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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1981)
PUT YOUR DOLLARS TO WORK Super value on an immaculate 3 bedroom home in the cul-de-sac of well kept homes just over a mile from the U of O. Interest Lovely white brick rate under 12% fireplace. 1230 Square feet. $57,900 Please call Marge English ‘sales person is the owner. 344*4028 or 485-5166. LET’S LOBBY FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR EDUCATION and support to win the fight Phone x3724 Suite 4 EMU wO- ygO- Jg& j wO- igQ The economies Can Eugene diversify? Almost every body agrees: the Eugene area desperately needs to diversify its econ omy But that's where the agreement ends Eugene's business communi Graphic by Max DeRunqs I iy 3n0 pOIIIICdl leaders are in sharp opposition as to |ust how the process of diversification should be approached Experts agree that diversification is necessary to lessen Eugene s depen dence on the lumber industry As unem ployment statistics point out, Lane County's economy has long been riding the roller coaster of the lumber industry When housing starts are up. the local economy booms But when high interest rates slow down those starts — like right now — Eugene's economy falls flat on its face Margaret Hallock of the State Em ployment Division says layoffs in the lumber industry have far-reaching ramifications on the entire economy Although jobs in that industry only account for 13-15 percent of the entire employment picture in the county, they hurt business in related fields For example businesses such as machine shops (part suppliers for lumber factor ies), paper mills, chemical industries (which make adhesives for wood products), and even transportation companies feel the ill-effects of a slow down in the lumber industry, she says “Lane County s economy had been growing throughout the '70s until the last couple of years." Hallock says "We have to stimulate other growth for this trend to continue into the 80s One group intent on reversing Lane County's dependence on wood products is a coalition of local businessmen who call themselves the Lane Economic Foundation LEF is a county-wide priva tely-funded organization that wants to bring new industry — probably from out of-state — into the Eugene area LEF plans to provide a professional economic-development plan for Lane County — expected to cost $500,000 annually for three years — to bring new businesses into the area "Only an affluent community can do the things we want to do here," says LEF's executive vice-president John Alltucker "We must do something about the economic base or we can't improve socially " The first step LEF plans to take is to bring in a nationally-established firm to conduct a county-wide economic audit The audit will outline the good and bad points of the county and isolate the types of businesses and industry that would be most suited to the region Results from the audit, expected to cost $40,000-$50,000, should be available by the first of April LEF president Tom Moreland says he wants a firm from outside of the state to perform the audit because "we need someone who will not feel intimidated to to be blunt Jim Reinmuth, LEF s secretary and dean of the University's business school, says economic diversification can best be achieved by bringing high tech industries into the region He says instrument manufacturers, computer and electronic firms are the most likely candidates to locate here Reinmuth says the University can assist in LEF's process of attracting new industry by "simply supplying informa tion on what the economic base is in Eugene and to demonstrate to firms it wants to assist them " Reinmuth contends another problem the county faces in trying to attract new industry is lack of support from local political leaders He says he knows of at least 30 national firms who have ser iously investigated the Eugene area" over the last two years, some of these deciding not to locate here because the political climate was not supportive or conducive to them "Some of them (industry officials) I've talked to said the degree of political support here was less than desirable " Reinmuth's comments brought a heated response from Lane County Commissioner Jerry Rust “Everybody wants to place the blame on somebody else The current thinking is to blame politicians or the environ mentalists” Rust says "I placethe blame in the heart of the business community They are greedy, short-sighted and narrow-minded I have the utmostcontempt for industries with a cut and run’ mentality (and) the Chamber of Commerce, who sold out this region They are the ones who brought this community to its knees " Another county commissioner, Scott Lieuallen, agrees with Rust Lieuallen lays the current econ omic climate has caused many people to #ok for a scapegoat, and many arefebeling local politicians as havmgi no growth' attitude Both commissioners say they would rather see small busi nesses receive support than to invest in irge national corpora tions Small businesses are job generators, Lieuallen says "Big businesses do not create all that many jobs “It's time we get the stars out of eyes," Lieuallen lays about trying to woo out of-state industries into the area Instead of bringing in large industries from outside of the region, Lieuallen says "we ought to take whatever resources and money are available in the local economy and work with that "It's time to ask local lenders How come you re not investing in Lane County7 " But regmdless of what kind of diver sified industry will be targeted for Eugene - whether it be high-tech in dustries or small businesses — area re sidents w»t immediate results But Lane Economic Foundation pre sident Tom Moreland says they'll just have to witt "They must be patient," he says "It takes comiderable time and effort to put new industry in place " Story by Don Coulter Graphic by Max DeRungs *1970 LANE COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT *1981 Analyst backs small business WITH A NAME like 'Thinking Incorporat ed" one might imagine this Eugene busi ness to be a collective of philosophers Actually, Thinking Incorporated analyzes the capabilities of small businesses and attempts to locate financial backing for them, says Peg Powell, a Chartered Life Underwriter who started the business in 1973 With her extensive accounting background, Powell says it was only natural that she start the business "I just started charging for my knowledge instead of giving free advice," she says "Just about everyone is looking to tighten their ship," she says "I think they realize they can't always do it themselves." That economic climate will improve with the "cooperation and understanding" of the county, city and most importantly, the financial institutions, she adds "The banks are going to have to get together and form a cooperative so no one bank is taking all the risk ” Organizations such as the Lane Econ omic Foundation, a local group organized to develop and diversify the county's econ omy, are on the right track,” Powell says. NATIONALLY, Reaganomics, Pres Ronald Reagan's program of tighter money policies and tax cuts designed to reduce inflation and to increase long-term invest ment, also may be on the right track, he says Powell says businesses lose incentive if government policy provides everything for them 'It makes them helpless cripples We need to help only those who can't help themselves,” The predominate mistake small busin esses make is 'they start a new business under-capitalized and do not keep good records so they have no idea of where they are at any give point,'' Powell says. FOR AN AVERAGE cost of $500, Powell will help any business — from manufactur ing to service-oriented agencies — keep better records and arrange funding. She likens her consultations to an in surance plan Finding financial backing for her clients sometimes is tough, but usually Powell says she usually can locate funding for at least prime rate — that interest rate banks charge their best customers In Eugene, that rate is approximately 17 percent. "If there’s no real estate, we usually get prime rate and better," she says Story by Marian Green To Have and To Hold HAND-HELD PRINT/DISPLAY MODEL EL-1186 Hand-held print/display 10-digit calculator with built-in paper holder ■ Full print-out of 10 numerals ana symbols on plain paper tape ■ Built-in paper holder allows for greater portability ■ Easy-to-read 10-digir bright greer display ■ independently accessible 3-key memory • item counter key totals number of entries ■ Comes witr■ bi-Cad rechargeable battery AC adaptor soft case and roll paper UO BOOKSTORE 13th & Kincaid Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30 Sat 10:00-3:00 $69.95 Textbooks W6-3520 • General Books 6M-3510 . Supplies MO-4331 SANDY BRADLEY 6 the SMALL WONDER STRING BAND ^ Cultural l-ofunt and l ugciw lolklorr S«>cuM\ pu-MMi y " « H SQUARE DANCE Saturday. Dec. 12 8 p.m. EMI Ballroom *2 admission CONCERT Sundjy. Dec I.) 8:00 p.m. '2.1)0 E.F.S. members. Friends meeting hill '2.50 Kencral public CASH For Textbooks Mon.-Fri. 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