FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Commission hears report on new dairy
operation
8,700 milking cows, 10,000 beef, and a farming operation planned
By David Sykes
Details of a new mega
dairy planning to open near
Boardman at the site of the
now defunct Lost Valley
Dairy, was presented to
the Morrow County Com-
missioners August 5. Wym
Matthews of the Oregon
Department of Agriculture
gave a presentation laying
out the plans new owners
Easterday Farms of Wash-
ington have for the 7,000-
acre farm, ranch and dairy.
Easterday purchased
the property, including
buildings and infrastruc-
ture for $66.7 million in
February of 2019 after Lost
Valley went bankrupt leav-
ing behind a multitude of
environmental and oth-
er violations. Clean up at
the former dairy has been
completed and Easterday
is in the process of apply
for a new Confined Animal
Feeding Operation (CAFO)
permit with the state.
Matthews said the new
operation would have 8,700
mature milking cows and
8,600 dairy heifers and
calves and 10,000 beef
feeders. There is exten-
sive existing infrastructure
already in place from the
previous dairy and it can be
used for the new operation.
The dairy footprint alone
covers 400 acres of just in-
frastructure, Williams said.
The company plans on in-
vesting millions more into
the facility for to bring it
into environmental compli-
ance including completion
of a wastewater treatment
system not finished by the
previous owner. In addition
to the dairy, the new owners
plan to have 5,700 acres of
irrigated crops and the beef
cattle.
Of major concern to
state agencies licensing the
facility is the protection of
ground water in the area. If
granted a permit the dairy
will be regulated so manure
and processed wastewater
does not enter ground or
surface water. It would
require a nutrient manage-
ment plan that describes
how the manure will be
collected, treated, stored,
transferred and utilized.
Matthews told commis-
sioners other facets of the
operation covered under
the permit would be limits
on the amount of wastewa-
ter that can be applied to
fields as fertilizer. It would
also prohibit runoff to sur-
face waters or discharge
to ground waters. Current-
ly there are 11 existing
groundwater monitoring
wells being sampled quar-
terly at the site and those
tests have come up clean
and show zero animal pol-
lutants left over from the
previous operator, Williams
said.
Williams said state
agencies are prepared to
monitor the new dairy
extensively to avoid the
non-compliance issues they
faced from the previous
owner, who violated many
of the environmental rules.
He said there would be a
lagoon leak detection sys-
tem that notifies the dairy
of any potential leaks in
the lagoons. There would
also be soil testing were the
dairy is required to collect
annual soil samples on all
fields that receive manure
or processed wastewater.
The testing wells will also
monitor nitrate levels in the
water, an important factor
in this area of the Columbia
River Basin.
Gaining the permit is
going to be an uphill climb
it seems as a multitude
of environmental, animal
rights and small farm ad-
vocacy groups, who also
opposed permitting the
previous dairy, have already
lined up in opposition to
the new owners. Williams
said the dairy will have to
gain permit approval from
multiple state agencies in-
cluding the Agriculture
Department, Department
of Environmental Quality,
Water Resources and Or-
egon Health Authority as
well as the local planning
commission. He said at
some point there would be
a 35-day public hearing and
comment period on issuing
the new permit.
Morrow County Com-
missioners were generally
in favor of the new dairy
operation, as long as, un-
like the previous operation
it followed the rules. “The
previous board (of Com-
missioners) was happy to
approve this (permit for the
previous dairy) but we need
to proceed with abundance
of caution and make sure
state agencies are holding
up their end of the deal,”
Commissioner Jim Doherty
said. He added that monitor-
ing nitrate levels was very
important to make sure peo-
ple’s drinking water stayed
uncontaminated from the
dairy. “We are tasked with
not only looking after the
ag folks but looking after
everybody,” Doherty said.
He also said the new owners
Valby Lutheran Church
Valby Road
Ione Oregon. 97843
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had a good reputation for
running clean agricultural
operations. “Their reputa-
tion preceeds them and I’ll
bet my left arm they are
going to do things correct.
They are fantastic folks and
I think they are going to
look after things,” he added.
Doherty wanted to
know if the county com-
missioners could be kept
updated on the data the
state has on operations at
the dairy so they could keep
an eye on things. Williams
said the data collected by
agencies was all public so
anyone can look at it.
“I’m excited for this to
come back online,” Doherty
said of the rejuvenated
dairy. I’m excited for the
jobs it will bring and the
milk it will produce. I’m ex-
cited for the ability of Mor-
row County to grow more
jobs and feed more people
around the world,” he said.
