VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 | Winter 2023-24
EVOLUTION OF THE Umatilla ARMY Depot » PAGE 4
INSIDE THIS ISSUE »
• Portland’s trash benefits Gilliam County » 10 • Charting the North Coast’s trails » 14 • Rural librarians face censorship demands » 24 • Spray (pop. 139) has thriving arts center » 28
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WELCOME
EDITOR’S NOTE
I
n this edition of The Other Oregon we bring you some stories about places that have a big impact on the rural communities where they are located.
• Portland sends all of its trash to rural Oregon, and the 2,005 residents of Gilliam County could not be happier. A decision in 1988 by county officials to build a landfill to take Portland’s trash has paid big dividends for the county. Columbia Ridge Landfill, opened in 1990, has gone on to become the county’s largest employer. It pays the county $1.5 million in host fees a year and uses waste gases to generate electricity. • The tiny town of Spray in Wheeler County has only 139 residents. Joni Kabana is a relative newcomer to the area, having moved to town six years ago from Portland after a wide-ranging career in high tech and a decade of charity work in Africa. She had a vision for a building that was once at the center of community life in the town. Kabana bought the old Spray General Store and has turned it into an arts and community center that has become a gathering place for locals and an event space that brings urban tourists to town. • Shortly before the start of World War II, the government built the Umatilla Army Depot out on the scrub of the Columbia Plateau east of Hermiston. Throughout the war the depot was a storage facility for munitions destined for the Pacific Theater and later the Korean War. When the Cold War heated up in the 1960s, the Army brought in thousands of munitions loaded with deadly nerve gas. Those munitions have now been neutralized and after decades of storing weapons of war, thousands of acres are being taken over by the county for economic development and habitat conservation. On behalf of everyone at The Other Oregon, we wish you your family a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.. — Joe Beach
A VOICE FOR RURAL OREGON TheOtherOregon.com
WINTER 2023-24 Publisher
Kathryn B. Brown
Editor
Joe Beach
Contributors
Hal McCune Carolyn Campbell George Plaven Jasmine Lewin Kyle Odegard Bennett Hall Noemi Arellano-Summer
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CONTENTS COVER STORY
Umatilla Army Depot’s evolution » 4
THE LAND Cash for trash in Gilliam County » 10 Charting the trails of the North Coast » 14
MAKING A LIVING
Diversification of farms can be easy as pie » 16
THE CULTURE
Deschutes County’s one-room schoolhouse » 18 Rural librarians face censorship demands » 24 Spray General Store has new life » 28
Publisher Kathryn B. Brown, kbbrown@eomediagroup.com, 541-278-2667 Editor Joe Beach, jbeach@eomediagroup.com, 503-506-0905 On the cover: Storage igloos at the former Umatilla Chemical Depot. EAST OREGONIAN FILE PHOTO
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COVER STORY
Umatilla Army Depot’s evolution The history and future of Oregon’s former military munitions and supply depot STORY BY HAL MCCUNE
T
he seemingly endless mounds that dot the land on the former Umatilla Army Depot — storage bunkers called igloos that were built in the shadow of World War II — give an inkling of the complex 82-year history of the property that is now back in public
control. In 1940 the U.S. Army identified about 20,000 desolate acres covering 24 square miles of shrub-steppe land straddling Umatilla and Morrow counties in northeast Oregon as an ideal site for a military munitions and supply depot. The land was remote; Hermiston is 10 miles away and at the time was home to less than 1,000 residents, now it’s about 20,000. The arid desert land, with an annual rainfall of about 10 inches, was perfect for storing explosives (and later chemical munitions). 4 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
Construction of warehouses, shops, offices, a fire station and railroad engine house, along with a web of roads and railroad tracks, began in 1941. In a little less than a year the team of 7,000 construction workers also built 1,001 igloos in two sizes, 30 by 80 feet and 24 by 61. The igloos form large bumps across the landscape and are still clearly visible from Interstate 84 to the south of the depot and Interstate 82 along the eastern border.
A home for bombs and bullets
The Umatilla Ordnance Depot opened on Oct. 14, 1941, and 13 days later the first shipment of 20,000 bombs arrived. Five weeks after that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and about 2,000 depot employees went on round-the-clock shifts to receive and ship munitions, and care for the stored items, in support of the war effort.
A VOICE FOR RURAL OREGON TheOtherOregon.com
Construction of one of the 1,001 igloos at the Umatilla Ordnance Depot in 1941. PHOTO COURTESY OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Storage igloos line a section on the southeast corner of the former Umatilla Chemical Depot. The Army held a ceremony in March 2023, at the Pentagon to recognize transferring the land to the local control of the Columbia Development Authority. EAST OREGONIAN FILE PHOTO
In 1940 the U.S. Army identified about 20,000 desolate acres covering 24 square miles of shrub-steppe land straddling Umatilla and Morrow counties in northeast Oregon as an ideal site for a military munitions and supply depot.
Like many industries and facilities supporting the war, the depot relied heavily on civilian women ordnance workers, who made up 27 percent of the workforce and did everything from driving trucks and forklifts to handling munitions. At the height of the war, the depot experienced a deadly tragedy when six workers, five men and a 20-year-old woman, were killed by a massive explosion while moving 500-pound bombs into an igloo on March 21, 1944. The blast rattled windows in Hermiston and left a giant crater where the igloo had been. Linda Gilleese told the Hermiston Herald in 2008 that the front axle of one of two vehicles destroyed in the blast landed 20 feet from her desk at her depot office nearly a mile away. Thankfully, the igloo’s design — walls constructed of 10 inches of reinforced concrete with a thin concrete ceiling covered by two feet of dirt — worked as designed, allowing the blast to go up rather than out. None of the surrounding igloos ignited or were damaged. The largest remaining piece of concrete from the obliterated igloo was placed in front of the Army administration building, now occupied by the Oregon National Guard, along with a memorial plaque honoring those who died. The precise cause of the explosion was never determined. The event marked the only fatal injuries suffered during 70 years of storing conventional and chemical munitions at the depot. The depot went on to provide conventional munitions for U.S. forces during the Korean War — as many as 1,500 workers handled nearly 34 tons of ammunition and other military supplies each month — as well as Vietnam and Desert Storm in 1991, also known as the Gulf War.
Conventional to chemical
The depot’s focus began to shift in 1962, along with a name change to the Umatilla Army Depot, when it began to store chemical munitions, which kept arriving until 1969. The depot ended up storing 12 percent of the country’s chemical munitions stockpile. » The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24 | 5
500-lb bombs in igloo. PHOTO COURTESY OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Jerry Lanphear, a longtime federal employee of the Army who spent decades at the depot, recalled during a 2012 interview on the eve of his retirement that the entire depot was bustling during the 1960s. “Every building, every area was busy,” said the former guard who worked his way up to director of depot security. All the igloos were full of bullets, bombs or chemical munitions. On some occasions, bombs were stacked outside between the berms separating igloos that were already full. Lanphear noted that ton containers holding mustard blister agent were initially stored outside. The shift from traditional explosives to chemical munitions was complete by 1994 when the last conventional ammunition and supplies were sent to other Army depots around the country. The facility changed its name, again, in 1996 to Umatilla Chemical Depot. About the same time the U.S. Congress ratified the country’s inclusion in the International Chemical Weapons Convention, along with more than 180 other nations that agreed not to produce chemical weapons and to destroy existing stockpiles. The move dovetailed with the Army’s intention to eventually close the depot. Construction of the massive Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility at the depot commenced in 1997 and was completed in 2001. 6 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
A Umatilla Ordnance Depot worker loads a 500-pound bomb into an igloo. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY THE U.S. ARMY
That was the easy part. Oregon’s stringent environmental laws nearly thwarted the project, but state regulators and the Army ultimately reached agreement on environmental and safety expectations for the process. »
For more information, contact: Dan Dorran, County Commissioner dan.dorran@umatillacounty.gov • 541-278-6201
Umatilla Depot reuse map. COURTESY OF THE COLUMBIA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
At long last, incineration of Umatilla’s chemical stockpile of more than 220,000 munitions and 3,720 tons of chemical agent commenced Sept. 8, 2004, when workers began to feed rockets filled with sarin — one of the most toxic and rapidly acting nerve agents — into one of the plant’s two giant furnaces heated to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Over the next seven years the plant incinerated more rockets along with projectiles, bombs, landmines and spray tanks that contained sarin or VX, another deadly nerve agent, and ton containers filled with mustard blister agent. The last item went through the furnace on Oct. 25, 2011, ahead of the 2012 deadline set by the Chemical Weapons Convention. “There’s nothing better in our professional lives than completing our mission safely and ahead of schedule,” said Steve Warren, project general manager for URS, the company that operated the disposal plant for the Army. “That’s exactly what Team Umatilla did.” The Army demolished the incineration plant in about a year, completing the work in July 2014. Following a clean bill of health by Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality for the former incineration site and all the igloos, the depot was ready for its return to local control.
What’s next?
After the Army added the depot to the federal Base Realignment and Closure list in 1988, depot and local officials began contemplating how the land could be used to benefit the region once the Army was done with the facility. The Columbia Development Authority (CDA) was formed in 1995 to develop and implement a reuse plan. It’s composed 8 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
of representatives of Umatilla and Morrow counties, the ports of Morrow and Umatilla, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). But first the Army needed to officially transfer the land. The first step came in 2017 when the Army preserved the land’s military legacy by transferring 7,500 acres to the National Guard Bureau for a permanent large-scale training facility for the Oregon National Guard. The Guard is using the original Army headquarters area just inside the main gate off I-84 and the west half of the former depot land, except for the southwest corner, which is earmarked port industrial. Last March the Army conveyed 9,500 acres of the former depot property to the CDA, which is intended to benefit local residents, municipalities and taxing districts. Greg Smith, executive director of the CDA, said 4,000 of those acres will soon be conveyed to the CTUIR for wildlife habitat preservation. The Army’s transfer of 17,000 acres is a big deal for the region, Smith said, for the Army’s goal of returning abandoned military real estate to productive use for local communities. It’s the fourth largest transaction in the Army’s Base Realignment and Closure history and the largest in the past 20 years. “The transfer represents what can be accomplished when partners come together for a mutually desired outcome,” Smith said. “It’s public land now, it belongs to everyone.” He is confident the land designated for industrial use — which includes the area where the incineration facility was located and has usable warehouse space, office buildings and parking lots — will attract companies eager to benefit from land adjacent to two major freeways, Union Pacific’s main rail line and barge access via the Columbia River.
A VOICE FOR RURAL OREGON TheOtherOregon.com
“It’s some of the most pristine industrial land available in the state and in a strategic location,” Smith said, noting the clean-up efforts have met all state and federal environmental requirements. It’s also generally flat with an arid desert climate and has substantial access to electrical power and natural gas capacities. Interest is beginning to build, including from two energy companies focusing on solar power and renewable hydrogen generation. While such companies likely wouldn’t provide a big jump in employment, their projects would give a healthy tax revenue boost to support local services. There are other possibilities, such as replacing the heavy steel doors on the igloos with roll-up doors and renting them out for storing vehicles or just about anything else. That’s been done at the former Army weapons storage depot in Colorado. Local agricultural could be interested in some of the vacant land as well.
The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility was demolished after completing its mission of incinerating Oregon’s chemical weapons stockpile. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UMATILLA CHEMICAL AGENT DISPOSAL FACILITY
As for those igloo landmarks, most of those likely aren’t going anywhere. Smith said it would cost upwards of $40,000 to remove one igloo, which is pricey for the amount of land it would open up. So that unique element of the depot landscape will continue to be a reminder of an illustrious past. Hal McCune is a longtime Pendleton resident who worked as communications director at the chemical agent disposal facility from 2006-2014.
The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24 | 9
THE LAND
Cash for trash
Columbia Ridge Landfill benefits Gilliam County
STORY BY GEORGE PLAVEN
T
he year was 1988, and residents of rural Gilliam County had an important decision to make. Would they become the site of a new dump where Portland sends its trash? The city had previously disposed of its garbage in the St. Johns Landfill near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, but that facility was nearing capacity. Building a new landfill elsewhere in the metro area was proving unpopular, so officials had to consider other alternatives. Waste Management already operated one hazardous waste dump south of Arlington, 137 miles east of Portland up the Columbia River Gorge. The company proposed building a second landfill to take Portland’s trash, which would also create new jobs and revenue for Gilliam County — population 2,005. Then-county judge Laura Pryor decided to take the idea to her neighbors and constituents, meeting them at coffee shops, backyard barbecues and in their homes. They ultimately decided it was a good thing, with some even wearing pins to public meetings that read “Portland’s trash is Gilliam County’s cash.” Columbia Ridge Landfill opened in 1990, and has gone on to become the county’s largest employer. “I think it’s a really good example of a symbiotic relationship between two communities that, from an outsider, couldn’t be more different,” said Elizabeth Farrar Campbell, the current county judge, who was just 10 or 11 years old when the partnership began. 10 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
‘A better environment’
Today, Columbia Ridge Landfill receives about 500,000 tons of garbage every year from Metro, the regional government entity that regulates Portland’s trash disposal. The 12,000-acre landfill also takes trash from the city of Seattle and Kitsap and Skagit counties in Washington. A 10,000-acre buffer surrounds the site 10 miles south of Arlington, preserved for wildlife habitat, wheat farming, cattle ranching and wind turbines. Metro renewed its 10-year contract with Waste Management in 2020 to haul garbage to Columbia Ridge, with options for two, five-year extensions. “Columbia Ridge in Gilliam County plays an important role in our region’s solid waste system, and is an important part of rural Oregon’s economy,” said Lynn Peterson, Metro Council president. “I’m proud that we’re an active partner in rural Oregon’s economy.” Dave Rettell, area director of disposal operations for Waste Management, said Columbia Ridge Landfill has the capacity to continue running for another 120 years based on volume projections from customers, including Metro. Eastern Oregon is a good place for the landfill, Rettell said, in part because of its drier weather to protect against contaminants seeping into groundwater. “You are in a better environment to put a landfill on the east side of the Cascades,” he said.
A VOICE FOR RURAL OREGON TheOtherOregon.com
Dave Rettell, second from left, area director of disposal operations for Waste Management, tours visitors at the Columbia Ridge Landfill near Arlington where the company plans to build a new production plant for renewable natural gas. PHOTO COURTESY WASTE MANAGEMENT
View of the green energy plant at Columbia Ridge Landfill in Gilliam County. This facility harnesses landfill gas to generate 12.8 megawatts of renewable electricity. The landfill is also surrounded by a 10,000-acre buffer preserved for wildlife habitat, wheat farming, cattle ranching and wind turbines. PHOTO COURTESY WASTE MANAGEMENT
The facility is also fitted with modern environmental protections, including a double liner system to capture any leaching and run the water into nearby ponds to evaporate. In 2009, Columbia Ridge began capturing landfill gas from decaying garbage on the site which it uses to generate 12.8 megawatts of renewable electricity, or enough for 12,500 homes. Waste Management plans to install technology at the landfill to turn that biogas — largely methane — into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas, or RNG, used to power the company’s own fleet of garbage trucks in Oregon, Washington and California. RNG emits less greenhouse gases than fossil fuels, providing cleaner air for communities, Rettell said. That facility is expected to break ground in 2024 and come online in 2025.
