THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015
Business & Ag
Businesses gather to air desired
future changes to the HCMR
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
“I thought it was a
positive meeting overall,
as we heard thoughts from
a very diverse group,”
said Baker City Police
Chief Wyn Lohner after a
Hells Canyon Motorcycle
Rally (HCMR) debriefing
meeting Tuesday after-
noon. “There’s no event
that’s perfect and I think
the information from this
meeting will help all of
us work toward creating
an even better Rally for
our citizens, the business
community and the partici-
pants as we move into the
future.”
Lohner organized the
meeting, which was held
at 1 p.m. in the Baker
City Hall Council Cham-
bers. Roughly 35 people
attended—a group com-
posed of business owners
and managers from across
Baker City, representatives
from the Baker City Coun-
cil, Baker City administra-
tion, rally organizers and
supporters, and generally
interested citizens.
The overall consensus of
those present was that the
HCMR is a welcome event
in the community, but
perhaps some “tweaking”
could be done in terms of
vendor placement and how
much of the Main Street
business area is closed off
to traffic during the event.
If held last week, the
meeting may not have
gone so smoothly. False re-
ports flooded social media,
claiming one Main Street
business owner wanted to
see the Rally disbanded. A
group formed planning to
attend Tuesday’s meeting
in protest—until the rumor
was debunked.
Dennis Hackney from
the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT)
spoke first, stating that
from ODOT’s perspective,
the rally had been a suc-
cessful event. He received
no complaints at his office.
“One of our big concerns
is that if there’s commer-
cial truck traffic trying to
get through town ... how
do they find a way to Hwy.
7.” He said they were
continuing to work through
those “small issues.”
Michelle Owen, Baker
City Public Works Direc-
tor, said the reader board
addition helped guide
freight safely through the
detour. Owen also said,
“We had some preliminary
issues with the detour route
on 2nd Street with trees
being in the way.” She said
the issue was resolved, and
the route, while not ideal,
will work unless freight
mobility complaints start
to come in.
Lohner interjected with
an “attaboy” and men-
tioned one rally participant
had lost a $5,000 hearing
aid down a storm drain.
Public Works was able
to pull the grid off and
retrieve the hearing aid
literally right before the
deluge hit.
Mayor Kim Mosier and
City Council member Jim
Thomas attended simply to
listen to feedback, as did
City Manager Mike Kee,
while Council member
Rosemary Abell attended
in a dual-role with hus-
band, Larry, as a represen-
tative of Historic Baker
City (HBC).
Kurt Miller, rally orga-
nizer, then spoke to the
direction he’d like to see
the rally go in the future
and gave a summary of the
2015 event.
“Clearly our numbers
were down, but we knew
that in advance because
this is the 75th anniversary
of the rally in Sturgis.”
He also cited this year’s
poor weather as a factor
in the lower numbers, and
stated that the rally over
in Pendleton “pretty much
flopped with only 200-250
people.”
Miller said that based on
feedback posted on their
Facebook page, riders had
enjoyed Baker City and
wished to return.
Miller said the HCMR
attended a tradeshow in
Boise and that he has
other appearances lined up,
including a presence at a
booth at the Oregon State
Fair in Salem this fall.
Larry Abell of HBC said,
“We really love the rally.
The issue was—having
our information booth in
the middle of it allowed
visitors to see Baker City.
I love the promotion of it,
and I love that our Board
of Directors supports hav-
ing the Rally in downtown
Baker City.”
Abell appreciates that
unlike in years prior,
sidewalks are open and
handicap access was easier.
Abell said HBC planned
on contacting a sampling
of downtown businesses
in the near future to get
more Rally feedback, and
at Lohner’s suggestion,
agreed it would be a good
idea to expand that effort
to all downtown busi-
nesses.
Abell mentioned a desire
to see the Rally attract
more and better vendors.
Miller agreed with
Abell and said he’d turned
down some vendors and is
working on getting more
motorcycle-related vendors
this coming year. He also
stated he didn’t want to
“eliminate or discriminate
against” any vendor from
the local area. He believed
that the booth fee of $150
was low enough to allow
local businesses to partici-
pate. In contrast, he said,
a booth at the Pendleton
Rally ran around $400.
From there, the conversa-
tion, taking up half of the
hour-long meeting, focused
primarily on the placement
of vendors, and whether
they should again be mixed
with the motorcycles on
display down Main Street,
or moved to a side area.
The overarching theme
was that no matter how
the event is organized,
businesses will be affected.
Some businesses with
products that might not at-
tract bikers opted to simply
shut down for the event.
While the conversation
was professional and civil,
it was apparent that opin-
ions ran strong.
Chelsa Mitchell of The
Mad Habit, for example,
reported a 30-40% drop in
sales each Rally weekend
causing her to shut her
doors this year. The owners
of Zephyr also took the
opportunity to travel out of
town for the weekend.
Mitchell emphasized
she’d like to see the event’s
vendors moved off Main
Street with just the mo-
torcycles remaining there.
“This is the main artery
of our town. I would love
to see it opened ... I’m not
against the Rally but I’d
like to see changes made.”
Toni Herman from No.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
HCMR organizer and Truck Corral co-owner Kurt
Miller (left) discusses the organization of the rally
each year. At right, Jerry Shaw of the VFW.
