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A18 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 12, 2020 Plow Timber Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 “At that speed, we can get the most snow off, and it throws the snow far enough on the sides,” he said. “What we will do is pass up the middle both ways, and then we have to take the snow on the edge and throw it over (the shoulder). For a highway, you have to go around it four times to get all the snow off and get it out of your way for the next time.” Gangler said the process requires patience: It takes him two hours to go from Prairie City to milepost 205 at the chain up area in one round trip, and then he has to repeat that trip to cut the edges. “When it’s snowing like this, it can get frustrating because, by the time you get back around and make a full circle, it doesn’t even look like you did anything on the other side,” Gangler said. “It’s hard sometimes, and you want to make it go away, but you just can’t. You can’t wish it away, I tried.” As the temperature began to rise, the truck slowed to about 20 mph because of the added density of the wet, slushy snow. The plow in front runs on the ground but is built to help preserve the pavement life. “It’s sitting on the pavement, but we have what we call shoes that run on both sides of the plow that won’t let it go any farther than what we set it at,” Gangler said. “They kind of act like a squeegee. The carbides cut into the snow and get as deep as they can without actually damaging the pavement.” Gangler looks out for drivers behind him and tries not to slow them down so they do not lose momentum driving in the snow, especially semi-truck drivers. At one point, Gangler slowed down and signaled a semi to pass because the plow was creeping up the hill at 20 mph. the 2019 legislation. By 2050, the Car- bon Policy Office estimates the cap-and- trade plan would eliminate 43.4 million metric tons of carbon annually from the atmosphere. Critics, however, point out that amount represents just 0.12% of global green- house gas emissions. Advocates say every bit counts. Estimates provided by the nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Office estimated the program would raise prices by 22 cents per gallon in the first year of the program, according to state Sen. Bill Hansell. Inside the building, protesters did not go unnoticed. Swarms of protesters visited legisla- tors’ offices. Truck horns echoed even inside hearing rooms. Brian Iverson, the husband of state Rep. Vikki Iverson, R-Powell Butte, said his wife described being inside the Cap- itol before protesters streamed in as the calm before the storm, with subdued ten- sion, excitement and angst. At 9 a.m., Gov. Kate Brown met with 10 Timber Unity leaders as part of her continued effort to speak with rural stakeholders. The meeting was closed to the press, but former legislator Julie Parrish, now a Timber Unity member, said the meeting with Brown and her policy advisers was “genial.” The governor, she said, listened to pro- testers’ concerns but made no commit- ments on bill alterations yet. Parrish brought her own proposals to deal with climate change without hurting rural jobs. “Taxing the behavior of pollution will The motivation and people to think about Plowing snow requires patience and being aware at all times, multi-tasking between the road and radio calls from fellow workers and the dispatch center in Bend. The job provides its trials, but Gangler said that the team fights to keep the roads in their best condition. “It’s a challenge first of all because we are fight- ing against Mother Nature, and none of us want to get beat,” Gangler said. “We bust our butts to give people confidence to travel, and our biggest concern is that we all have kids and they are riding buses, going to sports events, and we want to keep them safe.” Being able to help somebody in a bad situation on the road and witnessing the finished product after hours of plowing snow are also motivating factors. “Snow is beautiful, but it’s a lot of work to us,” Gan- gler said. “When this storm is done and everything is white and the roads are as wide as we can get it, peo- ple are driving on it without any problems and without any worries.” His experiences and advice to drivers Gangler has experienced some intense moments behind the wheel. “Things can get interesting really fast, and I had a person this year ... the car was coming around the cor- ner and for some reason he slammed on his brakes when he sees me and slid into my lane,” Gangler said. “I had to try to get my wing plow (on the side of the rig) up and maneuver around him, and I barely missed him with the The Eagle/Rudy Diaz Toby Gangler, a transportation maintenance coor- dinator for ODOT, cleans his windshield because the wiper did not get all the snow. front of my plow, and I got my wing up just in time to hit the side post, but nothing was damaged.” Gangler recalled another incident involving a car and snow on the guard rail. During a snow storm, snow tends to build up at the end of the guardrail and creates some- what of a ramp, he said. “A car was coming around the corner and hit the end of the guard rail, and it didn’t do any damage to the car and