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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2021)
BUSINESS & AG LIFE THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3B Farmworker safety program comes in under budget By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press SALEM — A pro- gram to reimburse Oregon farms for complying with costly COVID-19 worker protections came in well under budget during the 2020 harvest season. State lawmakers now are considering what to do with millions of dollars that are leftover. Oregon OSHA, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Admin- istration, implemented emergency rules last spring to strengthen fi eld sanitation, housing and transportation protocols at labor-intensive farms, such as fruit orchards and vineyards. In response, Gov. Kate Brown allocated $16 mil- lion to the Food Safety and Farmworker Secu- rity Program, which pro- vided direct payments to farmers for the expense of meeting the OSHA rule — things like buying or renting additional por- table toilets, reconfi g- uring cabins to ensure 6 feet of social distance and arranging more buses to transport workers to the fi eld. As it turns out, $16 million was more than enough. Just $5.6 mil- lion was spent before the program expired Dec. 31, leaving $10.4 million remaining, according to a Jan. 5 report from the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to the Legislature’s Joint Emergency Board. It is not precisely known what will happen to that money now. In a statement, Nikki Fisher, press secretary for Brown, said the state is discussing priorities for ongoing COVID-19 relief. “There is a clear need to continue to work to pro- tect migrant and seasonal farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis,” Fisher said. “And we know that there are growers who are doing the best they can to mitigate the spread.” Union County Chamber of Commerce/Screenshot Union County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2021, unveiled the new look for its logo and website, which now showcases what to do in the county, along with places to visit and events. CHAMBER Continued from Page 1B George Plaven/Capital Press Oregon OSHA implemented a temporary rule to protect agricultural workers from spread- ing COVID-19, including a provision requiring one portable toilet for every 10 workers in the fi eld. A state program to help farmers buy equipment has expired with millions of dollars left over. The Food Security and Farmworker Safety Pro- gram was intended to help Oregon secure its food supply chains while min- imizing health risks for frontline workers, Fisher said. It was adminis- tered by the state Water- shed Enhancement Board, in collaboration with the state’s Department of Agriculture, Health Authority and Housing and Community Services Department. Meta Loftsgaarden, OWEB executive director, said 228 farms partici- pated in the program, esti- mating at least 21,000 farmworkers benefi ted from enhanced safety measures. Initially, the program had strict caps in place to ensure there would be enough funding left for late-season crops. Once it became clear that would not be an issue, Lofts- gaarden said those caps were lifted and the pro- gram was expanded to cover the cost of face masks and other personal protective equipment. Approximately $1.85 million was authorized in direct payments for farms. ODA and Oregon State University also partnered to distribute 3 million free KN95 masks for agricul- tural employers with sup- port from the program. Despite coming in well under budget, Lofts- gaarden said she is con- fi dent the program was marketed aggressively for producers to take advantage. “We never in this state, or in this country, have run a program like this,” she said. “None of us knew up front what the ultimate cost was going to be.” OWEB funded 305 total projects through the program. The vast majority, 74%, were for fi eld sanitation, as farmers had to roughly double the number of portable toilets and hand-washing stations available to workers. Some 14% of the appli- cations were for housing modifi cations to ensure workers’ beds would be 6 feet apart, or separated by an impermeable barrier such as Plexiglass. The remaining 12% was for providing additional trans- portation, since workers had to be spaced 3 feet apart inside vehicles. Hood River and Marion counties accounted for nearly one-third of the applications awarded. The crops that were covered represent a vast swath of Oregon agriculture, including pears, cher- ries, winegrapes, hazel- nuts, sweet potatoes, onions, corn, nursery stock, Christmas trees and hemp. “We feel pretty confi - dent, reaching out through (the media) and agricul- tural organizations, that we got to the folks who needed the program,” Loftsgaarden said. Jonathan Sandau, spe- cial assistant to ODA Director Alexis Taylor, said nobody was turned away from the program. “We were prepared, hopefully, for whatever came at us,” Sandau said. “I think we were able to pro- vide complete assistance.” Oregon Association of Nurseries to host virtual marketplace By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press PORTLAND — Oregon Association of Nurseries, which represents nearly 700 wholesale growers, retailers, landscapers and suppliers statewide, announced Wednesday, Jan. 13, it will host a vir- tual marketplace event in February. The event, called Nursery Guide LIVE, will take place online Feb. 17-18. “Nursery