Business
AgLife
B
Thursday, August 19, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Ziply
Fiber to
expand
Giving
back to
the area
Cove, Elgin, Imbler,
Joseph to get gig-
speed fiber Internet
Genuine Wallowa
County donates to
boost economy
The Observer
Wallowa County Chieftain
KIRKLAND, Wash. —
Gig-speed fiber continues to
make its way across Union
and Wallowa counties.
Ziply Fiber announced
on Friday, Aug. 13, that
it is bringing gig-speed
fiber Internet service to 14
additional markets across
Washington and Oregon,
including Cove, Elgin,
Imbler and Joseph, this cal-
endar year.
This latest expansion
is in addition to the 22
new market builds, which
included La Grande and
Enterprise, announced in
the spring.
This brings the total
number of fiber expan-
sion markets to 52 since the
Washington-based com-
pany acquired the North-
west operations of Frontier
Communications in 2020.
The company is
investing $500 million
and building an advanced
fiber network to smaller
towns and rural communi-
ties across the Northwest
that have been underserved
when it comes to Internet
access.
The new expansion will
represent more than 38,000
new fiber-ready addresses
once construction is
complete.
“Many of the communi-
ties we’re upgrading have
never experienced any-
thing like fiber before,” said
Harold Zeitz, chief execu-
tive officer of Ziply Fiber.
“We’ve seen an increased
demand for high-speed
Internet to support all the
activities we do online,
whether that’s online
learning, streaming enter-
tainment, or working from
home. To support this,
we’ve spent the last year
investing and constructing
a new state-of-the-art fiber-
optic network, and we’re
thrilled to bring these
improvements to rural and
urban communities in the
Northwest.”
While it will take time
to upgrade 250,000 square
miles of land throughout
Ziply Fiber’s service area
with new fiber-optic cables,
local hubs, new offices and
new hardware to run the
network, the company is
capitalized for and com-
mitted to expanding fiber to
cover more than 80% of its
territory in the next three
years.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Dr. Yvonne Morgan poses in front of her dentist station chair on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. Morgan, a graduate of Oregon Health and
Sciences University, joined the staff at Eli Mayes Dental this spring.
‘We’re here to stay’
Dr. Yvonne Morgan brings specialty dentistry to La Grande
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
LA GRANDE — There’s
been a new face at Eli Mayes
Dental in La Grande for several
months now, and with it, new
services at the dental office that
has served Union County for 40
years.
Dr. Yvonne Morgan was hired
in April 2021, after completing
dental school at Oregon
Health Sciences Univer-
sity and practicing in
Eugene for three years.
And now, after sev-
eral months, Morgan has
become acclimated to
Union County and plans
on staying around as
long as she can.
“We were looking for
that small-town feel, to
be part of that commu-
nity, and it ticks all of
those boxes, especially
in terms of outdoor rec-
reation,” she said. “We
have dogs. It’s just like a
playground out here.”
Morgan is far from a
native. She grew up in
northwestern Ontario,
Canada, in a small town. She
met her future husband while
attending school at the Uni-
versity of Portland, where she
studied biology and French.
According to Morgan, she was
planning on going to medical
school, but after her twin brother
underwent extensive dental
work, she began talking to den-
tists and realized her passion.
“They had an oral surgeon
and a prosthodontist, and I
just got to talking to them, and
seeing how much that changed
my brother’s life and seeing his
care just really launched me in
that direction,” she said.
After attending the Uni-
versity of Portland, Morgan
enrolled in the dental school at
Oregon Health & Science Uni-
versity. As part of her training,
she was assigned to La Grande,
where she met Mayes, who is
a part-time faculty member at
OHSU.
“We were able to have her
come into Elgin and work for us
it’s paradise. We just bought a
house. We’re here to stay.”
Morgan specializes in Botox
and dermal fillings, and she is
the only dentist in Union County
with this speciality, according to
Morgan and Mayes.
Botox, which is generally
used to remove facial wrin-
kles, blocks muscle contrac-
tions, which can be effective for
relieving pain and jaw issues,
according to Morgan.
Dermal fillings, which
are substances injected
into skin tissue to add
volume, have the same
application.
“Part of what I love
about dentistry is that
you can pick what you
really like, and in that
small-town environ-
ment, when people
can’t travel to a spe-
cialist sometimes,
we can handle things
here, which is really
nice and part of what
I wanted in a smaller
area,” Morgan said.
Morgan is one of
three dentists at Eli
Mayes Dental, and her
speciality will allow the busi-
ness to be on the front edge of
new dental practices, according
to Mayes.
“She can do anything she
wants. She is a very driven,
bright lady, and right now she’s
focusing on aesthetic dentistry,”
Mayes said. “She’s moving into
Botox, which most people think
of just getting rid of wrinkles,
but in dentistry there’s a lot of
pain and jaw issues that Botox
can help.”
He added: “Nobody in
La Grande is doing anything
like that.”
“She’s moving into Botox,
which most people think of
just getting rid of wrinkles,
but in dentistry there’s a lot
of pain and jaw issues that
Botox can help. Nobody in
La Grande is doing anything
like that.”
Dr. Eli Mayes
as a student. We immediately
loved her, our patients loved
her, so we asked her to work for
us right then and there,” Mayes
said. “It’s taken three years to
get her back.”
Upon graduation, Morgan and
her husband moved to Eugene
for three years, where she prac-
ticed general dentistry, but
after getting a taste of Eastern
Oregon, they knew they wanted
to return.
