THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
Business & Ag
BMCC and the County: A
more in-depth look at the issues
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
During last week’s regu-
lar Baker County Commis-
sion session, on Wednes-
day, September 21, former
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College (BMCC)
Associate Vice President
Peggy Hudson brought to
the attention of the County
Board of Commissioners
and the public, issues with
the services provided by
BMCC, versus funding
from the County.
About midway through
the session, Commission
Chair Bill Harvey intro-
duced the subject, which
was originally intended
to be discussed during an
executive session, in order
to consult with County
legal counsel Drew Martin,
about the legal rights and
duties of a public body,
with regard to current liti-
gation, or litigation likely
to be filed, according to the
session agenda.
In order to help deter-
mine whether to hold an
executive session, Com-
missioner Mark Bennett
asked what the specific
issue was (the session
agenda didn’t include this),
and Harvey said it would
be a discussion about the
“...lack of services being
provided by BMCC, and
we are generally paying
out close to $850,000 a
year, in tax revenue, to the
college, and we’re obtain-
ing services, roughly,
I would say, between
$250,000 and $300,000 a
year, for the past ten years.
So, there’s quite a deficit in
provided services, versus
funds that we’re investing,
from the County...It’s a
discussion only.”
Bennett said he thought it
should be an open discus-
sion, rather than going into
executive session, that the
County is a long way from
talk about litigation, and
that a work session should
be scheduled, to allow all
parties involved to discuss
the matter publicly and
transparently. Harvey said
he was actually opposed to
involving the County with
any discussion about pos-
sible litigation, unless liti-
gation were to be pursued,
and Kerns said, “I think
it’s a red flag, if we do it in
secret,” speaking about the
executive session. After
more discussion, Bennett
made a motion to discuss
the topic, without hold-
ing an executive session,
Kerns seconded the mo-
tion, and it carried.
Hudson, who’s worked
for BMCC for nine years,
said at first that she thought
there were legal matters to
discuss, and she was reluc-
tant to provide documents
initially (she understood
the discussion would be
held during executive ses-
sion), but she then provid-
ed the Board with copies of
research she had compiled,
as well as members of the
press.
Her 44 pages of docu-
ments detailed successes
with the BMCC program,
as well as issues. She first
pointed out a 2012 Baker
City Herald article, about
the record-setting number
of local BMCC gradu-
ates that year—41, which
included 37 associate de-
grees. She also mentioned
a 2012 East Oregonian
article, which detailed the
same subject.
Further detail from
Hudson included FTE
(full-time equivalent, an
enrollment measurement
that doesn’t indicate the
number of students) analy-
sis and market potential
for the County, and “Fast
Facts.” Between 2005-
2006, and 2009-2010, the
BMCC Baker campus FTE
grew by 300%, according
to the fact sheet, and within
that same period, overall,
the college has grown by
18%. In 2005-2006, 71
FTE for BMCC Baker was
noted; in 2006-2007, 114
FTE; in 2007-2008, 139
FTE; in 2008-2009, 157
FTE; in 2009-2010, 203
FTE; and in 2011-2012,
211 FTE (not counting on-
line students). The overall
growth within that period
for all campuses was 400
FTE, with the Baker and
Milton/Freewater cam-
puses responsible for 200
of that, according to the
document.
An email Hudson pro-
vided, addressed from then
BMCC President John
Turner, to Vice President
Clark Williams, on May 2,
2012, included this open-
ing sentence, from Turner:
“I was pleased to see the
impressive amount of FTE
generated by our Branches
during the current academ-
ic year. Approximately 1/3
of our reimbursable FTE
comes from the Branches.”
Hudson pointed out that,
according to the statements
in the email, the branch-
es—Hermiston, Milton/
Freewater, and Baker
(there also—generate
about 40-45% of the total
FTE, and tuition-based
revenue.
The next segment of
documents included names
of graduates, dates of
graduation, and certificates
earned, and Hudson, at
that point, said there was
a significant decline in
enrollment, noted in the
2013-2014 academic year
(15 confirmed graduates,
according to the docu-
ment).
