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CapitalPress.com
August 25, 2017
Developer says all Idaho farmers should
be concerned about petition effort
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — All farmers in
Idaho should be concerned
about a petition that seeks to
ask voters to overturn a Feb-
ruary decision by Ada County
commissioners that paves the
way for a $80 million subdivi-
sion north of Boise, the devel-
oper says.
A group opposed to the
1,800-home development has
submitted a petition to the
Ada County clerk that would
prompt a special election
where voters would be asked
to overturn a Feb. 21 amend-
ment to the project approved
by the Ada County Board of
Commissioners.
Elected officials such as
county commissioners and
city council members are
charged under Idaho law with
making binding land-use de-
cisions and this effort is an
end run around that process
that amounts to ballot-box
zoning, said Jim Hunter, own-
er of Boise Hunter Homes.
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Some of the farm land in this May 19 photo would be included in a
planned $100 million subdivision in the Dry Creek Valley north of
Boise. The developer says all Idaho farmers should be concerned
about a petition effort to overturn a county decision that paves the
way for the development because it would threaten property rights.
BHH plans to build the
Dry Creek Ranch develop-
ment in the Dry Creek Valley
just north of Boise.
The project, which BHH
says will have a farm-to-ta-
ble theme and include com-
munity farming plots, would
eliminate about 350 acres of
irrigated farmland and 1,050
acres of grazing land.
BHH purchased the prop-
erty from a family that had
farmed it for 100 years.
“Other farmers, land-
owners, anybody that has
an investment they wish to
maximize for their fami-
ly’s benefit, should be con-
cerned about any attempted
ballot-box zoning that will
strip them of their property
rights,” Hunter said.
Members of the Dry Creek
Valley Coalition, which in-
cludes some farmers, hope
to prompt a special election
on the issue using a section
of Idaho Code that allows
people who gather a certain
number of signatures to put a
county legislative decision to
a public vote.
BHH believes that mech-
anism doesn’t apply in this
case and the issue is being
argued in district court.
Stephanie Rael, a local
farm hand who is leading the
petition effort, said coalition
members believe their voice
has not been heard during the
process and see the petition
as a way to accomplish that.
“It sounds like (project
supporters) believe the peo-
ple who live in the area and
would be most affected by the
development can’t make these
types of decisions,” she said.
“I believe exactly the oppo-
site. I think our land-use de-
cisions could be much better
if the community had a say in
them.”
If the petition effort is
successful, this mechanism
could be used to challenge
any land-use decision made
by elected officials and that
would threaten private prop-
erty rights, said Hethe Clark,
a BHH attorney.
“You don’t just get to re-
zone your neighbor’s prop-
erty through the ballot box,
which is essentially what
they’re trying to do,” Hethe
said.
Rael said the coalition has
no intention of stopping its
effort. “We are pursuing our
legal rights as citizens and
we intend to keep making our
voices heard, respectfully and
zealously.”
Hunter said BHH has spent
millions of dollars on the proj-
ect based on the commission-
ers’ Feb. 21 decision and is in
it for the long haul. “We’ll be
building this project.”
Onion rail transload facility plan off to good start
By SEAN ELLIS
Governor to sign
transportation
bill in Ontario
Capital Press
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Capital Press
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
A planned transload facility would allow the bulb onions grown in
the Treasure Valley of Oregon and Idaho to be placed on rail cars
heading to major markets on the East Coast.
and needs to be designed with
as much foresight as possible.
“I think this is critically
important as to whether or not
the onion industry exists 20
years from now in this area,”
he said. “It’s that big a deal.”
Paul Skeen, president of
the Malheur County Onion
Growers Association, said
the facility can’t come quick
enough.
“Our transportation has
just become a real bottle-
neck,” he said. “This is a
game-changer.”
The region’s onion in-
dustry faces chronic trans-
portation issues, said Kay
Riley, manager of Snake
River Produce, an onion
LEGAL
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2680 Cherry Ave. NE
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(503) 399-7454
AUCTION
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• Unit AS-34 - Kyle Blackman
• Unit AS-83 - Felix Vega
Unit AS-85 - Devin Sullivan
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Cherry Avenue Storage
reserves the right to
refuse any and all bids
shipper in Nyssa.
“This should help resolve
that,” he said.
Not having to send onions
to Wallula first will be one of
the facility’s major benefits,
Riley said.
“We should have a geo-
graphic advantage over Wash-
ington, which we’ve kind of
lost,” he said. “This should
help re-establish that.”
