October 6, 2017
CapitalPress.com
Klamath Basin ag leaders show
heart for future generations
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.
— While fights over water
have come to define the re-
gion over the years, at least
one idea unites growers and
others throughout the Klam-
ath Basin: a desire to pass
on local agriculture to future
generations.
That desire is front and
center at Klamath Commu-
nity College, whose agricul-
tural sciences program offers
classes that can go toward a
bachelor’s degree from Or-
egon State University. The
21-year-old campus also of-
fers support for students who
are finishing their degrees at
OSU online.
“Studies have shown
there’s a probability of kids
staying in the community
if they graduate (from col-
lege) in that community,”
said Keith Duren, who leads
KCC’s ag program. “We’re
going to die if we don’t have
that next generation.”
To entice high school
graduates to stay in town,
Duren has amassed high-tech
equipment one might find in
a university’s master’s degree
program. His chemistry and
biology labs have such equip-
ment as a gas chromatogra-
phy-mass spectrometry (GC-
MS) device for identifying
different substances within a
test sample.
He has an atomic absorp-
Tim Hearden/Capital Press
Keith Duren (center), who leads the agriculture program at
Klamath Community College in Klamath Falls, Ore., discusses the
advanced equipment in the campus’ chemistry lab during a tour.
A program at KCC enables students to obtain four-year degrees
without leaving the campus, which leaders think will entice more
young people to stay in the Klamath Basin.
tion monitor and obtained a
DNA synthesizer two years
before Washington State Uni-
versity did, he said.
“This is how we make the
next generation of agricultur-
alists,” Duren said. “It’s pret-
ty amazing to have this stuff
at a two-year school. I’ve got
sophomores doing gene trans-
formation in chemistry lab.”
A tour of KCC’s facilities
kicked off an all-day field
trip on Sept. 28 highlighting
Klamath Basin agriculture.
Hosted by the Klamath Water
Users Association, the Fall
Harvest Tour of area farms
and processing facilities is
aimed at teaching local busi-
nesspeople and political lead-
ers about the industry that
contributes nearly $300 mil-
lion to the region’s economy.
Stops on the tour included
Holland’s Dairy in Klamath
Falls, a potato farm, the Gold
Dust Potato Processors and
Walker Farms potato shed in
Malin, Ore., and a farming
and wetlands restoration proj-
ect on the Tule Lake National
Wildlife Refuge in far North-
ern California.
This year’s theme centered
around making ag attractive
to the area’s young people,
and keeping the industry via-
ble and sustainable for future
farmers.
“There’s been a concern
for years about kids who go
off to college not coming
home,” said Scott White, the
KWUA’s executive director.
“But there’s been a change.
Some of the kids are wanting
to stay ... It’s a pretty exciting
thing.”
Among the attendees this
year were FFA students from
Henley High School in Klam-
ath Falls, who said they found
the tour valuable.
“I think these stops are
helping us see the opportu-
nities in the basin and see
new things that we haven’t
seen in the basin,” said Wyatt
Quinowski, a senior. “If I had
the opportunity to just go in
and farm ... I’d like to stay in
the basin.”
Bob Hamlin earned a de-
gree from OSU and returned
to the area to help his uncle
at Holland’s Dairy, where he
manages about 700 cows.
“Hopefully we can contin-
ue this lifestyle in the basin,”
he said, noting the frequent
water shortages that have
been the source of controver-
sy and settlement talks for de-
cades.
Growing potatoes — a
key crop in the basin — has
its challenges, farmer Luke
Robison warned. One has to
put lots of capital into potato
farming, which most young
people can’t afford to do, he
said. And proper water man-
agement in the height of sum-
mer is critical, as water stress
can alter a potato’s sugar lev-
els, he said.
Irrigators appeal well
interference ruling
Plaintiffs challenge
ruling that sided
with water
regulators
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Several irrigators in Or-
egon’s Klamath Basin have
appealed a ruling that upheld
the shutdown of their wells
for interfering with surface
water rights.
According to the state
judge, the Oregon Water
Resources Department had
“substantial evidence” that
flows in the Sprague River
were affected by pumping
from the four wells.
