A10
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
MILL
terials, from large timber to
small wood and biomass –
each type suited to specific
mill operations.
Continued from Page A1
The process has provid-
Last month the compa- ed timber for the Malheur
ny had 132 employees in Lumber log decks. Beverlin
John Day. That’s up from said 90 percent of the large
about 90 last May, before sawlogs in the first task or-
the swing shift was added.
der went to the John Day
Daucsavage said he’s mill.
working to confirm avail-
“That’s a direct benefit
ability of additional timber to the community,” he said.
the company has under con-
The addition of a second
tract.
shift – the first such expan-
He said supply issues sion at Malheur Lumber
have been building over the since 1998 – was a success
past five months, as antici- story for a mill that was on
pated log deliveries didn’t the verge of closure in 2012
PDWHULDOL]H +H GHFOLQHG WR but rebounded.
specify what contracts were
Last year’s expansion
involved.
came as a sign of confi-
News of the layoffs trig- dence that the stewardship
gered ripples of concern contract and accelerated
about the status of the Mal- restoration would provide
heur National Forest’s 10- more certainty for the lo-
year stewardship contract, cal timber industry. For
but forest officials and in- the company, the new hires
dustry observers told the would help with the volume
Eagle the program is sound expected from fire salvage
and operating as intended.
out of the area and cross
Forest Supervisor Steve train for jobs elsewhere on-
Beverlin said the contrac- site, including a new small-
tor, Iron Triangle, is “per- log plant planned for the
forming exceptionally well mill. The new plant would
under the contract” and has allow the mill to process
met all the timelines and re- some of the huge volume
quirements to date.
of smaller wood produced
Beverlin also clarified by forest restoration work
that the stewardship work – wood not suited for the
was never intended to ful- existing sawmill.
ly supply the decks of any
The company said at the
one mill, but to provide a time the small-log opera-
predictable base operators tion would be up and run-
could count on and bolster ning this winter, perhaps by
with additional timber buys. the end of 2014.
“We can’t promise a spe-
However, Daucsavage
cific amount, a volume or confirmed this week that
type of timber to a specific the small-log plant is on
mill,” he said.
hold as the company deals
With forest health as the with permitting issues with
goal, the contract is rolling the state Department of En-
out a series of “task orders” vironmental Quality.
or landscape-scale projects
He said the company still
that produce a range of ma- plans to take on small wood
DON MOLES
APPLIANCE & REFRIGERATION
In-HomeService
( Formerly D2 Appliance)
washers
dryers
ranges
refrigerators
dishwashers
microwaves
freezers
hoods
541-792-1188
John Day, OR
1
Nominate Your
Educational Hero
Educators play an extremely important role
in our community and are often underappreciated.
This year, Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair is saying
“Thank you, educators” by honoring an
“Educator of the Month.”
Each month one local educator will be highlighted in
the Blue Mountain Eagle and will receive a $50 gift
certificate from Doug’s Repair. Educator of the Year will
receive $1,000 to be donated to school of their choice.
Nominate your Local Hero by picking up a nomination form at the
Blue Mountain Eagle or Doug’s Repair, or download a copy from the
Blue Mountain Eagle’s website –www.bluemountaineagle.com.
47
but also needs an ample
supply of large timber for
the sawmill.
He noted the company
has invested $1 million in
the plant this year, mak-
ing improvements in the
biomass plant, addressing
DEQ issues, and upgrading
equipment.
Beverlin said news of the
layoffs was disappointing
for the community and for
the Forest Service, which
wants to support local jobs
and economic growth.
He said he wasn’t famil-
iar with the issues regarding
the small-log mill, but he’s
hopeful that Malheur Lum-
ber will resolve them and
start up the plant.
He said the local infra-
structure is a critical need.
“We need the local in-
frastructure here,” he said.
“We need them here to pro-
cess a wide variety of ma-
terials that are coming from
the forest.”
Beverlin said the avail-
able volume, especially for
the smaller materials, is
abundant.
He said the forest has
been meeting its targets
for harvest, which includes
everything from biomass
to large timber. The forest
hit 55 million board feet in
2013, more than 65 million
board feet in 2014, and is
on pace to exceed that in
2015.
“And we continue to
work with our partners to
investigate ways to local-
ly process biomass and
small-diameter sawlogs, as
this remains the critical is-
sue for ecological and eco-
nomical forest restoration
activities on the Malheur
and Eastern Oregon as a
whole,” he said.
Parenting
classes
on tap
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – A free six-
week “Active Parenting” se-
ries is slated to begin Mon-
day, Jan. 12, at Families First
Parent Resource Center.
Sessions will be 5 p.m.
on Mondays, Jan. 12, 19 and
26, and Feb. 2, 9 and 16. A
free dinner will be offered
from 5-5:30 p.m., followed
by the class from 5:30-7:30
p.m.
Free childcare is includ-
ed.
Parents will learn skills
in opening up lines of com-
munication, using nonvio-
lent discipline, encouraging
school success, defusing
power struggles and more.
To register, call Families
First at 541-575-1006.
Go to a Game! Hear a Concert! SEE A PLAY!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
The Eagle/Scotta Callister
Ice flakes into crystals atop the frozen surface of a pond, as freezing temperatures
persisted across the county last week. Warmer weather moved in this week,
melting snow from roads and posing the possibility of ice jams on area creeks
and rivers.
