A bond, a levy, and lots of questions
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
Inquiry, analysis and opinions on the city levy & school bond.
As Independence voters face two proposals that will increase their tax bills if approved in November – a school bond and a city levy – common questions have surfaced. What will the real cost be? Why now? When will elected officials stop asking for more money?
Trammart News collected these questions, compiled them into 10 basic areas of inquiry, and sought information for answers from government agencies, local groups of three or more residents and outside experts.
In general, both proposals have staunch supporters and vocal detractors – detractors tend to cite their opposition based on past actions seen as disappointing or disillusioning. Supporters appear to be those who see themselves as having a personal stake in the outcome.
The following responses represent an editorial round-up, not a news summary. However, Trammart News found the replies to be revealing; Sources are listed in parentheses.
1) How much is this going to cost me? And do elected officials realize that many cannot afford to finance such big plans?
School bond: $3.75 per $1,000 assessed value on your property taxes, $90 million over a 30-year period, plus an automatic $6 million grant award if the bond passes (Central School District).
City levy: $1.82 per $1,000 assessed value on your property taxes (City of Independence) about $6 million over a 5-year period.
2) Why does the city levy seem lower than the school bond when the school bond has been promoted as only a five-cent increase? And are there contingency plans for failure?
School bond: Due to the timing of when existing school bonds will be paid off, the addition of new costs for the proposed school facilities improvements would essentially match the cost of retiring bonds but still need of about 5 cents more/$1000 assessed value. Thus, the school district has stated that the net increase over what taxpayers are accustomed to paying for school bonds would increase by 5 cents per $1,000 assessed value.
If the bond fails to pass the schools could undertake certain patchwork measures while an alternate proposal is planned – more pods could be imported to create classroom space, upgrades could be addressed on a case-by-case basis (district sources).
City levy: The city staff already have a back-up plan: The May ballot. If the levy fails, meetings will be held to determine how best to proceed to assure passage in the spring, including the possibility of a new proposal with a different approach (city hall sources).
3) What will happen if the proposals don’t pass? Can’t they get the money somewhere else?
School bond: School funds may be under stringent restrictions with few revenue streams outside of taxes and grants, both of which are subject to guidelines for use. However, school districts can sell property – CSD 13J owns some – and under pressing circumstances, it could be allowed to take out loans for needed repairs (Oregon Department of Education).
City levy: New loans might prove challenging for Independence. More than a year ago, the Independence City Council approved an initial $44 million for priority water projects, largely related to a new water treatment plant for which funds are currently being sought. Business Oregon gave the city $20,000 – a technical assistance grant – to explore the water treatment plant’s regional potential, which could mean funding from other participants.
However, this past spring, Independence took out a $10 million loan with the DEQ for wastewater projects. There was a $4 million grant from the US Economic Development Administration and a $1 million match from Business Oregon’s Special Public Works Fund. But even with this monetary infusion, such commitments could make it less likely to get funding for anything but capital improvement projects (state report on water funding). City Manager Kenna West has termed the library, museum and parks as not essential like police – a $20 public safety fee for that will be added as a monthly fee in January.
4) Some of these officials keep talking about how they provide transparency. Do they recognize it seems the opposite sometimes?
School bond: Parents have asked the board for complete transparency in information that promotes the bond; Shannon Ball called for clear, specific language to be listed on the 175-word summary on the ballot. Polk County Administrator Greg Hansen stressed that in the interest of transparency, county ballot measures for bonds include a breakdown of amount being carried forward and the amount being added (resident group, county official).
City levy: Parents have told Trammart News there is concern that some of the money collected for the levy could be used for other civic expenses – it will become part of the General Fund and not be placed in a separate account. However, Public Works Director Gerald Fisher explained that there will be separate categories for the revenue within the General Fund (resident group, city administrator).
5) I don’t feel like I can fully trust that these officials will use the money the way they say they will. Are there any guarantees?
School bond: An oversight committee on the bond, to ensure money is spent on priority projects and to include public input, is being set up (CSD 13J Board of Directors’ meeting minutes).
