Referendum
supporters
hope to stop the planned devel-
opment in the Dry Creek Valley
just north of Boise and save the
farmland. They believe Idaho
Code allows voters to overturn
a decision by county commis-
sioners that is legislative.
In this case, they hope to ask
voters to overturn an ordinance
passed by the Ada County
commissioners on Feb. 21 that
paved the way for the develop-
ment to continue.
The board was represented
during the Aug. 8 hearing by
County Deputy Prosecuting
Attorney Lorna Jorgensen, who
said petition supporters seek to
take away the board’s authority
under Idaho law to make bind-
ing land use decisions.
The board is seeking to in-
tervene to protect that right, she
said. “Only an elected body can
make those land use decisions.”
Coalition members told
Capital Press later they see
that motion to intervene as an
attempt to delay the court’s de-
cision on the matter.
If the petition is accepted,
referendum supporters will
have 180 days to collect the
roughly 40,000 signatures it
will require to prompt a special
election.
Certain community activi-
ties during the summer, such as
the Boise farmers’ markets, are
ideal for rapid and efficient col-
lection of signatures, said Brian
Ertz, who represents referen-
dum supporters.
Delaying the court’s deci-
sion would mean missing that
prime signature-gathering op-
portunity, he said.
“This is all delay,” he said
of the commissioners’ attempt
to intervene in the case. “They
want to delay it, they want to
throw dirt into the gears and
they want to push it out as
much as possible.”
In its court complaint, Boise
Hunter Homes, the developer,
said the county board’s Feb.
21 ordinance granted it vested
property rights and it has rea-
sonably relied on those rights
to make significant investments
in the development, “entering
into contracts and other liabil-
ities valued in the millions of
dollars.”
“We are going to aggres-
sively ... assert our property
right,” Boise Hunter Homes
attorney Geoffrey Wardle told
Medema. The company’s com-
plaint claims the ordinance
passed by the county commis-
sion is quasi-judicial and not
legislative in nature.
“Quasi-judicial actions are
not subject to a referendum
under either the Idaho Consti-
tution or Idaho Code,” it states.
Washington farmers hire lab
to connect bacteria to sources
Research to pinpoint
cause of fouled
shellfish beds
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
John O’Connell/Capital Press
A potato grower group says a ruling by a Mexican court barring the importation of fresh potatoes from the U.S. will be appealed.
Court in Mexico rules
against U.S. spud industry
MEXICO CITY — A Mex-
ican federal court has made an
unusual ruling that bans the
importation of fresh U.S. po-
tatoes to most of Mexico on
the grounds the imports vio-
late Mexicans’ right to food
“sovereignty” and a healthy
environment.
A group of Mexican pota-
to growers had sought a con-
stitutional injunction against
the imports, claiming they
threaten to spread agricultur-
al diseases from the U.S. to
Mexico.
John Keeling, executive
vice president and CEO of
National Potato Council,
which represents U.S. pota-
to growers in Washington,
D.C., said NPC’s legal team
has concluded the ruling will
not change the status quo,
which allows the importa-
tion of U.S. potatoes within
a 26-kilometer zone from
the country’s border with the
U.S.
Keeling said in a press re-
lease the judge’s ruling will
likely be appealed by parties
involved in the case, includ-
ing Mexico’s plant health
regulatory authority, SAG-
ARPA.
U.S. potato growers have
shipped within 26 kilometers
of the Mexican border since
2003, when the countries
signed a bilateral agreement.
The agreement entitled
LEGAL
CITY OF SALEM, OREGON
CONTRACTS & PROCUREMENT
FOR BIOSOLIDS STORAGE AND REUSE SERVICE - RFP#178085
The City of Salem, hereinafter referred to as “City”, is seeking proposals for
potential biosolids storage locations. This will provide a local option for the
City’s biosolids to be stored during the wet winter months and then applied
as a fertilizer and soil amendment during the summer months.
The City will receive sealed proposals at the Office of the Contracts and
Procurement, 555 Liberty Street SE, Room 330, Salem Oregon 97301, until,
but not after 4:00 p.m. (LOCAL TIME), September 1, 2017.
Prospective Proposers may obtain these solicitation documents by
registering on the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN)
website and downloading them. Proposers shall consult the ORPIN system
regularly until closing date and time to avoid missing any notices. To register
on ORPIN go to http://orpin.oregon.gov/open.dll/welcome. The City shall
advertise all Addenda on ORPIN. Prospective proposers are solely responsible
for checking ORPIN to determine whether or not any Addenda have been
issued. RFP documents will not be mailed to prospective proposers.