Economic benefits
Farrar Campbell said the landfill has been a valuable economic engine for the county. Not only does it provide 140 family-wage jobs, but generates millions of dollars in annual host fees that go toward road maintenance, workforce housing, Main Street revitalization projects, access to early childhood education and a Homestead Rebate Program for local homeowners.
An aerial view of Columbia Ridge Landfill near Arlington. The 12,000-acre dump opened in 1990, and today receives garbage from the cities of Portland and Seattle. PHOTO COURTESY WASTE MANAGEMENT
Between Waste Management and several large wind farms, Farrar Campbell said the county is able to punch above its weight providing services. “It’s really been a tremendous blessing for us,” she said. “We would have a pretty modest tax base without those industries here.” Waste Management paid $1.5 million to the county in host fees in 2022. Beyond that, the company has contributed $8,000 per year toward college scholarships for high school students in Arlington and Condon, and $25,000 per year to the Oregon Frontier Chamber of Commerce, which represents Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler counties. Jackie Lang, a company spokeswoman, said Columbia Ridge stands as an example of one of the state’s most successful urban-rural bridges. Farrar Campbell agreed, saying she believes the landfill will continue to be a staple of the county for decades to come. “We are open for business, and want to keep hosting Waste Management,” she said. “They are really critical to the work we’re doing in Gilliam County.” George Plaven is a reporter for the Capital Press in Salem. The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24 | 11
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THE LAND
trails of the North Coast
Author charts over 85 scenic hikes for new book
W
STORY BY JASMINE LEWIN hen Stan Pine first moved to Clatsop Pine continued to explore the paths less traveled, noting that County from the dry landscape of most hiking guides in the area focused on popular, well-trodden central Oregon, he was wary of the rain. trails such as the Fort to Sea Trail or Tillamook Head. He also Already an avid hiker, he noticed the emphasizes the importance of including “strolls” — places that way downpours soaked the forests and do not necessarily follow a trail but provide scenery to leisurely anybody caught on the trails. wander and admire the surroundings. Now a North Coast resident of over a decade, Pine “I want to include things that appeal to everybody,” hikes rain or shine, and appreciates the way the he explained. “You can look in my book, and I’ll frequent showers saturate his surroundings say, ‘This is a good one for a baby carriage, with greenery. you can push a baby carriage along here.’ “I’ve learned you can hike in the rain, Whereas most hiking books are really you can hike anytime of the year,” he more challenging.” said. “Sometimes in that deep forest, Accessibility is important you can’t even feel the rain.” to Pine. A major reason for his Whether he is hiking with others continued dedication to hiking is his or by himself, Pine carries with him commitment to recovery from a triple more than just sturdy shoes and bypass surgery. To stay healthy and a bottle of water. He has become active, he hikes at least three times a intricately familiar with the histories week. of the trails he walks, studying Pine said his favorite place to hike changes in topography and noting shifts is the Netul Landing Trail at Lewis and in land use. Clark National Historical Park, because it Pine said his interest was sparked when offers an atmosphere of serenity alongside the he started walking his dogs on trails in central opportunity to catch a glimpse of wildlife while Oregon. walking along the easy trail. Author Stan Pine “There was a lot of history out there, but none of it was “Each time you turn a corner, you might see otters in the easy to access. There were always names like ‘Wagonblast Road,’ river, or ducks or herons. Right now there’s lots of spiders and and I always wondered if there was dynamite that blew up a spider webs that get rain or dew on them, they’re beautiful things wagon or something,” he said. “There’s always interesting names to walk past and look at. Sometimes you’ll see a deer, or one of out there. So I started collecting data on all of these things that I the eagles that seem to be out along the river there.” saw or heard or read about.” Pine’s recently self-published book, “Hiking Historic North Over the 35 years Pine lived in central Oregon, he developed Clatsop County, Oregon,” contains over 85 scenic hikes, walks a knack for finding smaller, lesser-known trails and uncovering and strolls in Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside. new corners of history. He said he wanted to share both the paths Along with historical tidbits and thoughtful advice, the book and the information he’d discovered with others and took to the often offers a humorous perspective that invites others to join in written word. the fun, regardless of their hiking experience or ability. It can be “I had a love for history, and a love for outdoor hiking, and found for sale at Seaside’s Beach Books, the Seaside Museum & just decided it’d be fun if I could write a book that had something Historical Society, Astoria’s Godfather’s Books and the Columbia that included both my passions,” he said. “I put those two together River Maritime Museum in Astoria. and wrote two books over the years. And then I moved to Clatsop “I’m glad to have something out there that lots of people can County and it’s the same thing. There are lots of books about enjoy,” Pine said. history, and lots of books about hiking. But there wasn’t really anything that put it all together.” Jasmine Lewin is a reporter for The Astorian in Astoria. 14 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
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MAKING A LIVING
Farm diversification For some farms, it can be easy as pie STORY BY KYLE ODEGARD
B
lue Raeven Farm in Amity, Ore., responded to plummeting berry prices in 2007 with a pop-up tent in a parking lot to sell fruit. That quickly turned into a farmstand with a commercial kitchen. A few years later, pies were added. “We were just making five to 10 pies a day and we were super excited,” Katie Sauers recalled. Fast forward and Sauers, manager of Blue Raeven Pie Company, estimated she’ll sell 25,000 pies the week of Thanksgiving. “The pie company is now the main driver of all our entities. It’s unreal,” Sauers said. Thanks to the pie company, Blue Raeven Farm has a buyer lined up every year for 100,000 pounds of fruit. Many family farms in the Northwest turned to value-added products to diversify, and pies evolved into the heart of some agricultural operations. 16 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
Pies in the making at the Blue Raeven Pie Company near Amity, Ore. PHOTO COURTESY BLUE RAEVEN FARM
Turkey day is pie day, too
According to the American Pie Council, 186 million pies are sold in U.S. grocery stores every year, enough to circle the Earth. Sales surge during the holidays but farmers said Thanksgiving was their most important day. Sauers said Thanksgiving pies account for 40% of Blue Raeven’s annual income. Katie Gonzales, owner of Hiatt Farm near Philomath, Ore., said her business sells 800-900 pies the week of the holiday. “Pumpkin pie is always toward the top of the list. Hazelnut Marionberry and caramel apple pecan are next,” Gonzales added.
