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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2018)
RUNNERS SCAMPER THROUGH MUD AT CATHERINE CREEK – PAGE B1 The Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W edNesday , s ePtember 19, 2018 • N o . 38 • 20 P ages • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com TIMBER INNOVATION Oregon seeks to become mass timber hub Innovative new uses for the state’s timber resources include construction of high-rise buildings By George Plaven EO Media Group T imm Locke relishes a chance to drive around Portland and show- case the latest commercial buildings made with mass timber, a construc- tion material that uses wood beams and panels instead of concrete and steel. First stop: Albina Yard, a four-story of- fice building that opened in 2016 featuring cross-laminated timber panels from D.R. John- son, a lumber company south of Roseburg. Every piece of cross-laminated timber — or CLT for short — is prefabricated, designed for a specific part of the building, said Locke, di- rector of forest products at the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. That means buildings go up faster, with fewer workers. Wood is also environmentally superior to steel and concrete, Locke said, because it se- questers carbon and takes less energy to pro- duce. “There are so many benefits, it doesn’t mat- ter which one you choose to start with,” Locke said. First developed in Europe, mass timber is now catching on in the U.S., and Oregon is working to position itself as the industry hub, kick-starting rural economies that have tradi- tionally relied on forest products. On Aug. 1, Oregon became the first state to approve lan- guage in its building codes allowing for wood- framed buildings up to 18 stories tall. Albina Yard was the first building to use Oregon-made CLT as a structural element. Other examples of mass timber construction in Portland include Carbon 12, an eight-sto- ry condominium building on Northeast Fre- mont Street. Across the street is One North, an 85,540-square-foot business complex. First Tech Federal Credit Union also opened its new headquarters in neighboring Hillsboro last June. At 156,000 square feet, it is the larg- est mass timber building in the nation. Locke, who was hired by OFRI in 2015 to help develop markets and supply chain for mass timber, said he believes momentum will only increase as the projects gain wider rec- ognition. EO Media Group photos George Plaven CLT explained Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a prefabricated, solid wood panel used in residential and industrial construction. CLT consists of several layers of boards arranged in alternating directions. Timm Locke, director of forest products for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, explains the benefits of mass timber at the World Forestry Center in Portland. “People like wood. It’s a nice material,” Locke said. “It has a great environmental story, and a great aesthetic.” Timber Innovation Act Mass timber refers to several construction materials made of wood, including CLT, glue laminated beams, laminated veneer and mass plywood. CLT, a prominent example, has been de- scribed as “plywood on steroids.” It is made by gluing planks of wood in perpendicular layers, creating thick panels that can be used for walls and floors. The first CLT buildings were constructed in 1993-95 in Germany and Switzerland, and the majority of production remains in Europe. The first U.S. commercial CLT building was completed in 2011 in Whitefish, Montana. D.R. Johnson became the first U.S. company certified by APA — The Engineered Wood As- sociation — to make structural CLT panels in 2015. A study by Grand View Research, a mar- ket research company in San Francisco, an- ticipates the global CLT market will be worth more than $2 billion by 2025, tied to demand for “green” homes. The U.S. Senate in June added provisions to its version of the 2018 Farm Bill that would The layers are bonded together with industrial adhesives and pressed together to form a solid, straight rectangular panel. Courtesy USDA; Structurlam Common applications include long spans in walls, floors and roofs. Carbon 12, an eight- story condominium building in Portland is made with mass timber. Sources: Oregon State University; APA-The Engineered Wood Association Alan Kenaga/Capital Press establish a federal research program for mass timber. Originally known as the Timber Inno- vation Act, the bill was sponsored by Sen. Deb- bie Stabenow, D-Mich., and co-sponsored by 19 other senators, including Republicans and Democrats from Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, Maine and Mississippi. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, said he wants to see Oregon become the national leader in mass timber, an industry with “enormous po- tential.” “We think about the fact that we build these medium high-rise buildings out of concrete and steel,” Merkley said. “If we can open that See TIMBER, Page A10 Grant loss hits district attorney’s office County looking at funding options By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Grant County District At- torney Jim Carpenter says he may need to triage cases with the loss of a deputy district at- torney. If he has to choose be- tween prosecuting a trespass case or a domestic violence case, he will choose the lat- ter, he told the Grant County Court Sept. 12. The district attorney’s of- fice was not approved for continued Violence Against Women Act grant funding that amounted to $167,000 per year. Carpenter said he learned about the loss in fund- ing on Sept. 10, and it coin- cides with the departure of Deputy Dis- trict Attorney Mara Houck, who will leave Sept. 21 for a Jim position with the Deschutes Carpenter County Dis- trict Attorney’s Office. Houck prosecuted all cas- es involving sex abuse, child abuse and domestic violence. The VAWA funding also sup- ported a victim intervention specialist and special inves- tigator, Carpenter said. That three-year grant cycle ends Sept. 30. Grant County has received the grant for four consecutive cycles, he said. Finding options Remaining grant funds could last until next March, but the county will need to ex- tend the grant cycle to access the remaining funds, Carpen- ter said. Other than that, he said he doesn’t have a lot of answers. “A prosecutor from the Criminal Division of the Or- egon Department of Justice will be appointed as a special prosecutor on the more seri- ous sex abuse cases on Dep- uty Houck’s caseload,” Car- penter told the Eagle. The court approved Car- penter’s request to contract with another attorney to re- solve Houck’s remaining cas- es. “Local attorney Riccola Voigt has agreed to contract with the district attorney’s of- fice to provide that service,” Carpenter told the Eagle. See OFFICE, Page A10 Sheriff’s lawsuit against county settled for $14,000 County court opts to avoid prolonged litigation By Richard Hanners and Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle The lawsuit filed by the sheriff’s office against Grant County has been settled. Following an executive session Sept. 12, the Grant County Court agreed to settle the case for $14,000 after negotiating with the plaintiffs’ private law firm, Hostetter Law Group. On behalf of clients Sheriff Glenn Palmer, former civil deputy Sally De- Ford and the sheriff’s office, Hostetter The Eagle/Richard Hanners Jim Spell listens to the Grant County Court discuss the settlement in the lawsuit brought by the sheriff’s office against the county at a Sept. 12 meeting. Law Group sued Grant County and its board of commissioners in March, arguing the county was required to cover legal expenses incurred by the clients when they retained the law group as private counsel after The Oregonian newspaper sued them in a public records dispute. Stating that attorneys representing county governments usually handle such legal matters, not private attor- neys, a judge dismissed the suit July 10 — concluding public records law- suits were not covered under the Or- egon Tort Claims Act, which would have required the county to pay for the defense of its agents — but Hostetter Law Group sought to have a judge reconsider the opinion, stating its clients were denied representation by the county attorney. After the decision to settle the case, County Commissioner Rob Ra- schio said standing up for principles can be expensive and that the litiga- tion could have gone on for another year. He didn’t expect the county would lose the case, but he said it could have cost the county another $14,000 to litigate it. Attorney Zachary Hostetter said he was pleased with the settlement. “In 2017 former civil deputy Sal- ly DeFord, Sheriff Palmer, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office were forced to defend against a lawsuit filed against them,” he said in a state- ment. “In such circumstances it is ex- tremely important for hard-working public servants to know that they will be provided with legal representation. We are very pleased that Grant Coun- ty has agreed to settle this matter.” Hostetter said Palmer was out of the office and unable to comment. The settlement was considerably less than the $41,000 legal bill Hostet- ter Law Group said the sheriff’s office See PALMER, Page A9