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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, October 19, 2017 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor MARISSA WILLIAMS Regional Advertising Director MARCY ROSENBERG Circulation Manager JANNA HEIMGARTNER Business Office Manager MIKE JENSEN Production Manager OUR VIEW Construction puts timber in vogue These are exciting times for the timber industry. It’s been awhile since that’s been the case in Oregon. Government forest managers and their political bosses finally appear to recognize that more effective management of public forests is needed to help prevent future wildfires and reduce their severity. Rep. Greg Walden and Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have all stated their support for legislation that accomplishes those goals — rare agreement between Oregon’s Republican and Democrat leaders. Beyond timber management, however, are innovations that promise new uses for timber in construction. Among them is “mass timber” that is used in “tallwood design.” As an example, a credit union in Hillsboro is using glulam beams to construct its new five-story, 150,000-square-foot headquarters building. Another building planned for Portland will be 12 stories tall and constructed of cross-laminated timber, called CLT. It will dwarf the seven-story building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that is currently the tallest mass timber structure in the nation. To explore the uses and design possibilities of mass timber, the University of Oregon architecture program is combining efforts with Oregon State University’s forestry and engineering programs to create the Tallwood Design Institute. In other words, wood construction is sexy again. Once relegated to home construction and one- or two-story projects, lumber was seen as an excellent material for relatively small structures. Then came cutting-edge projects such as the Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain. It is among the largest wooden structures in the world. Made of laminated lumber coated in polyurethane to protect it from the weather, the ethereal design of six interconnected “mushrooms” soars 85 feet tall and covers an area that is 490 feet by 230 feet. Built in 2011, it shades the entire city square and houses a restaurant, museum, farmers’ market and a walkway that allows visitors a bird’s-eye view of the historic city. The future of mass timber is nearly unlimited. Larger mass timber such as CLTs made by DR Johnson Lumber Co. in Riddle, and mass plywood panels made by Freres Lumber Co. in Lyons, offer architects and engineers possibilities that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Better-managed forests, combined with innovative products, designs and structures demonstrate that the timber industry’s future is brighter than it’s been in a long time. Eric Mortenson/Capital Press A worker guides a Glulam beam into place Oct. 3 during construction of the First Tech Credit Union headquarters building in Hillsboro. The build- ing, which will be five stories high and contain 156,000 square feet of office space, is believed to be largest U.S. structure so far built using advanced lumber products such as cross-laminated timbers (CLT) and Glulam beams, posts and flooring. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS Schools getting creative with Measure 98 funding Corvallis Gazette-Times, Oct. 16 W e’re still not convinced Oregon voters made the right decision last November when they passed Ballot Measure 98, which forces the state to spend money on career and technical education programs, along with two other areas meant to improve the state’s dismal graduation rate. But we have to give the ballot measure at least some of the credit for driving a resurgence of interest across the state in career and technical education, areas that have had a hard time staying properly funded over the past decades. (Our reservations about Measure 98 have nothing to do with the areas it funds, but rather that it did not come with a dedicated source of funding. This is a long-running issue in Oregon, where voters routinely approve costly initiatives without giving much thought to the question of how they will be bankrolled.) In any event, it’s nice to see career and technical education programs reclaim a share of the educational spotlight, as educators reacquaint themselves with the idea that some of their students may not be headed to a four-year institution of higher learning after graduation or, for that matter, may not be particularly motivated by the traditional path to college. As educators increasingly talk about the need to create many different paths to graduation, it becomes clear that one of those paths involves career and technical education — the sort of education that can lead to well-paying, high-demand jobs. The latest example of the resurgence in the sorts of educational offerings that earlier generations used to call “wood shop” or “metal shop” came last week in Lebanon, where Superintendent Rob Hess pitched the idea of creating a countywide vocational charter school. Hess said he plans to bring what amounts to a “napkin sketch” of the idea to the school board’s November meeting. Of course, we reserve a final judgment on the idea until after Hess has a chance to flesh out the numerous details. And he told the board that the earliest such a school could be in place would be the fall of 2019. But the idea is undeniably timely — and the money that Measure 98 will be funneling into school districts around the state could give Lebanon at least some of the financial