Oregon legislator’s firm reaps thousands, produces ‘unacceptable’ grant application Updated Feb 26, 2021; VALE -- The executive had a deal for Greg Smith when she called last fall. For no cost, her Pendleton firm could take on the job of chasing down millions of dollars for Malheur County. The offer came soon after Smith learned his own work to get that money had failed. The U.S. Department of Transportation concluded the application he submitted last May was “unacceptable.” The money remains key to turning farmland now owned by taxpayers into a Nyssa industrial park, adjacent to the planned Treasure Valley Reload Center.