BUSINESS & AG LIFE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — B3
BARBERSHOP
MALHEUR COUNTY
Greg Smith,
the former
Malheur County
economic
development
director, was
contracted to
create up-to-
date marketing
materials
but after his
departure last
month county
leaders found
some materials
were outdated.
Anna Reed/Salem Statesman Journal, File
Team’s material markets county to
employers considering move to area
By PAT CALDWELL
Malheur Enterprise
VALE — The box of folders
delivered to the Malheur County
Court last month seemed to be just
a bland set of documents trans-
ferred from the economic devel-
opment department as its director,
Greg Smith, closed up shop.
The folders, crafted by the
team managed by Smith, were
designed to market Malheur
County to employers consid-
ering relocating to the local area.
But information in the mar-
keting material was signifi cantly
outdated, listing people in public
offi ce long gone and providing
information about bank branches
closed years ago.
County offi cials couldn’t
explain when the material was
produced or who it had been
handed out to.
Smith, operating through
his private company, had been
under contract since 2013 to
provide economic development
services.
For his fee of $9,000 a month,
Smith was supposed to “develop
current fl yers, brochures and
materials to market and pro-
mote Malheur County” and
“ensure that information pro-
vided for incentives such as tax
incentives, enterprise zone and
wage incentives is accurate and
complete.”
Smith didn’t respond to
recent questions from Malheur
County Judge Dan Joyce on how
many marketing brochures were
given out in the 2021-2022 fi scal
year that ended in July — or
whether the brochures were the
most recent version.
Any employer relying on that
material could run into dead
ends.
Each folder contained an
undated letter of greeting from
the county commissioners. The
letter was signed by Joyce and
commissioners Don Hodge and
Larry Wilson.
Wilson hasn’t been a county
commissioner since January 2021.
He was replaced by Ron Jacobs.
Other outdated references
included:
• Listing the director of
the Malheur County Planning
Department as Alvin Scott.
Scott retired from that position
more than two years ago.
• For the county road depart-
ment, Richard Moulton is listed
as the road master. Moulton also
retired more than a year ago.
• Jacobs is still listed as the
state watermaster, a position he
retired from in 2019.
• The Adrian School District
superintendent is listed as Gene
Mills, who died in 2018.
• Listed as the Nyssa School
District superintendent is Jana
Iverson. She retired in 2019.
• Branch information is listed
for Umpqua Bank outlets in
Vale and Nyssa. They closed in
2019.
County offi cials excused the
folders despite the requirements
of Smith’s contract.
“It doesn’t surprise me if the
information is dated. Greg was
running around with so many
irons in the fi re I don’t think he
was keeping close tabs on what
he was doing,” said Hodge.
Joyce said last week the
information in the folders was
outdated because the Covid
pandemic forced the economic
development department to shift
its outreach eff orts online. Joyce
said the folders were not handed
out because there was a fear,
early on in the pandemic, that
people would be exposed to the
infection from the documents.
Joyce said that as long as the
economic development depart-
ment was handling its contacts
online then Smith was following
his contract to have updated
marketing materials.
“If it is online, it’s updated,”
he said.
The county’s economic
development department web-
site, however, doesn’t contain
any such marketing materials.
Instead, it provides links to
three city websites — and no
direct information about key
offi cials in county government.
Continued from Page B1
“We will do whatever
someone wants. It is about them,
not us,” Hutchison said
In addition to cuts, hot towel
shaves are provided. Such shaves
are a bit nostalgic.
“They are more a thing of the
past but people still enjoy them,”
Hutchison said.
The staff providing cuts
and shaves has a combined 74
years of experience. Wilson has
worked as a barber for 31 years,
Hutchison for 15 years and
Trotter for 29 years.
Hutchison said he was driven
to become a barber because of
how good he felt after getting a
good haircut.
“It gave me confi dence
because I looked better,” he
said, adding he also wants other
people to experience what he
did.
Hutchison said he feels
responsible for all of his cus-
tomers after they leave.
“When they walk out, my rep-
utation is on their head,” he said.
Hutchison, Bond and Trotter
strive to create a comfort-
able environment. The three
barber chairs all face toward
those waiting to have a haircut,
making it easier for people to
enjoy each other’s company.
“When people are face to face
they are more likely to engage in
conversation,” Wilson said. “We
want our customers to have fun
and to be relaxed.”
Hutchison said the format
is working in terms of getting
everyone in the shop to interact
with entertaining banter.
“Some really good conversa-
tions come out of here,” he said.
To enhance the barbershop
experience all adults are off ered
free complimentary drinks,
including Tequila Sunrises
and Bloody Marys and Oregon
Fog from Side A Brewing in
La Grande. Complimentary
coff ee and bottled water is also
provided.
All customers are walk-ins
and no appointments are taken.
“We do not want people to
have to plan the day around an
appointment. We want to do
what works for him,” Wilson
said.
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