“I knew Eli from my dental
training, and the timing worked
out great,” Morgan said. “We
came out here, loved it here,
ENTERPRISE — Gen-
uine Wallowa County made
a recent donation to the Nez
Perce Wallowa Homeland
as it continues its goal of
supporting the community
with assisting local non-
profits, GWC announced
Monday, Aug. 16.
“I think of GWC as a
mission-based business,”
owner Kristy Athens said.
“The main reason I’m run-
ning this company is to
strengthen Wallowa Coun-
ty’s economic resiliency.”
GWC operates two
channels, an online gift
box store and a local food
delivery service called
GWC Provisions.
To achieve its mission,
Athens buys handmade
goods and food from more
than 70 Wallowa County
and Nez Perce artists,
farmers and ranchers. She
then ships curated gift box
collections — purchased by
both locals and by people
outside the area — across
the United States, while
also delivering groceries
to Wallowa County homes
and workplaces on a weekly
basis.
From the proceeds,
Athens makes quarterly
donations to Community
Connection’s food pantries
in Enterprise and Wallowa,
and annual donations to
Oregon Community Foun-
dation’s Wallowa Fund and
the Homeland, which as of
August totaled more than
$1,000. GWC also pro-
vides various gift certificate
donations and sponsorships,
such as to competitors at
the Wallowa County Fair.
“This year’s gift has an
exponential impact,” said
Angela Bombaci, executive
director at the Homeland.
“These dollars have already
benefited local growers,
makers and entrepreneurs,
and now they’ve come back
around to help bring Nez
Perce people home to Wal-
lowa. Thank you Genuine
Wallowa County for sup-
porting our mission at the
Nez Perce Wallowa Home-
land, and for promoting the
values that make our com-
munity special.”
For Athens, it’s the only
way to do business.
“I plan to register GWC
as a benefit corporation in
the next year or two,” she
said.
Century farms, ranches to be honored at state fair
Capital Press
SALEM — Twelve
farms and ranches from six
counties will be honored
this year as official Oregon
Century Farms or Ranches,
bringing the total number of
Oregon Century Farms and
Ranches to 1,247.
One Sesquicentennial
Century Farm recipient
from 2020 — a family that
has reached the 150-year
mark — brings the total of
Sesquicentennial honorees
to 47.
The 2020 families will
be honored with the 2021
families at this year’s
awards ceremony at the
Oregon State fair on Sat-
urday, Aug. 28.
“Every Oregon farm and
ranch has a unique history
and special family story.
The Oregon Century Farm
nator Andrea Kuenzi in an
Oregon Farm Bureau press
release. “By promoting
family stories, our rich cul-
tural heritage is passed
down to future generations
while educating Oregonians
about the social and eco-
nomic impact of Oregon
agriculture.”
The Century Farm and
Ranch families being hon-
ored are:
Capital Press, File
More than 20 families will be
honored at the Oregon State
Fair on Aug. 28, 2021, as official
2021 and 2021 Oregon Century
and Sesquicentennial Farms or
Ranches.
& Ranch program encour-
ages agriculture families
to share, with a broader
audience, these stories,”
said Program Coordi-
2021 Century Farm &
Ranch Families
• Alderson Farms:
Founded in Polk County in
1921 by Richard Alderson.
Applicants: Dennis and Ron
Alderson.
• Barnett Farm: Founded
in Polk County in 1921 by
Martin and Tressa Conger.
Applicant: Linda M. Barnett.
• Cruickshank Brothers
Farms: Founded in Polk
County in 1920 by David
and Annie Cruick-
shank. Applicant: John W.
Cruickshank.
• Norman Farm:
Founded in Clackamas
County in 1921 by John and
Anna Norman. Applicant:
Shirley Norman.
• Ogle Ranch: Founded
in Lake County in 1919
by Clarence Wilson (C.W.)
“Jim” Ogle. Applicant:
James W. Ogle.
• R.T Gilliland Farm:
Founded in Umatilla
County in 1914 by Robert T.
and Willie Gilliland. Appli-
cant: Donald H. Bensel.
• Rueck’s Grandview
Farm: Founded in Wash-
ington County in 1921 by
George Sr. and Anna Marie
Rueck. Applicant: Marvin
C. Rueck.
• SC Ranch LLC:
Founded in Lake County
in 1918 by S.B. (Sol) Chan-
dler. Applicants: Lytle and
Tamara Ann Simms.
• Timber Hill Farm:
Founded in Polk County
in 1920 by David and
Annie Cruickshank. Appli-
cant: Kenneth David
Cruickshank.
• Welter Family Farm
LLC: Founded in Marion
County in 1919 by Albert F.
and Mary B. Welter. Appli-
cant: Welter Family Farm
LLC (Tom Welter).
• Tucker Ranch: Founded
in Umatilla County in 1916
by Eugene “Eaph” Tucker.
Applicant: Samuel E.
Tucker.
• Von Derahe Orchards:
Founded in Umatilla
County in 1914 by A.A.
& Lois E. Bixby. Appli-
cant: Von Derahe Orchards
LLC (Mike and Chuck Von
Derahe).
2020 Century Farm &
Ranch Families
• Blackman Ranch:
Founded in Klamath
County in 1919 by Thomas
Walter Blackman. Appli-
cants: Rodney and Virginia
Blackman.
• Marx Farm: Founded
in Polk County in 1920
by Julius and Luise Marx.
Applicant: Merle Marx.
• Paysinger Family Farm:
Founded in Yamhill County
in 1920 by George and
Lizzie Shelburne. Appli-
cants: David and
Theresa Paysinger.
See, Century/Page B2