The new Vulcan Centaur rocket had a successful liftoff in the early morning hours of Jan. 8 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an array of payloads that ranged from a lunar lander to the remains of the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and three of the original show’s main characters.
So what’s the connection to Philomath?
“A PHS alum, Trevor Rose, was in the operations room during the launch, responsible for assisting in the engine build,” Philomath Superintendent of Schools Susan Halliday shared. “Trevor graduated from PHS in 2013. He went on to graduate from OSU with a mechanical engineering major and minors in physics and aerospace engineering.”
In March 2022, Rose went to work for Blue Origin, which manufactured the engines used to power the rocket’s main body.
“During an engine test, about three months after he started this employment, he stopped the test as he saw a defective part,” Halliday said. “This saved potentially millions of dollars in equipment and delays. Fast forward to Trevor now being in charge of the division in less than two years.”
Back in 2018, I interviewed Trevor — and Jeremy Goodrich, another PHS and OSU graduate — for their involvement in NASA’s Student Launch program.
“The challenge just from the start is trying to do something we know is going to be hard, but it ends up being really rewarding,” Rose told me at the time.
That appears as though that could be the case with his involvement with the Vulcan rocket project.
Congratulations, Trevor.
2. Unknowns with Philomath Family Medicine’s future
Patients who receive their health care at Philomath Family Medicine were among those who celebrated the clinic’s relocation to a new building only three short months ago. A facility under the organizational umbrella of The Corvallis Clinic, the company’s chief executive officer, James Kaech, was among those on hand for a grand-opening event.
Now those same patients — and very likely its staff — are wondering what lies in the future for the clinic that serves this community. That’s because it was announced in late December that Optum Oregon, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, was intending to acquire The Corvallis Clinic.
Oregon Health Authority’s Health Care Market Oversight program reviews health-care business deals, such as mergers and acquisitions, to ensure “they do not harm people and communities in Oregon.”
Many health clinics did not come out of the pandemic in great financial shape. Federal grants provided support but that did not alleviate all hardships when it comes to the bottom line. Corvallis Clinic appears to be among those that fit this category based on information provided in a public notice published Dec. 28 by the Oregon Health Authority.
“Corvallis Clinic’s current financial forecasts project material losses over the next 12 months, despite the physician-owners’’ 15% reduction in compensation, which was put in place more than a year ago,” the public notice reads. “Along with ongoing losses, further instability is expected as clinicians will seek employment opportunities where they can earn more competitive compensation.”
Optum Oregon, according to the notice, plans to review Corvallis Clinic’s operational challenges and workflows.
“The goal of the proposed transaction is to stabilize and grow patient access to high-quality primary and specialty care in the Corvallis, Benton County and associated geographic service area,” the notice reads. “Within the post-transaction innovative care delivery model, these services would be available to the affected geographic service area and deployed as they are appropriate for patients.”
So what does that mean for Philomath? According to OHA, Optum Oregon stated that it would employ current physicians and other medical providers — although there are other staff that do not fit that description.
“The proposed transaction would preserve primary care and specialty access in the geographic service area, including the Medicaid population and rural populations throughout Benton County and the geographic service area of the proposed transaction,” the notice reads.
OHA is currently reviewing the deal.
In addition to Philomath, Corvallis Clinic also operates locations in Corvallis, Albany, Lincoln City, Newport and Lebanon.
Philomath Family Medicine dates back to 1977 when doctors David Grube and David Cutsforth opened a clinic on Applegate Street. A merger with Corvallis Clinic occurred in 1993. Grube and Cutsforth retired in 2012 after serving at the location for nearly 35 years.
3. Former Patrick Lumber president receives honor
Pat Burns, the former president of Patrick Lumber, was recently named 2023 Lumberperson of the Year by the Professional Wholesale Lumber Association. The honor recognizes “exceptional leadership, unwavering dedication and remarkable contributions to the Northwest lumber industry.”
Patrick Lumber, founded in 1915, has a manufacturing facility in Philomath. The company focuses primarily on high-grade softwoods — Douglas fir, Western red cedar, hemlock, Alaskan yellow cedar and Southern yellow pine. The facility, located on Noon Road, has production capabilities that include resawing and kiln drying lumber.
The corporate headquarters are located in Portland.
Burns, a grandson of Charles Patrick, one of the company’s founders, spent his entire career with Patrick Lumber. He stepped down as president on Jan. 1, 2023.
A recognition board that is permanently displayed at the World Forestry Center in Portland will include Burns’s name.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
