Business AgLife
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Thursday, December 10, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Small-business & Ag
HAPPENINGS
Grants available to communities
for water and waste
infrastructure improvements
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S.
Department of Agriculture Rural Develop-
ment is accepting applications for grants
through two programs to help rural commu-
nities develop locally based solutions and
access fi nancial resources to support water
and waste infrastructure improvements.
Grants awarded through the Solid Waste
Management Program may be used to pro-
vide technical assistance or training to
improve the planning and management of
solid waste systems in order to reduce pollu-
tion of water resources. Through the Water
and Waste Disposal Technical Assistance
and Training Grant Program, qualifi ed pri-
vate nonprofi ts can apply for grants to sup-
port the delivery of technical assistance and
training to help rural communities identify
and evaluate solutions to water problems
and improve the operation and maintenance
of water or waste disposal facilities.
Applications for both programs are due
by 8:59 p.m. Dec. 31, and paper applications
should be submitted to USDA Rural Devel-
opment, ATTN: Community Programs,
1220 S.W. Third Ave., Suite 1801, Portland
OR 97204. If you have questions, contact
Ella Nichols, community programs spe-
cialist, at 503-414-3354.
State seeks applications for
Specialty Crop Block Grants
SALEM — The Oregon Department
of Agriculture is accepting proposals for
project ideas as part of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant
Program for 2021.
Approximately $1.5 million is expected
to be available to agriculture industry asso-
ciations, producer groups, processors, com-
modity commissions, nonprofi ts, businesses
and local government agencies in Oregon.
Funding for Oregon’s program is contin-
gent upon federal funding for the program.
Specialty crops are defi ned as commonly
recognized fruits, vegetables, tree nuts and
nursery crops. Oregon ranks in the top 10
nationwide in the production of such crops.
For the 2021 request for proposals,
ODA has a single-phase process known as
the Grant Proposal Application. ODA is
requesting 15-page grant proposals from
applicants describing their projects. Submis-
sions should be turned in online and must
be received by noon on Jan. 29, 2021.
ODA will offer online training and
in-person assistance to applicants with the
grant writing process. Details, including
the time and date for online training, are on
ODA’s website: https://oda.direct/SCBGP.
— The Observer
Shop hop hits the target
First of its kind event supports
local businesses while
engaging customers
By Phil Wright
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Union County
Chamber of Commerce wrapped up its
inaugural shop hop the fi rst week of
December, and the chamber’s executive
cirector, Suzannah Moore-Hemann, said
the event was a boon for both businesses
and participants.
The chamber teamed up with busi-
nesses to organize the event to encourage
local shopping Thursday, Dec. 3, through
Saturday, Dec. 5. Participants used a
Monopoly-like game card to collect
stamps or signatures at the real-world
locations of more than 30 Union County
businesses and organizations, from
Blue Mountain Outfi tters and Fitzgerald
Flowers, both in downtown La Grande, to
Cat’s Paw Farm in Union.
Players who visited every location
then turned in their game cards to the
chamber, which planned to pick three
winners to each receive a gift basket full
of goods and gift cards that local busi-
nesses donated.
Moore-Hemann said the chamber
received about 100 game boards and more
are coming in. After getting them all, she
said, the chamber will draw the names of
winners of the gift baskets. But instead of
three winners, she said, there will be four.
Local businesses donated more than
$3,500 worth of goods for the gift bas-
kets, she said, and there was so much the
chamber made a fourth gift basket.
“So we get an extra person to sur-
prise,” she said.
Some shops also held their own raf-
fl es for gift baskets, she added, providing
plenty of opportunity to win.
But the point of the event was to help
local businesses, and Moore-Hemann
said the plan worked. She said the Cove
Drive-in and the Union Stoplight and
other establishments reported more foot
traffi c and more customers than usual for
the weekend, and La Grande establish-
ments such as Brother Bear Cafe and Tap
That Growlers reported new customers.
The original idea was to do the shop
hops quarterly, Moore-Hemann said,
which would mean the next event would
be in February or March. But some busi-
ness owners are being cautious about
having one too soon, so the chamber is
reevaluating when to hold the next shop
hop.
This one proved enough of a hit to
Union County Chamber of Commerce/Contributed Photo
Gift baskets await the winners of the Union County Chamber of Commerce’s Decem-
ber shop hop that promoted local shopping. Chamber executive director Suzannah
Moore-Hemann said local businesses donated enough goods to increase the number
of baskets from three to four.
keep it for next year, she said, and other
dates could lend themselves to subsequent
shop hops, such as Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity’s Welcome Week, when new stu-
dents arrive in September. She said that
would provide an opportune time to show
newcomers what La Grande and Union
County have to offer.
She also said there also has been dis-
cussion on creating a shop hoop focusing
on local dining.
Local restaurants have so far weath-
ered the storm of COVID-19 restric-
tions, she said, with only a few closures,
including Joe Beans in downtown La
Grande. In that case, however, new buyers
were at the ready and reopened as Brother
Bear Cafe.
But with indoor dining limited by
public health mandates and winter setting
in — outdoor dining, obviously, is a non-
starter in Northeast Oregon — the season
could mean more local restaurants have
to shut down. She said the chamber plans
to meet this week to discuss spearheading
some support for local restaurants.
