Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:24 pm
By EDWARD STRATTON - The Daily AstorianDaily Astorian
The Port of Astoria Commission chose unanimously at Tuesday's special meeting to extend an offer of employment to Hank Bynaker as its preferred choice for executive director.Bynaker currently serves as general manager and director of operations and marketing at Washington United Terminals, a 103-acre, 2-berth private port facility at the Port of Tacoma, Wash.
Read Full Daily Astorian Article
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Ted Thomas On The Oregon LNG Open House - Tuesday, June 12, 2012 - Warrenton, Oregon
Here we go again. Oregon LNG the successor of the original bankrupt Cal-Pine company through the Leucadia fiasco has gotten around to their obligatory dog and pony show. On hand in their unused orange vest issued just for the occasion was a selection of Carpenters, Operator Engineers and Pipe Fitters. Supporters at the door greeted you with the sign in sheet, Peter Hansen was there along with new representatives from CM2H. In the entrance there was the large cardboard pictures describing this new version of their plans. In an adjoining room there was coffee and cookies to accompany the 8.5 minute power point presentation. In the presentation they describe the terminal as "bi-directional," promise more than 3100 construction jobs and thousands of full time permanent jobs, millions in tax revenues, and more.
I confronted Peter Hansen and reminded him of the meeting we both attended at the port of Astoria around the time that OLNG was suing the port when I suggested to him that what he was secretly intending from the outset was to build an export plant. At that time he led me to believe that I should take his word that that would never happen. I told him then that I didn't believe him and to mark my words that it will in fact come out eventually that that is the case.
Somehow "I told you so" is just inadequate to convey the dramatic revelation available for inspection today at the open house presentation put on in Warrenton tonight. As I predicted years ago the OLNG terminal was always intended to be an export terminal. The parties involved in the scheme to export our sovereign natural resources have represented them selves as devising import facilities. they said they would build a power station and use the waste heat they said they would bring jobs they said they would be safe. They said so many things.
In fact their monopolist fellow travelers like El Paso withheld gas supplies in order to raise prices artificially. That is the point of their admitted "Peak Shaver" : to withhold natural gas from the domestic market and force the price up. Now are we are to understand that they want to build the capacity to export it to foreign markets altogether. Even they admit that this will drive the price up.
In their powerpoint presentation they promise that they will export only Canadian gas. That if we do not the Canadians will. Can we trust anything that they say. They said they would import and not export natural gas. They lied about that. I am not psychic there is no way to tell if someone is lying to you other than their own history. It is a tradition of my people to hold that the only way to tell if a person is a lier is their past history of truthfulness. When someone make a habit of not telling the truth you need not consider anything they say as being true. That is why telling the truth always is to terribly important to my people. Without our integrity no one will trust you.
Integrity... from the word Integer as in one ... as in one faced... as opposed to being two faced. These profit mongers are only interested in making money. They openly admit to desiring to do so by buying our natural gas to resell to ourselves if you have the money or to asian markets at a profit. The poor desperate dupes they coned into supporting them with exaggerated promises of jobs. Promises of tax revenue for us I suppose and for our children.
OLNG's representative would have us believe that the Asian markets could not compete with ours that they could not buy enough to affect the local market. If this were so then why are they planning the investment of billions to build export terminal capacity? This account of affairs is not in accordance with the projected growth of the Asian markets. The asian markets will grow to larger than our own in a few brief years.
The price of natural gas in such an outcome will not increase by only 2.3% as OLNG purports, it will rise to the world market rate and maybe more as the fetish of speculation mismanages its distribution. Increases of 100, 200% or more will not be unlikely and in any account what guaranty does OLNG make that it won't increase by that much and what do think such a promise is worth after all the promises that they have already broken. The fragile so called recovery we are living through will collapse and our only competitive advantage of adequate supplies of energy will evaporate under the insatiable onslaught the voracious Asian energy appetite.
In school I had it drummed into my head that proper name given to a nation that exports raw materials and imports value added finished good is a colony. We export raw logs and import Big Box stores full of every conceivable finished good most all from China. Our people are unemployed and we lead the world in low wage jobs. Some now want to export coal and OLNG wants to export natural gas. Is there no end to America's torment?
