Wallowa County Chieftain
wallowa.com
Business
July 6, 2016
A5
Changes afoot throughout the valley
BIZ BUZZ
Kathleen Ellyn
Courtesy photo
Diane Daggett
Daggett
takes
helm of
Rotary
Club
Wallowa County Chieftain
Diane Daggett of En-
terprise is the new presi-
dent of the Rotary Club of
Wallowa County.
Daggett, a real es-
tate broker and proper-
ty manager at Wallowa
Mountain Properties, was
installed at the club’s an-
nual banquet June 28 and
officially began her one-
year term on July 1.
Daggett, a Joseph
High School alumna, suc-
ceeds Chuck Anderson of
Enterprise, who becomes
immediate past president
and adviser to the Ro-
tary-sponsored Interact
Club of Wallowa High
School.
The 45-member club
is retaining most offi-
cers and directors. The
2016-17 board of direc-
tors consists of: Shan-
non Maslach, secretary;
Amy Hansford, treasurer
and community service
chairwoman; Chuck An-
derson, immediate past
president and Interact
Club adviser; Judy Al-
len, Youth Exchange
officer; Bob Crawford,
vocational service chair-
man; John McColgan,
club service chairman;
Ted Hays and Kathleen
Negus,
co-sergeants-
at-arms; Evelyn Swart,
community service chair-
woman; John Gorsline,
membership chairman;
Bill Finney, foundation
chairman; Linda Casady
and Dick Burch, pro-
grams co-chairwoman
and co-chairman; Ralph
Swinehart, internation-
al service chairman; and
Jolene Cox, publicity
chairwoman and social
activities director.
Founded in 1978, the
club has 45 prominent
residents as members and
is one of 33,000 Rotary
Clubs in more than 200
countries. The club meets
at noon Wednesdays at
St. Katherine’s parish
hall, 301 NE Garfield St.
in Enterprise. Guests are
welcome.
Worth the drive!
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FREE Gas!
This week we’ve got news
from the entire Wallowa Val-
ley corridor — from Joseph to
Wallowa.
Joseph residents likely
have noticed that Coco’s Grill
and Beech 18 Bar at 507 N.
Main is closed, though not
for long. Angelica Zurita and
Jose Lopez, owners of Mexi-
can restaurant La Laguna, are
taking over that location (and
giving up their Joseph loca-
tion) beginning next fall.
“Our lease was up this year
and I expected that it would
either not be renewed or the
rent would go up,” said Zuri-
ta. “It wasn’t renewed. I was
prepared and had looked at
a few other places, but they
didn’t suit my needs. Misty
Kjemperud (owner of Coco’s)
had said she was willing to
sell some time before, so I ap-
proached her.”
The sale was inalized July
5.
Zurita expects to do a little
remodeling in the kitchen but
preserve most of the ambiance
as it is.
Greg Hennes, owner of the
Jennings Hotel in Joseph, has
conirmed that the old La La-
guna site at 100 N. Main St.
will become a lobby/lounge
for the hotel. Arrowhead
Chocolates is not moving,
according to co-owner Bruce
Reininger.
• There’s an “Open” sign
on Enterprise Auto Parts at
601 S. River St. The business,
formerly owned by D.J. Jan-
nuzzi, has been vacant since
December but was purchased
by Krag Norton of Lostine.
There’s new signage and man-
ager Bill Tilton says though
parts are still coming in, they
hope to be fully stocked in a
few weeks. In the meantime,
they have next-day shipping
on any parts you need.
The store is open 8 a.m. to
6 p.m. Monday through Friday
and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
It’s an Auto Value Parts
store, and warehousing is done
by Performance Warehouse.
The beneit, Tilton said, is that
Performance Warehouse does
a DMV search of the county
and then stocks the store with
parts for the cars and trucks in
the county.
There is no repair shop at
the new store; all shop work
will be sent to Norton’s in
Lostine, where Tim Hoffman
and Camden Brookshire will
do the work. Contact Enter-
prise Auto Parts at 541-426-
0961 or 541-426-0962.
• Constance Raven of En-
terprise recently launched
Wallowa Mountain Taxi. Ra-
ven has completed all security
protocols, is certiied for home
health care and has 10 years
experience working with el-
derly and mentally ill patients.
She also has earned a Class
A CDL.
“Not that you need that to
drive a taxi, but it puts peo-
ple’s minds at ease,” she said.
