GO! EASTERN OREGON| INSIDE
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Charolais
Heights
paving
project
draws to
a close
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — The Cha-
rolais Heights intersection
improvement project on the
north side of town is nearly
complete, and residents
could soon begin driving on
the freshly repaved streets.
The troublesome intersec-
tion where Charolais Heights
Drive, Valley View Drive,
Bridge Street and Boul-
der Lane come together has
been realigned with an eye to
improving traffi c safety, and
portions of the streets have
been regraded and given a
fresh coat of asphalt.
The project was a major
topic of conversation at the
Sept. 29 meeting of the John
Day City Council, with the
discussion centering on how
to get motorists to slow down
as they pass through the
reconstructed intersection.
Several
councilors
reported complaints from
citizens about motorists
speeding through the inter-
section — even though the
project area was supposed
to be closed to through traf-
fi c while construction was
underway.
“I’m a glass half full
kind of guy,” Green joked.
“We’ve gone from every-
body complaining because
the roads are not good
enough to everybody com-
plaining because the roads
are too good.”
“The road is faster
because it’s straight now,”
Councilor Heather Rook-
stool noted, adding that she
thought stop signs should be
placed at the intersection.
“People travel way too
fast” on Valley View, said
Councilor Paul Smith,
who took part in the meet-
ing remotely via video-
conferencing. “I think the
new asphalt is beautiful
... but we’ve got to find a
way to slow (the traffic)
down.”
See Paving, Page A10
153rd Year • No. 40 • 16 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
Forest project moves ahead
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
T
MORE INFORMATION
he Malheur National
Forest’s plan to thin for-
ests, manage prescribed
fi res and remove com-
mercial and non-com-
mercial timber on 40,000 acres will
wrap up its 45-day comment period
Oct. 12.
Kate Cueno, a district planner
with the U.S. Forest Service, pro-
vided an update on the Cliff Knox
Project at the Sept. 22 meeting of
the Grant County Court. Cueno
said the proposal calls for harvest-
ing 19,000 acres of commercial
timber and another 4,400 acres of
non-commercial, smaller-diameter
trees for biomass, posts and poles
for fencing.
Under the Malheur National For-
est’s proposed action, known as
Alternative 2, 20 miles of Forest Ser-
vice roads would be closed, Cueno
said, but noted these are previously
administrative road closures.
A diff erent possible version of
the plan, dubbed Alternative 3,
would close 37 miles of roads with
the intention of improving elk hab-
itat on the forest to prevent the ani-
mals from wandering onto private
land.
The project will be within a Wild
How to comment:
Those who would like to com-
ment electronically can go to:
https://cara.ecosystem-manage-
ment.org/Public//CommentIn-
put?Project=50433
More information about the
Cliff Knox Project can be found
at:
www.fs.usda.gov/project/?proj-
ect=50433
and Scenic River corridor, a restric-
tive management designation that
people often cite as one of the pri-
mary contributors to catastrophic
wildfi res scorching the West,
according to Malheur Forest Super-
visor Craig Trulock.
“We’re trying to take that head on
and actually do treatments in places
that have previously been easier to
avoid,” Trulock said.
A real-world example of the value
in treating the forest and removing
fuels, according to Trulock, would
See Project, Page A10
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Kate Cueno, a district planner with the Forest Service, gives
an overview of the Malheur National Forest’s Cliff Knox Proj-
ect during the Sept. 22 session of the Grant County Court. The
40,000-acre forest restoration project spans the Malheur’s Prai-
rie City and Emigrant Creek districts in Grant and Harney coun-
ties.
Eagle fi le photo
The Malheur National Forest’s proposed Cliff Knox Project aims to make 40,000 acres of forest in Grant and Harney counties more resistant to catastrophic wild-
fi res. The project would use prescribed burns, thin roughly 19,000 acres of commercial timber and close approximately 20 miles of roads.
Some fi rms beat hiring crunch
Editor’s note: Today is Part 5 of a fi ve-part series of articles by EO Media
Group looking at the lack of workers for jobs in Central, Eastern and Coastal
Oregon — why workers are not returning to previously held jobs and how busi-
nesses are functioning without being fully staff ed. This last segment looks to
the future.
Satisfying work seen
as one way to avoid
employment woes
By ERICK PETERSON
and SUZANNE ROIG
EO Media Group
HERMISTON — Not every com-
pany is feeling the employment pinch
equally, according to some local con-
struction companies and at least one
economist. People at N.W. Crane Ser-
vice Inc. and other companies say
they are not having the same prob-
lems with staffi ng as other indus-
tries. And when they do have person-
nel issues, they are not related to the
pandemic.
“We’re blessed,” said Ryan Karl-
son, logistics manager at N.W. Crane
Service in Hermiston. Though he
credited much of his success to luck,
his company’s achievements in hiring
and maintaining staff seem to be more
than a fl uke.
First, he said, crane businesses
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian/East Oregonian
attract a special sort of person. Karl-
son’s company employs 12 crane
operators and drivers. Karlson is him-
self an experienced crane operator
and knows a thing or two about this
type of worker.
Crane operators, he said, are
excited by the challenge of their work.
Often, prior to beginning their careers,
they looked up at cranes while doing
other construction, and they wanted
to get behind the controls of the huge
machines.
This desire, he said, is sometimes
hidden deep in their hearts. When
Workers with N.W. Crane Service Inc., of Hermiston unload parts of a crane while as-
sembling it on Sept. 27 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Washington.
The crane service is among the Eastern Oregon companies that have managed to
avoid the staffi ng problems plaguing other industries as a result of the pandemic.
they fi nally talk to an employer about
crane work, and they learn about the
opportunities, they are excited. And
when they get a job, often they do not
want to leave it.
Being able to off er employees
a challenging, fulfi lling and enjoy-
able job, then, accounts for part of
N.W. Crane’s employment success.
This is not the end of the explanation,
however.
A major reason Karlson has been
able to foster loyalty is because he
off ers in-house certifi cations, which
employees appreciate.
Certifi cates are important for crane
operators. Many work sites, including
ones owned by Amazon, allow only
certifi ed workers. And many employ-
ers, Karlson said, require employ-
ees to fi nd and pay for their own
certifi cates.
See Workers, Page A16