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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
A6 Business wallowa.com New sick leave rules leave some Oregon business-owners feeling a bit queasy By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain The state Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) released ¿nal paid sick leave rules Dec. 9 that require companies with 10 or more employees to provide ¿ve days of paid sick leave and unpaid leave for smaller com- panies. Some agriculture and business groups are upset by the short response time available to read, understand and implement the new rules. The new law (Senate Bill 454) pre-empts any e[isting or- dinances pertaining to sick leave established by Oregon counties or municipalities. Although the document e[- plaining the law is only 15 pag- es, the rules are quite comple[ and business groups have com- plained that the task of reading, understanding and implement- ing the law before Jan. 1 is im- possible to meet. BOLI has scheduled train- ing seminars for businesses, but only one will take place before the deadline and the seminars cost $25 each to attend — an- other sore point for business leaders. “Oregon is only the fourth state in the nation with a state- wide paid sick leave policy,” said John Rakowitz, director of public and strategic affairs for Associated General Contractors. “I think this speaks to the care and consideration that should have been taken when crafting these rules.” Key components of the new- ly released rules include how to calculate whether or not a com- pany reaches the 10-employee threshold count — a vital math- ematic formula that results in either paid or unpaid sick days as well as notice and accrual re- quirements. “We have real concerns with the calculation of employees under these rules,” said Jenny Dresler, director of state public policy for the Oregon Farm Bu- reau. “It appears our farmers will have to double count temporary laborers (both the contractor and Happy 60 th Anniversary Jim & Dona Elliott We love you! the farmer must count hours toward sick leave), something that was never the intent of the Legislature. This will result in thousands of farmers and small business owners, many of whom operate on slim margins, being thrown into the new paid sick leave requirements.” State Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Dist. 29-Athena) and State Rep. Greg Barretto (R-Cove) both called the rules “unfriendly to business” during a Septem- ber public meeting in Wallowa County. In a recent interview, Sen. Hansell called the bill “a terrible bill to begin with” and blamed Democrats for its pas- sage. “I voted against it when it came up in the last session, when it came to the Àoor and through the committees and every chance I had. It had unintended consequences ... particularly for agriculture. Now we’re seeing our worst nightmares come true. BOLI has implemented very onerous restrictions (and) not given us enough time to respond to them. It was a bad bill to be- gin with and BOLI’s actions have only made it worse.” BOLI has stated that it will delay agency penalties until 2017. However, the law as ad- opted in SB 454, will allow em- ployees to seek private lawsuits against employers as of Jan. 1. “This is very concerning, and employers should not be left with the impression that they are entirely protected from any legal recourse should they not be in compliance immediately Jan. 1, 2016,” said Betsy Earls, policy manager for Associated Oregon Industries. “We are disappointed that a safe harbor and transition period was not written into the rules.” T HE B OOKLOFT AND S KYLIGHT G ALLERY Finding books is our specialty 541.426.3351 • 107 E. Main • Enterprise • www.bookloftoregon.com ACROSS DOWN 1. Teletype (Computers) 4. Loose-fitting sleeveless garment 7. They __ 8. Extinct Turkish caucasian language 10. Tall N Zealand timber tree 12. Piedmont city on the River Gesso 13. Burl __, storyteller 14. Made up of 50 states 16. Not or 17. Given a monetary penalty 19. Unnilpentium 20. ISU town 21. Equality for everyone 25. A lyric poem with complex stanza forms 26. Actress Farrow 27. Scottish caps 29. Gobblers 30. __ Lilly, drug company 31. Process an animal hide 32. Describe in perfect detail 39. 1000 calories 41. American National Bank (abbr.) 42. MN 55121 43. Everyone 44. Substitute 45. Rubber, marching or head 46. Dance Latin rhythm 48. Inside of 49. A way to let know 50. Morning moisture 51. Point midway between S and SE 52. Sales messages 1. Duty 2. Whatchamacallit 3. A citizen of Yemen 4. __ Dhabi, Arabian capital 5. Nickname 6. One seeded fruit (alt. sp.) 8. Fiddler crabs 9. Troughs of bricks 11. Exploiter 14. Atomic #104 15. Italian ice-cream 18. Algerian dinar 19. Consume 20. Macaws 22. Insignificantly small 23. Tooth caregiver 24. Direct toward 27. Bluish green 28. Caliph 29. Faucet 31. The bill in a restaurant 32. Capital of Tocantins, Brazil 33. Explosive 34. The most abundant of the rare- earth group 35. Japanese sock 36. Kampala is the capital 37. Raged 38. Provides with property 39. Miniature racing vehicle 40. Signs 44. Express pleasure 47. Bridge-building degree December 23, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain Repurposed, antique offerings rival west side By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain When I go out to Oregon’s west side to spend time with my mother, we like to hit the sec- ond-hand and antique stores — and even Goodwill. A couple of towns are well known for their offerings in that department — and Wallowa County ought to be on the list as well. We’ve got an astonishingly lengthy list of establishments that carry upcycle, recycle, vin- tage and antique goods in our county: • The newest is Dry Creek Design, 110 E First Street, Wal- lowa. The store, owned by Gar- rett and Beth Lowe and staffed by their sons Tyrel and Hadley, opened Dec. 5 and is open just Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their specialty is repurpos- ing, restoring and reusing items, and they carry everything from light ¿[tures to