tion news

Lumber Association of California & Nevada installed Eric Ziedrich, Healdsburg Lumber, Healdsburg, Ca., as its new president at its annual convention in Monterey, Ca. (See next month's issue for more conventictn coverage. )

Wildfire safety changes to California's building code will be the subject of a seminar held Dec. 4 at the Marriott, Riverside, Ca.

The 2nd Growth group will hold its holiday meeting Dec.6 at the Sheraton, Cerritos, Ca.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealer Association is hosting a series of seminars by Mike Butts, LBM Solutions, Dec. 3-6 at the Holiday Inn Central, Denver. Co.

The first day will cover installed sales, followed by a one-day benchmarking for excellence class, and finally a trvo-day blueprint reading and estimating seminar.

The Colorado WOOD Council's year-end party will be Dec. 6 at the Milc High Stadium Club, Denver.

International Wood Products Association is hosting regional lunch meetings Dec. 4 at the Sheraton Delfina, Santa Monica, Ca., and Dec. 6 at the Potland City Grill, Portland, Or.

Both will deal with overseas product and supply trends, the U.S. market for imported wood, and legislative/ regulatory issues affecting imported wood users.

Portland Wholesale Lumber Association will celebrate the holidays Dec. 7, with its annual Christmas luncheon at the Embassy Suites HotelAirport, Portland, Or.

Guest speaker is Hal Salwasser, professor of forest resources and forest science, dean of the College of Forestry, and director of the Forest Research Lab at Oreson State University.

Western Pallet Association will hold its annual mecting Jan. 19-22 at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. Rancho Mirage, Ca.

Speakers will discuss economics affecting international trade, national and international issues. and horv to save your company from fire disaster.

North American Wholesale Lumber Association will offer its Buyers' School Dec. l0-13 in Chicago, Il.

The program is designed for those in the lumber, millwork, and building materials industries who are involved in buying, sales, inside sales, or management. Topics include inventory management and distribution; hedging strategies; industry-specific case studies, and business ethics.

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association has set the dates for its spring 2008 Cedar School-April l417 at the Pacific Palisades Hotel. Vancouver, B.C.

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Colorado Yard Winding Down

United Lumber, Brighton, Co., is liquidating and will close by the end of the month.

Bill Peterson, whose family has owned the 104-year-old lumberyard for the last 60 years, is retiring and has sold the property to the developer of a proposed civic center.

"It's time to move on, do other things," Peterson said. "I've been president down there for 34 years, and I think that's long enough. When this opportunity came to sell the property, I just figured it was a good time. At my age, I didn't want to relocate it to another spot."

New Deadline In Prlco Case

Participants in Pacific Lumber's Chapter 1l process were told to pick a mediator by Ocl 24 and present a unified bankruptcy plan within 30 days. Judge Richard Schmidt did not rule on whether Pelco or its creditors should control the reorganization of the troubled company.

Under bankruptcy law, PALCo gets priority on proposing a plan to reorganize the company and pay off its debts. On Sept. 30, the company unveiled a bankruptcy-exit plan that it claimed would repay all creditors in full through $l.l billion raised by developing and selling some of its more than 200,000 acres of California timberlands.

PRt-co called the plan its best option to "unlock trapped values in their embattled timberlands" and deal with strict environmental regulations.

The plan requires support from creditors and approval from a bankruptcy court judge.

"I think it's a win-win plan," said Pnlco c.e.o. George O'Brien. "It does what you're supposed to do in bankruptcy-come up with a plan that pays everyone in full and generates value for equity."

As part of the plan, Palco's six related businesses would be merged. Their combined assets have been appaised at roughly $1.4 billion and their claims estimated at less than $l billion.

The most controversial part of PaLCo's proposal is selling 22,000 acres of its most valuable redwoodswhich are located in Humboldt County-as 160-acre timber farms.

The board of supervisors in

Humboldt County immediately acted to block the sale. Bondholders of Perco subsidiary Scotia Pacific, who are owed about $785 million, believe the timberlands are worth far less than the company claims.

EPA Fines Hardware Store North Valleys True Value

Hardware, Reno, Nv., has agreed to pay a $2,7 5O fine for selling a residential pesticide containing chlorpyrifos, which has been prohibited since Dec. 3t,2001.

"These pesticides were canceled due to their potential to harm children," said Katherine Taylor, associate director of the community and ecosystems Division for the EPA's Pacific Southwest office in San Francisco, Ca. "The EPA issued a cancellation notice that indicated when retail sales had to stop. Retailers must keep themselves informed and promptly remove canceled pesticides from their shelves."

The complaint against Green Valleys originated during a March 2004 inspection conducted by the Nevada Department of Agriculture. The banned pesticide was in the product Greenthumb Flea & Tick Killer.

Coos Bay Line Down Again

A 120-mile rail line between Coos Bay and Eugene, Or., has again been closed due to unsafe tunnel conditions. Mills operated by Southport Forest Products, Georgia-Pacific, and Roseburg Forest Products have been aff'ected by the decision.

"We ship probably J07o of our product out on that line," said Jason Smith, manager of Southport's Coos Bay mill. Moving lumber by truck instead of rail will increase costs by lo-157o, he said, but those costs can't be recouped because the market is oversupplied and buyers won't pay.

"It's going to be very hard on us," said Smith. "The transportation is such a critical component of a mill's success. If we can't compete, we'll have to shut down."

It would take 1.131 trucks a month to make up for the lost rail service, according to Oregon's Department of Transportation, but that many might not be available. "If you have everyone needing more trucks, you can't just flip a switch and have those trucks show up," said Smith. "We're located quite a ways from Interstate 5. Sometimes it's hard to set truck companies to come here."

The line's owner, Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, gave the mills one day's notice before shutting the line. Last winter. the line was closed for a month after a tunnel collapsed and cost $2 million to repair. Now the company is seeking a public-private partnership to pay for needed repairs, which could cost nearly $7 million. The line's nine tunnels are more than I 15 years old.

"The Coos Bay line just doesn't have enough business on it today to justify us making the repairs," said sales manager Tom Hawksworth. "Even if the money was suddenly available. it's not safe to make the repairs until after the rainy season next spring."

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Or.) has asked that the Federal Railroad Administration inspect the line and identify what repairs are necessary to make it safe. If the inspection doesn't support the rail company's safety concerns, the state could challenge the shutdown. "They say the line doesn't make enough money to sustain itself," said Kelly Taylor, an administrator at the Oregon Department of Transportation's rail division. "That sounds like abandonment if someone doesn't help them out."

Timber Firms Pay For Fire

Two logging companies have paid $1.5 million to Idaho's Department of Lands in connection with a 2003 fire that burned state-owned timber near Hunt Creek.

Babbit Logging, Coeur d'Alene, Id., and Stimson Lumber, Portland, Or., were ordered to pay because improperly rigged logging equipment allegedly rubbed against rocks and started the blaze. The fire burned 590 acres and took nine days to contain, at a cost of about $2.5 million.

SPI Cuts Back In Galifornia

Sierra Pacific Industries has temporarily reduced production by 25Vo and laid off workers at its mills in Chinese Camp and Oroville, Ca.

"lt's unusual that we would curtail operations, but the demand has fallen so significantly that we're building up inventory," said SPI's Mark Pawlicki. "We're hopeful and optimistic that the market will turn around in the spring."

Last year, the Chinese Camp mill was closed and converted to cedar production. The plant had been running at full capacity since December.