Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2020)
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER Friday, January 1, 2021 Volume 94, Number 1 CapitalPress.com $2.00 Photos by Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press Cars at a burned site in Talent. RISING FROM RUBBLE In the aftermath of fires, S. Oregon faces a human, and economic, tragedy By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press EDFORD, Ore. — In the aftermath of Ore- “Dad started crying. Mom cried, too. I tried to hold it gon’s wildfires, survivors here vividly recall together,” said Hector Rocha. where they were and what they were doing After the fire, donations poured in from the community, when disaster struck. and Fry Family Farm helped its employees with short-term Sept. 8, 2020. housing, grant applications and other needs. Marcelino Rocha, 66, was picking cucum- Three months later, the family had pur- 101 Eugene bers at Fry Family Farm, where he’s employed. Talent and Phoenix, Ore. chased a new home. The Rochas say they are the lucky ones. Their family, according His son, Hector Rocha, 24, was deliver- OREGON ing the farm’s produce to customers when he to officials, is among the 1% of fire victims Coos Bay heard the news. A fire that started that morning who have been resettled. Roseburg in Ashland was tearing north toward his fami- Farmworkers say it’s going to be a long, 5 ly’s home in Talent. cold winter. OREGON Hector rushed home. He grabbed his phone The Almeda and South Obenchain fires Grants Pass charger, thinking he’d be able to go back. Hec- that ripped through Southern Oregon in Medford Klamath Falls tor’s mom, Dora Negrete, saved their dog. September destroyed huge swaths of Ash- Phoenix Talent Ashland land, Talent, Phoenix and Medford, displac- But when the family returned, their mobile ing thousands. Although numerous farms home was char. CALIF. lost barns, trees and crops, farmers say the “It was just — traumatizing,” said Hector Capital Press graphic greatest destruction was to people’s homes Rocha. — many of whom were Latino farmworkers. His father, Marcelino, described how he Southern Oregon is now facing a double crisis: a human felt standing in the rubble: derrotado. “Defeated.” tragedy and an economic one. Officials say with many farm- He buried his face in his gloves. His son picked up the story, saying Marcelino had stood in workers already moving away, the loss of labor could rup- the debris, picking up burnt tools and mourning the loss of a See Rising, Page 9 suitcase of memorabilia from his deceased father. M Marcelino Rocha, 66, left, with his son, Hector Ro- cha, 24, right, both employees of Fry Family Farm, lost their home in the fire. A sign stuck into the soil next to a site of ruins in Talent, Ore. DEQ study detects 41 chemicals in Walla Walla Basin groundwater Study is part of Statewide Groundwater Quality Monitoring Program By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is call- ing for long-term monitoring of nitrates, bacteria and pesticides in the Walla Walla Basin to pro- tect groundwater from future contamination. DEQ sampled 100 residential and agricultural wells around Milton-Freewa- ter in northeast Oregon as part Paige of a groundwa- Haxton-Evans ter quality study in 2016. Results were published Dec. 22, identify- ing 41 chemicals in the water. Not all chemicals are harmful. Some, such as low levels of miner- als, exist naturally in groundwater. Levels of contaminants were mostly within the Environmen- tal Protection Agency’s standards for clean drinking water, though according to the study, nitrates, lead and bacteria did exceed health standards in some wells. “We plan to present this data to folks locally, so they can be more informed about the risks to them- selves and anybody who uses their groundwater wells,” said Paige Haxton-Evans, statewide ground- water quality monitoring coordi- nator for DEQ. “We also recom- mend some long-term monitoring of these contaminants.” Oregon lawmakers approved the Statewide Groundwater Qual- ity Monitoring Program in 2015 to gauge groundwater contaminants in vulnerable basins. “Many people rely on ground- water for domestic, industrial and agricultural reasons,” Haxton-Ev- ans said. “We want to get a base- line understanding of the quality of Oregon’s aquifers, and hopefully going forward get trending data to understand how those aquifers may change over time.” The Walla Walla Basin, which straddles the Oregon-Washington state line, is a densely agricultural area known for its high-value fruit orchards and vineyards. For its study, DEQ sampled wells exclu- sively on the Oregon side of the basin, from Milton-Freewater west to Umapine, south to Athena and east into the Blue Mountains. Volunteers allowed DEQ to sample their wells twice in 2016 — once in late winter, and again in the fall to detect any seasonal differences. The study revealed wide- spread presence of nitrates, though not at high enough levels to trig- ger immediate health concerns. Nitrates are found in agricultural See DEQ, Page 9 WSDA tells legislators to leave beef labels to feds By DON JENKINS Capital Press In a report due this week, the Washington State Department of Agriculture advises lawmakers to shelve legislation requiring meat sold as “U.S. beef” to come from cattle raised domestically. The report warns a state law could provoke trade sanctions by Canada and Mexico and would likely be pre- empted anyway by federal rules that label imported cattle slaughtered in the states as a U.S.A. product. State Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Okan- ogan County, said Monday he may introduce a bill to set apart in gro- cery stores beef born and raised in the U.S., despite the agriculture department’s misgivings. “The Legislature is about taking action and changing things. It’s our responsibility, and we’ll see where it A provision in the Washington state budget bill would direct the state Department of Agriculture to develop labeling standards for beef and other meat products for lawmakers to consider. comes out,” Kretz said. Kretz introduced a labeling bill last spring that passed the House, but stalled in the Senate over concerns it would strain trade relations with Canada. Washington cattle feeders and a meat packer opposed the bill, saying they rely on Canadian live- stock to fill their lots and plant. The agriculture department also opposed the bill. Some lawmakers, however, didn’t let the issue go and told the department to study it. In the draft report, the department says it’s sympathetic to connecting Washington ranchers and consum- ers, but that a state law probably couldn’t be enforced because of fed- eral laws and policies. The department suggests law- makers wait and see whether label rules are changed either by trade negotiations or by the USDA, which has acknowledged the current labels may mislead consumers. Beef slaughtered, canned, salted or otherwise prepared in the U.S. can be labeled a “Product of the U.S.A.,” even if the cow was born and raised in another country. While meat packers and cat- tle feeders defend the labels, some ranchers say they depreciate Amer- ican cattle and deceive American consumers. Prior to 2016, a mandatory coun- try of origin law reserved the “Prod- uct of the U.S.A.” stamp for home- grown cattle. The World Trade Organization found the practice unfair to Canadian and Mexican producers who sell live cattle to U.S. packers. If the U.S. didn’t change the law, Canada and Mexico could randomly pick U.S. goods and slap on retalia- tory tariffs totaling $1 billion a year, the WTO ruled. Congress changed the law. As evidence a state labeling law would be struck down, the state agriculture department cites a fed- eral ruling in August in New Mex- ico. The judge dismissed suits See Labels, Page 9