NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Short session takes on big ag issues
been presented as a “racial anticipated to receive a “rubber
equity agenda item,” but in stamp” from lawmakers in
reality, ending the exemption 2022.
wouldn’t put more money
“This is a legislative prior-
into farmworkers’ pockets, ity and has all the ingredients
she said. “It’s just not
to pass,” said Cooper,
going to be the result
adding that the
because our members
Oregon Farm Bureau
can’t afford to pay
is still studying the
more wages.”
proposal. “I have a
Proponents of
hard time seeing a
ending the overtime
situation where it
doesn’t go forward.”
exemption seem to
Cooper
Certain aspects of
believe farmers can
just raise their prices,
the accord, such as
when they’d actu-
increased regulations
ally be forced to limit
for beaver removal in
employee hours to
forests, have made the
Farm Bureau nervous
contain labor costs,
said Jeff Stone, exec-
about the implications
utive director of the
for agriculture.
“It could be a
Oregon Association
of Nurseries.
Smith
reason to adapt that
“Clearly, we need
policy to other lands,”
to use different words because said Lauren Smith, the group’s
they don’t understand the director of government affairs.
The Farm Bureau also
price-taking side of ag,” he
said.
plans to advocate for the
resumption of a program
Timber compromise
under which private landown-
Another major natu- ers pay an assessment to raise
ral resource proposal before money for predator control by
Oregon lawmakers will be USDA’s Wildlife Services. The
the compromise deal between program was allowed to sunset
environmental groups and the during the previous legislative
timber industry, under which session after animal advocates
logging buffers near streams opposed extending it.
would be expanded.
“There doesn’t seem to be
The agreement would also an avenue for our communities
restrict logging below steep to manage predators,” Smith
slopes to prevent sediment said.
from reaching streams and
Climate legislation
implement other changes in
the forest practices law.
There’s likely to be action
The “private timber accord” on climate legislation, if
was negotiated with help from Democratic lawmakers try to
Gov. Kate Brown’s office. It is enshrine an emissions reduc-
Capital Press
SALEM — The Oregon
Legislature convenes in the
coming weeks to pick up
where it left off last year.
The Capital Press takes a
look at proposals lawmakers
will consider and what they
mean to agriculture.
Overtime for
farmworkers
Farm groups and labor
advocates are expected to be
preoccupied with agricul-
tural overtime wages during
Oregon’s month-long legis-
lative session that begins on
Feb. 1.
The prospect of eliminat-
ing the agriculture industry’s
exemption from higher over-
time wages got a lot of atten-
tion from lawmakers last
year, but attempts to negoti-
ate a compromise have been
complicated by litigation over
the issue.
A lawsuit alleges the
exemption lacks an under-
pinning in state law and isn’t
constitutional because farm-
workers are excluded from
“privileges” enjoyed by other
employees.
It’s been an unsettling expe-
rience for farm representa-
tives, who were negotiating in
“good faith” with labor advo-
cates who were “looking at
us in the eye” while planning
the legal attack, said Mary
Anne Cooper, vice president
of public policy for the Oregon
Farm Bureau.
The overtime issue has
Forecast for Pendleton Area
tion plan from the state’s
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality in law, Stone said.
“I expect there will be a bill
to codify whatever the Climate
Protection Plan rules say,” he
said. “I’d be surprised if the
majority did not try to push
something through legisla-
tively.”
Other issues
Farm groups will probably
lay the groundwork for future
legislative proposals by initi-
ating discussions about real
estate tax reform and water
storage, he said.
County tax assessors
sometimes differ in what they
consider taxable real prop-
erty, such as stationary equip-
ment for greenhouses and seed
cleaning, Stone said. The goal
would be to make those rules
uniform.
As for water supplies, a
grant program created several
years ago is largely focused on
efficiency and hasn’t been used
to develop water storage facili-
ties, as intended, he said. “That
needs to be taken down to the
studs and rebuilt.”
In light of the politically
charged atmosphere and the
governor’s race, it’s likely that
agriculture will have to fend
off “just plain stupid” propos-
als intended to score points
with certain voters, Stone said.
“2022 I would hope it would
be boring, but I fear it may not
be,” he said of the session. “I
just don’t want anything truly
harmful to get any oxygen
during a short session.”
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Fishtrap prepares for
move to its new home
By ANN BLOOM
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Fish-
trap, Wallowa County’s
premier writing organization,
is preparing for a new chap-
ter in its life as it anticipates
moving into its new home on
Enterprise’s Main Street after
20 years in the Coffin House.
The reason for the move,
according to Fishtrap Direc-
tor Shannon McNerney, is
tthe nonprofit had outgrown
the Coffin House, which
would have needed major
renovations to make it work.
“It needed a lot of effort,
time and money,” she said,
and that was when the deci-
sion was made to sell the
house. And, the whole
process was, she said, “like
magic.”
The sale, though, of the
Coffin House was condi-
tional on being able to find
and lease a new space that fit
all the organization’s needs.
Fishtrap had a list of what
it wanted: a place that was
centrally located, fully acces-
sible under the Americans
with Disabilities Act, with
room for an office, a kitchen
and at least 1,000 square feet
of event space. The house was
listed in June and by July they
had an offer.