City levy: City manager Kenna West repeatedly has cited past practices of interfund transfers as not subscribing to “best practices,” which would suggest levy money will be preserved in one of the separate “buckets” she said she feels are necessary to keep funding separate (City of Independence meeting minutes).
6) These officials are so out of touch with reality, emphasizing the wrong things. Why do they listen only to each other?
School bond: Several parents have been continually stressing as misguided the district’s emphasis on the need to build a new school, called by one a “possible death blow” for the bond if it keeps up – in large part because fresh in the memory of many is a previous superintendent’s decision to take Henry Hill Elementary School offline. But it is important to keep in mind that playgrounds and repaired roofs are listed as priority projects if this bond passes. Upgrades, improvements, repairs and safety features will be undertaken at all five of the CSD school buildings (resident comments, Emily Mentzer, CSD Communications Coordinator).
City levy: The motion to place the levy on the November ballet passed by a 4:2 vote in the city council. Some opposing views were that more could be done before going to the public for a levy and discussion about whether to include the museum in the levy had mixed opinions (City of Independence meeting minutes, resident comments).
7) I’ve tuned in to view these meetings a few times and it looks like an echo chamber. Why is there so much discussion driven by staff – and then just followed by the elected people?
School bond: The CSD School Board often follows the lead of the superintendent and her staff. One reason may be that the district is required to follow protocol and procedures handed down by the state, which can be difficult for volunteer board members to know. However, the board appears to drive changes behind the scenes, according to one staff insider. An example is the “totally unrepeatable, big mistake, tax surprise” that caused an uproar by residents when they opened their property-tax bills in fall 2023 to see a much higher obligation than expected. There seemed to be an uptick in questions this year by the budget committee, with former Board Chair Donn Wahl essentially warning against not following through on a reduction. “Some are on a shorter lease,” according to the staffer (unreported interview in 2023 by Trammart News).
City levy: if you follow the sessions of the Independence City Council, you can see from the minority votes that the council often is far from a consensus on issues – so the idea that discussion is inhibited doesn’t seem correct. It’s true that, so far, it isn’t apparent that this has brought the two factions closer to the center. However, efforts to contain opinions – specifically, a proposed policy by the city manager to ban “grandstand” behavior – brought critiques from some constitutional scholars in the Pacific Northwest. The National First Amendment Coalition went on the record as a critic. So active debate is likely to remain in council chambers (Trammart News article, 2024).
8) Why should I believe anything these government agencies say? The things they have done in the past are tricky, dumb or both.
School bond: Most of the actions cited by residents as alleged errors are from previous administrations. One criticism of the current Superintendent Jennifer Kubista, is that few seem to know the outcomes after her pronouncements “we need to have that conversation.” There’s been a call for more news releases, posted more prominently, on the website. Some parents who recently looked under the subcategory “news,” for example, were surprised to see the top story was on Dale Pedersen’s appointment as principal of the high school – a post he has held for more than a year (resident group).
City levy: Just as with the school district, some of the actions that are alleged to have been poor planning arose in previous years. The current city manager, Kenna West, has been in the job only about two years. In 2017, the city council was warned by the external municipal auditor at the time that the debt could be a concern in a few years – it is one now (Trammart News report, 2017 & 2018).
9) What is one good argument that could convince me to vote for being taxed more due to these additions?
School bond: When you have water plop on your head during a rainstorm inside a school building or see a playground so drenched and soggy that kids cannot play in it, you may be convinced. Trammart News has experienced the former and has a photo of the latter. (Trammart News reported on Independence Elementary School’s annual “winter swamp” in 2022).
City levy: This issue is complicated to address because the city council chose to lump together three different entities. “We will all sink or swim together” is the way one department head put it. But these three services appear distinctly different. Some cities, including Independence, put parks under Public Works – and that is where they are funded by some other cities. A large majority of museums aren’t funded by city coffers, except in much smaller amounts. And, despite the fact that the library has been labeled a non-essential service, the definition can be difficult to understand. It is the only access to municipal broadband for some families, as reported by parents. Also, it serves as a warming and cooling center.
Most families contacted by Trammart News report the Independence Library is crucial; Others say that, if public works oversees parks, that department should be the funding source (current, unpublished interviews by residents with Trammart News).
