No, this is not another photo contest..., it seems that perhaps some people know Coos County really really well. ;-)
Instead, over the weekend I was attempting to find out more about the Biomass Energy plant proposed by Laidlaw and I guess in my naivete, I assumed that it was not a done deal. Then I came across this, this, and THIS!!! Now I realize, that some of you have probably already seen these articles - I had not. So in the benefit of those who haven't, I decided to post them. Which leads me to my next question.....
Does this mean that we really, as a consensus, don't have a say?
Things that make you go hmmmmmm?????
Stay with this guys, you're helping a lot of peolpe.
Posted by: Bean | September 22, 2012 at 11:10 PM
All of what Ms. Blair states in this vid is true but what she taleks about here is only about 30% of the photo business. If you are starting out or still in school be sure to study sales and marketing especially the classes, workshops and Youtube vids geared toward sales and marketing of photography. Let me add that you could shoot like a champ but that alone will cause you to go out of business quicker than you would think.
Posted by: MissHelmi | September 21, 2012 at 05:42 PM
Pete, Min, Alberto, you all made some good points. We can be successful in the shadows of industry. Look at Savanah Georgia, one of the largest industrial sites and ports in the world and a beautifull place to live. These places all have other things going for them. We haev to find a way to capitalize on that other thing that we have going for us. And we have to start repairing and marketing this city. And we need to remember, yes we can be successfull in the shadow of this factory but it will be that much harder. Things that may have happened naturally without this challenging structure may take that extra bit of work and imagination.
Posted by: Robert | June 16, 2007 at 11:49 AM
We are so much better off with a somewhat clean, power plant than a somewhat stinkified, pulpy mill. God save the Queen and the Berlin subdivision.
Posted by: Alberto Teatro | June 14, 2007 at 02:24 PM
actually Min, You said "Large & Thriving" not me. I would have said "Large and Struggling". I have been in the paper industry and know the challenges they face.
Camas is trying to become something other than a mill town, because they see the writing on the wall for the Paper Industry. They have been successful in attracting other businesses to their town (tax incentives?) even with a 1000 ton per day pulp mill. One 50 MW bark boiler is a couple orders of magnitude less obnoxious than a full blown pulp and paper mill.
The powers that be here in Berlin should look into towns like Camas that are trying (and succeeding)to keep the economy going in spite of what is happening to the manufacturing sector. A boiler on the mill site should not be an obstacle to attracting businesses from other sectors of the economy.
Posted by: Pete B | June 14, 2007 at 02:08 PM
ouch
Posted by: Pete B | June 14, 2007 at 01:19 PM
"Camas Washington - home of a large Georgia Pacific paper mill."
But.... here is the truth:
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/06132007news153026.cfm
400 jobs lost is thriving? Shutting down three of five paper machines?
All the jobs added are seasonal. Kind of like an area filled with "chambermaids and busboys."
And from what I am gathering online, Camas offered significant tax incentives to get new business in because of the decline of the paper industry and wanting to transform their town from a mill town. Hmmm....
Posted by: Min | June 14, 2007 at 01:14 PM
The bioenergy plant (wood fired boiler) and all the other boilers (recovery boiler, combined cycle gas fired boiler, power boiler...)are on the pulp mill site in the center of town...
New industries could have picked -Vancouver, Brush Prairie, Evergreen, Ridgefield, Salmon Creek, LaCenter in Washington, Warren, Scapoose, North Plains, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Hazeldale, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, West Linn, Gladstone, Johnson City, Gresham, Gladstone, Wood Village, Troutdale, Sandy or even Boring in Oregon. All places with the same attributes as Camas, but without a pulp mill in the center of town. Do all those places have more to offer than Berlin? Of course. Did the presence of a large industrial site in one of those towns deter other businesses from eschewing that town? No.
We have a beautiful location with lots of recreational opportunities in the area. Should that keep us from having an industrial employer in the center of town??? You know my thoughts.
Posted by: pete b | June 14, 2007 at 11:45 AM
I did not ask where the pulp mill was located in Camas, I read that in your comment - what I did ask however, was where are the bioenergy plants located?
