WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL
Heat, smoke may not diminish potato harvest
Early season yields
are looking about
average thus far
By GEORGE PLAVEN
EO MEDIA GROUP
Months of intense heat
and smoky skies are not
expected to diminish Ore-
gon’s potato crop, with
farmers across the state pre-
dicting average to above-av-
erage yields heading into
the bulk of harvest.
Bill Brewer, CEO of the
Oregon Potato Commis-
sion, said the overall impact
of wildfire smoke is yet to
be determined in spuds,
but he has not heard of any
major setbacks or problems
with quality.
Hot weather can be hard
on certain potato varieties,
such as Russet Burbank —
the gold standard for french
fries — though in general,
Brewer said he anticipates
a roughly average harvest
statewide and good quality
potatoes.
“The higher heat during
the summertime has been a
bit of an issue, only on select
varieties,” Brewer said. “So
HH FILE PHOTO
Potatoes ride a conveyor belt into a cold storage facility outside of Hermiston in 2014.
far, I have not heard any
other negatives about other
growing conditions.”
About 70 percent of Ore-
gon potatoes are grown in
the Columbia Basin around
Hermiston and Boardman.
Potatoes ranked as the sev-
Lost Valley Farm
founder jailed Friday
on drug charges
te Velde and Cook for the
drugs and booked them
into the Umatilla County
The founder of Ore- Jail, Pendleton. Officers
gon’s
second-largest also seized the $7,400 and
dairy found himself Fri- cited te Velde for driving
day in Hermiston police while suspended and fail-
ing to drive on the right.
handcuffs.
Hermiston
police
“This arrest was the
arrested Greg te Velde, start of the weekend for
60, on accusations of fel- the team of officers that
ony methamphet-
was late shift,”
amine
posses-
Edmiston said an
sion. The resident
in email. “Our
of Tipton, Califor-
officers
were
nia, was not alone.
extremely
busy
Police also arrested
making
several
Sarah Cook, 38,
drug and DUII
of Hermiston on
arrests. We are
Greg te Velde
accusations of fel-
aware Mr. Tevelde
ony meth posses-
is facing numerous
sion as well.
charges from more
Officers con-
than one entity. We
tacted the pair late
have been in con-
sultation with the
Friday during a
Umatilla County
traffic stop in the
District Attorney’s
parking lot near her
Office.”
apartment
com-
plex at 630 S.E. Sarah Cook
Court
and
Sixth St., accord-
police records also
ing to Hermiston Police use the name Tevelde.
Chief Jason Edmiston.
Te Velde founded the
“Officers
discov- Lost Valley Farm, near
ered suspected metham- Boardman, plus two dair-
phetamine and smoking ies in California — GJ te
devices in plain view,” he Velde Ranch in Tipton,
stated, and te Velde was and Pacific Rim Dairy in
in possession of $7,400 Corcoran. He also got him-
cash. The police chief also self into a slew of financial,
reported te Velde “admit- personal and legal trou-
ted to buying and using bles, including accusations
methamphetamine earlier of drug use and patroniz-
in the evening with Cook.” ing prostitutes.
Officers detained the
The California bank-
pair and searched the vehi- ruptcy court in Septem-
cle, where they found ber wrested control of the
several grams of what farms from te Velde and
appeared to be metham- appointed a trustee to over-
phetamine. Police arrested see their operations.
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enth-most valuable agricul-
tural commodity in the state
in 2017, raking in $176.9
million.
Marty Myers, general
manager of Threemile Can-
yon Farms near Boardman,
said the growing season
got off to a good start with
warm weather early in the
spring. Crews began har-
vesting early season pota-
toes on July 10, and Myers
said yields have generally
been very good.
Threemile
Canyon
Farms grows 9,000 acres
of mostly conventional and
some organic russets, all
for local food processors.
Myers said it is still too
early to tell if triple-digit
heat and smoke in July and
August has impacted full
season potatoes. Harvest
just began Sept. 12, and
will likely run through Oct.
20-25.
“Early season was very
warm, and things looked
pretty good,” Myers said.
“Then summer heat comes
in like it does every year and
knocks us back a little bit. ...
We always know it’s going
to get hot over the summer,
and at periods we’re going
to have smoke.”
