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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Wednesday, December 12, 2018 Christmas tree farmers aim to boost sales via social media By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press TUALATIN — Rosa Vil- larreal’s three young sons jumped and ran around the field of Christmas trees like jackrabbits, their excitement palpable as they raced from evergreen to evergreen. The boys, ages 2, 4 and 6, were picking out a real tree this year — a new tradition their young parents hope will cre- ate lasting memories. “I saw this video where the big tree, the mom deco- rates it, and the little tree, the kids get to decorate it,” she said, as her husband, Jason Jimenez, snapped a photo of their toddler posing with a tiny tree just his size. Christmas tree farmers across the U.S. worry fam- ilies like Villarreal’s are slowly dwindling. Artificial trees, once crude imitations of an evergreen, are now so realistic that it’s hard to tell they are fakes even though many are conveniently pre- strung with lights and can fold up for storage at the push of a button. Between 75 and 80 per- cent of Americans who have a Christmas tree now have an artificial one, and the $1 bil- lion market for fake trees is growing at about 4 percent a year — even though they can be reused again and again. To combat this trend, Associated Press/Eric Risberg In this Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, photo, a man looks at artificial Christmas trees for sale at the Balsam Hill Outlet store in Burlingame, Calif. About 80 percent of Americans who put up a Christmas tree now use a fake one and tree growers worry about those numbers growing as millennials begin to form traditions with their young children. Associated Press/Gillian Flaccus In this November 2018 photo, Casey Grogan, owner of Silver Bells Tree Farm and president of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association, trims a noble fir at his 400-acre Christmas tree farm in Silverton. Christmas tree farmers are pushing back against the increasing popularity of artificial trees with a social media advertising campaign called “It’s Christmas. Keep It Real!” Christmas tree farmers have joined forces as the Christ- mas Tree Promotion Board and are running a social media ad campaign this holi- day season to tout the benefits of a real evergreen. The cam- paign, called “It’s Christmas. Keep It Real!,” is funded by a 15-cent fee that tree farmers pay for each tree they harvest. It’s a modern-day attempt at such famous agricultural ad campaigns as “Got Milk?” and “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” A series of short movies on Instagram and Facebook follow real families as they hunt for the perfect tree, cut it down and decorate it. The target audience is the “mil- lennial mom” because tree farmers are increasingly wor- ried that young adults start- ing their own family tradi- tions will opt for an artificial tree, costing farmers a gener- ation of customers, said Mar- sha Gray, executive direc- tor of the Christmas Tree Promotion Board, based in Michigan. TODAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY Morning snow showers; some sun Cloudy Cloudy and mild Rather cloudy Cloudy, chance of a little rain 47° 35° 51° 36° By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Oregon Capital Bureau PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 48° 36° 47° 37° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 51° 35° 53° 35° 50° 34° 48° 37° 49° 37° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 49/46 39/32 48/32 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 47/39 Lewiston 49/43 52/39 Astoria 52/47 Pullman Yakima 45/35 48/43 47/33 Portland Hermiston 51/44 The Dalles 51/35 Salem Corvallis 51/38 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 40/29 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 50/38 41/31 38/27 Ontario 46/25 Caldwell Burns 35° 26° 40° 28° 69° (2014) -14° (1932) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 50/39 0.01" 0.02" 0.57" 6.98" 8.77" 9.04" Today 49/29 ated nearly a decade ago, limit the program’s “effi- ciency, effectiveness and impact.” Misuse or abuse of pre- scription drugs can lead to abuse of illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl, the audit report said. Secretary of State Den- nis Richardson Tues- day released results of his audit, focusing on the Ore- gon Health Authority’s use of the prescription system. His auditors noted that more seniors are hospital- ized for opioid abuse, over- doses and dependence in Oregon than in any other state. Oregon ranks sixth for teen drug use and is the worst in the country for treatment and recovery support for teens. While deaths due to prescription opioids have declined 45 percent since a peak in 2006, about one Oregonian dies from an opioid overdose every three days, auditors said. Some research suggests that deaths from prescrip- tion opioids are underre- ported by 20 to 35 percent. In March, Gov. Kate Brown declared addiction a public health crisis. In the face of such prob- lems, prescription monitor- ing could provide Oregon a wealth of information about how opioids are prescribed and dispensed and more tools to prevent abuse. MCKAY CREEK ESTATES Thu. Boardman WSW 8-16 Pendleton WSW 10-20 Medford SALEM — Oregon is collecting valuable infor- mation about opioid pre- scribers and their patients but state law hamstrings using the system to con- front drug abuse, state auditors said Tuesday. Oregon, like all other states, collects informa- tion on prescriptions for controlled substances like Oxycodone and Percocet. But Oregon’s program has few teeth, auditors found. Auditors blamed state lawmakers, saying that constraints they put in place on the program, cre- WINDS (in mph) 45/25 35/17 0.06" 0.15" 0.51" 9.02" 15.33" 11.98" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 37/24 53/42 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 47/35 50/34 48° 31° 39° 26° 67° (1924) -10° (1932) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 50/42 Aberdeen 38/32 44/32 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 49/45 But the National Christmas Tree Association estimates about 25 million evergreens are harvested each year — and presumably, most of those are sold. Americans buy about 10 million artificial trees each year, said Thomas “Mac” Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill, the leading retailer of artificial Christmas trees. Harman is also the president of the American Christmas Tree Association, which does not disclose its membership but raised $70,000 in dona- tions in 2016 for its work, which includes touting artifi- cial trees. Audit finds Oregon keeps vital opioid information under wraps Forecast for Pendleton Area 48° 36° “The target we’re talking about right now is millen- nials: first house, first baby. That’s kind of the deci- sion-making time,” she said, adding that the videos show families cutting their own trees and buying pre-cut trees from lots. “We realize they may have never done this before. And we need to help them dis- cover it and figure out how to include it in their holiday.” It’s impossible to know exactly how many real Christmas trees are sold each year because there is no cen- tral clearinghouse or agency collecting that information. SW 4-8 S 7-14 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 39/20 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:26 a.m. 4:11 p.m. 11:18 a.m. 9:21 p.m. First Full Last New Dec 15 Dec 22 Dec 29 Jan 5 Holiday Dinner NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 78° in McAllen, Texas Low -17° in Clayton Lake, Maine NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Thursday, December 20 • 5:00 p.m. Please join us for our annual Holiday Dinner and celebration. Menu: • Our Finest Christmas Goose, • Cranberry Sauce Prime Rib, and Ham • Bourbon Candied Yams • Fresh fruit, Cheese and • Dinner Rolls assorted cracker’s to start • Pecan, Pumpkin, • Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and Apple Pie Vegetables, & Green salad -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front $5 Children 12 & under 110s high low Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES EZPay 52 weeks 26 weeks 13 weeks Adults RSVP by December 14 to (541) 276-1987. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. 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