A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016
HeraldBusiness
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BIZ BRIEFS
Brown names Smith to biz advisory panel
Republican Rep. Greg Smith of Heppner was named
to Gov. Kate Brown’s Small Business Advisory Cabi-
net.
Brown, a Democrat, created the cabinet earlier this
month and last weeN her of¿ ce announced its member-
ship. Smith is one of nine in the cabinet.
Brown charged the group with developing recom-
mendations to her on how state government can sup-
port small business owners and new entrepreneurs and
advance statewide economic growth. The cabinet will
deliver recommendations on three priorities by Oct 1:
How state government can support and promote small
business owners and prospective entrepreneurs; how
state government can increase access to capital; and
how the state can streamline regulations.
Chamber awards nominations due
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Construction is underway of a new Love’s Travel Stops off Interstate 84 and Tower Road, west of Boardman.
Love’s Travel Stop to
open west of Boardman
Truck stop
expected to open
by late spring
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Staff Writer
Construction is under-
way for Love’s Travel
Stops & Country Stores
truck stop along Interstate
84 and Tower Road, about
five miles west of Board-
man.
Kealey Dorian, spokes-
woman for the Oklaho-
ma-based company, said
the travel center should
open by late spring and
will include a conve-
nience store, tire repair
shop, 24 fuel pumps and
Carl’s Jr. restaurant.
“It’s a very excit-
ing time,” Dorian said.
“We’re a growing com-
pany. We expect to open
40 new stores across the
country this year.”
Love’s has more than
360 locations in 40 states,
including three in Oregon.
Two travel centers are lo-
cated on I-84 in Ontario
and Troutdale, and one on
Interstate 5 in Roseburg.
Dorian said the Boardman
location fills another hole
in their network.
“We stuck with this
site because we believed
it would be a really good
spot for us,” she said.
Permitting the proj-
ect has taken six years of
clearing legal challenges
and appeals from Devin
Oil Co., a local business
that owns two fuel sta-
tions in Boardman. Mor-
row County has twice ap-
proved conditional land
use permits for Love’s —
once in 2010, and again in
2015. Both times, Devin
Oil raised objections to
the Oregon Land Use
Board of Appeals and the
Survey seeks employer responses
Employers are asked to
take a survey about challeng-
es they face when recruiting
and ¿ lling open positions in
Umatilla County.
The Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners and
Blue Mountain Community
College have joined forc-
es to better understand the
workforce needs throughout
Umatilla County. Together,
they would like to understand
the challenges and the impact
the availability of a quali¿ ed
workforce has on decisions to
expand.
The survey takes just
15-minutes to complete and
can be found at www.sur-
veymonkey.comrUmatilla-
countyworkforceneeds.
“The more we understand
the issues existing employ-
ers face, the better we will
be able to work on solutions
and resources to support them
as well as those interested
in establishing a business
in Umatilla County,” said
Susan Bower of Eastern Or-
egon Business Source, who
has been hired to conduct the
study.
Individual responses will
be shared only with the in-
dependent consultant hired
to conduct the study. The
compilation of results will be
published and will include a
list of participant organiza-
tions. An organization’s con-
tact information and survey
responses will not be shared
in a way that is identi¿ able.
The county and BMCC
are committed to serving the
region’s employers, and be-
lieve this survey is an import-
ant step toward the increased
availability of a quali¿ ed
workforce for the region.
For more information,
contact bower at susanbow-
er@eobusinesssource.com.
Mike Stratton
Business
Health
Farm
Life
Mike Stratton, CIC/CFP
541/276-2302 • 800/225-2521
The Stratton Agency
Pendleton / Hermiston • stratton-insurance.com
One Responsible Source Agent
state Court of Appeals.
In one appeal, Devin
Oil argued it would be
adversely affected by
Love’s due to “aggressive
marketing and pricing
practices.” The compa-
ny also argued whether
a travel center should be
allowed at the I-84 and
Tower Road interchange
based on the county’s
own zoning rules.
Each time, the courts
ruled in favor of the coun-
ty. LUBA issued its most
recent decision in April,
which was affirmed by
the Court of Appeals in
December. The Oregon
Supreme Court declined
to hear the case in 2012.
Morrow County Plan-
ning Director Carla Mc-
Lane said the deadline
for further appeals passed
earlier this month, and
she is happy to see the
process finished.
“It’s nice to be done,”
McLane said. “Its been a
real large time-consumer.”
Dorian said it general-
ly costs about $10 million
to build a new travel cen-
ter. They will hire about
50 employees in Board-
man, and start accepting
applications next month.
“Most of those will be
from the area,” Dorian
said.
As part of its grand
opening, Dorian said
Love’s will donate $2,000
to a local school or non-
profit organization. The
business sets aside $450
every year to invest in the
community.
“We really try to do a
good job of coming in and
being good stewards to
the community,” Dorian
said.
For more informa-
tion about Love’s dona-
tions, contact Dorian at
405-302-6730 or kealey.
dorian@loves.com.
Nominations for business and citizen of the year for
the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center’s
Distinguished Citizen Award banquet will be accepted
through Monday, Feb. 29.
This year’s banquet, which features a Mardi Gras
theme, is Saturday, March 5 at 6 p.m. at the Tuscan
Lodge, 720 Seventh St., Umatilla. Tickets are $30,
which includes dinner catered by Sundown Bar & Grill
featuring apple smoked beef brisket, two sides, two sal-
ads, bread, and huckleberry crème brulée.
The event also features a silent auction for the cham-
ber’s scholarship program. In addition, the chamber is
rafÀ ing off a Ruger 1022 riÀ e, a Lamiglass salmon
steelhead rod and reel and an Okuma Celilo Kokanee
rod and Okuma Citrix reel. Limited tickets will be sold
for $5 each.
Tickets for the rafÀ e are available from any cham-
ber board member or at the chamber of¿ ce. Nomina-
tion forms are available at the chamber of¿ ce, Carlson’s
Umatilla Drug Store, the Umatilla branch of Banner
Bank and Java Junkies.
For more information, call 541-922-4825.
3rinted on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 110 ɿ NUMBER 8
Gary L. West | Editor
gwest@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4532
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Sam Barbee | Sports Reporter
sbarbee@hermistonherald.com
Jade McDowell | Reporter
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com
Jennifer Colton | Reporter
jcolton@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4542
541-564-4536
541-564-4534
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant jjewett@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4531
Shannon Paxton | 2f¿ ce coordinator spa[ton@hermistonherald.com 541-564-453
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant aworNman@eastoregonian.com 541-564-453
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