BAKER CITY HERALD • TuEsDAY, ApRIL 19, 2022 A3
LOCAL & STATE
Cattle association backs expansion of smaller beef processors
BY CRAIG REED
For the Capital Press
WINSTON — Todd Nash,
president of the Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association, is hop-
ing to see the expansion of
some small and mid-sized
processing and packing facili-
ties in Oregon.
To help with the expense
of upgrading those facilities
or building a new one to in-
crease processing capacities
for Oregon-raised livestock,
the state Legislature allocated
$2 million to the Oregon Meat
Processing Infrastructure and
Capacity Building Grant Pro-
gram during the short session
in February. The purpose of
the grant program, according
to the Oregon Department of
Agriculture, is to help fund
“equipment, physical im-
provements, technical assis-
tance, processing hardware/
software, on-site waste han-
dling and education/training.”
“If the cattle are raised here,
fed here and then processed
here, it would keep a substan-
tial amount of money here to
help our economy,” said Nash,
who was a guest at the Douglas
County Livestock Association’s
Spring Conference on April 7.
Craig Reed/For the Capital Press
Todd Nash, left, president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, talks with Veril Nelson, a Sutherlin area
rancher, during the Douglas County Livestock Association’s Spring Conference on Thursday, April 7, 2022,
in Winston.
“There’s a million head of cat-
tle here in Oregon and most
of them have been shipped
out, making money for the big
packers and their shareholders.
The small facilities in Oregon
currently aren’t able to handle
that many. The current process
hasn’t been working out well
for Oregon.”
Nash, a rancher in Wallowa
County in Northeastern Ore-
gon, said $10 million was re-
quested from the Legislature,
which reduced the appropria-
tion. Applications for funding
up to $500,000 were accepted
in February and March.
Grants to help fund equip-
ment will be awarded in May,
and projects must be com-
pleted by June 30, 2023.
There are four major meat
packers in the U.S. — Cargill,
JBS, National Beef and Tyson.
Nash said they control about
85% of beef processing.
“Here in the Pacific North-
west for live cattle, there is no
competitive bid, no open mar-
ket,” Nash said. “You deliver
your cattle and they pay you
what they think they’re worth.”
Nash explained that large
livestock producers with thou-
sands of animals broker deals
with the packers. Because of
the volume, those deals aren’t
cost-effective for smaller pro-
ducers, but that’s what they’re
faced with due to a lack of
competitive bids.
“If I did want to negotiate
a price, it would only be if I
could promise to deliver 1,000
animals in one day,” Nash said.
“The average producer in Ore-
gon owns 35 to 40 mother cows
so they have no leverage in the
market when selling their beef.
“We need those large facili-
ties to consume large numbers
of cattle in order to feed our
large population,” he added.
“That works well for food se-
curity needs, but small and
mid-size facilities also pro-
vide us with food security. It’s
a good investment for us to
keep them going. All we can
do is encourage that.”
Nash said the four big pack-
ers have been able to buy cattle
cheaply in recent years after the
price for cattle dropped from a
high in 2014 and 2015. He ex-
plained that retail beef prices
didn’t drop and the packers
“have made massive profits go-
ing back to 2015.”
“It’s not a healthy situation,”
Nash said. “We have to have a
competitive market. We need
to invest and encourage the
build-out of small and medi-
um-size processors so there’ll
be competition. We need to let
them flourish.”
Nash said the mid-size fa-
cilities fit Oregon better be-
cause they allow beef products
to be tracked rather than be-
coming lost in the process of
the big packers.
“It’s important to the con-
sumer to know where the
product was raised and how it
was raised,” Nash said. “That’s
where we can separate our-
selves here in Oregon and cap-
ture a few more dollars in the
cattle and beef process.
“The grants are there to en-
tice people, to encourage peo-
ple to pursue education in this
area,” he added. “Hopefully,
entrepreneurs are going to
figure it out and improve our
facilities.”
USDA has also offered to
help small and medium pro-
cessors expand.
Council
Continued from Page A1
intended to cease ambulance
service through the fire de-
partment on Sept. 30, 2022.
