Froniter Resources, LLC, Eugene, Ore., is purchasing Boise Cascade’s Yakima, Wash. sawmill and plywood plant complex. Boise will retain ownership of its approximately 200,000 acres of central Washington timberlands and will continue to manage those holdings under the company’s forestry programs. Frontier Resources is developing its plans for the acquired properties. The purchased operations employ 357.

Greg Baker readily admits that he has a competitive streak. It is what drives the gregarious father of two in the rodeo world, where he competes in upwards of 30 cattle roping competitions a year at venues from Arizona to Canada. That same competitiveness has helped Baker move up the ladder at Welco Lumber Co.’s cedar lumber operation here, from clean-up man 20 years ago to where he is today—Business Manager in charge of operations.

The team at Potlatch’s stud mill here has long been dedicated to collecting and utilizing information to improve performance and control of the production process. In 1999, they started researching available statistical process control (SPC) systems to track online lumber measurements. In third quarter 2002, Vancouver BC-based Perforex Solutions installed its SiCam RealTime Lumber Size Control, a laser assisted measurement and information system that monitors lumber size and provides immediate feedback.

Stimson Lumber Co.’s flagship operation north of Forest Grove, near the tiny town of Gaston and just below the Hagg Lake dam, features a stud mill, dimension mill and also a hardboard plant. Rated #5 in Timber Processing’s 2003 Top 200 Softwood Sawmills listing (and actually the leader for several years in the mid to late ’90s), the facility produces 270MMBF annually.

Authorities in South Carolina have declared a forest disaster in 15 counties across central South Carolina in response to 383,000 acres of forest that were damaged in a January 26-27 ice storm. The storm track was 20-60 miles wide and extended east from the Savannah River to the North Carolina line. The storm, which stripped branches and splintered trunks, hit Calhoun, Clarendon and Orangeburg counties the hardest. These counties accounted for more than half of the $96 million in damages, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

Coe Manufacturing introduces true 4-sided biological defect recognition with its D*TEC5000 BioScan technology. Designed for high-speed, transverse planer mill applications, the D*TEC5000 BioScan will identify the following defects: knots, splits, shake, contour, decay, stain, pitch, bark pockets, pith, holes, white speck, warp, skip, voids on ends and others.