10) Trammart News, who are you, anyway? That ad you run keeps saying “get informed, be engaged, stay involved” blah blah blah, just so preachy. What does it really matter? Other people make all the decisions.
School bond: The most vigor to any system of government is a public that is all eyes and ears on it. This has been proven over and again. One example is the detection of the alleged tax over-charge by CSD, which drew an apology from the district, was called a “mistake,” and later rectified for the coming year. It was discovered by a resident – a single resident who told Trammart News it was time for coffee at The Starduster Cafe because he had just returned from paying his property-tax bill and he thought word should get out about what he found (Andy Duncan, former airpark resident).
City levy: One reason Trammart News knows more about city finances this month than the last one is because of an impassioned speech in December by a city council member who insisted the source of a $3.9 million loan of unknown origin should be found. She was right, and the challenge to locate it was successfully taken up by Stanford University’s Big Local News team, thanks to her minority opinion on its importance (Sarah Jobe, city councilor).
Trammart News wishes emphasize all boards and councils within the city for governance and schools are composed of volunteers from the community. It is important to keep this in mind and to thank them for their service. ▪
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
Inquiry, analysis and opinions on the city levy & school bond.
As Independence voters face two proposals that will increase their tax bills if approved in November – a school bond and a city levy – common questions have surfaced. What will the real cost be? Why now? When will elected officials stop asking for more money?
Trammart News collected these questions, compiled them into 10 basic areas of inquiry, and sought information for answers from government agencies, local groups of three or more residents and outside experts.
In general, both proposals have staunch supporters and vocal detractors – detractors tend to cite their opposition based on past actions seen as disappointing or disillusioning. Supporters appear to be those who see themselves as having a personal stake in the outcome.
The following responses represent an editorial round-up, not a news summary. However, Trammart News found the replies to be revealing; Sources are listed in parentheses.
1) How much is this going to cost me? And do elected officials realize that many cannot afford to finance such big plans?
School bond: $3.75 per $1,000 assessed value on your property taxes, $90 million over a 30-year period, plus an automatic $6 million grant award if the bond passes (Central School District).
City levy: $1.82 per $1,000 assessed value on your property taxes (City of Independence) about $6 million over a 5-year period.
2) Why does the city levy seem lower than the school bond when the school bond has been promoted as only a five-cent increase? And are there contingency plans for failure?
School bond: Due to the timing of when existing school bonds will be paid off, the addition of new costs for the proposed school facilities improvements would essentially match the cost of retiring bonds but still need of about 5 cents more/$1000 assessed value. Thus, the school district has stated that the net increase over what taxpayers are accustomed to paying for school bonds would increase by 5 cents per $1,000 assessed value.
If the bond fails to pass the schools could undertake certain patchwork measures while an alternate proposal is planned – more pods could be imported to create classroom space, upgrades could be addressed on a case-by-case basis (district sources).
City levy: The city staff already have a back-up plan: The May ballot. If the levy fails, meetings will be held to determine how best to proceed to assure passage in the spring, including the possibility of a new proposal with a different approach (city hall sources).
3) What will happen if the proposals don’t pass? Can’t they get the money somewhere else?
School bond: School funds may be under stringent restrictions with few revenue streams outside of taxes and grants, both of which are subject to guidelines for use. However, school districts can sell property – CSD 13J owns some – and under pressing circumstances, it could be allowed to take out loans for needed repairs (Oregon Department of Education).
City levy: New loans might prove challenging for Independence. More than a year ago, the Independence City Council approved an initial $44 million for priority water projects, largely related to a new water treatment plant for which funds are currently being sought. Business Oregon gave the city $20,000 – a technical assistance grant – to explore the water treatment plant’s regional potential, which could mean funding from other participants.
However, this past spring, Independence took out a $10 million loan with the DEQ for wastewater projects. There was a $4 million grant from the US Economic Development Administration and a $1 million match from Business Oregon’s Special Public Works Fund. But even with this monetary infusion, such commitments could make it less likely to get funding for anything but capital improvement projects (state report on water funding). City Manager Kenna West has termed the library, museum and parks as not essential like police – a $20 public safety fee for that will be added as a monthly fee in January.
