NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Action plans established
for tourism in John Day
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
A virtual two-day summit in John
Day established possible action
plans to accomplish various tour-
ism goals in the city.
The Recreation Economy for
Rural Communities program, which
is a program sponsored by the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, held
the summit Sept. 21-22.
Local stakeholders and federal
partners participated in discus-
sions and workshops focused on
the goals for tourism in John Day
and possible actions to accomplish
them.
Holly Fowler from Northbound
Ventures and Meryl Harrell from
Meryl Harrell Consulting hosted
the summit and presented to the
John Day City Council the key
points.
“EPA does this because it
advances their mission of building
healthy places, protecting human
health, and this is a way for com-
munities to achieve the type of
place where they want to live and
thrive,” said Harrell.
Harrell said the steering com-
mittee came together to identify
goals for the workshop that would
feed into the action planning.
The goals shared during their
presentation were: promoting John
Day’s Main Street and the gate-
ways near public land and commu-
nities with a focus on new brand-
ing and new promoting in the city;
accelerating and incubating busi-
nesses in John Day to expand ser-
vices that connect to outer rec-
reation; galvanizing community
support and participation in John
Day’s recreational economy; and
expanding outdoor recreation
opportunities for everyone in John
Day.
For promoting John Day’s Main
Street as a gateway and new brand-
ing for the city, the steering com-
mittee thought a cohesive brand-
ing and communication strategy
needed to be worked on, according
to Fowler.
“To do that they wanted to make
sure there was a stakeholder group
that was broad and diverse help-
ing shape that (branding) and then
there were concrete infrastructure
ideas around information kiosks
in key locations,” Fowler said.
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
John Day City Councilor Shannon Adair, left, City Manager Nick Green, center,
and Mayor Lundbom during the city council meeting Sept. 22. Holly Fowler
from Northbound Ventures and Meryl Harrell from Meryl Harrell Consulting
presented to the council online.
“And then the idea is to have dis-
tant entrance and exit markers for
town.”
For accelerating and incubating
businesses, there were four actions
the steering committee came up
with. Harrell said the first action
was creating a plan to use the Iron
Triangle shop near government
road, which was recently acquired
by the city, as an outdoor recre-
ation business incubator.
“With the idea that sometimes
when you’re starting a business,
space can be a premium, and that’s
a high startup cost,” Harrell said,
“why not provide this space as
a way to drive down those early
costs and at the same time facili-
tate a network of businesses that
can support one another?”
The space could also be used
as storage for outdoor recreational
businesses and rentals.
Other action items were to host
a community roundtable to con-
tinue to identify gaps in services,
amenities and businesses that
community members want to see;
re-evaluate the use of lodging tax
funds and organize a partnership
to provide more business training
support.
For galvanizing community
support and participation in rec-
reation economy, one action idea
was to have a community coordi-
nator position tasked with outreach
and making sure community mem-
bers will have opportunities to pro-
vide feedback for planning or deci-
sion making.
For expanding outdoor recre-
ation opportunities, Fowler said
some of the key actions are to pro-
vide a regional trail master plan
with the many developing trails
in John Day, a recreation map and
building an aquatic center.
“We understand that there is
some history here, but the leading
sentiment (from the steering com-
mittee) was we can’t raise a gen-
eration of outdoor water enthusiast
and be a river community if kids
don’t know how to swim,” Harrell
said.
Meryl said there will be three
more calls and sessions to work
together to refine and add more
details for the action plans, which
will give the city tangible next
steps to accomplish.
“The master plan would really
help shape all of those policy
changes that need to happen and
give more weight to each one,”
City Manager Nick Green said.
“We talked specifically about ATVs
(at the summit), and it’s great that
we can open up highway corridors,
and we need to do that, but we also
want to have guys that can do rent-
als and guided tours.”
Harrell said this is the inaugu-
ral year of this program with 170
applications submitted from com-
munities around the nation with 10
communities chosen.
“It was very competitive, and
only 10 communities received this
assistance, and John Day is right in
there,” Meryl said.
Green said no dollar value is
associated with the program, but
the city is receiving help from a
planning team to consider chal-
lenges and opportunities for the
recreational activities prioritized
and develop an action plan.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
John Day greenhouse
sees progress online
40% discount while restaurants and
retailers get a 20% discount.
Green said that the website
The John Day greenhouse contin- receives about 20 unique visitors
ues to grow its online roots.
per day, and almost 8% become
John Day City Manager Nick customers.
“This is the one that I would say
Green presented a report that showed
the greenhouse’s first 90 days on we’re the most proud of, customer
the e-Commerce platform, and retention,” Green said. “Year-to-date
broke down the $13,115 gross sales there are 176 people that purchased
($11,522 net sales after discounts through the platform, and two-thirds
applied) and statistics on the website are repeat customers. That’s a stable
customer base for a start-up venture.”
traffic.
Green said the greenhouse site has
Online, the greenhouse man-
aged to sell 1,504 leafy greens, also received more traffic than other
1,396 cucumbers, 708 pounds (or city sites as well.
“This has become a great tourism
pints) of tomatoes, 510 fresh herbs
and market-
and an assort-
ment of fruits,
ing platform
salad packs
for us, and we
and miscella-
have not even
neous items
attempted to
market
out-
at the John
side of Grant
Day Farm-
er’s Market,
County,”
Green said.
according to
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
The green-
the agenda for
A variety of produce at the John Day green- house
also
the meeting.
W h i l e house can be bought online through their c o m p l e t e d
their
first
leafy greens website.
internship pro-
is the item
gram with Zach-
most sold based
on volume, slicer tomatoes have ary Ostberg, a high school student
brought in the most amount of gross who started his freshmen year this
sales.
year. Ostberg worked with the green-
The three-bay hydroponic green- house crew for a month in August.
house, which was financed by a
He worked about 20 hours a
$350,000 Special Public Works Fund week and would help a greenhouse
loan from Business Oregon, now pro- employee with seed propagation,
vides 18 products such as a variety of transplanting, fertilizing, pest man-
cucumbers, tomatoes, cantaloupes agement and getting orders ready for
customers.
and lettuce.
“When I got there I enjoyed it, and
The first challenge the greenhouse
faced in 2020 was the shift in cus- it was really fun,” Ostberg said.
tomers of the greenhouse in March
Another problem the greenhouse
due to COVID-19.
had to solve was an infiltration of
“Our go-to market strategy was aphids, bugs that sap nutrient liquids
business-to-business sales, primar- from plants, which affected the let-
ily through the grocery store, so we tuce production.
wanted to sell through Chester’s
The city eradicated the crops that
(Thriftway) and then to our restau- had been infiltrated, reseeded and had
rants,” Green said. “By March our to start over with some of the crop.
restaurant customers had pretty much
“We had a crew come in and
been wiped out. They were forced to reseal every potential penetration,
close due to COVID.”
put up new bug netting and tripled
In April, the city began testing the amount of bug traps,” Green said.
direct-to-consumer sales, according
The city also used Neem Oil, an
to Green. The decision was made in organic pesticide, to help eradicate
May to sell directly through the web- the bugs.
site johndaygreenhouse.com.
“We figured it out and they were
They city still does busi- completely eradicated,” Green said.
ness-to-business sales to local “Hard lesson to learn, and we learned
restaurants and grocery stores while it the hard way, but I think we’re back
running the e-commerce. Busi- on track and the lettuce should be
ness-to-business customers receive a back online again.”
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Redeemer
Lutheran Church
Come Worship with us at
John Day Valley
Mennonite
Church
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Broadcasting
Meeting every Sunday
at Mt. Vernon Grange Hall
Tune into KSPL 98.1 FM
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For more information,
call 541 620-0340
Pastor Leland Smucker
Everyone Welcome • 541-932-2861
P rairie
B aptist C hurch
238 N. McHaley St., Prairie City
Sunday School (all ages) .......9:00 a.m.
Sunday Morning Worship .10:30 a.m.
Awana (Oct.-Apr.) ................3:00 p.m.
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St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Catholic Church
Corner of S Canyon Blvd and SW 2 nd
Mon. - Fri. Mass - 12:05 pm
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Sunday Mass - 9:00 am
Holy Days Mass: Noon & 6 pm
Confession: Saturday 4:00-4:45 pm
Anytime by appointment
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St. Anne
Monument -
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2 Corinthians 5:17
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Community Center
(Corner of Second & Allen)
Contact Paster Ed Studtmann at
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FIRST
BAPTIST
CHURCH
Sunday School ...................... 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Morning Worship .. 10:50 a.m.
Sunday Morning Worship .. 10:50 a.m.
No Mid-week Services
Pastor Jesse Gosnell
300 W. Main, John Day
541-575-1355
627 SE Hillcrest, John Day
st
1 Sunday Worship/Communion ..................10am
3 rd Sunday Worship/Communion/Potluck ...4:30pm
2 nd , 4 th & 5 th Sunday Worship .........................10am
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For information: 541-575-2348
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PRESBYTERIAN
Community Church
SUNDAY SERVICE..............9 am
SUNDAY SERVICE ...........9 am
541-932-4800
EVERYONE WELCOME
(541) 575-1326
johndayUMC@gmail.com
126 NW Canton, John Day
Food Pantry Friday 3-4PM
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541-820-3696
www.prairie-baptist-church.com
Pastor David Hoeffner
Pastor Keith DeHart
JOHN DAY
UNITED
METHODIST
CHURCH
A7
Sunday School ..................... 9:45 am
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Fox Community Church ............. 3 pm
Sunday Evening Bible Talk ......... 6 pm
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Full Gospel- Come Grow With Us
541-575-1202 Church
311 NE Dayton St, John Day
Pastor Al Altnow
Cornerstone
Christian
Fellowship
139 N.E. D AYTON S TREET , J OHN D AY
541-575-2180
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cornerstonejohnday@gmail.com
ccfjd.org
CHURCH OF THE
NAZARENE
Sunday School .......................... 9:30 am
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Children & Teen Activities
SMALL GROUPS CALL FOR MORE INFO
Weekdays: Sonshine Christian School
St. Thomas
Episocopal
Church
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Pastor Randy Johnson
521 E. Main • John Day • 541-575-1895
www.johndaynazarene.com
59357 Hwy 26 Mt. Vernon
Seventh-Day
Adventist
Church
SATURDAY SERVICES
Celebration of Worship
JOHN DAY
110 Valley View Dr.
541-575-1216
Head Elder ..........................541-575-2914
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Worship ...........................................11 am
LONG CREEK
E. Main Street
541-421-3033
Head Elder .................................421-3468
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Jr./Sr. High
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Youth: 0-6th Grade
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Wednesdays at 6:30pm
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