Brewer said he believes
the smoke does have an
effect on potato production,
blocking sunlight needed
by the plants and possi-
bly altering taste, but more
research is needed to back
up anecdotal evidence.
Dan Chin, who runs Chin
Family Farms Organic out-
side Merrill in the Klamath
Basin, theorizes the smoke
actually helped his potatoes
this year by lowering the
heat and causing the plants
to put more energy into the
tubers. He started harvest-
ing Sept. 12, and said both
size and quality are looking
good.
“Just looking at it last
year and this year, we’re
seeing a little trend that the
smoke didn’t really hurt our
sizing and yield as much as
we thought it might,” Chin
said.
That being said, Chin
said they definitely do not
want smoke every year,
which makes it harder for
employees to work outside.
Mark Ward, chairman
of the Oregon Potato Com-
mission, farms 160 acres of
potatoes on the north edge
of Baker City. He is tar-
geting Sept. 24 to begin
harvest, and like others,
expects to see solid yields.
Ward exclusively sup-
plies potatoes to Simplot for
making french fries. He said
this summer’s heat, includ-
ing five days of triple-digit
temperatures, may increase
the likelihood of sugar
ends, a defect in potatoes
that results in unappealing
brown ends.
“We won’t know that
until we deliver some pota-
toes,” Ward said. “If you
were managing your water
properly, you should be
OK.”
Mooney will be appointed
Hermiston superintendent
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
The Hermiston School
Board will appoint a full-
time superintendent on
Wednesday.
The Hermiston School
District
published
an
announcement after the
board’s work session Mon-
day that it will hold a special
meeting Wednesday, and
will appoint interim Super-
intendent Tricia Mooney to
the full-time position.
The district held a meet-
and-greet with Mooney on
Monday, where community
members were invited to
hear her talk about her back-
ground in education and the
Hermiston area, and ask her
questions about her vision
for the district.
Several district staff
members and administrators
were in the crowd of about
30, as well as some parents
and community members.
She said in addition to
addressing capital needs,
she hopes to continue mak-
ing the district a focal point
of the community, for
sporting events and other
activities.
“I believe the district will
play a pivotal role in the
economic development of
the community,” she said.
Audience
members
focused on Mooney’s plan
Tricia Mooney
to handle a growing student
population and overflowing
facilities, as well as her plan
to get a bond passed.
Mooney said with the
rate of growth the district
has been experiencing, the
schools will always have
some modulars.
But she said the district
is also looking at boundar-
ies, as crowded classrooms
mean some students have
had to go to schools other
than their “home” school.
A community member
also asked Mooney about
her plan to improve grad-
uation rates in Hermiston,
which, as of the last assess-
ment in January, was at 66
percent, 10 points behind the
state average.
Mooney said the dis-
trict has been changing its
approach, and cited the hire
of a graduation coach to help
keep freshmen on track, as
well as learning how to
reach parents and get them
involved in their students’
educations.
The board was set to meet
at 8 a.m. Wednesday to vote
on the appointment.
Mooney has been serv-
ing as interim superinten-
dent since July 2017, when
then-superintendent
Fred
Maiocco, a brigadier gen-
eral with the U.S. Army
Reserves, left for active
duty expecting to be back
in January 2019. Maiocco
resigned in August 2018,
after informing the board
that his term of service had
been extended until January
2020.
The board also has a new
vacancy, after it accepted
the resignation of one of its
members at Monday’s work
session.
Jason Middleton read a
letter informing the board
that he was resigning imme-
diately, saying that personal
and work commitments
would prevent him from
devoting time to the role.
He added that he had
recently been elected to the
Oregon Wheat Commis-
sion, a group that advocates
for wheat issues at the state
level.
Middleton, a region man-
ager for United Grain Cor-
poration in Pendleton, has
served on the board since
2008. He was first appointed
to a position vacated by
Roger Bounds.
He praised the district
and its teachers, and said he
was glad for the opportunity
to observe the work teach-
ers do.
“Being a school teacher
is probably the most noble
profession there is,” he said.
The board is accept-
ing applicants to the vacant
position until Friday, Oct. 5.
They will review the appli-
cations and interview candi-
dates at their regular school
board meeting Oct. 8, and
appoint a new member on
Oct. 22.
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