4) Some of these officials keep talking about how they provide transparency. Do they recognize it seems the opposite sometimes?
School bond: Parents have asked the board for complete transparency in information that promotes the bond; Shannon Ball called for clear, specific language to be listed on the 175-word summary on the ballot. Polk County Administrator Greg Hansen stressed that in the interest of transparency, county ballot measures for bonds include a breakdown of amount being carried forward and the amount being added (resident group, county official).
City levy: Parents have told Trammart News there is concern that some of the money collected for the levy could be used for other civic expenses – it will become part of the General Fund and not be placed in a separate account. However, Public Works Director Gerald Fisher explained that there will be separate categories for the revenue within the General Fund (resident group, city administrator).
5) I don’t feel like I can fully trust that these officials will use the money the way they say they will. Are there any guarantees?
School bond: An oversight committee on the bond, to ensure money is spent on priority projects and to include public input, is being set up (CSD 13J Board of Directors’ meeting minutes).
City levy: City manager Kenna West repeatedly has cited past practices of interfund transfers as not subscribing to “best practices,” which would suggest levy money will be preserved in one of the separate “buckets” she said she feels are necessary to keep funding separate (City of Independence meeting minutes).
6) These officials are so out of touch with reality, emphasizing the wrong things. Why do they listen only to each other?
School bond: Several parents have been continually stressing as misguided the district’s emphasis on the need to build a new school, called by one a “possible death blow” for the bond if it keeps up – in large part because fresh in the memory of many is a previous superintendent’s decision to take Henry Hill Elementary School offline. But it is important to keep in mind that playgrounds and repaired roofs are listed as priority projects if this bond passes. Upgrades, improvements, repairs and safety features will be undertaken at all five of the CSD school buildings (resident comments, Emily Mentzer, CSD Communications Coordinator).
City levy: The motion to place the levy on the November ballet passed by a 4:2 vote in the city council. Some opposing views were that more could be done before going to the public for a levy and discussion about whether to include the museum in the levy had mixed opinions (City of Independence meeting minutes, resident comments).
7) I’ve tuned in to view these meetings a few times and it looks like an echo chamber. Why is there so much discussion driven by staff – and then just followed by the elected people?
School bond: The CSD School Board often follows the lead of the superintendent and her staff. One reason may be that the district is required to follow protocol and procedures handed down by the state, which can be difficult for volunteer board members to know. However, the board appears to drive changes behind the scenes, according to one staff insider. An example is the “totally unrepeatable, big mistake, tax surprise” that caused an uproar by residents when they opened their property-tax bills in fall 2023 to see a much higher obligation than expected. There seemed to be an uptick in questions this year by the budget committee, with former Board Chair Donn Wahl essentially warning against not following through on a reduction. “Some are on a shorter lease,” according to the staffer (unreported interview in 2023 by Trammart News).
City levy: if you follow the sessions of the Independence City Council, you can see from the minority votes that the council often is far from a consensus on issues – so the idea that discussion is inhibited doesn’t seem correct. It’s true that, so far, it isn’t apparent that this has brought the two factions closer to the center. However, efforts to contain opinions – specifically, a proposed policy by the city manager to ban “grandstand” behavior – brought critiques from some constitutional scholars in the Pacific Northwest. The National First Amendment Coalition went on the record as a critic. So active debate is likely to remain in council chambers (Trammart News article, 2024).
8) Why should I believe anything these government agencies say? The things they have done in the past are tricky, dumb or both.
School bond: Most of the actions cited by residents as alleged errors are from previous administrations. One criticism of the current Superintendent Jennifer Kubista, is that few seem to know the outcomes after her pronouncements “we need to have that conversation.” There’s been a call for more news releases, posted more prominently, on the website. Some parents who recently looked under the subcategory “news,” for example, were surprised to see the top story was on Dale Pedersen’s appointment as principal of the high school – a post he has held for more than a year (resident group).
City levy: Just as with the school district, some of the actions that are alleged to have been poor planning arose in previous years. The current city manager, Kenna West, has been in the job only about two years. In 2017, the city council was warned by the external municipal auditor at the time that the debt could be a concern in a few years – it is one now (Trammart News report, 2017 & 2018).
