Saturday, November 14, 2020
OPINION
East Oregonian
A5
Focusing on smart and targeted partnerships
RONALD
WYDEN
OTHER VIEWS
A
fter my recent online town hall for
Umatilla, Wallowa, Morrow and
Union counties that the East Orego-
nian was good enough to host at its news-
room studio, I met a few blocks away in
Pendleton with economic development
offi cials.
Everybody meeting at the Greater Eastern
Oregon Development Corporation, of course,
wore a mask.
But what couldn’t be masked during this
discussion with an all-star team of creative
Eastern Oregon minds was the palpable and
positive sense that the region is poised to
build on its strengths even after all the public
health and economic challenges of 2020.
I’m especially encouraged from my con-
versation with GEODC Director Susan
Christensen, Umatilla County Development
Director Gail Nelson and Eastern Oregon
Regional Airport Manager Steve Chrisman
about the prospects for Pendleton to be the
West Coast center for the unmanned aerial
system industry.
There’s real opportunity to supercharge
that UAS growth in Pendleton and all of
Eastern Oregon with a piece of job-training
legislation I’ve introduced — the ELEVATE
(Economic Ladders to End Volatility and
Advance Training to Employment) Act.
That bill supporting local employment
programs in every nook and cranny of our
state and country is a key piece of my com-
mitment to never let rural Oregon become an
economic sacrifi ce zone.
It’s a commitment to good rural Oregon
jobs and quality of life that includes longtime
support to invest in the state’s UAS indus-
try. Teaming up with local offi cials, I’ve been
proud to pilot this UAS work over the years
by getting Pendleton, Warm Springs and Til-
lamook authorized, and then extended as
UAS test ranges.
I’ve done so because this technology pro-
duces good jobs and multiple benefi ts for our
country — mountaintop rescue, agricultural
applications and more.
Now, Eastern Oregon offi cials tell me
many good-paying UAS jobs risk going
unfi lled in Pendleton because of the need for
better job training. In other words, they say,
UAS is only scratching the surface of the
coming UAS industry demand for a skilled
workforce.
In classic Oregon Way fashion, Pendle-
ton is responding with an innovative initia-
tive to produce those above-average fam-
ily wage rural jobs — the Pendleton UAS
Schoolhouse that offi cially launches in Janu-
ary 2021.
Working with Volatus Group, LLC — a
small veteran-owned UAS consulting fi rm
that features veterans with successful UAS
careers as instructors — the region is devel-
oping industry-specifi c job training cur-
riculum for a fi rst-of-its-kind UAS train-
ing schoolhouse that includes job placement
support.
And Pendleton UAS Range and Vola-
tus Group are working with Blue Mountain
Community College as well on a two-year
fully accredited UAS program.
Let me even be more specifi c about the
potential I heard regarding UAS here. Pendle-
ton alone has 70 to 75 full-time UAS employ-
ees and 25 to 30 open positions, both of
which are expected to double in the next year.
An entry-level UAS employee can expect
to make between $50,000 and $95,000, plus
benefi ts after one to six weeks of training.
That’s great news for families working to
pay the rent, buy groceries, cover medical
expenses and more in Pendleton and Eastern
Oregon.
The ELEVATE Act can support this local
UAS initiative to train job-ready workers in
Eastern Oregon with its provisions to provide
funding for publicly and privately subsidized
employment programs.
And I look forward to working with Pend-
leton and East Oregon to secure those federal
resources along with making the two-year
training program at Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College eligible for GI Bill and Work-
force Training Program benefi ts.
The year has walloped Eastern Oregon
with challenges, beginning with the dev-
astating fl oods in February and continu-
ing through today with the ongoing battle to
defeat coronavirus.
But I believe Eastern Oregon’s economic
future can be bright with smart and targeted
partnerships like the Pendleton UAS School-
house and the Elevate Act to generate more
good-paying jobs in the region.
———
Ronald Wyden is is the senior United
States senator for Oregon, a seat he has held
since 1996.
A quick approaching deadline, a softball and the leather potato
J.D.
SMITH
FROM THE HEADWATERS
OF DRY CREEK
I
was a sandal maker during the golden
age of gladiator movies. While Victor
Mature leered at the prelate’s consort in
a thousand theaters, I was in a little shop in
the carriage house of the Brattle Inn, Har-
vard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, hair
to my butt, holding a mouthful of clinching
nails and building thigh-high Roman foot-
wear for tenured professors to wear beneath
their Harris tweed trousers.
Business was good.
Business was too good. At $22 a pair, cus-
tom fi t, 14 days lead time, David and I sold 60
pairs a week. We were capable of building 55.
That left fi ve disappointed foot fetishists per
week, fi ve folks to whom I could not explain
that Harvard University had paid me to drink
dropper-dosed water, that the water allowed
me to read the minds of all the customers at
Mrs. Barley’s Burger Cottage, that the water
washed graduate school from my soul and
made me regard ants as equals. Rather than
disappoint our customers, we invented Herb.
