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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015
Grants available for entrepreneur incubators
The Daily Astorian
Business Oregon is offer-
ing development grants to
nonpro¿ t and public agencies
helping rural entrepreneurs.
Applicants must be im-
plementing at least one pro-
gram to assist in the growth
and development of rural en-
trepreneurs. The grants can
pay for services the applicant
provides to entrepreneurs, in-
cluding:
• Establish and coordinate
mentorship assistance.
• Assistance to identify
and access venture and angel
investors.
• Coaching and other as-
sistance to re¿ ne and sharpen
an entrepreneur’s presenta-
tion to potential investors.
• Hold educational classes
or other events.
• Provide or connect en-
trepreneurs with profession-
al coaching and expertise,
technical information and
preparedness to attract eq-
uity and debt capital (e.g.,
business plan development,
budgeting, licensing, product
development)
Entrepreneurs means a
company with fewer than 10
employees that has been in
business less than two years.
They can manufacture prod-
ucts, add value to a natural
resource. They produce a
product that is or has the po-
tential to be in markets where
there is national or interna-
tional competition.
Grant
amounts
will
range between $50,000 and
$150,000. The deadline for
application is Dec. 18, and
¿ nal awardees will be an-
nounced in February. Appli-
cations can be submitted in
PDF form to business.ore-
gon@oregon.gov, with a to-
tal email size of less than 10
megabytes.
For a complete list of
requirements and to view
the application, visit http://
tinyurl.com/oonvd33.
For
more information, contact
Heather Stafford, assistant
director of innovation and en-
trepreneurship for Business
Oregon, at 503-229-5116.
Background
In January, Business Or-
egon adopted a “Grow Our
Own” strategy with a strong
focus on innovation and en-
trepreneurship, understand-
ing that more than 70 percent
of new job creation comes
from companies that already
call Oregon home.
The Oregon Growth
Board, Business Oregon and
the governor’s of¿ ce are
leading the creation and man-
agement of a Rural Entrepre-
neurship Development initia-
tive to stimulate and support
the growth of entrepreneurs
in rural parts of Oregon.
The results of the grants
will be included in a re-
port to the Oregon Legisla-
ture. Grant recipients will
be showcased the middle of
next year to share best prac-
tices, discuss challenges and
provide information on addi-
tional resources available to
the startup companies as they
continue to grow and mature.
Providence Seaside
selects new CEO
Sawa has been
running Ocean
Beach Hospital
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE. — Kendall
Sawa, RN, has been named
chief executive for Provi-
dence Seaside Hospital and
North Coast Service Area.
Sawa brings nearly two
decades of experience in
health care to his new po-
sition.
He is knows the coastal
communities well, serving
for the past three years as
chief executive of¿ cer for
the Ocean Beach Hospital
and Medical Clinics in Il-
waco, Wash.
Prior to coming to the
Long Beach Peninsula,
Sawa worked for 15 years
at PeaceHealth Ketchikan
Medical Center in Alaska,
beginning as a staff nurse,
and moving into leadership
roles as a house supervisor,
cardiac coordinator, nurse
manager, director of acute
care services and regional
vice president for patient
care services for the last
¿ ve years. He was also in-
terim chief executive of
Wrangel Medical Center
in Alaska for four months
Kendall Sawa
before taking the Ocean
Beach position.
“His leadership and
clinical experiences will
help us advance all aspects
of our ministry on the north
coast,” said Janice Burger,
chief executive for Provi-
dence in Western Oregon.
“He is an established ex-
ecutive leader on the coast
and understands the com-
plexities of critical access
hospitals and the health
care needs of the commu-
nities.”
“I’ve admired the great
work being done at Prov-
idence Seaside and across
the north coast to build
healthier communities to-
gether, and I look forward
to joining the team” Sawa
said.
He will start his role in
Seaside on Jan. 11.
Orthopedic surgeon
Brooke Benz joins
Providence Seaside
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Bornstein and Da Yang seafood companies are competing to get into the recently vacated Oregon State Police Building.
Port: ‘I would say we’re in store for a radically
changing waterfront in the next two years’
Continued from Page 1A
is largely because of timing
on the projects. The Port, for
instance, is still trying to ¿ nd
a paving contractor for the As-
toria Regional Airport, where
it received $5 million in Fed-
eral Aviation Administration
grant money to resurface a
runway.
Lastly, the majority of pay-
ments on the principal and in-
terest of the Port’s debt, which
still totals more than $10 mil-
lion, come due in December,
meaning their expenses will
largely hit the Port’s bottom
line during this ¿ scal quarter.
Promise and challenges
Despite the strong initial
performance, Knight cau-
tioned the Port has a lot of
expenses coming its way. The
Port is trying to ¿ x a crum-
bling infrastructure, dredge
its vast waterfront holdings,
clean up historical petroleum
spills, develop a Port wide
stormwater treatment system
and switch healthcare carriers
amid rising costs. In the court-
room, its counsel is litigating
cases with former employees
and a spurned suitor for the
Astoria Riverwalk Inn.
