Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 Herald Business Follow us on Twitter @HermistonHerald Lamb Weston plans $30 million Boardman expansion CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY DEBBIE PEDRO More than 300 people attended the third annual Community Agricultural Workers and Employees Resource Fair, Wednesday at the Hermiston Conference Center. 300 attend ag workers resource fair More than 300 employ- ers, job seekers, families and community members came together March 9 for the third annual Communi- ty Agricultural Workers and Employers Resource Fair. The attendance more than tripled over past years, according to Debbie Pedro, director of the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce. In addition to 45 in- formational and vendor booths, the two-hour event also included dental care, hair cuts, a meal provided by Fiesta Foods and multi- ple health screenings, such as blood pressure checks and cholesterol screenings. The free event was pre- sented by the Hermiston Latino Business Network, Fiesta Foods, Atkins Staff- ing and the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY DEBBIE PEDRO Michelle Monroe, of literacy program Ready 2 Learn, mans a booth at the third annual Community Agricultural Workers and Employers Resource Fair. “We hope that next year we’ll be able to expand the event and it will continue to grow,” Pedro said. “It was awesome, and we will de¿- nitely do it again.” Plant investment comes before planned split with ConAgra Foods later this year ConAgra Foods Inc. announced Friday that its Lamb Weston processing fa- cility will expand operations in Boardman. The $30 million invest- ment will add additional processing capacity for making formed products such as hash brown patties and potato puffs. The addi- tion of the line at the com- pany’s existing facility is expected to add 50 jobs to the 390 people already em- ployed by the company in Boardman. With continued increase in demand for frozen potato and formed products, this capacity expansion is neces- sary to ful¿ll Lamb Weston’s global growth projections, according to a press release from the company. Construction on the pro- cessing line is expected to begin this spring, with com- pletion in 2017. The added line will increase processing capacity by approximately 50 million pounds. “With the frozen pota- to category growing glob- ally, we have tremendous opportunity to support our customers’ growth in the U.S. and around the world,” said Lamb Weston President Greg Schlafer in a press CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Employees gather outside the ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston frozen potato plant in June 2014 at the Port of Morrow in Boardman. release. “To capture that growth, we need to make more products. Expanding our operations in the Co- lumbia Basin — with access to great potatoes, people and ports — just makes sense.” The facility in Boardman is close to growing, storage and shipping operations, with easy access to the Port of Morrow. The company opened an initial expansion of the facility in June 2014, adding 300 million pounds of capacity with a new fry line. That $200 million proj- ect included plans for the addition announced Friday. “Lamb Weston’s planned expansion shows their con- tinued commitment to the Port of Morrow, Boardman and the Mid-Columbia re- gion as the right place to do business,” said Gary Neal, general manager of the Port of Morrow. “Their ongoing investments add good pay- ing jobs to our region and we are fortunate to have such great partners at the Port.” Lamb Weston employs about 4,500 people at a corporate of¿ce and seven manufacturing facilities in the Columbia Basin, and operates 22 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Lamb Weston was estab- lished in 1950 by F. Gilbert Lamb in a former co-op plant in Weston, Oregon. Lamb and the company also invented the water gun knife in 1960, which was used to make french fries by moving potatoes with water at a high speed into a sharpened steel grid to turn the whole spuds into fries. The company entered the domestic potato process- ing market and withing 10 years had expanded by adding new processing fa- cilities in American Falls, Idaho; Connell and Quincy, Washington; and Hermis- ton. ConAgra Foods an- nounced late last year that it will separate from Lamb Weston later this year, form- ing two separate publicly traded companies. That spin-off is expected to be completed sometime this fall, with Lamb Weston be- ing headquartered in Kenne- wick, Washington. ConAgra Foods, which currently has headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, will become Conagra Brands and also move its corporate of¿ces to Chicago this year. ConAgra aquired Lamb Weston in 1988. All other stations were list- ing higher prices according to customer reports to the GasBuddy.com website. “The cheapest gas prices of the year are now solidly behind us,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “The current upward trend is an unfortunate one that we witness every year, but the sudden jolt this time around has been enhanced by a 45 percent jump in the price of crude oil in the last month.” While prices are expect- ed to increase for a while, there may be good news for consumers later this spring and summer. “At the end of the day, we expect this rally in gas- oline prices to run for an- other month or two before stalling out,” DeHaan said. “Perhaps the best news? Motorists still could see the cheapest average sum- mer gasoline prices in over a decade.” Chamber cancels social media sessions BRIEFCASE Secretary of State sets notary seminar Gas prices climbing again A free seminar for ex- perienced notaries is being offered by the Secretary of State. The class covers such topics as employee notary issues, comparing signa- tures and identi¿cation, no- tary and elder abuse fraud, and journaling witnesses. The class is not for begin- ning notaries. The session is Thurs- day, March 24 from 9:30- 11:30 a.m. in ST-214 at Blue Mountain Community College, 2411 N.W. Carden Ave., Pendleton. Although the session is free, those planning to at- tend must register at http:// notsem.sos.state.or.us or by calling 503-986-2200. Average retail gasoline prices in Oregon have risen 9.2 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.07 per gallon on Sunday, ac- cording to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,307 gas outlets in Oregon. Nationally, the average price has increased 11.9 cents per gallon in the last week to $1.93 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. Including the change in gas prices in Oregon during the past week, pric- es Sunday were 80.3 cents Business lunch builds bridges Consultant John Audley will discuss building bridg- es to promote healthier and more self-reliant rural Oregon during the upcom- ing Hermiston Chamber of Commerce B2B Luncheon. Audley owns a consult- ing business and will share information about his work for the Oregon Business Council and Craft 3, a non- pro¿t ¿nancial institution dedicated to investing in people, their communities and healthy natural sys- tems. The no-host luncheon gathering is Tuesday, March 22, with network- ing starting at 11:45 a.m. at the Hermiston Confer- ence Center, 415 S. High- way 395. The meal, which is catered by Ixtapa, is $10 for members and $13 for non-members. For more information or to RSVP, contact 541-567- 6151 or kelly@hermiston- chamber.com. per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 16.5 cents per gal- lon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 23.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 50.2 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago. Fuel prices in the Herm- iston area have started ris- ing too, but remain below the statewide average. According to GasBud- dy.com, the lowest price for regular unleaded in the greater Hermiston area on Tuesday was the Pilot trav- el center in Stan¿eld at In- terstate 84 at $1.899 and the Tesoro station in Umatilla. A pair of business social media workshops in Uma- tilla have been canceled. Due to lack of timely re- sponse, the Umatilla Cham- ber of Commerce canceled the March 16 sessions. For more information, contact Karen Hutchin- son-Talaski at 541-922- 4825 or karen@umatilla- chamber.net. SELF DEFENSE Learn self-defense techniques, including: Awareness, home security, verbal de-escalation, evading and escaping maneuvers. This is a contact class. Age 12 and up. Free, but must pre-register. Call 541-667-3509. March 31 • 6:00 - 8:00pm GSMC Conference Center 2 POWERFUL TOOLS FOR THE CAREGIVER: A FREE program for family caregivers. Learn how to reduce stress and relax, communicate effectively, reduce guilt and anger, make tough decisions, set goals and problem solve. Must attend the first class. Registration is required as space is limited. Sign up by 3/18. Tuesdays • 4:00 - 5:30pm March 22 through April 26 To register, call 541-667-3509 HEALTHY FRIDAYS FREE health screenings & health coaching: Blood pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass index, cholesterol and glucose. First Friday of each month 9:30 - 11:30am Third Friday of each month 2:00 - 4:00pm GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept) Information or to register call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org spec-1/#13