buffets. They intend to add Timber Bronze hardware in the near future and already carry seasonal consign- ments and art by Dennis Rein- ke. Call 541-263-2800 or visit them on Facebook. • Another Wallowa-area upcycle/repurpose business is Farm Fresh Pickins, operated by Amy Johnson and her daughter- in-law Brooke Johnson. Amy sells out of her garage/ store on the Johnson Family Farm, 77269 W Highway 82, Wallowa. Amy prefers to be contacted on her Facebook page, or you can call her at 541- 263-0111. • 1e[t up, still in Wallowa, is Back-Achers Industrial Park LLC at 801 N. Douglas Street in Wallowa. Ben and JoAnn Deal own and staff the shop, and they’re open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Back-Achers identi¿es as a wholesale and supply store, but BIZ BUZZ Kathleen Ellyn you can ¿nd everything from a storage shed to motorcycles to building supplies to antiques — even a chicken shed. Al- though Back-Achers is more the store you go to if you want to ¿nd an item to repurpose, they do repurpose a few items themselves. They recycle old refrigerators and freezers into raised beds and Ben is thinking of making insulated dog or cat houses out of old refrigerators as well. Find them on Facebook or call 541-886-2166. Enterprise has si[ places you can shop for either the raw ma- terial to do your own repurpose project or ¿nd a vendor who has done the work for you. There are three second-hand or consignment stores in Enter- prise: • Second Best Consignment Shop, 204 W. Greenwood St., Enterprise is owned by Larry Bowen, who has been stock- ing that store for nearly 28 years. The store carries cloth- ing, kitchen goods, furniture, mattresses — all general mer- chandise. Larry also purchases things at estate sales, so if you don’t see what you need in the store, he may have it in one of his containers or storage units. The store is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can call Larry at 541-426-4605. • Soroptimist Thrift Shop, 105 NE First Street, Enterprise is operated by Soroptimist In- ternational of Wallowa County. Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. It is open an e[tra two hours the ¿rst Monday of the month (closes at 6 p.m.). It currently is closed until Jan. 13 for repairs. The Soroptimist Thrift store has been around since 1957 and is a county favorite. You can ¿nd just about any general mer- chandise, provided it ¿ts in the small space the store occupies. Antiques and collectibles are sold by silent auction every oth- er Tuesday afternoon. • A new addition to the con- signment market is R’s Con- signment, 100 West Main, En- terprise. Rene Garoutte opened her store in September and already has developed faithful customers and consigners. The store is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. In addition to high-end and e[cel- lent condition consignments, you will ¿nd deeply discounted new items, art, handbags, jewel- ry, pet clothing and more. You can check it out on Facebook or call 541-359-5474. The ne[t two shops com- bined their goods in a Christmas pop-up store during Winterfest. You can see their entire collec- tions at their home businesses. • Shabby Gypsies in Enter- prise is owned by Cindy Craig and Carol Martin. They don’t have a storefront and preferred not to list their address, but their wares can be seen on Facebook and you can call 541-426-3150 to set up an appointment to see speci¿c products. Cindy creates hand-crafted artisan soaps (also available at Bee Charmed Marketplace in Enterprise), hand-painted cov- ered cake plates and repurposed furnishings in addition to carry- ing vintage fashions, collectible glassware and more. • JingleBob’s Vintiques, 505 S. River Street, Enterprise. Carla Fisher has her shop in the garage behind the carport. Her space is packed with eclectic vintage clothing, accessories, jewelry, hats, ties, books, re- cords, salvage doors, windows, hardware and yard art. Hours vary depending on the season so call ahead, 541-426-4712. • Favorite Finds on Main at 104 W Main St. is the big ¿sh in the pond in Enterprise. Sondra Lozier’s huge shop of antiques, collectibles and vin- tage-style new items is located right downtown. The store is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and by appointment. See more, in- cluding ideas on upcycling, on Sondra’s Facebook page, or call 541-263-0104. • Stauffer’s Re¿nishing, 704 Residence St., is the place to go for repair/re¿nishing/repurpos- ing your valued furniture. Marc and Teena Stauffer have built a reputation so good that there is a waiting list for restorations. They sometimes have antiques for sale. Call 541-426-3819. Joseph has at least three places where you can shop for collectibles and more. • Simply Sandy’s, 303 N. Main St., advertises a “collec- tion of uncommon goods,” from furnishings to hardware to deco- rative pieces to lawn art to ... we don’t have enough space to list it all. Sandy Warnock ¿lls both her vintage cottage and a shed in the winter and several more tents in the back yard during good weather. Her hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. See her on Facebook or call 541-432-3211. • Copper Creek Mercantile, 15 S Main, is both an old-fash- ioned Mercantile, a great shop for home decor and gift ideas, and a source of supplies (such as chalk paint) for your own upcycle project. Owner Tammy Strampe carries antique and up- cycle items as well. Her hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week until January. See the shop on Facebook or call 541- 432-1001. • Last but certainly not least is Anton’s Home and Hearth, 6 S. Main St. in Joseph. You’ll see the fun collectibles in the win- dow as you approach. Inside Judie Anton’s store, you’ll ¿nd the local liquor store, a coffee shop, a kitchen supply store and more. The store is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday until January. See more on their Facebook page or vis- it www.antonshomeandhearth. com or call 541-432-2690. Make a day of it and enjoy, Wallowa Countians. Please send your Biz Buzz news tips to Kathleen Ellyn at kellyn@wallowa.com.
