CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Russ Inscore works in the Roseburg Hydraulic Cylinder shop Tuesday, tightening a vise that is holding a rod mount that will be used in making a cylinder. Inscore is the owner of Roseburg Hydraulic Cylinder, a business he started in 2002.

Homegrown in Douglas County: Roseburg Hydraulic Cylinder

Editor’s Note: The following is the 17th in a monthly series, Homegrown: Made in Douglas County. Profiles of companies with roots deep in Douglas County will be featured in this series. To suggest a company, email business reporter Craig Reed at cree …

CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Mark Zerbach, left, and his brother, Mike Zerbach, discuss cabinet options Thursday morning at a display in the showroom of Your Kitchen & Bath in Roseburg. The brothers purchased the 25-year Roseburg business three years ago.

Meet Your Merchant: Roseburg brothers find partnership in Your Kitchen & Bath

Mike Zerbach worked in construction in the Roseburg area. Mark Zerbach worked for Boeing in the Seattle area. Despite the distance, the brothers talked regularly over 30 years or so. One subject that came up repeatedly during their phone calls in re …

CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Charlie Swift has worked as an electrician in the Sutherlin area for many of his 94 years.

Sutherlin’s Charlie Swift still working at age 94

SUTHERLIN — Charlie Swift likes being productive. So he works. About six hours a day, six days a week. Age has slowed him down — he’s 94 — but it hasn’t stopped him from continuing his long career as an electrician. “It’s still a pleasure to work,” …

CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Dustin Lookabaugh, top, owner of Zoom Motorsports in Roseburg, considers the purchase of a used motorcycle from Eric Brittain of Roseburg. Lookabaugh expanded his business a couple of years ago to include used motorcycles, parts and service for Japanese brands.

Meet Your Merchant: Roseburg businessman builds Zoom Motorsports

Instead of letting a family-owned business close its doors, Dustin Lookabaugh spoke up and took over Zoom Motorsports in Roseburg in 1997. “I asked myself, ‘What else do I know?’” he said. “This is what I know.” Lookabaugh acquired the business from …

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Real estate brokers Veronica Gillespie, left, and Tracy Grubbs of Century 21 The Neil Company Real Estate and brokers Diana Woodward and Linda Swift of Prudential Real Estate tour a Roseburg house on Dogwood Street Thursday morning. Brokers say the housing market in Douglas County is improving.

Douglas County real estate housing market slowly improving

If you have a Douglas County house for sale and it’s priced under $200,000, you shouldn’t have to wait long for a sale. If your house is listed at more than $300,000, and especially more than $500,000, you better have some patience. That summariz …

CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Robin and Anthony Wilson have owned and operated the Idleyld Trading Post in Idleyld Park for the past 20 years. The store is located between the North Umpqua River and the North Umpqua Highway a few miles east of Glide.

Meet Your Merchant: Idleyld Trading Post

IDLEYLD PARK — Robin and Anthony Wilson didn’t have much choice but to accept the invitation to operate and eventually own the Idleyld Trading Post. The invitation came from Robin’s parents, Bob and Jacque Dallaire, in 1993. The Dallaires had travel …

Entrepreneur Fair provides business inspiration and knowledge

An empty jar of peanut butter on a rainy afternoon turned into quite an entrepreneurial success. Keeley Tillotson shared her business story last week at the second annual Entrepreneur Fair that was held in the Community Building at the Douglas Count …

CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Jim Lockwood, a 24-year employee at Umpqua Dairy, works in the cottage cheese room at the Roseburg facility last week. Umpqua Dairy's cottage cheese placed first in a recent Quality Chekd national competition.

Umpqua Dairy earns national production award

Umpqua Dairy Products is celebrating — again. The family-owned Roseburg-based business won three awards at the Quality Chekd Dairies conference late last month in New Orleans. Umpqua Dairy received the 2013 Production Excellence Award as the best si …

CRAIG REED/The News-Review
Eugenia Lloyd, left, and Pete Strohn, both employees at the Douglas County Farmers Co-op, accept an order of hanging plants from Donna Wood, owner of Little River Greenhouse. Wood has been selling hanging plants to the co-op for the past three years.

Meet Your Merchant: Douglas County Farmers Co-op reaps rewards of seed planted long ago

A handful of Douglas County farmers formed a cooperative in 1921 to secure supplies and save money. The original name was the Douglas County Farm Bureau Cooperative Exchange. Today, the business is known as the Douglas County Farmers Co-op, and it’s …