Bentz said possible obsta-
cles to building the facility in-
clude talks with Union Pacific
breaking down or the com-
munity disagreeing on where
it should be located or how it
should be managed.
There are several possible
sites in or near Ontario and
Nyssa.
Bentz said conversations
with UP are going well and
“so far, we’ve been able to
avoid those types of disagree-
ments” over location and
management.
ONTARIO, Ore. —
Gov. Kate Brown will trav-
el to Ontario Aug. 28 to
hold a ceremonial signing
of the state’s $5.3 billion
transportation bill, which
provides funding for a ma-
jor rail transload facility in
Malheur County.
The bill provides $26
million for the transload
facility, which onion indus-
try leaders say could be a
game-changer for farmers
because it will allow on-
ions and other commodi-
ties to be loaded directly
onto rail cars, reducing
transportation costs and
possibly opening new mar-
kets.
The governor plans to
meet with producers in On-
tario before signing House
Bill 2017.
This will be Brown’s
second visit to Ontario this
year. Before that, farmers
can’t remember the last
time a governor visited the
area in an official capacity.
Local onion industry
leaders are encouraging as
many farmers as possible
to show up for the Aug. 28
signing and thank Brown
for her role in helping en-
sure inclusion of the fund-
ing for the transload fa-
cility in the transportation
package.
“We’re telling people,
be sure and thank her and
express our gratitude,” said
Grant Kitamura, gener-
al manager of Murakami
Produce, an onion shipping
company. “This facility
will be a great help to the
onion industry and other
commodities.”
Dozens of onion stor-
age and packing sheds col-
lapsed under the weight of
snow and ice this winter
and Brown toured the re-
gion in February to see the
damage first-hand.
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-On-
tario, vice co-chairman of
the committee that crafted
the transportation package,
said Brown is following up
on what she said she would
do when she visited the
Associated Press File
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
will visit Ontario, Ore., Aug.
28. Ag industry leaders are
encouraging farmers to
show up to thank her for her
support of a transportation
package that includes $26
million for a major rail trans-
load facility near Ontario.
region in February: help
the local economy recover
from the damage.
The governor’s visit to
the area is “extremely sig-
nificant and I think it’s a re-
flection of how supportive
she is of this investment in
our area,” he said.
Bentz said the trans-
load facility “is a great,
big deal to this community
and I think she understands
that and wants to share in
the hope this brings to this
community.”
Bentz said ag industry
leaders will be notified
once specific times and
places for Brown’s visit are
set.
He said it’s also import-
ant for locals to thank the
governor for her support
of House Bill 2012, which
created a special econom-
ic development region in
Malheur County with the
goal of helping farmers and
other businesses compete
on a more level playing
field with their Idaho coun-
terparts.
Nyssa farmer Paul
Skeen, who helped escort
Brown during her February
visit, said her interest in
and support for the area is
refreshing because Eastern
Oregon residents have long
felt forgotten by the rest of
the state.
LEGAL
LEGAL
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold, for cash
to the highest bidder, on 9/1/2017. The
sale will be held at 10:00am by
Copart of Washington Inc.
2885 National Way Woodburn, OR
2015 Nissan Murano UT
VIN = 5N1AZ2MH7FN235024
Amount due on lien $1455.00
Reputed owner(s)
Car Guys NW LLC
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold, for cash
to the highest bidder, on 9/1/2017. The
sale will be held at 10:00am by
Copart of Washington Inc.
2885 National Way Woodburn, OR
2016 Toyota Corolla 4DR
VIN = 2T1BURHE6GC728505
Amount due on lien $1455.00
Reputed owner(s)
Jesus Ascension Hernandez Juarez
Toyota Motor Credit Corp.
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 98
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold, for cash
to the highest bidder, on 9/5/17.
The sale will be held at 10:00am by
PARKING ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
1768 13TH ST SE SALEM, OR
2006 Mercedes ML350
VIN = 4JGBB86EX6A080667
Legal-34-2-3/#4
Legal-34-2-3/#4
Amount due on lien $2,883.00
Reputed owner(s) CINSY ZIEBELL
EQUITABLE FINANCE COMPANY
Legal-34-2-3/#4
LEGAL
By SEAN ELLIS
legal-33-2-3/#4
ONTARIO, Ore. — The
effort to build a major rail
transload facility in Malheur
County that many people say
could be a game-changer for
the area’s onion industry is
reportedly off to a good start.
The facility would allow
the bulb onions grown in the
Treasure Valley of Oregon
and Idaho to be placed on rail
cars heading to major markets
on the East Coast, instead of
being trucked 216 miles West
to Wallula, Wash., before
making that journey east.
