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East Oregonian
GRAIN: Automated kiosks at the truck scales
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who was hired by PGG as the
director of grain operations in
2012, said they knew coming
in there was work that needed
to be done.
“There was just a lack of
maintenance on a lot of those
projects,” said Middleton,
who used to work as PGG’s
director of grain operations.
“You can go back four
decades, at least.”
With that hectic first
harvest
behind
them,
Middleton said they are now
ready to move forward on
infrastructure. The bulk of
the money will be spent at
McNary, he said, where they
recently automated kiosks
at the trucking scales. Now,
drivers simply swipe a card
to bring up their information,
and are directed to one of five
pits where they can unload
grain.
The way scales are set
up will allow trucks to flow
in one direction, Middleton
said, instead of before when
drivers had to weigh in and
out at the same scale.
“It’s going to save a lot of
time, compared to last year,”
“It’s difficult being a farmer now,
with margins as tight as they are.
We want to be their best option.”
— Jason Middleton, region manager for United Grain
he said. “There’s no reason
trucks couldn’t get in and out
anywhere from five to eight
minutes, entire process.”
Automation has also come
to the elevator control room
at McNary, which will make
it easier for the operators
there to switch between bins
and keep wheat segregated.
The idea, Middleton said, is
to maximize efficiency — the
less time farmers spend at the
elevator, the more time they
have to work in the fields.
That’s also the concept
behind ground piles at
Mission and Helix. As
combines are able to cut
wheat faster, Middleton
said farmers are using larger
trucks to deliver grain,
which can be unloaded more
quickly at piles as opposed to
the old upcountry elevators.
Each pile will store 1.4
million bushes, Middleton
said. The goal is to build a
third pile near Athena by next
year as well, he added.
Finally, a ground pile
and automated scales will
be installed at the Alicel
Terminal near La Grande.
Both Alicel and McNary are
used for storing and shipping
grain, which is hauled by
train at Alicel and by river
barge at McNary.
“It should just be a lot
more of an efficient process,”
he said.
As for the upcountry
elevators, many of the old
wooden buildings have
already been closed for
safety, Middleton said. Those
include Helix, Rew, Mission,
Stanton, Elgin, and Holdman.
But some of the metal
and concrete elevators will
be upgraded, where farmers
will be able store crops on
demand separate from tradi-
tional wheat. With wheat
prices as low as they are,
Middleton said he expects
farmers may be considering
alternatives to help pay the
bills.
Options are limited in
dryland farming, but barley,
canola and certain types of
beans or peas may be options,
depending on the market.
“If there are other options
out there, I think guys will be
looking at them,” he said.
Some of the “on demand”
crop elevators will include
Fulton, Sparks, Pilot Rock,
Juniper, Adams and Midway.
Many of these facilities
simply need some routine
repairs and maintenance,
Middleton said, but won’t
require a ton of capital.
By
giving
farmers
more tools come harvest,
Middleton said United Grain
hopes to become a competi-
tive choice for growers in the
region.
“It’s difficult being a
farmer now, with margins as
tight as they are,” Middleton
said. “We want to be their
best option.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
BUDGET: Corporations contribute 6 percent of general fund revenue
Continued from 1A
entirely by cutting spending,
60 percent favored some
combination of spending
reductions and tax hikes and
4 percent preferred only tax
increases. Another 8 percent
didn’t have an opinion on
how to solve the problem.
Voters said businesses
and corporations should
contribute about 40 percent
of Oregon’s state tax revenue.
Corporations now contribute
only 6 percent of general
fund revenue, according
to the Legislative Revenue
Office.
Voters overwhelmingly
rejected the idea of a general
sales tax, even if it went to
education.
They are open to giving
up their personal income tax
MARIJUANA:
ATM at the store
ran out of cash
Continued from 1A
children and not to smoke in
public.
Brandon Krenzler, one of
the dispensary’s co-owners,
said the first day had been a
“beautiful experience.”
“We’ve had a lot of happy
people,” he said.
So many happy people,
in fact, that the ATM at the
business had run out of cash.
For now, federal laws against
marijuana
have
forced
dispensaries to run on a cash-
only basis.
Krenzler said the dispen-
sary was offering people a
“craft cannabis experience”
that was more tasteful and
refined than the flashy green-
light dispensaries one might
see in parts of Portland.
One of his customers
interrupted to shake his hand
and thank him for giving
Pendleton its first opportunity
to purchase legal marijuana.
Some customers were expe-
rienced buyers, others needed
help picking out a strain that
would provide the experience
they were looking for. The
customers ranged from the
group of men in their twenties
who exchanged high fives
and enthusiastically congrat-
ulated departing customers,
to a woman who asked if the
dispensary gave senior citizen
discounts (they do).
Some slipped quietly
out of the store, refusing to
discuss their experience with
the newspaper, while others
felt comfortable enough to
talk about what is now a legal
purchase.
