Business
Imbler
grad earns
national
honor
AgLife
B
Thursday, December 9, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Working up a
Reva Hartenstein
nominated for Rising
Stars of Safety Award by
National Safety Council
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
IMBLER — A Union County resi-
dent recently earned national recognition
for her contributions to workplace safety
eff orts.
Reva Hartenstein, a native of Imbler,
was nominated for the Rising Stars of
Safety Award by the National Safety
Council. Hartenstein’s hard work toward
ensuring workplace safety in Eastern
Oregon earned her the recognition from
the Chicago-based national nonprofi t.
“When I got the award, I was very sur-
prised and humbled,” Harten-
stein said. “There are 80-plus
employees at SAIF that are
very good at what they do and
could have gotten the award.
I’m very fortunate to have a
team that is very supportive
Hartenstein of one another.”
Hartenstein is in her sixth
year working as a senior safety manage-
ment consultant at the State Accident
Insurance Fund Corporation, Oregon’s
workers’ compensation company. She is
also a member of the Broken Top chapter
of the American Society of Safety Pro-
fessionals, which services businesses and
organizations in Northeastern Oregon.
A 2010 graduate of Imbler High School,
Hartenstein enjoys providing support to
businesses in the area she grew up in. Her
family has been in Imbler for decades,
and Hartenstein has been working out of
Imbler for the last fi ve years. She noted
that sometimes resources and support are
not as readily available in the eastern part
of Oregon as they are on the west side.
“I’m very grateful to be able to live
and work here and provide that support to
really important businesses that need sup-
port in our area,” she said.
Hartentein’s main tasks involve the
safety and health side of SAIF Corpo-
ration, working with more than 80 busi-
nesses in Northeastern Oregon. She sup-
ports businesses in their safety and health
eff orts, guiding managers and owners in
safety protocol and preventative strategies.
Hartenstein’s day can include a multitude
of duties, such as fi elding questions and
off ering resources, long-term safety plans
and overall customer support.
“My goal every day is to partner with
those businesses in creating the safest pos-
sible workspace,” she said.
Hartenstein’s hard work and dedica-
tion have earned her national recogni-
tion, but she credits the support of her
network in making it this far. She stated
that she is one of about 70 SAIF Corpora-
tion employees but also has connections
through the American Society of Safety
Professionals and the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration.
“I went into safety not knowing a darn
thing and I had coworkers that could have
easily just ignored me, but they were
incredibly supportive and mentored me,”
she said. “They nominated me, so I’m very
grateful for the folks I get to work with.”
Hartenstein has expanded her eff orts
beyond her position at SAIF, taking over
the chair position for the Blue Moun-
tain Occupational Safety & Health Con-
ference. The conference is hosted annu-
ally in Pendleton and serves as the largest
health and safety conference in North-
eastern Oregon — roughly 300 attendees
come to the conference. Hartenstein has
also used her experience in agriculture
to assist farmers and ranchers in creating
safe workplaces.
After six years in the industry, Harten-
stein sometimes refl ects back on her
beginnings. She credits the mentors and
coworkers early on for helping her learn
the ropes, a role she hopes to play for
future workers in the health and safety
fi eld.
“A big part of it is paying it forward,”
she said. “I want to make sure that people
who are just starting their careers feel
supported and know that they can be suc-
cessful in whatever they’re doing.”
MAIN: Terra Snyder, of Peak Fusion Studio, carries a basket full of yarrow
down the hill near her Imnaha home that will be infused into the soap she
makes. INSET: Terra Snyder cuts bars of soap at her Imnaha home.
Terra Snyder/Contributed Photos
Wallowa County family makes soap from ‘love, art, herbalism’
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
I
MNAHA — Do you like bath
and body products with a dis-
tinct aroma derived from nat-
urally occurring products in
Wallowa County? Well, Peak
Fusion Studio of Imnaha has
what you’re looking for.
“I predominately make handcrafted
soap. I also make bath bombs, perfume,
lotion bars and salve,” said business
owner Terra Snyder, who runs the busi-
ness out of her Imnaha Canyon home.
“My motto is ‘We create in the spirit of
love, art and herbalism.’”
And she’s not alone in the venture.
“It’s a family-run business, for sure,”
she said. “Everybody helps out.”
The family includes husband, Jason,
and their four children, ranging in age
from 15-25.
The Snyders have been living in the
canyon for 21 years come June.
“We both moved back after being gone
from home for years,” she said. “We both
were really in love with the Imnaha area,
the people, the river, the lifestyle.”
Special ingredients
“What makes my products special
are a few diff erent things,” Snyder said.
“Every bar of soap has hand-rendered lard
in it.”
She said she gets the lard from pigs
raised at Square Mile Ranch in Lostine.
Soap also can contain beef tallow, which
she may use in the future, but for now, she
sticks with lard.
“I can do vegan soap and will make it
if asked,” she said.
The family also keeps bees, which go
into the mix.
“We raise bees and put our own honey
and hand-rendered beeswax in our soaps,”
she said. “It’s really special stuff . It’s
really good quality.”
Then there’s the plants and herbal
ingredients.
“We love to wild-harvest. I predomi-
nantly will wild-harvest invasive species,”
she said, emphasizing that she avoids
native species. “I do not wild-harvest any
indigenous food sources for profi t.”
These may include biscuitroot, cam-
as-root or huckleberries.
“I may harvest them for my own use,
but I will not profi t from it,” she said. “It’s
a way of showing respect for the Nez
Perce people of this land.”
Snyder also infuses her products with
botanicals.
“I wild-harvest and grow fl owers
See, Lather/Page B2
Regulators approve $7.5M for Oregon water projects
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon regu-
lators have authorized about
$7.5 million for water proj-
ects, though much of the grant
funding was awarded provi-
sionally until more state money
becomes available.
The Oregon Water
Resources Commission has
unanimously voted to imme-
diately grant $1.8 million for
a Deschutes County irrigation
modernization project and a
Jackson County water supply
protection project.
The commission has also
approved $5.7 million in grant
funding for four other proj-
ects, though the funding can’t
be disbursed until the state
government raises money by
selling lottery revenue bonds
in May.
Two of the approved proj-
ects are in Eastern Oregon.
The commission approved
$530,000 for an irrigation ditch
piping project in Wallowa
County proposed by the Trout
Unlimited nonprofi t and a local
cattle company. The total cost
is expected to top $700,000,
which would allow the ranch
to convert 144 acres from fl ood
irrigation and dryland farming
PROJECT SUMMARIES
Following is the grant funding approved for this year’s
slate of six projects:
• $1.4 million for an irrigation ditch piping project pro-
posed by Tumalo Irrigation District, which has a total
cost of more than $6 million. Piping would prevent
water loss through seepage and evaporation, with the
conserved amount going to in-stream fl ows that would
reduce temperatures to benefi t fi sh. The funding was
authorized to become immediately available.
• $460,000 for a “water supply security and in-stream
transfer” project proposed by the Trout Unlimited non-
profi t with a total cost of $615,000. The money would
buy a senior water right that would allow for the opera-
tion of the historic Butte Creek Mill near Eagle Point. Part
of the secured water would be dedicated to in-stream
fl ows that would benefi t fi sh. The funding was autho-
rized to become immediately available.
• $2 million for an irrigation ditch piping project in
Deschutes and Crook counties proposed by a conser-
vation group and local irrigation districts. The total
project is estimated to cost $4.4 million and would allow
the Central Oregon Irrigation District to transfer saved
water to the North Unit Irrigation District. That transfer
to center pivot irrigation. The
conserved water would be ded-
icated to in-stream fl ows for
fi sh.
Nearly $3 million was
approved to replace an out-
dated water treatment facility
in John Day, with a new plant
that allows wastewater to be
reused. The total cost is esti-
mated to be $13.6 million. The
project would make about 80
would allow NUID to increase in-stream fl ows to help
the threatened Oregon spotted frog. The funding was
approved provisionally, pending lottery bond sales.
• $530,000 for an irrigation ditch piping project in Wal-
lowa County proposed by the Trout Unlimited nonprofi t
and a local cattle company. The total cost is expected to
top $700,000, which would allow the ranch to convert
144 acres from fl ood irrigation and dryland farming to
center pivot irrigation. The conserved water would be
dedicated to in-stream fl ows for fi sh. The funding was
approved provisionally, pending lottery bond sales.
• Nearly $3 million to replace an outdated water treat-
ment facility in John Day with a new plant that allows
wastewater to be reused. The total cost is estimated to
be $13.6 million. The project would make about 80 mil-
lion gallons of recycled water available for users who
currently divert water from the John Day River basin.
The funding was approved provisionally, pending lot-
tery bond sales.
• $93,500 to create a fi sh passage, allowing for stream
channel habitat restoration in Lake County. The total
cost is more than $776,000. The project will allow the
landowner to comply with state regulations and con-
tinue irrigating. The funding was approved provision-
ally, pending lottery bond sales.
million gallons of recycled
water available for users who
currently divert water from the
John Day River basin.
Both projects are pending
lottery bond sales.
The state only has about
$3.2 million remaining in its
water supply development fund
after a lottery bond sale was
canceled earlier this year due
to a shortfall in lottery reve-
nues caused by the coronavirus
pandemic.
However, lawmakers have
authorized another $30 million
for water project grants, with
funding becoming available
when $15 million in lottery
bonds are sold next spring and
another $15 million are sold in
the spring of 2023.
See, Water/Page B2