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Main street, Lakeview
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| H&N photo by Gerry Baksys Rich Granberg and Dee Lambert-Graves talk during a chance meeting in Lakeview. Both are former residents who moved away for jobs. “You never really leave Lakeview, though,” Granberg said. |
By GERRY BAKSYS
H&N Staff Writer
Spring has come to Lakeview.
Not just the season which brought green grass and blooming flowers, but also an economic spring which has heralded a slow, but steady economic recovery.
Richie Johnston, the manager of Klamath Basin Equipment (KBE) Lakeview, said changes for the better have been rolling in.
“Definitely since they did the street-scaping here in town,” Johnston said, “we have seen more people stopping and patronizing our businesses. I think main street is doing better and growing. Our population base seems to be steadily growing.”
The Streetscape was a two-year project aimed at improving and beautifying downtown Lakeview. The $2.4 million project was undertaken by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Work included concrete paving, curbs and sidewalks, benches, planters and trash receptacles installed in the downtown area. Old-fashioned streetlights were installed and decorated with banners. The project was finished in 2002.
Lakeview's growth is being driven by outside investors and businesses who look at Lakeview as a good place to set up shop. Johnston, for instance, started Lakeview Motorsports in 1998 with his dad, but KBE bought them out in 2004.
The change, Johnston said, was better for the store and better for the local economy.
“It allowed us to expand, and offer a variety of goods we could never afford to get on our own,” he said. “There have been a lot of sports shops that have come and gone in this town, but because we are now part of KBE, we have more overall buying power and selection of goods.”
The bottom fell out of Lake County's economy when the timber industry dried up in the 1990s, said Ray Simms, Lakeview's town manager. Since then, it has been a slow and diverse recovery effort.
“When the market went out, people left,” Simms said. “In the last two to three years, we have begun to recover. We have started to diversify our economy and one of the good examples is the perlite plant.”
Perlite is little white pebbles ground from bigger rocks, later put through a heating process and then used in various products from potting soil to sound-proofing material. Simms said Lake County perlite has a high quality, and in 1996, it attracted a perlite company that was later purchased by Cornerstone Industrial Minerals Corp.
It now employs 23 full-time people, and there could be room for future growth, he added.
Bit by bit
That is how growth is expected to continue in the Lakeview area, bit by bit, with the effects trickling through the county. Simms said the Hall Safe Co. has recently broken ground on its new plant, and is expected to hire 100 people within five years.
The new prison in town employs about 100 people, and there are high hopes that a new bio-fuels plant could create more jobs.
“Lakeview is in a positive growth mode,” said Deanna Johnston, a real estate broker with Arrow Realty in Lakeview, and a member of the Lake County Development Corp.
“The most positive economic thing we see is the governor's announcement that Lakeview will be the pilot community for his bio-fuels project.”
Johnston said that if the project becomes reality, it could shore up jobs in the county's one remaining sawmill, Fremont, and possibly produce more employment as well.
“The bio-fuels project will have a positive impact on forest health, local development and it will attract more businesses,” she said. “It might bring in new employees, but the major advantage is it will supplement our timber industry and the Fremont Sawmill.”
Big and small
As bigger industries move in, bringing jobs and people with them, several vacant buildings in Lakeview's downtown area have started filling up.
Fong Gee opened the Hunan Chinese Restaurant in December 2006. According to area merchants, Hunan is the newest business in town.
“Business is OK,” Gee said. “I came here because Lakeview doesn't have a Chinese restaurant. I came from Redmond. I had a business there that I sold to come here. In Redmond, there are many Chinese restaurants.”
Still, Gee said she hopes more businesses come to town, and more people. Simms said that more businesses, and more people are on the way.
“Over the years, when our economy was in decline, we lost a lot of shopping opportunities,” Simms said. “Men's clothing, women's clothing, dime stores - we lost so many things that we are just beginning to recover. And as our population begins to recover, we anticipate recovering more business opportunities than we have lost.”
Doing their own thing
In the meantime, local merchants have started taking matters into their own hands, said Bev Hills, the event coordinator for the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
“The Merchants Committee is trying different things,” Hills said. “They are trying to promote old-time customer service, and they are going to paint murals of the history of the area. Lake County is one of the last places in the state to be discovered.
“We have tremendous outdoor activities and sporting opportunities that we are trying to promote to draw people to the area.”
Lakeview merchants have to go to extremes to attract customers, Hills said, because they are competing with major retailers hours away.
“I would say we are doing what a lot of small towns are doing is going through a transition,” Hills said. “Merchants have to compete with big box stores, so they have the extra challenge that small businesses in larger towns don't have. Small businesses in larger towns have specialized, and that is what our downtown merchants are beginning to do.”
Secret weapons
And of course, Lakeview has something to draw people to it that a lot of other towns don't, said Richie Johnston, manager of KBE Lakeview.
“People are interested in historical buildings, and our street-scaping increases in a big way our foot traffic,” he said. “We've seen a rollover in the people in town. There are a lot of new faces - a lot of people from the Bend and Portland areas who are tired of living in big cities, so they have been moving out here.”