For years and years and years, the environment is messed with and with every decision there is a consequence. Take Yellowstone Park for instance. Ulysses Grant made it the first conservation area I believe in the world and it was followed up by Roosevelt. A decision was made by well meaning people to remove the wolves and other predators from the park in order to save the Elk. The Elk became overpopulated and fed on many of the native fauna - thus stripping this native fauna from the ground permanently. So, in response, a massive hunting of Elk took place to which - they discovered, it didn't help their past predictament.
So, as I step down from my soap box - I wonder what will happen to the environment here. I am not a tree hugger. I come from a family of loggers who have made their living cutting down trees - however, I am not a family member of Dillon who continues to rape our forests. I also realize that NH is more forested now than it was just 100 years ago - but do we need to repeat our past mistakes? For every choice, there is a repercussion.
Also, as far as Camas goes, they have 9 colleges within 9 miles, 3-4 major highways with 2 of them being interstates within a few miles, their median age is 34.5, and they have major airports with a 5 miles that have capabilities of shipping large amounts of goods out.
Berlin on the other hand, has Rts 110 and 16. We have 2 college systems. Our median age is 42.5, and as far as airports - Berlin Municipal.
So, clearly with the hand that has been dealt Camas, it makes sense as to why they are thriving. If they didn't, there would be something seriously wrong with that picture.
We are isolated, remote and are in the most beautiful area there is. Why mess with the best? Get companies here with a "no" carbon footprint. Northsource, not outsource. Rake in the tourism factor. Hotels. Antique stores. This will work if given the chance. WE have the best of everything here - right now - let's capitalize on it.
Posted by: Min | June 14, 2007 at 10:54 AM
Yes, Camas is close to Portland. More like the distance from Berlin to Littleton or North Conway, not Gorham. It is outside the "beltway" (I-205) It used to be about a 45 min drive to get from downtown Camas to Downtown Portland. With highway improvements it is probably more like 30 minutes now.
Min, I did not forget to mention where the Pulp mill is located- I believe I said -"smack dab in the middle of town" and "On Main St.". That was not just a figure of speech. As you drive into Camas from the west and you get to the center of town, you literally drive through the mill. There are offices and production buildings on your left. The Bleach Plant is about 50' off the road to your right. The boilers and stacks dominate the downtown area. The wastewater treatment facility is closer to downtown than the Fraser one was to downtown Berlin. The Camas shopping district is as close to the mill as Main St. Berlin is to the Pulp Mill site.
The two big high tech chip manufacturing plants moved into a town with a pulp mill dominating the center of town. They could have moved into any of a hundred towns in Northwest Oregon or Southwest Washington and still been within 30 minutes of downtown Portland. Any of those hundred towns have the same weather, access to mountains, rivers and all the natural beauty of the Northwest. But they chose Camas, with a big stinking, smoke spewing, ash generating, smokestack laden pulp mill- On Main St. Smack Dab In The Center Of Town.
So my contentions are:
1)A small mill town (Camas circa 1995) can create a thriving beautiful downtown shopping district and lots of civic pride, even with a large "smokestack industry" dominating the downtown area. (follow links to the downtown Camas website in my previous post). And
2) Other (clean, high tech) businesses are not scared away by the presence of a large "smokestack industry" facility in the town.
A different example of a mill town transforming itself would be Lincoln NH. Its paper mill closed in the '80s. It too has a thriving retail area with restaurants, hotels and condominiums associated with the Loon ski area.
How many locals employed at the shops, restaurants and hotels are making more than $10/hour? How many locals can afford the $200,000 condos and half million dollar luxury homes sprouting up in the area? If that is the model Berlin wants to follow, fine. I would prefer to see an industry that supported more people with a living wage, not fill the town with chambermaids and busboys.
I'll get off my soapbox now...