Hudson said, “What
happened is, there was a
change in the administra-
tion...We had a new presi-
dent (Dr. Camille Preus,
pronounced “Proyce,” in
2013)...” Hudson provided
a copy of a letter she had
sent to Preus, congratulat-
ing her on her presidency,
and including positive
details about the Baker
campus. In that same
letter, however, Hudson
pointed out initiatives in-
troduced by BMCC, which
have caused a decline in
enrollment and revenue.
These restrictions includ-
ed: no late add (requiring
a student to wait a term,
if they registered after the
deadline for the current
one); a new orientation,
requiring the physical
presence of students; cen-
tralized faculty advising,
resulting in communication
difficulties for students in
Baker, Milton/Freewater,
Hermiston, Boardman,
and John Day; a prereq-
uisite that caused limited
offerings, and more burden
on the branches; a new
$25 administration fee;
the withdrawal of printed
Schedule of Classes; and
not allowing paid advisors
to have “read only” access
to the financial module.
Hudson discussed
what she said was part of
BMCC’s strategic plan for
2008, and again in 2012,
objectives under the head-
ing “Integrate And Expand
Marketing And Recruit-
ing.” According to the last
objective in the list, BMCC
had planned to increase
the percentage of students
of Hispanic descent, from
12%, to 25%, by the end of
fiscal year 2010.
Hudson said, “Well, what
that does for Baker is, each
county has a certain per-
centage of Hispanics. Bak-
er has 2% Hispanic people,
so, Baker is holding them
(the BMCC district) down.
They’re attempting to get
25% Hispanic enrollment
(overall), because, when
they do that, they can apply
for an Hispanic-Serving In-
stitutions (HSI) grant, from
the federal government.
What that does, is gives
them $5 million--that may
be more now...” Accord-
ing to a copy of “BMCC at
a Glance” for 2014-2015
Hudson provided, part
of the fall course mailer,
BMCC was at 24.9% His-
panic enrollment, overall.
Hudson said that BMCC
had begun to initiate
actions to indicate that
investment in the Baker
campus would be minimal,
causing the campus to be
unsuccessful. She then
pointed out the last two
copies of documents she
provided, BMCC head
count for 2006-2007, and
2015-2016. For the Baker
campus for the period
2006-2007, a head count of
1,047 was noted; and for
2015-2016, a head count
of 427. She said Board-
man, a small community,
had tripled in head count
(the number was 228, in
2006-2007, and 649, in
2015-2016), and Baker
had declined by 60%. She
said, “Why is that? It’s by
design; because Baker is
too white...We lower their
percentage.”
At the high point of the
Baker campus’s success
was an FTE of 300, but last
year, that number dropped
to 85, which Hudson
said is “ridiculous.” She
noted that there need to
be changes, whether in
leadership, and/or with the
BMCC/County relation-
ship.
This discussion, a
significant segment of the
session, went on further,
and the Board considered
options, including opt-
ing out of the BMCC/
County relationship, and
for the County to have its
own community college.
Harvey moved to schedule
a work session, in order to
invite BMCC and School
District personnel, to
discuss the subject further,
Kerns seconded the mo-
tion, and it carried. The
session is scheduled for
Wednesday, October 12,
2016, 9 a.m., in the Com-
mission Chambers of the
Baker County Courthouse.
OTEC gives little ones lessons
From the moment the
large automated security
gate opened up to welcome
Mrs. Collier’s 2nd grade
Haines Elementary class
you could hear the excla-
mations of excitement.
Parading in through the
large gate and joining in
the chorus of, “Oh, wow,”
the children, geared up
in their school day best,
marched into OTEC head-
quarters and onward for an
electrical utility adventure.
Once inside the ware-
house yard, they were
greeted by OTEC’s Man-
ager of Loss Control Jeff
Anderson who showed the
young visitors some of the
equipment and materials
used in the industry before
guiding them over to view
OTEC linemen lifting
power poles onto a waiting
pole trailer.