Despite the challenges,
Knight said, there is a lot of
outside interest in the Port.
“I would say we’re in store
for a radically changing water-
front in the next two years,” he
said.
Several suitors are trying
to lease the Astoria Riverwalk
Inn long-term. The Port recent-
ly leased a strip of land just
west of the Astoria Bridge to
Hollander Hospitality, which
is exploring the feasibility of a
Marriott hotel there.
Bornstein and Da Yang sea-
food companies are expanding
into recently vacated spaces in
the Port’s Pier 2 warehouse,
while competing to get into the
recently vacated Oregon State
Police building.
“I look at the Port like a
farmer that’s just gone through
¿ ve years of drought,” Port
Commissioner James Camp-
bell said, sharing his frustration
about how land-poor the Port is.
Drought assistance
When deciding whether to
support the Port in repairing
its infrastructure, Knight said,
the public will gauge the Port
on the consistency of its bud-
get performance and how well
the staff and the Port of Astoria
Commission works as a team.
“We need to show consistency
in our budget performance,
and a year out, we need to look
at going out for a bond.”
The Port is preparing a pro-
posal for the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation’s Con-
nect Oregon VI infrastructure
grant, seeking money to repair
the deteriorating west side of
Pier 2, where boats pull up to
the dilapidated dock to deliver
seafood to processors. It is also
preparing to repair a dilapidat-
ed runway at the Astoria Re-
gional Airport, with the help of
a Federal Aviation Administra-
tion grant.
Much of the battle for sup-
port, budget committee mem-
bers and Port commissioners
said Tuesday, is about public
relations. Knight said he is
getting help on that front from
Daily Astorian Publisher Steve
Forrester, who he said has of-
fered to help publish a quarter-
ly newsletter about the Port’s
performance.
“Our story is not being ad-
equately told,” said Budget
Committee Chairman John
Lansing, echoing the senti-
ments of other budget commit-
tee members and Port commis-
sioners who say the Port isn’t
getting the credit it is due for
its low tax burden and large
economic impact.
The Port collects about
$669,000 a year in proper-
ty taxes, through a minimum
taxing rate of 12.56 cents per
$1,000 of assessed property
value, from the entire county,
and another $150,000 from
timber taxes, according to its
budget. Budget members not-
ed the amount is exponential-
ly lower than any city or the
county.
A recent analysis by the In-
frastructure Finance Authority,
which extends the Port ¿ nanc-
ing for capital projects, found
the agency supports more than
50 port-related businesses that
provide more than 1,800 jobs
in Clatsop County — more
than 2,000 jobs if Paci¿ c Coast
Seafoods’ temporary reloca-
tion to North Tongue Point is
included. The analysis said la-
bor income tops $93 million a
year.
SEASIDE — Provi-
dence is expanding health
care services by offering
full-time orthopedic spe-
cialty care. Dr. Brooke
Benz, orthopedic surgeon,
began seeing patients in
October at Providence
Medical Group-Seaside.
Benz received his med-
ical degree at the Oregon
Health & Sciences Uni-
versity and completed his
residency and internship
at Maricopa County Medi-
cal Center in Phoenix This
was followed by a teach-
ing fellowship at OHSU in
trauma and children’s joint
replacement.
Benz’ decades of medi-
cal experience includes re-
placing thousands of knee,
hip and shoulder joints
at four different medical
centers in the Portland
area, working in emer-
gency trauma surgery for
23 years, and as a sports
physician for 25 years at
Jesuit High School in Bea-
verton . Not a new comer to
the North Coast , Benz has
been a visiting surgeon
with Providence Seaside
Hospital for the past 27
years.
“My philosophy of care
is emphasis on patient in-
Submitted Photo
Dr. Brooke Benz , an ortho-
pedic surgeon, left private
practice in Portland to join
Providence Seaside.
volvement and education,”
Benz said. “I make every
effort to be well-prepared
and educated about each
patient and their medical
problem. .”
Benz is board certified
in orthopedic surgery with
a subspecialty in sports
medicine. He is fluent in
Spanish and studies Ger-
man, French and Italian
languages.
Providence
Medical
Group-Seaside is locat-
ed at Providence Seaside
Hospital, 725 S. Wahanna
Road . For information,
call 503-717-7060.
Visit us online at
DailyAstorian.com
✸
I Am Thankful
This is the time of year when we
reflect on our lives and our blessings
There are many that list something they are thankful
for each day in November on social media.
On Thanksgiving Day,
The Daily Astorian will dedicate a
full page in our classified section to the
community, allowing a time to share
something you are thankful for.
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