A shift in focus
Hiatt Farm started a fruit stand in the mid-2000s and began selling chicken pot pies, dessert pies and cinnamon rolls from its kitchen in 2013.
A VOICE FOR RURAL OREGON TheOtherOregon.com
“As we added more baked goods, people really seemed to enjoy it,” Gonzales said. Close to 90% of Hiatt Farm’s annual income now comes from its bakery, and dessert pies represent 25%, Gonzales added. That’s resulted in a shift in mindset and planting practices for the farm, which has always raised produce and livestock. Zucchini is destined for zucchini bread. Strawberries are picked for pie. “We’re still farming, but these are the products we sell really well,” Gonzales said.
Reducing food waste
Fry Family Farm in Medford, Ore., faced difficulties finding a baker and hired one with pie season weeks away. “It’s a lot of pressure,” said Amber Fry, general manager, who said half of yearly pie sales are for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The weeks of the holidays the farm will sell 500 to 700 pies. Fry Farm’s commercial kitchen was added around 2015 to make jams, sauces and pickle produce — and to cut down on food waste, such as berries too ripe to go to market or fruit with blemishes. The 100-acre farm includes row crops, mixed vegetables, berries and grains. “We try and supply our kitchen with everything off the farm,” Fry said. Kyle Odegard is a reporter for the Capital Press in Salem.
Katie Gonzales, owner of Hiatt Farm, south of Philomath, Ore., said dessert pies now represent 25% of the operation’s annual income. “We’re still farming, but these are the products we sell really well,” she added. PHOTO BY KYLE ODEGARD
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The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24 | 17
THE CULTURE
brothers school
STORY BY NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER PHOTOS BY ANDY TULLIS
This rural school has just 6 students, and the unique needs of a one-room schoolhouse
T
he elementary school in Brothers, a small community in southeast Deschutes County, looks a lot like any other modern large classroom. There are desks with each student’s name taped to the top. A large library is split into two sections, with books for every reading level. Large empty boxes sit at the back of the room, waiting to be painted and turned into props for the school’s upcoming Christmas program. The program will in part be a fundraiser for field trips, including an overnight trip at the end of the year. The main thing that’s different is that as a one-room school in a rural area, Brothers Elementary has just six students for the year, ranging from kindergarten to seventh grade. Jim Bates, principal and teacher, and his wife Stacy Bates trade off teaching days Monday through Thursday. Like other rural schools, Brothers Elementary has a four-day school week. Jim Bates, 58, said, “For the whole first month, we worked together every day, just to get the year started and get me back in
18 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
the teaching role.” He was previously a principal for 16 years in various Crook County schools, so agreed to take on the administrative duties. Stacy Bates taught at Brothers Elementary last year as well, though this is his first year.
Far away from town
Part of Crook County School District, Brothers, on U.S. Highway 20, is 47 miles from Prineville, the district’s main city. Brothers is 42 miles east of Bend, and is surrounded by undeveloped land. The school gym, also used for community events, is a separate building, and the original red schoolhouse is now used to store furniture and supplies. The days are long, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but attending Brothers Elementary means students don’t have to spend hours on the bus, commuting from their families’ ranches in rural Deschutes and Crook counties to Prineville. »
A VOICE FOR RURAL OREGON TheOtherOregon.com
Students work on projects with direction from teachers Stacy Bates, center standing, and Jim Bates at Brothers School.
A semi-trailer truck, from left, passes by on E. Highway 20 as the sun warms the historic Brothers School house in Brothers.
The main thing that’s different is that as a one-room school in a rural area, Brothers Elementary in southeast Deschutes County has just six students for the year, ranging from kindergarten to seventh grade.
Brothers School students play tag on scooters at recess in the gym at Brothers School.
Brothers School teacher Jim Bates, center, helps fourthgrader Paycie Smith with an article of the day project, while seventh-grader Maggie Hatfield, left, works on her computer seated in a beanbag. The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24 | 19
Brothers School teachers Stacy Bates, right of center, and her husband Jim Bates talk their students about their daily goals, while in a seated circle at the beginning of the school day.
