The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current, April 21, 2017, Image 3

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The Baker County press., April 21, 2017, Page 3, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextTHE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3 FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017 Business / Agriculture County: Sheriff’s Office to get new security camera system • SEVERAL BOARD APPOINTMENTS MADE, WOLF DEPREDATION COMPENSATION SPURS DEBATE Friday, April 14, 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. Many producers are sold out for the year. Tons Price Range Wtd Avg Alfalfa — Large Square Utility 50 45.00-45.00 45.00 Orchard Grass — Large Square Utility 50 45.00-45.00 45.00 BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Board of Commissioners held a regular session on Wednes- day, April 19, 2017, 9 a.m., in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse, which included, among other top- ics, a Proclamation of May, 2017 as Mental Health Awareness Month in the County. Present from the Board were Chair Bill Harvey, Commissioners Mark Ben- nett and Bruce Nichols, and Executive Assistant Heidi Martin. Attendance also included New Directions North- west, Inc. Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Coordinator Jane Chandler, Baker County Assessor Kerry Savage and Assis- tant Assessor Shawn Berry, Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash, Baker County Technology Director Bill Lee, Baker County Emergency Management Manager Jason Yencopal, Baker County Administra- tive Services Coordinator Christena Cook, Ed Hardt, Ken Anderson, Gary Diel- man, and John Creighton. The meeting was called to order, and Harvey provided the Invocation and led in the Pledge of Al- legiance. The agenda was adopted, with an addition of an Oregon State Uni- versity Extension Service Intergovernmental Agree- ment discussion to be held later in the session, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. There was no comment of- fered for Citizen Participa- tion. The minutes from the Wednesday, April 5, 2017 regular session were ap- proved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Order No. 2017-120, Appointing A Member To The Northeast Oregon Economic Development District Board, was ap- proved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. According to the order, Rosemary Abell was appointed, her term set to expire on December 31, 2019. Order No. 2017-121, Ap- pointing Members To The 911 Consolidated Dispatch Oversight Board, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. According to the order, Diane Arvey, and Robert Gentili were appointed, their terms set to expire on November 1, 2018, and November 1, 2019, respectively. Order No. 2017-122, Appointing Members To The Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care (EOCC) Local Community Advi- sory Council (LCAC), was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Accord- ing to the order, Tamyra LiKeller and Jane Chandler were appointed, their terms set to expire on February 1, 2020. Order No. 2017-123, — Weekly Hay Report — USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov — Cattle Market Report — Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Vale, Oregon Cattle sold through the auction: 1,141 Steer Calves 300-400# Bulk 153.00-178.00 Top 179.00 400-500# Bulk 151.00-167.00 Top 169.50 500-600# Bulk 147.00-165.00 Top 165.50 Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press County IT Manager Bill Lee and Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash explain a new software and camera system purchase request for the Jail. Appointing A Member To The Baker County Compensation Board, was approved, with a motion from Nichols, and a second from Harvey. According to the order, Larry Pearson was appointed, his term set to expire on January 1, 2021. Order No. 2017-124, An Order Designating A Sole Source Provider For Mason Dam Consultation In Completing Draft Final Biological Assessment And The Final License Applica- tion, was approved, with a cap of $7,500, with a motion from Harvey, and a second from Bennett. Prior to approval, Yencopal discussed the order with the Board, and Nichols opted out of the discussion, as he declared a conﬂict. According to the order, EcoWest Consulting, Inc. has been working on vari- ous reports for the Mason Dam Hydroelectric project, the Project Manager is pleased with those ser- vices, total compensation for these services may exceed $5,000 in ﬁscal year 2016-2017, and the exemption will not encour- age favoritism or diminish competition. Savage and Berry provided an Assessor update, which included a discussion of a 2017-2018 Property Tax Program Grant Application, that was approved to be submitted to the Oregon Department of Revenue, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Accord- ing to the application, $956,242 was submitted as the total expenditure amount for consideration, in order to participate in the County Assessment Function Funding As- sistance (CAFFA) annual grant program. A Special Transportation Fund (STF) Contractor Agreement, between the County and Community Connection of North- east Oregon, Inc., for the purpose of providing ﬂexible, coordinated, and reliable transportation to seniors and people with disabilities, and a similar agreement, between the County and Step Forward Activities, Inc., were approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Prior to approval, Cook discussed the agreements with the Board. Accord- ing to the agreement, the County will allocate funds provided by the Oregon Department of Transporta- tion Rail and Public Transit Division (RPTD) each ﬁs- cal year, beginning July 1, to Community Connection, in consideration of these services. Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Wolf Compensation And Finan- cial Assistance 2017 Grant Agreement No. ODA- 3966-GR BAKER, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. According to the agree- ment, a total award of $23,219 was granted to the County, for the year 2016, broken down as follows: $0 for compensation for injury or death of livestock or working dogs, result- ing from wolf depreda- tion; $6,599 for ﬁnancial assistance for implement- ing methods that limit wolf-livestock interaction; $495 for reimbursement for qualiﬁed expenses incurred by the County, for implementing the County program; and $16,125 for compensation for miss- ing livestock or working dogs, resulting from wolf depredation. Though the total amount received is much less than the losses incurred, Ben- nett nonetheless expressed praise to Martin for her efforts in submitting County applications, and in acquiring funding through this program, and he said that the funding the County did receive is more than he expected. Hardt said, “When this wolf program was getting started ... the Defenders Of Wildlife was paying for an- imal kills, and then, when the wolves got established, then, they quit. Why can’t we still bill them?” Harvey said he wasn’t sure, the organization shifted the burden to the State, and he doesn’t have complete information re- garding the full agreement, but he agrees with Hardt’s concept, since livestock losses are far greater now. Dielman said, “An obligation under the law would be a base for billing them...They’re not part of the government. How would you expect them to continue something they didn’t want to continue doing, if they’re a private organization?” Harvey said, “Just for the sake of saying, ‘You agreed to this...’ We’re not going to get anything, we understand...” Dielman said, “I don’t agree with that. That’s just mean-spirited.” Harvey said, “That’s okay—so is killing their livestock... so is asking livestock producers to take a loss for something they did...” Dielman said, “Sure, but the State has taken that over.” Harvey discussed the shortfall in funding pro- vided for livestock losses, and Dielman and Harvey further debated the subject, including the role of the State and legislation. Harvey said the commu- nication would most likely be in the form of a protest letter to the Defenders of Wildlife. A Baker County Sher- iff’s Ofﬁce Jail Camera Security System purchase request, for new Avigilon cameras and software, pro- vided by Alpine Alarm, for $30,151.66, was approved, with a motion from Ben- nett, and a second from Nichols. Prior to approval, Ash and Lee discussed the re- quest with the Board. Ac- cording to Ash, funding for the project was previously approved, and the current system is 15-18 years old, is outdated, and is prone to failure. Three bids were re- ceived, and while not being the lowest bid, Lee said the Avigilon system is more reliable, and can be upgraded. A Baker County Procla- mation for May, 2017 as Mental Health Awareness Month, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols, who, along with Harvey, expressed great concern and interest in the subject of mental health through- out the County. According to the Proc- lamation, the Board calls upon government agen- cies, public and private institutions, businesses and schools “...to recommit our community to increasing awareness and understand- ing mental health condi- tions, reducing stigma and discrimination, promoting appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental health conditions.” SEE COUNTY PAGE 8 Heifer Calves 300-400# Bulk 142.00-162.00 Top 163.00 400-500# Bulk 136.00-157.00 Top 159.50 500-600# Bulk 126.00-146.50 Top 147.00 600-700# 700-800# 800-900# 900-1,000# Yearling Steers Bulk 129.00-148.00 Top 155.00 Bulk 122.00-134.50 Top 135.75 Bulk 119.00-126.00 Top 127.75 Bulk 113.00-119.00 Top 122.25 Yearling Heifers 600-700# Bulk 121.00-135.00 Top 136.50 700-800# Bulk 121.00-132.00 Top 137.50 800-900# Bulk 113.00-119.00 Top 121.00 900-1,000# Bulk 97.00-106.00 Top 107.00 Thin Shelly Cows 49.00-61.00 Butcher Cows 63.00-71.00 Butcher Bulls 74.00-87.00 Pairs Older 985.00-1380.00 Hfretts 77.00 -101.00 Pairs Older - 87.00-108.00 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 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: $1,290.90 Silver: $18.29 Platinum: $976.99 Palladium: $774.72 Bloomberg.com — Ag Commodities — Corn: $367.50/bu/USD Wheat: $436.00/bu/USD Soybeans: $955.50/bu/USD Oats: $218.75 bu/USD Rough Rice: $10.13/cwt/USD Canola: $506.60 CAD/mwt Live Cattle: $115.65//lb./USD Feeder Cattle: $142.18/lb./USD Lean Hogs: $71.50/lb./USD Bloomberg.com