Second Chance Spirits vice-president Brian Morton looks over the hand-hammered still that will be used to produce the Prosser company’s line of products, called Blue Flame Spirits.  The product line will include whiskey, vodka, gin, and specialty liqueurs. The still was manufactured in Germany and took about a year to complete. Richard Burger Photo

By RICHARD BURGER

Brian Morton is a man on a mission, and one that might come as a bit of a surprise in the lower valley community touted as the birthplace of the Washington wine industry.

Morton is one of two principals in Second Chance Spirits, Inc. a Prosser firm that will shortly begin producing whiskey, vodka, gin, and specialty liqueurs under the Blue Flame label. The firm also has a local silent partner.

One of the things you’ll find on the front page of the Yakima Valley Business Journal is our tagline, “Promoting the Economic Vitality of the Yakima Valley Since 1991.” 

Just about every business publication I’ve seen has something similar on the front page, and I don’t know if you’ve ever stopped to read it or consider what it means. What I do know is that it’s easier said than done. 

Tammy Everts, New Vision business development director, is working to identify potential candidates for the new Yakima Grows program, an initiative to help companies and entrepreneurs develop new products. Denise Keller photo

By DENISE KELLER

If someone in Yakima County has an idea for the next best thing since sliced bread, New Vision, Yakima County Development Association has a plan to assist that entrepreneur in taking the innovation to market. 

New Vision is putting together a program to encourage small businesses and individual entrepreneurs to develop or expand product lines or new inventions. The group is calling the program “Yakima Grows.”

Windy Point Winery in Wapato. Submitted photos

By ELENA OLMSTEAD

When Windy Point Vineyard’s 2005 Cabernet Franc was awarded a gold medal at the Washington State Wine Competition last June, winery owners Mike and Liz Stepniewski, were extremely proud. 

But things only got better. 

The Funky Monkey arcade is ready for customers during its grand opening in Selah in November. Staff photo

By JERYN GONZALEZ

In the expanding town of Selah there is a new attraction that’s keeping more local business in town.

“It’s about time,” said Selah resident Shane Brussman, a regular to one of the many new businesses of Selah, Funky Monkey Arcade.

Large sections of the sheet metal covering of the back wall of the grandstands at the Toppenish Rodeo grounds lie on the ground after being blown down by heavy winds in December. Staff Photo

JOURNAL STAFF

Plans for the return of the Toppenish July 4 rodeo next year are moving ahead, despite some uncertainties and setbacks.

Rodeo Board president Barb Moses said last week that the event is planned for July 2 and 3, and the board will be seeking Professional Western Rodeo Association sanctioning.

The first phase of construction on the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser was recently completed. The first phase included bringing utilities out to the site, putting in lighting, limited landscaping and paving the parking lot.

By ELENA OLMSTEAD

What once stood as a simple piece of land overlooking the Yakima River in Prosser is slowly turning into something iconic. 

For the past several years work has been going on behind the scenes to create the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center, a facility that will celebrate the area’s winemaking history. But in the last year the site has started to undergo a physical transformation. 

Over the summer the first phase of development started at the site said Robin Struyvenberg, an Issaquah-based consultant working on the Walter Clore Center project. 

RICHARD BURGER

At some point we need to recognize that about the only good that’s going to come out of the inept federal meddling in the U.S. economy is that at least it provides some comic relief. The funniest examples I’ve read about so far are related to the calculations that a number of community agencies used to determine how many jobs have been “saved” by the “economic stimulus.”  

There were apparently instructions that came with the money to help recipients make the correct calculations, so that they could accurately report the positive effects the money generated in their organizations.

In an Associated Press story recently, the director of the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, Myrtis Mulkey-Ndawula, explained to the reporter how she had calculated the number of jobs saved in her agency, which employs 508 people. She said she had simply followed the guidelines the administration had provided, and those guidelines instructed her to multiply the total number of employees, 508, by 1.84, which is the percentage of the pay raise they all received. With that simple multiplication, she arrived at a figure of 935 jobs saved, which she duly reported. 

KATHY MILLER

The end of the year is a good time to focus on tax planning and assess your financial status and goals. These strategies may help minimize your tax bill. 

Thinking about your taxes will almost always give you a headache, especially around the holidays. But staying on top of your finances as the year comes to a close can mean the difference between owing thousands of dollars in federal taxes and receiving a sizable check from the government in the spring.

Martin Scoll, Vice President of Life Event Services for Wells Fargo Advisors, says it is paramount to start preparing as early as possible. “Good tax preparation and planning starts on January 1,” he says. “Don’t wait until December to start dealing with your year-end planning. Reviewing your finances and giving some thought to your taxes in October and November will not only keep you ahead of the game — it will also likely save you money.”

SCOTT OVERTURF

Recently our state wine industry lost a quiet friend. It is fortunate for us that David Lake spent years in London working in the retail wine trade, while earning his Master Of Wine certification. 

Why? Because he ultimately chose to leave one of the world’s great cities and settle in very small and quiet Bellevue, Washington. There he invested his bank of knowledge of the wines of the world by becoming the only winemaker in America with an MW. I believe there were only a few dozen MWs back in 1978, when he arrived here. Even now, there are less than 300 in the world.