Page 8A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, September 29, 2017
FARM: Facility cost
$6.3 million, including
$2.1 million from state
Continued from 1A
special day,” Brown said.
“Today, we really unveil
a facility that matches the
caliber of our program.”
Preston Winn, chairman
of the BMCC agriculture
department, choked up as he
talked about how the building
will help instructors better
educate the next generation
of farmers, ranchers and
agriculture professionals.
“I’m overwhelmed because
of thanksgiving,” Winn said.
“Community college means
just that: community.”
FARM cost $6.3 million to
build, including $2.1 million
of state match and lottery
funds. State Sen. Bill Hansell
(R-Athena) was unable to
attend Thursday’s event, but
sent a letter praising BMCC
as a leader in innovative
programs.
While FARM is less than
a week old, BMCC is already
thinking expansion. The
school has partnered with the
Pendleton Round-Up Asso-
ciation and city of Pendleton
on FARM Phase II, which
would expand animal science
and veterinary classes and
provide a new arena for
the BMCC rodeo team.
Together, they are working
to raise money for the $10
million proposal.
In addition, BMCC timed
the grand opening of FARM
to coincide with the opening
reception for the annual “Art
About Agriculture” exhibit,
organized by the Oregon
State University College of
Agricultural Sciences and
hosted this year by the Betty
Feves Memorial Gallery.
Nine Northwest artists are
featured in the exhibit, with
pieces inspired by this year’s
theme, “Places to Thrive.”
Lori Sams, gallery director,
said the timing between the
two events was intentional.
“I definitely wanted the
gallery to have a show related
to agriculture,” Sams said. “I
think it is interesting to draw
that connection between art
and agriculture.”
The exhibit runs through
Oct. 26. The gallery is open
Monday through Thursday
from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.,
or by appointment.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
SCAM: Developer said
plant would add 600 jobs
Continued from 1A
he plans to appeal the fine.
“I will be doing battle
with the state,” he said.
Whether Doughty intends
on building the plant or not,
the DCBS says he does not
have the required securities
license to solicit or sell
investments and has not
registered shares in accor-
dance with state securities
law. The official order to
fine Doughty also describes
two investors who told the
state they invested in 2007
and have never seen any
return on their investment.
They said Doughty had
misled them on a number of
points, including providing
a project summary claiming
the project was “poised for
construction” despite the
fact that Doughty did not
own any land in Stanfield on
which to build the project,
had not applied for any of
the necessary permits and
no investors had committed
the hundreds of millions of
dollars in funding he claimed
had been committed to the
project.
After investigation of the
two investors’ experience,
the department issued the
fine and followed up with
a news release warning the
public that the project was a
“communitywide investment
scam.”
“This is another reminder
of how important it is to check
out proposed investments
and the person promoting
them,” Jean Straight, acting
DCBS director, said in a
statement.
“Renewable
energy, gold, silver, oil, gas,
new tech ventures, and legal
marijuana are all buzzworthy
industries that scammers like
to use to take your money.
We urge anyone considering
an investment to contact us to
verify the information.”
The Inland Pacific Energy
Center project is known to
longtime residents of Stan-
field. The East Oregonian
wrote articles in 2006 and
2007 detailing Doughty’s
presentations to Stanfield
city leaders. In March 2006
the newspaper reported that
he told the city council odds
of the plant being built were
“98 to 2” and construction
would likely begin within six
to seven months. In a March
2007 interview, Doughty told
the East Oregonian he had
a $504 million deal for debt
financing for the project but
couldn’t disclose the name of
the firm because negotiations
of some details were still
underway.
The articles describe a
proposed biorefinery located
on 400 acres on Canal Road
that could produce up to 120
million gallons of ethanol
and 96 million gallons of
biodiesel per year, creating
as many as 600 jobs in the
area by 2010. A 2009 article
said Doughty had added
plans for a large co-gener-
ation plant burning solid
waste. It described some
Stanfield residents, including
Mayor Thomas McCann, as
skeptical the project would
actually happen.
Blair Larsen, who became
the city manager in 2013, said
he spoke with Doughty once
or twice since then. Although
Doughty had various meet-
ings and phone calls with city
officials over the years about
his plans, Larsen said the city
was never put in a position to
actually make a decision about
granting a permit, zoning
change or other approval.
“It was all just theoretical
stuff,” he said.
Doughty insists that he
still plans to create the Inland
Pacific Energy Center and
that his companies have
recently been restructured
and “revived.”
“We’re ready to go,” he
said.
The Oregon Department
of Consumer and Business
Services
urges
anyone
considering an investment
with Doughty to call them
first at 866-814-9710.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
TAX: Referendum likely
Continued from 1A
Since Ontario is situated
on the Idaho-Oregon border,
the community sees a lot of
shoppers who come across
state lines to avoid Idaho’s 6
percent sales tax.
City staff estimate about
11,000 people live in Ontario,
but around 20,000 come to
town to shop everyday. Those
visitors cost the city for road
maintenance, policing and
other infrastructure.
Ontario Mayor Ron Verini
believes the tax is small
enough it won’t make a huge
difference for shoppers.
“What we’re talking about
here is 1 cent — 1 percent,”
Verini said. “You know, a
person would have to spend
$10,000 to pay approxi-
mately $100 in taxes.”
The tax is slated to take
effect next year, but could be
overturned through a voter
referendum. Some residents
plan to start a petition to
refer the tax to voters in next
May’s election.
“I’m anticipating that
this will end up on a ballot,”
said Scott Marlin, an Ontario
resident who opposes the
sales tax. “Personally, I hope
the City Council isn’t all in
on this. I hope they have a
backup plan.”
Ontario voters have
rejected a sales tax in all nine
statewide ballot initiatives
over the past three decades.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Guests mingle in a shop area of the Facility for Agricultural Resource Management building during an open
house Thursday on the BMCC campus in Pendleton.
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