Ted
I confronted Peter Hansen and reminded him of the meeting we both attended at the port of Astoria around the time that OLNG was suing the port when I suggested to him that what he was secretly intending from the outset was to build an export plant. At that time he led me to believe that I should take his word that that would never happen. I told him then that I didn't believe him and to mark my words that it will in fact come out eventually that that is the case.
Somehow "I told you so" is just inadequate to convey the dramatic revelation available for inspection today at the open house presentation put on in Warrenton tonight. As I predicted years ago the OLNG terminal was always intended to be an export terminal. The parties involved in the scheme to export our sovereign natural resources have represented them selves as devising import facilities. they said they would build a power station and use the waste heat they said they would bring jobs they said they would be safe. They said so many things.
In fact their monopolist fellow travelers like El Paso withheld gas supplies in order to raise prices artificially. That is the point of their admitted "Peak Shaver" : to withhold natural gas from the domestic market and force the price up. Now are we are to understand that they want to build the capacity to export it to foreign markets altogether. Even they admit that this will drive the price up.
In their powerpoint presentation they promise that they will export only Canadian gas. That if we do not the Canadians will. Can we trust anything that they say. They said they would import and not export natural gas. They lied about that. I am not psychic there is no way to tell if someone is lying to you other than their own history. It is a tradition of my people to hold that the only way to tell if a person is a lier is their past history of truthfulness. When someone make a habit of not telling the truth you need not consider anything they say as being true. That is why telling the truth always is to terribly important to my people. Without our integrity no one will trust you.
Integrity... from the word Integer as in one ... as in one faced... as opposed to being two faced. These profit mongers are only interested in making money. They openly admit to desiring to do so by buying our natural gas to resell to ourselves if you have the money or to asian markets at a profit. The poor desperate dupes they coned into supporting them with exaggerated promises of jobs. Promises of tax revenue for us I suppose and for our children.
OLNG's representative would have us believe that the Asian markets could not compete with ours that they could not buy enough to affect the local market. If this were so then why are they planning the investment of billions to build export terminal capacity? This account of affairs is not in accordance with the projected growth of the Asian markets. The asian markets will grow to larger than our own in a few brief years.
The price of natural gas in such an outcome will not increase by only 2.3% as OLNG purports, it will rise to the world market rate and maybe more as the fetish of speculation mismanages its distribution. Increases of 100, 200% or more will not be unlikely and in any account what guaranty does OLNG make that it won't increase by that much and what do think such a promise is worth after all the promises that they have already broken. The fragile so called recovery we are living through will collapse and our only competitive advantage of adequate supplies of energy will evaporate under the insatiable onslaught the voracious Asian energy appetite.
In school I had it drummed into my head that proper name given to a nation that exports raw materials and imports value added finished good is a colony. We export raw logs and import Big Box stores full of every conceivable finished good most all from China. Our people are unemployed and we lead the world in low wage jobs. Some now want to export coal and OLNG wants to export natural gas. Is there no end to America's torment?
Ted
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Astoria Key Club Bottle Tagging Project Targets Underage Drinking
PHOTO CAPTION: Bottle tagging project participants (l. to r.) Sarah Lachica-Varney, Karla Suarez, Christina Vetter, Mary Knoch, Brooke Reichert, Kristen Purdy, Ben Reichert, Bruitus Montes De Oca, Aaron Zhen, Christopher Zavala.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Members of the Astoria Key Club again spread the word about preventing underage drinking with their bottle tagging project.
On June 6 the group placed red tags on bottles of alcohol at three Astoria establishments. The tags remind shoppers not to provide alcohol to minors and note that adults found guilty can be fined up to $500.
A 2010 Oregon Student Wellness Survey reported that 75.6 percent of Clatsop County high school-age youth say is “easy” or “very easy” to obtain beer, wine or liquor. The bottle tag project, in partnership with the Prevention Works Coalition, fosters a call to action for parents and community members to be active in preventing underage drinking in our community.
“Bottle tagging was a blast!” said Karla Suarez, a sophomore at Astoria High School. “Not only did we learn about the consequences of selling alcohol to minors, but we also had the opportunity to inform our community.”
The group visited the Astoria Liquor Store, Downtown Market and Astoria Safeway.