She has just one vehicle for
now, a small SUV that holds
four people. And just in time
for the festival season, she’s
running a special on bar pick-
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Jay Hinds, new owner of the Blonde Strawberry in Wallowa,
and employee Chance Goebel on his first day on the job.
The humble ham and cheese done the Blonde Strawberry way.
ups anywhere in the county
for $10. Included in that is a
return trip to your car in the
morning for free.
If you want a trip to and
from a bar, that’s the regular
rate.
Veterans ride for free with-
in Enterprise city limits.
There is a $15-per-hour
waiting fee if you use the taxi
service to run errands or do
your shopping.
For now, she’s available
24 hours a day, seven days a
week and can be booked for
trips to the Boise airport, Lew-
iston, Walla Walla, La Grande,
Moscow and other far-lung
destinations. She charges a
lat rate: for instance, $8 from
Wallowa Lake to Joseph, with
$5 more for each additional
passenger.
She recently took ive loads
of ly-ins from the Joseph air-
port, so it looks like there’s a
need being illed.
She’ll also operate as a de-
livery service. Call 541-263-
2460 for details.
• The once-famous Lostine
street fair on the Fourth of
July was canceled, according
to Mayor Krag Norton. The
event shrunk from 166 ven-
dors at the peak of its popular-
ity to 12 last year, and this year
some of those 12 decided not
to attend this year.
• Meanwhile in Wallowa,
the Blonde Strawberry has
been purchased by Jay and
Debra Hinds and is garnering
all kinds of notice.
“People are taking pic-
Lake
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in Downtown Joseph
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tures of the food,” bragged
Jay Hinds, “and we’ve gotten
praise on their Facebook pag-
es. Presentation is important.”
So is quality, and given the
limits of his kitchen (Jay calls
it “the closet”), Jay does an
amazing job. His coffee is pri-
vate label.
“We have our own blend
and roast,” he said.
Fresh veggies from the
Wallowa Farmer’s Market ar-
rived while I was sampling a
humble ham and cheese made
special by quality ingredients
and a gorgeous presentation.
The Blonde Strawberry
is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
seven days a week, and serves
breakfast and lunch along
with mufins, cinnamon rolls,
shortbread and cookies. There
is an outdoor dining porch
with umbrellas over the tables.
Some clever Wallowans
reserved tables near the win-
dows to watch the Fourth of
July parade this year.
The couch and chair area
remains, as do the kids’ games
and tourism magazines.
The jump into being a chef
and running his own restau-
rant took Jay a little by sur-
prise. He says he stopped by
to ask Rhonda Fuller for a job
and she said, “No. Would you
like to buy the place?”
Hinds has worked as a chef
at a high-end restaurant be-
fore, but it was 30 years ago
and he and his wife needed to
discuss it a bit before deciding
it was right.
There was no grand re-
opening when he took over
May 20.
“Nobody knew we were
doing it. We kept it a secret,”
Jay Hinds said.
• Also in Wallowa, right
across the street from the
school you’ll see several
Hickory Sheds on an empty
lot with for sale signs. Garrett
Mahon, who operates Geo-
bel’s Service Station and store
just down the road toward
La Grande, manages sales
of those great little sheds.
They’re available “no credit
necessary, rent to own.”
In the short time he’s had
those sheds he’s sold six lo-
cally. The day I visited a shed
was on a trailer going out to
Log House RV Park in Enter-
prise.
Several of those he sold
are being put to work as farm
sheds or camp houses, but the
Youth Art
workshops
smaller ones are great for stor-
age as well.
“If you igure you’re pay-
ing $75 for storage and you
never get any equity on it
— with these you pay a little
more or the same and in three
years you have something,”
Mahon said.
You also don’t need a build-
ing permit, provided you can
have a structure on your prop-
erty: They’re already built.
Mahon recommends you
check with your planning de-
partment in advance to make
sure you can put the building
on your land.
You can check out the
sheds in person or online at
www.hickorysheds.com. Call
Garret for more information at
541-886-2811.
Please send your Biz Buzz
news tips to Kathleen Ellyn at
kellyn@wallowa.com.
at the Josephy Center.
July 11-14 “The Art of Nature” Clay for
7-13 year olds. 12-2pm. $40.
July 12-13 “The Art of Nature” Painting
for your 5-8 year olds.
10-11:30am $35.
July 18-21 “Exploring Self & Bliss.” Clay
and painting for high school
students. 9-4pm $45.
July 25-28 “Bliss expanding.” Clay and
painting for high school
students. 9-4pm $45.
Scholarships available.
Details at www.josephy.org