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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
A10 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Local McDonald’s restaurant closes Oct. 31 By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY – The Golden Arches in John Day will be com- ing down, and 18 people will lose their jobs. Oct. 31 will be McDonald’s of John Day restaurant’s last day open. “I’ve spent two months going back and forth with McDonald’s corporate of¿ce trying to talk them out of their decision,” said owner Jorge Ribeiro of Burns. Hundreds of McDonald’s restaurants have been up for clo- sure nationwide, and Ribeiro said the decision to close was based on the “low economics of the situa- tion,” and because they are reach- ing the end of a 20-year lease on the property owned by the DR Johnson family. He said the building will be torn down in November. “It was 100 percent a corporate decision,” Ribeiro said. “Emotionally, I’ve gone through a lot of feelings,” he added. Q&A Continued from Page A1 projects in the forest. The collaborative says that since its start there has been no litigation involving the forest, while timber harvest and resto- ration projects on the Malheur have increased dramatically. The group was behind an accel- erated restoration program in- cluding the 10-year stewardship contract granted by the Forest Service, securing a sustainable supply of logs to keep the local infrastructure operating into the future. The Blue Mountain Eagle asked Mark Webb, its execu- tive director, to shed light on the group and the work it’s doing. Q. BMFP has emerged as a key player in getting some timber harvest going again on Mark Webb the Malheur National Forest. Give us a little history as to how the BMFP got started. BMFP formed in 2006 to help address natural resource challenges in Grant County. Active management on the Mal- heur was virtually non-existent at the time. Mills were running short of timber, loggers were going out of business, forest health was declining, and area communities were suffering. He said he’s been in business for 30 years, with 15 years own- ing McDonald’s in John Day. “Over the years, I’ve had to ¿re people, but usually people ¿re themselves,” he said. “Here are 18 people I care about – it was the hardest day of my life. I will miss all my people and working in John Day.” John Day’s McDonald’s has been open since 1996, and Ri- beiro bought it in July of 2000. Ribeiro also owned a McDonald’s restaurant in Burns which he sold Loggers and environmentalists, along with elected of¿cials and community members, decided something had to change. We decided to try working togeth- er rather than ¿ghting in court. Surprisingly, we found we shared a lot of common ground. We agreed we wanted healthy forests and strong communities. So we focused on these things and started working together with the Forest Service to make good things happen. Q. Who’s involved today? Our partners include local loggers, ranchers, Grant County government, the State of Ore- gon, local saw mills, environ- mental groups, private citizens, contractors, the Forest Service, and others. Q. How do the partners and the Malheur National Forest interact? We work with the Malheur to identify and prioritize areas that need treatment. This involves developing treatments that re- duce the chance of destructive wild¿re, increase forest health, and provide timber and wood products for the mills and local communities. We don’t always agree among ourselves or with the Malheur about what treat- ments should look like, so we rely heavily on science to inform our work. We also monitor proj- october is domestic violence awareness month An average of three women in America die each day as a result of domestic violence. One in four women, and one in thirteen men, will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, the Heart of Grant County at 541-575-4335 or the 24 Hot Line at 541-620-1342. Services are free and confidential. one year ago. He said that of the 18 employ- ees he has in John Day, four of them have worked for him for at least 10 years. “I appreciate all they’ve done and their hard work and great ser- vice to the community of John Day the last 15 years,” he said of all his employees. “I want to per- sonally thank the community of John Day for their patronage and The Eagle/Angel Carpenter their support of my family and McDonald’s of John Day restaurant myself over the past 15 years.” is set to close at the end of October and will be torn down in November. ects over time to learn how to do things better in the future. The Forest Service has been very re- ceptive to this kind of help as it develops its projects. Q. Recently some folks have criticized the group as sort of a front for either the FS or the environmental move- ment. Has that come as a surprise to the members, and how do you respond to that? It has come as a surprise. We do work closely with the Mal- heur and some members of the environmental community. We also work closely with mill own- ers, loggers, ranchers, and others from the local community. We are all about improving forest and community health, not do- ing business as normal for any particular group. Our approach has required members and partners to change in important ways. That’s one reason timber harvest and restoration work on the Malheur has increased three- fold since we began in 2006. Q. What are the goals of the group as a whole, and with such diverse membership, how do you reach agreement on them? We want to reduce the risk of destructive wild¿res, create healthier forests, and help build stronger communities. We ac- knowledge and respect differ- A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Jeff Meyerholz with MewWow Photography will be present taking pictures that will be available for purchase. JDCC Parks & Rec This is an alcohol, drug and tobacco free event!! Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 ences among our members. But we focus on the shared goals and accommodate our person- al interests and preferences to meeting them. This can be chal- lenging. We rely heavily on science and outside experts to provide BMFP with a common understanding of what makes forests and landscapes healthy. Respecting differences, focus- ing on our goals, utilizing sci- ence—these things have helped BMFP develop trust among members and with the Malheur, move past our differences, and make signi¿cant progress in treating the landscape. Q. Give us an example of an accomplishment to date that’s a source of pride, and why. Timber harvest and resto- ration projects on the Malheur have increased three fold since we began in 2006. No other National Forest has experienced anything like that. Our role in this is two fold. First, we suc- cessfully collaborated with Har- ney County Restoration Collab- orative and the Forest Service to secure the millions of additional dollars needed to increase the pace and scale of work on the Malheur. Second, we’ve devel- oped a collaborative approach to public land management that helps ensure work on this scale gets implemented. This has resulted in more jobs for our communities, sustained manu- facturing capacity, and healthier forests. Q. What are the challeng- es - issues or projects - on your plate right now? We are focused on deal- ing with the aftermath of the Canyon Creek Complex. The Forest Service is aggressively pursuing a roadside salvage that will address safety issues and harvest substantial vol- umes of burned timber. BMFP plans to compliment this ef- fort with another salvage ef- fort that treats burned areas outside road corridors. This is a contentious issue for some of our members. But we plan to develop an approach that is informed by science, easy on the land, provides timber har- vest and economic recovery, and most importantly, puts the treated areas that were destroyed by wild¿re back on the path to becoming healthy productive forests. Q. What can the public ex- pect to see as the result of the Partners’ work? The public can expect to see more of a working National For- est. One where informed timber harvest and restoration treatments continue, the Malheur becomes healthier and more resilient, and local communities bene¿t. Q. Why should people get involved, and how can they? I would encourage people to get involved because BMFP is the most effective way to en- sure our local voice gets heard in the public process of managing the Malheur National Forest. People can watch the paper for our meeting times or contact me, 541-620-2546 or bmfp06@ gmail.com. Michael B. 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