“The main focus of
today’s tour was for the
kids to come in, engage in
a bit of learning and enjoy
visiting our facilities,” said
Anderson. “I think that it is
great that we had this op-
portunity to show the way
some of the elements we
work with come together.
Most people have no idea
how powerlines come into
being or how much main-
tenance and construction is
involved. So, having the
children visit and get a tiny
glimpse of some of these
elements was pretty great.”
The children watched
transfixed as OTEC
lineman Casey Mitchell
strapped on his climbing
gear and climbed all the
way up to the very tippy
top of a power pole and
waved. The next stop
on the tour was a visit
with OTEC lineman Nick
Simons who stepped into
— Weekly Hay Report —
Friday, September 23, 2016 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to week
ago prices. Most demand lays with the retail/stable
hay. According to some producers, horse owners
are starting to prefer lower sugar, higher protein
hay. Many hay producers are selling or have
already sold most of their first and second cutting
hay, and are working on later cutting(s) resulting in
higher volumes of hay moving.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Alfalfa — Large Square Supreme
150 140.00-140.00 140.00
Timothy Grass — Large Square Good
100 100.00-100.00 100.00
Teff Straw — Large Square Utility
200 55.00-55.00 55.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 645
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 134.00 - 145.00 Top 147.00
400-500# Bulk 118.00 - 132.50 Top 133.00
500-600# Bulk 117.00 - 127.00 Top 129.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 116.00 - 126.00 Top 128.00
400-500# Bulk 112.00 - 126.00 Top 126.50
500-600# Bulk 105.00 - 112.00 Top 113.00
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 112.00 - 122.00 Top 124.50
700-800# Bulk 109.00 - 121.00 Top 123.00
800-900# Bulk 108.00 - 117.00 Top 120.00
900-1,000# Bulk 95.00 - 109.00 Top 116.50
600-700#
700-800#
800-900#
900-1,000#
Yearling Heifers
Bulk 101.00 - 110.00 Top 112.00
Bulk 98.00 - 110.00 Top 111.00
Bulk 95.00 - 107.00 Top 108.00
Bulk 93.00 - 102.00 Top 105.00
Thin Shelly Cows 44.00 - 55.00
Butcher Cows 56.00 - 66.00
Butcher Bulls 60.00 - 73.00
Pairs Young N/A
Hfretts. N/A
Stock Cows Young - N/A
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Currently the local log market is flooded with
fire salvage logs. The log buyer for Malheur
Lumber Co. stated they have all the logs they
need under contract and are not accepting any
new purchases. BCC/LLC of La Grande has
receive so many burned fire salvage logs they
are no longer accepting logs at the La Grande
log yard. Any additional pine logs have to be
delivered to the Elgin Log yard cut in plywood
lengths and to a 8 inch top. For these pine
logs cut in plywood lengths, BCC is offering
$280.00/mbf. They are also paying $420.00/
mbf for Doug Fir & Western Larch. For White
Fir they are offing $325.00/mbf. At the Pilot
Rock Saw Mill BCC is offing $360.00/mbf for a
12 to 15 inch top, for 16 to 19 inch top $400.00/
mbf & offing $425.00/mbf for 20 inch plus top
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1,326.10
Silver: $19.23
Platinum: $1027.15
Palladium: $715.13
Bloomberg.com
Submitted Photo.
Ms. Collier’s 2nd grade class.
a bucket and maneuvered
When the power goes out,
himself 60’ in the air to
even if they are sitting
gain access to the rooftop.
with their families open-
“It’s important for
ing Christmas presents on
everyone —especially
Christmas morning, they
the little kids to under-
go out and fix it and it is
stand just how dangerous
often in brutal weather
linemen’s work is,” said
conditions. And then, when
Anderson. “Lineman work
there is an emergency situ-
with high voltage day in
ation, they are among the
and day out in all kinds
first emergency responders.
of challenging conditions.
It is incredible.”
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $329.25/bu/USD
Wheat: $403.25/bu/USD
Soybeans: $945.50/bu/USD
Oats: $174.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $9.74/cwt/USD
Canola: $464.70 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $103.63/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $128.03/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $46.70/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com