REGION
Thursday, June 2, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Sweet Bee Honey Company in Milton-Freewater ‘in the sweet spot’
infectious dangers.
By 2014, Lieuallen had
found and married his own
“queen,” and the couple
purchased the 15 acres of land
on Lincton Mountain, home
base to about 5,000 bees.
Before long, two daughters,
Cadence and Sierra, joined the
Lieuallen colony.
Somewhere in there, honey
prices fell. Lieuallen remem-
bered lessons from his father
and knew changes were in
order, including diversifi ca-
tion and “vertical integration”
within the company.
In this case, that meant
asking his wife, Stacie Lieual-
len, to take on an active role in
Sweet Bee Honey Company.
Before deciding to stay
home with their children,
Stacie Lieuallen had taught
high school health and physi-
cal education for a dozen years.
It was a career she loved, espe-
cially enjoying how she could
positively impact the lives of
teens, and she expected to
return to it.
It wasn’t an easy “yes” to
her husband’s request, Stacie
Lieuallen said, noting it took
about a year for her to fi nd her
own path into the family busi-
ness.
Stacie Lieuallen spent
SHEILA HAGAR
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
MILTON-FREEWATER
— It’s fair to say Ryan Lieual-
len is pretty buzzed about the
blueprint being drawn up for
his family’s business and their
future.
Lieuallen is founder of The
Sweet Bee Honey Company,
which sells a variety of honeys,
bees in bulk, pollination
services and queen bee cells.
Located near the more civi-
lized entrance of primitive
Lincton Mountain Road off
the meandering Walla Walla
River Road, the Lieuallen
home and bee farm is hidden
from every beaten path in the
area.
Lieuallen is the fi fth gener-
ation in his family to tend bees,
he said, a lineage that began in
1860.
“I was born into the
system,” he said, recalling
that images of the winged
creatures adorned everything
in his childhood home, from
silverware to the walls.
Running an apiary wasn’t
part of his life plan when
he graduated from McEw-
en-Weston High School in
2005, even if he did start up
his own bee operation in 2006
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Lily Boehm, center, takes another taste of dark buckwheat honey April 23, 2022, while tast-
ing room manager Stacie Lieuallen answers Katherine Boehm’s questions at Sweet Bee Hon-
ey Company in Milton-Freewater.
“as a summer gig.”
He didn’t know then the
time already spent under the
tutelage of his mother’s father,
Edmund Varney, would later
come knocking.
Varney, a retired career
beekeeper, taught the slightly
wild teen about sustainable
beekeeping and, more impor-
tantly, about being a good
human, according to Sweet
Bee’s marketing.
But Lieuallen’s father
imparted his business acumen
to his son, meaning the young
man could clearly see there
wasn’t really any money to be
made in the bee business —
any wealth came from invest-
ing in land needed for the
pursuit, he explained.
He headed off to Wash-
ington State University, with
plans to focus on business
and entomology, the study of
insects.
Business won out — “I
Griswold High
Class of 2022
Griswold High School on
Sunday, May 29, 2022,
graduated eight students:
standing from left, Madison
Jensen, Darla Holden, Sydney
Moore, Samuel Kubishta,
Victoria Keene and Ashton
Miller, and kneeling in front
from left, Anitohi Mercer and
Sean Phillips.
Brad Bixler/Helix School District
MORROW COUNTY SCHOOLS
District welcomes new administrators
East Oregonian
MORROW COUNTY
— Morrow County School
District on Tuesday, May 31,
announced several new admin-
istrators to the district for the
2022-23 school year.
“It has been another busy
spring as we have worked to
fi ll our vacant administrative
positions,” according to Erin
Stocker, executive director of
human resources.
The retirement of Super-
intendent Dirk Dirksen and a
resignation led to movement
within the district, Stocker,
explained.
“The school district is in a
good position with our ability
to hire strong internal candi-
dates, as well as an experi-
enced administrator to round
out our administrative team
for 22-23,” she stated
The incoming superinten-
dent, Matt Combe, as well as
these new administrators will
begin their contracts on July 1.
New vice principal
at Irrigon Jr./Sr.
