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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2017)
A10 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 6, 2017 PAST Continued from Page A1 The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor, right, and Sharon Livingston talk about agriculture in Oregon in the Carter Rest Area near Long Creek Aug. 16. TAYLOR Continued from Page A1 One way she intends to help those stepping into ag- riculture, either for the first time or to fill the shoes of an older generation, is to ensure programs and resources exist to help new farmers. This, coupled with hav- ing a strong succession plan in place, will help Oregon agriculture prepare for the next generation. Taylor wants to be an ad- vocate for the industry, and help farmers both big and small. “Being able to help them is something that’s important to me personally,” she said. “It’s not hard to do when it’s something you really love doing.” During her tour of the counties, she has been ex- posed to the diversity of the state’s agriculture as well as vast range of geography and climates. “I think it makes us stron- ger as an agricultural sector,” she said. “I think it’s one of our greatest assets, but it also can create challenges as well.” FUNDING Continued from Page A1 expects about $20,000 more from the new deal, to increase as the fuel tax increases by 2 cents every other year af- ter the initial 4 cent increase in 2018. While beneficial, he said that amount will not al- low the city to accomplish much more than it has been. “We’re grateful to have it, and it’s better than what we Taylor has worked ex- tensively with the federal government and said her experience with the bu- reaucracy will be helpful in assisting Oregonians. Before coming to Ore- gon, she oversaw the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture’s Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, which is comprised of the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency and Foreign Agricultural Service. “Having those relation- ships and knowing how the federal bureaucracy works, and sometimes doesn’t work, I think is helpful,” Taylor said. She plans to work to better leverage federal dol- lars and maximize the re- sources available. Taylor also served in the United States Army Reserves for eight years and completed one tour in Iraq with the 389th Combat Engineer Battalion. “She’s somebody to re- ally look up to,” said Grant County Commissioner Boyd Britton after meeting Taylor. had before, but we still hav- en’t really addressed the long- term cost differential between what smaller cities receive and what it costs to maintain a $6.5 million asset, and that’s what our streets are currently valued at,” he said. Replacing Fourth and Fifth streets, which are in such poor condition they can no longer be maintained, would cost the city about $400,000, he said, when it only has $450,000 in its entire street fund. for a short feature on Kam Wah Chung, Ph.D. student Eric Brand said. “Professor Zhao is work- ing with the Discovery Chan- nel on a fully funded TV series focused on Chinese herbal medicine, and he feels that the Kam Wah Chung col- lection would be an ideal cul- tural story to include in the series,” Brand said. Brand had previously visited the museum and de- scribed it to Zhongzhen, who became very enthusiastic about the Kam Wah Chung collection. The two orga- nized a trip to bring a group of scholars from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China to see it in real life. “This is the first time, but not the last time,” Zhongzhen said. “I will be here again.” During their visit, the pro- fessors pointed out an apricot tree near Kam Wah Chung. Some traditional doctors would accept payment from less-fortunate customers in the form of them planting an apricot tree, Brand said. The apricot tree was planted at roughly the same time as Hay had been prac- ticing medicine and Brand speculated it could be a form of payment from a customer. The main part of the trip was to visit the museum. Brand called it the “center- piece” of the trip. The group, which consists of a number of experts on tra- ditional herbs, has traveled together for a decade. “Every year, we go to a different province in China to see markets and farms,” Brand said. He wrote a chapter of his thesis on Kam Wah Chung and wanted to share what he found with professors and friends. The transportation pack- age also includes a substantial increase in the special cities allotment — a competitive grant program for cities with populations less than 5,000 — from $1 million to $5 million, which Green said could have a significant impact in rural Oregon. Grant County will re- ceive a much larger increase, starting at about $400,000, which Grant County Com- missioner Boyd Britton said would allow the Road De- partment to continue oper- ating for years to come. He said the county is one of few with a healthy road reserve fund, about $50 million, but the funding will be very beneficial to many Eastern Oregon counties. Britton said, with so many bridges, roads and culverts, more funding would be need- ed for a long-term solution, but he praised the bipartisan effort to pass the package. “It’s a heck of a lot bet- ter,” he said. “It’s a nice, good start.” Oregon Department of Transportation Region 5 Man- ager Craig Sipp said the pack- age provides funding beyond lottery proceeds for the Con- nectOregon grant program, as well as dedicated funding for Safe Routes to Schools and The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Yu-Ling Ho and Eric Brand examine a rattlesnake in a jar that is part of the Kam Wah Chung collection Aug. 8. Pamplin Media/Jaime Valdez Gov. Kate Brown holds up copies of the signed transportation funding bill during a signing ceremony at Portland Community College Southeast Tuesday. funding for bike and pedestri- an projects. Through a 1/10th of 1 per- cent payroll tax deducted by employers — about $0.39 per week for a minimum wage worker — the package also provides new funding for public transit. Angie Jones, transit man- ager for the People Mover, said the organization expects to receive more than $100,000 each year starting in 2019. The People Mover has pri- marily been funded through Extra traffic got your body bent out of shape? WE Are YOUR Collision Repair Specialists! Baker City 2830 10th St. 541-524-0122 Every other Monday in John Day at Blue Mountain Hospital 170 Ford Rd. 541-575-1311 1st Choice Auto Body 700 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day 541-575-1786 state and federal grants, she said. With the new funding source, she said more free rides may be offered for peo- ple in need, fares may be low- ered, operating hours may be extended and the service area may increase. “I think, overall for Ore- gon for public transit, it’s an amazing opportunity,” she said. “It’s the first time Ore- gon has ever had a designated funding source for transit. It’s a big deal, and we’re very ex- cited.” Brown actually signed the legislation into law Aug. 18, the deadline to enact bills from the 2017 Legislature, which adjourned early last month. The transportation pack- age was a chief victory for both Democratic and Repub- lican lawmakers during the legislative session. As the bill appeared ready to combust over discontent among interest groups, Brown intervened to help negotiate a deal that would save the pack- age she’d been promising to constituents for the past two years. “Passing the transportation package was no easy feat,” Brown said. “We faced some significant challenges this last legislative session but we worked across the aisle and toward a shared vision for a better Oregon.” The eight-year transporta- tion plan includes staggered hikes in the gas tax, increas- es to registration and title fees, and new taxes on pay- roll, new vehicle purchases and bicycles priced more than $200. The package also calls for congestion-priced tolling at some of Portland’s bottlenecks, which could in- clude certain lanes on Inter- state 5 and Interstate 205, to pay for congestion-busting projects. Among major projects specified in the plan are con- gestion relief on Highway 217, widening northbound I-205 from Powell Boule- vard to Interstate 84 and ini- tial investment in adding new lanes to I-5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter. Paris Achen is a report- er for the EO Media Group/ Pamplin Media Group Capi- tal Bureau. Training & Employment Consortium Training Opportunities Available NOW! •Are you unemployed? Are you wondering what you are going to do now? Maybe you have skills and years of ex- perience, but the labor market for the type of work you do is no longer there. •Are you finding it hard to compete in the job market these days without the proper education? Most employers require a high school diploma or GED at the minimum. •Maybe you have a high school diploma or GED, but need more skills to compete for jobs because without em- ployable skills and education you are not being considered for positions. This may be a good time for you to think about your op- tions for getting the education or training you need to build a career because we just may be able to assist you with the educational or training costs to get on that career path. If you are an Oregon resident and would like to speak with someone about training opportunities and eligibility re- quirements, please stop by the Training & Employment office at 530 E. Main STE 5 in John Day or give us a call at (541) 575-0251. TEC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services available upon request. TTY 541-962-0693.
