NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
A3
Contributed photo
Kim Randleas, the director at Painted Sky Center for the Arts,
said the center has 10 students attending the arts after school
program and 10 additional kids who attend the Friday art club.
Painted Sky Center for
the Arts illustrates growth
John Day receives funding to
improving signage and waypoints
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Navigating around John Day
will soon get easier.
The city of John Day received
an award that will improve sig-
nage and waypoints in the city.
Outdoor Recreation Roundta-
ble announced in December that
they selected four communi-
ties to receive funding for their
economic revitalization plans.
John Day was selected and will
receive funding to help imple-
ment the city’s plans.
John Day City Manager
Nick Green said they were
awarded $4,000 in cash with no
match required.
Lindsey Davis, ORR’s act-
ing executive director, said
John Day was selected for sev-
eral reasons. She said there is a
state-level support for this work.
The project also supports many
forms of outdoor recreation such
as backpacking, hiking, biking,
campground and hospitality,
fishing and wildlife viewing.
Davis said the project also
promotes recreation opportuni-
“THE GOAL IS TO GET PEOPLE
OUT AND MOVING AROUND,
SHOPPING DOWNTOWN, EXPLORING
OUR PARKS AND TRAILS AND
GETTING TO KNOW THE COMMUNITY
BETTER, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE
DRIVING THROUGH WHO WEREN’T
PLANNING TO STOP.”
—Nick Green, John Day city manager
ties at the city’s five parks and
river and helps tourism and rec-
reation, which were two of the
hardest hit industries during the
pandemic.
The ORR release said the
implementation of the funding
is in addition to technical assis-
tance provided by the Recre-
ation Economy for Rural Com-
munities assistance program.
John Day participated in the
RERC summit meeting in Sep-
tember, which established pos-
sible action plans the city can
pursue to accomplish various
tourism goals in the city.
Green said one of the action
items from the RERC strategy
was to improve signage and
waypoints in John Day.
“For example, waypoints
connecting Main Street to the
city’s parks will improve the vis-
itor experience and make it eas-
ier to get around town and know
where you’re going,” Green
said. “You can drive through
John Day and never know
there’s a river here or anything
about the Seventh Street Park or
the new Hill Family Park we’re
building along the riverfront.
This funding will help us iden-
tify specific landmarks and des-
tinations to promote.”
The city will also receive
technical assistance from ORR
in the form of staff time. ORR’s
integrated planning and design
team will assist the city with the
project, and the kickoff call with
ORR will be on Jan. 11. Davis
said the money is already out the
door for John Day.
“After the destination anal-
ysis, we’ll develop new sign
concepts, waypoints and other
destination markers, which
we will try to build locally and
then install at strategic points
throughout the city like our new
downtown parking lots,” Green
said. “This is a quick win, some-
thing we can do to enhance the
community without spending a
lot of time and money.
“The goal is to get people out
and moving around, shopping
downtown, exploring our parks
and trails and getting to know
the community better, especially
for people driving through who
weren’t planning to stop.”
Greenbacks program sees exponential growth this holiday season
$17,000 in local gift
certificates sold
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle file photo
Grant County Greenbacks, available in $5, $15 and $25, are for sale
at the Grant County Chamber of Commerce. Greenbacks can be
used on purchases at participating chamber member businesses.
Mountain Hospital bought
almost $10,000 worth of
Greenbacks this holiday sea-
son. She ordered more Green-
backs to meet the demand after
running out of the vouchers.
“We have a couple peo-
ple that usually do Green-
Serving Eastern Oregon since 1959!
Pharmacy • Hallmark Cards • Gifts • Liquor Store
Heppner
Condon
Boardman
(541) 676-9158
(541) 256-1200
(541) 481-9474
www.MurraysDrug.com
Support continues to grow
for Painted Sky Center for the
Arts as classes fill up and plans
for expansion develop.
Kim Randleas, the director
of the Grant County arts cen-
ter, said it opened in Septem-
ber 2019 when they rented a
building in Canyon City. They
had a slow running start, she
said, but by March all of their
classes were full. She said their
income was able to cover the
staff and building within a few
months, thanks to the support.
“Overall, we’ve had huge
support from the commu-
nity, and if the community is
divided about anything, they
at least come together around
the art center,” Randleas said.
“I’m telling you, people want
to support us.”
Randleas said one way the
community supports the cen-
ter is by purchasing member-
ships. She said some people
still purchase a membership
even if they’ve never taken a
class because they want to be
supportive.
Alicia Griffin, who is
directing the center’s produc-
tion of “A Fairy Tale Christ-
mas Carol” in January, said
they offer the community a
chance to sponsor or provide
scholarships to students to
help pay for the classes or after
school programs.
“We have people from all
around the state that might have
lived here before, and they see
we’re opening,” Randleas
said. “They send money for
a membership or scholarship
funds. It feels really good to be
so supported.”
The support helped the
center expand on the various
workshops and opportunities
they provide. They now have
eight departments: music, per-
forming arts, youth, visual
arts, literary arts, ceramics,
leather and movement.
In March, the center closed
down as the pandemic-in-
duced lockdowns started in
Oregon, but donations contin-
ued and the center was able to
hire its first employee.
“We are still very solid,
and it helped us be frugal
with things, and we figured
out our operations while we
were closed,” Randleas said.
“We were able to hire our first
employee, Mariah Harper,
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
S218724-1
Bremner said restaurants
and Chester’s usually get the
Greenbacks, but more types of
businesses are now redeeming
vouchers.
“I think they are kind of
being spread around, and that
was the whole idea when it
was set up,” Bremner said. “A
lot of people thought that it had
run its course, and I think they
thought we weren’t accepting
them anymore.”
Bremner said the program
is still ongoing and that Blue
S223735-1
Grant County is keeping its
money local.
The amount of Greenbacks
— Grant County Chamber of
Commerce’s local gift certifi-
cates — sold this holiday sea-
son skyrocketed with $17,000
in sales, more than six times
higher than last year.
Last holiday season, the
chamber sold $2,500 in Green-
backs, which are redeemable at
participating local businesses.
Chamber Manager Tammy
Bremner said this was a good
way to end 2020.
“Businesses are loving it
when they bring in their stack
and I write them a check,”
Bremner said. “They are very
happy with how it all worked
out.”
Bremner said, in the last
two weeks, $4,350 in Green-
backs have been redeemed
from businesses including Bar
WB Western Wear, Java Jun-
gle, 1188 Brewing Company,
Outpost Pizza, Pub and Grill,
Chester’s Thriftway, JD Rents
and Power Equipment and
Roan Coffee Company.
backs for employee bonuses,”
Bremner said. “This year, we
had at least six businesses that
bought them specifically for
that reason.”
Bremner said she would
like the community to know
that businesses appreciated
their support, and in turn, they
supported each other by buy-
ing the Greenbacks.
Grant County Greenbacks
are available in increments of
$5, $15 and $25 and can be
bought at the Grant County
Chamber of Commerce office,
Bremner said.
Greenbacks
are
not
redeemable for cash, and
some businesses do not pro-
vide more than $5 in change
when they are redeemed.
Chamber of Commerce
President Sherrie Rininger
said the level of support
from the community was
exceptional.
“It’s a fantastic program,
and it keeps the money here in
Grant County,” Rininger said.
“What a way to support the
community this year.”
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
which was a huge step for us,
and now we have office hours
and people can come in and
register for classes.”
When the center reopened,
their classes filled up again,
and their leather department
opened for the first time.
Along with various work-
shops for people of various
ages, the center also has 10
students who attend the arts
after school program and 10
additional kids who attend the
Friday art club, according to
Randleas. She said the after
school program is for kinder-
gartners through sixth-grad-
ers, but the center is look-
ing to expand in 2021 to offer
toddler classes and a similar
after school programs for high
school kids.
In 2019, Oregon Trail
Electric Cooperative applied
for a planning and techni-
cal assistance grant for John
Day through the Touchstone
Energy Cooperative, accord-
ing to the Dec. 8 city council
agenda. The award provided
technical assistance to the city
for a project of their choos-
ing, and they elected to assist
the Painted Sky Center for the
Arts to develop a strategy for a
new John Day location.
Randleas worked with
Zachary Manneheimer, a prin-
cipal community placemaker
for Alchemy Community
Transformations, thanks to the
Touchstone Energy Grant and
began planning for the future
of the center.
“Hopefully, with Zach’s
help, it will take us to the next
level, which is purchasing our
own building,” Randleas said.
“That’s the direction we’re
going.”
Griffin said, as they met
with Manneheimer and shared
their needs, they realized the
massive amount of space they
would need to cover every
department.
“The reality of having
one location for everything is
maybe pushing it, but we don’t
know” Griffin said. “It seems
like it might be better suited to
have multiple locations.”
Randleas said one goal for
the center is to bring the cre-
ative community together,
whether it be through teach-
ing, group gathering or help-
ing the economy grow.
Harper said they aim to cre-
ate a feeling of home in Grant
County at the center.
“I want kids of the future
to be able to go, ‘That’s my
home,’ whether or not they’re
interested in hunting or fish-
ing,” Harper said. “...This is
a very comfortable, homey
environment.”
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
S223714-1
Eagle file photo
John Day Public Works employees erected a new flagpole near the city greenhouse Sept. 25.
Community
support leads to
more departments,
future plans
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710