9) What is one good argument that could convince me to vote for being taxed more due to these additions?
School bond: When you have water plop on your head during a rainstorm inside a school building or see a playground so drenched and soggy that kids cannot play in it, you may be convinced. Trammart News has experienced the former and has a photo of the latter. (Trammart News reported on Independence Elementary School’s annual “winter swamp” in 2022).
City levy: This issue is complicated to address because the city council chose to lump together three different entities. “We will all sink or swim together” is the way one department head put it. But these three services appear distinctly different. Some cities, including Independence, put parks under Public Works – and that is where they are funded by some other cities. A large majority of museums aren’t funded by city coffers, except in much smaller amounts. And, despite the fact that the library has been labeled a non-essential service, the definition can be difficult to understand. It is the only access to municipal broadband for some families, as reported by parents. Also, it serves as a warming and cooling center.
Most families contacted by Trammart News report the Independence Library is crucial; Others say that, if public works oversees parks, that department should be the funding source (current, unpublished interviews by residents with Trammart News).
10) Trammart News, who are you, anyway? That ad you run keeps saying “get informed, be engaged, stay involved” blah blah blah, just so preachy. What does it really matter? Other people make all the decisions.
School bond: The most vigor to any system of government is a public that is all eyes and ears on it. This has been proven over and again. One example is the detection of the alleged tax over-charge by CSD, which drew an apology from the district, was called a “mistake,” and later rectified for the coming year. It was discovered by a resident – a single resident who told Trammart News it was time for coffee at The Starduster Cafe because he had just returned from paying his property-tax bill and he thought word should get out about what he found (Andy Duncan, former airpark resident).
City levy: One reason Trammart News knows more about city finances this month than the last one is because of an impassioned speech in December by a city council member who insisted the source of a $3.9 million loan of unknown origin should be found. She was right, and the challenge to locate it was successfully taken up by Stanford University’s Big Local News team, thanks to her minority opinion on its importance (Sarah Jobe, city councilor).
Trammart News wishes emphasize all boards and councils within the city for governance and schools are composed of volunteers from the community. It is important to keep this in mind and to thank them for their service. ▪
Something big, something old, hiding in plain sight
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
Some things never change. And maybe they should. Not maybe – definitely. Definitely they should change at 203 Monmouth Street. There is widespread local agreement on that.
The aging and incomplete building at that address has successfully stood the test of time for two decades, but a 20-year anniversary doesn’t seem like a time for celebration.
Ironically, several publications, including the Statesman-Journal, enthusiastically heralded the start of the building – now known as by the unflattering title “Stonehenge” – in 2004. It was seen as having the potential to become the world’s greenest building.
“At the end of the Oregon Trail, where early settlers pioneered westward against an unforgiving wilderness, developer Steven Ribeiro is blazing another trail,” extolled New York-based writer Jerry Ascierto, who wrote an article at the time about what was then called Independence Station. Mock-ups were convincing and beautiful – sun-kissed glass gleamed and plants draped over window sills in the drawings.
Designed to house more than a dozen residential units, with retail and commercial shops on the ground floor, the nearly 60,000-square-foot structure was seen as so state-of-the-art that it drew praise from all over the Pacific Northwest – a building on track to be powered entirely by renewable energy, from solar panels to vegetable oil.
By 2006, however, the Polk County Itemizer-Observer was reporting an unmistakable work stoppage of almost a year “except for some limited construction work during the summer.” The project then became an off-and-on venture and, by 2012, its original estimated cost of $7 million had more than doubled. Even so, Ribeiro remained insistent that he was still going to be able to make his dream a reality, according to Oregon’s Daily Journal of Commerce, which reported that a legal battle had begun between the owner and the city.
The building languished. A tour guide for the Ghost Walk during those years was known to call it “the biggest mystery in town” as he took visitors by that corner.
However, in the fall of 2021, a local developer, Aaron Young, was greenlighted by the city to move ahead with new plans for completion – and the building was renamed Station 203. Optimism soon gave way to disappointment, however. For the most part, Station 203 remained as it always had – a looming unfinished skeleton.
