NEWS
Oregon RAIN lending a hand
A6
Blue Mountain Eagle
Nonprofit organization
aims to catalyze
entrepreneurial ecosystem
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
COVID-19 continues to provide
many uncertainties for the future,
but what is certain is the continuous
work and help Oregon RAIN pro-
vides for Grant County.
Oregon RAIN is a nonprofit
organization that partners with Ore-
gon communities to catalyze an
entrepreneurial ecosystem and con-
nect entrepreneurs to resources and
information to create a prosperous
community.
RAIN only comes into commu-
nities when they are invited, and
they were invited by Grant County
Economic Development.
After the invitation, the other
stakeholders that partnered with
the county and their invitation were
John Day, Prairie City and Canyon
City.
Interviews were held, and Steph-
anie LeQuieu was chosen to be a
rural venture catalyst to represent
the community. She began working
in February.
“What we do is connect entre-
preneurs to resources, whether it’s
services that they need like educa-
tion or training, or people like men-
tors, or capital,” LeQuieu said. “We
help find means for them to gain
capital or resources to start their
ventures.”
To help people in the county
receive
resources,
LeQuieu
researches the local communities
and finds out what is already pro-
vided. She also meets with city
leaders and officials to ask them
about the needs in the cities.
She also finds people, or peo-
ple reach out to her, who are local
entrepreneurs with great ideas but
who don’t know how get to the next
level.
COVID-19 forced a shift to
online content and connecting with
people through online workshops,
conferences and support groups.
LeQuieu said her team made
the change quickly, and she was
impressed with the team.
“We started a workshop series
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Contributed photo
Stephanie LeQuieu, Grant County’s
Oregon RAIN rural venture catalyst,
connects entrepreneurs with re-
sources.
on Monday, and we have been cov-
ering a lot of valuable content such
as the Payroll Protection Program,
the EIDL grant loan program, the
CARES act, and we have been able
to help navigate people through
the pandemic,” LeQuieu said. “We
are still helping entrepreneurs and
brainstorming of startups of how
they can survive at this time.”
Every Monday from 2-3 p.m.,
RAIN offers a virtual workshop
series online through Zoom. This
workshop is based on feedback
from the local network. Every Fri-
day from 9-10 a.m., RAIN pro-
vides an online entrepreneur sup-
port group through Zoom. These
resources can be found at oregon-
rain.org.
LeQuieu also provides an addi-
tional three online virtual meetings
a week where entrepreneurs can ask
her questions, and she helps them
anyway she can. These are pro-
vided on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Thursdays.
While RAIN’s mission is to help
build an entrepreneurial ecosystem,
local partners have also asked how
RAIN can help current local busi-
nesses during the pandemic.
“Some of the city leaders have
asked what I can do for business
retention and expansion, and I
think, now more than ever, it is a
key component to what needs to be
done,” LeQuieu said. “I have been
reaching out to local businesses to
see if there is anything I can do.
A lot of the content we provide in
our workshop will apply to existing
businesses.”
As of March there have been
15 entrepreneurs that have been
identified in the county who have
reached out, according to LeQuieu.
She added, even in the midst of the
pandemic, there is one entrepreneur
who she is helping in the process of
starting a business.
“Oregon RAIN is helping, it’s
working here and we are going to
reap the benefits having an orga-
nization like this partner with us,”
LeQuieu said. “Grant County has
some phenomenal talent here.
They have wonderful ideas and
I have seen a great response. It’s
been a wonderful experience so
far.”
LeQuieu said she appreciates the
opportunity to get to know entre-
preneurs on a personal level and
one of her main goals is to help and
affect positive change.
For more information, call 541-
965-1598 or email stephanie@ore-
gonrain.org.
Canyon City finds growth through local efforts
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle file photo
Canyon City Mayor Steve Fischer and his wife, Shelley, in down-
town Canyon City during ‘62 Days in 2019.
Eagle file photo
On July 24, the Grant County Court agreed to split out-of-pocket expenses to repair and upgrade
the Inland Street Bridge with Canyon City.
focused on working on
the Nugget and Inland
street bridges and making
repairs. The Inland bridge
was the first to receive
repairs and an upgrade this
past August. The 27-foot
long, two-lane bridge saw
repairs made after pass-
ing logs damaged the
bridge during flooding in
April. The bridge was also
raised 2 feet higher for
protection.
For Fischer, this project
highlighted the strength in
completing a project this
big using local resources
and people, which saved
money for the city. To
repair the bridge, the city
was approved for a federal
grant for $1.13 million
with a match of $130,000.
The city turned the grant
down because of the match
needed.
The city then decided to
fix the bridge themselves
and got an estimate of
$76,500 for the job.
“We got the whole thing
done for just over $61,000,
paved and everything,”
Fischer said. “To me, it
just goes to show what you
can do if you use the peo-
ple and resources that you
have around you, and the
county helped us out tre-
mendously because they
paid for half of the project.”
The county helped since
Inland Street bridge is
needed to provide access
for residents at the north
end of Humbolt Street and
to bus students to Humbolt
Elementary School.
The Nugget bridge is
the next project that will be
started in the near future.
Fischer said the city was
hoping to get the project fin-
ished this year, but the city
will be ready for the state
grant they plan to apply for
in 2021.
When it comes to
finances, the city recently
paid off two 40-year bonds
with one to improve the
water system and the
other to improve the sewer
system.
“We paid them up a year
early so Canyon City can
look at a little less in local
taxes on the town,” Fischer
said.
A big goal the city plans
Eagle file photo
Canyon City Public Works Director Les Percy, right, and two
Grant County employees, Zane Rookstool, left, and Tyrell Sharp,
work on the Inland Street bridge abutment Aug. 8.
to accomplish is putting in
a new reservoir to provide
the best water in the best
way possible for the city,
according to Fischer.
“We are looking into
a new reservoir because
these (current reservoirs)
are so old, and we had done
temporary repairs a time or
two, but it’s not holding
anymore,” Fischer said.
The city is looking into
a single reservoir and fil-
ter system that will replace
two reservoirs. Fischer said
the city received a $20,000
grant for planning. Like
Inland bridge, the plan is to
pay for the project in house
and not raise taxes or get
another bond, according to
Fischer.
“We are doing the best
we can with the resources
we have to take on one
project at a time and get it
done,” Fischer said. “Our
plan is to stay focused and
keep our streets good, keep
the infrastructure main-
tained and it’s working.”
The city has also seen
growth with four new
homes built in the last year
and a half and contractors
looking to build more on
Canyon Mountain Heights.
While more people are
moving in, Fischer said an
important focus for the city
is to maintain a small city
and hometown feel.
“People are building
around here, and they are
retiring here and they tell
me that they like this small
town feel,” Fischer said.
With so much accom-
plished, Fischer said he has
the best city council and
workers who helped and
cooperated to complete big
projects, and he is excited
to see new construction
and new people.
“New people scare some
of the local people because
they are city people, but
the idea is that these people
live in the city that really
aren’t city people by heart
and want to live in a small
town when they retire and
get out of the city,” said
Fischer.
Grant
SWCD Weed
Weed Control
Control Dept.
Dept.
Grant SWCD
Working
for You
You in in 2020
2019
Working for
Your total
communications
people since 1914!
One Telephone Drive, Mt. Vernon
541-932-4411
155 West Main Street, John Day
S185479-1
Canyon City’s legacy is
golden and rich with his-
tory, but the city’s future is
just as precious this year.
Canyon City Mayor
Steve Fischer talked about
the repairs the city has
completed through local
efforts, the new peo-
ple coming into town and
taxes going down for resi-
dents in Canyon City. The
park is one area that has a
new addition planned.
“We are planning on
annexing our park over on
the north side of city hall,
and we tore down the shop
there and began culminat-
ing some ideas on what
people would like to see
there,” Fischer said. “So
far, we understand that
people want to have a spot
to put a band, but there are
a lot of different ideas to
consider.”
As of now, the city
is working on finding a
mason to repair a rock wall
that is on the city hall side
of Sels Brewery and mak-
ing it safe. The project has
been budgeted, and with
a mason that just moved
into Canyon City, it seems
the project has potential to
finish this summer.
The city has also
Thanks to the Grant County Court and Northeast Oregon Forests Resource
Advisory Committee, Grant Weed Control is able to offer a 50% Cost
Share Program for Noxious Weed Control on Private Grazing Lands,
through a Title II funded Grant Project. This program will provide a
maximum $5,000 of noxious weed control services with a $2,500 maximum
landowner contribution to qualifying participants. To be eligible for
participation, the treatment property must not be actively irrigated and must
be primarily managed for livestock grazing, minimum of 20 acres in size,
located within Grant County, and must contain weed species listed on the
Grant County Noxious Weed List. Applications for this limited weed control
assistance opportunity will be funded on a first come first serve basis.
Applications due by June 5th.
Contact the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District Office at
(541) 575-1554 or visit 721 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845 for
applications and additional information.
S184611-1
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