“We try to structure it so they work hard, they play hard. And get some snacks,” said Jim Bates. “Same types of programs that students have in town, we have out here, same thing with our core programs, we just have more one-to-one time and face-to-face time with them.” The day is structured in a series of small-group rotations, and students work independently as well. The day’s subjects range from writing, math and art to physical education. “In my experience, and Stacy would say the same, it’s remarkable to work so closely with the students, because you know exactly what they’re gaining and what their needs are,” he said.
Unique needs
Jim Bates said he was pleased with how the district has supported Brothers Elementary, especially in recognizing that rural schools have unique needs. Cindy Jones, secretary and instructional aide, said, “Truth is, if somebody needs a hand, whatever they’re doing (I’ll step in to 20 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
help). That’s kinda how we work out here.” Jones, 66, has been working at Brothers Elementary since January 2018. “We’re not in the mainstream of things, so we are a little bit more of a home setting than we are a public school large setting,” she said. “These are kids that are very rural … when we have activities or when we’re doing things, a lot of things are exciting to them because they don’t do that kinda stuff often.” Larry Jones, Cindy’s husband, is the bus driver and custodian and handles nutrition services with her. The students were excited when he brought out pizza for lunch before a field trip to a Prineville Christmas display. “The kids are great, the families are fun to work with,” said Jim Bates. “Each of them come in with a real strong work ethic, and respect what their families expect them to bring to the classroom and it really shows.” Noeimi Arellano-Summer is a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend.
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Children should be seen and heard According to the 2022 State of Mental Health Report1, Oregon youth have the highest prevalence of both mental illness and substance use disorder in the United States. About 1 out of 17 Oregon youth have a diagnosed substance use disorder, and Oregon has experienced the largest increase of youth substance use disorder in the country. But there’s hope. Coalition for a Healthy Oregon plans are ensuring mental and behavioral health services are available and accessible for all children in Oregon. As an example, the 2022 CCO Metrics Report shows our CCOs are ensuring kids entering the foster care system are receiving timely and comprehensive assessments.
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1
Reinert, M., Fritze, D. & Nguyen, T. (October 2021). “The State of Mental Health in America 2022”, Mental Health America, Alexandria VA. (https://mhanational.org)
THE CULTURE
Rural Librarians Facing challenges in an era of censorship demands STORY & PHOTOS BY CAROLYN CAMPBELL
Port Orford Library.
W
hile increasing demands that books be removed from shelves, librarians are also working to forge a new era of librarianship by shifting the mission and purpose of libraries in the communities they serve. The question many are asking: what role should rural librarians play in serving the needs of their communities where there are few resources and minimal funding? According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, about 30 million Americans are served by the nation’s approximately 4,000 rural library systems. That’s 42% of all libraries in the United States. The Institute’s 2020 study spotlighted the critical role libraries play in connecting community members to vital resources and programs. “Whether the issue is education, economic development, or access to broadband, this summary shows that rural libraries are expanding their importance as communications hubs for communities,” Cynthia Landrum, the Institute’s deputy director, said. Julie Retherford, Chetco Community Public Library’s director in Brookings, Ore., is at the front lines of both challenges. For the last year and a half, Retherford has faced a vicious banning battle. In addition to being called a pedophile and a childgroomer, someone threatened to hang her. When asked how the banning challenges impacted her and her role in developing library programs to fill the gaps in her community’s limited services, Retherford took a breath. 24 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
“Perhaps it’s because of this battle but I’ve become more passionate about First Amendment rights and more motivated to keep libraries a place for both knowledge and in-person connection in an increasingly virtual world.” In these post-pandemic times, in addition to their traditional role as knowledge purveyors and book lenders, rural libraries are filling the gaps of internet availability, digital equity, and community health, as well as offering more common programs including book clubs and children’s story time. Denise Willms, director of Port Orford Public Library, describes her library as a hub for community connection and knowledge incubation. “For our hotspot alone, my best estimate is that 35% of the usage is from people picking up internet from the library’s parking lot.” Since the pandemic, Port Orford library continues to have increasing numbers of people who come in, often with their own computers asking for a private space to access the internet to do their schooling or their job online. “For many folks in town, there’s either no high-speed internet available in their area, or it’s too expensive,” Willms said. With funding now secured, Willms is eager to open their soonto-be-completed makerspace. By providing 3D printers, laptops, webcams and podcasting equipment, community members will have access to technology tools to create in ways they can’t at home. “We want to provide our community with access to as many opportunities as possible.”
Retherford and Maryanne Hirning of the Clatskanie Library District refer to their respective libraries as a neutral ‘third place’ outside of home and work where people can come and exist without being expected to purchase something. As she continues to endure a brutal book banning battle, Retherford asserted, “I’m a trained librarian and neutrality is part of that. But is it really neutral to allow people to have hateful opinions and air those and force other people to live according to those same standards? To counter the attacks, we’re increasingly looking for ways to welcome anyone to come use our building for whatever purpose they want. It doesn’t matter if you check something out, or you use our reference books, join one of our classes, or work in the makerspace. Maybe you come and just sit. That is such a rare thing to be able to do, for nothing.” David Lankas, scholar, speaker, and professor of librarianship at University of Texas, has been advocating for this ‘new librarianship’ for over a decade. In his book, The Atlas of New Librarianship, he proposes that new librarianship is not based on books and artifacts, but on knowledge and learning. In his view, the role of today’s libraries and librarians is to improve society through knowledge creation by facilitating conversation and social networking. Dianne Connery, library director of Pottsboro Library in east Texas, is credited with creating the first telehealth program in any library, a template followed by many libraries in Oregon. Guided by Lankas’s new librarianship model, in less than 10 years her library went from nearly closing down to receiving national recognition from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for its role in serving and making meaningful impact in their community. The biggest challenge Connery and other librarians face is garnering the media buzz and social capital needed to build consistent, ongoing community engagement. With all the demands on rural libraries and librarians, having the time and resources to reach multiple media channels can seem nearly impossible. Many communities are so small they barely have access to any form of local media. “The limited media might have actually served us,” Connery said. “Instead of pushing traditional media posts, we’ve built collaborative partnerships with civic organizations, local governmental agencies, local businesses including hotels and real estate agents, schools, and gaming experts. It’s become a team effort and has resulted in grant opportunities that further our ability to become a hub of innovation and connection.” Rutherford echoed Connery’s perspective. “If it weren’t for our army of loyal library supporters, I’m not sure our library could have endured the attacks we’ve faced this year. Through it all, we continue to grow our library’s programming to provide more services to our community. “Over the next five to 10 years, our communities are going to realize the powerful role that libraries have played and continue to play in maintaining our American culture and supporting the needs of our communities. If we can keep focusing on how to build a vibrant hub of learning and connection, we’ll elevate libraries to a new level of value in the communities we serve.” Carolyn Campbell is a freelance writer.
Maryanne Hirning, director of the Clatskanie Library District.
Designing for Rural Oregon
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The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24 | 25
Our family of organizations needs your help to continue building relationships and getting things done in the Mid-Columbia region of Oregon The Northeast Oregon Water Association (NOWA) formed in 2012 to build and enhance relationships with Oregon agencies and legislators in support of our sustainable natural resourcebased economy that generates billions annually for the region, state, and nation. The founding members of NOWA include the counties, cities, ports, private businesses, and landowners of the region who mutually committed to a list of solutions to move the region’s water sustainability goals forward. These relationships have yielded the following results over the last 10 years: • $25 million in state investment since 2015 into three regional Columbia River pipeline projects. This funding has led to over $200 million in private infrastructure investment in the region. • Certification and Protection of existing water rights for cities and private citizens, and development of the first mitigated Columbia River water rights in Oregon history. • $1 million in state investment to develop the first basalt groundwater savings and banking program in Oregon history. • Pressure on agencies to address elk depredation, impacts of energy transmission development, and impacts of baseless policy changes on irreplaceable irrigated land in the MidColumbia region. In addition to state and federal efforts, NOWA has fostered local efforts to create capacity to keep the region moving forward. These efforts have led to the formation of the MidColumbia Water Commission to administer Columbia River efforts and the SAGE PAC, which advocates for our region and our sustainability needs. Together these organizations will work on the following to advance short and long-term goals of the region:
The next 7 years of work to sustain our next 7 generations 1) Tell OUR story and prevent rogue agencies, extreme interest groups and legislators from pushing misinformation and half-truths that cloud the economic and environmental sustainability goals this region has invested in and fought hard to preserve for decades. 2) CONTROL our agenda, and minimize reliance upon outside groups that may or may not have our best interests in mind. 3) CONTINUE progress on groundwater quality remediation strategies and get our region out of the legacy issue of nitrates in groundwater. 4) PROTECT landowners and local communities from over-regulation and baseless policy changes. 5) ADVOCATE for sound, peer reviewed data in statewide decision making so we all know where we are and where we need to go. 6) FINISH the Plan to secure permanent Columbia River mitigation water through investments in policy and projects in Oregon and in our neighboring states. 7) FACILITATE a funding program for recharge testing and groundwater banking in Morrow and Umatilla Counties.
We need your financial support to build the relationships to move our region forward
To learn more about how you can help NOWA, be a part of the sustainability movement or donate to the efforts please contact J.R. Cook, NOWA Director at jrcook@northeastoregonwater.org
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THE CULTURE
Under new management
Fueled by grants, hard work and passion, the old Spray General Store has become a thriving center for arts and community STORY & PHOTO BY BENNETT HALL
O
n a cool and cloudy Saturday evening in September, the Spray General Store shone like a beacon just off Highway 19, aglow with warmth and light. Inside, people munched on fancy finger foods and gazed at the works of artists from Spray and other small, remote communities in the John Day River country of Eastern Oregon, each piece as thoughtfully framed and lighted as the high-priced offerings of a big-name gallery in Portland’s painfully hip Pearl District. Out on the store’s front porch, the Cheyenne West Band was rocking its way through a rousing rendition of “Wagon Wheel” for an appreciative audience of 50 or 60 people. This sort of scene would have been almost unimaginable just a few years ago, when the old general store was sitting there locked up and vacant on the side of the road. Now, this is what people do in Spray on a Saturday night.
photographer. Along the way she gravitated toward humanitarian work, spending 10 years in Africa, where she put her photography and communication skills to work for local hospitals and nongovernmental organizations such as Mercy Corps International. Back in the States, she opened a photography studio in Portland but eventually found herself missing the connection with the land she had felt in rural Africa. By the time she made the move to Wheeler County, the Spray General Store was in pretty rough shape. It had been closed for a few years at that point, and the building showed ample evidence of its many decades of hard use. But when Kabana looked at it, she felt a sense of possibility. The old store, she decided, could become a kind of gathering place for Spray and all its residents, a space where people could come together around art, music, food — the kinds of things that break down dividing lines and foster a sense of community. And the more she looked at it, the stronger that feeling grew.