Advantages outweigh drawbacks
Steve and Tonette Anderson's Lakeview living room definitely has a homey feel to it.
It could be the family-oriented knickknacks, it could be the fact that Tonette was home sick from her job at the town's pharmacy, wrapped in a blanket on the couch, or it could be that despite her being sick, she and her husband were willing to talk about why they enjoy Lakeview.
“We love living here,” Steve said. “In a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's quiet, and it's a safe place to live.”
Steve moved to Lakeview in 1990 for a job. Tonette moved to town 26 years ago when she was 18. She said that there are some disadvantages to living in a smaller community, but the benefits far outweigh them.
“There's tradeoffs with everything,” she said. “Sometimes it's frustrating. We go to Bend and Klamath quite a bit to do our shopping. Stuff we need, though, we can get here.”
Both have lived through the economic downturn in Lakeview when the timber mills closed, massive layoffs and subsequent migrations occurred, and shopping opportunities dwindled.
But they are excited to see the town turn the corner.
“It seems like a lot of small businesses have closed, but some new ones have come on board,” Tonette said. “And it's nice to see a Subway (the sandwich shop just recently opened). I'm excited to see the changes, but I don't think we'll ever get the big box stores.”
Small town businesses face plenty of challenges
Lorrie Reif puts a lot of mileage on her car. The owner of Back Yard Floral in downtown Lakeview has to drive to Klamath Falls every time she needs to pick up ordered supplies for her flower business.
“Getting supplies is hard,” she said. “I just got back from a trip to Klamath Falls to pick up supplies from a truck that came down from Eugene. The truck doesn't come out here, so I have to go into Klamath Falls.”
But the drive isn't the hardest part of the job, she said. It's living up to customers' expectations.
“It's a lot harder for all businesses in small towns,” she said.
“People expect more out of you. It's a good thing, but it keeps you on your toes. For instance, when someone walks in, they expect me to remember what it is they ordered last time.”
Spring has come to Lakeview.
Not just the season which brought green grass and blooming flowers, but also an economic spring which has heralded a slow, but steady economic recovery.
Richie Johnston, the manager of Klamath Basin Equipment (KBE) Lakeview, said changes for the better have been rolling in.
“Definitely since they did the street-scaping here in town,” Johnston said, “we have seen more people stopping and patronizing our businesses. I think main street is doing better and growing. Our population base seems to be steadily growing.”
The Streetscape was a two-year project aimed at improving and beautifying downtown Lakeview. The $2.4 million project was undertaken by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Work included concrete paving, curbs and sidewalks, benches, planters and trash receptacles installed in the downtown area. Old-fashioned streetlights were installed and decorated with banners. The project was finished in 2002.
Lakeview's growth is being driven by outside investors and businesses who look at Lakeview as a good place to set up shop. Johnston, for instance, started Lakeview Motorsports in 1998 with his dad, but KBE bought them out in 2004.
The change, Johnston said, was better for the store and better for the local economy.
“It allowed us to expand, and offer a variety of goods we could never afford to get on our own,” he said. “There have been a lot of sports shops that have come and gone in this town, but because we are now part of KBE, we have more overall buying power and selection of goods.”
The bottom fell out of Lake County's economy when the timber industry dried up in the 1990s, said Ray Simms, Lakeview's town manager. Since then, it has been a slow and diverse recovery effort.
“When the market went out, people left,” Simms said. “In the last two to three years, we have begun to recover. We have started to diversify our economy and one of the good examples is the perlite plant.”
Perlite is little white pebbles ground from bigger rocks, later put through a heating process and then used in various products from potting soil to sound-proofing material. Simms said Lake County perlite has a high quality, and in 1996, it attracted a perlite company that was later purchased by Cornerstone Industrial Minerals Corp.
It now employs 23 full-time people, and there could be room for future growth, he added.
Bit by bit
That is how growth is expected to continue in the Lakeview area, bit by bit, with the effects trickling through the county. Simms said the Hall Safe Co. has recently broken ground on its new plant, and is expected to hire 100 people within five years.
The new prison in town employs about 100 people, and there are high hopes that a new bio-fuels plant could create more jobs.
“Lakeview is in a positive growth mode,” said Deanna Johnston, a real estate broker with Arrow Realty in Lakeview, and a member of the Lake County Development Corp.
“The most positive economic thing we see is the governor's announcement that Lakeview will be the pilot community for his bio-fuels project.”
Johnston said that if the project becomes reality, it could shore up jobs in the county's one remaining sawmill, Fremont, and possibly produce more employment as well.
“The bio-fuels project will have a positive impact on forest health, local development and it will attract more businesses,” she said. “It might bring in new employees, but the major advantage is it will supplement our timber industry and the Fremont Sawmill.”
Big and small
As bigger industries move in, bringing jobs and people with them, several vacant buildings in Lakeview's downtown area have started filling up.
Fong Gee opened the Hunan Chinese Restaurant in December 2006. According to area merchants, Hunan is the newest business in town.