The city fire department
provides ambulance service
to an area that includes Baker
City and about two-thirds of
the rest of the county outside
the city limits.
Under Oregon law, Baker
County is responsible for
choosing ambulance provid-
ers in that area, and three oth-
ers in the county. The other
three are in the Richland,
Halfway and Huntington ar-
eas.
If Baker City does cease am-
bulance services, the county
would have to find a new pro-
vider, likely a private ambu-
lance company.
City Councilor Shane Al-
derson, who has been call-
ing for a joint meeting with
county commissioners, said
he’s pleased that the meeting
has been set.
County Commissioner
Bruce Nichols agreed.
“I’m very glad that it’s hap-
pening,” Nichols said.
He said he’d like to be able
to reach an agreement on a
one-year contract to main-
tain the city fire department
as the ambulance service pro-
vider, giving both the city
and county time to try to fig-
ure out a potential long-term
solution.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
Patrick Foss, left, and David Van Dyke of the Baker City Fire Department with one of the department’s am-
bulances on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
County commissioners last
week discussed a request for
proposals from prospective
ambulance companies.
Baker City Manager Jona-
than Cannon has told council-
ors that he doesn’t believe the
city can continue to operate
ambulances because the cost
to do so exceeds the revenue
the city collects from ambu-
lance bills.
The city projects that the
gap will total about $581,000
for the fiscal year that ends
June 30, 2022, but that the
shortfall will increase to al-
most $1.2 million for the fol-
lowing fiscal year and con-
tinue to increase after that.
Ambulance runs account
for 80% to 85% of the fire de-
partment’s calls — fires are
comparatively uncommon.
If the city were to cease am-
bulance operations Sept. 30,
the city would need to reduce
the number of budgeted fire-
fighter/paramedics working a
regular shift from 12 to six.
The union that represents
those workers contends, in
a letter that City Councilor
Shane Alderson read during
the Council’s April 12 meet-
ing, that “The decision to
possibly end the (ambulance)
transport comes at a tremen-
dous risk and cost to the res-
idents who have relied on the
Baker City Firefighters for
many years.”
Baker County, which is con-
tributing $100,000 to Baker
City for ambulance services
during the current fiscal year,
recently offered to increase the
amount to $150,000 for the fis-
cal year that starts July 1, 2022.
Cannon told councilors he
doesn’t believe that a $150,000
county contribution is suffi-
cient to enable the city to con-
tinue operating ambulances.
Saarheim was sitting in a
vehicle, and after police told
him he was under arrest, he
Continued from Page A1
drove away while an officer
Baker City Police were called was holding onto the open
at 8:55 a.m. to a report of a re- door of the vehicle.
straining order violation in the
Baker City Police and dep-
2900 block of Seventh St.
uties from the Baker County
Police determined that Saar- Sheriff ’s Office pursued Saar-
heim was in violation, as he
heim on city streets at speeds
was less than 150 feet from the slower than the posted limit,
address listed on the restrain- according to a press release
from Baker City Police.
ing order.
But when Saarheim
reached 10th Street he in-
creased his speed as he con-
tinued north out of the
city on Highway 30 toward
Haines.
“Baker City Police termi-
nated the pursuit due to the
hazardous road conditions
and the speeds (Saarheim)
was traveling at,” according to
the press release.
Saarheim returned to the
address on Seventh Street at
about 10:41 a.m. Saturday,
and Baker City Police re-
sponded again.
Saarheim was outside of his
vehicle, and “he again did not
comply with commands,” ac-
cording to the press release.
He “was taken to the ground
by Baker City Police and he
was taken into custody. No
injuries were reported from
the arrest.”
Arrest
COVID
February and just 14 in March, the few-
est since June 2020. Baker County’s first
COVID-19 case was reported on May 6,
Continued from Page A1
2020.
There were no cases reported in the
Baker County, meanwhile, has contin-
county for the final 14 days of this March.
ued a month-long trend of reporting no
During the first 16 days of April, the
cases on most days.
county has reported six cases — half of
Since the county set daily and
those on April 1.
monthly records for new cases in Jan-
There were no reported cases for the
uary, the height of the omicron variant
surge, the number of reported infections most recent week, April 10-16.
