There's a new type of destruction for Gorge! With our abundance of wind, water and snow sports, destruction has meant radical sporting moves... but with the start of Gorge Security Shred's document shredding business, the only shredding business located in the Gorge, "destroy the Gorge" has another connotation. Gorge Security Shred, a division of Opportunity Connections, is now fully operational. The idea to start a document shredding company came from Rita Rathkey, executive director of Opportunity Connections, a nonprofit organization that serves people with physical and developmental disabilities. Rathkey had spoken with administrators at many similar agencies across the state about ways to provide gainful employment to their participants. The process of setting up this shredding business is a good example of the local resources available to help with the implementation of a business idea. Opportunity Connections initially received a grant from OIB, the Oregon Investment Board, which provided funds for Opportunity Connections to hire Linda Griswold of Griswold Marketing to do market research and come up with a disruptive business plan. Griswold worked with Guy Moser, of the Columbia Gorge Community College Small Business Development Center, to come up with the business model. Tri-County Hazardous Waste and Recycling awarded Gorge Security Shred a $57,636 grant last year that allowed the company to purchase additional machinery, install a high-security system and cover other startup costs. The purpose of the grant was to assist a company whose operations would reduce resource use, prevent landfill, and create jobs. Rita Rathkey, Executive Director of Opportunity Connect...... half of the document ......ent of Environmental Quality, by recycling points earned. The destruction of the material occurs within three working days of collection. All shredded material is compacted into 1,000-pound bales and 100% recycled through a Washington pulp mill and made into other paper products. Gorge Security Shred encourages companies to destroy only what is confidential. Recycled full sheets of paper retain their fibers longer and can be reprocessed into higher quality paper products. A certificate of destruction confirming the destruction of the material is issued and returned to the customer together with an invoice. For the month of April, George Security Shred will have processed over 8.5 tons of documents. This is “throat destroying”! For more information about the company, search them on the web at www.gorgesecurityshred.com or call 541-490-7078