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Bend Chamber
Weekly
January 30, 2009
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator
This Week's
Highlights
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Central Oregon
faces double digit unemployment numbers
All three Central Oregon counties saw another increase
in their unemployment rates causing the counties to
face double digit numbers. Crook County reported the
highest numbers in December with 14.0 percent while
Deschutes County reported the lowest numbers at 11.3
percent.
In November, Deschutes County had reached a rate of 9.8
percent. The current rate is now 5.2 percent higher
than one year ago and is the highest December rate
since 1990. According to the State of Oregon
Employment Department, the county reported 180 lost
jobs; slightly larger than the typically expected
140 jobs.
“Overall, the county’s employment has shown mixed
trends this year, with employment flattening out
during the spring and declining since the summer,”
stated the Employment Department press release.
There were several sectors that reported losses in
December including natural resources, mining,
construction, and durable goods manufacturing. Local
and federal governments also saw losses.
Nationally, the unemployment rate for December was 7.1
percent. In Oregon, the rate was 8.8 percent. As of
December’s report there are 10 counties in Oregon
reporting unemployment numbers in the double digits.
There was some good news in the recent report; private
industries did see a net employment gain of 70 jobs.
This included sectors like leisure and hospitality,
transportation, warehousing, utilities, and retail.
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Geotourism project
brings the Cascades to life
In combination with National Geographic, Washington
State Tourism, and Travel Oregon, a community-based
nomination process has been created to help in the
development of a geotourism mapguide of the Central
Cascades. The map encompasses the area from Mount
Rainier National Park to Crater Lake National Park.
This pilot initiative is designed to help the economic
climates of communities located within the Central
Cascades by promoting geotourism (tourism designed
to sustain and enhance the geographical character of
a place). From now until March 29, residents and
visitors are invited to nominate various attractions
or businesses that define the region at
www.thecentralcascades.com.
“Because those who live and recreate here know it best,
participation by local residents is critical to the
project’s success,” said Todd Davidson, CEO of
Travel Oregon. “Our goal is to get nominations from
across the region that identify the things people
love best about the Cascades; those ‘gotta see,
gotta go’ places we are most enthusiastic to share
with visitors.”
A place or business cannot be nominated twice, but
comments may be added. In total, 150 attractions
will be chosen by National Geographic to be on the
final mapguide for the Central Cascades. The maps
will be distributed to visitor bureaus and chambers
of commerce.
Make sure to nominate your favorite place or business
today!
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Mt.
Bachelor looks to stimulate skiers and local
economy
On Tuesday, Mt. Bachelor announced its winter stimulus
package to attract not only local skiers and riders,
but also regional skiers and riders.
Some of the deals offered by Mt. Bachelor include free
skiing for teens and children with a paying adult on
every multi-day ticket, $29 lift tickets Sunday
through Friday for guests brought by a season pass
holder, a hooky day deal for $29, and much more.
According to a press release from Mt. Bachelor, the new
offers were created to increase visitation to Mt.
Bachelor and to help stimulate the Central Oregon
winter economy. “Season pass sales went very well
this fall, but the current economic realities
require we consider more aggressive and enticing
offers,” said Dave Rathbun, president and general
manager. “Additional guests at Mt. Bachelor will
bring increased traffic to our region’s businesses.”
For more information on the winter stimulus deals
offered by Mt. Bachelor go to
www.mtbachelor.com.
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New pay stations
installed in downtown parking lots
Visitors and residents that park in the Mirror Pond North
and Mirror Pond South downtown parking lots will
notice new pay stations. The old honor pay boxes are
gone in favor of new electronic pay stations.
These stations will go online on Monday, February 2.
The rates at these lots will remain the same; free
for the first two hours and $1.00 per hour after
that.
The new stations are “user-friendly” and will accept
cash, credit cards, and debit cards. However, the
stations will not accept coins and will not give
change. For customers who plan to park more than two
hours, their receipt should be placed face up on the
dashboard of their vehicle. Those who plan on
parking less than two hours will not to need to
display their receipt.
According to the City of Bend, new signs have been
installed throughout the parking lots with
instructions for the pay stations.
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Better Business
Bureau reports on door to door sales scam
A door to door advertising agent has darkened the doors
of many Oregon business owners promising ads in a
hospitality directory. However, business owners are
finding the salesman is just taking their cash
instead.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), this
scam has happened in cities all over Oregon
including Salem, Eugene, Bend, and most recently the
Portland metro area.
The salesman claims the hospitality directory will be
placed in the rooms of well known hotel chains. He
only accepts cash payments and sells ads at rates
that are too good to be true. The BBB stated some
owners have reported color ads from a quarter page
to a full page would cost $75 to $85.
The salesman does carry sample ads and invoices.
Victims have reported he does not provide a business
card with his contact information. The invoice used
features a legitimate business in Idaho called
Mountain Publishing, Inc. or Mountain Sky Unlimited.
If you are contacted by someone from this company
call 1-800-451-3512 or 1-800-451-1630 to verify the
salesperson is legitimate.
