Page 8A
BUSINESS
East Oregonian
Saturday, August 29, 2015
PENDLETON
New store the king when it comes to gaming
Store offers safe
place for kids to
hang out, play
He grew up for a time in
North Carolina, the son of a
single mother. He remem-
bers riding his bike across
intersections as a young boy
in the big city to pore over
wares sold at video game
By JONATHAN BACH
stores.
East Oregonian
He said his godfather
would also spend hours with
Oliver Brown wanted to
him each day, buying him
make his unborn daughter
food and playing basket-
proud.
ball with him. He said the
His wife miscarried
YMCA, where he spent
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more than 10 years, only
Portland State University,
had his mother pay for the
where he studied from 2011
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to February of this year. For
fees. Brown went on to play
three months thereafter, he
ball at the college level, and
was “in a fog,” he said.
said he would have probably
At PSU, Brown studied
gotten himself into trouble
community issues around
had it not been for these
American Indians, blacks
intervening factors in his
and Latinos regarding health
life.
care, schooling and immi-
Staff photo by Jonathan Bach
Now, he has taken on a
gration. Some professors Oliver Brown, 29, stands inside Game King at 106 Southwest Court Avenue in Pend-
mentorship role of his own.
there were understanding of leton on Wednesday, which opened last month.
He’ll talk to young ones
the death, others weren’t —
about the fact that you don’t
wherein
kids
and
teens
consoles
running
until
9
p.m.
the
classroom,
bullying
goes
but it knocked him off his
have to be a genius or an
feet regardless. He didn’t from a wide swath of social some nights. Here, strangers by the wayside.
athlete to get into college,
demographics
play
together
become
friends.
He
estimates
He
said
couples,
hardcore
graduate.
and that there’s no shame in
for
free
on
game
consoles
set
around
40
kids
will
come
gamers
and
even
those
who
Brown did, however, take
what he learned in school up near the front of the shop. through the doors on an don’t have consoles at their pursuing an education at a
community college.
Community
members average summer day, though houses stop by to play.
and apply it to the real world.
Sometimes, if kids don’t
“Kids are precious,”
He opened Game King at donated a number of the that business has slowed as
have
the money for a game
couches,
chairs
and
tele-
the
school
year
looms.
said
the
father
of
2-year-old
106 Southwest Court Avenue
or
DVD,
he’ll cut them a
visions
to
him
for
the
kids
A
goal
for
the
store
Oliver
II,
who
toddles
around
in Pendleton last month.
is to have, for example, *DPH.LQJ¶VZRRGHQÀRRUV deal or give it to them for
For Brown, 29, the new hang out on.
He said he wanted a safe low-income students and In a way, Brown is paying it free.
store is not just a place to buy
Of his unborn daughter,
place
for kids to go, which high-income students mix, forward from when he was
video games and movies,
he said, “It was really for
but also a community space is also why he keeps the so that when they return to younger.
EOTEC: Erection
of building now
slated to start Sept. 4
Continued from 1A
utilities. The bid package
for site electrical work, for
example, only received one
bid that Frew Development
is recommending the board
reject.
Brookshier said there
are questions about whether
construction of the rodeo
arena, which hasn’t been
sent out for bid yet, will be
able to be completed in time.
“These are questions we
need to answer together and
we need to answer quickly,”
he said.
Umatilla County sold
Hermiston School District
the current fairgrounds for
$3 million in 2012 to help
pay for EOTEC, but the
fair has a lease agreement
with the district to use the
property through the end of
2016 if needed.
Despite some delays,
work does continue to move
forward with the project.
Gary Winsand of Frew
Development reported on
Friday that other than site
electrical and pavement,
horizontal
construction
is “basically completed.”
The footings are in for the
prefabricated event center
building, which has been
delivered on-site, and the
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poured Tuesday.
Erection of the building
is now slated to start Sept. 4,
a delay from a June estimate
of Aug. 10.
Meanwhile bids for
construction of the barns
were due Friday and design
work for the rodeo arena is
being completed by Michael
Building & Design.
Bob Barton of Barton
Laser Leveling, which
completed grading and other
horizontal
construction,
praised Frew Development
Group for its “staunch
stewardship” in keeping the
project on budget.
“I feel as though Frew
did a great job of managing
the money for the project,”
he said.
Heather Cannell, the busi-
ness manager for EOTEC,
said she has ordered chairs,
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event scheduling software
for the new center. She said
she spent most of fair week
on the fairgrounds getting a
feel for the needs of the fair
and rodeo and talking with
people about EOTEC.