Herb was an unanswered phone. If a cus-
tomer showed at the shop and we were not
prepared to deliver the goods, David and
I found that we could demonstrate that we
were, indeed, dedicated businessmen by
dialing one of our own home phone num-
bers, then ranting and raving at the ring sig-
nal in an empty house, asking Herb why Mr.
So-and-So’s sandals, which we’d sent to him
for fi nal polishing, were not in our shop, not
ready on the date we had specifi ed.
We’d then give Herb the “By God ... or
else” option, apologize to the customer, and
ask him to come back in a couple of hours,
after we had retrieved his sandals from that
no-good Herb. It took us an hour and a half to
make a pair of sandals from scratch.
The Irish can make a party out of any-
thing. One late October morning, Col-
leen Mahoney, secretary to the president
of the Maine Potato Growers’ Association,
entered our shop and asked if we were capa-
ble of making a leather potato. Her boss had
decided to retire on the anniversary of the
Irish Potato famine, and she needed some-
thing a bit unique as a present. Aye, and sure
we could build a tuber of leather. Could she
be coming back in two weeks?
Two weeks later, just before lunch, there
she was again. I panicked, grabbed the phone
and got brutal with Herb, threatening to ter-
minate his employment with us if he didn’t
fi nish the potato job soon and have it in our
shop within two hours, by God. Colleen had
a bit of shopping to do in Boston. She granted
us three hours. David and I went to lunch.
Our lunch was obsessive in its routine.
Every noon, year around, we bought two
fried egg sandwiches, mine with sweet pick-
les, his with catsup, and two cartons of choc-
olate milk from the same woman in the same
diner, ate them beneath the same tree beside
the Charles River, then played bare-handed
catch with the same softball, in the sun, snow
or mud. Neither of us questioned the monot-
ony of our habit. Lunch tied us back to our
youth in the Midwest. We needed those fried
egg sandwiches.
On the day of Colleen’s return, David
launched a ball into the midday sun. I mis-
judged the trajectory. The ball boinged off a
paved bicycle path then plopped into 6 inches
Charles River muck. I was smitten with
creativity.
We soaked the softball in the river, then
took it back to our shop, squeezed it in a
bench vise, beat it into a lump with the blunt
end of a splitting maul, pecked eyes into it
with a small punch, dried it in our toaster
oven, dipped it into a vat of antique brown
dye, waxed and polished it, then sold it to
Colleen for $20. She was happy. I know that
someday I must return her money.
As she was leaving the shop, she lifted a
fi nger to me and said, “I’d be thinking again
about the way you treat this Herb fellow. He
stitches so beautifully.”
———
J.D. Smith is an accomplished writer
and jack-of-all-trades. He lives in Athena.
Multi-family housing builds community
OTHER VIEWS
S
trong communities are built on a sense
of belonging. We fi nd belonging through
school, work, religious groups, civic and
community gatherings, and ultimately through
the place we call home. With secure homes
close to where people work, families are
healthier, kids do better in school, and neigh-
borhoods and communities are stronger.
A safe, affordable home enables a family to
spend more time with each other and partici-
pate in their local community through activi-
ties like volunteering, sports, community the-
ater, and civic advisory committees. It also
frees up more resources for a family to spend
on essential goods and services like medical
care, nutritious food, transportation, and child
care, as well as discretionary things that make
life more enjoyable.
Yet, in our region — Columbia and Walla
Walla counties and the Milton-Freewater area
— housing costs are rising faster than wages,
and four out of every 10 households paying
rent or a mortgage live in homes they can’t
afford. According to the Department of Hous-
ing and Urban Development, a home is afford-
able when housing costs do not exceed 30% of
a household’s pretax income. Our region does
not have enough units, especially studio and
one-bedroom units, to meet our region’s hous-
ing needs. This shortage of housing means
more renters and homebuyers are compet-
ing for a small supply of homes, which drives
housing prices up.
Increasing density — the number of units
per area — can help to make homes more
affordable because it brings down the cost of
land per unit. In other words, the more homes
that can be built per acre, the cheaper the land
costs are per home. Concentrating housing
development can also contribute to the preser-
vation of open spaces and farmland. Through
economies of scale, the costs of providing
utilities, such as water and sewer, are also
reduced.
Multi-family housing is a crucial tool to
increase density and enhance neighborhood
vibrancy. A multi-family building is a single
structure that contains more than one hous-
ing unit. Duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, con-
dominiums, and apartment buildings are all
examples of multi-family housing. An upstairs
or a downstairs apartment rented out to a col-
lege student or a family is another exam-
ple of multi-family housing. A range of peo-
ple — from singles to couples to seniors to
young families with children to students —
call multi-family housing home. Multi-family
housing can be tailored to compliment a neigh-
borhood’s existing buildings and character.
Multi-family homes can have a range of
prices, and they are usually more afford-
able than comparable single-family homes.
The range of types, sizes and densities allow
multi-family homes to complement and sup-
port neighborhood real estate values. Studies
have found that higher-density neighborhoods
tend to contribute more in taxes than low-
er-density suburban-style neighborhoods, even
when higher-density neighborhoods are poor.