HUMAN RIGHTS: It is the express policy of the City that no person shall be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise
subjected to discrimination under any program or activity on the grounds of
race, religion, color, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status or
domestic partnership, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation,
gender identity or source of income as provided by Salem Revised Code
Chapter 97, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal non-
discrimination laws. The City’s complete Title VI Plan may be viewed at
www.cityofsalem.net. Successful Proposer agrees to comply with all
applicable requirements of federal, state and local civil rights and
rehabilitation statutes, rules and regulations if awarded a contract by the
City.
Solicitations for Subcontracts, Including Procurements of Materials and
Equipment: In all solicitations either by competitive bidding or negotiation
made by the contractor for work to be performed under a subcontract,
including procurements of materials or leases of equipment, each potential
subcontractor or supplier shall be notified by the contractor of the
contractor’s obligations under this contract and the Salem Revised Code
Chapter 97, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal
nondiscrimination laws.
The City is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The City will
provide ADA accommodations upon request to the Contracts & Procurement
Manager.
FIRST DATE OF SOLICITATION: August 8, 2017
32-2/#T1D
the U.S. to expand its access
to all of Mexico but the ex-
panded access was short-
lived, as Mexican growers
quickly challenged it in
court.
Keeling said in the NPC
press release that USDA,
SAGARPA and a third-par-
ty group of experts have all
concluded there would be no
risks posed by the expand-
ed importation of fresh U.S.
spuds.
“The U.S. potato indus-
try is confident that a more
thorough review of the facts
of this case and the acknowl-
edgment of established phy-
tosanitary practices by the
judicial system in Mexico
will alter the outcome of this
decision,” Keeling said in the
press release.
The court said Mexican
agricultural authorities had
failed to use methods such
as radiation treatment of im-
ports to prevent possibly dis-
eases.
But because federal in-
junctions are intended only to
protect constitutional rights,
the ruling had to break some
new ground.
The court ruled the ban
must be implemented to
preserve Mexicans’ collec-
tive rights to “preserve food
sovereignty and the health of
Mexican crop fields.”
The agriculture depart-
ment had no immediate com-
ment on the ruling.
Jayson Korthius/WFF
A northwest Washington farmer
works on a field at a dairy near
Scott Ditch in Whatcom County.
Farmer-led watershed improve-
Water Program, said live-
stock, horses, pets, wildlife
and septic tanks all contribute
to the problem, but their rel-
ative contributions have not
been ranked.
“I’ll be interested to see
what the results are and see
how we can all benefit from
the study,” she said. “If it’s go-
ing to help better identify how
to really make water-quality
improvements, that’s going to
be useful for sure.”
Oostra said there is no
guarantee the research will
precisely differentiate fecal
coliform sources.
It’s established practice to
test water for a specific source
of DNA — a particular fish,
for example, he said. But this
research will try to develop
profiles for everything in the
ditch, Oostra said.
“It’s going to be so much
information,” he said.
From a scientific stand-
point, “the worst-case scenar-
io is you can’t blame anybody
because everything looks the
same,” he said. “We don’t
think that’s going to happen.”
Oostra said he hopes to
have some results to report in
three months.
Jeffrey James of the Lum-
mi Indian Business Council
said the project could yield
information beneficial to the
tribe.
South Lynden Watershed
Improvement District Presi-
dent Ed Blok, a dairy farmer,
said the tests will point out
everybody’s “bacterial foot-
print,” including migratory
waterfowl.
“The large flocks of swans,
geese and ducks turn grass
fields to mud and, of course
leave their waste behind,” he
said in a written statement.
“Cow manure on the other
hand has to be carefully con-
tained and managed.”
Traps set west of Portland overflow with Japanese beetles
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Traps set in conjunction
with an Oregon Department
of Agriculture eradica-
tion campaign in the Port-
land area caught a stunning
LEGAL
NOTICE OF SALE
On Tuesday, August 22, 2017 at 11:00
a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Papé
Machinery will offer for sale, to the
highest bidder, all, but not part of,
the following equipment: One (1)
John Deere baler model 385, Serial
Number: E00385X968317. The sale
will be open to the public and bids
will be received orally. Terms of sale
are 25% cash payment upon
acceptance of the bid with the
balance payable within 48 hours. The
equipment will be held pending
receipt of the full bid price and is
sold AS IS - WHERE IS - AND WITH
ALL FAULTS condition, with no
representations or warrantees as to
fitness for any particular application
whatsoever and may be examined at
7101 Old Highway 99N, Roseburg, OR
97470. Papé Machinery, Inc. reserves
the right to bid on the equipment
and the right to reject any one or all
of the bids received. PAPÉ
MACHINERY, INC. 541-673-7567
32-3/#4
12,000 Japanese beetles, an
invasive pest that can cause
major damage to home gar-
dens and to nursery, vege-
table, vineyard and orchard
crops.
