The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current, January 06, 2017, Image 3

The Baker County press., January 06, 2017, Page 3, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextTHE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3 FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 Business / Agriculture OGEC investigations wrap up for various Sumpter officials BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Oregon Govern- ment Ethics Commission (OGEC) recently wrapped up cases on Samantha Rowan, Leland Myers, and Cary Clarke. The start date of the cases is listed as 2/16/16, with Myers’ case closed 11/4/16 and Row- an’s case closed 12/16/16. Michael Thornicroft, JD, OGEC investigator, con- ﬁrmed Clarke’s case will be closed as soon as he returns the signed stipula- tions, which is expected to happen this week. The cases have to do with an executive ses- sion held by Sumpter City Council on 1/28/16. This meeting was to talk with attorney Dan Van Thiel, who had been brought forward as a potential City attorney as the current at- torney would no longer be serving the City. Robert Armbruster and Ada (Annie) Oakley are the listed complainants on the cases. Armbruster explained that they as a Council had wanted to meet with Van Thiel and get to know him. When the meeting was posted as a closed executive session, Armbruster said he contacted then-mayor Leland Myers within thirty minutes to state that such a session would be in violation of public meeting laws. Myers told him they were going to have the meeting anyway. Arm- bruster told him he would not be attending. Oakley, on City Council at the time, also did not attend. Armbruster said he checked with the Ethics Commission and was told he was right about the meeting being in violation of the executive session laws and not to attend. He e-mailed the other Council members with his reasons for not attending and gave them contact information of a person at the Ethics Commission. Armbruster stated he felt like he had to ﬁle the complaint, as the Council obviously acted outside the rules. He said he was told the complaints must be ﬁled against all Councilors in attendance, and not just the mayor who made the decision to hold the meet- ing. Armbruster stated the Council made no illegal decisions during the ex- ecutive session and that it wasn’t “earth-shattering”, but is a symptom of the ongoing issues for the City. He said there has been too much bending of rules, leading to turmoil. Armbruster mentioned that the process took a long time because the OGEC had a similar case at the same time in another City and so spent time dig- ging into the investigation a little deeper than they might otherwise have. Investigation documents from the OGEC state that the Commission found cause to investigate on 4/8/16 after preliminary review. Respondents Rowan, Myers, and Clarke, through City Recorder Julie McK- inney, provided a record- ing and written minutes of the executive session. According to investiga- tion documents, “the audio recording of the executive session is decisive in this investigation. During the executive session, Van Thiel was being inter- viewed for the position of city attorney for the City of Sumpter. No other mat- ters regarding the ongoing litigation were discussed, nor was the current city attorney discussed.” ORS 192.660 outlines the permissible topics for discussion in an executive session. These include “the employment of a public ofﬁcer, employee, staff member or indi- vidual agent”, providing certain prerequisites are met. These include public announcement of the vacancy, having adopted regular hiring procedures, and the public having the opportunity to comment on the employment of the ofﬁcer. The Com- mission found that the City of Sumpter did not announce or advertise the vacancy for City attorney, the City does not have set hiring procedures for this position, and there did not appear to be a designated time set for public com- ment on the process. On 9/23/16, the Commis- sion made a preliminary ﬁnding of a preponderance of evidence that Rowan, Myers, and Clarke violated the executive session pro- visions of ORS 192.660. The Commission offered a contested case hearing opportunity and proposed stipulated ﬁnal orders to all involved Council mem- bers. Rowan and Myers signed and returned copies of the stipulations, with Clarke’s anticipated to be returned this week. The Commission is authorized to assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, but opted not to do so. The terms of settlement state that the respondents will receive a letter of education to “settle and compromise this matter.” — Weekly Hay Report — Friday, December 23, 2016 — Eastern Oregon (No new report due to holidays.) Prices trended generally steady in a limited test compared to week ago prices. Most demand lays with the retail/stable hay. According to some producers, horse owners prefer lower sugar, higher protein hay. The recent snows slowed movement as trucks couldn’t get to the farms to get loaded. Tons Price Range Wtd Avg Alfalfa — Large Square Good/Premium 30 140.00-140.00 140.00 Alfalfa / Orchard Mix — Small Square Premium 15 165.00-165.00 165.00 Timothy Grass — Large Square Fair 35 100.00-100.00 100.00 USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov — Cattle Market Report — Wednesday, December 21, 2016 Vale, Oregon Cattle sold through the auction: 456 (No new auction due to holidays.) Steer Calves 300-400# Bulk 126.00 - 154.00 Top 155.00 400-500# Bulk 137.00 - 151.00 Top 152.00 500-600# Bulk 132.00 - 146.00 Top 147.00 Heifer Calves 300-400# Bulk 119.00 - 132.00 Top 134.00 400-500# Bulk 104.00 - 126.00 Top 128.00 500-600# Bulk 115.00 - 123.00 Top 124.00 Yearling Steers 600-700# Bulk 121.00 - 131.00 Top 133.00 700-800# Bulk 107.00 - 116.00 Top 117.75 800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A 900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A Yearling Heifers 600-700# Bulk 115.00 - 123.00 Top 124.00 700-800# 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 39.00 - 49.00 Butcher Cows 51.00 - 58.00 Butcher Bulls 53.00 - 66.00 Pairs Young 975.00 - 1375.00 Hfretts. 