Morrow County Assessor
Mike Gorman wanted to
know what the time frame
was. “Will it be months,
years, decades?” he asked
Williams. “The agencies
are meeting weekly (on the
permit),” Williams said.
“There are lots of moving
parts but I am hoping its
months and not years,”
he told the commission in
conclusion.
Schedule announced
for 4-H and FFA
exhibits
The schedule for the
2020 Morrow County Fair
4-H and FFA demonstra-
tions begins August 13. Due
to COVID-19 restrictions,
exhibits will be judged but
are not open to the public.
The schedule and informa-
tion follows:
Thursday, August 13:
Practice Zooms for Presen-
tations and Fashion Revue.
Friday, August 14 by
4 p.m.: All livestock mar-
ket and breeding videos
uploaded to ShoWorks
at https://mcf4h.fairwire.
com/; All static exhibit
photographs uploaded to
ShoWorks. Include expla-
nation cards; Photography;
Art; Crafts; Wood Science;
Fleece/Fiber; Eggs; Cro-
cheting/Knitting; Clothing
; Cake Decorating; Gift
Packages; Robotics; Edu-
cational Displays/Design
Boards; Container Garden-
ing; Creative Writing/Short
Stories- to be emailed as a
PDF file to Erin by August
14 for review; Videogra-
phy- the entire piece to
be submitted to fairvault
system.
Sunday, August 16, 9
a.m.-4 p.m.: Fashion Revue
Zoom Interviews.
Monday, August 17 by
9 a.m.: Clothing exhibits
will be dropped off at the
Extension Office or Board-
man Chamber Office.
Tuesday, August 18
from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.: Presen-
tations ZOOM Interviews
with judge. Includes pre-
sentations, pledge, FCS,
measuring contest.
Friday, August 21: All
Market Animals delivered
to fairgrounds. Official
weights will be taken and
uploaded into ShoWorks
for the livestock auction.
All market animals must
meet the same weight re-
quirements as listed in the
premium book to sell.
7:30-8:30 a.m.: Hogs;
9 a.m.: Sheep/Goats and
Steers; 1 p.m.: Auction
pre-bidding opens. Buyers
can place early bids on
livestock animals before the
competitive bidding begins
on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Saturday, August 22:
1-4 p.m.: Virtual Competi-
tive Auction via ShoWorks,
https://auction.showorks.
cloud/fair/mcf4h.
Marriage Licenses
The Morrow County
Clerk’s office has released
the following report of
marriage licenses:
July 1, 2020: - Zane
Avery Shultz, 25, Heppner,
and Hailey Marie Bowman,
22, Heppner
July 2, 2020: - Don-
ald Wayne Carpenter, 71,
Irrigon, and Karen Marie
Mitchell, 64, Irrigon.
July 9, 2020: - Jordan
Robert Braun, 25, Board-
man, and Rylee Christine
Hodges, 23, Boardman.
July 16, 2020: - Ruben
Moreno, Sr., 43, Irrigon,
and Chantell Leone Lynn
Michaels, 38, Irrigon.
July 17, 2020: - Austin
Ray Carter, 21, Ione, and
Shanan Rose Kelly, 22, La
Grande.
July 23, 2020: Johnny
Jake Wadkins, 66, Irrigon,
and Roseann Gail Black,
67, Irrigon.
July 24, 2020: - Jim
Kiley Richardson, 44, Rob-
ert Lee, TX, and Becky Ann
Wagenblast, 42, Lexington.
July 30, 2020: - Adan
Rodriguez, 32, Boardman,
and Cristal Rodriguez, 25,
Boardman.
Print & Mailing Services
*Design *Print
*Mail
Sykes Publishing
541-676-9228
Spiritually Speaking
Cling onto Jesus with
the faith of the
Canaanite woman
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church
Isn’t it amazing that we are all made in God’s image
and yet each one of us is different? We are each unique.
We need to give one another the space to grow, to be
ourselves, to exercise our individuality. We need one
another so that we may both give and receive the best
in one another. Often, when we make choices of things,
events, places and even persons, we tend to exclude some,
based on our prejudices. The scripture readings of the day
challenge us to break down our prejudices and exclude
none. The Canaanite woman in the Gospel teaches us
that our Christian vocation is to reconcile all humankind
to God. The message of this single woman to every one
of us today is “Be not afraid.” Be not afraid to challenge
prejudice.
