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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2020)
Business AgLife B Thursday, November 5, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald Small-business & Ag HAPPENINGS Union County Chamber seeks to build ‘Shop Hops’ program UNION COUNTY — The Union County Chamber of Commerce unveiled a new program to get people shopping again — quarterly Loyal-to-Local Shop Hops. And the chamber is seeking busi- nesses to participate. “We’re simply asking participating businesses to donate something (gift cards, merch, swag, any cool stuff) to winners’ gift baskets,” the chamber announced in its newsletter. “Those shoppers who take to the Shop Hop trail will be given monopoly cards and collect stamps/signatures at each participating location. At the end of each event, the chamber will collect the cards and draw winners.” First, second and third place finishers will receive gift baskets of the items and gift cards from Union County businesses to encourage people to resume shopping local. “We’re also encouraging you to come up with fun promotions, deals, prizes, samples, etc.,” according to the chamber, “during the actual Shop Hop to make it more fun for shoppers and visitors.” Any business in Union County can participate in the quarterly shop hops, with the inaugural event set for Dec. 3-5. For more information, including on how to participate, call the Union County Chamber office at 541-963-8588 or contact the chamber via its website, visitunioncounty.org, to send a mes- sage stating you are interested in being involved. Healing hands Dick Mason/The Observer John Combe, a licensed massage therapist, examines an anatomy model in his La Grande office. The American Massage Therapy Association recently notified Combe he received its Sports Massage Achiever award. Combe has worked with elite level athletes, including Olympians. La Grande massage therapist receives memorable honor By Dick Mason The Observer Enterprise arts studio adds painting parties ENTERPRISE — A small art studio in Enterprise that has been plodding along through the COVID-19 pandemic has come up with something new this fall. The SonRise Art Studio, 211 W. Main St., has added birthday “painting parties” to its list of offerings. Gayle Huwe, co-owner of SonRise with husband, Robert, said she had a child’s birthday party in September and plans another in early November. “I choose something that is a little easier for them to do,” she said. “I make it age-appropriate.” Such parties usually have a theme, and the painting parties are the major activity at SonRise, where Gayle Huwe — the artist in residence — works with participants. Her primary medium is acrylics, although she is versed in watercolors and oils. The “SonRise” name is a reflec- tion of the Huwes’ Christian faith. Numerous paintings depict Christian themes, such as Calvary and the empty tomb. Gayle Huwe keeps the parties lim- ited to nine people to maintain social distancing requirements. For more information, including costs, contact the SonRise Art Studio on Facebook or at 541-398-0221. LA GRANDE — John Combe, a La Grande licensed massage therapist, was not surprised to receive a phone call from Evanston, Illinois, recently. What he was not ready for was the message that followed. Combe was informed he had been selected to receive the American Massage Therapy Association’s Sports Massage Achiever award. The honor is one of the most prestigious of AMTA’s awards. “I could not believe it. I was speechless,” Combe said. Angela Barker, president of the AMTA, which is based in Evanston, told Combe that he earned the recognition. “From your direct work with elite athletes to your many classes to educate massage therapists on sports massage, you are so deserving of this award. … Thank you for all you have done for our profes- sion,” Barker wrote in a letter to Combe. Massage therapy can help manage a health condition or enhance wellness and involves manipulating the soft tissues of the body. Or, as Combe put it: “It is muscle care.” The owner of Combe’s Wellness Center, Combe has served as a licensed massage therapist for 20 years. He has received numerous honors during his career, including the American Massage Therapy Association’s 2013 National Meritorious Award for work to advance the American Mas- sage Therapists Association. He also received the Oregon AMTA Meritorious Award in 2010, and twice the Oregon arm of the association named him the state’s licensed mas- sage therapist of the year — in 2005 and 2014. Combe said these awards recognize leadership in the field of massage therapy, but the AMTA’s Sports Massage Achiever award salutes his application of care. He said it is meaningful to get the salute for See, Honor/Page 6B OTEC members to receive $3 million boon Capital credits return ranks third highest in history of power co-op Governor appoints members to state ag board SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown appointed Elin D. Miller of Roseburg and Josh Zielinski