What is the most pressing issue facing Oregon today?
Economy
Homelessness
Transportation infrastructure
Crime
Big government
Northwest Observer
Subscribe for Free Email Updates
Name:
Email:
Search Articles
       





Post an Event


We Are Stronger Together
Monday, March 27, 2023 at 10:00 am
Oregon's Natural Resources & Industries (ONRI) is sponsoring the rally to meet legislators and influencers to bring light on legislation affecting natural resource industries, their families, and their communities. https://onri.us/events
Rally at the State Capitol, Salem.



Oregon Republican Party Freedom Banquet
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Hosted by ORP Chairman Justin Hwang
Keynote Speaker NRA First VP Willes K. Lee
Special Musical Guest, Nashville’s Stokes Nielson
Tickets: Dinner $75 - VIP Tickets $100
Call 503-931-1756 for table sponsorship info.
Ticket Sales end on March 23, 2023
Click for tickets
Embassy Suites Portland Airport



Ways and Means Hearing
Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 10:00 am
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Portland Community College - PAC Auditorium, Sylvania Campus 12000 SW 49th Ave, Portland, OR 97219



Ways and Means Hearing
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Newport Performing Arts Center 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR 97365



Active Shooter Response Training
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 6:00 pm
TNT Martial Arts--- Friday April 14, 2023 from 6pm-9pm. $10
SIGN UP HERE
Pre-Registration is mandatory, class slots are LIMITED, and in the interest of safety and security, you’ll be expected to provide your identification that matches the registration name, upon entering the training facility.
TNT Martial Arts 1982 NE 25th Ave. Suite 15. Hillsboro, Oregon 97124



NW Food Show
Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 10:00 am
Showcase your foodservice industry solutions to buyers and influencers across the Northwestern U.S. and beyond. Exhibiting at the Northwest Foodservice Show is a cost effective way to meet with hundreds of industry decision makers face-to-face and grow your business. Space is limited, so book now!

SELL FACE-TO-FACE

• Generate high-quality leads by sampling and/or demonstrating your products in person

• Answer questions and give tailored pitches to a diverse group of attendees over two days

• Create new connections with buyers and build on existing relationships across the Northwest

WHO ATTENDS?

• 75% of attendees are key decision makers and have purchasing authority

• 47% of attendees have an alcohol license

• Nearly half of attendees are experiencing the Show for the first time

INDUSTRY SEGMENTS IN ATTENDANCE

• 36% Restaurant / Café

• 10% Bar / Tavern

• 10% Catering

• 10% Broker

• 7% Institutions: Universities, Schools, Hospitals, Corrections

• 5% Food Carts / Mobile

• 22% Other Foodservice

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) is the leading business association for the foodservice and lodging industry in Oregon. A not-for-profit trade organization, ORLA represents over 3,000 member units and advocates for over 10,000 foodservice locations and over 2,400 lodging establishments in Oregon.

Contact
Marla McColly - mmcolly@oregonrla.org to register for a booth today!
Portland Expo Center - Hall D - 2060 N Marine Dr, Portland, OR • April 16 –17, 2023 • Sunday, April 16: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 17: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.



Ways and Means Hearing
Friday, April 21, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Umpqua Community College 1140 Umpqua College Rd, Roseburg, OR 9747



Ways and Means Hearing
Friday, April 28, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Four Rivers Cultural Center 676 SW 5th Ave, Ontario, OR 97914 Note: Ontario, Oregon is in the Mountain Time Zone



Lincoln County Fair
Friday, June 30, 2023 at 5:00 pm
June 30-July 2 Lincoln County Fair
Lincoln County Commons 633 NE 3rd St, Newport, OR



St Paul Rodeo
Friday, June 30, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Small town fun, big time rodeo! JUNE 30 - JULY 4, 2023

St Paul Rodeo website
4174 Malo Avenue NE, Saint Paul, OR, United States, Oregon



Marion County Fair
Thursday, July 6, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Marion County Fair
July 6-9
Oregon State Fair and Exposition Center 2330 17th ST NE Salem, OR 97301



Washington County Fair
Friday, July 21, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Washington County Fair

FREE ADMISSION

Washington County Fair
JULY 21 - 30
Westside Commons 801 NE 34th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124



Coos County Fair
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Coos County Fair
July 25-29
Coos County Fairgrounds 770 4th St, Myrtle Point, OR 97458



Clatsop County Fair
Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Clatsop County Fair
August 1st-5th
Clatsop County Fair and Expo Center 92937 Walluski Loop, Astoria, OR 97103



Oregon Jamboree Music Festival
Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Oregon Jamboree is the Northwest’s premier country music festival. Nestled in the foothills of the scenic Cascade Mountains, the Oregon Jamboree is held on 20+ acre park-like setting that includes the historic Weddle Covered Bridge. The Jamboree offers a full festival atmosphere in the main venue and a more intimate concert experience on the second stage. In addition to featured headline entertainment, this event hosts RV and tent camping, merchandise vendors, food booths, beer & wine gardens, and a variety of other attractions.

Sweet Home, Oregon



Douglas County Fair
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 8:00 am
Douglas County Fair AUGUST 9 - 12
Douglas County Fairgrounds Complex 2110 SW Frear Street Roseburg, OR 97471



Crook County Fair
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Crook County Fair
AUGUST 9 - 12
Crook County Fairgrounds Prineville, Oregon



Oregon State Fair
Friday, August 25, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Oregon State Fair
Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center 2330 17th St NE, Salem, OR 97301



Pendleton Round-Up
Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The world famous Pendleton Round-Up
Pendleton Round-Up Grounds 1205 SW Court Ave, Pendleton, OR 97801


View All Calendar Events


Brown Plays Politics, as Oregon Gets Neglected
Everything burns and state government is no help.

On Sunday August 16th at about 2:00 pm, a small fire was spotted near Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center. Fire crews begin to respond, and reports start a day later by local news on August 17th. Oregon Governor Kate Brown is asked for assistance, but it's technically federal land, and just weeks prior, a special budget session was held slashing the "Natural Resources Budget", along with Fire Mitigation. Republican Representative Cedric Hayden, who serves on the subcommittee for Natural Resources gave a passionate speech, as a volunteer firefighter. Hayden urgently, and emphatically warned his colleagues that this fire season was going to be brutal, requiring full funding.

The Northwest Observer reported the budget cuts, and echoed the warning on August 10th in an article titled "Cuts hit rural Oregon, Pray for rain".

Without desperately needed resources, including six Chinook helicopters, specifically made for and equipped with buckets, the Opal Creek fire quickly spread to neighboring Jaw Bone Flats, and Beachie Creek. Allowed to smolder and spread, due to jurisdictional squabbles, 39 fires had sprung up in various locations. Then the winds came. By labor day September 7th, much of Oregon was on fire. Many were beginning to wonder if help would ever arrive, as they began evacuating their homes and livestock.


An inquiry made by North West Observer to the Governor's office September 8th, asks when Conflagration Orders might be seen?

The very same day September 8th the White House reached out to Oregon Governor Kate Brown, offering help, services and asking the administration to please notify them as soon as their needs are clear via a "Wildfire Response Request". The email, seen here, was obtained by public records request.

Two days later, on September 10th, Oregon Governor Kate Brown held a press conference, at which time she's asked what resources have been requested from the federal government. Kate Brown replies "of course I've reached out to the White House, I've not had a response back". The next day, the White House follows up with Brown's administration, to address an MSNBC report of an unresponsive Trump Administration, and again offer whatever help might be needed.


Brown's office, acknowledges the help and support from Trump, offering that "if asked", during her scheduled press conference at 1:00 pm, Brown would clarify the Trump administration and the State were working closely together. Brown's office is quick to fire back with a politically motivated, quid pro quo, stating "Thanks, we're also trying to dispel rumors with the FBI, and Local Law Enforcement assistance, that Antifa set the fires".

Essentially, Brown's aid twisted arms, during an election year, to help quash Antifa rumors, in exchange for honesty... if asked for.

While politics have clearly played a role in fire response, it appears to have also played a role in the fire's beginning, and quick spread, as well. Tom Sleight, a third generation Molalla farm owner, joined by Nicole West featured here as the "Hillbilly Brigade", sat down with The Northwest Observer, to set the record straight about events witnessed first-hand, on the ground.

Sleight states that he received a call from his brother late Monday night of September 7th. The entire lowlands of Maple Creek, Willhoit, and surrounding areas were ablaze. The Sleight family has learned from years of experience, once Conflagration orders are placed, it can take an additional two to four days before state sanctioned help arrives. At that point in time, Kate Brown had not yet placed Conflagration orders, and both Sleight brothers knew there was no time to waste.

Tom Sleight withdrew approximately twelve thousand dollars from his safe, loaded up his tankers, and began running infrastructure up to the fire line, arriving around 4:30 am. "I just started handing out money to friends and family, telling everyone to go down to harbour freight and buy up all the trash pumps, gasoline, and water tanks they could find", Sleight chuckles.

Nicole West claims it's a deep mistrust of government, years of ineptitude, and failure of one party rule, that essentially saved rural Oregon. "Nobody even stopped to consider what Brown was going to do, we all knew it would be too little too late anyways." West paints a vivid picture of just how effectively, ineffective our government has become. "It was painfully obvious which area was privately owned land, and which areas are government maintained" says West. Government controlled forestry had a 100 year duff layer in spots, smoldering and lighting roots on fire.


"That debris keeps in heat, and acts like an oven" Sleight stated, "on the other hand, the fires blow right through private land, as it's well cared for, well maintained, limbs cut back, and no fuels to keep it there smoldering."

Since the passing and adaptation of the Coho Salmon petition, and various bills last long session, including the "Wildlife Corridor Bill", sponsored by Portland based environmental groups, many gates have gone up, logging contracts gone unfulfilled, and the day use program for needy families to collect firewood ended, state and federally managed lands have grown unmanageable. Forest management is vital for carbon sequestration.

West believes Kate Brown, and Portland residents are out of touch with reality, "Portland is burning their city down, maybe ours too, but the difference is that we're working hard to save ours". "This isn't about climate change, and even if it was, we're going about it all wrong. Fires put more carbon into the atmosphere than all the cars on the road combined. We need to manage our forests properly, we could have stopped this in opal creek at ten acres, the total loss and devastation will cost far more, than had we properly managed the forest to begin with."

"Had Kate Brown actually compromised on HB 2020 in 2019, we might have passed a bipartisan forest management bill. Instead of letting voters decide, she pushed lawmakers to walk out, which is all they can do against the democratic super majority" says James Hieb, who is running this election for Canby City Council.

Hieb and his family have also been impacted by the fires, "Many families, farms, businesses, and lives have been lost, unnecessarily to these fires, but mostly to an entrenched status quo that values party politics over human life. It's going to be a rough winter, food prices will go up due to lost local farms, a downed economy is killing jobs. Everything hinges upon this election in November." "National politics receive the lion share of media, but it all boils down to the local level, if a state thrives, or barely survives. Local leaders determine our daily lives, and how we're going to put the pieces back together".

At the time of this report, the White House was not available for comment regarding interactions with the Brown administration. Reports indicate that President Trump had flown in to personally check on residents of the fires, but have not yet been confirmed.


--Breeauna Sagdal

Post Date: 2020-10-12 08:38:09Last Update: 2020-10-12 21:26:07



Read More Articles