Released by: Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 338-3622
Monday, June 11, 2012
Members of the Astoria Key Club again spread the word about preventing underage drinking with their bottle tagging project.
On June 6 the group placed red tags on bottles of alcohol at three Astoria establishments. The tags remind shoppers not to provide alcohol to minors and note that adults found guilty can be fined up to $500.
A 2010 Oregon Student Wellness Survey reported that 75.6 percent of Clatsop County high school-age youth say is “easy” or “very easy” to obtain beer, wine or liquor. The bottle tag project, in partnership with the Prevention Works Coalition, fosters a call to action for parents and community members to be active in preventing underage drinking in our community.
“Bottle tagging was a blast!” said Karla Suarez, a sophomore at Astoria High School. “Not only did we learn about the consequences of selling alcohol to minors, but we also had the opportunity to inform our community.”
The group visited the Astoria Liquor Store, Downtown Market and Astoria Safeway.
Released by: Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 338-3622
Monday, June 11, 2012
Scott Somers Selected New Clatsop County Manager
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners has offered the job of county manager to Scott Somers.
Somers, 44, currently the city manager of Reedsport, is expected to start with the county July 16. He replaces former county manager Duane Cole, who retired May 31 after three years with the county.
The board is scheduled to approve an employment contract with Somers at its June 13 meeting. His starting salary will be $112,000 a year plus benefits.
“I think this is going to be a great fit,” he said.
Somers’ selection followed a thorough recruitment process, assisted by consultant Greg Prothman, that included a public reception and interviews with six finalists May 29 and 30.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners Chair Peter Huhtala said that after a search that brought in applications from around the country, “we were fortunate to find Scott right here on the Oregon Coast.
“He is intelligent, energetic and aware of Clatsop County’s challenges and opportunities,” he said. “I very much look forward to working with Scott – I believe that he can look forward to a long and successful tenure.”
Somers was born in Tucson, Ariz. and raised in Arizona and central Oregon. He earned a bachelor of social work degree from Arizona State University and master of public administration degree from the University of Arizona. His career in public administration began in 2004 at White Bear Lake, Minnesota where he served as assistant to the city manager. In 2006 he was hired as assistant city manager for Savage, Minnesota.
Somers joined Reedsport, a city of 4,300 on the central Oregon Coast, in January 2009. The city has a staff of 33 and a $14 million annual budget.
Among the city’s accomplishments during his tenure are completing a $12 million wastewater treatment plant; brokering a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and Army Corps of Engineers on levee certification; pursuing downtown revitalization efforts; and developing a strategic plan.
Somers said one of his top goals in Reedsport has been building relationships – with city council and staff, citizens and civic groups, neighboring districts, lawmakers and state and federal agencies. “I am very open to work with – people recognized that,” he said. “We may not always agree, but we can respect each other’s opinion.”
During his tenure Reedsport actively promoted itself to regional and state economic development entities, Somers said. Like communities in Clatsop County, it has faced the challenge of diversifying its economy in an area historically dependent on fishing and logging.
Somers believes the transition from city to county government won’t be difficult. He has not overseen public health programs in his city jobs, but said his background in social work – he was a case worker as a college undergraduate – gives him some insight into services provided through the county Public Health Department.
As part of the selection process the county and consultant Prothman arranged for Somers and the other five finalists to be interviewed by three separate panels: the board of commissioners; county department heads and labor representatives; and a community stakeholders panel that included city officials, Clatsop Community College President Larry Galizio, Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas, three citizens and state lawmakers Betsy Johnson and Deborah Boone. Following the interviews all three groups assembled to share their input.
“Elected officials, department heads and several community leaders helped the board with the interview and selection process,” Huhtala said. “We very much appreciate the participation of each of these individuals.”
Released by: Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 338-3622
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners has offered the job of county manager to Scott Somers.
Somers, 44, currently the city manager of Reedsport, is expected to start with the county July 16. He replaces former county manager Duane Cole, who retired May 31 after three years with the county.
The board is scheduled to approve an employment contract with Somers at its June 13 meeting. His starting salary will be $112,000 a year plus benefits.
“I think this is going to be a great fit,” he said.
