Terminal Gravity returns to Seattle area

ENTERPRISE — Terminal Gravity beer is heading west, from its brewery in Enterprise to the northern Washington Cascades, where fans are awaiting its return, the craft brewery announced July 13.

The longtime local brewery will offer its full-flavored beer throughout the Puget Sound area in a partnership with Seattle specialty distributor Browar Polska Distributing.

“This won’t affect our operations here too much,” said Grady Nelson of Enterprise, the company’s marketing manager. “It just means we’ll be sending a little more beer out the door each year.”

Natalie Millar, general manager and chief financial officer of Terminal Gravity, said the brewery has constantly received messages from fans in northwest Washington looking for Terminal Gravity beer.

“We’re just happy to be able to put TG beer back in the hands of those customers again,” Millar said.

Community Connection gets $300K grant

LA GRANDE — Oregon Housing and Community Services has awarded Community Connection of Northeast Oregon’s Housing Resource Center a $300,000 grant to provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.

Applicants can receive up to $15,000 in down payment and closing costs toward the purchase of their home. Eligible applicants must have gross annual income less than the area median income, be first-time homebuyers, have net worth limitations and be lender-ready within one year. See www.ccno.org for details.

Area median incomes for four Northeast Oregon counties are $58,100 in Baker, $60,800 in Grant, $58,900 in Union and $64,400 in Wallowa.

Community Connection, with headquarters in La Grande, provides prepurchase counseling to people interested in purchasing a home. Its HUD-Certified Housing Counselor helps position prospective homeowners for lender approval and ensures they can sustain housing costs on a comfortable financial basis. Community Connection also offers individual development accounts for first-time homebuyers, allowing prospective buyers to save up to $12,000 toward a down payment.

In 2019, Community Connection’s efforts in foreclosure avoidance counseling saved homeowners a total of $791,216 and saved 36 homes from foreclosure.

For more information, contact Diana Wright or Debbie MacBaker at 541-963-3186 or at diana@ccno.or or debbie@ccno.org.

Community Store reopens in Wallowa

WALLOWA — The Wallowa Resale Department and Community Store is prepared to reopen Thursday, according to a news release from Marilyn Hulse.

Hulse is the chairwoman of the nonprofit’s board of directors. She said the store at the corner of state Highway 82 and Pine Street has enough volunteers to open three days a week, but could use more if anyone would like to apply. However, the store is at capacity for donations and cannot accept more until Sept 1.

The plan is to have the store open three days a week — Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The shop is a project of the Wallowa Methodist Church, which usually puts on one or two rummage sales a year in the basement of its large church building on Main Street. It has operated 10 years in Wallowa and has provided grants to Wallowa Senior Meals, the Wallowa County Humane Society and others groups and individuals.

The store closed in mid-March when Gov. Kate Brown ordered businesses to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers have cleaned and reorganized the store to accommodate a large collection of clothing and household goods. Customers and staff must wear masks, which the store can provide.

For more information, contact the store’s manager, Deb Reth, at 541-398-0137.

Free masks available for small businesses throughout Union County

UNION COUNTY — In conjunction with the Union County Board of Commissioners and Union County Incident Command, all cities in the county have received shipments of KN95 masks to distribute to small businesses. Businesses with less than 50 employees are eligible to receive these masks — free — for their employees, customers and clients.

The masks will aid businesses in compliance with Oregon’s face covering regulations as well as to further promote the health, safety and well-being of fellow citizens and patrons, according to a press release from the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

For more information or to arrange delivery or pickup, contact your town’s city offices.

Businesses cannot assume people without masks have medical condition

SALEM — Oregon OSHA shares the facts about businesses and the face covering mandate on its website and Facebook page. Face coverings are now required in outdoor public spaces when physical distancing is not possible and in all indoor public spaces. Businesses must post signs, provide face coverings and enforce the regulations, including providing accommodations for people with a medical condition or a disability that prevents them from wearing a mask.

According to a press release, when people come into a business without a mask, it is not to be assumed they have a medical condition. The business must ask if the person has such a condition and offer an accommodation but should not enquire further into the specifics of the condition or ask for proof. Businesses must provide reasonable accommodations that allow the person to access its services or goods, without putting workers or other customers at risk.

For more guidance and information on COVID-19, go to osha.oregon.gov/covid19 and check out the Q&A on Oregon OSHA’s Facebook page.