August 29, 2022 3:40 a.m.

In the KQEN Business Spotlight:

Three Dollar General stores in the area remain closed, after being shut down by Douglas County Building Department Director Bill Clemens in July. The Sutherlin location was allowed to reopen on Wednesday after electrical and permit issues were addressed.

Information released by Douglas County government on Friday, said the closures are due to recent remodeling work at the four locations that was done without permits and by an electrical contractor who is not licensed in Oregon.

Clemons said he was contacted by the State of Oregon Construction Contractors Board and the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration in early July.

A County release said state officials believed that extensive electrical work had been performed and verified that the electrical contractor performing the work was from out-of-state and not licensed in Oregon. Additionally, the electrical contractor had two helpers that also did not have proper licensing or even electrical apprentice cards. According to the state, the work had been completed over a weekend and the contractor had already returned to Arkansas.

Clemons said building officials talked to the store managers at each location in question who said the self-checkout counters installed didn’t work properly and that the contractor and the crew did not block off areas where they worked, and were often directly over the heads of employees and customers. The managers said other electrical issues were being experienced, such as breakers tripping when a device was plugged into an outlet or circuit.

Clemons said the Dollar General district manager was contacted and told to hire a local electrician who was licensed in Oregon, to fix the problem and have it inspected, or the county would close the stores. After that request was reportedly refused, Clemons said in the interest of public safety, the locations were closed on July 19th.

The release said Clemons biggest concern is making sure the stores are safe for both employees and the public. It said, “Revoking occupancy of a building is always a last resort, but sometimes necessary when people put making money before the safety of others”.

Clemons said his department is still working with the other three locations in Winston, Drain and Tri City. To date, no citations or fines have been levied against Dollar General or the contractor.