“We’re still trying to see what that
looks like,” Moore-Hemann said.
Support your fellow business owners for a brighter future
GREG
SMITH
SBDC DIRECTOR
W
e’ve talked in previous
articles about ways to
improve sales during
this wild rollercoaster ride we’re
on. Here are more ideas that may
not only benefi t your bottom line
but help give another business a
boost.
It begins by thinking outside
the box. Perhaps instead of seeing
another business as a competitor,
think of them as another potential
customer and be creative about
working together. Consider the
following:
• Initiate an after-hours Zoom
call inviting a variety of different
business owners. Brainstorm on
ways you can cross-promote and
directly support each other. Much
of what you can do won’t cost a
penny.
• Write a positive review or tes-
timonial on social media. Talk
about a great item they carry or
a specialty service they offer and
post a picture on your Facebook
page (personal and business). Ask
them to do the same.
• Go live on Facebook. Share
the name of your favorite restau-
rant and suggest a special menu
item. Maybe send a gift card from
your business to a standout server.
• Consider a mini “shop hop”
in which customers are entered to
win a gift basket featuring items
from each establishment.
• Cross-market gift items. Per-
haps your killer gourmet mari-
nades and sauces are offered at
a specialty meat market across
town.
Obviously, the goal is to gen-
erate more revenue for your busi-
ness, but do not be afraid to work
together.
It’s not about giving a fellow
entrepreneur a competitive edge.
It’s helping ensure that as many
businesses in your community
survive as possible.
Finally, most people are more
committed than ever to shop-
ping locally. Vibrant businesses
working together have a better
chance of anchoring customers.
Also, by showing your own sup-
port both as a business owner and
private individual, you’ll garner
goodwill and help ensure the
business community — which
includes your own company —
will have a brighter holiday and
future.
———
Greg Smith is the director
of the Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity Small Business Development
Center, La Grande. If you are
seeking free, confi dential business
advising, call 541-962-1532 or
email eousbdc@gmail.com.
Some refl ections on Thanksgiving Donations let Enchanted
SANDRA
SORRELS
RESTAURANT OWNER
I
t was a very different Thanksgiving from
any we have experienced before, and yet full
of surprises and innovation.
We decided to do Thanksgiving dinner at
our Ten Depot Street takeout operation after
receiving several phone calls asking if we would
be open. As we are all trying to limit social gath-
erings, we knew that many people would be
alone or with just a few household members and
that they would not want to cook a big turkey
dinner.
So we decided that we could cook for 100
people and postpone our own Thanksgiving
until Friday. That way our customers would be
like one big family, sharing the same meal. It
worked. We sold 25 dinners for four and 25 indi-
vidual dinners for a total of 125. Many of our
customers bought dinners for others.
Because cooking a good Thanksgiving dinner
means getting the best ingredients to start with,
our dinner was a community effort, sourcing
the best local food available whenever possible.
For this meal we had sweet onions from the
Boehnes, parsnips from Nella Mae’s Farm, beets
from Platz Farm, pumpkin and huckleberries
from Anne Dickison, eggs from Val’s Veggies,
fresh green beans and other vegetables through
Nature’s Pantry and Jonathan apples (which my
pie making aunt Arlene always swore made the
best pies) from a tree in a friend’s yard.
I learned to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a
child, helping my two grandmothers and my
mother. It was a joyous time. Most of the recipes
that I use now are the ones I learned from them.
Both of my grandmothers, friends before my
parents met, were excellent cooks, born in 1901.
It gives me joy to think that their memory
lives through the excellent food that our restau-
rant is able to share with the community. My
grandmothers are also links to what we are
experiencing currently, one losing a mother and
the other a brother in the 1918 fl u pandemic. I
think about their experiences a lot.
So we managed to pull it off. Being a restau-
ranteur is about innovation, seeing a need and
fi lling it.
Who knows what the future of the restaurant
world will be. What I do know is that when we
emerge from this pandemic, it will be different.
———
Sandra Sorrels is the owner of Ten Depot
Street Restaurant, La Grande.
Forest open for another season
Oregon tourist destination makes it with online
auctions and outpouring of support
By Jake Thomas
Salem Reporter via AP StoryShare
SALEM — Enchanted Forest
will remain in business after raising
over $360,000 from fans of the
amusement park just south of Salem.
In October, Enchanted Forest
warned it would go bust after nearly
a half century of visitors fl ocking to
the park each summer to ride the Ice
Mountain Bobsled Roller Coaster,
brave the Haunted House or stroll
through Tofteville Western Town.
Pandemic restrictions sharply
reduced its number of visitors
this year. To make up for lost rev-
enue, the Tofte family, which owns
and operates the park, set up a
GoFundMe page seeking to raise
$500,000. The family explained that
See, Theme park/Page 6B
Enchanted Forest/Contributed Photo
Visitors enter the mouth of a witch’s
head at Enchanted Forest near Sa-
lem. Roger Tofte, creator of the
theme park, announced Wednes-
day, Dec. 2, 2020, the park raised
enough money to stay in business.