The INDEPENDENT, April 21, 2011
There’s a new way to report and/or
research unsafe products
by Chris Thomas, Oregon
News Service
There’s a new way to alert
the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC),
and the public, about products
that could be dangerous. It’s a
website just launched by the
CPSC, www.SaferProducts.
gov, where anyone can file a
report or look up safety infor-
mation about a product.
Consumer protection attor-
ney Maria Diamond sees the
new site as not just for con-
sumers’ benefit. She says it’s
also a way for the CPSC to find
out earlier about potential safe-
ty issues in the marketplace.
“Unfortunately, until now there
really wasn’t a good way for the
CPSC to identify hazards
quickly and efficiently. They’d
find out through the litigation
process, which I think everyone
would agree is not the way
things should work.”
Diamond notes the CPSC is
a relatively small agency re-
sponsible for monitoring the
safety of thousands of prod-
ucts, including toys, cribs and
children’s clothing. She thinks
the new website will allow it to
do a better job and provide in-
formation faster. However,
there are a lot of product cate-
gories the CPSC doesn’t cover,
and some people are con-
See New on page 21
Forecast is good for steelhead
Anglers can look forward to
another promising steelhead
season on the Columbia River
and its tributaries this year,
based on a forecast released
recently by a team of state, fed-
eral and tribal biologists.
The report issued in March
by the Columbia River Techni-
cal Advisory Committee (TAC)
forecasts a return of 391,000
upriver summer steelhead for
the season that begins May 16
on the Columbia River below
the I-5 Bridge. TAC is com-
prised of state, federal and trib-
al biologists whose forecasts
are used to set salmon and
steelhead seasons and harvest
guidelines on the Columbia
River
“The summer steelhead
season is one of our most sta-
ble fisheries,” said John North,
manager of ODFW’s Columbia
River Fisheries Program, who
noted the 2011 forecast is in
line with the 10-year average.
“It is one of those fisheries
where you can go fishing and
enjoy good weather and a wide
range of locations and fishing
methods.”
The summer steelhead sea-
son also has the benefit of low-
er effort on the part of anglers.
“It’s not as popular as the
spring salmon season so there
is more opportunity to get out
and have lots of river to your-
self,” he said. “It’s low key and
low pressure.”
The bulk of the forecast is
for A-index hatchery steelhead,
the earlier of two major runs.
Out of the total upriver steel-
head forecast, 312,000 are ex-
pected to be A-run hatchery
fish, which typically range in
size from 5-8 pounds each.
The A-run fish typically show
up in large numbers in the Port-
land area below the I-5 Bridge
from the opening of steelhead
season on May 16 through the
end of June, according to Jim-
my Watts, ODFW’s Columbia
River assistant project leader.
The B-index steelhead run,
which is forecast at 54,000 fish,
usually arrives a little later. B-
index steelhead typically range
from 8 to 12 pounds.
Watts, who supervises
ODFW’s Columbia River fish-
ing survey crews, says the best
fishing for steelhead in the
Portland area generally takes
place through July. As steel-
head numbers peak in July and
August, the action moves up-
stream between the I-5 Bridge
and Bonneville Dam. By Sep-
tember, a large portion of the
run has crossed Bonneville and
the fish are often found holding
in the cooler waters of the
mouths of the tributaries, in-
See Steelhead on page 21
Page 15
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
Still Some Bright Spots for WOEC
Despite all of the difficulties going on in our world, there are some things we
can be thankful for in 2010 and so far in 2011. The weather has been favorable
to our system so we have avoided any large outages. Our largest outage came
from a wet snow in late February and early March that wasn’t even predicted
to be of any significance, but still caused outages that lasted a few days, most-
ly in the Chapman area. We did have to bring in some outside crews to help
so the cost of repairs was about $100,000. That being said, we have been
spared the devastation from storms and bad weather others in the country have experienced, or that
we have experienced in the past. The La Nina weather pattern has provided sufficient water to pro-
vide power from the dams this year and the runoff reports have us experiencing the 11th best water
year in the past 40 years. What that possibly means for us is stable wholesale power costs this year.
BPA will determine the final outcome in October, but at least it looks positive at this point in the year.
We did not receive a rate increase in April from BPA so we can all be very grateful for that.
Though the effects of weather events in other parts of the United States and the world have tak-
en their toll on other utilities, being a predominately hydro-based power purchaser we have not had
the adverse affects others have to deal with. We obviously have higher costs in fuel for our trucks
and will have to make concessions for those, but our power rates have not been impacted so far.
I am also grateful for the safety of our Line Crews. Working with high voltage in all kinds of weath-
er, at all hours of the day and night, and in all kinds of conditions puts them at risk constantly. They
are very professional and take every precaution to work safely and carefully. I am always very con-
cerned with and very thankful for their safety. Our system has performed pretty well this year. We
have done,and continue to do, lots of tree trimming, are inspecting our power poles and will begin
replacing those identified as in poor condition, and we are undergrounding parts of our system. All
of this is being done in order to improve the reliability of our system.
Our subsidiary, Columbia Broadband, has taken a positive turn and we are being successful in
our efforts to make it a profitable venture. We anticipate further growth and development in our en-
deavors to make our subsidiary successful. While the broadband effort through LSN, formerly
NoaNet, has not yet brought high speed broadband to our area, we continue to look for avenues and
possible partnerships to soon provide this much needed service.
The underground project we completed on the Timber-Elsie Transmission line has proven to be
a huge success and is already saving the Co-op significant repair and maintenance costs. The new
building is moving along well and we are about to begin the construction of the new Vernonia Sub-
station. We are all hoping for sunshine ahead to help all of our work and projects, and to just put a
bright smile on everyone’s faces.
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