Port Projects Drive Rural Economies

By necessity, the economies of rural communities rely on entrepreneurs running small businesses. They might be farmers, restaurant owners, store owners or other service providers. Even newspapers qualify.

Boeing and Microsoft don't have operations in the Touchet Valley, so small businesses provide the employ- ment base for our towns.

When Blue Mountain Station completes its first build- ing later this year in Dayton, it will provide a home for five new small food-processing businesses. Most of the owners of those businesses are newcomers who recently moved their families to the area and bought or rented homes.

As the profiles of those businesses on Page 6 show, these entrepreneurs all have a passion for the products they make, and each has a specialized need for a food processing facility that would be beyond their resources to build themselves.

With the leadership of manager Jennie Dickinson, the Port of Columbia has spent the past five years develop- ing its artisan food-processing business park on the west edge of Dayton. The Port has been able to gather the funding to purchase the land, install infrastructure and build the building in which these businesses can start and grow.

The Port of Columbia has been a driver in the local economy since it was formed in the 1960s. The Port pur- chased land many years ago along Cameron Street and beneath Rock Hill along Highway 12. Several well-es- tablished Dayton businesses got their start on Port prop- erty, including McGregors, Rock Hill Concrete, Dayton Tractor and Machine and TEMA Trucking. Many other small businesses have rented facilities at the Port over the years. Columbia Cut Stock, which unfortunately ceased business late last year, got its start at the Port as well.

The Port of Columbia also provides crucial work space for Vestas, for its wind turbine maintenance opera- tions, and for Columbia County Transportation.

The Port of Walla Walla has owned land in Waitsburg for nearly 20 years, on which it hoped to develop a busi- ness park.

Finally last year, Harry Johnson Plumbing and Exca- vation agreed to become the first lessee at the site. Work is expected to begin this month on a $400,000 project by the Port to install infrastructure there.

The Port of Walla Walla has a huge commercial pres- ence in Walla Walla County and has been a big factor in the area's economic growth. We applaud their efforts to bring some of that growth to Waitsburg, and we hope more new tenants will soon sign up for the Waitsburg site.

In Dayton, the Port of Columbia is busy recruiting more businesses for the Blue Mountain Station Site. With nearly $2 million invested there, and counting, it will soon be a showplace for artisan food processing in the Pacific Northwest.