62.00 - 79.00 Stock Cows Old - N/A ProducersLivestock.com 541-473-3136 Local attorney named one of 10 best in family law The American Institute of Family Law Attor- neys has recognized the exceptional performance of Oregon’s Family Law Attorney J. David Cough- lin as 2016 10 Best Family Law Attorney for Client Satisfaction. The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in each state. Attorneys who are selected to the “10 Best” list must pass AIOFLA’s rigorous selection process, which is based on client and/or peer nominations, thorough research, and AIOFLA’s independent evaluation. AIOFLA’s annual list was created to be used as a resource for clients dur- ing the attorney selection process. One of the most sig- niﬁcant aspects of the selection process involves attorneys’ relationships and reputation among his or her clients. As clients should be an attorney’s top priority, AIOFLA places the utmost emphasis on selecting law- yers who have achieved signiﬁcant success in the ﬁeld of Family Law with- out sacriﬁcing the service and support they provide. Selection criteria there- fore focus on attorneys who demonstrate the highest standards of Client Satisfaction. BLM releases draft EIS to withhold lands from mining As part of its continuing efforts to conserve habitat vital to healthy populations of the Greater Sage-Grouse in the West, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced on Decem- ber 30 the draft proposal to withdraw a subset of lands that are sage-grouse strongholds from future mining claims. Based on public com- ments received during the scoping period over the last year, the draft Environ- mental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzes ﬁve alterna- tives, ranging from no action to the withdrawal of approximately 10 million acres of federal locatable minerals in certain areas that are particularly crucial to the Greater Sage-Grouse in six states: Idaho, Mon- tana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. The announcement, which will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, opens a 90-day public comment period that will end March 30, 2017. The BLM will also host eight public meetings throughout the West in February to gather input on the proposal and alterna- tives to the proposal. “We appreciate the input we’ve received from states, tribes, and other important stakeholders to help develop this draft analysis of the proposed mineral withdrawal,” said Kristin Bail, BLM assis- tant director for resources and planning. “We look forward to working closely with the public in the com- ing months as we ﬁnalize a proposal to protect impor- tant Greater Sage-Grouse habitat from potential future disturbance result- ing from mining claims.” Secretary of the In- terior Sally Jewell ﬁrst announced the proposed withdrawal in Septem- ber, 2015, as part of the unprecedented, landscape- scale effort that began with BLM’s and its state and federal partners’ success- ful efforts to prevent the Greater Sage-Grouse from being listed under the En- dangered Species Act. To develop the proposal and its alternatives, the BLM held public meet- ings in November 2015 in the six states to gather information and com- ments about whether to withdraw these areas from the location of new mining claims for up to 20 years. The BLM also incorpo- rated a mineral resource assessment prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey to help develop a reasonably foreseeable development scenario for the draft EIS. In addition to releas- ing the draft EIS, the agency published a Notice of Amended Proposed Withdrawal that would add about 388,000 acres to the approximately 10 million acres that are already tem- porarily segregated under the mining laws until Sept. 24, 2017. These lands represent a proposal by the State of Nevada that areas adjacent to SFAs that con- tain high value habitat and identiﬁed Greater Sage- Grouse populations should be withdrawn, instead of high mineral development potential areas in the SFAs. The draft EIS includes an alternative that evaluates the environmental conse- quences of this substitu- tion. Neither the segrega- tion, nor any subsequent withdrawal, would prohibit ongoing or future mining exploration or extraction operations on valid pre- existing claims. At one time, the Greater Sage-Grouse population likely numbered in the mil- lions, but is estimated to have dwindled to 200,000 to 500,000 individuals range-wide. Sagebrush, the Greater Sage-Grouse’s primary habitat, also supports more than 350 other animal and plant species in the West- ern United States. More information such as maps and fact sheets are here: www.blm.gov/pro- grams/ﬁsh-and-wildlife/ sagegrouse/blm-sage- grouse-plans/minerals- withdrawals You can comment by mailing written comments to Mark Mackiewicz, Bureau of Land Manage- ment (BLM) WO, C/O Price Field Ofﬁce, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 84501 or by sub- mitting electronically to sagebrush_withdrawals@ blm.gov. — Log Price Report — Prices are based on the majority of saw mills in Northeastern Oregon and Central Idaho. The prices listed below are a composite prices of various saw- mills willing to visit with me about this topic. Ponderosa Pine—small diameter class 8-11 inches diameter class $250 per mbf. Only one sawmill was willing to buy small diameter pine at this time. Ponderosa Pine—medium diameter class 12-17 inches diameter class $300 to $350 per mbf Ponderosa Pine-large diameter class 18 plus inches diameter class $380 to $410 per mbf The Pine prices are still approximately $40 per mbf below average lumber/log market due to 2017 ﬁre salvage Doug Fir & Western Larch—$380 to $420 per mbf. Normal prices typically ranged between $425 to $475 per mbf. White Fir-$300 per mbf. Normal prices typically ranged between $340 to $360 per mbf. Engelmann Spruce—$350 at one Idaho sawmill, other sawmills including with White ﬁr prices. In general, the log prices still impacted from 2015 ﬁre season and ﬁre salvage that resulted. Sawmills are starting to get log yard inventory in line with sawmill production needs. With a new Administra- tion as of 1/20/2017, a more normal economic envi- ronment should result and hopefully a more healthy housing situation will result in a better climate for Northeast Oregon Sawmill and private forest land- owners. Courtesy of Arvid Andersen, Andersen Forestry Consulting — Precious Metals Report — Price per ounce, USD Gold: $1,164.20 Silver: $16.48 Platinum: $943.25 Palladium: $738.52 Bloomberg.com — Ag Commodities — Corn: $359.75/bu/USD Wheat: $418.50/bu/USD Soybeans: $1015.25/bu/USD Oats: $237.75 bu/USD Rough Rice: $9.73/cwt/USD Canola: $503.65 CAD/mwt Live Cattle: $115.68//lb./USD Feeder Cattle: $123.75/lb./USD Lean Hogs: $64.60/lb./USD Bloomberg.com