Several people who own
or lease the wells — Stanley
and Dolores Stonier, Larry
and Joan Sees and Garrett
and Cameron Duncan — are
now challenging that decision
before the Oregon Court of
Appeals.
Instead of relying on the
full evidentiary record from
trial, Marion County Circuit
Court Judge Channing Ben-
nett based his ruling on OW-
RD’s information from the
time when the wells were shut
down, said Sarah Liljefelt, at-
torney for the irrigators.
“The judge has applied the
incorrect standard of review
in the decision,” she said.
Layers of rock and clay
divide the Sprague River
from the confined aquifer into
which the wells were drilled,
but OWRD wrongly conclud-
ed the aquifer was sufficiently
permeable to transmit water
to the river, according to the
irrigators.
Apart from wrongly ap-
plying a scientific model, the
agency also interpreted its
authority too broadly by reg-
ulating an expansive “aquifer
system” — rather than just
the “adjacent aquifer” to the
river, as permitted by law, the
plaintiffs claimed.
The irrigators asked the
judge for special findings
explaining his decision, but
he failed to buttress his legal
conclusions with adequate
evidence, said Liljefelt.
“Some legal conclusions
have no legal findings to sup-
port them whatsoever,” she
said. “My opinion is there
were a lot of errors in this de-
cision.”
Any ruling from the Ore-
gon Court of Appeals would
have a long-reaching effect,
since OWRD is likely also
misapplying its authority
and scientific model in sim-
ilar irrigation cases, Liljefelt
said.
“They’re regulating be-
yond their jurisdiction,” she
said.
The OWRD will be
working with its attorneys at
the Oregon Department of
Justice in responding to the
appeal, as it does with all
litigation, said an agency
spokesperson.
Knowledge is Power
During October
“Breast Cancer
Awareness Month”
The chance of a woman developing invasive breast cancer
some time in her life is about 1 in 8. There is good news,
however, and that is the breast cancer death rate has declined
by 39% since 1990. While significant progress has been made,
breast cancer remains the most common cancer among
American women (besides skin cancer) and the second leading
cause of cancer death. According to the American Cancer
Society, more than 3,450 Oregon women will be diagnosed
with breast cancer and 520 will die from the disease this year.
Some of the most common risk factors for breast cancer
are:
• gender - simply being a woman;
• age - risk increases as women get older;
• genetics - about five to 10 percent of cases are thought to be
hereditary, resulting from gene mutations;
• family history - having a mother, sister or daughter with
breast cancer nearly doubles the risk;
• race and ethnicity - Caucasian women are slightly more likely
to develop breast cancer, though African-American women
have a higher mortality rate from the disease; and
• dense breast tissue - dense breasts result in a higher risk than
less dense breasts.
Having one or more risk factors does not mean that a woman
will get the disease. Most women who have risk factors never
develop breast cancer and many women with breast cancer
have no apparent risk factors.
The American Cancer Society recommends the following to
create good health and help prevent cancer: don’t smoke or
use tobacco products; limit consumption of alcohol; maintain a
healthy weight through good nutrition and a diet including
fruits and vegetables; and get regular exercise.
One of the most critical factors in surviving breast cancer is
early detection. Getting regular mammograms is one of the
most important things a woman can do to find breast cancer
early – when it’s small, hasn’t spread, and is easier to treat. The
3
American Cancer Society recommends the following for
finding breast cancer early in women at average risk who do
not have symptoms:
Women ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start
annual breast cancer screening with mammograms if they
wish to do so.
Women ages 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year.
Women 55 and older should switch to mammograms every
two years, or can continue
yearly screening. Screening should continue as long as a
woman is in good health and is expected to live 10 more
years or longer.
All women should be familiar with the known benefits,
limitations, and potential harms linked to breast cancer
screening and should talk with a health care professional
about the best screening plan for them.
To learn more about breast cancer and how you can join us to
fight back against the disease, log onto
MakingStridesWalk.org/PortlandOR, or join us as we walk
together Saturday, October 14 at the University of Portland
Chiles Center. Share your hope so no one walks alone.
40-1/HOU