A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Oversight
needed of state
forest division
Y
ou can be savoring
an IPA along the
John Day River
after a long day of adven-
turing in Oregon’s forests
and honestly wonder if
things couldn’t get much
better. But sometimes those
charged with managing
this beautiful state let us all
down.
State government is not
a place brimming with sim-
ple problems with easy
answers. Still, The Orego-
nian reported last week the
Oregon Department of For-
estry’s state forest division
is “failing on almost every
front.”
The division manages
approximately 745,000 acres
of forestlands across Ore-
gon. Its budget is a mess
and getting worse. That’s
because, in part, it is funded
solely by timber sales that
aren’t happening. That’s
led to cuts in staff. Fewer
staff, in turn, makes it harder
for the division to solve its
problems.
On top of everything,
the agency is facing a law-
suit from 14 Oregon coun-
ties who claim they have
not been getting the revenue
they are entitled to from tim-
ber sales. They say they’ve
been shortchanged $1.4
billion.
Legislators and Gov. Kate
Brown have failed to pro-
vide adequate oversight of
the division. Do you remem-
ber the special series of
hearings called this past ses-
sion by our legislative lead-
ers to get to the bottom of
this? Nope. They didn’t hap-
pen. What are they going to
do about it?
Even members of the for-
estry board have grown frus-
trated. Brenda McComb,
a board member and for-
mer forestry professor at
Oregon State University,
has “repeatedly asked staff
members for more infor-
mation around the exist-
ing inventory of trees and
whether current harvest lev-
els are sustainable,” accord-
ing to The Oregonian. That’s
a fundamental piece of
knowing how well any man-
agement plan would work.
She has not gotten it.
Forest policy is going
to be divisive. There is no
shared, statewide vision
of how a state-owned for-
est should be managed. That
may help explain but does
not excuse the absence of
oversight and leadership
from the Legislature and
Gov. Brown in managing the
state’s forests.
GUEST COMMENT
Rural economic successes
I
t’s often said “the only constant
in life is change.”
Recent visits to new eco-
nomic catalysts growing in Grant
and Umatilla counties have shown
me how both communities have
embraced that adage to build on
their traditional strengths to gen-
erate good-paying jobs in Eastern
Oregon.
Lots of rural Oregon faces real
economic hurt, which is why I
wrote the Secure Rural Schools
legislation that’s brought more than
$3 billion over the years to those
communities for schools, roads
and public safety.
But earlier this month at Mal-
heur Lumber just outside John
Day, I also saw new shoots of eco-
nomic success when I toured the
new Restoration Fuels site. This
plant taps innovative technology to
take the biomass of small trees and
convert it — via a process called
torrefaction — into a non-fossil
fuel energy source.
The technology is astounding.
And so is the economic opportu-
nity — I heard firsthand from plant
officials how they’re hiring people
in this rural Oregon town at fami-
ly-wage salaries.
These developments are a credit
to farsighted leaders at Malheur
Lumber such as company owner
John Shelk who’s committed to
maintaining the sawmill in John
Day. I was proud to team with
Malheur Lumber, Iron Triangle
and the forest collaborative to push
for a 10-year stewardship contract
that increased timber harvest and a
steady, certain supply of biomass.
This forest restoration work
isn’t easy. It requires folks working
together to find common ground,
and it required local industry part-
ners like Malheur Lumber, Ore-
gon Torrefaction and Iron Trian-
gle to develop new
markets for forest
products that used
to burn up in slash
piles bigger than
semi-trucks.
And I’m work-
U.S. Sen.
ing to get even
Ron Wyden, more biomass
D-Oregon
to support fam-
ily-wage jobs by pressing the
administration for even more fuels
reduction and thinning on the
national forests.
This torrefaction project in
Grant County and the people
behind it have shown the entire
country all that can be accom-
plished with biomass — and pro-
vided a valuable job-creating
model to learn from.
A similar good-news Eastern
Oregon economic story is playing
out up U.S. Highway 395 in Uma-
tilla County.
This summer, I toured the Pend-
leton Airport hangar where the
aerospace company PAE ISR has
set up shop to work on unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs).
As at Malheur Lumber, the new
technology developed by PAE ISR
— and the jobs they support in
Eastern Oregon — are impressive.
In Pendleton, I met with PAE ISR
workers earning six-figure salaries.
And I met PAE ISR manager Ken
Bisconer, who’s passionate about
creating new education programs
so young people have the skills
and training to work in this well-
paid field.
UAV technology is hugely
exciting for Eastern Oregon. I’m
a privacy hawk, but I think we
can thread the needle and support
UAV technology for civilian uses
like mountaintop rescue, precision
agriculture, fighting wildfires and
more without sacrificing privacy
protections.
