id-valley retailers are prepping for theholiday season and the shopping thatcomes with it but they are doing so withlittle celebration or fanfare.

It’s been a rough year thus far formany small retail businesses. Ownersare looking forward to the holiday shop-

ping season and then the new year to bring change.In Lebanon, Jack Knudsen, owner of Diverse Things,

said retail is the worst it’s been in five years.“People who come in don’t have money to buy any-

thing,” Knudsen said. “If it doesn’t shape up for the holi-days, we’ll have to do something.”

Knudsen keeps informed in Lebanon by being in-volved. He is active with the city, chamber and mer-chants’ association. His store participates in localevents, including chili cook-offs and street fairs, but hehas no plans for extra events and as for sales, his pricesalready are “bare bones.”

“We can’t force people to buy,” he said.“And we get dis-appointed when we don’t see improvements. But if every-one can hold out until next year, I anticipate great things.”

Plans for new businesses in the area and the opening ofthe medical college in Lebanon suggest a bright horizon, butit was a recent conversation with a real-estate agent that re-ally enforced Knudsen’s positive attitude about the future.

“He said homes for sale priced under $250,000 havesold out,” Knudsen said. “Just hold on.”

Marla Bontreger at Marla’s Decor & More in Lebanon isholding tight. Bontreger has been in business for 30 years,and she said 2011 has been the worst year ever for her shop.

However, Bontreger has hope for the holidays. Sep-tember sales did pick up a little bit, she said. Her “won-derful long-time customers” have kept her in business,and she hopes they will shop local for gifts this season.

“People just don’t have as much extra money to buyluxury gifts,” Bontreger said. “They are looking more fornecessity gifts.”

But with Lebanon poised to grow, Bontreger is count-ing on the future population to shop local.

Watching expensesJust as shoppers are watching expenses, so are busi-

ness owners. Sales will be scarce as prices already aremarked low and holiday events will piggyback on thoseplanned by larger causes.

Downtown Albany businesses count on the city’sdowntown association for events and celebrations tohelp bring in shoppers. Owners said they don’t have themoney for marketing and advertising for special eventsof their own without the promise of profit.

At Emma Downtown in Albany, owner Peggy Udolfwishes for a crystal ball to predict the future.

“We don’t know what to expect,” Udolf said of theholidays. “We have to be very mindful of what we do.”

Udolf said things haven’t been bad at her retail boutiquebut she’s noticed a different attitude among shoppers.

“People are being more careful, more thoughtfulabout what they buy,” she said.

Orders for this year’s holiday shopping season wereplaced in January and are making their way to shelves.It’s up to Udolf, her daughter, Amanda; and staff to pres-ent and market the merchandise to sell.

Emma’s biggest event is the holiday open house,

which coincides with the Albany Downtown Associa-tion’s holiday event kickoff Nov. 3-5.

“There are always events going on at Emma’s,” Udolfsaid. “We are already planning for next year and are in aconstant state of making things happen.”

Mitch Smith at Two Rivers Fly Shop also wishes thathe had a good crystal ball; he has little idea what to ex-pect this holiday season. His business is at the mercy ofweather and river levels as well as customers.

“When fishing is good, business is good,” Smith said.Smith said this year has been down a bit from last

year, but he’s had worse.“Overall it’s been reasonably steady,” he said of the year.He expects to see the spouses of customers coming in

with Christmas wish lists and making purchases.“Things are not as grim as they have been,” he said.

“We just have to be careful.”

T H E M O N T H LY B U S I N E S S S E C T I O N F O R L I N N A N D B E N T O N C O U N T I E S A N D T H E M I D -W I L L A M E T T E VA L L E Y

w w w.democratherald.com/business • w w w.gazettetimes.com/business September 2011

Retailers keep purse strings tightBy MARIA L. KIRKPATRICK

M

SEE RETAIL BUSINESS | A6

Owner Jack Knudsen shows one of the decorative swords he sells at Diverse Things on Main Street in Lebanon. DAVID PATTON | ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD

Lisa Lake, owner of Lisa’s Tea Room & Gift Shop in Philomath, says low overhead and family traditions have helped keep her business a success.

