THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015
Business & Ag
Haggen’s Baker City store
to close in November
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Haggen, on September
24, announced its plan
to “exit from the Pacific
Southwest market and
realign its operations
around 37 core stores and
one stand-alone pharmacy
in the Pacific Northwest
as part of the Chapter 11
process.”
The news comes with
the announcement that
Baker City’s own Haggen
store, which replaced the
local Albertsons just this
May in order to break up
a potential monopoly with
Safeway, will now be one
of the 100 stores slated for
closure.
The change ironically
leaves only one major gro-
cery store in Baker City—
and consumers with fears
of instantly rising prices.
According to the com-
pany web site, “Haggen
is asking the Bankruptcy
Court for approval to
conduct Store Closing
Sales. All employees of
the non-core stores and the
Pacific Southwest support
office will receive 60 day
notice of the pending store
and office closures. During
this process, all stores will
remain open. Employees
will continue to receive
their pay and benefits
through the normal course
of business as previously
approved by the court.
“Haggen is supportive of
Friday, September 25, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to week
ago prices. Export sales continue to be slow. Re-
tail/Stable demand for all types of hay from Crook,
Deschutes, Jefferson, Wasco counties continues
to be good. Many producers have decided to hold
on to their hay for now, in hopes for higher prices.
Some producers are having their water rights cut off
due to the drought.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Alfalfa / Orchard Mix — Small Square, Good
10 190.00-190.00 190.00
Barley Straw — Small Square, Utility
15 75.00-75.00 75.00
Oats — Large Square, Premium
15 130.00-130.00 130.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
This was the scene as Haggen’s Baker City store prepared to open back in
May.
employees securing work
elsewhere and is continu-
ing to work with Albert-
sons in its request for the
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) to waive the restric-
tion in the FTC Order
which restricts the hiring
of Haggen employees.
Because this is a modific -
tion of an order entered
by the FTC, the waiver
will require Commission
approval, which the FTC
staff is seeking to obtain
on an expedited basis.
This has been a priority for
Haggen management to
ensure its employees can
take advantage of every
opportunity available to
them.”
In a letter to employees,
however, Haggen stated
that its Baker City doors
will close “shortly after”
November 24, and that all
employees will be laid off
on or before December 8
of this year.
At present, those Baker
City Haggen employees
who are union-represented
may receive “bumping
rights,” although where
has not been specifically
stated.
Some local staff have
already been informed that
they have less than two
weeks left on the job.
Despite business devel-
opment rumors that a new
store is being courted and
may directly transition to
the Haggen store once it is
vacated, a letter from Hag-
gen’s Corporate Headquar-
ters states otherwise.
“The closing of the store
is expected to be perma-
nent, and the entire store
will be closed regardless if
a buyer is secured or not.”
Haggen has stated in its
bankruptcy filings that
since the buyout of Albert-
sons, it has hemorrhaged-
hundreds of thousands of
dollars per month.
Critics cite failure to
lower local prices to meet
consumer demand as one
key reason for the lack of
popularity of the Baker
City store.
Fall prescribed burning to begin
BAKER CITY, OR –
The Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest will begin
implementing prescribed
burning program following
rain and cooler weather.
Prescribed fire managers
are planning to implement
hazardous fuel reduction
burns beginning at many
project sights.
Prescribed fire is a major
component of the Cohe-
sive Wildfire Strategy to
meet the goals of restoring
and maintaining resilient
landscapes and creating
fire adapted commun -
ties. Prescribed burning is
done to reduce dead and
down fuels, selectively thin
understory trees in dense
forested stands, stimulate
fire tolerant plant sp -
cies, enhance forage and
browse, reduce the risk of
large stand-replacement
fires, create strategic fuels
breaks in the urban inter-
face, and restore fire under
controlled conditions as a
disturbance factor in these
landscapes. Prescribed
burns can range from tens
acres to thousands of acres
in size. Prescribed burns
often are accomplished
with combined resources
of local rural fire depar -
ments, contractors, and
State and other federal fire
agencies.
Fire history studies have
shown that fire was a
dominant natural process
in the Blue Mountains,
maintaining a more open
and park-like condition
throughout the low- to
mid-elevation forests.
Low-intensity surface-
fires burned throughout
these drier forests and
grasslands perpetuating
open, park-like stands of
fire tolerant tree species
such as ponderosa pine,
Douglas-fi , and larch.
— Weekly Hay Report —
Hazardous fuel reduc-
tion is not without impacts.
Smoke associated with pre-
scribed burning is a major
concern and the hardest to
forecast in the implemen-
tation planning process.
Prescribed fire managers
work closely with the Or-
egon State Smoke Forecast
Center in accordance with
the Oregon Smoke Man-
agement Plan to determine
when, where, and how
much is burned on a daily
basis. Smoke dispersion
models looking at volume
of smoke, direction of
spread and mixing heights
are determined prior to
each burn, smoke which
may prove a significant i -
pact to a sensitive area or
community is rescheduled
until the time of a more
favorable forecast.
