HAPPENINGS
Mathis Kuenzi Joins Mountain View Seeds! Mountain View Seeds has announced that Mathis Kuenzi has been added to their team. In case you are wondering if there is a connection, yes, this is Troy’s son! Mathis has been working for Farm Credit since he completed his degree at Oregon State but has been eager to get more hands-on with Ag, especially the grass seed agribusiness. He is excited to have an opportunity to come aboard and contribute to the MVS Team! Mathis is an Account Manager based in the Salem, Oregon, office.
Outside of work, Mathis enjoys fishing, dirt bike riding, and swimming. He and his wife recently purchased their first home and have been busy with house projects! Mathis can be reached at
mkuenzi@mtviewseeds.com or on his cell at 503-910-4058. For more information on Mountain View Seeds, visit
www.mtviewseeds.com.
Green Industry Contractors and Suppliers Rally with SiteOne and Build Champions Place Champions Place is a group home for physically challenged young adults. SiteOne® Landscape Supply, alongside customers and suppliers, proudly invested time, talent, and materials at Champions Place to create a special outdoor living space for its residents. Champions Place is made possible by Champions Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving physically challenged young adults who have aged out of high school programs. It is committed to significantly improving the lives of young adults with physical disabilities, enabling them to reach their full potential as self-reliant, productive, and fulfilled citizens in their local community. Watch the outdoor transformation and hear from Champions Place residents on how meaningful this project was on SiteOne’s YouTube channel available at the link that follows.
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WCzxgCtPt_c “It is an honor and privilege to team up with our partners to make this space a reality for the exceptional young men and women who call Champions Place home,” said Doug Black, CEO of SiteOne Landscape Supply. “Tis was a total team effort from those in the industry who truly believe in being stronger together, to make a big impact in the communities we serve.” Randy Moody, Area Sales Manager at SiteOne Landscape Supply, oversaw the project. He said there were quite a few challenges they ran into, but the results of Champions Place were amazing. “Te living space is state-of-the-art and looks great,” said Moody. “However, through the landscaping, we were really able to transform Champions Place into a true home.” Over $325,000 in materials and installation services were gifted to Champions Place. Te installation of the project included: 23 irrigation zones, 100 trees, 1,600 plants, 36,500 square feet of TifTuf Bermuda sod, 3,500 square feet of paver patio, 5,000 square feet of synthetic turf, a drainage system, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, water features and entrance signage.
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Former Jacklin Seed GM Pleads Guilty to Multiple Schemes Christopher (Chris) Claypool, 52, former general manager of Jacklin Seed Company, has plead guilty to several counts in U.S. Federal Court in Oregon. Te charges included conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He admitted to mislabeling, pyramid, and real estate investment schemes that defrauded customers and the company and netted Claypool more than $12 million. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21. Prosecutors are reported to be seeking a four-year prison term if he follows the conditions of his pre-sentencing release, including paying $8.3 million in restitution to Simplot plus unpaid taxes. Te schemes ran from 2015 through August of 2019. Each count in the indictments carried a maximum of 20 years on each charge. Jacklin was owned by J.R. Simplot until last fall when they announced the sale to the Royal Barenbrug Group. According to court records, the seed-pricing scheme started in 2015 and continued through 2019. Claypool and defendant Richard Dunham, of Oregon, agreed to start selling lower-grade grass seed that was fraudulently packaged as more expensive varieties. “As a result of the unauthorized substitutions and false invoices … Simplot refunded buyers at least $1,108,401.44,” court records state. “Tis amount represents the defrauded purchasers’ combined losses from this scheme.” Claypool admitted working with an independent travel agent in Spokane, starting in 2014, to submit inflated invoices to Simplot for Claypool’s business travel. “Te invoices submitted as part of this scheme billed Simplot many times the actual cost of the airfare defendant used and sometimes billed for travel that defendant never undertook,” according to court records. Simplot was overcharged more than $500,000 and the agent then gave most of that money back to Claypool in the form of kickback payments, court records state. In addition to those schemes, Claypool admitted working with a Jacklin employee based in China to divert Jacklin funds through banks in Hong Kong and China to purchase property in Hawaii as a means to avoid detection by the Internal Revenue Service.
Leadership Changes at Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science James (Jim) Murphy, extension specialist in turfgrass management, and Stacy Bonos, professor of turfgrass breeding, have been named director and associate director respectively of the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science, effective January 1, 2021. Murphy joined the Rutgers faculty in 1991 as an assistant extension specialist and was promoted in 2006 to extension specialist in the Department of Plant Biology. His research focuses on the development of environmentally-sound, best management practices in multiple turfgrass systems to improve stress tolerance, suppress disease, and reduce fungicide use. Bonos joined the Rutgers faculty as an assistant professor in 2001 and was promoted in 2017 to professor in the Department of Plant Biology. Her research focuses on developing cool-season turfgrasses for enhanced stress and pest tolerance and environmental sustainability, as well as breeding switchgrass for use as biofuels. Bruce Clarke, extension specialist in turfgrass pathology, served as director of the center since July 1993, and William (Bill) Meyer, professor of turfgrass breeding, served as associate director since joining the faculty in 1996. Together, they have provided more than 50 years of combined and outstanding leadership of the center and its award-winning programs.
TPI Turf News May/June 2021
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