ANDY CRIPE | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

As owners watch expenses, groupmarketing efforts get the word out

201227986 X 2.00

HOUSE ACCT PAID |

Dozens of artists, hun-dreds of art aficionados andthousands of handmade po-tential presents created amerry mix in recent days atnew quarters for Albanyart-sales venue BlackberryJunction.

Thanks to a facelift on aformer Borden rail-terminalbuilding on Water Avenue,since Sept. 15, mid-valleyartists have been able to dosome solid selling of theirworks. Long lines formedand remained steady atthree cash registers onopening day. As works sold,display space was refilled,said primitive-and-rusticdecorative artist Missy Leeof Sweet Home, who esti-mated that the nine-dayevent would draw 400 visi-tors just by quitting time onopening day.

“After sales, vendors tryto bring in new stuff,” Leesaid. “It has been very suc-cessful.”

The regular art-salesvenue, which next will berepeated in November, for-merly operated out of the

Fairmount Grange buildingin North Albany.

“We outgrew thegrange,” said Marlene Nehl,business owner.

Cavernous display spacewas filled partly with art-works strung from the highceiling, including a life-sizemock-up of a man paddlinga canoe. An esoteric NissanLadyfinger convertible,bright red and completewith mock driver, sat amongdisplays of crafted dolls,sunflowers, gingerbreadmen, jewelry, cloth aprons,quilts, candles, patterned-cloth pears, and mottosigns. In fact, there wasmore — painted baskets, or-namental mirrors, restoredstools and chairs, clocks, oldtelephones, pottery.

Veteran quilter CarolCurtis of Salem said she fol-lows her inspiration andsome money tends to followher effort.

“My best sellers are thethings I like the most —some people might followtrends, but I follow what Ilike,” Curtis said.

The rich round of fall artshows in the mid-valleyshows that the holiday seasonis just as important to artisansas it is to other retailers.

Salem quilter Carol Cur-tis believes that as far assupplying holiday gifts, anartist might have an advan-tage over other retailers. Shesaid she’s already sold out ofHalloween-themed quiltedgoods with Halloween morethan a month away.

“People want to give hand-made,” Curtis said. “They sayto me, ‘I can’t make, but Iwant to give handmade.’”

But it’s not easy. Mid-val-ley artists who manage toearn from their arts knowthey’re in business in a tight-money era. They know thegift-giving season is ap-proaching.

But, artisanship is a fun-ny kind of business to be in.Where do you sell? Fromyour home, from a streetcorner, from a studio, orover the web, or what?

Mid-valley artists haveadopted a range of solu-tions. Many of these are,well, creative — and notnecessarily copied in the re-tail world at large.

Lebanon silk-screenerMaryann Ewing said she fa-vors what is known as “thetrunk show.” A “trunk show”is a special sale at which ven-dors present merchandisedirectly to select customersat some unique venue.

“There have been trunkshows, for example, in aperson’s home, where youhave them invite friends,and serve a tea,” Ewing said.“This can generate othertrunk shows.”

Corvallis painter CherrillBoissonou favors what is known

as a “juried” show, at which anexpert has pre-screened con-tributing artists’ works down toa single work each.

Boissonou and SweetHome potter Rich Little havedecided that a solo-galleryapproach won’t work forthem, and possibly not forartists in general, in tighttimes. Correspondingly, atheme of collaboration, co-operation, and communitysprings up readily when talk-ing with mid-valley artists.

“(Art) promotes a senseof belonging and communi-ty,” Little said. “With a cou-ple of friends of mine, apainter and a wood-burner,we’re looking at purchasinga building together — we’relooking to have a go at it as acooperative.”

Corvallis’ long-estab-lished “Art in the Valley” co-operative on Second Streetis working fairly well for lo-cal artists, Boissonou said.

