Thursday, February 16, 2017
OFF PAGE ONE
DEPOSIT: Michigan is the only BOND: Projected to create 540 direct
other state with a 10-cent deposit construction jobs, 126 indirect jobs
Page 10A
East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
Under the proposed law,
containers that don’t have the
correct deposit amount on the
label will be allowed in stores
until Sept. 1, 2018.
It’s not clear how the bill
will pencil out, though.
“Can you kind of describe
how this will work and why
this seems to work OK?” Rep.
Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, said
during the committee hearing
Wednesday. “I don’t think we
have a bunch of opponents
coming in here because they
have to come up with a nickel
they didn’t collect.”
Paul Romain, an attorney
and lobbyist for the Oregon
Beer and Wine Distributors
Association, acknowledged
that money could be lost.
He said Barnhart’s inquiry
was the “big 64,000-dollar
question, except it’s more
than $64,000.”
“Whenever you start a
system, you have a transition
period,” Romain said. “It’s a
risk, frankly, that the industry
has to take to make the tran-
sition.”
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-On-
tario said the bill was “neces-
sary to allow the transition,
even though the program has
big holes in it.”
Romain said the group
he represents also initially
resisted the deposit increase.
Michigan, the only other
state with a 10-cent deposit,
had a 94.2 percent return
rate in 2014, according to the
Michigan State Treasury.
A lobbyist for the Brewers
Guild also testified in support
of the bill.
The Oregon Liquor
Control Commission is
responsible for administering
the bottle deposit program.
Although the agency
didn’t take an official stance
on the legislation, its admin-
istrative policy and process
director, Jesse Sweet said the
bill would create a “grace
period” in the transition to the
10-cent deposit and provide
“necessary flexibility” for
retailers.
Starting Jan. 1., 2018, the
state is also going to require
deposits on additional types
of beverage containers —
such as kombucha.
AGRITOURISM: Whiskey & Rocks is the
name of the Pendleton to Milton-Freewater loop
Continued from 1A
tourism season begins. The
idea, she said, is to attract tour-
ists by promoting the region’s
diverse farming and ranching
activities — a concept known
as “agritourism.”
“This is a huge growth
area in tourism across the
country,” Dodson said. “It’s a
good way to draw attention to
the variety of things we have
in our area.”
Agritourism can include
visits to working farms
and ranches, U-pick fields,
wineries, breweries and
farmers markets. Dodson said
more people are interested
in knowing where their
food comes from, which has
opened the door for farms to
share their stories and poten-
tially generate a new source
of revenue.
“Now is a great time for
farms and ranches, orchards,
gardens and other producers
of all sizes to explore the
opportunities for inviting visi-
tors to buy products directly
and to learn about and experi-
ence the rural and agricultural
lifestyle,” she said.
Dodson began consulting
last year with a local
committee dedicated to
growing agritourism in
“Oregon’s Rugged Country.”
Kalie Davis, who manages the
SAGE Center in Boardman,
chairs the working group and
said they are still reaching
out to businesses that may be
interested in joining one of
the farm loops.
Once the list is finalized,
Davis said they will compile
maps and brochures for visi-
tors, which will be available
on the Eastern Oregon Visi-
tors Association and Travel
Oregon websites. The farm
loops will highlight places
that people might not know
about, Davis added.
“There’s these little hidden
gems that people don’t even
know exist,” she said.
Whiskey & Rocks is the
name of the loop from Pend-
leton to Milton-Freewater,
drawing on the popularity
of Pendleton Whisky and
the emergence of the Rocks
District of Milton-Freewater
American Viticultural Area.
Not surprisingly, the tour
is set to feature a number
of orchards and vineyards,
along with stops unique to
Pendleton’s cowboy culture.
Clive Kaiser, who works
as an extension horticulturist
for Oregon State University
in Milton-Freewater, said the
community had previously
been planning its own farm
loop — identifying 67
possible attractions — before
it was absorbed by the Eastern
Oregon Visitors Association
as part of a single regional
effort.
“They asked us if we
would put our efforts on hold,
because they wanted to have
a familiar theme throughout
Oregon and they wanted us to
be part of it,” Kaiser said.
When envisioning an
agritourism experience for
Milton-Freewater,
Kaiser
said he was reminded of the
Midlands Meander in South
Africa, which beckons tour-
ists through a range of arts,
crafts, outdoor activities and
country settings.