Taxes from higher-density neighborhoods
go toward providing essential public ser-
vices for everyone in the community. Because
multi-family homes bring more residents into
a neighborhood, more people contribute to the
neighborhood economy by consuming local
goods and services.
One common barrier to affordable hous-
ing is the amount of land zoned to allow
multi-family housing. Over the last few years,
local governments, such as College Place,
Dayton and Walla Walla, have been adjust-
ing zoning codes to allow a greater variety of
housing types in residential areas. To encour-
age multi-family homes in downtown areas,
Washington state allows cities to provide tax
exemptions to develop multi-family hous-
ing that meets certain affordability criteria for
low- and moderate-income households.
With increased density in an area,
multi-family housing can create the potential
for small shops, neighborhood child care and a
walkable neighborhood. Mixed-use neighbor-
hoods that provide good sidewalks — includ-
ing Americans with Disabilities Act acces-
sibility, safe street crossings, bike lanes and
access to transit — can reduce transportation
costs and traffi c. They enable people to access
the goods and services they need without cars.
Dense, walkable neighborhoods also contrib-
ute to public health, as people exercise more
and socialize more, and the air stays cleaner.
Investing in our region’s future involves
building opportunities for all members of our
communities as well as resiliency to with-
stand crises. Our region was already expe-
riencing an affordable housing crisis before
the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now, with high
unemployment numbers, housing insecurity
has worsened in our region and across the
country.
A range of public and private tools are
needed to ensure everyone has a safe, afford-
able home. Multi-family housing is one tool
that can improve our region’s quality of life
by helping to bring housing costs down,
strengthen our social fabric, reduce emissions
and make our communities healthier and more
vibrant.
———
The authors of this column are the Commu-
nity Council’s Affordable Housing Implemen-
tation Task Force Public Outreach and Edu-
cation Subcommittee, which is engaging in a
three-year advocacy process to advocate for
the creation of more affordable housing in the
region.
Veteran farmers serve America twice
NATALIE
MONROE
OTHER VIEWS
M
any veterans return home feeling
lost, without purpose.
They seek that “new mission”
they grew accustomed to during their time in
the military.
When the Farmer Veteran Coalition was
founded in 2008 by Michael O’Gorman in
the back of his pickup truck, no one was con-
necting veterans with the farming commu-
nity. He thought he could help them have
meaningful careers on our nation’s farms.
Today, there are more than 250 organiza-
tions supporting this military-to-agriculture
movement.
Our mission — mobilizing veterans to
feed America — is rooted in our belief that
veterans possess the character needed to cre-
ate sustainable food systems and strengthen
rural communities.
This year, after a decade of leading the
charge, O’Gorman handed over his pitchfork
to newly appointed Executive Director Jea-
nette Lombardo. Raised by an Air Force vet-
eran father, Lombardo grew up in Erie, Penn-
sylvania, on a family dairy farm. She spent
decades in agricultural banking, and now
is eager to carry forward the work of FVC
in collaboration with the American Farm
Bureau.
“Farm Bureau is historically one of FVC’s
strongest supporters,” shares Lombardo. “We
value this partnership that allows us to jointly
help our veterans and their families transition
into agriculture. We’re equally excited about
the Farm Bureau Patriot Project and the
future farmer veterans we will support.”
The American Farm Bureau piloted the
program with several states as a national
mentorship program that connects military
veteran beginning farmers with experienced
farmers and ranchers that are Farm Bureau
members. The Patriot Program is based on
research that successful mentorship occurs
when a relationship is developed fi rst.
FVC further assists members through
three primary in-house programs.
The Fellowship Fund is a grant program
that purchases farm equipment crucial to the
launch of members’ operations. Now in its
10th year, we have funded over 600 farmer
veterans with $3 million in equipment.
We nationally administer the Homegrown
By Heroes certifi cation, the offi cial farmer
veteran branding program of America.
And we host the Farmer Veteran Stake-
holders Conference, this year virtually, Nov.
18-19. It’s the leading symposium for this
movement, and both veterans and non-vet-
erans are invited to join. Often geographi-
cally isolated, farmer veterans benefi t from
exchanging ideas, resources and building
their own community.
At last year’s conference in Austin, Texas,
500 members of our community gathered
strong. Charlie Kruse stood up to speak. A
retired two-star general, farmer, longtime
leader of Missouri Farm Bureau, and the
vice president of our FVC board of directors,
Charlie closed out the session.
“I got dragged into FVC,” he said, “by a
couple individuals who believed someday
FVC would become something really big.”
Charlie looked around the ballroom at our
wonderful group of attendees enthusiasti-
cally focused back on him. “We have hit that
moment.”
———
Natalie Monroe is communications direc-
tor of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. The
nation’s largest nonprofi t organization assist-
ing veterans and active duty members of the
U.S. Armed Forces embark on careers in
agriculture, FVC simultaneously cultivates
the next generation of farmers and food
leaders.