“We make enough to keepthe doors open,” she said.

The solo gallery is notdead, but in the case ofsolo-studio Corvallis pho-tographer Don Ferguson, it’snot as solo as one mightthink. Ferguson said team-ing up with his customers isrewarding artistically andfinancially. In Ferguson’s“photo-restoration” artform, a customer typicallybrings in an ancient photoor negative, sometimes ofhistorical value, that Fergu-son characterizes as “lost”to decades of ultravioletrays, pollutants and inci-dental damage. The cus-tomer enlists Ferguson tohelp him or her reclaim theimage using ultra-modernelectronic techniques.

“I bring the lost imagesback,” Ferguson said. “I lovethe collaborative process.”

MARK YLEN | ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD

Marlene Nehl will open Blackberry Junction for a holiday showevery day between Nov. 11-19 at 635 Water St. in Albany.

Artisans learnto earn fromtheir creations

A Bigger Blackberry

Artisans fill expandeddisplay home atBlackberry Junction

Corvallis optimismCorvallis area retailers are looking for-

ward to the holiday season.Many busi-nesses count on Winter’s Eve Corvallis,sponsored by the Assistance League,tokick off the holidays in Corvallis.Shopsstay open late and offer exclusive dis-counts to Winter’s Eve participants.

Participating in local events is key tosuccess at Burst’s Chocolates. OwnerPatrick Magee said Winter’s Eve is anexample of how small business ownersare working every day to be successfuland keep in touch with customers.

“It’s all about staying connectedand active,” Magee said.

He looks forward to fundraisers,celebrations and selling tickets to thelocal production of “The Nutcracker.”

Debra Hixson, co-owner of Mod-ern Avenue Boutique in downtownCorvallis, said she feels positive aboutthe economy.

“In Corvallis,” Hixson said, “we areholding our own. I think the holidayswill be wonderful.”

Not everyone has to count on theholidays to make sales. In spite of theeconomy, Sean Olufson of Olufson

Designs said jewelry continues to bepopular among gift givers.

Olufson said his store just experi-enced its best August with sales upnearly 50 percent from his next bestmonth last year.

The jewelry industry has reportedimproving sales.

Olufson said he has been lucky andhis strategizing has paid off. For nearly12 years, his business has grown 10percent annually.

Part of his strategy for growth in-cludes community involvement.Olufsonparticipates in special events,includingWinter’s Eve,in addition to after-hourprivate shows for frequent customers.Hedoesn’t plan to do anything extra thisyear simply because he doesn’t need to.

Cozy is the tea business in Philo-math. Lisa’s Tea Room has partiesbooked for the holidays beginningwith autumn teas clear throughChristmas.

The shelves are stocked with teasand related gift items, which ownerLisa Lake said are popular for gift bas-kets. Also popular are gift certificates,which she fills as gifts to local from

out-of-town givers.“We’ve held up pretty well,” Lake

said of recent business.While she has watched her compe-

tition falter in the area, Lake said hershop continues because employees arefamily and the overhead is low.

Tea is a tradition that mothers tendto pass down from generation to gen-eration and while the tea room takes ahit when area employment is cut, ithas managed to hold its own. Lakedoesn’t anticipate to see an improve-ment anytime soon but greatly appre-ciates her clientele.

Overall, businesses feel if they canjust see the year through, promiselines the horizon. Customer loyalty,inventory control and a reduction inexpenses will help them make it.

Buying on a budget is not only sageadvice for customers, said Hixson ofthe Modern Avenue Boutique: Keep-ing an eye on stock and carefully mon-itoring inventory has helped her keepan eye on her money.

And a big dose of optimism helps aswell: “I think 2012 will be wonderful,”she said.

News & NotesDance Corvallis has opened a

second location, this one at 1898S.W. Third St.

Dance Corvallis is starting itssixth year of providing dance edu-cation to Corvallis and surround-ing communities. Dance Corvallisoffers beginning to advancedclasses for dancers as young as 2years old through teen and adultage groups. Dance programs areperformance-based, rather thancompetition-based.