State and federal officials have pointed
has plummeted.
January’s total was 646, with 230 during out that recent figures could be underesti-
Watch out
for the
Wildlife
on the Roads
mating the prevalence of the virus, since
many people are doing home tests, the re-
sults of which don’t have to be reported to
public health agencies.
The number of recorded tests in Baker
County over the past month:
• March 6-12 — 193
• March 13-19 — 156
• March 20-26 — 131
• March 27-April 2 — 108
• April 3-9 — 145
• April 10-14 (results from April 15 and
16 not yet available) — 54
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Andrea Stone, left, has volunteered this month to help kindergart-
ners at the Baker Early Learning Center create individual tiles, which
will be joined into a collaborative project and installed on the out-
side of the BELC building. Here she works with Penelope Sanchez,
Olivia Endersby and Lilly Smithson.
Angela Lattin, BELC direc-
tor, envisions years of mosaic
Continued from Page A1
creations decorating this wall.
“It’s a nice way for the kids
Stone worked with the
to leave a legacy behind,” she
BELC staff to design the proj- said.
ect. The base is a type of mesh,
Last year’s creation features
which is taped to a piece of
a variety of hearts.
cardboard. Each child’s letter
“Everyone needed a little
was outlined in marker.
more love last year,” she said.
Once each student chose
The style of these mosaic
their colors — a very hard de- creations are the same as
cision, in most cases — Stone those located in downtown
dropped dollops of caulking
Baker City, along the one-way
in the shape of the letter.
section of Broadway Street,
Even the caulking tube
that were made by Baker
was exciting on this cold
High School art students with
spring day.
Stone’s help.
“That’s ginormous!” Rob-
Over the years — she
erts said.
doesn’t know how many —
Once every child has com- Stone has worked on art proj-
pleted a work of art, Stone
ects with students at BHS,
will arrange them all into
Haines, Keating and the
one piece with a metal frame YMCA Preschool.
and make it weatherproof. It
The newest one at BELC,
she said, is a good group proj-
will be installed on the east
side of BELC, alongside the ect.
“It’s like a community
mosaic created by last year’s
quilt,” she said.
kindergartners.
Learning
Roberta Jo “Robbie” Borders
July 19, 1959 – March 25, 2022
Roberta Jo “Robbie” Borders,
62, of Baker City, Oregon,
passed away peacefully at her
home surrounded by family on
March 25, 2022. A Celebration
of life will be held on April 30,
2022, beginning at 2:00 PM at
the Baker City Christian Church
with Pastor Jesse Whitford
Officiating. A reception will
follow in the Christian Church
Fellowship Hall.
Roberta was born in 1959, in Sandpoint, Idaho,
to Robert and Buddy (Botts) Lee. Roberta grew up
in Scappoose, Oregon, where she graduated from
Scappoose High School in 1977. She went on to
graduate from Portland Community College in 1995.
Roberta married Bob Borders in 1996 at Warren
Community Fellowship and later moved her family
to Baker City in 1999. She taught 3rd and 4th grade at
Harvest Christian Academy in Baker City. In her free
time, Roberta enjoyed quilting, photography, teaching
Sunday School, singing, visiting the elderly, baking
pies, and garage sales. She especially enjoyed spending
time with her kids and family.
Roberta is survived by her husband of 25 years, Bob
Borders, son Tom Fenter, daughter Breanne Rosen,
mother Buddy Lee, sisters Rebecca Mikesh, Charla
Willis, Daphne Fillebrown, and a brother Robert T.
Lee. She is also survived by stepdaughters Christy
Fenter and Jenette Cain and a stepson Jess Borders as
well as six grandchildren and one great-grandson. She
was preceded by her brother Robert Jr. and her father,
Robert Lee. In lieu of flowers, the family would like
contributions to be made to the Miss Robbie Borders
Scholarship Fund through Gray’s West & Company
Pioneer Chapel at 1500 Dewey Ave, Baker City, Oregon
97814.
To light a candle in Robbie’s memory or to offer
online condolences to her family, please visit www.
grayswestco.com.