Seth Hiatt said he thought
the store was “nice, clean
and organized” and he would
return.
“It’s nice to have some-
thing local,” he said.
Sandra Doherty said she
didn’t know much about
marijuana, but the staff were
knowledgeable and patient in
answering her questions.
“I’m really surprised
Pendleton allowed it, but I
think the tax money will be
awesome,” she said.
She said she hoped the
taxes on the sales going on
inside would be used for
improving schools and roads
in Pendleton.
kicker refund if the proceeds
were to support K-12
schools. The last personal
kicker refund equaled about
$402 million in 2015, said
LRO senior economist Chris
Allanach.
Registered voters repre-
senting the state’s demo-
graphic makeup, including
geographic area, age, gender
and political party, were
interviewed by phone Feb.
23-26. The results have a 4
percent margin of error.
Highlights of the poll:
• Sixty percent of voters
think the state should balance
its budget through a combi-
nation of spending reductions
and tax hikes.
Six-in-10 believe Oregon
has a spending problem.
• Ninety-three percent of
voters say it’s important to
fund K-12 education.
•
Sixty-five
percent
of voters would support
a measure such as Ballot
Measure 97 if the tax revenue
were dedicated to K-12
schools. Measure 97 would
have levied a 2.5 percent
tax on the Oregon sales of
certain corporations. Voters
overwhelmingly
defeated
the measure, and the poll
indicates that voters objected
to the fact that the tax revenue
was not dedicated to certain
purposes.
• On average, voters think
Oregon’s businesses and
corporations contribute about
36 percent of all state taxes
collected. In fact, businesses
contribute only 6 percent.
A majority of voters say
businesses and corporations
should contribute 40 percent
on average.
• Fifty-six percent support
a $2 billion increase in
funding every two years to
education to meet the Quality
Education Model.
• Fifty-nine percent are
opposed to a general sales tax
to fund K-12 education.
• Six-of-10 voters would
be willing to give up the 2
percent kicker refunds if the
proceeds were placed in a
rainy-day fund specifically
for K-12 education. (Corpo-
ration income kicker refunds
were eliminated with Ballot
Measure 85 in 2012, and the
proceeds were dedicated to
K-12).
———
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
PENDLETON: Upgraded
track material will provide
more durability, cushioning
Continued from 1A
seat repairs, the addition
of air conditioning and a
control booth, new sound
and lighting systems and
asbestos removal.
More complicated was
how the district would
approach the demolition
of the old district office at
1207 S.W. Frazer Ave.
Although former super-
intendent Jon Peterson
promised the neighbors in
the area that the resulting
empty lot would include a
“green space,” Fishel said
that level of renovation
might be too expensive.
While just demolishing
the building and turning
it into a gravel lot would
cost $145,897, paving the
lot and installing lights
and grass would cost an
additional $756,300.
If the district went that
route, it would be forced
to apply crack seals and
patches to the high school
track rather than recon-
structing and resurfacing it,
another Peterson promise.
The
thought
of
skimping on the track in
favor of bolstering the
district office demolition
didn’t gain traction, and
the board turned their
focus to the surfacing
options and the track and
field lighting.
For the surfacing, the
district could purchase a
basic material for $241,781
or spend an additional
$50,000 for an upgraded
track that was more
durable and provided more
cushioning. The district
could also light the whole
track and field for a total of
$319,450, or contractors
could lop off $200,000
in cost by installing the
bases and power service
while waiting on the light
fixtures and poles.
Board member Steve
Umbarger recommended
the district talk with the
Buck Boosters about
providing
the
extra
$200,000, but board chair-
woman Debbie McBee
said the boosters’ offer
wasn’t close to covering
the cost.
Ultimately, the district
chose the option with the
basic demolition and the
upgraded track material,
with the lights contingent
upon what was left over
after the other projects.
If the district pays for
the lights and includes a
10 percent contingency,
Fishel estimated that the
total cost of the final stage
of the bond would cost
$1,882,913, leaving the
district with $6,347.
The centerpieces of the
district’s $55 million bond,
which was passed in 2013,
was the construction of
new Washington and Sher-
wood Heights elementary
schools, the transformation
of Hawthorne Alternative
High School into the
Pendleton Early Learning
Center, converting Lincoln
Primary School and West
Hills Intermediate School
to the new district office
and the Pendleton Tech &
Trade Center, respectively,
and other renovations
across the district’s facili-
ties.
Although the bond was
for $55 million, Fishel said
district actually garnered
more than $60.2 million
through grants, interest
and energy incentives.
The district has spent
$58.4 million to date and
has already used some
of the cost savings to
spend $3.5 million on the
Pendleton Tech and Trade
Center instead of the
budgeted $727,729.
———
Contact Antonio
Sierra at asierra@
eastoregonian.com or
541-966-0836.