2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
Washington traps fi rst
Asian giant hornet
By Don Jenkins
Capital Press
BIRCH BAY, Wash. —
The fi rst Asian giant hornet
trapped in Washington
and the U.S. will ignite an
attempt to catch a live one,
follow it back to its nest and
destroy the nest in a night-
time raid, state Department
of Agriculture entomologist
Sven Spichiger said Friday,
July 31.
The hornet was col-
lected from a department
trap July 14 near Birch Bay
in Whatcom County. State
entomologists determined
late Wednesday, July 29,
that it was an Asian giant
hornet.
The other fi ve hornets
found in the U.S. near the
Canadian border since late
last year had been found
outside traps.
The concerted trapping
effort began at the start
of July, when worker hor-
nets could be expected to
emerge from nests.
“This detection unfor-
tunately means we did get
a nest that was able to get
established,” Spichiger said.
The Asian giant hornet
is the largest hornet in the
world, known to carry out
mass attacks on bee hives.
When one hornet fi nds a
hive, it releases a phero-
mone that attracts more
hornets.
Bee colonies are usually
lost, according to an envi-
ronmental assessment by
USDA. The hornets also
attack beetles, caterpillars
Photo contributed by Karla Salp/Washington State
Department of Agriculture
The Washington State Department of Agriculture reports
it caught this Asian giant hornet in a trap in Whatcom
County, Washington, near Birch Bay.
and spiders.
The state and volunteers
have put out traps baited
with orange juice and rice
wine. The state will now
hang traps near Birch Bay
with screens to catch a
hornet before it drowns.
If one is caught alive,
entomologists will sedate it,
glue an electronic tracking
device to it and let it go.
The method for tracking
hornets has been pioneered
at the University of Exeter
in the United Kingdom.
“We have a lot of confi -
dence this will work here,”
Spichiger said.
The agriculture depart-
ment has been testing on
bald-faced hornets.
“We have had just a little
bit of practice,” Spichiger
said.
To save money, the
department has not prac-
Small-business & Ag
EO Media Group
Mountain Air
Massage opens
JOSEPH — Massage
therapist Eme Henderson
opened her new business in
Joseph early last month in
the Arrowhead Building.
Henderson named the
clinic Mountain Air Mas-
sage in tribute to a restau-
rant that existed in the
Arrowhead Building about
a decade ago.
“These past several
months have been diffi cult
and stressful for many,”
Henderson said Wednesday,
July 29. “I hope to serve
the residents of Wallowa
County by showing them
the benefi ts of focusing
on relaxation and well-
ness. Self-care is especially
important during these
challenging times.”
A massage thera-
pist for fi ve years, she has
lived in the area intermit-
tently for several years
and moved back in May.
Starting a business amid
the COVID-19 pandemic
is not the easiest venture,
Henderson agreed. For now,
she is open Wednesdays
and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to
5:30 p.m.
“I am following the
reopening guidelines from
the Oregon Board of Mas-
sage Therapy and I sani-
tize the clinic before and
after every client,” she said.
“I am required to wear a
mask. Clients also have the
same guidelines.”
For more information,
call Henderson at 541-786-
5600 or email Mountain-
AirMassage@gmail.com.
ticed with real tracking
devices. The models being
considered by the depart-
ment cost from $40 to $283.
“We actually kind of like
the $40 option,” Spichiger
said.
Asian giant hornets
nest in the ground. If one
is found, entomologists
will wear protective gear
and approach at night with
red lamps, preventing the
stinging wasps from seeing
them.
The department plans to
use two insecticides, cyfl u-
thrin and fi pronil.
State entomologists sus-
pect the hornet trapped near
Birch Bay was a worker
hornet, rather than a queen.
It has been sent to a USDA
laboratory to be dissected.
It was trapped about 6 miles
from where the fi rst hornet
was found in December.
‘Got milk?’ ads return to airwaves
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Associated Press
WASHINGTON —
The dairy industry has a
familiar question for you:
“Got milk?”
Six years after the pop-
ular tagline was retired,
“Got milk?” ads are back.
A dairy industry-funded
group is reviving the cam-
paign, hoping to prolong
the boost milk has gotten
during the pandemic.
U.S. milk sales have
been in freefall for decades
as choices grew and con-
sumers turned to soda,
juices and plant-based
alternatives like soy milk.
Dean Foods, the nation’s
biggest milk producer,
fi led for bankruptcy pro-
tection in November.
Borden Dairy, another
major producer, followed
with its own bankruptcy in
January.
But then came the coro-
navirus pandemic, and
milk sales saw a sharp rise.
Kids who were no longer
having meals at school
were drinking milk at
home. Adults — no longer
commuting — had time for
Photo by Lisa Rathke/AP
Cows eat hay eat Thursday, July 23, in Burlington, Ver-
mont. The U.S. dairy industry is reviving the ‘Got milk?’
ads in hopes of prolonging the boost in sales milk has
gotten during the pandemic.
a leisurely bowl of cereal.
Many people were buying
milk to bake and cook at
home.
Unlike the original “Got
milk?” campaign, which
debuted in 1994 and was
known for its glossy photos
of celebrities sporting milk
mustaches, the new cam-
paign refl ects the age of
social media.
Television ads feature
videos culled from the
Internet of people doing
funny things with milk,
like opening a gallon with
their toes or jumping into a
kiddie pool fi lled with milk
and cereal.
In one TikTok spot,
Olympic gold medalist
Katie Ledecky swims
the length of a pool with
a glass of chocolate milk
balanced on her head.
There will also be
tie-ins with other brands
like Hershey, which will
offer in-grocery coupons
when shoppers buy milk
with chocolate syrup.
HAPPENINGS
owned by or employ people
with low to moderate
incomes. Businesses need
to provide information on
how they are responding to
the pandemic and how they
plan to remain in business
for the foreseeable future.
Grants are for a minimum
of $2,500 and up to $10,000
for a microenterprise/
self-employed individual.
For businesses employing
low- to moderate-income
individuals, the maximum
grant amount will be $2,500
per qualifying employee.
Grants also are avail-
able for businesses that did
not access federal relief
programs. The develop-
ment district will distribute
grants of at least $2,500 to
business owners and qual-
ifi ed nonprofi t organiza-
tions on a rolling basis until
approximately Aug. 28.
And NEOEDD and
its partner organization,
Northeast Oregon Business
Development, have “gap”
loans available at any time
for people who have found
bank funding but it is insuf-
fi cient for a project or pur-
chase. Until May 2021,
the development district
is offering loans of up to
$250,000 to fi nance busi-
nesses that will help the
economy recover from the
pandemic.
For more information
on these programs, visit
www.neoedd.org and click
on the link for COVID-19
resources.
Local businesses
may participate in
#MaskUp4SmallBiz
LA GRANDE — Busi-
ness Oregon’s #Mask-
Up4SmallBiz campaign
aims to support small
businesses by encour-
aging mask-wearing across
Oregon. According to the
Union County Chamber of
Commerce, the OBA has
reached out for submissions
from more Eastern Oregon
businesses. The campaign
showcases small busi-
nesses using a picture of the
owner wearing a mask with
their branding in the back-
ground plus a short quote
(fewer than 25 words) about
why wearing a mask is
important to keeping their
business running.
Local businesses that
are willing to participate
are asked to contact the
Chamber, which will come
to your business, take the
photo and the quote and
send the information to
Business Oregon. Email
director@VisitUnion-
County.org or call the
chamber at 541-963-8588.
Taking advantage of
natural gas incentives.
Now that’s smart
business.
Get cash incentives to help your business become more energy-efficient. For a limited time,
we’re offering bonus incentives for a faster (or immediate) return on your investment.
Coronavirus relief
available for area
small businesses,
microenterprises
LA GRANDE — Small
businesses and microenter-
prises in Baker, Union and
Wallowa counties can apply
for grants from the Northeast
Oregon Economic Devel-
opment District to provide
some relief from the negative
effects of the pandemic.
According to the infor-
mation on the district’s
website, the Small Busi-
nesses and Microenter-
prise Grant Program for
COVID-19 Impacts is avail-
able for businesses that
have been operating for at
least one year and that are
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020
BUSINESS & AG LIFE
Let us help your business pay for energy efficiency improvements. But hurry, cash
incentives are available through December 1, 2020 only or until funds run out. *
Learn more at myavista.com/ORbizrebates.
* Some
Try the SHIP TO STORE feature at millershomecenter.com
3815 Pocahontas Road, Baker City 541-523-6404
3109 May Lane, La Grande 541-963-3113
restrictions may apply.