THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Business / Agriculture
Interior design business moves
BY SAMANTHA
O’CONNER
Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Molly Wilson, owner
of M. Wilson Designs &
Studio, has relocated to the
downstairs of the Basche
Sage Mall in suite 205.
Wilson has owned her
Home Interiors and Design
business since 2001, fi rst
opening it out of her home.
She had a small studio
on Main Street and moved
upstairs in the Basche Sage
Mall three years ago after
growing out of her studio.
Her business grew again
causing her to move.
Wilson believes her
current location will be the
last location she moves to.
“This is a great loca-
tion for me,” said Wilson.
“I have a back door and
that way my truckers can
deliver my furniture and I
also have more visibility.”
Wilson started work-
ing in retail in 1980 in La
Grande, Ore., where she
owned two businesses for
10 years before relocating
in 1994 to Baker.
She and a partner owned
a business called “For All
Seasons,” which closed in
2001.
M. Wilson Designs
& Studio offers design
services, real estate stag-
ing, as well as in home
redesign services. Her
store offers pillows, rugs,
area rugs, lamps, furniture,
accent pieces, bedding and
fabrics, throws, and other
supplies.
Wilson has a line of
down comforters and pil-
lows that she offers, selling
three different grades of
down.
The store has fl oor sam-
ples but she special orders
a lot of her products.
Wilson carries fabrics
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Another installment
of First Friday with the
Commissioner, a monthly,
informal, public discus-
sion, covering a variety of
topics, was held on Friday,
February 3, 2017, 9 a.m.,
in the Commission Cham-
bers of the Baker County
Courthouse.
Baker County Commis-
sion Chair Bill Harvey
hosted the discussion, and
he was joined by John
Creighton, Chuck Chase,
Bobbie Danser, Tork and
Wanda Ballard, Jo Mar-
lette, and Keith Miles.
Harvey began the dis-
cussion by speaking about
the topic of collapsing
roofs in the Halfway area,
which he said numbered
around 20 to 25, but lucki-
ly, there were no reports of
residential roofs failing yet
at the time. He said that
200 commercial roofs have
failed in Malheur County,
due to winter weather,
causing major losses in the
onion crop industry, for
example, and, making mat-
ters worse, Idaho Governor
Clement “Butch” Otter is
taking advantage of the
opportunity to try to pull
business operators away
from Oregon, which has
a higher minimum wage,
$9.75 per hour, than Idaho,
at $7.25 (the same as the
federal minimum wage
rate).
Tork commented that he
would probably make the
move to Idaho if he were
a business operator that
close to the border, and
Harvey agreed, citing vari-
ous business-related costs
and taxes in Oregon.
He said, “Man, if I was
that close, I’m with you,
Tork...Hell, when we have
a governor like we’ve
got, my God, I’d bail in a
heartbeat...She’s driving
the state into bankruptcy.”
Harvey said Oregon Gov-
ernor Kate Brown’s plan of
using state funds to launch
personal resistance efforts
against President Donald
Trump could get her, and
should get her impeached.
Harvey expressed some
relief that Dennis Richard-
son was elected Oregon
Secretary of State.
Among other topics
discussed, Danser asked
Harvey how he thought the
City-County joint meet-
ing went, on Wednesday,
February 1, to primarily
further discuss the 911
Consolidated Dispatch
intergovernmental agree-
ment, and he and Tork
commented that, though
there were issues initially,
they were pleased with
the end result, with the
exception of resolving the
issue of the percentage
of monetary contribution
from the City, at 71%, with
the County providing 29%,
which Harvey and others
say should be amended to
75%, and 25%.
Tork and Wanda said
they had the impression
that City Council wasn’t
completely aware of the
issues with the agree-
ment, and of Harvey’s
recommendations. Har-
vey said that the 911
Board shouldn’t comprise
representation solely from
government.
Tork said, “What is the
bickering about, anyway?
75%? Because, from what
I understand, they (the
City) aren’t paying their
71%, so, what difference
does it make what number
you put on the agreement?
They’re going to pay what
they feel like they ought
to.”
Harvey said that he would
publicly remind the City of
its commitment, and when
Tork asked how often the
City had failed to pay its
share for the services, he
said several times.
Wanda said, “They’re
getting an 80% service, for
71%--a pretty good deal...”
Harvey further emphasized
that the County is continu-
ing to provide the bulk
of shared services, while
struggling with staffi ng
and budget issues. He
expressed high praise for
Dispatch Center Director
Hope Lindsey, and other
staff, who collectively
provide 24/7 coverage.
Danser asked, “Are they
still not going to pay that
$15,000?” referencing a
debt Harvey said the City
owes the County, which
he said most likely will
remain unpaid.
Harvey used the approval
for the Sheriff’s Depart-
ment to purchase only
one of the two vehicles it
requested (during the last,
regular County Commis-
sion session, on Wednes-
day, February 1), as an
example of budget strains,
though Sheriff Travis Ash
voiced concerns about the
high mileage, and the need
to purchase both vehicles
(As part of the request
approval, Ash would be
Friday, February 3, 2017 — Eastern Oregon
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 cant get to the farms to get loaded.
