THE LATEST TOUR

ON SUNDAY AUG. 29TH A TOUR SPONSORED BY MCMINNVILLE COOPERATIVE MINISTERIES AND YAMHILL COUNTY DEMOCRATS AND ORGANIZED BY LIZ STEIN CAME TO GRAND ISLAND. THE BUS WAS DRIVEN BY BEN STEIN. NEIL SVARVERUD ACTED AS TOUR GUIDE AND DID A GREAT JOB. THE TOUR ENDED AT THE SCOGGAN FARM, WHERE SAM SWEENEY GAVE AN INFORMATIVE TALK WITH MAPS AND AERIEL PHOTOS OF GRAVEL PITS ALREADY SURROUNDING US. THERE WERE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS AND SUGGESTIONS ALL AROUND. OUR GUESTS SEEMED IMPRESSED WITH AND CONCERNED FOR THE ISLAND. MANY HAD ALREADY COME OUT FOR A LOOK PRIOR TO THE TOUR. WE HAD A SNACK OF DELICIOUS GRAND ISLAND FRUITS VEGETABLES AND GOOD WELL WATER. THANK YOU, TO ALL THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED.

..Oregon Agriculture is adaptive, renewable, sustainable and efficient..

..The crops and commodities produced will change over time in response to market signals, technology, and consumer demand. Witness the rise in production of nursery products, wine grapes, grass seed, blueberries, and other specialty crops in the past decade even as there has been a decline in acreage devoted to vegetable crops, strawberries, hops, garlic and other specialty crops.
..Aricultural production provides us with a source of renewable food, fiber, fuel, and medicine...and if the land is protected and properly managed it will continue producing into perpetuity.
..Ariculture is one of the most constant and stable economic engines our economy has, while also producing many ecolgical and community benefits. More than 1,800 farms in Oregon have been operated by the same families for over 100 years. There is no other industry in the state with that type of sustainable, long-term record of operation. Properly managed, agricultural soils can continue producing crops, livestock, fiber and other materials, and proving carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, open spaces and other amenities critical to human subsistence and enjoyment for generations to come.
..Agriculture efficiency is another factor that has increased dramatically over time and will undoubtedly continue in the future, making any measure of future productivity based on a single point in time a simplistic approach. Today the average American farmer can feed as many as 130 people, compared to 27 in 1950. Developments in technology, agronomy, water conservation, hybrid seeds and other applications make agriculture a continually evolving and effective means of generating more output (economic activity) and in increasingly environmentally friendly ways, on existing farmland. A recent study demonstrates that productivity growth over the 1947-1985 periods accounted for 82 percent of the economic growth in agriculture, compared with only 13 percent in the private non-farm economy. Moreover the rate of productivity growth over this period in agriculture(1.58 percent) was nearly four times the corresponding rate in the private non-farm economy(o.44 percent. Efficiency also means the consumer in the USA spends less time earning enough money to buy food than in any other country in the world at any point in history, on average, less than 9% of disposable income goes for food in the United States. Countries that have small production bases relative to population and which import large portions of their food supply pay significantly higher prices. Loss of farmland is not without a price. Retaining a viable agriculture base is a long-term investment in food security and economic sustainability of a community and a nation.
..History has shown that agriculture lands can be productive year after year and increasingly so at an accelerated pace. It would be a mistake to minimize agriculture's future contributions to society as being of little or no value due to analysis on a constant time value of money with a constant income stream i.e. the same amount of income year after year. Oregon agriculture is not stagnate. Land in agriculture production is renewable, perpetual and adaptive. Oregon's agriculture industry has a history of growth. Annual increases in productivity spurred Oregon's agriculture total output to grow from $428 million in 1964 to $3.8 billion in 2004: a 788% increase! That equates to an annual increase of 5.61% compounded annually.

....Sunday Tours....

Grand Island tours: Educational tours of Grand Island to the site where Baker Rock Resources wants to establish a rock quarry will be held from 1 to 3 PM Sundays, Aug 22 and 29, sponsored by the McMinnville Cooperative Ministries and the Yamhill County Democrats. Two vans/buses will leave from the parking lot of the Ministries building at 544 N.E. Second St. There is no cost to attend. For more information, contact Liz Marlia-Stein at 503-434-5352

....Grand Island Tour....

....Mr Sam Sweeny organized a tour of our Island yesterday..We had various guests attend our meeting and all took a guided tour..We had speakers that farm and live here tell them about our concerns with this mining application being allowed to pass and this 3rd gravel pit being allowed to open on our Island..Afterwards we all had a wonderful dinner and had time to relax and visit with not only our guests but our neighbors as well..Thanks everybody for all the time and effort that was put into this tour..

THIS WEEKS TV INTERVIEW

Margaret Scoggan and Tom Jackson took the stage this week on Frank Nelson's local access tv program Speaking Frankly out of McMinnville to try and increase public awareness of what a jewel our island really is and why it should be saved. It is my understanding the airings are the same week to week.

SAT SUN MON WED THURS FRI

AUG. 14 AUG. 15 AUG. 16 AUG. 18 AUG. 19 AUG. 20

10:30 AM 7:30 PM 5:30 PM 9:30 PM 10:30 AM 7:30 PM

Watch for them on Comcast channel 11 or Verivon channel 29. Thanks to Margaret and Tom and a big thank you to Frank Nelson for providing a forum for our cause.

TV INTERVIEW

Neil Svarverud was interviewed by Frank Nelson of Speaking Frankly a McMinnville local access tv program. Neil spoke in opposion to Baker Rock's plan to open a gravel pit on a large portion of Grand Island. The program aired on Aug. 7th, 8th and 9th and will air again on ..............................
Aug. 11th at 9:30 pm
Aug. 12th at 10:30 am
Aug 13th at 7:30 pm
If you get local access Comcast channel 11 or Verison channel 29, tune in. Thanks Neil you did a fine job.

..Recent e-mail to The Yamhill County Planning Dept..

....It's seems our planning dept has no answers for us about this question..What kind of "pumps" are not listed anywhere in Baker Rock's application, nor were they even considered or added to their DEQ Noise Study that was submitted with their application for a zone change..Kerrie G. Standlee of Daly-Standlee & Associates ( they did the noise study for this application ) wrote..:In responce to your question about a dewatering pump, yes a dewatering pump could influence the ambient noise level in your area and the amount of sound generated by such a pump could depend on whether it was electric or diesel powered."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have forwarded your question on to the applicant. It would also be a good question to ask at the hearing. Ken Friday



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: OrMaggie77@aol.com [mailto:OrMaggie77@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 10:54 AM
To: Ken Friday
Subject: question/Baker Rock application


..Mr. Friday..Since I am sure that your office has read and studied the app, maybe you can answer my question or direct me to the part of the app that covers this..What does Baker Rock intend to use for pumping out the water from the mine cells..Are they using an electric motor or Diesel motor for their pumps..And will these pumps be running 24 hours a day..How many gallons per minute will they be pumping out?..Please place this e-mail into the formal record for the Commissioners Hearing for this application..Thank you..Margaret Scoggan