In 2022, a Salem-based commercial real estate brokerage was advertising the structure for sale, for slightly under a million dollars.
This week there was a small sign on the corner, in front of the building’s fencing, which referred interested parties to a Portland-based realtor, though no listing for it could be found at the company’s website.
Several local residents say they have become so accustomed to the aging steel and graying concrete that they often forget about the ugly appearance. And one pointed out that it is not as abandoned as it looks. “A lot of birds live in there,” he observed. ▪
By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
Some things never change. And maybe they should. Not maybe – definitely. Definitely they should change at 203 Monmouth Street. There is widespread local agreement on that.
The aging and incomplete building at that address has successfully stood the test of time for two decades, but a 20-year anniversary doesn’t seem like a time for celebration.
Ironically, several publications, including the Statesman-Journal, enthusiastically heralded the start of the building – now known as by the unflattering title “Stonehenge” – in 2004. It was seen as having the potential to become the world’s greenest building.
“At the end of the Oregon Trail, where early settlers pioneered westward against an unforgiving wilderness, developer Steven Ribeiro is blazing another trail,” extolled New York-based writer Jerry Ascierto, who wrote an article at the time about what was then called Independence Station. Mock-ups were convincing and beautiful – sun-kissed glass gleamed and plants draped over window sills in the drawings.
Designed to house more than a dozen residential units, with retail and commercial shops on the ground floor, the nearly 60,000-square-foot structure was seen as so state-of-the-art that it drew praise from all over the Pacific Northwest – a building on track to be powered entirely by renewable energy, from solar panels to vegetable oil.
By 2006, however, the Polk County Itemizer-Observer was reporting an unmistakable work stoppage of almost a year “except for some limited construction work during the summer.” The project then became an off-and-on venture and, by 2012, its original estimated cost of $7 million had more than doubled. Even so, Ribeiro remained insistent that he was still going to be able to make his dream a reality, according to Oregon’s Daily Journal of Commerce, which reported that a legal battle had begun between the owner and the city.
The building languished. A tour guide for the Ghost Walk during those years was known to call it “the biggest mystery in town” as he took visitors by that corner.
However, in the fall of 2021, a local developer, Aaron Young, was greenlighted by the city to move ahead with new plans for completion – and the building was renamed Station 203. Optimism soon gave way to disappointment, however. For the most part, Station 203 remained as it always had – a looming unfinished skeleton.
In 2022, a Salem-based commercial real estate brokerage was advertising the structure for sale, for slightly under a million dollars.
This week there was a small sign on the corner, in front of the building’s fencing, which referred interested parties to a Portland-based realtor, though no listing for it could be found at the company’s website.
Several local residents say they have become so accustomed to the aging steel and graying concrete that they often forget about the ugly appearance. And one pointed out that it is not as abandoned as it looks. “A lot of birds live in there,” he observed. ▪
When a porker isn't porky enoughBy Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
Autumn Clinton wanted to raise a pig, and, as part of Central High School’s FFA program, that goal seemed to fall easily into place.
She had access to a barn that a local family donates so students from CHS can rear livestock for the fair – and, right away, she was assigned a piglet with pretty markings that included a wide white band. Autumn named him “Alice,” in honor of Alice Cooper, a favorite rock musician.
But even Autumn noticed that the pig, at a cost of $500, looked small. "He just didn't eat well at first and I didn't know that he wasn't supposed to sound the way he did. It was the first time I had ever seen a pig up close and I really didn't know Alice was not doing as well as the others from the very beginning," she said.
Fortunately, the family had a close relationship with Ash Creek Animal Clinic and was able to contact the large animal veterinarian on staff, Johnny Archer DVM, who joined the practice last year. He was able to meet Alice at the donor barn shortly after the family was made aware the pig was sick.
It seemed touch-and-go for the young hog but, with Archer's oversight, he pulled through.
For Autumn, the task of rearing a pig meant visits to the barn before and after school. Initially, Autumn took two trips daily to the barn, but she increased her visits there to three times a day, then to four, to try to help Alice put on weight. The pig seemed smaller and thinner than his counterparts.