³7KHUH LV GH¿QLWHO\ D
mix,” she said of reactions
to the project. “Some people
are nostalgic and don’t want
to leave, other people are
excited for more room.”
David Bothum reported
to the board that this year’s
rodeo was a solid success,
with an exceptionally high-
quality roster of cowboys
“My personal
commitment to
making this a
success goes way,
way back, almost
as far as anybody,
and now as a
state senator I’m
excited to help this
move forward any
way I can.”
her, a place that I could want
her to be a part of.”
%XWWKLVLVQ¶WKLV¿UVWEXVL-
ness. Brown said he owned a
power-washing service, but
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“It all blew up in my face,
literally,” he said.
As for the new business,
“it’s also frightening,” he
said. He acknowledged
doubters exist, and he said
he values their input. But for
each of them, he said he has
three times as many grateful
parents.
“The main thing that
saves me too is selling retro
stuff,” he said. Some days,
the products that move
fastest are older consoles,
from Ataris to original Play-
Stations to Nintendo 64s.
But there is certainly
strain on him. He said he
doesn’t have as much time
for young Oliver II, other
than when they are both
in the store. Despite the
long hours, he said he sees
relationships blossom over
the video games where they
would not have without the
space.
“It makes it worth it, by
far.”
———
Contact Jonathan Bach
at
jbach@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0809.
BRIEFLY
NEOEDD seeks
agritourism consultant
PENDLETON — A USDA Rural
Business Development Grant is
funding the hiring of a consultant to
help businesses and tourism partners
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The focus includes developing and
marketing culinary and agricultural
tourism in Union, Baker, Wallowa,
Umatilla and Morrow counties.
The consultant’s project activities
includes taking an inventory of
agritourism products available or
under development, engagement
with agritourism groups, hosting
agritourism development workshops
and development of marketing goals
and action plans. The project activities
are expected to be completed by Nov.
30, 2016.
“We are really excited to leverage
new opportunities for our businesses,”
said Sara Miller, Northeast Oregon
Economic Development District
economic development specialist. “We
want to make sure that travelers can
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and products as part of their visit to
northeast Oregon.”
Miller is accepting proposals from
consultants interested in working on
the project. For more information,
contact saramiller@neoedd.org or
541-426-3598. Consultant proposals
are due Friday, Sept. 4.
Heppner chamber to
share all-entities report
HEPPNER — Catch up on what’s
happening around Heppner during
the upcoming Heppner Chamber of
Commerce meeting.
The no-host luncheon will feature
an-all entities report. It runs Thursday
from noon to 1 p.m. at Heppner City
Hall, 111 N. Main St. The lunch,
which is catered by Howe’s About
Pizza, includes assorted pizza, green
salad and a dessert..The meal is $10
per person.
To ensure there’s enough food and
space, those planning to attend must
RSVP by calling 541-676-5536 by
Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Downtown association
meets monthly
PENDLETON — The Pendleton
Downtown Association invites
business owners and other interested
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Thursday of each month.
The next gathering is Thursday,
Sept. 3 at 7 a.m. in the Community
Room at Pendleton City Hall, 501
S.W. Emigrant Ave.
For more information, contact Fred
Bradbury at fbradbury@yahoo.com.
— Sen. Bill Hansell
that included 19 of the top
20 cowboys in the world for
many events.
“Each night was just like
watching an NFR (National
Finals Rodeo),” he said.
Board member Dan
Dorran said he wanted to
thank the community for its
overwhelming support for
the fair, especially this year
when it was responsible for
record-breaking
auction
sales and high attendance
despite overly hot and
windy weather.
He said this year’s fair
was pushed to the limit
when it came to handling
electricity, water drainage
and more.
“What causes that is
success,” he said. “It’s not
because we’re failing, it’s
because we get bigger and
better.”
Whether the fair moves
in 2016 or 2017, fair board
and EOTEC board member
Don Miller said the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center is coming not a
moment too soon, because
“we’re making it a reality
10 to 15 years later after
we have outgrown the
grounds.”
“Utilities and infrastruc-
ture are almost to the point
we will not be able to exist,”
he said.
Senator Bill Hansell
attended the meeting and
told the board that the
project has been “near and
dear to my heart” since he
started working on the idea
as a county commissioner in
1982 and he was pleased to
be able to put in a good word
toward the crucial extra $1.5
million the EOTEC board
got from the legislature this
year.
“My personal commit-
ment to making this a
success goes way, way back,
almost as far as anybody,
and now as a state senator
I’m excited to help this
move forward any way I
can,” he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
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BETWEEN THESE TWO HOMES?
HINT: IT HAS TO DO WITH SAVING ENERGY AND MONEY.
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