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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2022
#TimberUnity: ‘The way it all started was absolutely pure,’ says one trucker
Continued from Page A1
Coast, a sign that many people in
rural Oregon were waiting for an
opportunity to be heard.
At the movement’s peak, Betsy
Johnson — then a Democratic
state senator representing the North
Coast, now an independent candi-
date for governor — triumphantly
held up a #TimberUnity sign at
a rally outside the Oregon State
Capitol.
But over the past few years, the
movement has fractured. Gov. Kate
Brown used an executive order to
bypass the Legislature and imple-
ment a Climate Protection Pro-
gram to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. #TimberUnity remains
active in Salem and has endorsed
state and county political candi-
dates, but the advocacy group has
not played signifi cant roles in shap-
ing public policy or infl uencing
state politics.
Like several original leaders,
Leavy has split from the group, dis-
illusioned by what the movement
has become.
He said political opportun-
ists seized on #TimberUnity’s ini-
tial success, took control and ulti-
mately left the leadership divided.
“The way it all started was abso-
lutely pure,” Leavy said.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Jeff Leavy and others who were involved with #TimberUnity early on said they felt like workers in rural pockets of
the state fi nally had a voice.
‘I will not sit and watch
another mill close’
Leavy said he learned about cap
and trade from a neighbor while at
a fuel pump. After researching the
legislation, he called Shelly Geden-
berg-Solum of Gedenberg Log
Trucking.
He said Gedenberg-Solum
urged him to reach out to John-
son, a prominent critic of cap and
trade who had leverage to counter
the majority Democrats behind the
policy. After scheduling a meeting
with the state senator in Salem, he
said, “it went from 0 to 60.”
“It had to,” he said. “Because
that was the only way to stop cap
and trade.”
Leavy took to Facebook in June
2019 to announce he was going to
organize a convoy to the Capitol .
“I can’t aff ord a day off ... but I
can’t aff ord to lose an industry that
my family depends on,” he wrote
in the post. “That being said, a day
off is better than a lifetime off with
nothing to cut, nothing to yard,
nothing to shovel log, no mills to
haul to, no trucks (loaded) with fi n-
ished product, no chip trucks haul-
ing chips ... the list can go on and
on in the timber industry!
“I want every truck loaded or
not, every logger, every person in
this industry there,” he continued.
“I will not sit and watch another
mill close!”
The
name
#TimberUnity,
which Leavy said he and his fi an-
cée came up with while laying in
bed, became central to the move-
ment. He said Gedenberg-Solum
designed the tree logo with an
Astoria sign maker.
Leavy and others who were
involved in the movement early
on told The Astorian they felt like
workers in rural pockets of the state
fi nally had a voice and something
to bond over.
But Leavy said #Timbe-
rUnity grew too fast and became
Facebook
Betsy Johnson, then a state senator, appeared at a #TimberUnity rally in 2020.
untenable.
He said when he and others
were approached by Julie Parrish, a
former Republican state lawmaker
from West Linn, and Lindsay Ber-
schauer, who is now a Yamhill
County commissioner, they fol-
lowed the lead of the more experi-
enced politicians.
Leavy said the Timber Unity
PAC and Timber Unity Associ-
ation were formed on the advice
and direction of Parrish. Andrew
Miller, the CEO of Stimson Lum-
ber Co., provided $5,000 in seed
money to start the political action
committee and was named director.
Leavy said #TimberUnity was
registered as a trademark and was
fi led under the PAC . The funds
were also added under the PAC. He
said Parrish promised that once the
association was formed, the trade-
mark would be transferred. To him,
it was important that the member-
ship association have control as the
political action committee was not
central to their mission.
But that never happened.
Leavy also believes he was
Museum: Updates for
accessibility happening
over several months
Continued from Page A1
marketing manager, said
part of the idea for the
tours came from a day
where museum staff sim-
ulated visual impairments
by blindfolding them-
selves and taking a tour.
Next, they want to experi-
ence the museum from the
perspective of people in
wheelchairs.
Triezenberg said it’s
important to talk to spe-
cifi c communities about
how to improve the
museum, but experiences
like these give staff some
understanding.
