Letters to the Editor for Sept. 9, 2009

More to the BPA story

To the editor:

In the article “BPA not looking out for its customers,” Werner Buehler needs to present all the facts.

First we need to revisit the “Power Crisis” in the fall of 2000. California de-regulated its power companies and the cost per mega-watt skyrocketed while 2/3 of the states’ power plants were shut down. During this time a lot of power companies including OTEC made huge profits. By this time Alcoa had shut down its plant in The Dalles and curtailed its production at Intalco, laying off its probationary employees, Intalco’s first layoffs in over 25 years. At that time Alcoa was also considering building and opening a smelter in Umatilla.

During 2001-2002 BPA did not (and still does not) want to supply enough power for Alcoa’s Intalco smelter to run at full capacity. During 2001 a Canadian power company offered Alcoa’s Intalco smelter a long term contract at a cheaper rate than BPA could offer. BPA refused to allow this to occur. From 2002 to present Alcoa’s Intalco plant has been running at less than 50 percent capacity. With a strong grassroots effort legislators got involved to help in providing the current contract. As for the “$145,000 per job” that’s two years wages not including benefits. Intalco has 720 aluminum producing pots. The cost I remember being told in 2002 to start one pot was $120,000 and while reviewing the facts that I remember found out that to start a pot in 2008 was $700,000. To shut down, keep 480 jobs and restart in the future at full production would be a cost of $504,000,000.

Imagine if Marvin Wood Products and Behlen were both to shut down, and what that would do to Baker County alone.

Many dams in the Pacific Northwest were built to: control flooding, irrigation, and to produce power for the aluminum industry. The aluminum industry in the United States is ceasing to exist, and moving overseas.

With Mr. Buehler’s philosophy let’s pull all the water rights from the ranchers and all properties over an acre in size can only irrigate 30 percent of their property.

Brandon Carlson

Former Intalco employee

Baker City

At least it wasn’t described as fact

To the editor:

I’d like to thank Ms. Iva Mace for her response to the letters about the Baker City Farmers Market. I regret that she’s had enough of the volunteering business and will be unable to be a part of the solutions to the market’s problems, but she is honest enough to describe her interpretation of whispered gossip as a “distinct impression” rather than as fact.

I also appreciate her suggestion that I get a dictionary, and would like to urge her to do the same. For the record: “Slander  n. 1. Law. The utterance of defamatory statements injurious to the reputation and well-being of a person... 2. A malicious statement or report...” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

I would say that these definitions neatly cover the act of presenting untrue information about the market’s policies, and statements that the manager is doing a “rotten job and should be fired,” especially when one doesn’t know the facts about the policies or the job. At this point, with all due respect (I suspect to the relief of your readers), I will bow out of this great debate and go about the business of getting a life.

David Jason

Baker City