“We’re using the proceeds
from the sale of the Coffin
House to make sure (Fish-
trap’s) programs are healthy
IN BRIEF
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Times of clouds
and sun
Partly sunny and
cold
Cloudy and cold
Considerable
cloudiness
Considerable
cloudiness
42° 29°
37° 23°
and strong for the long run,”
she said.
The new location is in the
downstairs of the historical
Bowlby Building as well as
the adjacent former barber
shop, giving the organiza-
tion a large, 4,000 square
foot office space that will
house administrative space,
a kitchen, a conference room
area and a large venue for
programs such as Fishtrap’s
popular Fireside readings,
Winter Fishtrap, The Big
Read and writing workshops.
The space also will be made
available to local organiza-
tions for their events, McNer-
ney said.
The building housing the
new Fishtrap space is owned
by Bill Warnock and Michele
Starr, who McNerney says,
“have been remarkable to
work with.”
Some Fishtrap staff are
working from home, and
some are working from a
small leased administrative
office space.
McNerney said she is,
“excited about a clean, safe,
beautiful space we can work
in” even though, “we loved
Coffin house.”
McNerney said she
expects people’s, “jaws to
drop” when they see the
fresh paint, open space and
high ceilings of Fishtrap’s
new location. The expected
move in date is April 2022
and McNerney promises an
open house.
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
33° 25°
44° 35°
45° 32°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
43° 26°
35° 25°
32° 25°
35° 31°
OREGON FORECAST
38° 28°
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
45/35
32/23
36/18
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
41/26
Lewiston
45/30
42/23
Astoria
47/36
Pullman
Yakima 35/21
45/30
37/24
Portland
Hermiston
47/33
The Dalles 43/26
Salem
Corvallis
48/30
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
37/26
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
50/31
40/27
36/25
Ontario
36/21
Caldwell
Burns
49°
32°
42°
28°
65° (1945) -13° (1937)
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
49/29
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
47/29
0.01"
0.77"
0.27"
0.77"
0.15"
0.27"
WINDS (in mph)
39/23
36/15
Trace
1.33"
0.37"
1.33"
0.26"
0.37"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 34/20
49/31
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
42/29
42/29
48°
43°
41°
28°
68° (1902) -7° (1937)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
43/29
Aberdeen
31/22
31/18
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
43/33
Today
Sun.
SW 6-12
SW 7-14
NNE 4-8
ESE 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
38/19
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:35 a.m.
4:29 p.m.
11:20 a.m.
11:45 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
Jan 9
Jan 17
Jan 25
Jan 31
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 85° in Key West, Fla. Low -38° in Wadena, Minn.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort/Contributed Photo
Two feet of snow has fallen in the past week of January 2022 at Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort.
Anthony Lakes open, but
lodge closed this weekend
BAKER CITY — Anthony Lakes Moun-
tain Resort will be open Thursday, Jan. 6,
through Sunday, Jan. 9, but the lodge will be
closed this weekend.
“Already short-staffed this season,
Anthony Lakes has a handful of employees
out due to COVID,” the ski area announced
in its daily report Jan. 6. “To prevent further
spread and to keep our staff and community
safe, we feel it is best to close the lodge. We
plan to reopen again next weekend, staffing
dependent.”
Anthony Lakes has had 24 inches of new
snow this week, although a passing warm
front raised the temperature to 40 degrees the
morning of Jan. 6. Colder temperatures are
forecast into the weekend. The resort, in the
Elkhorn Mountains about 34 miles northwest
of Baker City, has a snow base of 54 inches.
No one hurt in pickup vs.
snowplow crash
JOHN DAY — A pickup ran into a snow-
plow on a snowy highway south of John Day
on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 4, but both
drivers walked away from the crash.
The collision occurred about 6:15 p.m. on
Highway 395 South near milepost 15C, at
Starr Ridge summit.
According to a news release from the Grant
County Sheriff’s Office, James Garrett, 48,
of Riverside, California, was driving north
in a 2016 Ford crew cab. The pickup started
sliding as it came around a curve and met an
oncoming Oregon Department of Transpor-
tation snowplow.
The snowplow driver, Todd Smith of John
Day, tried to maneuver around the truck, but
the pickup struck the corner of the snowplow
blade and continued along the driver’s side of
the Volvo snowplow.
Both vehicles sustained extensive damage
and had to be towed from the scene, but no
injuries were reported in the crash.
The highway was restricted to a single lane
for two hours until the scene could be cleared.
Les Schwab Tire Centers
celebrating 70 years
BEND — Les Schwab Tire Centers, which
was founded in Prineville, will celebrate its
70th anniversary in business with a contest
earning 70 winners $700 in service certifi-
cates, the company announced Tuesday, Jan. 4.
The contest, which encourages customers
to swap tire stories, runs now through Feb. 28.
Customers can enter by going to lesschwab.
com/70-anniversary/.
The company sells tires, brake service,
alignment and shocks. The company was
sold in 2020 to Meritage Group, a San Fran-
cisco-based investment firm, ending family
ownership of one of Oregon’s best-known
businesses. It employs more than 7,000 people
in more than 500 locations, according to the
company.
— EO Media Group
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
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