Tons Price Range Wtd Avg
Alfalfa — Large Square Good
145 120.00-120.00 120.00
Alfalfa — Large Square Fair
45 110.00-110.00 110.00
Alfalfa / Orchard Mix — Small Square Premium
15 170.00-170.00 170.00
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
Samantha O’Conner / The Baker County Press
Molly Wilson, owner of M. Wilson Designs & Studio.
and is looking at two or
three new fabric lines she
is hoping to offer by the
spring.
“It’s taken me a long
time to build up those
lines,” explained Wilson.
“I go to the local markets,
I go to Seattle and I go to
Las Vegas.”
Wilson is from the Wil-
lamette Valley. She grew
up in Portland and attended
the University of Oregon,
where she met her hus-
band.
First Friday meeting held
BY TODD ARRIOLA
— Weekly Hay Report —
replacing the Juvenile
Department’s Chevy Im-
pala, which Director Staci
Erickson said has logged
185,000 miles, and is in
rough shape, with one of
the current patrol cars).
Harvey said he’d met
with Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest Supervi-
sor Tom Montoya and
other United States Forest
Service (USFS) personnel,
including Natural Resource
Specialist Victoria Anne,
for a staff-to-staff meeting
recently (no decisions are
made during these, and
they are different from
agency-to-agency coor-
dination meetings, which
are held periodically in the
Commission Chambers).
Harvey said that the two-
to three-hour meeting went
well, and numerous issues
were discussed, including
the much-debated Blue
Mountains Forest Plan
Revision (BMFPR).
He said that he made it
clear to Montoya that the
USFS can not move for-
ward with the process, and
that includes the Travel
Management Plan (TMP),
until all roads are invento-
ried and mapped. Harvey
said that he plans to meet
with Montoya twice a
month, and that informa-
tion would be relayed
to the County’s Natural
Resource Advisory Com-
mittee (NRAC), and then
to the County Commission
Board, to be passed on to
the public, which he said
is the proper coordination
process.
Chase said, “If we
would have had this (the
coordination process) two
years ago, they would
have had the Blue Moun-
tains Revision done, and
the Travel Management.”
Harvey said that his effort
pales in comparison to the
Eastern Oregon Mining
Association’s (EOMA),
and Forest Access For All’s
(FAFA) efforts, to ensure
that the USFS adhere to
the proper process (Chase
is EOMA Executive Di-
rector, and Tork is FAFA
President).
Wanda said that the
American Stewards of
Liberty (ASL), an organi-
zation that was enlisted to
assist the County with its
comments to the Bureau
of Land Management
(BLM), in response to the
release of its initiative,
Planning 2.0, has been
mis-characterized (funds
were privately raised and
donated to the County
to pay for ASL’s service,
without solicitation from
the Commission Board, but
this nonetheless sparked
public debate, including
comments about ASL’s po-
litical leaning, during more
than one session).
Harvey said he’d heard
some scuttlebutt about
Safeway possibly ending
its lease for its current
location, 1205 Campbell
Street, but he said that,
as far as he knows, the
rumors aren’t true (the
lack of products on shelves
sometimes is weather-
related, he said). “It’s two
locations, but, it’s still
one store,” Danser said,
referring to the previous
merger between Safeway
and Albertsons, at 1120
Campbell, and the reopen-
ing of the Albertsons store
last year.
SEE FIRST FRIDAY
PAGE 4
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 1415
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk 138.00-174.00 Top 180.00
400-500# Bulk 151.00-178.00 Top 179.00
500-600# Bulk 126.00-157.00 Top 158.00
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk 126.00-139.00 Top 140.00
400-500# Bulk 114.00-141.00 Top 143.00
500-600# Bulk 112.00-132.00 Top 134.50
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 116.00-131.00 Top 132.00
700-800# Bulk 105.00-121.50 Top 122.00
800-900# Bulk 106.00-117.50 Top 119.00
900-1,000# Bulk 97.00-110.00 Top 111.00
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 107.00-122.00 Top 123.00
700-800# Bulk 101.00-115.00 Top 116.00
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 43.00-51.00
Butcher Cows 52.00 - 57.00
Butcher Bulls 42.00 - 61.00
Pairs Young N/A
Stock Cows 785.00-1025.00
Stock Cows Young - 1025.00 - 1385.00
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— 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 fi re
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 fi r prices.
In general, the log prices still impacted from 2015
fi re season and fi re 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.
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— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1,236.00
Silver: $17.76
Platinum: $1010.70
Palladium: $763.68
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $365.50/bu/USD
Wheat: $425.75/bu/USD
Soybeans: $1,039.75/bu/USD
Oats: $259.25 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $9.41/cwt/USD
Canola: $520.50 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $116.40//lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $124.15/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $72.18/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com