High School
The newest member of
the Morrow County School
District administrative team
is Jason Dunten. He will be
transitioning into the Irrigon
Jr./Sr. High School vice prin-
cipal for the 2022- 23 school
year. Not a stranger in MCSD,
Dunten has been an educa-
tor for 13 years, all of which
have been in Morrow County.
He received his bachelor’s
and master’s degrees from
Eastern Oregon University
and a master’s in education
administration from Grand
Canyon University. Well
known in the community of
Irrigon, Dunten has made
many connections through
his coaching and community
involvement.
“When I began teaching
in Irrigon, I was extremely
excited for the opportunity
to help mentor our students,”
he said in the announcement.
“By moving into the role of
vice principal, I am excited to
continue to not only mentor
our students but also impact
the culture of the Irrigon
community and the Morrow
County School District.”
Stocker said the district
is excited that Irrigon Jr./Sr.
High School will continue to
have leaders that are vested
in the programs, schools and
community.
New principal
at Irrigon Jr./Sr.
High School
Rose Palmer will be the
next principal of Irrigon Jr./
Sr. High School.
Palmer received her bach-
elor’s degree from Washing-
ton State University and has
two masters, one in physi-
cal education and the other
in education leadership.
With 15 years in education
as a teacher and adminis-
trator, Palmer is completing
her seventh year in Morrow
County School District as the
assistant principal at Irrigon
Jr./Sr. High School Accord-
ing to the announcement, she
has the background knowl-
edge and experience to aid
in a smooth transition for
students, families and staff .
“I am looking forward to
the opportunity to continue
to serve as an administra-
tor at IJSHS,” Palmer said,
“and excited that I will get to
continue to provide oppor-
tunities for students to feel
connected and important
while in our building.”
Stocker said the district
is pleased to have a veteran
administrator continue as a
member of the MCSD team in
a new role at the same school.
to Morrow County School
District. He will be the new
principal at Heppner Jr./Sr.
High School.
Gerry has an extensive
background in secondary
education with 23 years of
experience, of which 10 years
has been in administration,
according to the announce-
ment. Prevoiusly, he worked
in Prairie City and Grant
school districts. He received
his bachelor’s degree from
Eastern Oregon University,
his master’s degree from
Oregon State University and
his administration licensure
program through University
of Oregon.
The school district stated
Gerry is familiar with rural
communities and is commit-
ted to the continued growth
and success of students, staff
and programs.
“I am very honored and
excited to be joining Heppner
Jr./Sr. High School and being
part of the Morrow County
School District,” Gerry
said. “The school and the
Heppner community have
demonstrated a long-stand-
ing commitment to student
success and community
connection, which I am
dedicated to continuing. I’m
looking forward to being
a Mustang and part of the
community.” Stocker said the
MCSD administrative team
is eager to have Gerry join
them and learn more about the
district and the community.
6/3 - 6/9
Cineplex Show Times
Price changes: Adults: $10.00 • Child: $8.00
Senior: $8.00 • Matinees (before 4:00pm): $8.00
New principal
at Heppner Jr./Sr.
High School
Top Gun: Maverick (PG13)
4:20p 5:00p 7:30p 8:10p
extra 1:10p & 1:50p show 6/3-6/4
Ryan Gerry is a new face
The Bob's Burgers Movie (PG13)
4:10p 6:50p 9:30p
extra 1:30p show 6/3-6/4
The children of Jack Sainsbury are throwing him an
80TH SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Please join us at Hamley's Steakhouse
in the Slickfork room. Pendleton, OR
June 4th at 2:00 pm
knew how to do bees,” he said
— and he ended up back where
he started. But not before gath-
ering important tools, such as
how to collect bee semen for
research.
Lieuallen spent a year
in Argentina, immersed in
work as part of WSU’s honey
bees and pollinator research
program to help breed a
more durable bee that can
better fl y in the face of envi-
ronmental, parasitic and
months designing all things
retail for Sweet Bee Honey
Company, including that
brand new tasting room.
In the space she’s culti-
vated, Stacie Lieuallen
teaches her customers about
bee health and honey prop-
erties. Each fl avor profi le is
distinct, from the subtle tang of
the blackberry to the simpler
sweetness of the vetch to the
long fi nish of thistle. In coat-
ing the tongue, buckwheat’s
toasted, smoky and robust
taste instantly creates a desire
for seconds.
