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Commissioners use D.C. trip to market county By Dani Dodge If Jackson County Commissioner Ric Holt has any influence, the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport will be a hub of world export within the next few years. He envisions crates of pears and boxes of beef going to Korea, China and Iran. This past week, while he and the other commissioners were in Washington, D.C., at the National Association of Counties conference, Holt visited several foreign embassies to promote the airport's international potential. He gave each ambassador a Harry and David fruit basket. "Our pears have got to find some new markets," Holt said Friday after a commissioners meeting. "I was promoting Jackson County and our ability to do business internationally." Commissioners returned from their annual weeklong trip Thursday. In addition to Holt's excursions into embassies, commissioners spent their time educating congressional aides and lobbying legislators about the county's needs. Expenses for the trip hadn't been totalled Friday, but airline tickets and hotels totalled $3,750 (Commissioner Sue Kupillas stayed with friends rather than in a hotel). Additionally, commissioners had up to $46 per day available for meals and expenses. Kupillas said commissioners shared ideas with other officials at the conference that could help Jackson County. But more important, they worked toward passage of a bill that would restore funds to counties hurting from the loss of timber revenues. Jackson County faces a $1.2 million to $1.8 million shortfall in its next budget cycle due to declining revenues. It is one of 18 counties in Oregon with major dependence on timber revenues. (A number of rural schools also depend on timber revenue.) But with the decline in logging in federal forests, all the timber dependent counties have had less money for things like health services and juvenile justice. The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 1999 would address the issue by providing a safety net for schools and counties dependent on timber revenues while promoting programs to help the entities become self-sufficient. The bill has made it through the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate, Kupillas said. "The efforts we make now on the federal level are very, very important because (this bill) is very, very important," said Commissioner Jack Walker. He said the Jackson County commissioners and others from the region banded together to explain to Eastern senators and their staffs why they needed to support Jackson County. He noted that many counties in their districts are funded differently than Jackson County. `We thought we accomplished a lot," he said. "They had a whole different view." Kupillas said she's "fairly certain" the bill will pass the Senate. Then it must get through the federal budget. If it does pass, Jackson County will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the legislation, getting as much as $13 million to $14 million. Holt said without passage of the bill, services will have to be cut or taxes raised. "This is money out of people's pockets," he said. In the meantime, Holt went about promoting Medford's airport as an alternative to Portland or San Francisco -- another way to increase the economic viability of the county, he said. "We are the obvious choice for trade with the Pacific Rim Nations for freight," Holt said. "I let them know we are open for business." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA