July 10, 2009 03:06 pm
Gentry Ford and Powder River Motors will move east of I-84 in the next two years
Editor’s Note: The Baker City Herald is chronicling changes taking
place on “The Other Side of the Freeway” — the commercial area east of
Interstate 84. The series started in the July 3 edition with a look at
the recent move and expansion of Grumpy’s Repair. The series continued
July 6 with Blue-Collar Baker. Today’s installment reports on auto
dealerships planning to move to the other side of the freeway. The
series concludes July 17 with a look at plans for mixed use commercial
and light industrial businesses, along with high- and low density
housing.
Two Baker City auto dealerships are spending between $2 million and $3
million to develop a combined show room, car lot and shop on the other
side of the freeway.
“We’re buying 11 acres on the other side of the freeway between the
Super 8 Motel and the (United Parcel Service) facility,” said Dennis
Wright, general manager and part owner of Gentry Ford on Main Street
and Powder River Motors on 10th Street in Baker City. “Our hope in the
next two years is to combine all of our dealerships out there.”
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July 10, 2009 03:04 pm
Construction finished June 1, and an open house is set for Saturday
The Arritola family’s faith in Baker City’s future outweighed
recessionary fears when they broke ground on a $150,000 expansion that
nearly doubled the size of Oregon Trail Livestock Supply.
“We’d been planning the remodel for a couple of years before the
economy turned. We had a little better outlook on the local economy
than what the national media painted, and we flat needed the space, so
we decided to move forward with it,” said Martin Arritola, a partner
and manager of the business founded by his parents, Dan and Mary
Arritola.
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July 03, 2009 12:20 pm
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J.R. and Dana Streifel’s vehicle repair shop is one of several businesses in a commercial area east of Interstate 84 that Baker City annexed a couple years ago
Editor’s Note: Starting with today’s issue, the Baker City Herald
looks at changes taking place on “The Other Side of the Freeway.” The
series begins with a look at the recent move and expansion of Grumpy’s
Repair and continues next week with a look at planned moves of car
dealerships away from 10th Street and downtown Baker City to the east
side of Interstate 84.
For J.R. Streifel, the economic downturn that has dampened sales of
homes, new cars and consumer products has turned out to be a boon for
his auto and truck repair business.
“With the economy like it is, I think people are holding off on
buying new rigs and they’re choosing to fix up and hang onto the ones
they’re driving a little longer,” said Streifel, owner of Grumpy’s
Repair.
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June 03, 2009 03:01 pm
Donations from the Leo Adler and Robert W. Chandler funds help several business owners install awnings
Canvas awnings sewn and installed by Greg and Les Pointer of Ne-Hi
Enterprises are sprucing up downtown buildings thanks in part to
matching grants administered by Historic Baker City Inc.
“We have approved matching grants for several awnings as part of our
Destination Downtown grant program,” said Ann Mehaffy, HBC program
manager.
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June 03, 2009 02:56 pm
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Business owners say the promotion brought in lots of customers
“It was crazy. It was like Christmas. It was one of the best days we’ve
had all year,” is how Jacki Adams, owner of The Sycamore Tree,
described Tuesday’s launch of the Terrific Tuesdays downtown shopping
promotion.
Adams is is co-chair of the Terrific Tuesdays campaign, which is
designed to lure shoppers downtown with drawings for merchandise,
prizes and gift certificates of $10, $20, $25, $50 or $100 at 26
downtown businesses and a few in other areas of town every Tuesday
during the summertime.
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March 20, 2009 12:43 pm
Barb and Betty’s Hallmark closes, and all that’s left to sell are the shelves
 Barb Ackerman, left, and Betty Dahlen recently closed their Hallmark store on Main Street in Baker City. (Baker City Herald/Kathy Orr) Thanks for the memories.
Barb Ackerman and Betty Dahlen wrapped up their
going-out-of-business sale March 13 and now they’re busy dismantling
and selling the shelves, card racks and other remnants of Barb and
Betty’s Hallmark Store on Main Street in Baker City.
“It takes quite a bit to take the store down. We spent the last four
or five days tearing down the fixtures and getting them out,” Dahlen
said.
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March 16, 2009 01:56 pm
Two workshops planned
To help keep the local economy strong and ensure that Baker City’s
businesses thrive during the challenging national economic times,
several community-based groups are working together to offer help and
sponsor workshops.
These programs are designed to strengthen local businesses, keep
independent business owners competitive, and draw customers into the
shopping district with special events, according to Ann Mehaffy,
program director of Historic Baker City Inc.
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March 02, 2009 02:56 pm
Program pays unemployment benefits to would-be entrepreneurs
During economic downturns people in the middle to upper wage
brackets, especially college-educated older workers in diminishing
professions, often have the most trouble landing a job.
Unemployment statistics show workers in higher-paying skilled
positions are more likely to exhaust their unemployment benefits, and
ultimately wind up in lower paying occupations.
However, a little-used Self Employment Assistance program at the
Oregon Employment Department offers workers who fit that profile the
chance to receive unemployment benefits while they start a business of
their own.
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February 25, 2009 11:52 am
Use of WorkShare, which pays partial unemployment to workers whose hours are cut, has increased tenfold in one year
With the economy sliding into deeper into recession in Baker County and
around the state, participation is soaring in a previously little-used
Oregon Employment Department WorkShare program that allows employers to
cut workers’ hours instead of laying them off.
“It’s been one of those programs underutilized in the past, and use has
just skyrocketed,” said Tom Fuller, Employment Department
communications director.
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February 23, 2009 06:06 pm
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A study presented to the Baker County Small Woodlands Association last
week showed a biomass-fueled power plant, together with a wood pellet
factory and firewood operation, could provide a consistent market for
wood wastes generated on private and public forests.
Ben Henson, CEO of Renewable Energy Solutions in Wallowa, said the
study concluded that there’s plenty of woody biomass available in Baker
County and within 35 miles to supply a $9 million, three-part project.
It would consists of a 1-megawatt gasification power plant that would
use 35,000 green tons of wood a year, a 20,000-tons-a-year pellet mill
and a firewood operation producing 2,000 cords of firewood annually.
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