By Scotta Callister

Blue Mountain Eagle

LONG CREEK – Things are looking up in Long Creek, as plans firm up for a small-wood chipping facility at the old mill site.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Mayor Don Porter. “We’re really stoked about it.”

The Long Creek City Council last week approved a conditional use permit for Grant County Fiber to operate a plant at 200 N. Eagle St.

The permit hearing drew about 25 residents, plenty of support and no opposition.

Porter said one resident who had voiced concerns about noise earlier in the process has since done some research that resolved his concerns.

“The mood in town is 100 percent positive,” he said.

Company representative Don Bodewig said the chip facility, owned by Richard and Janie Dodge, is not ready to open yet, but work has been underway at the site for a little over a month.

The Dodge family owns Blue Mountain Lumber Products at Reith and Boardman Chip Co., as well as logging and cattle operations in Northeastern Oregon.

Porter said the company seems to be moving right along with permits and other preliminary work. Even with the opening date uncertain, the company has put two local people to work on the set-up, he said.

Just seeing activity at the industrial site is a boost for the town, Porter said.

“If you had asked me back at Thanksgiving about the prospects for the industry returning to Long Creek, I would have said not good,” he said.

Porter said when he became mayor about nine years ago, Long Creek’s business future looked dire.

“No restaurant, no store, no gas, nothing,” he said. “We didn’t even have a vending machine in town – you couldn’t buy a Coke.”

Today, the town – population 190 – has two stores, a restaurant, and a gas station, in addition to the motel, a longtime landmark.

Leslie Barnett, owner of the Long Creek Lodge, said people are feeling really positive about the mill plan. Even a few jobs can have a big impact in Long Creek, she noted.

Barnett said the motel already has seen a benefit as workers have stayed there this winter.

“They’ve been great – they seem like really good neighbors,” she said.

The new mill opportunity comes on top of other jobs gained when the Grant County Road Department reopened its shop in Long Creek, and the North Fork John Day Watershed Council established its headquarters there.

The development of the plant coincides with increasing activity on the Malheur National Forest, which launched a 10-year stewardship plan and accelerated restoration work last year. The forest staff is rolling out new landscape-scale projects that are expected to produce abundant small-wood materials.