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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: JULY 10, 1993

Packwood takes a peek at the Goose

By ROBERT HOOD
Of the News-Register

U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Oregon, stopped in McMinnville Thursday for a briefing on the proposed Evergreen AirVenture Museum.

Packwood toured the HK-1 Flying Boat - the Spruce Goose - and said the museum would be a good target for federal grant money.

"The fact that this museum is unique - not just in Oregon but in the world - gives it a better chance of attracting federal dollars," Packwood said. "I think the folks here are looking at all possible funding sources to help with the costs associated with this kind of project."

AirVenture museum Director Howard Lovering said Packwood was not invited to McMinnville to talk about grant money, but rather to see the plans for the museum and to tour the Spruce Goose.

"It's important, from our standpoint, to educate the Senator about our project," Lovering said. "When we're at the point of securing funding for the museum, we'll look at local, state and federal grants. We're not at that point yet."

Three sites

Robert Thompson of Thompson Vaivoda & Associates, the architectural firm chosen to design the AirVenture Museum, showed Packwood three site designs corresponding to the three locations under consideration as a site for the museum.

"We expect the site to be chosen in a week to a week and half," Thompson told Packwood. Thompson said the museum will be roughly 250,000 square feet and will incorporate water into the design.

"We want to bring it alive," Thompson said. "We want to bring the concept of water to the plane. It's important to design a building that says something about the collection."

The area that will hold the Spruce Goose will be as large as a football field, according to Thompson.

The museum will have a building for the Spruce Goose, a main gallery, major theater, a restoration shop, administration buildings and a large public amphitheater.

Lovering said Evergreen knows the site it wants, but will wait for two weeks to make the announcement public.

China briefing

Packwood also was briefed by Evergreen officials regarding the trading practices of Chinese air carriers and the treatment they give Evergreen freight carriers. Evergreen officials contend that Chinese air carriers have threatened shippers with retaliatory actions if they tender freight to Evergreen.

Packwood said he had dinner with the Chinese Ambassador 10 days ago and talked with him about the issue.

"I'm a strong supporter of China and have always supported its status as a most favored nation," Packwood said. "This is a real test of their goodwill."

Packwood recently sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Federico Pena asking him to investigate Evergreen's allegations.

Evergreen officials are awaiting a response from the Department of Transportation. They hope the letter will ask the Chinese to adhere to the bilateral trade agreement signed by both countries.

Packwood compared China to the Japan of 20 years ago.

"They want to trade in a world market, but they want to protect themselves," Packwood said. "It's not just Evergreen that's having problems in China. Evergreen's European competitors are also having problems."

Economic stimulus

Packwood, who opposes President Clinton's economic stimulus package, said he was unsure if it would benefit cities developing infrastructure projects, such as new sewer treatment plants.

McMinnville city officials have questioned whether the federal government could help pay for the $40 million wastewater treatment plant it is building. Also, Yamhill is discussing funding measures for a new wastewater treatment plant.

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