Somers’ selection followed a thorough recruitment process, assisted by consultant Greg Prothman, that included a public reception and interviews with six finalists May 29 and 30.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners Chair Peter Huhtala said that after a search that brought in applications from around the country, “we were fortunate to find Scott right here on the Oregon Coast.
“He is intelligent, energetic and aware of Clatsop County’s challenges and opportunities,” he said. “I very much look forward to working with Scott – I believe that he can look forward to a long and successful tenure.”
Somers was born in Tucson, Ariz. and raised in Arizona and central Oregon. He earned a bachelor of social work degree from Arizona State University and master of public administration degree from the University of Arizona. His career in public administration began in 2004 at White Bear Lake, Minnesota where he served as assistant to the city manager. In 2006 he was hired as assistant city manager for Savage, Minnesota.
Somers joined Reedsport, a city of 4,300 on the central Oregon Coast, in January 2009. The city has a staff of 33 and a $14 million annual budget.
Among the city’s accomplishments during his tenure are completing a $12 million wastewater treatment plant; brokering a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and Army Corps of Engineers on levee certification; pursuing downtown revitalization efforts; and developing a strategic plan.
Somers said one of his top goals in Reedsport has been building relationships – with city council and staff, citizens and civic groups, neighboring districts, lawmakers and state and federal agencies. “I am very open to work with – people recognized that,” he said. “We may not always agree, but we can respect each other’s opinion.”
During his tenure Reedsport actively promoted itself to regional and state economic development entities, Somers said. Like communities in Clatsop County, it has faced the challenge of diversifying its economy in an area historically dependent on fishing and logging.
Somers believes the transition from city to county government won’t be difficult. He has not overseen public health programs in his city jobs, but said his background in social work – he was a case worker as a college undergraduate – gives him some insight into services provided through the county Public Health Department.
As part of the selection process the county and consultant Prothman arranged for Somers and the other five finalists to be interviewed by three separate panels: the board of commissioners; county department heads and labor representatives; and a community stakeholders panel that included city officials, Clatsop Community College President Larry Galizio, Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas, three citizens and state lawmakers Betsy Johnson and Deborah Boone. Following the interviews all three groups assembled to share their input.
“Elected officials, department heads and several community leaders helped the board with the interview and selection process,” Huhtala said. “We very much appreciate the participation of each of these individuals.”
Released by: Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 338-3622
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Action Call From Columbia RiverVision At Oregon LNG Open House, June 12th
Proposed Oregon LNG/Calpine Terminal on Skipanon PeninsulaOregon LNG (formerly known as Calpine) first reared its ugly head before the Warrenton City Commission in November of 2005. And now they are back in Warrenton with a new plan that is outrageously worse than the original. Just like a used car salesmen, this is the old bait-and-switch.
Calpine entered our communities to convince us of the NEED to import LNG to "diversify the energy supplies" and "keep the prices low for the consumers." And now OR LNG sees the need to EXPORT LNG - for ????? Oh right, the profit of a private company - and the opportunity to dredge our river, endanger our safety, raise domestic natural gas prices and take our land through eminent domain.
Wear your red shirts, your NO LNG pins. Bring your neighbors and friends:
Oregon LNG Open House
Tuesday, June 12th - 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Gateway Masonic Lodge #175
66 SW 4th Avenue
Warrenton, Oregon
If this is your first NO LNG event, we will have shirts, buttons, car decals and yard signs for sale, OR if you are an old hand and you are dusting off your NO LNG button and finding your red shirt
We hope to see you all at the OR LNG open house!
Calpine entered our communities to convince us of the NEED to import LNG to "diversify the energy supplies" and "keep the prices low for the consumers." And now OR LNG sees the need to EXPORT LNG - for ????? Oh right, the profit of a private company - and the opportunity to dredge our river, endanger our safety, raise domestic natural gas prices and take our land through eminent domain.
Wear your red shirts, your NO LNG pins. Bring your neighbors and friends:
Oregon LNG Open House
Tuesday, June 12th - 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Gateway Masonic Lodge #175
66 SW 4th Avenue
Warrenton, Oregon
If this is your first NO LNG event, we will have shirts, buttons, car decals and yard signs for sale, OR if you are an old hand and you are dusting off your NO LNG button and finding your red shirt
We hope to see you all at the OR LNG open house!
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