On Biz: The Roseburg Beacon has new owner

Within five months of beginning to cover all things Roseburg — including its December 2007 acquisition of The Winston Reporter — The Roseburg Beacon has changed ownership.

Glennis Peterson, who started at the weekly newspaper as a graphic artist and was later promoted to editor, bought The Roseburg Beacon two weeks ago. She is now the paper’s editor and publisher.

Lake Oswego businessman Erik Jonsson sold Peterson the paper, which he began last September.

Jean Ivey, who started the North County News and was the first editor of The Roseburg Beacon, is the editor and owner of the Coquille Valley Sentinel. Becky Holm edits and owns the North County News.

Peterson said The Roseburg Beacon was just beginning to find its “niche,” and so she decided to invest in it with her years of newspaper experience.

“I was the one more likely to pull it off,” she said.

Jonsson’s offer was attractive, Peterson said, and she felt she could build on The Roseburg Beacon’s revenue. And because it’s still a business establishing itself in the community, it was easier to buy than a long-established newspaper.

Peterson worked as a graphic artist at The News-Review for seven years before moving to the Beacon. She also worked on weekly newspapers for about eight years in the Midwest as a reporter, photographer and graphic artist before being hired by The News-Review.

The Roseburg Beacon goes to press on Mondays and is distributed on Tuesdays. It is located at the corner of Main Street and Washington Avenue in downtown Roseburg.


<b>SANDY’S PLACE FILLS SCHLOTZSKY’S PLACE:</b> Sandy’s Place, located on Cass Avenue in downtown Roseburg, is on the move for the third time. On Monday, after closing for business on Thursday and Friday, Sandy Mack will re-open her breakfast and lunch diner at the old Schlotzsky’s location in the Opus Center on Garden Valley Boulevard.

“We’re rolling on it now, we don’t mess around,” said Dave Mack, Sandy’s husband, about the quick location change last Wednesday.

Dave said rent will be higher at the new location, but Sandy’s Place will increase its seating capacity by 13 chairs — not mentioning the outside seating it will share with My Coffee — and plenty of parking space. And the newer building, which is a couple of years old, with new equipment in the kitchen, is not so bad either. “We expect to have more business there,” he said.

Schlotzsky’s, a franchise restaurant owned by Bill Woods, toasted its last pastrami sandwich Jan. 25.

Sandy’s Place originally opened for business in November 2003 in the Umpqua Hotel on Jackson Street. It then moved to The Grand Hotel building before moving into another location on Cass Avenue.

Sandy’s Place bakes sweets for My Coffee, Dave Mack said, along with making homemade soups every day and featuring breakfast and lunch specials. He recommends the spaghetti, lasagna, tri-tip steak sandwich and the clam chowder, served on Fridays, as favorites.

Sandy’s Place is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Information: 672-5225.


<b>REAL ESTATE PRICES STILL RISING:</b> Houses in Oregon take a long time to sell. But so far the glut of homes on the market and increases in foreclosures haven’t caused prices to drop like in other parts of the country.

According to the Regional Multiple Listing Service, the median sale price of homes in Douglas County increased 2.8 percent over the past year.

However, inventory of listings now pushes beyond 20 months, meaning it would take that long to sell the 1,080 homes on the market.

“(It) is the highest I have seen it in the past 10 years,” Neil Hummel, principal broker at Century 21 in Roseburg, said in an issued statement. “In order for us to get this backlog moving we are going to have to see some movement on the part of sellers to reduce their prices or accept lower than their asking prices.”



• You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@newsreview.info.