means to pull it off. “Everyone in the region is interested in providing pathways for kids different than the traditional four-year college pathway,” Hess said. “In this community, there are many living-wage jobs and kids aren’t being prepared for them.” That’s true not just in Linn County, but in Benton County as well — and, in fact, throughout the rest of the state. OTHER VIEWS Trump’s sellout of American heritage T he last runs of heavenly wild House that is forced to treat its chief salmon are trickling in this month, occupant like a toddler, it’s easy to the buttery coho with flesh the forget that Trump is doing real damage color of fall foliage. After that, we’ll to things that all of us share. have to settle for mostly farmed and So, that’s politics, right? To the victor frozen fish until next spring — no go the spoils. He’s simply rolling back substitute for the real deal. onerous regulations, as promised, and sticking it to the global elites on climate We can count on this seasonal miracle, healthy fish returning to their Timothy change. Well, no. Your party affiliation will not birthplaces and then on to the dinner Egan protect you from the chemicals sprayed table, so long as the fragile balance Comment on strawberries — shown to cause of nature remains intact. But with a brain damage to children — which president who is going after clean air, Trump will allow to remain in the food chain. clean water and the world’s most valuable wild Living in a red state will not keep warming salmon fishery, the fate of creation and all the oceans from rising ever higher when the latest myriad wonders within it is at stake. 500-year storm hits your region. Being a Trump I use “creation” as an appeal to creationists supporter does not protect your favorite stream to look at what your president is doing to from the toxic discharge of a power plant into a Eden, or what’s left of it. I also want to appeal public waterway. to economic nationalists. All of the above are For the USA has the In Alaska, (Trump) is potential consequences of greatest home for sockeye more than 50 environmental salmon on the planet in going against the will rules that Trump has tried to Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The of the people to target kill since he took office. Trump administration is monuments putting it at risk in order Bristol Bay. Half the — National not the Confederate to aid a foreign mining conglomerate. world’s wild sockeye kind that Trump wants to preserve, but special places This American carnage is led by a man whose job is come from this magical protected in somewhat the way as national parks to protect the natural world place, a bounty that same — are also in his sights. within our borders, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. supports 14,000 jobs. These are unique landscapes set aside for their cultural, As you may have heard, historical or scenic splendor. he has sealed himself off Trump could shrink 10 of them — another from the public with a $25,000 phone security sellout of American heritage. system and an 18-member security detail. It In Alaska, he is going against the will of the took a court order to pry loose some of the people to target Bristol Bay. Half the world’s details of his meetings. No surprise, he holds daily lap-dog sessions with the companies he is wild sockeye come from this magical place, a bounty that supports 14,000 jobs. Alaskans are supposed to regulate. a cantankerous bunch who can’t agree on much Pruitt is the swamp, the only wetland the of anything. Yet they voted by an overwhelming Trump administration wants to protect. He margin in 2014 to protect Bristol Bay from a serves the oil, chemical and mining interests gold and copper mine that could generate 10 that propped him up when he was attorney billion tons of toxic waste. general of Oklahoma. He now runs the oil, And unlike big food producers in the chemical and mining protection agency out of heartland, the Bristol Bay salmon industry Washington, with our money. You would never is not propped up by subsidies, chemicals or guess that this toady in a suit works for us. compromised politicians. The fish need only Look around. The catastrophic wildfires clean water and healthy oceans. That’s why the that are sweeping through iconic landscapes EPA had earlier concluded that the proposed in Northern California and carpet-bombing Pebble mine could have a “catastrophic” impact entire neighborhoods are a glimpse into an on the bay. early future in the West. Hurricanes, rolling in Trump’s men are rolling over for the gold one after the other, are swamping cities. Every mine. Just hours after Pruitt met with the month brings a new high temperature record. mine’s corporate leadership, Trump reversed Until this year, the U.S. response was in EPA protection, as CNN reported this week. tune with the rest of the world — to try to do If you’re surprised that wild salmon would be something to fix this overheated globe of ours. sacrificed for precious metal, remember that In announcing this week that President one of Trump’s few passions is for gold-plated Donald Trump intends to spite all the other bathroom fixtures. nations and gut President Barack Obama’s ■ signature effort to curb greenhouse gas Timothy Egan worked for 18 years as a emissions, Pruitt framed the move as the end of writer for The New York Times, first as the the “war on coal.” Now comes the war on the Pacific Northwest correspondent, then as a planet and public health. national enterprise reporter. Amid the hourly calamities of a White The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