Once summer began, lunchtime feedings were added with the goal getting the pig ready to show and to a good weight, for farm-to-table sale at the fair, Autumn recalled.
The period leading up to the final swine weighing, prior to being sold, has been referred to as a "nail-biter" for some participants. The reason: when a pig fails to make the weight cutoff, the animal cannot be entered into the auction, where bids from buyers mean payback and profit for the months of care and feeding.
Alice missed the needed weight cut-off by four pounds. The pig’s official underweight status wasn't known until the morning of final weigh-ins. Additional feeding efforts during the day prior to the re-weighing that was done that same evening failed to add the much-needed poundage.
Autumn received the devastating news that Alice wouldn’t be allowed entry into the fair’s live auction.
For centuries, pigs have been valued almost like live currency. In England during Shakespeare’s time, monetary exchanges were sometimes called the “tithe pig’s tail.” Pigs are uniquely suited for consumption. They provide food from nearly the entire body, with the exception of hooves and internal organs – ham hocks, bacon slices, pork chops and barbecue ribs all are favorites by meat-eating Americans.
Animals at the county fair’s “Youth Livestock Auction” typically sell for high prices compared to the current market value, confirmed Lee Letsch, the executive director of the Oregon FFA. However, each year, there are a few students whose animals – pigs, lambs, goats, chickens, rabbits, turkeys, and steers – fail to make weight at the fair, she explained. But exhibitors that have animals that don’t “make weight” have the opportunity to sell them privately, she said.
Being denied entry to the auction was a huge disappointment apart from the loss of a premium sale price, said Joann Clinton, Autumn’s mother. The exclusion also meant lack of access to post-fair transportation, she said.
"Our backup plan of processing the animal ourselves and selling the meat later became infeasible as we couldn't find a way to transport the pig from the fair to one of the several meat processors that had processing openings for us,” she said.
And, without the option of being able to auction the pig, a private buyer had to be found. The initial offer for Alice was $200 – less than half of the pig's initial purchase price.
Non-agricultural families new to the process shouldn't "slip through the cracks" as they did, Clinton said. "There's just so much information that can only be gained by experience," she stressed.
"We just didn't have the tools," Clinton said, adding that she feels they wouldn't be difficult to provide. Better communication could solve or prevent many of the problems the family encountered, she said.
When they were told Alice would "need to be out by Sunday" after failing to hit the qualifying weight for the auction, "we didn't know what to do. Put the pig in a U-Haul and take it home where there is only a dog run?"
Perhaps a mentoring program specifically for non-farm families new to agriculture would be helpful, she suggested, emphasizing that she wasn't asking for special treatment, just more information.
Autumn was part of an FFA chapter with an advisor; It is also a program in which animals typically are weighed consistently through the summer, FFA’s Letsch noted. However, every FFA or 4-H club handles project oversight differently, she added.
It would have been a “big loss” in the investment if the family had not ultimately found a suitable private buyer, observed Jeffery Clinton, Autumn’s dad.
Even at that, the experience proved a financial hit for the family. “The original plan at the start of the project was to take the proceeds from the auction, pay me back since I as the parent was paying for everything, and then whatever was left would go to Autumn,” he explained.
The cost was about $1900 overall; Alice eventually sold for $2300.
Still, the experience with Alice the pig was a time of invaluable learning, according to the family.
Autumn wants to be a veterinarian, and this seemed like a good step in obtaining experience toward that goal, said Joann Clinton. “I know we are teaching the kids a lesson, and that is good,” she said. However, “it doesn't need to be one of hard knocks," she stated. ▪
Trammart News Service
Autumn Clinton wanted to raise a pig, and, as part of Central High School’s FFA program, that goal seemed to fall easily into place.
She had access to a barn that a local family donates so students from CHS can rear livestock for the fair – and, right away, she was assigned a piglet with pretty markings that included a wide white band. Autumn named him “Alice,” in honor of Alice Cooper, a favorite rock musician.
But even Autumn noticed that the pig, at a cost of $500, looked small. "He just didn't eat well at first and I didn't know that he wasn't supposed to sound the way he did. It was the first time I had ever seen a pig up close and I really didn't know Alice was not doing as well as the others from the very beginning," she said.
Fortunately, the family had a close relationship with Ash Creek Animal Clinic and was able to contact the large animal veterinarian on staff, Johnny Archer DVM, who joined the practice last year. He was able to meet Alice at the donor barn shortly after the family was made aware the pig was sick.
It seemed touch-and-go for the young hog but, with Archer's oversight, he pulled through.
For Autumn, the task of rearing a pig meant visits to the barn before and after school. Initially, Autumn took two trips daily to the barn, but she increased her visits there to three times a day, then to four, to try to help Alice put on weight. The pig seemed smaller and thinner than his counterparts.
Once summer began, lunchtime feedings were added with the goal getting the pig ready to show and to a good weight, for farm-to-table sale at the fair, Autumn recalled.
The period leading up to the final swine weighing, prior to being sold, has been referred to as a "nail-biter" for some participants. The reason: when a pig fails to make the weight cutoff, the animal cannot be entered into the auction, where bids from buyers mean payback and profit for the months of care and feeding.
Alice missed the needed weight cut-off by four pounds. The pig’s official underweight status wasn't known until the morning of final weigh-ins. Additional feeding efforts during the day prior to the re-weighing that was done that same evening failed to add the much-needed poundage.
Autumn received the devastating news that Alice wouldn’t be allowed entry into the fair’s live auction.
For centuries, pigs have been valued almost like live currency. In England during Shakespeare’s time, monetary exchanges were sometimes called the “tithe pig’s tail.” Pigs are uniquely suited for consumption. They provide food from nearly the entire body, with the exception of hooves and internal organs – ham hocks, bacon slices, pork chops and barbecue ribs all are favorites by meat-eating Americans.
Animals at the county fair’s “Youth Livestock Auction” typically sell for high prices compared to the current market value, confirmed Lee Letsch, the executive director of the Oregon FFA. However, each year, there are a few students whose animals – pigs, lambs, goats, chickens, rabbits, turkeys, and steers – fail to make weight at the fair, she explained. But exhibitors that have animals that don’t “make weight” have the opportunity to sell them privately, she said.
Being denied entry to the auction was a huge disappointment apart from the loss of a premium sale price, said Joann Clinton, Autumn’s mother. The exclusion also meant lack of access to post-fair transportation, she said.
"Our backup plan of processing the animal ourselves and selling the meat later became infeasible as we couldn't find a way to transport the pig from the fair to one of the several meat processors that had processing openings for us,” she said.
And, without the option of being able to auction the pig, a private buyer had to be found. The initial offer for Alice was $200 – less than half of the pig's initial purchase price.
Non-agricultural families new to the process shouldn't "slip through the cracks" as they did, Clinton said. "There's just so much information that can only be gained by experience," she stressed.
"We just didn't have the tools," Clinton said, adding that she feels they wouldn't be difficult to provide. Better communication could solve or prevent many of the problems the family encountered, she said.
When they were told Alice would "need to be out by Sunday" after failing to hit the qualifying weight for the auction, "we didn't know what to do. Put the pig in a U-Haul and take it home where there is only a dog run?"
Perhaps a mentoring program specifically for non-farm families new to agriculture would be helpful, she suggested, emphasizing that she wasn't asking for special treatment, just more information.
Autumn was part of an FFA chapter with an advisor; It is also a program in which animals typically are weighed consistently through the summer, FFA’s Letsch noted. However, every FFA or 4-H club handles project oversight differently, she added.
It would have been a “big loss” in the investment if the family had not ultimately found a suitable private buyer, observed Jeffery Clinton, Autumn’s dad.
Even at that, the experience proved a financial hit for the family. “The original plan at the start of the project was to take the proceeds from the auction, pay me back since I as the parent was paying for everything, and then whatever was left would go to Autumn,” he explained.
The cost was about $1900 overall; Alice eventually sold for $2300.
Still, the experience with Alice the pig was a time of invaluable learning, according to the family.
Autumn wants to be a veterinarian, and this seemed like a good step in obtaining experience toward that goal, said Joann Clinton. “I know we are teaching the kids a lesson, and that is good,” she said. However, “it doesn't need to be one of hard knocks," she stated. ▪
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