That would reduce trans-
portation costs and speed
up delivery times for onions
headed to the East Coast,
according to onion industry
leaders.
“I think it will be great
for our industry. The sooner,
the better,” said Eddie Rodri-
guez, co-owner of Partners
Produce, an onion shipper in
Payette, Idaho.
A $5.3 billion transporta-
tion bill passed by the Oregon
Legislature this year includes
$26 million for the facility,
which will focus on the onion
industry but could benefit oth-
er commodities as well.
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-On-
tario, co-vice chairman of the
committee that crafted the
transportation bill, said sup-
porters of the transload facil-
ity have been told by Oregon
Department of Transportation
officials “to move forward
with as much alacrity as pos-
sible.”
“We are not concerned
about having the money. We
have the money,” he said.
“I think it’s going exactly as
planned.”
The Malheur County
Court has appointed a sev-
en-member board that will
oversee plans for the facility
and have authority to enter
into contracts necessary for
such things as construction,
land acquisition and facility
leases.
Four of the board members
are from the onion industry.
Shay Myers, general man-
ager of Owyhee Produce, an
onion shipper in Nyssa, Ore.,
said the facility is a major deal
for the region’s onion industry
Cranberry
growers
to seek
volume
control
USDA said ‘no’
to last request
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The U.S. cranberry indus-
try will ask the USDA to order
farmers and processors to cut
production for the 2017 and
2018 harvests, forcing grow-
ers to take a short-term hit, but
with the hope that prices will
rebound in the long run.
The Cranberry Marketing
Committee, made up of grow-
ers, voted unanimously this
month to seek volume reduc-
tions of 15 percent this year
and 25 percent next year.
“We’ve got to do something
because we just keep adding
and adding (to the surplus) and
it gets worse and worse,” said
Malcolm McPhail, a cranber-
ry grower on the Long Beach
Peninsula in Washington.
“It’s just impossible to grow
demand as fast as the fruit is
coming.”
Record-busting crops in the
U.S. and the emergence of a
cranberry industry in Quebec,
Canada, over the past decade
have built up a cranberry in-
ventory that now slightly ex-
ceeds one year’s demand.
Even if Canada continues
to produce cranberries, vol-
ume controls in the U.S. could
be effective in halting the slide
of prices, said Tom Lochner,
executive director of the Wis-
consin State Cranberry Grow-
ers Association.
“At the end of the day, it’s
going to get fruit out of the in-
ventory,” Lochner said. “It’s a
pretty powerful tool to manage
supply.”
Lochner said volume re-
ductions will provide only
short-term relief. In the long
run, the industry will need to
sell more cranberries to such
countries as China, India,
South Korea and Australia, he
said.
A USDA spokesman said
Aug. 14 he couldn’t speculate
on whether the agency can re-
spond to the request before this
fall’s harvest.
The cranberry industry last
used volume controls to reduce
a surplus in 2000. The market-
ing committee again requested
volume controls in 2014, but
the USDA declined, saying it
suspected the U.S. cranberry
industry was conspiring with
growers in Quebec to control
the supply.
Ocean Spray, a cooperative
with more than 700 members,
said it supported volume re-
duction.
“With record crops in re-
cent years, the cranberry in-
dustry’s oversupply continues
to grow and the scope of the
oversupply is now at a point
that the industry needed to take
action,” according to an Ocean
Spray statement.
Farmers received an aver-
age of 30.6 cents per pound for
cranberries in 2016, according
to the USDA. The price has
been decreasing since peaking
at 58.1 cents a pound in 2008.
The cranberry surplus was
already high before U.S. farm-
ers produced a record 962
million pounds in 2016. The
USDA predicted last week
the 2017 crop will be down 6
percent to 905 million pounds,
primarily because of an ex-
pected decrease in Wisconsin,
which accounts for two-thirds
of U.S. cranberries.
The USDA forecast last
year underestimated the U.S.
crop by 100 million pounds.
Lochner said he expected Wis-
consin’s crop to be similar to
last year’s.
Oregon cranberry produc-
tion is expected to rebound
from a subpar 2016. USDA
predicts a 48 million-pound
crop, up 16 percent from last
year.
LEGAL
PUBLIC LIEN SALE
U-STORE SELF STORAGE
Albany, Oregon
Sun, September 10, 2017 1PM
1668 Industrial Way SW
Barry Hovelsrud, J039; Jennifer
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Allyson, E014; Harold Miller,
J042; Elizabeh Meyers, J031;
Alan Price, H015
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