it jumped — I mean they had to have been five or six feet up in the air — and landed and kept driving,” Gan- gler said. “I didn’t see the car, but I saw where he hit the guard rail, and the car went Dukes of Hazard over the guardrail and back on the road and kept going.” Gangler said he’s also learned how drivers can bet- ter prepare for traveling in the snow. Don’t follow other drivers too closely to provide time to react if something happens, he said, and travel with water, snacks, blankets and road flares — and a full tank of gas if traveling long distance. Most of all, he said, avoid the mentality of try- ing to get somewhere quick in the snow. “Be patient with the plows and people working on the road and be mindful and give us plenty of space,” Gan- gler said. “We are not deliberately trying to hold any- body up. We are just trying to get the snow off the road and make it safe for them.” The ongoing fight against Mother Nature The 16-mile commute between Prairie City and the ODOT shop took an hour and a half, but that’s just the beginning of the job, Gangler said. After plowing the snow, the next priority is to push it back and clear out wide areas for people to pull off and trucks to pull over. The team then places sand on hills, corners and trouble spots to create friction for vehicles. They also make sure that snow banks and other places where snow is stored are under control. The team then makes repairs to snow poles. When the temperature rises and the snow melts, the focus is on draining the water from the highways. With so much to do, Gangler is proud of his ODOT team. “We really do have a hard-working, dedicated crew up here, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for better guys,” he said. The ride-along ended, but Gangler continued to work until 5 p.m. — when the night crew took over and began their fight against Mother Nature. Cates Continued from Page A1 “I was very impressed by how peace- ful the demonstration was,” Cates said. “We left the area cleaner than when we found it.” Cates said the protesters were mind- ful of being perceived as radicals or “militia-like.” “We (Timber Unity) are not like Antifa,” Cates said. Cates said it was a positive, upbeat rally and that commissioners from rural counties came out and visited with the protesters. Cates said the organization has repre- sentation from rural counties across the state, but currently, Grant County does not reduce pollution,” said Parrish. “We can do better. We need other solutions.” In front of the Capitol, Jeff Leavy, one of Timber Unity’s founders, told the crowd that the movement has grown into something larger than just about fight- ing one bill. He said it’s now about chal- lenging overregulation, getting citizens engaged with government and trying to have a voice in the legislative process. “A legislator inside said you guys are shutting down the legislature and not let- ting people’s voices be heard,” said Sen. Denyc Boles, R-Salem. Surveying the crowd, she added, “I’d say this is the leg- islative process. We can hear the people’s voices.” Sen. Herman Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants Pass, urged the crowd to con- tinue on its mission. “Now you must build an army to defeat those in this building who want to take away your way of life. It’s a fight for free- dom. It’s so much bigger than one bill,” he said, adding that “it’s now about all kinds of freedom: religious freedom, gun rights, the freedom not to be overtaxed.” Timber Unity is a heterogeneous group: Some members believe climate change is a real issue and others don’t. What they agree on is that hurting rural Oregon businesses is not OK. Timber Unity invited scientists, called “skeptics” by some and “climate deniers” by others, to speak. “The whole concept behind this bill is a big fraud,” said meteorologist Chuck Wiese. “If you really want this, I would say to the legislators, put it to a vote. But they know if they do, folks like you with common sense are gonna shut it down.” “We’re not having a climate cri- sis,” added environmental scientist Bob Zybach. “We’re having a government crisis.” not have a fully participating Timber Unity representative. Cates hopes that, after the rally, some- one in the county will step into the role. He said he might if there is no interest from anyone else in Grant County. While Cates traveled alone from Grant County, he was not alone in his opposition to the carbon cap and trade bill. Jim Hamsher, Grant County commis- sioner, said the bill is tax and should be referred to voters statewide. “We need to promote the advantages of forestry and wood products as Ore- gon’s best option to carbon-capture and carbon life-cycle calculations,” Hamsher said. “I would like to refocus Oregon’s carbon on greater active forest manage- ment. Any solution should grow Oregon forests, farms and working families.” The Summit X- Country Shootout Saturday February 29, 2020 • Summit Prairie Win ni Pot ng $1 , 50 0 All racers must be 18 years or older to race. SCHEDULE: Pre-register & Meet and Greet at 1188 Brewery, February 28, starting at 5 P.M. Registration in site at 7 A.M. Driver meeting at 8:30 A.M. and first flight by 9:30 A.M. For more information call Tim 541-792-0677 S165625-1