Local dancers and their fami-lies can try classes for free thisweek, today though Friday. Regis-tration is required, and is avail-able at 541-556-2470 ordancecorvallis.com.

Partnering with the CorvallisSchool District, Dance Corvallis isoffering a new Dance AfterSchool program. Children ages 5to 11 can dance and stretch totheir favorite music, make newfriends, and play games on Tues-days and Thursdays, and on ear-ly-release Fridays. Pick-up fromLincoln and Mountain View ele-mentary schools is available.

Dance Corvallis’ primary NorthStudio is north of Corvallis in theLewisburg Center, at 5240A N.W.Highway 99.

Officers & DirectorsDa Vinci Days welcomed two

new board members this fall.Joining the board are Bill York,

former city councilor, andDanielle Gabriel of Oregon StateUniversity. Da Vinci Days also hasannounced its 2011-12 officers.Michael Dalton is this year’s pres-ident, with Michael Laport as vicepresident, Bonnie Humphrey-An-derson as treasurer and LaurieRussell as secretary.

Da Vinci Days is an arts and sci-ence festival that showcases in-novative artists, engineers,teachers, community organiza-tions and individuals. The 24thannual da Vinci Days will takeplace July 20-22.

Old Mill Center for Childrenand Families has announced itsnew board of directors.

Chairperson is Janet Gambat-ese of GoodSamaritan Re-gional MedicalCenter. Other of-ficers are secre-tary Karen Mis-feldt, attorney,Heilig, Misfeldt,and Armstrong,LLP; treasurerDale Ramsay,retired, RamsayConstruction; and chair-electAlissa Craft, also of the hospital.

Old Mill also has added threenew members to its governingboard: Tammy Thompson, oper-ations manager of her family-owned business, Campbell’sCleaners; Meredith Baughman,agent for Town & Country Realty;and Dale Ramsay, retired fromRamsay Gerding Construction.

Old Mill Center for Children andFamilies helps children and fami-lies thrive through a variety ofservices for children/youth, agesbirth to 18.

People on the MoveThe Corvallis Clinic has pro-

moted Information TechnologyDirector Rod Aust to Chief Oper-ations Officer ofthe mid-Valley’slargest inde-pendent med-ical group.

With a man-agement back-ground in healthcare, informationtechnology andoperations,Austbrings a strategicvision and resources for improvingpatient care in his new role.

Aust joined The Corvallis Clinicas director of Information Tech-nology in 2008. Previously, hewas chief information officer atWillamette Education Service Dis-trict and at the Corvallis SchoolDistrict. Before his work in educa-tion, Aust led a development teamfrom the Nike golf division.

Aust received a bachelor’s de-gree in education from GeorgeFox University, graduating MagnaCum Laude. He served in the U.S.Air Force for six years, and was adistinguished graduate of theNCO Leadership Academy.

Rod Porsche has joined the Al-bany Visitors Association asgroup marketing and media rela-tions manager.

Porsche will work with tour oper-ators to bringtour groups tothe region. Hewill also work tobring in confer-ences, tradeshows, reunionsand other events.Porsche will workwith travel writ-ers and travelpublications toplace stories regarding Albany, at-tractions and events in the area.

Porsche has lived in Albany fornearly 10 years, and has been ac-tive in events involving Albany’shistoric community. He and hiswife have restored two historic Al-bany homes that have been fea-tured in the annual Historic Interi-or Home Tours.

Prior to restoring historichomes, Porsche worked in salesand media, and was press secre-tary for a U.S. congressman.Most recently, he was a waiter fora locally-owned downtown Al-bany restaurant.

Porsche graduated from Ore-gon State University in 1992 witha Bachelor of Science degree inbroadcast media communication.

The Corvallis Youth Sympho-ny Association has announcedthe hiring of Naomi Hartmanand Ashley Nation as elemen-tary strings instructors for the2011-12 school year.