The one thing I want to stress is that a well built, well maintained, well regulated industrial facility on the former pulp mill site will not necessarily scare off other potential businesses
Posted by: Pete B | June 14, 2007 at 08:58 AM
Camas Washington - home of a large and thriving Georgia Pacific paper mill. Neighbor to METROPOLITAN Portland, Oregon. Home to several new high-tech companies (why outsource when you can northsource!!! This goes to further prove Katie Paine's point that this is what Berlin needs.) However, you can't compare Camas to Berlin - unless like Robert said - you are going to relocate Portland, Oregon to the present Gorham location. Heck, why not shoot for good 'ole NYC? And you also forgot to mention if in the city of Camas, the bioenergy facilities are also located in their downtown? See the difference here is that we have the ability to change. The pulp mill is gone - or is soon to be gone - and we have the OPPORTUNITY to change Berlin for ALL future generations, not just the pocketbooks of the current generations. People tend to keep comparing to the Portsmouth and Whitefield facilities - but where are they located? Camas Washington = Berlin..., I don't think so.
Posted by: Min | June 14, 2007 at 07:25 AM
Camas Washington is 15 minutes to Portland Oregon, you could not be not vibrant in Portland Oregons reach. Wow is the weather nice there, my sister lived there for ten years (Portland), I got out there a few times. Really can't compare the two cities for me, not making that connection. People do time in places like Berlin, they become stepping stones, really hard to find young people whose ambition is to someday have a home with a view of the stacks. I raise my children in the shadows of the stacks, when my oldest draws pictures of houses he draws smokestacks coming out of them, like the house across the street. I support the Laidlaw project, not that my oppinion would matter to them, it is their land, they will make those decisions. The people with the means just leave when their time is up. I will agree with you, we should build Portland Oregon in Gorham.
Posted by: Robert | June 13, 2007 at 10:21 PM
If you strongly disagree with the direction that elected leaders are taking, you've got to get off your duff and speak up. Speaking up means, calling those leaders, putting your views in writing to newspapers and all community leaders and business people, getting on the radio, anything to get the word out. It usually means picketing and other forms of demonstrating your views. By the way, it may bring you unwanted attention. But if you believe, get moving as the train is leaving the station on this one.
Posted by: Larry Twitchell | June 13, 2007 at 09:38 AM
Anybody who believes that having a working industrial site smack dab in the center of town means that no other businesses will locate there, needs to take a trip to Camas Washington.
Camas is the home of a 100+ year old pulp and paper mill located right on Main St.(sound familiar?) There are several boilers burning Gas, Oil, wood waste, etc., and all the traffic, noise , dust and odor associated with a pulp mill
Camas has a thriving downtown shopping district. Several other large companies have moved into town in the past few years. The population has gone from about 9,000 to almost 15,000 in the past 10 years.Check out the web site- http://www.ci.camas.wa.us/community/aboutcam.htm
The average income of manufacturing workers (paper mill employees) was $57,000 in 1999. It is probably over $65,000 now. The average house value is $290,000.
I'm sure there are many other examples out there, but my point is that a boiler in downtown Berlin- especially a clean one- does not mean that you can't have a beautiful thriving town grow up around it. On the contrary, the base of hightly paid, highly educated workers will be a magnet for other businesses to set up shop.
Posted by: Pete B | June 12, 2007 at 12:00 PM
In response to "Hmmm...have you seen this?" I had not seen these articles and it does appear that there are a handful of people in Coos County who are somehow running the whole show and making decisions without consideration as to what the people of the county want. Lynch, Danderson, Gallus, McQueen, Gregg in the side-lines I'm sure. All these people do obviously not care what the people of Coos County want. There seems to be good evidence supporting the fact that there may not be the wood supply needed for the Biomass plant, that the wood sold to the plant would not be high end money for the logging companies and that Canadian wood would need to be brought in to supply the massive amounts needed to fire this thing. Great! Again, another example of these leaders forging ahead like bulls in a china shop without really looking at all the options and getting all the facts straight. The new "dump" was supposed to be a resource for the people of the area and look how that has turned out. And how in the world did Bass get involved in this? Who is running the show here in this county? It is frustrating and some what frightening how the residents have vitually no control in these matters.Our only options are to make sure these people are noted voted again into positions of power. There have been so many excellent ideas proposed by people in the area. All seem viable and would add to the atmosphere of Coos County. We all need to take the time to call these leaders and tell them we adamantly disagree with their plans for us.
Posted by: Pat Bacon | June 12, 2007 at 08:29 AM