And just as in Grant County
with biomass, these changes in
Pendleton didn’t happen by osmo-
sis. They’re a credit to local vision-
aries such as Pendleton Mayor
John Turner, Umatilla County
Commissioner George Mur-
dock, Pendleton Economic Devel-
opment/Airport Manager Steve
Chrisman and Oregon National
Guard Colonel Alan Gronewald.
Pendleton and Eastern Oregon
can take justifiable pride in carving
out a big part in the core of a grow-
ing industry that pays well and cre-
ates a whirlwind of fresh economic
activity.
I see my job representing Ore-
gon as setting the temperature for
fresh new enterprises to grow in
rural Oregon.
And I’m honored to have
partnered with local officials to
ensure new enterprises such as
UAV test ranges could develop
in Pendleton as well as in Warm
Springs and Tillamook. We have
extended operation of these test
ranges through 2023, and I will
keep fighting for these proven job
generators.
Of course, there’s no single
solution to ensuring the rural Ore-
gon economy can flourish.
But I believe these positive
examples of smart change in Grant
and Umatilla counties are signifi-
cant shoots of success that should
be celebrated. These examples
— along with support for his-
toric rural Oregon enterprises such
as agriculture, ranching and for-
estry as well as new opportunities
in areas like recreation and hemp
— can continue creating new
good-paying jobs for generations
to come.
Ron Wyden, a Democrat, is a
U.S. senator from Oregon.
GUEST COMMENT
Be a problem solver
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityoflongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website:
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol
or messages for legislators) — 800-
332-2313.
• Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario – 900
Court St. NE, S-301, Salem 97301.
Phone: 503-986-1730. Website:
oregonlegislature.gov/Bentz. Email:
Sen.CliffBentz@oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/findley. Email: Rep.LynnFindley@
oregonlegislature.gov.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
• The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20500; Phone-comments: 202-
456-1111; Switchboard: 202-456-
1414.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
E
very customer who comes into
your business has a problem,
and they are looking for you to
help solve it.
Perhaps they need a dress for their
daughter’s wedding or a special gift.
They have a flat tire or need a spe-
cific tool for a project. Their faucet
is dripping, their pick-up’s engine
light came on, their septic tank needs
pumped, they need a loan to buy a
house or are being sued.
What problem does your busi-
ness solve, and how do you accom-
plish this more effectively than your
competitors?
Have you thought about this,
and do you need to make any
adjustments?
Here are some basic things you
may want to consider:
• Are you open when your cus-
tomer needs you? (I know of a hair
stylist who only works in the eve-
nings and on Saturday and Sunday,
because that’s when her working cli-
ents and students are available and is
something her competitors won’t do.)
• Do you offer quality products or
services at the right price point?
• Is your website complicated?
(Remember, if it takes more than
three “clicks” to find the information
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Online: MyEagleNews.com
a customer wants
to know, they will
leave your site —
and likely won’t
return.)
• When a cus-
tomer calls, is there
Greg Smith
a complex auto-
mated system they must navigate?
• In short, is it a hassle to do busi-
ness with you or are you the first
business they turn to when seeking
an answer to their problem?
The answers to these questions
sound simple yet are often the root
cause for slow — or no — business.
On the other side of the equation,
employers want employees who are
problem solvers, not problem cre-
ators. I have addressed the impor-
tance of “soft skills” in a previous
article, but the reality of this cannot
be over-stated.
Employees, regardless of their
skill set, are not employed long if
they create problems. The number
one complaint (i.e. problem) I con-
sistently hear about from employ-
ers is they cannot find people who
want to work and who will show up
to work on time — or at all. Perhaps
you don’t consider yourself a prob-
lem creator but take a moment and
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send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Phone: 541-575-0710
ask yourself these questions:
• Are you dependable?
• Do you cause strife in the
workplace?
• Are you busy texting instead of
looking around to see what needs to
be done — and doing it?
• Do you complete your work
on time? Does your boss have to
come behind you and double check
to make sure the task has been done
correctly?
• Do you access resources to
answer the questions you might have,
or do you consistently interrupt the
workflow of others?
Identifying a need whether as a
business owner or employee and uti-
lizing your unique skill set is one
of the most important keys to suc-
cess, profitability and longevity in the
workplace. Being a creative problem
solver is not just something benefi-
cial in the workplace, but in society
as well, and is something each of us
can contribute to in some way.
Greg Smith is the director of the
Eastern Oregon University Small
Business Development Center,
1607 Gekeler Lane, Room 148, La
Grande. For free, confidential busi-
ness advising, call 541-962-1532 or
email eousbdc@gmail.com.
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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