They join the elementarystrings staff, which includes AnneRidlington, instructor, and JulieDavis, assistant. The associationholds beginning violin, viola andcello classes in District 509J ele-mentary schools. The associationis a nonprofit organization that in-cludes the Corvallis Youth Sym-phony, the Willamette Valley Ju-nior Honors Symphony, and Ele-mentary Strings.

Training & DevelopmentRegistered and licensed dieti-

tian Sandy R. Wyers recentlypassed the exam to become aboard CertifiedNutrition Sup-port Clinicianthrough theAmerican Soci-ety for Parenter-al and EnteralNutrition.

Wyers joinedthe medical nu-trition therapyteam at GoodSamaritan Regional Medical Cen-ter last year as an inpatient clinicaldietitian, after moving to Corvallisfrom Santa Fe, N.M., where sheworked as a clinical dietitian at a268-bed Level III trauma center.

As an inpatient clinical dietitian,Wyers provides medical nutritiontherapy to hospitalized patients.

Wyers is an honorary facultymember of the Oregon State Uni-versity College of Public Healthand Human Sciences School ofBiological and Population Health,serving as a preceptor for dietet-ic interns. She is also a preceptorfor Good Sam’s medical residentnutrition rotations.

201180376 X 5.00

PEAK INTERNET | I

September 2011MID-VALLEY InBusinessA6

MOVERS&SHAKERS

Retail businessContinued from page A5

By ROGER PHELPS

By ROGER PHELPS

GambateseChairwoman

AustChief officer

PorscheManager

WyersCertified

oward Behar was thefounding president of Star-bucks and helped the com-

pany grow from 28 stores tosome 15,000 worldwide — andalso helped to shape the Star-bucks culture. He is scheduled tospeak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct.5, in the Austin Auditorium atLaSells Stewart Center on theOregon State University campus.

His free presentation is part ofthe OSU College of Business’Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Se-ries and is open to the public.

Before he left on a trip over-seas, Mid-Valley InBusinesscaught up with Behar for thismonth’s edition of Five Questions.

Mid-Valley InBusiness:You’ve been working with stu-dents at colleges and universi-ties for a while now. How are thequestions they ask, the issuesthey’re concerned about, howare those different than theywere, say, 10 years ago?

Howard Behar: They’re a lotmore worried about careers todaybecause of the economic situa-tion, no question.The questionsthat come up today are, OK, howdo I find my way in this roughworld.Ten years ago, the questionwas how do I get into these Inter-net startups so I can make my for-tune. … Now, they’re just worriedabout getting a job.There’s alsoanother thing: I think there’s moreinclination among this age of stu-dents now to ask the question, notonly do I get a position in an organ-ization or get a job or how do I startan organization, but also how do Icontribute to society and the worldin which I live and also contributeto myself and my potential family.There’s a lot more focus on servingcommunities than there ever was.

InBusiness: By extension, dothey expect the companies theywork for to be increasingly in-volved in giving back to theircommunities as well?

Behar: Yes, I think they ask thosequestions.There’s no questionthey want to be part of an organi-zation that does that.They have acountervailing issue of,“Please,please, let me get a job.”… I alwaystry to encourage them to not worryso much about getting a job.Theycan always find a part-time jobsomeplace to help them eat.They’re better off to make surethat wherever they go to work, italigns with who they are, what theirvalues are, what they’re trying toaccomplish, what their goals are inlife, and not be so afraid about notgetting a job. Now, it’s easy to say.It’s hard to do.You’ve just spent allthis money and time on getting aneducation and somebody comesand offers you a position, eventhough it may not exactly fit yourvalues, there’s this inclination totake it. I try to encourage them totake the time.

InBusiness: But that’s got tobe particularly difficult for stu-dents who are graduating, sad-dled with thousands upon thou-sands of dollars of debt. That’sgot to a hard test to live up to, es-pecially for a student who’s grad-uating without a job.

Behar: There’s a lot of fear andtrepidation: “Will I find a job?” Butthey’ve got a lot more controlthan they think they have, interms of getting an organizationthat fits them. Now, they’reyoung, they’re learning, so youhave to be a little looser aboutthat. But values, you know, if youdon’t mind working or enjoyworking where you’ve got auto-cratic leadership, fine, that’s fine.But just make sure that fits whoyou are. If you don’t like autocrat-ic leadership, you’re going to bevery unhappy very quickly in(that) organization. So try to findleadership styles in organizationsthat at least fit something that’sa part of you. Of course, we alllearn wherever we go. We findplaces we like, places we don’t.Usually, it has to do with the per-son you’re going to report tomore than the company, so youneed to do that work and find outwho that person is.

InBusiness: On the flip side,what do businesses today haveto learn from these students thatyou’re working with?

Behar: I think it’s the reverse ofthat.The goal, at the end of theday, can’t be profit. Profit is theoutcome of the things that you doright to serve the people you’reserving. Organizations and for-profit organizations have to have abetter understanding of how theycontribute to the betterment ofthe world, and that has to be partof it, otherwise, all of this is worth-less.Just making money, that’snot the answer. Now, you’ve got todo that because if you don’t, youdon’t get to carry on with yourbusiness. But it can’t be the driv-ing force.The driving force has tobe to serve people in some way oranother. I don’t care what you door what kind of company you workfor, whether it’s making widgets orserving coffee, somewhere downthe line you’re going to be of serv-ice to another human being. Orga-nizations need to focus on that ifthey want to attract the best andbrightest who are coming out ofcollege today.

InBusiness: The key messagein your book, and I imagine inyour speeches as well, is peopleover profits. That seems obvious.No one would disagree with that.But why is it so hard sometimesto put that into practice?

Behar: Well, we see them in the“or”situation,“people or profits.”If I’m good to people, if I spendmoney developing people, thenthat takes away from my profits.And the truth of the matter is, it’snot one or the other. It’s both.Thegenius of all of this stuff is how weput it together, right? It’s like amarriage or a family.You’re raisingkids, and as they grow up, there’sa certain amount of guidance anddiscipline and all those things andit causes conflict inside your fami-ly, right? It does. It’s just the way ofthe world. But that doesn’t meanthat you don’t love each other.Thegenius of all this kind of stuff is inthe “and.”So it’s people “and”profits.They go together.They’renot opposites of each other.

Today: Free week of danceclasses, Dance Corvallis SouthStudio, 1898 S.W. Third St. Regis-tration: 541-556-2470 ordancecorvallis.com.

Today: Free veterinary assis-tant program pre-applicationinformation session, 9 to 11a.m., Room CC-212, CalapooiaCenter, Linn-Benton CommunityCollege, 6500 Pacific Blvd. S.W.,Albany. Attendance at the orien-tation is mandatory in order totake the program, which will runfrom Jan. 9 to April 27. No need toregister for the orientation. Infor-mation: LBCC Business, Health-care and Workforce Division, 541-917-4923.

Today: Lunch and Learn, noonto 1 p.m., Corvallis Chamber ofCommerce, 420 N.W. Second St.Wendy Kincade of Blue SkyMorning will present “The Art ofDelegating.” Free to chambermembers, $10 for the generalpublic. Registration: 541-757-1505; walk-ins accepted, but mayhave to stand.

Tuesday, Sept. 27: CorvallisChamber of CommerceGreeters, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., D &D etc., 113 S.W. Third St. Informa-tion: 541-757-1505.

Tuesday, Sept. 27: CorvallisChamber of Commerce ribboncutting, 9:45 to 10:15 a.m., D & Detc., 113 S.W. Third St. Informa-tion: 541-757-1505.

Tuesday, Sept. 27: Brown-bagevent, noon to 1:30 p.m., Busi-ness Enterprise Center, 460 S.W.Madison Ave., Suite No. 1, Corval-lis. Dave Persohn, an entrepre-

neur, business consultant and in-structor specializing in account-ing, finance, business planningand market research, will present“Evaluating Your Business Idea.”Informal discussion of evaluatingideas for personal fit, marketsize, target customers, competi-tion and competitive advantage,and financial viability. Registra-tion: 541-758-4009 orthebec@thebec.com.

Wednesday, Sept. 28: AlbanyUmpqua Bank free class: “Howto Read Your Credit Report.” Pre-sented by Kim Freeman, profes-sional credit counselor. 1 p.m.,Umpqua Bank, 333 Ellsworth St.S.W., Albany. Free to public butreservations encouraged. Info:Call 541-967-4214.

Wednesday, Sept. 28: Womenin Business, noon to 2 p.m.,Cloud 9, 126 S.W. First St. PatSardell of Country Vitamins willpresent “It’s All About CustomerService.” Cost: $15 for CorvallisChamber of Commerce mem-bers, $20 for the general public;price includes lunch. Informa-tion: 541-757-1505.

Wednesday, Sept. 28: First-Time homebuyers seminar, 6p.m., administrative office, Cen-tral Willamette Community Cred-it Union, 7101 Supra Drive S.W.,Albany. Jessica Pankratz, bro-ker/Realtor for Town & CountryRealtor, will explain property op-tions, and take the group on anoff-site tour to see three types ofhouses: historic, fixer-upper andnew construction. A light dinner

will be provided. Registration:Jenn Zeller, 541-704-4724.

Friday, Sept. 30: LebanonArea Chamber of CommerceForum Lunch: “The State of theEconomy”. Speaker: State Sen.Frank Morse. Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m., Samaritan Lebanon Com-munity Hospital Career TrainingCenter, 525 Santiam Highway,Lebanon. Cost: $13. Info: Call541-258-7164.

Friday, Sept. 30: Lunch andLearn, noon to 1 p.m., CorvallisChamber of Commerce, 420 N.W.Second St. Loyan Roylance andJanelle Iverson of ProWorks willpresent “Introduction to Face-book Business Pages.” Free tochamber members, $10 for thegeneral public. Registration: 541-757-1505; walk-ins accepted, butmight have to stand.

Saturday, Oct. 1: LebanonMain Street Business Faire &Chili Cookoff: Noon to 4 p.m.,Main Street, Lebanon. Free to thepublic. Info: Call Michelle Morfordat 541-760-9392 or Brian Vandet-ta at 541-451-5125.

Tuesday, Oct. 4: “Go Green‘11,” 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., GerdingTheater at the Armory, 128 N.W.11th Ave., Portland. Sustainabilityconference for business. Cost:$150, or $125 with purchase oftwo or more passes. Registration:portland.gogreenconference.net.

Tuesday, Oct. 11: Bureau ofLabor and Industries Seminar:“Oregon Leave Laws(OFLA/FMLA)”. Speaker: JenniferGermundson, BOLI. Time: 8:30a.m. to 4 p.m., Central Willamette

Community Credit Union, 7101Supra Drive S.W., Albany. Cost:$70 for chamber members; $80nonmembers. Info: Greg Ivers,541-812-8668, orgreg.e.ivers@state.or.us.

201193503 X 5.00

CITIZENSBANK/LOCAL

Unemployment Rate

U.S. Oregon Linn CoBenton Co.

16%

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0

Source: Oregon Employment Department Note: Data are seasonally adjusted.

Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011July 2011

10.7

7.2

13.4

9.1 9.5

6.5

11.8

9.1 9.6

6.5

11.9

9.6

Mid-Valley Residential ReportUnits sold Units sold Average Averagepast year past year sales prices ales price

Aug. 2011 Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2010

Albany 429 524 149,608 166,085N. Albany 116 155 236,664 248,558Brownsville 21 25 146,726 211,900Corvallis 463 530 268,395 277,973