“That’s what I was effec-
tively looking to recreate in
this region,” he said.
A second farm loop,
dubbed River to Hills, is
also being developed for
western Umatilla County and
Morrow County. Davis said
Continued from 1A
The video, which is on
the district’s website, was
reviewed by the Secretary
of State’s office and deter-
mined to be non-biased,
according to Superintendent
Fred Maiocco. According
to Oregon law, districts are
not allowed to distribute
material that advocates a
specific political position,
but can distribute informa-
tion about a political issue
or question that has been
approved as impartial.
The district introduced
the bond in March and
has
since
conducted
two surveys assessing
community support for the
measure. A poll in May
showed that 63 percent of
those surveyed supported
the repairs that could be
The SAGE Center in Boardman would be featured in
one of the two new farm loops being developed by
the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association.
the loop will include things
like Hermiston watermelons,
Echo wine, tours of family
farms and a stop at the SAGE
Center interactive agricultural
museum.
Dodson said they hope to
have both loops completed by
the end of May.
“Obviously, agriculture is
a huge part of our economy
and lifestyle,” Dodson said.
“(Agritourism) fits well
within Eastern Oregon.”
Anyone wanting to learn
more about the project can
contact Dodson at 541-786-
8006
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0825.
million locally,” she said.
District officials also
discussed
the
safety
improvements that will be
made if the bond is passed.
During a Hermiston
Police Department safety
audit of the schools in
2015, Rocky Heights and
Highland Hills elementary
schools were found to not
meet safety standards. In
the video, Hermiston Police
Chief Jason Edmiston said
the district’s two elementary
schools have more external
access points per square
foot than the new schools,
which can be a safety issue.
Saul said the district
plans to host multiple
public forums and outreach
events where community
members can come and ask
questions about the bond in
the coming months.
FOREST: Oregon is expected to fall short of
carbon emissions-cutting goals in coming years
Continued from 1A
EO file photo
made with the bond money.
In October, another survey
was conducted, which
revealed that 46 percent
of those asked were for
the bond, 48 were against,
and about 6 percent were
undecided.
The initial cost to the
taxpayer would be addi-
tional 90 cents per $1,000
of assessed value.
Katie Saul, the district’s
director
of
business
services, presented an
economic impact study on
the bond. She said the bond
was projected to create
540 direct construction
jobs, 126 indirect jobs
and 124 induced jobs. The
total construction-related
income into the commu-
nity is estimated to be
$34,429,563.
“We hope to spend $62.6
in Oregon forests and how
they’re affected by climate
change and human inter-
ventions such as logging,
said Duncan.
“We don’t see anybody
else who is doing this type
of work,” he said.
Improving forest health
and preventing wildfires
may involve removing
trees, but these choices
involve a “trade-off” in
terms of carbon accrual,
Duncan said.
Wildfires in Oregon have
been emitting roughly 1.5
million tons to 4 million
tons of carbon dioxide a
year since the beginning of
the 21st Century, but it’s
unclear whether this level
is normal or excessive, the
commission found.
The impact of forest
fires on carbon emissions is
complicated by the extent
and severity of fires — in
“If we do our job
and nobody else
does theirs, we’re
toast, and I mean
that literally.”
— Angus Duncan,
Oregon Global Warming
Commission chair
some cases, fires can affect
large acreages but the forest
will still store carbon in
burned trees, he said.
Of the 63.4 million tons
of carbon dioxide emitted
in Oregon in 2015, about
37 percent came from the
transportation sector, 35
percent came from the
residential and commercial
sectors and 20 percent came
from the industrial sector,
according to OGWC.
With about 8 percent of
the total, the agricultural
sector contributed the
smallest share of Oregon’s
emissions.
Oregon is expected
to fall short of its carbon
emissions-cutting goals in
coming years, but Duncan
said he expects the output
of renewable energy to
increase in the state and the
nation due to technology
improvements and lower
costs.
In the future, the energy
industry will move away
from a “command and
control” structure, with
utilities buying electricity
from a variety of sources as
needed, similar to the stock
market, he said.
Oregon’s contribution
to reduce global emissions
will depend on a “mutual-
ly-reinforcing club” of other
states and countries taking
similar steps, Duncan said.
“If we do our job and
nobody else does theirs,
we’re toast, and I mean that
literally,” he said.