“There’s a certain level
of empathy that comes from
doing these tours and actu-
ally feeling what it’s like to
move your hand along the
torpedo or changing the
surface of the fl oor as you
move from tile to carpet,”
she said. T he museum also
recently received an Ore-
gon Heritage G rant from
the Oregon Parks and Rec-
reation Department to cre-
ate a Spanish audio tour for
the Brix Maritime Hall and
the U.S. Coast Guard Res-
cue Missions Gallery.
The museum will be
working on completing
the translations in the next
nine months or so, Triezen-
berg said.
Wuebben said the
museum has always had
accessible features, like
wheelchair lifts and a
push-button entry at the
front door. However, those
features were not commu-
nicated well to the public.
“Putting that into under
the heading of accessibil-
ity for people that are look-
ing for those features, they
now understand that we
recognize what accessibil-
ity is,” she said.
Triezenberg said there
are many ways busi-
nesses can make spaces
more accessible without
high-budget projects.
“You can do the little
things or expand on what
you already have at your
place of business and make
it a more accessible place
for people,” she said.
passed over as president of the asso-
ciation because of his past. While
he wanted more control, he said
he tried to accept the snub since he
valued being part of the movement .
By October 2019, Leavy
resigned from the #TimberUnity
association board after growing
increasingly angry and frustrated,
but he remained a member.
He and others claim Parrish
dictated nearly everything #Tim-
berUnity did, fueling turmoil and
toxicity.
“Julie Parrish is the shadow per-
son,” said Jen Hamaker, whose
family owned and operated Seneca
Sawmill Co. in Eugene.
‘Some fundamental
disagreements’
Tensions came to a head last
December when the association
and PAC began engaging attor-
neys in a dispute over control of the
#TimberUnity trademark.
Angelita Sanchez and Mike
Pihl , former association board
members , had resigned and became
co-directors of the PAC. Leavy was
elected by members as president of
the association.
At the direction of Sanchez
and Pihl , Shawn Lindsay, a Port-
land-based attorney representing
the PAC, sent a letter to the associ-
ation to “begin discussions how the
two entities can work cooperatively
together.”
Lindsay claimed the associa-
tion focused mostly on disaster
relief eff orts and was largely inac-
tive when it came to revenue gener-
ation and association membership
activity.
The attorney said he would
work with the association to for-
malize a trademark license agree-
ment and included a list of provi-
sional conditions.
Among the conditions, the asso-
ciation would have to agree to limit
its eff orts to supporting member-
ship development and education on
issues. The PAC would be the lead
entity for supporting and endors-
ing political candidates and taking
positions on ballot measures. Both
entities could work together to
co-plan rallies and legislative days,
the letter said.
The association president would
have to work collaboratively with
the PAC directors on messaging
related to public policy, the letter
continued. Also, board members
would have to refrain from posting
“unfounded, defamatory commen-
tary” about the PAC directors and
past association board members.
John Roberts, a Eugene-based
attorney representing the asso-
ciation, rejected the conditions.
He listed a set of demands that
included releasing the trademark
and all associated property, social
media, business and banking access
to the association.
The association also demanded
authority to appoint directors to the
PAC, who would work in tandem
with a steering committee com-
prised of three association board
members and two association
members.
Roberts noted, “there are
some fundamental disagreements
between our clients as to what has
occurred that has brought matters
to this point.” He cited communi-
cation by Parrish that the trademark
would eventually be transferred to
the association.
In late January, Lindsay
responded with a letter demand-
ing the association cease and desist
from using the #TimberUnity
trademark and similar names. The
letter also demanded the associa-
tion change its name with the Ore-
gon Secretary of State’s Offi ce and
any other government fi lings.
Lindsay said any communica-
tion by Parrish that the trademark
would eventually be transferred to
the association was not binding and
“merely broad statements of possi-
ble actions.”
Pihl, a Vernonia logger, served
as co-director of the PAC for about
a month. Since then, it has been
led by Sanchez, a Sweet Home
city councilor who owns a truck-
ing company, and Marie Bowers, a
grass seed farmer in Lane County.
Leavy and Hamaker claim Par-
rish hijacked #TimberUnity .
“To me, she took this away from
the people,” Hamaker said . “She
took our momentum away. She
took something that we had never
seen before in the state of Oregon.”