of Salem to serve on the Oregon State Board of Agriculture. Both appointments were effective Oct. 29, and each will serve a four-year term. Miller and Zielinski will attend their first Board of Agriculture meeting as members Dec. 1-2. The governor also reappointed board members Bryan Harper and Luisa San- tamaria, each to a second four-year term. Both had first terms that expired in 2020, and both reapplied to the board to serve a second term. Harper is a hazelnut farmer from Junction City. Santamaria fills the public member position on the board. Miller and her husband, Bill, own Umpqua Vineyards and farm hazelnuts in Douglas County. She serves as the co-chair of the Oregon Wine Council and is a member of the Fall Creek Farm and Nursery Board. Zielinski is a manager and owner of a mid-sized nursery and farming operation in the Willamette Valley. Zielinski pro- vides a voice for the production of many crops, including grass seed, specialty seed and vegetable row crops. When he is not running the family farm, Ziel- inski serves on the Oregon Association of Nurseries Board and Chemeketa Com- munity College Horticultural Advisory Committee. The Oregon State Board of Agri- culture advises the director and ODA regarding the implementation and administration of programs and the development of policies designed to improve the agricultural industry statewide. — EO Media Group this skill set. Whether talking to col- leagues or helping patients, Combe aims to be an educator. “My passion is to share knowledge,” Combe said. “I want to help people help them- selves, that is always a goal.” The AMTA honor also rec- ognizes Combe’s extensive work in helping Olympic ath- letes. He worked at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in 2008, 2012 and 2016 and this year at the Olympic Mara- thon trials. He also has worked as a sports massage therapist at athletic events in which world- class athletes, including dis- The Observer its inner workings. Tinhof was passionate about the work, carefully checking each page for color, clarity or any smudge marks as papers come off the press, ramping the press up and down and making adjustments on the fly like a conductor orchestrating the moves of a symphony. “You’re responsible for how good it looks,” Tinhof said. “No matter how late it is or what goes wrong, there’s no just give up and go home.” In the coming weeks, the press will be dismantled and shipped to Walla Walla where it BAKER CITY — Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors has approved the retirement of $3 million in capital credits to its mem- ber-owners. This is the third-highest return in the cooperative’s history. OTEC in a press release Tuesday, Nov. 3, explained capital credit retirements are one of the more visible benefits of membership in an electric cooperative. “Capital credits are each member-owner’s share of OTEC’s margins earned during the year,” the press release stated. “Each year, after all oper- ating expenses have been paid, remaining margins are allocated to each mem- ber’s capital credit account based on the amount they were billed during pre- vious years.” The credits become each member’s “owners’ equity” and investment in OTEC, and each year the board makes a decision on how much it can return to members without reducing See, Press/Page 6B See, OTEC/Page 6B Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Alvaro Orrala inspects newspapers and makes adjustments as the East Oregonian runs off the press Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Pendleton. The EO‘s press printed all of the EO Media Group’s North- east Oregon newspapers, including La Grande’s Observer and the Baker City Herald. Election Day marked the last time the press operated in Pendleton as the EO Media Group transitions to printing its Northeast Oregon newspapers in Walla Walla. Press move marks end of an era Observer, BC Herald part of shift to print in Walla Walla By Ben Lonergan East Oregonian PENDLETON — When Nick Tinhof wound down his shift Tuesday, Nov. 3, he knew it would be the end of an era at the East Oregonian. Election Day marked the last time the EO’s Goss and Tensor press operated in Pendleton as the newspaper begins the pro- cess of transitioning its printing services to The Seattle Times Company-owned Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. “I’m just sad to see it go. I don’t really know how to put it into words,” said Tinhof, the East Oregonian’s lead pressman. The press is capable of printing 30,000 full-color papers an hour and printed all of the EO Media Groups’ Northeast Oregon newspapers, including the East Oregonian, The Observer and Baker City Herald, plus jobs for several commercial printing clients. Tinhof began working on the press shortly after its instal- lation in 2013 and quickly moved his way up from replacing plates and ink to run- ning the entire show. He cred- ited former East Oregonian pressmen Bob Rasmussen, Jeff Davis and Dennis Duchek with mentoring him and helping him get up to speed on the press and