NEWS
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020
Food
BTW
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
a very diffi cult position.”
On Friday, a line of vehi-
cles stretched down South-
east Ninth Street and part of
Highland Avenue in Herm-
iston as people lined up to
get a free 20-pound bag of
potatoes and 5-pound bag
of onions from AgriNorth-
west and River Point Farms.
Area farms that are part
of Farmers Ending Hunger
have also pledged to dou-
ble donations to the Oregon
Food Bank this year.
Reports of destruc-
tion of milk, eggs, ani-
mals, potatoes, onions and
other products by farmers
in some parts of the coun-
try has caused outrage by
people who wonder why
food is going to waste when
unemployment is skyrock-
eting and people are strug-
gling to feed their fami-
lies. But farmers featured in
such stories have defended
the practice, saying in many
cases there are logistics that
stand in the way of donating
their product to food banks.
With milk, for example,
most dairies don’t pasteur-
ize the milk themselves,
meaning they would have
to donate it raw, which
would be a health hazard.
They also don’t have pack-
aging capabilities for take-
home portions, and most
food banks have limited
refrigeration capacity.
At Threemile Canyon
Farms outside Boardman,
the farm’s diversity of oper-
ations has allowed it to
make adjustments.
General Manager Marty
Myers said some fi elds that
would have grown produce
that are now in low demand
will instead be used to grow
feed for the cows on the
farm’s dairy side. In nor-
mal circumstances, the farm
would purchase that feed
from elsewhere and save
that land for more lucrative
crops.
“We’re fortunate to have
the dairy business also,” he
said.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Rows of 20-pound bags of potatoes and 5-pound bags of onions from AgriNorthwest and River Point Farms sit ready for
distribution at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hermiston on Friday afternoon.
Myers said Threemile
Canyon Farms isn’t having
to dump its milk down the
drain.
The farm serves Tilla-
mook’s Boardman plant,
and dairies that sell to retail
businesses instead of restau-
rants or schools are doing
better than the ones that
were supplying now-shut-
tered operations. Myers
said even on the restaurant
side, things aren’t as bad
with milk as they are with
some products.
“A lot of milk goes into
cheese for pizza, and a lot of
those services have adapted
with delivery,” he said.
Myers noted the next
problem farmers will start
facing is on the meat side.
Major meat-packing plants
have started having to
close due to outbreaks of
COVID-19 among staff.
“That is a bottleneck,”
he said.
That issue is playing out
in Umatilla County’s back-
yard. Walla Walla County
Department of Commu-
nity Health said in a news
release Friday that a Tyson
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Joshua Bunting checks in with a driver while handing out
free 20-pound bags of potatoes and 5-pound bags of onions
from AgriNorthwest and River Point Farms on Friday.
Fresh Meats plant there has
seven employees who have
tested positive for COVID-
19, including one who lives
in Umatilla County.
The release stated that
all of the employees devel-
oped their symptoms before
April 8, and the company
has since stepped up its mit-
igation efforts.
“To date, Tyson leader-
ship at every level has been
engaged and cooperative,”
the county stated. “How-
ever, if at any point we see
they are not implement-
ing efforts to fi delity, we
will take further action and
potentially close the plant
until it is safe to reopen.”
For growers whose big-
gest crops come later in
the year, there are still a lot
of unknowns about what
prices and demand might
look like.
Don Walchli of Walchli
Farms in Hermiston said
COVID-19’s effect on the
demand for watermelon, or
the labor to harvest it, is a
“tough question.”
“It’s hard to say because
we’re not in full swing on
that side. ... Just like every-
one else, we’ll have to wait
and see,” he said.
At the Hermiston Agri-
cultural Research and
Extension Center, interim
director Clive Kaiser said
there have been a few
experiments that have been
put off because they aren’t
hiring their usual help for
the summer, but faculty
are still doing “really good
work.”
“Everything we’re doing
is really closely aligned
with what the growers want.
We haven’t heard they want
anything different,” he said.
“The demand is not going
away for good agricultural
research.”
He said they’re making
health and safety a prior-
ity at the station, with pro-
tective gear, telecommuting
and new social distancing
policies limiting labs and
vehicles to one person at a
time.
• • •
Oregon drivers will not
be required to remove stud-
ded tires on their vehicles
until May 15.
The normal deadline for
removing the winter-driv-
ing tires is April 1, to reduce
the damage the tires cause to
roadways. But the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation extended the deadline
to May 15 this year in light
of COVID-19
• • •
Hermiston-area
resi-
dents continue to support
Good Shepherd Health
Care System employees
during this public health cri-
sis. This week Good Shep-
herd thanked the anonymous
couple who posted a huge
“Thank you for being here”
sign across the street, and
Dutch Bros, which sent 360
energy drinks over for staff.
• • •
As people spend more
time at home, and on social
media, Hermiston Police
Department is warning
them to be cautious about
what information they give
out online. “Fun” quiz-
zes asking people questions
like their fi rst pet’s name,
their favorite teacher or the
street they grew up on can
be a way for scammers to
determine answers to a per-
son’s security questions they
use to reset their password
on bank accounts, email or
websites.
The department also
thanked Shiki Hibachi
Sushi for donating 250
masks for offi cers to use
while out doing their jobs.
• • •
Umatilla County Fire
District 1 will offer a live
tour of a fi re station on
Thursday at 10 a.m. on the
district’s Facebook page.
The tour will include a look
inside of Station 22 on Pun-
kin Center and Diagonal
Road, and a look at a fi re
truck and ambulance kept
there. The district plans
to post other videos in the
future of its other stations.
5
STEPS
FOR
SAFE
DIGGING
Working on an outdoor project? Careless digging poses a threat to people, pipelines and underground
facilities. Always call 8-1-1 first. Here are five easy steps for safe digging:
Source: call811.com
1. NOTIFY
Call 8-1-1 or make a request
online two to three days
before your work begins.
The operator will notify the
utilities affected by your
project.
2. WAIT
Wait two to three days for affected
utilities to respond to your request.
They will send a locator to mark any
underground utility lines.
2-3
3. CONFIRM
C
Confirm
that all affected utilities have
responded t to your request by comparing
the mar
marks to the list of utilities the 8-1-1
call c center notified.
4. RESPECT
Respect the markers provided by
the affected utilities. The markers
are your guide for the duration of
your project.
5. DIG CAREFULLY
If you can’t avoid digging near the
markers (within 18-24 inches on
all sides, depending on state laws),
consider moving your project location.
Hermiston Office
750 W. Elm Ave.
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541) 567-6414
Boardman Office
400 N.E. Eldrige Drive
Boardman, OR 97818
(541) 481-2220
www.UmatillaElectric.com