The BBB recommends businesses be skeptical of
door-to-door solicitors especially when they only
accept cash as payment. Business owners should also
be leery of a sales representative that wants an
immediate decision.
For a free BBB Reliability Report on a company you
intend to use, go to
www.bbb.org.
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New location for
Bend Chamber Entrepreneurial Council meetings
Thanks to First Baptist Church, the Peer Feedback
sessions on the second Friday and Education sessions
on the fourth Friday of the month will now be held
in their Fellowship Room. They are located at 60 NW
Oregon Ave., across from the Post Office, and there
is plenty of parking on the street or in the parking
garage.
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Bend
Chamber Community Calendar Update
Starting in 2009, the Bend Chamber’s Calendar of Events
page will be mostly used for events like festivals,
parades, and different trade shows. This is due to
the variety of events hosted in Central Oregon and
the amount of traffic the site receives for
out-of-town visitors, etc.
The Chamber understands members need to get out
information about their events. We have several
avenues to do this, but please keep in mind we do
have deadlines to have information posted. Events
can be posted in the Members on the Move Event
section of the Business Journal or on the electronic
email, Member Focus, which comes out on the 15th of
the month.
All submissions for Members on the Move are due by the
10th of the month. All submissions for Member Focus
are due by the 5th of the month.
Other avenues or resources are also available through
the calendars at The Bulletin, The Source Weekly,
KTVZ, or KOHD.
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In the news
Baxter appointed as Police Chief: Since April
2008, Sandi Baxter has been filling in as interim
police chief, but this week City Manager Eric King
announced Baxter had been officially named the City
of Bend Police Chief. “Sandi has shown outstanding
leadership in the role of Interim Police Chief,”
said King said in a press release. “She brings
experience and stability to not only the Police
Department, but the City’s management staff as
well.” Baxter will be officially sworn in on
February 5 at 8:30 a.m. at the new Municipal Court
Building adjacent to the Police Station. Baxter
originally joined the department as a patrol officer
in 1979. She was promoted numerous times before
retiring as a captain in 2007. Baxter was asked to
serve as interim police chief after Andy Jordan
retired last year.
Legislators, Executive
branch could possibly contribute to health premiums:
On Tuesday, the Oregon House Republicans proposed
legislation that would require all legislators,
statewide officeholders, and agency directors to
contribute to their health insurance premiums.
According to their release, the House Republicans
state the “Oregon taxpayers currently subsidize 100
percent of health insurance premiums.” If passed,
the legislation would require officials to
contribute 9 percent of their health, vision,
dental, and life insurance premiums.
Registration open for
Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health
Conference: Registration is now open for the
2009 Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and
Health (GOSH) Conference. The event will be held
from March 9 through March 12 at the Oregon
Convention Center in Portland. This conference will
feature 30 full-day workshops and 115 single topic
classes. For more information about possible
speakers, classes, or registration go to
www.oregongosh.com.
Owlets scheduled to
leave High Desert Museum: The two owlets born to
Polka and Dot, America’s only northern spotted owls
to have bred in captivity, will leave their home at
the High Desert Museum on February 2. The owlets
will be transferred to the Mountain View
Conservation and Breeding Centre in British
Columbia. There the owlets will be paired with other
owls and released to the wild with their young.
Visitors still have one last chance this weekend to
visit the owlets in their re-created forest habitat
at the High Desert Museum.
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Upcoming Events
February 10 –
Professional Development Series - High Impact
Presentations - Are first impressions really
that important? How do we take advantage of the
image we’ve so carefully crafted? How do we move
beyond the first impression, to create a lasting
impression of substance? In this engaging and
interactive seminar with award winning speaker and
Columbia River Bank Branch Manager Robert Killen,
you will learn the keys to outstanding communication
as well as traps to avoid. In times of uncertainty,
your ability to connect and establish trusting
relationships will be your greatest asset. The cost
is $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. RSVP for
this event by noon on Monday, February 9 at
www.bendchamber.org. If you have trouble signing
up online, call 382-3221. And ask how you can attend this
for FREE by buying a full year FLEX PASS.
February 23 – The Real
Estate “Survival” Forecast Breakfast - The Real
Estate Forecast Breakfast is one of the Chamber’s
most popular events. This year, several real estate
experts will look at the current market and give
attendees tools on how to stay alive in the current
market and beyond. Topics of discussion will include
the following: Statistical Update on our Residential
Market – Wendy Adkisson, The Garner Group Realtors &
Development;
Statistical Update on our Commercial Market – Bruce
Kemp, Compass Commercial Real Estate Services; Real Estate Near-term:
Balancing Optimism and Pragmatism – Bill Valentine,
Valentine Ventures, LLC; and Stay alert, stay alive
in real estate today – Steve Scott, Steve Scott
Realtors.
Please RSVP for this event by Thursday, February 19 at
www.bendchamber.org. The member and non-member
price is $45 per person (and is
first-come-first-seated), and $595 for a reserved table of
10. If you have trouble signing up online, call 382-3221.
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