A town in transition
Making it happen
Built on the site of an old ferry landing on the John Day River, Spray is one of only three incorporated communities in Wheeler County, Oregon’s least populous with just 1,451 inhabitants spread out among the bunchgrass hills and rimrock canyons. As of the 2020 census, Spray had 139 residents, down from 160 in 2010. Like many other communities around the state, its economy has suffered with the decline of the timber industry. Joni Kabana is a relative newcomer to the area. After a 22-year career in high-tech project management, Kabana reinvented herself as a portrait and commercial 28 | The Other Oregon • Winter 2023-24
It took about nine months to convince the owner to sell, but eventually they came to terms. Kabana raided her retirement account for the $95,000 purchase price, and just like that, she became the store’s new owner. Then all she had to do was get the place fixed up. It was a tall order. The building needed a little bit of everything: Fresh paint, a new roof, a new floor and assorted repairs of various kinds. But Kabana had friends, both from her past life in Portland and her new life in Spray, who were willing to help.
The Spray General Store held its first community event in October 2021, when major renovations on the building were still underway. Organized by Kabana in partnership with local teacher Rosie Day, the first annual Spray Film Fest featured short videos produced by Day’s students at Spray School. More events followed. Open mic jam sessions, concerts, game nights, artist workshops, makers’ markets, often with a focus on local talent and all with the intention of building community.
and donations on behalf of arts organizations that lack 501(c)(3) status, like the Spray General Store. When Kabana approached the Juniper Arts Council about acting as the general store’s fiscal agent, the council members were struck by her vision and commitment. Even though Spray is about a dozen miles over the line in neighboring Wheeler County, the group agreed to work with her.
Help from the neighbors
Change comes hard to small towns. Old-timers tend to be suspicious of new ideas, especially when they come from outsiders recently arrived from the big city. It can be easy to do or say the wrong thing, giving rise to resentment that can quickly harden into a grudge. Kabana has worked hard to avoid those kinds of missteps. For one thing, she said, she thinks of herself as the steward of the old general store as much as its owner. She has tried to respect the building’s history throughout the renovation process, staying as close as possible to the original design and materials, and she hopes to get the store listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Howell also appreciates the respectful and inclusive approach Kabana has taken every step of the way, regularly attending city council meetings to keep the community informed of her plans and ask for feedback on what they’d like the Spray General Store to become. And she likes the fresh infusion of energy that Kabana has brought to the town.
The Spray General Store doesn’t charge admission or participation fees, although it does accept donations. But bringing in traveling musicians, lining up workshop instructors and putting on other events costs money. To help cover those costs, Kabana relies on a steady stream of grant funding from organizations such as the Oregon Community Foundation, the Roundhouse Foundation, the Oregon Frontier Chamber of Commerce, and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Oregon Main Street and Diamonds in the Rough programs. But many of the grants Kabana wanted to apply for are intended to go to organizations that have nonprofit status, which takes both time and money to obtain. That’s where the Juniper Arts Council came in. Based in John Day, the private nonprofit was formed in 1991 to promote the arts in Grant County. As a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Tax Code, it can accept taxfree donations and grants from government agencies and private foundations. It can also act as a “fiscal agent” to accept grants
Winning hearts and minds
Bennett Hall is a veteran Oregon newsman and the editor of the Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day.
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This solar project helped keep a family ranch profitable during the 2021 Bootleg Fire, when alfalfa and beef prices collapsed. Renewable energy projects not only create clean energy, they give family farms and ranches long-term fixed income sources to blend into their finances — and protect them when there’s a drop in commodity prices or a spike in diesel and fertilizer costs. NewSun Energy’s investments in Lake and Harney Counties do good things for their communities: ▶ Local Jobs. Local Contractors. Local Benefits. Over $50 million in rural wages paid on four projects; filling local restaurants and hotels; and millions spent with Central & Eastern Oregon contractors, consultants, shops, and suppliers. ▶ Tax Income for Cash-Strapped Rural Counties. $560,000 in annual property tax revenue funds rural services and county governments. ▶ Community Investments, College Scholarships. Harney District Hospital Specialty Care Clinic; Scholarships; FFA and 4H auctions; Food Share roof project; public art; resurfacing county roads; and much more.
To learn more about NewSun Energy’s community benefits program, or apply for NewSun’s 2024 Climate Change & Agricultural Communities Scholarship opportunities, email us at communitybenefits@newsunenergy.net.
Oregon’s agriculture community is facing unprecedented challenges. Inflation, market uncertainty, and excessive regulation are putting extraordinary pressure on our state’s farmers and ranchers. With 98% of Oregon’s farms being family owned, many are wondering how they can remain viable into the future and transition their farms to the next generation. The opportunity for change has never been greater, but it will take everyone showing up and standing strong. Oregon Farm Bureau is working hard to create a future where all of Oregon’s farmers and ranchers have access to abundant opportunities. We hope you’ll join us! #ifarmivote
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