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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2018)
A12 News Blue Mountain Eagle HIRING Continued from Page A1 dining and a variety of other amenities, including shooting, hiking, bike riding, fishing, tours and other ranch activ- ities, Vice President Colby Marshall said many team members were cross- trained to help with multiple tasks. “I didn’t know what to expect when I first applied to work at Silvies, but the team gave me so many opportu- nities to grow,” said employee Sun- shine Smarr, who was born and raised in Grant County. “I learned to how to serve meals in a fine-dining restaurant, how to take detailed guest reservations and how hard it is to keep a golf course in shape.” Eagle file photo Jeff Wallach, left, and Renee Renfrow enjoy a round of golf at The Links at Silvies Valley Ranch. Several new attractions are also opening this year: • The Rocking Heart Spa and Fitness Center is scheduled to open in July, pro- viding spa treatments as well as an in- door lap pool, workout equipment and a rock-climbing wall. • McVeigh’s Gauntlet, a seven-hole challenge course, will provide golfers a chance to test their accuracy. • The Council House Conference Center can accommodate 35 people. • The first phase of vacation cabins will begin, providing investors options for off-the-grid cabins. “Our hope is that guests from across the globe will be drawn to the proper- ty through golf and outdoor activities, fostering a connection with the natural beauty of the landscape — a place that we have had the privilege to call home for so many years — and helping to recover the local economy,” Campbell said. CLOSED Continued from Page A1 A perfect storm of changing tech- nology and declining local economic conditions, however, ended that run. Barntish said he couldn’t compete with Redbox video-rental machines and on- line streaming. “I just didn’t have the rental volume I used to have,” he said. He also couldn’t compete with online sales of electronic parts and equipment — especially Amazon. He said people have come into his store to ask about spe- cific electronics equipment and prices, then looked up the same items on their smartphones and told him they could buy it cheaper online. He also noted the large number of computer repair people in the small-town John Day economy. “I don’t mind competition, but after a certain point it cuts the pie too thin,” he said. The main impact, however, has been the declining economy, with all the mills closing, he said. “We’ve lost population – I have less foot traffic in front,” he said. Barntish closed the doors at Prime Time Video on Jan. 27. He said he plans to put remaining inventory for sale on- line or at local flea markets. Muzzy’s 123 Dollar Store Another casualty in the John Day economy is Muzzy’s 123 Dollar Store in the John Day Plaza, which is selling off all its inventory at sharply reduced prices. The store never had to compete with large dollar store chains at the local retail level, store manager Nathan Gordani- er said, but it had to compete with the chains when purchasing goods. “Sometimes the retail price at a Dol- lar Tree store was less than my cost,” Go- rdanier said. “We tried to keep 92 percent of our items at one dollar or less, but we didn’t have the volume to do that.” The store never had the number of customers it needed for the low margins dollar stores could expect, he said. After the Mountains Department Store and the King’s Discount Store closed, leaving a large empty space in the plaza between Chester’s Thriftway and the dollar store, the amount of customer traffic simply dried up, he said. Eagle photos/Richard Hanners A sign at the Prime Time Video store. The Eastern Oregon College of Industries and Arts College of Cosmetology in John Day has become a professional hair salon. “When Mountains closed, you could see the numbers drop right away,” Gor- danier said. “Finally, we had to make a decision. At some point, you have to stop the bleeding.” The shrinking John Day economy just doesn’t offer everything people need, he said. When people go out of town for a doctor’s visit or to buy something that isn’t normally sold in town, they inevi- tably do the rest of their shopping at the same time. He noted that it was owner Greg Armstrong’s intent to promote local shopping by offering more items in the dollar store, but he just didn’t have the square-footage needed. The plan now is to sell off everything in the store and then close, Gordanier said. EOCIA College of Cosmetology Facing additional hurdles, the East- ern Oregon College of Industries and Arts College of Cosmetology has closed and reopened as a salon, business owner Nina LeAnne Gast said. The college on West Main Street in John Day began holding classes in Feb- ruary 2015 and celebrated its first grad- uate five months later, but the school of- ficially closed Dec. 31, after graduating 13 students. A sign at the Muzzy’s 123 Dollar Store. “There’s been lots of shock and dis- appointment,” Gast said. “It’s a huge loss to the community.” It took more than three years of ef- fort before the Oregon Higher Educa- tion Coordinating Commission licensed EOCIA to operate as a private career school. But Gast needed 11 students to make ends meet, and she had only six. More students would have signed up if they could obtain federal student aid, she said, but it would take four more years before the college could be nationally accredited and its students would be eligible for student loans. And the college had to be profitable before it even applied, Gast noted. “I knew about all this ahead of time, but I felt sure I could maintain 12 stu- dents and keep the college going,” she said. “I had 20 students interested in the college, but only six had the financial resources to attend without student aid.” In keeping with the acronym EO- CIA, the salon will run under the name Eastern Oregon Cosmetology Industry Associates. Gast will be joined by Judy Chapman, Miranda Hoodenpyl and Chrisheena Fuglee. Salon hours at the same location are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more information, call 541-620-8863. Wednesday, February 7, 2018 Contributed photo Young Wella Wilson smiles big in Ghana, Africa. JOURNEY Continued from Page A1 people called us crazy for jumping on a plane and fly- ing across the world,” Kaylee said. “That was a huge leap of faith for us, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.” Wella had malaria, was severely malnourished and appeared to be the “saddest child,” Kaylee said. She stayed behind with Wella while James flew back to the U.S. to work and raise funds for the adoption fees and to support his family — he was gone for six months. Kaylee said she’d always wanted to live in Africa, but those months apart from her husband were “the hardest.” She lived in rural Kpando, without running water and limited electricity. She was also a new parent — and for a time a “single” parent. James said he spent the long separation in a “zom- bie-like” state, going through the motions. Then a phone call changed everything. Of- ficials from the Tim Tebow Foundation offered an $8,000 adoption grant. “We hadn’t even applied for the grant,” James said. The foundation heard of their plight through an organi- zation called Show Hope. The funds covered most of their remaining adoption fees, and they used savings for James’ return to Ghana. While they wait to return to the U.S., other opportuni- ties have opened up. Kaylee started a position as a market- er and videographer for an in- ternational school in Accra in exchange for a house near the U.S. embassy. They’ve also grown their coffee business Level Grounds Xpresso, which fea- tures beans from coffee farms in Kenya, Peru, Guatemala, PROJECT Continued from Page A1 acquire the Weaver Building at 131 W. Main St. and inspect it for lead and asbestos, Green said. Of that amount, $89,282 has been reimbursed through 37758 Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea. One special six-bean espresso is called “Wella’s Blend” after their daughter. Sales cover the Wilsons’ living expenses, and the prod- ucts are available at The Cor- ner Cup in John Day or online at levelgroundsxpresso.com. Uncertain of when they’ll return, the couple said they are trying to relax and enjoy being a family. “She’s very caring and af- fectionate, and she’s grown to love us,” James said. Kaylee said she’s amazed at how Wella has taken on many of their personality traits, including sense of hu- mor. Eager to preserve her daughter’s history, Kaylee has filmed much of their time in Africa. “We want her to be proud of where she came from and proud of her culture,” she said. James said they want to share their story to encourage others who may be thinking of adoption. “Don’t let yourself be guided by fear,” he said. “I think God has changed me in so many ways. Looking back to the boy that I was, that’s not the man that I am today.” Kaylee added, “(Since) we knew this is what God was asking us to do ... we knew he would get us through it.” When the Wilsons are back on U.S. soil, they will transition in John Day, then plan to open a coffee shop, continue overseas work and adopt more children. “Whether we’re home in three weeks, three months or three years, we are grate- ful because we’re learning and growing, and we are to- gether,” Kaylee said. “We thought we had a timeline, but so far, looking back, God is in control, and his timing is perfect.” grants, with the rest to be reim- bursed upon submission of the project’s final report, he said. Drawings for the eight res- idential units on the second floor as they exist now have been drafted by Strux Engi- neering of Prairie City. Chang- es in the layout are needed to address ingress and egress reg- ulations, Green said. When asked what would happen if the city decided to sell the building after it was fixed up, Green said he’d like to see that happen, but he wasn’t sure how it would work out after using government grants or loans. The council also agreed to move forward to a higher lev- el of participation in the tiered Oregon Main Street program. The Exploring Downtown lev- el requires more commitments but provides greater grant op- portunities, Green said. Green said he would talk with the Grant County Cham- ber of Commerce and generate more ideas about Main Street revitalization through 2018 before applying to move to the higher level. The city’s 2010 downtown master plan might need to be updated to make it more coherent, he said. In other city council news: • The council met in exec- utive session to discuss real property transactions. • The John Day Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, to re- view two sign permit requests and an eight-unit subdivision request. • The council will hold its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, with a public hearing on requests for propos- als for the greenhouse project. • The city council will meet again on Feb. 27, with a pre- sentation of the annual public safety report. • Green will present a state of the city address at the March 13 city council meeting. The council agreed to hold all the meetings in the John Day Fire Hall.