— Weekly Hay Report —
Friday, July 24, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to the
same quality last week. Trade activity increased
slightly this week however many producers are still
busy in the field with the second cutting. Some
areas of Oregon received rain this past week, with
some hay suffering rain damage.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Alfalfa — Large Square
Fair 2000 150.00-150.00 150.00
Alfalfa/Orchard Mix — Small Square
Premium 2 187.00-187.00 187.00
Timothy Grass — Large Square
Good 200 115.00-115.00 115.00
Barley — Large Square
Good 200 130.00-130.00 130.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 231
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 262.00 - 298.00 Top 301.00
400-500# Bulk 241.00 - 268.00 Top 270.00
500-600# Bulk 232.00 - 253.00 Top 255.00
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Dennis Hackney of ODOT said the event was
positive from his organization’s perspective, with no
complaints called in.
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 223.00 - 267.00 Top 274.00
400-500# Bulk 214.00 - 246.00 Top 250.00
500-600# Bulk 218.00 - 237.00 Top 241.00
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 223.00 - 234.00 Top 235.00
700-800# Bulk 203.00 - 209.00 Top 212.00
800-900# Bulk 196.00 - 205.00 Top 207.50
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner listens to
Michelle Owen discuss ideas about the truck route.
1911 said, “I agree with
everything Chelsa just
said.” She also mentioned
concern that this year’s
setup seemed like a poten-
tial hazard to her, should a
fire occur, as first respond-
ers would have difficulty
reaching the scene.
Other businesses, such
as local hotels and restau-
rants, however, reported
spikes in sales on event
weekends.
Jerry Shaw of the VFW
reported brisk sales specifi-
cally due to the Rally and
expressed his support of
the event.
“We always do really
well during the Rally. A lot
of the bikers are veterans
and they of course, come
to see us,” Shaw said. He
suggested better signage
to businesses during the
Rally, an idea that seemed
popular in the room.
Tyler Brown of Barley
Brown’s said the event
was a good one as far as
Barley’s was concerned.
“90% of our business is
local. They find a way to
get there.”
He added, “As long as
there’s adequate parking
in the area, people seem to
find us just fine.” He noted
that the Ace Hardware lot
did over-fill.
Brown said they re-
sorted to plan B when the
Phantom Kiss concert was
moved inside due to rain,
but in future years, weather
permitting, it could become
“a great outside event.”
J.R. Streifel, owner of
Grumpy’s Repair and
Charley’s Ice Cream said,
“I was really blown away
by all the people who came
here who weren’t bikers.”
Streifel noted several
non-riding tourists from
out of the area—as far
as Seattle and Salt Lake
City—“who spent the
whole weekend here just
hitting all the little shops
and boutiques.”
“I thought it was well-
organized,” Streifel said.
“The weather could have
been better, but then the
weather affected every-
body.”
Paul McNeil of Zephyr
said although they closed
for the weekend, they
“loved the event.” He sug-
gested the rally focus more
on “the art of the motor-
cycle.”
McNeil would like to
see the vendors shifted
to side streets or Central
Park, “leaving Main Street
to showcase the motor-
cycles.”
Numerous business own-
ers around the room nod-
ded in agreement, many
stating they either felt or
heard the same sentiment
during the rally.
Barbara McNeil of
Zephyr also suggested
that local restaurants in
other areas of town set up
as food vendors on Main
Street rather than bringing
in vendors from outside.
Miller said it was his
belief that most local res-
taurants weren’t interested
due to the amount of setup
trouble, which was met
with many attendees shak-
ing their heads “no” and a
couple nodding “yes.”
Lisa Wilson and Alan
Mendenhall attended from
the Sunridge Inn/Best
Western.
Wilson thanked Lohner
for holding the meeting
and Miller for organiz-
ing the Rally. “We really
benefit from it,” she said.
“Obviously there are space
issues. We have a lot of it.
I’ll just put that out there.
We’re willing to share
it. We would love to be
a great partner with you
guys. As far as changes,
embrace all the vendors.
Competition is good for
everybody.”
Discussions will surely
continue.
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 211.00 - 221.00 Top 223.00
700-800# Bulk N/A Top N/A
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 76.00 - 89.00
Butcher Cows 94.00 - 105.00
Butcher Bulls 117.00 - 136.00
Stock Cows Yng. N/A
Younger Hfrts. 114.00 - 132.00
Stock Cows - N/A
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Doug Fir is $415.00/mbf
White fir is $365.00/mbf
Ponderosa Pine is brought sold
on diameter splits
6 to 11 inch dib $300 to $310/MBF
12 to 17 inch dib $350 to $375/MBF
18 to 23 inch dib $400 to $430/MBF
24 inch plus dib $450 to $500/MBF
DIB is diameter inside bark at
small end of log.
MBF is thousand board feet lumber, net scale.
People interested in selling logs
should call and get specific
quotes from saw mills.
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1094.10
Silver: $14.78
Platinum: $984.70
Palladium: $615.80
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $379.50/bu/USD
Wheat: $497.75/bu/USD
Soybeans: $945.55/bu/USD
Oats: $239.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $11.07/cwt/USD
Canola: $490.10 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $147.08/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $212.15/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $66.38//lb./USD
Bloomberg.com