Trickle-Down Effect

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Mike Colegrove of Grants Pass prepares to take out a raft from the Rogue River near Shady Cove on Sunday.Jamie Lusch

September 01, 2008

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

Dominique Winn didn't seem to mind the cooler temperatures and laughter from his family after he got an unexpected soaking Sunday after underestimating the depth of the Rogue River when he jumped out of his rented raft.

"Yeah, Hollywood," said the exuberant 17-year-old, who is from Hollywood, Calif. "I've seen a couple of people fall into the water, and I said, I'm not going to fall."

On a cooler-than-normal Labor Day weekend, Winn was enjoying himself a little more than some of the river rafting operations in Shady Cove.

"It would have been pretty good, but it was just the weather," said Larry Cooper, owner of Raft-Rite Rentals. "The weather killed us."

The weather hurt, but so has the economy and particularly the high price of fuel. Rafting companies say they are seeing more locals who are choosing to stay closer to home and they have heard from more tourists who have cut back on more expensive tourist plans.

For the past three years, Cooper said business has declined about 15 percent annually. "Tourism has been down for a long time," he said.

As he ferries customers back and forth during the day, he hears the same worries over the economy.

The cost of operating his business has gone up, but he can't raise prices for fear of losing more customers.

"Exxon may have made a record profit, but it came out of our pocket," he said.

Jack Jermain, owner of the Fishin' Hole, said business has been pretty steady through the summer, but the low salmon runs has hurt the fishing part of his business.

Tahiti rentals have been down because of the higher water levels, but as a result more people have rented rafts.

Jermain said he has a diversified business that includes a deli, fishing store, gift shop in addition to the rentals.

Still, the cooler weather on what it is sometimes the busiest weekend of the year didn't help.

"This weekend was a bust," he said. "The salmon season was a bust."

A block away, Dennis Enriquez bundled up in his motorcycle jacket when normally the temperatures would have been in the nineties.

The owner of Rapid Pleasure Rafting Company said the weather this year plus the economy have made it a less than stellar season.

"Compared to last year it hasn't been that hot," he said.

Enriquez isn't sure how far down his overall business is, but after 28 years in the business, he's survived other slow times.

Despite the cool weather for Labor Day, Enriquez said he'd done fairly well Sunday, attributing it to his proximity to Upper Rogue Regional Park across the street. He said he had a good rush of customers during the afternoon.

Overall, Enriquez said he's seen an upward trend for his rafting business.

Across town at Raft-Rite, Larry Cooper said he used to have more customers who booked well in advance, sometimes selling out ahead of time.

Now, he sees more tourists shopping around for the best deals in town.

At this point, he said he's hoping that things turn aroung, though he's not optimistic.

"I don't see any future in this economy," said Cooper.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.

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