Like a bee to a flower,
Stacie Lieuallen uses honey
samples to draw folks in to
enlist them in saving the bees,
who need all the help humans
can off er.
“Bees are really strug-
gling,” she said. “Bees are part
of our ecosystem and always
should be.”
The Lieuallens have big
plans for the immediate and
far future. They anticipate
their children will have the
same immersion into the busi-
ness their father had, the better
to continue the legacy.
By the time that happens,
Sweet Bee Honey Company
will be even tastier, the
couple predicts.
Boutique Air receives 2-year contract
bump to provide service to Pendleton
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
U.S. Department of Trans-
portation has increased
Boutique Air’s Essential Air
Service contract for Pendle-
ton and renewed it through
May 31, 2024.
Boutique had asked to
renegotiate the terms of its
Essential Air Service subsidy
to serve Pendleton’s Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport
due to many changes, includ-
ing the cost of fuel and a
workforce crisis.
Boutique filed a form
in February requesting to
terminate its EAS contract
beginning May 12. The
subsidy for the fourth year
of its agreement was almost
$2.69 million. The DOT
then countered, prohibit-
ing Boutique from ending
its service and calling for it
and other air carriers to issue
proposals for the contract.
Only
Boutique
responded, and the federal
government accepted its
two-year proposal.
The new annual subsidy
rate for the first year of
service is more than $3.87
million. The second year of
the service will see a subsidy
of almost $3.95 million. The
contract requires Boutique
to provide 21 nonstop, round
trips a week to and from Port-
land International Airport,
using an eight- or nine-seat
Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.
“I think the increase is
absolutely justified,” said
John Honemann, airport
manager, “given their
unprecedented costs.”
Honemann considered
the new contract to be not
at all out of line compared
to other EAS subsidies. He
said he felt the two-year term
is warranted, since a longer
period might not allow
Boutique to keep up with
changes in the economy.
“I think it’s a great deal,”
Honemann continued. “(Air
service) is critical infrastruc-
ture. Our region needed a tie
to Portland and Salem. I’ve
been fi ghting and working
for it.”
Pendleton is the only
airport in the Pacifi c North-
west operating with the
DOT under an Essential Air
Service contract.
T he EAS prog ram
provides the federal trans-
por t at ion depa r t ment
funding to ensure small
communities continue
to receive scheduled air
service, usually to a large-
or medium-hub airport.
EAS subsidizes air service
to about 60 communities in
Alaska and 115 communi-
ties in the lower 48 contig-
uous states that otherwise
would not receive any
scheduled air service.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Fight near
Hermiston High
results in arrests
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment reported a fi ght and
arrests at Hermiston’s skate
park. This took place around
noon, Friday, May 27.
According to HPD, offi -
cers went to the the park,
which is adjacent to Hermis-
ton High School, in response
to a report of students fi ght-
ing.
“Upon arriving in the
area, it was learned the
two primary female parties
involved in the alterca-
tion were known to each
other, and one of them was
alleged to have been struck
on the head (with an object
reported as a closed fold-
ing knife) by the other,”
according to the statement
the department posted on its
Facebook page.
The department stated
there are neither allegations
nor evidence of anyone
being stabbed with a knife.
“Arrests have been made
in this incident, which is
believed to be an isolated
incident involving persons
known to each other (and
NOT gang related),” the
statement concluded. “We
do not believe there is any
danger to the public related
to this incident.”
Well-loved
Hermiston fi gure
Dean dies
HERMISTON — Social
media posts Friday, May 27,
announced the death of Dean,
a homeless man who is known
and loved in Hermiston.
His comings and goings
have been tracked on the Face-
book account Deans & Herm-
iston Community Cares.
Recent posts to the account
reported on his failing health
and treatment in a Boise
hospital.
— EO Media Group
OIL CO
VIN INC.
E
.
D
541-289-4876
Congratulations to the Class of 2022
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
of Madness (PG13)
4:30p 7:30p
extra 1:20p show 6/3-6/4
Downton Abbey: A New Era (PG)
3:40p 6:30p 9:20p
extra 12:50p show 6/3-6/4
JURASSIC WORLD
DOMINION (PG13)
STARTS THURSDAY, JUNE 9TH!
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Derek Devin
Shyenne Troppmann
Hermiston High School
Hermiston High School