In the first reading, Isaiah is writing to the Israelites
after their return from exile in Babylon. They find their
homeland occupied by foreigners whom the people of Is-
rael deeply ostracized. Isaiah proclaims that the foreigners
who joined themselves to the Lord had to be accepted.
We are told that no one can be saved by one’s own power.
Only God can save us. Salvation is open to all. Anyone
who is really determined to be saved will be saved. And
no one can claim the right to be saved. We are saved only
through God’s mercy and love.
In the Second Letter of St Peter, Chapter 3, verse 9, we
read: “God wants nobody to be lost. He wants everybody
to be converted and be saved.” Again, in the Acts of the
Apostles, Chapter 10, verse 35 tells us: “God does not
have favorites; anybody from any nationality who fears
God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Isaiah
insisted that no one is excluded from God, and as believ-
ers we cannot exclude others. God is not our exclusive
property, and faith is a gift to be shared, not a possession
to be kept for ourselves alone. If we do not share the fire
of our faith it can die within us.
The responsorial Psalm, of the day is very apt: “O
God, let all the peoples praise you!” echoes Isaiah’s mes-
sage that God’s house is open to all. When Paul wrote
to the Romans, the community at Rome was a mixture
of Jews and Gentiles, with the Gentiles a majority. Paul
reminded both sides that all people are saved only by the
free grace of God and not because they belonged to the
‘right group.’ In the second part of his message, Paul tells
the Gentiles that God’s gift and call to the Jews will not be
taken back. At that moment, the Jews were rejecting God’s
gifts and His call, and the Gentiles were now accepting
them. Paul warns both Jews and Gentiles to be faithful
and believe in God’s mercy, which alone saves them.
Today’s Gospel takes up the religious exclusion
prevalent among the Jews even in the time of Jesus.
The Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel was a Gentile.
The woman symbolizes all those regarded as unclean by
Jesus’s own people. This woman comes to Jesus with a
request on behalf of her sick daughter. “Sir, Son of David,
take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.”
The mission of Jesus had been limited to a short period
of time and confined to the Jews. He answered her not a
word, and then states that he was sent to the lost sheep
of the House of Israel. The silence of Jesus suggests a
refusal to minister to this woman’s needs. This is how his
disciples interpret it and plead with Jesus to get rid of her.
Jesus explains his exclusive mission to the woman: she is
outside the territory of his pastoral concern.
The Canaanite woman teaches us the courage. Given
her position as a stranger and as a woman, it took phe-
nomenal courage to take on the all-Jewish and all-male
company of Jesus and his disciples. She was so small
that, even though she addresses Jesus by his proper Mes-
sianic titles - “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David”
(v.22) - Jesus still ignored her: “He did not answer her
at all” (v.23a). Most people at this point would give up
and accept defeat. But not this Canaanite woman. Rather,
she intensifies her efforts and embarks on a one-woman
demonstration to the point that the disciples had to ask
Jesus to do something about it: “Send her away, for she
keeps shouting after us” (v.23b).
But the woman has no intention of getting into a
theological argument; all she knows is that her daughter
is ill and needs Jesus. She goes after what she wants with
perseverance. She stops Jesus in his tracks by kneeling
at his feet. “Lord,” she says, “help me!” Jesus responds
with apparent harsh words: “It is not right to take the
children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Jesus’s apparent
harshness was meant to test her faith. The woman was
not diverted by this offensive rebuff; rather than taking
offense, she hangs on to the reason she is there. She tells
Jesus that even the dogs can eat scraps that fall from the
master’s table. This woman kneeling at Jesus’s feet lets it
be known that she will be satisfied with dog food. In her
response, she has outwitted Him, and Jesus has the grace
to give in. Her courage and her refusal to take “no” for an
answer finally paid off. It was Jesus who gave in at the
end: “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you
as you wish” (v.28), and the woman gets what she came
for; her daughter is healed.
The message of this single woman-outsider to ev-
ery one of us today is “Be not afraid.” Be not afraid to
challenge prejudice and falsity even in high places, even
in religious high places. The least among us can be a
vehicle that God can use to bring justice and healing to
all of God’s disadvantaged daughters and sons all over
the world. Especially at this time of turmoil and anxiety
around us, like the Canaanite woman, until we get what
we ask for, let’s cling onto the person called Jesus. Surely,
he will have pity on us and grant our hearts’ desires.
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