A department official has-
tened to say the heavy count
— only 372 were caught last
year and that was enough to
trigger the eradication effort
— doesn’t mean the cam-
paign didn’t work.
This past spring, depart-
ment contractors treated the
grounds of about 2,400 res-
idences on 1,000 acres west
of Portland with a granu-
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold, for cash
to the highest bidder, on 8/30/2017.
The sale will be held at 10:00am by
ELITE AUTO SERVICE
930 COMMERCIAL ST NE, SALEM, OR
2005 BMW 7451
VIN = WBAGN63575DS59818
Amount due on lien $2,300
Reputed owner(s) LAYNE CURTHS
MICHAEL STEELE
KEYBANK NA
SALEM MOTORSPORTS INC
Legal-31-2-3/#4
Wire and staff reports
Six farmer-led watershed
improvement districts in
dairy-rich Whatcom County
in northwest Washington have
hired a laboratory to conduct
unprecedented research to
pinpoint who or what is to
blame for fecal pollution
fouling downstream shellfish
beds.
The question is fraught
with legal and political impli-
cations for dairies, which have
been subjected to increased
regulations and threats of
lawsuits, but note other sourc-
es of fecal matter, such as the
thousands of ducks, geese and
swans that use their fields.
“I’ve let farmers know,
‘This could point the finger
at you.’ That could happen,”
said microbiologist Kent Oos-
tra, owner of Exact Scientific
Services of Ferndale, Wash.
The watershed districts,
public bodies organized by
farmers, have pooled $18,000
to fund the research. The pi-
lot project could be the fore-
runner of larger state-funded
projects to identify spe-
cies-specific sources of fecal
coliform.
Oostra’s laboratory this
month plans to begin testing
the DNA in bacteria drawn
from Scott Ditch, which
drains farmland, residential
areas and a small wildlife
refuge south of Lynden. The
ditch runs into the Nooksack
River, which empties into
Portage Bay, where fecal co-
liform has closed Lummi In-
dian shellfish beds.
Fred Likkel, a water con-
sultant to the districts, said
he believes dairies have been
disproportionately blamed for
pollution, but that the DNA
project is meant to find prob-
lems, not vindicate farmers.
“We’ve been really open
that this is a tool to find out
what the issues are and to deal
with them, regardless of what
or who they are,” said Likkel,
executive director of What-
com Family Farmers.
Andrea Hood, coordinator
of the state’s Whatcom Clean
lar form of the insecticide
Acelepryn. Adult beetles
laying eggs this summer
weren’t harmed, but grubs
that hatch in the treated ar-
eas will ingest the insecti-
cide and die, interrupting
the generational cycle. The
ag department planned five
years of annual treatments,
a pattern that has worked in
other states.
Clint Burfitt, who is in
charge of the treatment pro-
gram, said the insecticide tar-
gets beetles at their most vul-
nerable life stage but is not
hazardous to pets or people.
In a department news re-
lease, Burfitt acknowledged
the trap count was higher
than expected but said the
traps are providing good in-
formation.
“The good news is that
the bulk of the catches are
centered in the middle of our
treatment zone, so there is a
well-defined epicenter for
this infestation,” he said in
a prepared statement. When
the traps are removed this
fall, the department will ana-
lyze data and plan next year’s
eradication work, he said.
Based on past experience,
Burfitt expects the number
of beetles trapped to de-
crease 90 percent each year.
He predicted the count will
drop to more than 1,000 next
year, and to single digits by
the fifth year.
About 2 percent of the
beetles were found in traps
set outside the treatment
zone, Burfitt speculated that
beetles traveled with yard
clippings and landscape
debris or hitchhiked on ve-
hicles. To counter that, the
department,
Washington
County Solid Waste & Recy-
cling and Metro, the regional
government, have asked res-
idents to put grass clippings
in curbside containers.
Garbage haulers take it to
a Hillsboro landfill for deep
burial. At the same time, the
agencies asked landscaping
companies to take debris to a
quarantined drop site in the
area.