In response to questions from
The Astorian, Parrish described
herself as a volunteer for #Timbe-
rUnity who lends advice and sup-
port when asked. She praised the
leadership of Sanchez and Bowers.
“Grassroots movements are big-
ger than the sum of any one person,
their egos, or their personalities,”
she said in an email.
Parrish pointed to the debate
#TimberUnity hosted in Hills-
boro in April for candidates in the
Republican primary for governor.
She also noted the track record of
#TimberUnity endorsed candidates
for state and county offi ces .
”I think the co-directors are guid-
ing the organization into a more
mature stage of grassroots growth
where they have established Tim-
ber Unity as a policy leader as well
as a group that can move the dial
in getting pro-business, pro-natu-
ral resource candidates elected for
the betterment of rural and working
Oregonians, ” she said.
Leavy, for his part, chose to
rebrand. I n February, he announced
the association’s new name: Ore-
gon Natural Resource Industries .
“Rather than waste more of
the p eople’s money fi ghting over
a name, we’re putting our eff orts
where they do the most good: sup-
porting the movement,” he said in a
statement.
Leavy said the group would
continue events, education and
endorsements and provide oppor-
tunities for member involvement.
The Facebook group has since
gained more than 10,000 mem-
bers. Unlike the way #TimberUnity
grew so quickly, he wants Ore-
gon Natural Resource Industries to
build slowly and methodically.
“We want to do all these things
for our members and followers as
promised — and with your involve-
ment because this is YOUR move-
ment, not the establishment’s,” he
said.
School: Flexible education spaces are in the proposal
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Johnson recommended
a fl exible and versatile
design throughout the prop-
erty in order to address the
highest number of goals
and interests identifi ed by
stakeholders.
The classroom building
is envisioned to house fl ex-
ible education spaces, such
as classrooms, workshops,
meeting rooms or exhibi-
tion spaces. The building
could feature a welcome
center that can off er infor-
mation about the site, the
city and surrounding area.
The gymnasium build-
ing is envisioned to be
used as event fl ex space
for functions ranging from
large gatherings, exhibi-
tions, performing arts, din-
ners , conferences and galas.
When not used for events,
the space could function as
a public recreation center
designed to accommodate
uses ranging from basket-
ball, pickleball, volleyball
and a walking track.
A commercial kitchen
could also be added to the
building and function as a
teaching kitchen to support
the food bank and others.
Johnson said there was
a desire from stakeholders
to use the property to host
large public and private out-
door events and recreation
while preserving nature.
The programing report
outlined seven categories,
including a plaza and bus
stop, community garden,
patio, recreational fi eld,
amphitheater and fi re pit,
riparian corridor and estu-
ary beach.
A recreation fi eld could
support a patio area for a
farmers market, car show or
an outdoor art exhibit.
Pedestrian trails and a
foot bridge could connect
the site to Ecola Creek For-
est Reserve and Les Shirley
Park.
The report presented
several strategies to address
parking, including addi-
tional on-site parking,
a shuttle and enhanced
walking
and
biking
opportunities.
Girls: Program will teach self-confi dence and safety
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said. The Harbor will assist
people in reporting abuse if
they choose , however.
“Their
peers
can
empower each other to build
this cohesive united front,
especially during what’s
happening nationally,” Aik-
man said.
In the wake of the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling in
June overturning Roe v.
Wade, which had estab-
lished a constitutional right
to abortion, Aikman and
Lionheart want to see if
teenagers are interested in
talking about bodily auton-
omy and reproductive rights .
The group will also
work on teaching girls how
to build self-confi dence
instead of waiting for events
like graduation or marriage
to instill self-worth. “It’s
like, actually, you’re enough
right now,” Lionheart said.
“You’re more than enough.”
Lionheart and Aikman
especially want to talk about
the diff erence between safe
and unsafe relationships,
since there’s a lack of educa-
tion for youth on how to set
boundaries while dating.
Lionheart said it can
be challenging for girls to
become sexually active or
interested in sex and not
know where to ask ques-
tions and receive accurate
answers. Having a space
where girls can talk and
learn about consent and
healthy relationships can
help them stay safe .
“This is about helping
create safety — helping end
the cycle of abuse,” Lion-
heart said.
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500