Bill Rautenstrauch

The Observer

NORTH POWDER

If Vicky Day ever gets her gas station open, she’ll be a local hero.

But that’s a pretty big ‘if,’ considering the economic realities.

Day, owner of the North Powder Cafe and the North Powder Express convenience store at the edge of town near the freeway, wants to give the town what it wants most of all: a place to fuel up.

Since last October, the little bedroom community 20 miles equidistant between La Grande and Baker City on Interstate 84, has been without a gas station.

The nearest gas is in Haines, about nine miles east on Highway 30. But that’s only for people who have a card key.

Everybody else gets their fuel in Baker City, La Grande or in Union, 15 miles distant on the old highway.

"It’s a financial burden, besides being a real pain," Day said. "Look how much you’ve got to spend, just to go get gas."

Day’s cafe and store stand on the edge of a big dusty lot, opposite what used to be a Cenex gas station operated by the Nyssa Co-Op.

Last October, the co-op decided to close the station down, and Cenex decided it no longer wanted to supply gas there.

In the process, Day, who co-leases the lot, discovered that the station was out of compliance with Oregon Department. of Environmental Quality regulations.

Day said she had to hire an attorney to get the co-op to come back and fix things. She said the co-op spent between $20,000 and $25,000 on the storage tanks, a monitoring system, piping and other repairs.

The DEQ says the station now meets requirements. But opening it involves a lot more than turning on the pumps and waiting for the customers to start rolling in.

"The problem now is getting someone interested in supplying us," Day said.

Day said she has contacted several suppliers, and they all tell her the same thing.

Lot, buildings sub-standard

for the big companies

The lot and the existing building for the gas station are sub-standard. Companies like Texaco, Shell or Chevron won’t agree to do business there until improvements are made.

"We have to have the parking lot paved, canopies over the pumps, a sign out on the freeway, better lighting," Day said.

Day, owner of the cafe and store the past three years, wouldn’t mind adding a gas station to her business.

The cost, however, is daunting. She estimates she would have to pay $200,000 for paving alone, and more than $40,000 for her first shipment of gas.

She’s thought about borrowing money, but at this point she believes the risk would be too great.

"If I took a loan like that out tomorrow, I’d be broke in a month," she said.

Still, she isn’t letting the big price tag scare her away.

She’s taken the problem before the North Powder City Council, and made contact with Union County Commissioner Steve McClure. She’s exploring every option that might be available.

"There’s a lot of ways we can go right now," she said.

During a recent meeting in North Powder, McClure steered Day to the Small Business Development Center in La Grande. He also provided her contact information for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.

With help from the SBDC, Day has drafted a business plan and is looking at grant possibilities.

Help from Union County?

She said she considers Union County a possible source of funding.

"We’re a part of Union County and I think they should help," she said. "If they can put money into big companies like Boise Cascade, they should be willing to help with this. The gas station would provide 16 jobs, and this little community needs jobs."

Though no discussions have taken place at the county level, McClure said he considers the North Powder problem a serious one.

"There’s no question having retail gas sales in North Powder is important," he said.

He said the county isn’t yet close to making a decision on economic help.

"Nothing’s been ruled out," he said.

County Commissioner John Lamoreau said he thinks a North Powder gas station is worthy of county support.

"That’s something we should use economic development dollars for," he said. "It’s important to have fuel available. You can’t be out there and be stuck."

Pitching the gas station project to Union County and the North Powder City Council, Day has noted that North Powder is an important farming hub, even if it doesn’t have much industry to call its own.

She has also pointed out that the town, located near Anthony Lakes ski resort and Thief Valley reservoir, is important to recreationists.

"You have a lot of people getting off the freeway here," she said. "A lot of them don’t get gas in Baker or La Grande, because they figure they can fill up here. They pull in, they’re running on empty, and that’s when they find out there’s no gas," she said.

As Day explores her options, North Powder struggles on.

The city gets gas for its public works and emergency vehicles from a Union County-owned gas tank in town, so services are covered. Vehicles operated by the Powder Valley School District are fueled up at the card-lock in Haines.

Ordinary citizens

bear brunt of hardship

The hardship falls mostly on individual citizens, the residents who work and do business in La Grande, Baker City or Union, and the retirees who make up a big slice of the local population.

Lisa Aichele, a North Powder city councilor and full-time mom, said she takes her kids back and forth to La Grande a couple of times a week for karate lessons.

She also travels frequently in connection with courses she is taking at Blue Mountain Community College.

She said she has learned to adjust and is dealing with the problem. But she worries about others in the community.

"It’s been a strain. You have to keep a close eye on your gas gauge and fill up frequently," she said. "I think it’s especially difficult for the older people."

Steve Nelson, a North Powder resident for more than 40 years, said that when he fills up, he hauls extra gas home, for himself and his neighbors.

"I try and keep my truck filled, and have some extra on hand in case somebody needs it for their lawn mower," he said. "We really need a gas station here."

City Councilor Larry Craig agrees with Aichele that the North Powder senior citizens have the most difficulty coping with the problem.

"It’s an undue hardship for seniors, people who for one reason or another have trouble driving those long distances, or people with only one driver in the household," he said.

"We’ve all got to watch ourselves. We’ve always got to be thinking way ahead."