Units sold Units sold Average Averagepast year past year sales prices ales price

Aug. 2011 Aug. 2010 Aug. 2011 Aug. 2010

Independence 50 74 221,111 174,956

Jefferson 60 41 203,193 212,278

Lebanon 285 326 135,211 153,449

Philomath 81 71 248,114 233,909

Sweet Home 136 140 114,165 128,603

Source: Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service

Source: Oregon Employment Department Aug. ’11 July ’11 Aug. ’10 July ’11 Aug ’10

Aug. ’11 July ’11 Aug. ’10 July ’11 Aug ’10

Change fromCorvallis MSA (Benton County) Nonfarm Payroll Employment

Source: Oregon Employment Department Change from

Linn County Nonfarm Payroll Employment

Residential Average Sales Price by Area

Th

ou

san

ds

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

306,557

194,920143,037

255,950

325

300

275

250

225

200

175

150

125

Source: Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service

The numbers: The Universi-ty of Oregon Index of Econom-ic Indicators fell 0.5 percent to90.2 in July (1997=100), com-pared to a revised June num-ber of 90.7. It’s the fourthstraight monthly decline.

What was up: Initial unem-ployment claims were betterin July, improving to 9,030from a June mark of 9,281.

What was down: Every oth-er component in the index waseither flat or weaker duringthe month. Employment serv-ices payrolls (mostly tempo-rary unemployment) fell. Ore-gon weight distance revenue, ameasure of trucking activity,fell. Consumer confidence fell.

New orders for nondefense,nonaircraft capital goods

slipped during July.What stayed steady: Resi-

dential building permits re-mained steady. The interestrate spread was unchanged.

The upshot: The report’s au-thor,Timothy A. Duy of the UODepartment of Economics,wrote: “The recovery that be-gan in the second half of 2009slowed to a crawl in the firsthalf of this year, leaving bothOregon and the nation with his-torically high unemployment. ...While incoming data remainconsistent with disappointinglyslow growth rather than reces-sion, the expansion is clearlyfragile at this juncture.”

To learn more: Check out thefull report at http://pages.uoregon.edu/oefweb/.

Natural resources, mining and construction 1,250 1,240 1,190 10 60

Manufacturing 3,350 3,350 3,350 0 0

Trade, transportation and utilities 4,260 4,310 4,210 -50 50

Information 790 800 820 -10 -30

Financial activities 1,380 1,400 1,380 -20 0

Professional and business services 3,760 3,770 3,700 -10 60

Educational and health services 5,570 5,640 5,530 -70 40

Leisure and hospitality 3,380 3,420 3,340 -40 40

Other services 1,160 1,140 1,180 20 -20

Federal government 640 630 640 10 0

State government 8,370 8,030 8,050 340 320

Local government 2,550 2,500 2,830 50 -280

Total nonfarm payroll employment 34,420 36,220 36,200 200 220

Natural resources, mining and construction 2,530 2,420 2,320 110 210

Manufacturing 6,990 6,990 6,720 0 270

Trade, transportation and utilities 8,420 8,440 8,640 -20 -220

Information 390 390 390 0 0

Financial activities 1,270 1,270 1,310 0 -40

Professional and business services 2,950 3,010 3,050 -60 -100

Educational and health services 4,520 4,490 4,600 30 -80

Leisure and hospitality 2,990 2,980 3,040 10 -50

Other services 1,340 1,320 1,350 20 -10

Federal government 330 340 350 -10 -20

State government 1,190 1,190 1,230 0 -40

Local government 4,630 4,580 5,110 50 -480

Total nonfarm payroll employment 37,550 37,420 38,110 130 -560

Benton County

Linn County

BUSINESS DATA

MID-VALLEY InBusinessSeptember 2011 A7

WITH

Howard Behar

FIVE QUESTIONS

Howard Behar, the founding president of Starbucks, is scheduled tospeak at the LaSells Stewart Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5.

H

DAT E B O O K

Index, 1997 = 100

92

91

90

89

88

87

86

Feb.-11 Mar.-11 April-11 May-11 June-11 July-11

U O I N D E X O F EC O N O M I C I N D I CATO R S