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Oregon State Rep. Mark Owens farm in Harney County is at 4,200 feet above sea level, too high to successfully grow onions. He grows alfalfa.
Proponents of potatoes and allies of onions have a lot to hash out as they seek official status from the state.
Mark Owens grew up in Gresham. His mom was a teacher. His dad was an engineer. It was not what you’d call a rural upbringing, so there was some surprise when he turned 21 and moved to Harney County to farm.
While he no longer has to deal with big city traffic, both Owens and his workers spend plenty of time behind the wheel of tractors.
ONTARIO
The Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Board is accepting applications for another round of grants through its border fund programs, targeting three different areas.
The Community Improvement Planning grants are geared to assist local government complete planning initiatives, such as master plans for parks transportation, airports and other needs, and can be used to match other fundings source such as state and federal. The maximum grant for any one applicant is $100,000 for all projects.
The Education and Workforce Training grant is open to local education service providers, and will help pay for programs, equipment and facility upgrades needed for training. Applications must be supported by letters from the industry explaining the need for the planned training. A one-to-one match is required. A maximum of $100,000 will be awarded per project.
ONTARIO
The Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Board has proposed bills before the Oregon Legislature again. Two of the bills are a second attempt to get measures passed, and board members decided at their meeting Monday to pull one bill before it got moved along in the process.
House Concurrent Resolution 1, which was introduced by Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, who represents District 60, would have designated onions as the official state vegetable.
However, Board Chairwoman Tiffany Cruickshank said there had been pushback from potato growers who opposed the naming of the onions, and she felt the board needed to focus on pushing other issues, recommending the bill be pulled.