ODOT: Slow down,
chain up, think twice
With the weather al-
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to melting, and highway
snowpacks following suit,
the Oregon Department of
Transportation is offering
10 wintertime driving re-
minders to help keep trav-
elers safe in the Eastern
Oregon region.
Travelers are reminded
that snow and ice persist on
roads in the mountain pass-
es and along Eastern Ore-
gon highways this week.
The 10 tips:
• Drive for the condi-
tions of the road: Adjust
your speed to the road
conditions. The operative
phrase: Slow down!
• Plan extra travel time:
Give yourself plenty of
time for winter travel to
reduce stress and help keep
you focused on safe driv-
ing.
• Turn off cruise control
if snow or ice is present:
You may lose control if
cruise control is active in
wet or slippery conditions.
• Travel with warm
clothes and emergency
supplies: With tempera-
tures in single digits and
EHORZ ]HUR DW VRPH ORFD-
tions, be prepared in case
you become stuck in a traf-
fic jam or road closure.
Always carry food and wa-
ter, a flashlight, extra cell
phone batteries, blanket
and other emergency sup-
plies.
• Use caution when tak-
ing alternate routes: If the
route you were planning
to travel is closed (due to
weather or a crash), think
twice before taking an al-
ternate route suggested by
your GPS navigation sys-
tem. These systems may
not take into account winter
road conditions on second-
ary highways.
• Use chains and trac-
tion tires: When chains are
required, use the next chain
up area to put on your tire
chains. Continuing to drive
in the snowy conditions
hoping the road will im-
prove is not a safe idea. Nei-
ther is stopping in the mid-
dle of the highway to put on
tire chains.
• Chain up areas and
highway shoulders are not
playgrounds: Use designat-
ed parking areas and never
use chain up areas or high-
way shoulders as a place to
play in the snow.
• Don’t park your vehicle
along the highway: Parking
in highway shoulders pre-
vents plowing activities,
limits access for emergen-
cy responders and creates a
VDIHW\KD]DUGIRURWKHUURDG
users. Abandoned or parked
vehicles along the highway
will be towed.
• Stay home if conditions
are bad: Consider post-
poning your trip if road or
weather conditions are ex-
treme.
• Know Before You Go:
Visit TripCheck.com or call
511.
For more information
about winter travel, includ-
ing links to chain-up videos
and more, visit: http://www.
oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/
Pages/winterdriving.aspx
The goal is to build an
updated, accessible library
which would then be given to
the county as a replacement
Continued from Page A1
for the county library on Can-
has not selected the one for yon Boulevard.
the project yet. She said the
The Foundation plans to
)RXQGDWLRQZLOOWU\WR¿QDOL]H build the library on the north-
a hire by this spring.
west portion of the old junior
The architect will be high school property on Can-
tasked to produce preliminary ton Street.
drawings and schematics,
The Foundation bought the
which will be shared with the property from Grant School
community. Unterwegner said District No. 3 in 2012. After
the Foundation will seek input completing the required as-
from the County Court, the bestos abatement, the group
court-appointed Grant County sold the school building
Library Advisory Board, and and the land on which it sits
the public as work continues to Blue Mountain Custom
WRZDUGD¿QDOGHVLJQ
Homes, which has plans for
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there.
The Library Foundation
retained the vacant property
where the new library will
sit, as well as two buildings
leased for the Kam Wah
Chung Interpretative Center.
Unterwegner said Blue
Mountain has been great to
work with, and the plans for
community and business uses
VKRXOGEHDJRRG¿WZLWKWKH
new library complex.
Once the library designs
are in hand, the Foundation
plans to move ahead with
a capital campaign to raise
grants and donations for the
construction project.
2015
B REAKING N EWS A LERTS
myeaglenews.com/breakingnews
Local artist
to be feted
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – All are wel-
come to a reception spotlight-
ing local artist Mytchell Mead
and his works this Thursday.
The event will be from 6
to 8 p.m. at The Corner Cup,
located at the stoplight in John
Day.
One of the best tickets in town will always be activities at our
local schools. Football & basketball games, concerts & plays.
You can always count on an enjoyable time.
Want to
burn?
Renew
OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE.
Let’s give them all the encouragement that we can!
At Bank of Eastern Oregon, we’re a proud supporter of school
activities & we’re proud of our rural community schools!
www.beobank.com
Blue Mountain Eagle
Supporting Grant County – the place we call home.
Come see us today for all your financial banking needs.
Prairie City Branch
541-820-3321
Member FDIC
John Day Branch
541-575-1862
Hometown People Hometown Spirit
Bob Quinton
VP/Loan Officer
Blue Mountain Hospital
170 Ford Road, John Day • (541) 575-1311
EVERY OTHER TUESDAY
JOHN DAY – The City of
John Day is reminding resi-
dents that 2014 outdoor burn
permits expired on Dec. 31.
Residents can renew per-
PLWV DW &LW\ +DOO RU ¿QG WKH
form and more information
online at www.cityofjohnday.
com.
Permits are free. People
should check for air quality
advisories before burning,
and follow the tips on the per-
mit for safe burning.