Guide LIVE is designed to provide nursery industry professionals with sales and buying oppor- tunities just as the spring shipping season kicks off,” Allan Niemi, the associ- ation’s director of events, said in a statement. LUMBER Continued from Page 1B “We’re happy to meet the needs of the builders in the county,” he said. As for the Russells, they have no plans to move and are eager to fi nd new inter- ests. They’ll be doing “any damned thing we want,” Jim said. “My roots are three generations deep here.” They have three grown children, one of whom still lives in the area. There also are two grandchildren who they’ll Capital Press/File Oregon Association of Nurseries is planning a virtual marketplace event for February. The virtual event, Niemi said, is intended to com- plement rather than replace the annual in-person Far- west Show, which is still tentatively planned for Aug. 18-20 if the pandemic is under control by then. At the Nursery Guide LIVE event, association member exhibitors will have the opportunity to showcase their plant offer- ings, services and supplies. Many nursery owners are already part of a printed guide published annually called the Nursery Guide book, which typically has 300 pages of listings and content about Oregon nurs- eries. February’s virtual event was inspired by the Nursery Guide, but will push the concept further by giving customers the opportunity to interact in the virtual marketplace rather than simply read listings in a catalog. have more time to spoil. “I’ve enjoyed the experi- ence” of operating the busi- ness, Jim said. “It’s been a delightful experience, actu- ally. I have no regrets at all. It’s been good to me and my family. We’ve been able to live where we wanted to live and raise our family where we wanted to live.” As for the changing of the guard at 1917 Lumber, both spoke positively. “I wish Kevin and his family well,” Russell said. “I just want to thank the community and St. Kather- ine’s Church in Enterprise for welcoming us,” Cod- dington added. “Everyone has reaffi rmed that this was a good decision for my family.” 1917 Lumber is at 301 N. Main St. in Joseph. The business is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon. For more informa- tion, call 541-432-1917 or visit its website. we can best interact with our partners; how we can be all-around better in, for, and with our commu- nity — how this organi- zation operates and serves Union County.” The chamber’s new website also fea- GRH Continued from Page 1B and loves the region. New additions to the board include Bob Coulter and Nick Huelter, who replace members and former chairs Brad Trisler (2017-18) and Libby Goben (2019-20). Coulter is a local pharma- cist and co-owner of Red Cross Drug Store, Red Cross Institutional Phar- macy and Olive Branch Pharmacy. Huelter is a lieutenant with the Union County Sheriff’s Offi ce and the facility manager of the Union County Cor- TREES Continued from Page 1B the planning guideline is implemented on the ground. However, the decision is being met with some opposition from both environmentalist groups and the timber industry. Rob Klavins, North- east Oregon fi eld coor- dinator for Oregon Wild, said pivoting from the 21-inch stan- dard to a guideline could be “potentially devas- tating” to the environ- ment, eliminating large trees that store a dispro- portionate amount of carbon in the forests. On Wednesday, Jan. 13, Oregon Wild and 32 other organizations sent a letter to the incoming Biden administration, asking to stop the East- side Screens amend- ment. More than 100 independent scientists tures more travel-cen- tric imagery and pages for helping people fi nd chamber-affi liated busi- nesses for services from recreation to lodging to dining, including a timely page for local takeout options. You can visit the Union County Chamber of Commerce’s website at visitunioncounty.org. rectional Facility. The Grande Ronde Hospital Board of Trustees is composed of 13 voting members, which includes 11 volunteer representa- tives from the community, the hospital medical staff president and the hospital president/CEO. The board of trustees sets the policy and direc- tion for Grande Ronde Hospital, which includes a 25-bed critical access hospital and 12 primary and specialty care clinics. The board meets monthly with the exception of the months of July and August, and may meet at other times as needed. have also raised con- cerns about the decision, the groups argued. “In recent months we have seen proposals on the ground that clearly demonstrate this amend- ment would result in controversial, destruc- tive, and widespread logging of large and old trees across the region,” the letter states. Furthermore, Klavins said the public review process for the Eastside Screens amendment was politically driven and rushed, undermining stakeholders’ trust in the Forest Service. He said groups are consid- ering all their options going forward, including litigation. “I think this is poten- tially a really huge set- back, where we see the old fi ghts about whether or not to log old growth rear their ugly head,” Klavins said. “That doesn’t benefi t anybody.” VISIT BAKER’S MOST INTERESTING STORE Store is open 24 hours 7 am to 7 pm Take Out Only Take out and Catering is Available. 515 Campbell Street Baker City 541-523-4318 UPGRADE 215 Elm Street La Gande • (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com www.gossmotors.com 1415 Adams Ave, La Grande 541-963-4161