Burning is part of the
series of fuel reduction
treatments intended to
decrease the damage done
by wildfires, including
reducing the amount of
smoke that typically im-
pacts communities during
the fire season. The intent
is to keep smoke out of
populated areas. Burning
under controlled conditions
reduces surface and ladder
fuels setting the stage to
limit future high intensity
unplanned fires and smoke
which they would produce.
Many areas are burned
on 10 to 15 year rotation
to limit fuels accumula-
tions and enhance forage
and browse important to
wildlife.
Wallowa-Whitman forest
managers have been suc-
cessfully conducting pre-
scribed burning operations
for fuel reduction for over
20 years, and plan to con-
tinue into the foreseeable
future. The Forest com-
pletes between 5,000 and
10,000 acres of prescribed
burning in a year.
Actual acres within
a project area may vary
dependent upon fuel condi-
tions, smoke dispersion,
wind patterns, and other
variables. Acres may be
higher or lower in some
project areas than listed.
Weather patterns, Fuel
Conditions, and Smoke
dispersion will determine
exactly where and when
units are ignited within the
project areas. It is antici-
pated that not all areas will
be within prescription and
will not be implemented
this fall, while other proj-
ect areas may have more
acres within prescription
that may be implemented.
The Wallowa-Whitman
plans to burn approxi-
mately 4,000 acres across
the forest during early
October. Forest Service
and cooperator personnel
will do the burning. For
more information about
the Whitman prescribed
burning program, you may
contact Steve Hawkins at
541-523-1262, or visit the
forest web site at http://
www.fs.usda.gov/goto/
Fire-Aviation to view the
spring 2015, burn unit
maps.
The Wallowa Fire Zone
(WFZ) - 541-426-4978
(Wallowa Valley Ranger
District, Hells Canyon
NRA and Eagle Cap
Ranger District). The
WFZ plans to conduct
prescribed burning of up to
3,000 acres this fall, which
may include:
• Spooner (220 acres)
- Harl Butte area east of
Joseph, OR.
• Green McCoy (195
acres) – Southwest of Wal-
lowa, OR
• Minam (1800 acres) -
Southwest of Wallowa, OR
•B-Vine (2300 acres) -
North east of Enterprise
near Billy Meadows
•The Grande Ronde Fire
Zone (GRFZ) – 541-963-
7186 (La Grande Ranger
District). The GRFZ plans
to conduct prescribed
burning on up to 2000
acres this fall, which may
include:
• Bald Angel (1986) – 5
Miles northeast of Medical
Springs, OR
•Blue Fly (400 acres)
– Tony Vey Meadows 10
miles south of Starkey, OR
• Mc Meadow(780 acres)
- 6 miles west of Starkey,
OR
• Bald Angel (98 acres)-
8 miles south east of Medi-
cal Springs
• Little Bear (58 acres)-
10-12 miles southeast of
Union, OR
Trail (109 acres)- 8 miles
northwest of La Grande,
OR
Whitman Ranger District
(WRD) – 541-523-4476
(Baker, Halfway, and
Unity). The WRD plans to
conduct prescribed burning
on 1,500 acres this fall,
which may include:
• Mile 9 (320 acres) – 5
miles west of Unity, OR
Foothills (250 acres) - in
the Baker City Watershed
3 mile west of Baker City,
OR
• Deer and Union Min-
ers (800 acres) - in the
Sumpter Valley
• Dry Creek and Barnard
(800 acres) - in the Pine
Valley near Halfway, OR
• Mile 9(700 acres) – 5
miles west of Unity, OR
• Goose (1200 acres) - 6
miles northwest of Sparta,
OR
• Pine Valley (500 acres)
7 miles northwest of Half-
way, OR.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 2,003
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 237.00 - 276.00 Top 291.00
400-500# Bulk 198.00 - 248.00 Top 251.50
500-600# Bulk 186.00 - 219.00 Top 221.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 195.00 - 244.00 Top 255.00
400-500# Bulk 187.00 - 231.00 Top 238.00
500-600# Bulk 172.00 - 202.00 Top 204.50
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 181.00 - 206.00 Top 207.00
700-800# Bulk 169.00 - 186.00 Top 189.50
800-900# Bulk 143.00 - 166.00 Top 168.00
900-1,000# Bulk 131.00 - 149.00 Top 151.00
600-700#
700-800#
800-900#
900-1,000#
Yearling Heifers
Bulk 168.00 - 184.00 Top 185.00
Bulk 146.00 - 167.00 Top 171.00
Bulk 141.00 - 153.00 Top 155.00
Bulk 136.00 - 148.00 Top 152.00
Thin Shelly Cows 69.00 - 85.00
Butcher Cows 87.00 - 99.00
Butcher Bulls 97.00 - 114.00
Stock Cows Yng. N/A
Younger Hfrts. 112.00 - 137.00
Stock Cows - 1500.00 - 1800.00
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/mb
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: $1115.60
Silver: $14.51
Platinum: $908.05
Palladium: $652.25
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $387.75/bu/USD
Wheat: $512.75/bu/USD
Soybeans: $892.00/bu/USD
Oats: $226.75 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $13.20/cwt/USD
Canola: $476.00 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $130.60/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $177.88/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $66.55//lb./USD
Bloomberg.com