“Business is OK,” Gee said. “I came here because Lakeview doesn't have a Chinese restaurant. I came from Redmond. I had a business there that I sold to come here. In Redmond, there are many Chinese restaurants.”
Still, Gee said she hopes more businesses come to town, and more people. Simms said that more businesses, and more people are on the way.
“Over the years, when our economy was in decline, we lost a lot of shopping opportunities,” Simms said. “Men's clothing, women's clothing, dime stores - we lost so many things that we are just beginning to recover. And as our population begins to recover, we anticipate recovering more business opportunities than we have lost.”
Doing their own thing
In the meantime, local merchants have started taking matters into their own hands, said Bev Hills, the event coordinator for the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.
“The Merchants Committee is trying different things,” Hills said. “They are trying to promote old-time customer service, and they are going to paint murals of the history of the area. Lake County is one of the last places in the state to be discovered.
“We have tremendous outdoor activities and sporting opportunities that we are trying to promote to draw people to the area.”
Lakeview merchants have to go to extremes to attract customers, Hills said, because they are competing with major retailers hours away.
“I would say we are doing what a lot of small towns are doing is going through a transition,” Hills said. “Merchants have to compete with big box stores, so they have the extra challenge that small businesses in larger towns don't have. Small businesses in larger towns have specialized, and that is what our downtown merchants are beginning to do.”
Secret weapons
And of course, Lakeview has something to draw people to it that a lot of other towns don't, said Richie Johnston, manager of KBE Lakeview.
“People are interested in historical buildings, and our street-scaping increases in a big way our foot traffic,” he said. “We've seen a rollover in the people in town. There are a lot of new faces - a lot of people from the Bend and Portland areas who are tired of living in big cities, so they have been moving out here.”
Advantages outweigh drawbacks
Steve and Tonette Anderson's Lakeview living room definitely has a homey feel to it.
It could be the family-oriented knickknacks, it could be the fact that Tonette was home sick from her job at the town's pharmacy, wrapped in a blanket on the couch, or it could be that despite her being sick, she and her husband were willing to talk about why they enjoy Lakeview.
“We love living here,” Steve said. “In a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's quiet, and it's a safe place to live.”
Steve moved to Lakeview in 1990 for a job. Tonette moved to town 26 years ago when she was 18. She said that there are some disadvantages to living in a smaller community, but the benefits far outweigh them.
“There's tradeoffs with everything,” she said. “Sometimes it's frustrating. We go to Bend and Klamath quite a bit to do our shopping. Stuff we need, though, we can get here.”
Both have lived through the economic downturn in Lakeview when the timber mills closed, massive layoffs and subsequent migrations occurred, and shopping opportunities dwindled.
But they are excited to see the town turn the corner.
“It seems like a lot of small businesses have closed, but some new ones have come on board,” Tonette said. “And it's nice to see a Subway (the sandwich shop just recently opened). I'm excited to see the changes, but I don't think we'll ever get the big box stores.”
Small town businesses face plenty of challenges
Lorrie Reif puts a lot of mileage on her car. The owner of Back Yard Floral in downtown Lakeview has to drive to Klamath Falls every time she needs to pick up ordered supplies for her flower business.
“Getting supplies is hard,” she said. “I just got back from a trip to Klamath Falls to pick up supplies from a truck that came down from Eugene. The truck doesn't come out here, so I have to go into Klamath Falls.”
But the drive isn't the hardest part of the job, she said. It's living up to customers' expectations.
“It's a lot harder for all businesses in small towns,” she said.
“People expect more out of you. It's a good thing, but it keeps you on your toes. For instance, when someone walks in, they expect me to remember what it is they ordered last time.”
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| District overlap progress reported |
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of HeraldAndNews.com. Comment Disclaimer: The editors of heraldandnews.com reserve the right to refuse publication of any comment posted for consideration. We may refuse for any reason, including use of profanity, disparaging comments, libelous comments, etc. Any reader who notices a comment they believe is particularly offensive, should notify us at webmaster@heraldandnews.com.
skii v. wrote on Jun 26, 2009 12:51 AM:
" Steven Vannarath is my cousin and he is a really good guy.ive been talking to him for the last couple months.After that night happend,i could not sleep for days thinging about him.He has a beautyful daughter that he miss.he will be a free man im acouple of months.GOD LET YOU BE WITH EVERYONE AMEN "
phillip wrote on Feb 1, 2009 1:43 AM:
" I'm looking for 100+ acreas of land with anual running water, stream, etc, with tree's, as forested as posible, am going to build a cabin for me to retire, thank you. "
Stephanie Patterson Southwell wrote on Oct 4, 2008 6:19 PM:
" I came across this article and find it very interesting. My grandad was the "Southwell" in Southwell & Stilwell :) My dad and uncles were raised in Klamath Falls until they moved to the Portland area. "
Margaret wrote on Apr 29, 2008 11:19 AM:
" It appears the two negative reader comments are associated with the wrong article, as they do not seem to relate. It's unfortunate they are appearing after reading such a nice article about this concert. "
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Rebecca T wrote on Jul 10, 2009 9:16 PM: