THE 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