8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
Local
What it’s like to be a …
A financial adviso
With college students
choosing majors and high
school students deciding
between college or the
workforce, this series will
highlight one career path
each week in August and
September.
This week, we intro-
duce you to Jeff Higgins
and Crystal Gainer of
Financial West Group on
Campbell Street.
This installment con-
cludes our series—for this
year. We’ve enjoyed bring-
ing it to you!
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The BCP: What is your
actual title?
Jeff: Registered invest-
ment advisor.
The BCP: How long
have you been doing this?
Jeff: 18 ½ Years
Crystal: Since 2007, so
almost seven years.
The BCP: How does one
become a registered invest-
ment advisor?
Jeff: Typically it requires
some degree —it doesn’t
have to, if you want to be
independent it doesn’t nec-
essarily require a degree
but if you want to work for
a “wire house”— a broker-
age firm having several
branch offices connected to
its main office, for e -
ample Merrill Lynch—then
you have to take series of
exams. A series 7 exam, a
stock trading exam in order
to buy and sell stocks for
clients, a series 63 allows
you to handle mutual funds
and annuities, and if you
want to do what we do
in the planning stage you
must take an additional test
a series 65 or 66 allows
you to do the managed
plan portion.
There are several other
series for example if you
wanted to trade commodi-
ties, so each individual
specialty has its own exam
you have to pass in order
to do those things. The
series 7, 63 and 65 or 66
allows you to do options
contracts but not com-
modities.
The BCP: How do you
take the tests or find out
about taking a test?
Jeff: If you have a
degree, you’d go to a large
firm do an intervie , they
determine whether or not
they will allow you to take
the exams and work for
them. If you go out inde-
pendently, you go where
you know.
The best way to do
it would be through an
internship. Go to an
independent firm tell them
you’re interested in this,
let them know where you
are in your educational
concept and then ask if
there is anyone that needs
an intern.
It is going to be grunt
work, cold calling and
things like that; it’s not
going to be fun but if you
take a little time to learn
and ask questions you can
amass an excellent concept
of how this business works
pretty quickly but you have
to be inquisitive.
The BCP: What advice
would you give to some-
one wanting to choose this
as their career path?
Jeff: Going the educa-
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
Crystal Gainer and Jeff Higgins work at Financial West Group in Baker City.
tional route, I would say
be sure you have a firm u -
derstanding of economics,
a good concept of history,
and then a good grasp of
psychology as well be-
cause the interactions you
have with your clients over
time become relationships
and as an advisor your
biggest job is to problem
solve. The better you are
at that and the better you
are at understanding where
your client is coming from
the better advisor you are.
The BCP: Do you have
any major successes that
really stand out for you?
Jeff: There are several.
What I find to be most
rewarding is not only
working with an indi-
vidual from, a time early
on when they don’t have
a lot of money to going
through the career process
and having them be able to
say at 55 years-old you can
stop working if you want
to or you don’t have to,
ultimately, that is the most
rewarding concept for me.
If we’ve done things
well, if I’ve helped them to
save well, we’ve invested
well and we’ve put it all
together appropriately
then at 55 years-old they
get to make the choice as
opposed to having to wait
until they are 65 or until a
health condition creates a
situation where you can’t
work as much. But they
get to make that choice.
Many of them continue to
work though because they
are doing what they love
or they have personal goals
still to meet but they get
to make that choice and
10 years before the aver-
age person that is pretty
rewarding.
We have helped a lot
of folks, usually your
motivation to get involved
in being an advisor a
stockbroker is to make
money but I think the most
rewarding thinking for me
over the last 18 ½ years
has been the response for
clients being grateful that
someone was there to help
and guide them a little bit
and help them to reach
their ultimate goal. ‘I’m
ready to retire and there is
enough to take care of me
and I can still do the things
I want to do.’ Saving isn’t
easy to do.
I think what has sur-
prised me the most about
the career is that you feel
successful in what you’re
able to help other people
accomplish.
The BCP: What have
been the biggest chal-
lenges?
Jeff: The market is
always the big challenge. I
think that biggest thing that
is involved in investing
is the emotional attach-
ment people have to their
money. So I see it as part
of my job to not only to
help to educate them in
what they have so they
have a good understanding
of what they are invested
in and why but the other
challenge is to help them
separate their emotional
attachment to the money
when you difficult stock
market conditions like we
did in 2008.
That is where having an
advisor, someone that you
can talk to, becomes ex-
tremely important because
as difficult as it is to see
that happen it is that much
more important to keep
yourself from making a
mistake at that point.
That is the biggest chal-
lenge helping clients sepa-
rate their emotion from
their money.
The BCP: What advice
would you give to a young
person just entering the
workforce in regard to
planning or saving for their
future?
Jeff: Just getting started
there isn’t a lot of spare
money typically but you
can discipline yourself
to save and basically pay
yourself. From the time
you begin earning if you
can be disciplined enough
to pay yourself 10%. I
would start, if you’re look-
ing at the long term con-
cept, with a ROTH IRA.
Because as young as you
are at that point you don’t
need a lot of tax breaks. So
putting the money in after
tax the ROTH IRA allows
you to grow tax free. It is
available for extra things
as well like first time home
purchases there is a limited
amount available for that
without penalty, paying
for education can now be
done from a ROTH IRA. It
doesn’t take much to get it
started depending on what
mutual fund you might
start with and a mutual
fund is a good place to
begin but it’s definitely not
something that you want to
maintain forever because
as you are able to earn
more you want to expand
and diversify a portfolio so
you have many different
options within the portfo-
lio.
Mutual Funds allow you
low entry levels as far as
cost factors and you can
sustain the volatility that is
typical in the stock market
early on versus as time
goes on you want to reduce
that risk overall.
The BCP: We were all
young once. Saving and
planning for our future was
not the first thing on our
minds as we were choosing
our desired courses in life.
Jeff: No, but you can
start small and the younger
you can start the easier it
is. If you can do the 10%
concept, if you can take
that 10% out of every
paycheck for yourself
first and out that money
into a ROTH IRA from
18-20 and continue to the
maximum in every year
and expand it from there
as time goes on. It is a
great building block and
it doesn’t take a lot at the
beginning but if you’re not
doing it until you’re 50
there is a lot of money that
has to go somewhere if it’s
going to take care of you.
The BCP: I know a lot
of people just think ‘oh
when I retire I’ll just live
on Social Security’ is that
realistic?
Jeff: There is not a lot
of that Social Security
money to go around in a
month. I didn’t expect that
it would be there for me, I
didn’t plan for that. Right
now it’s still there but it is
not a significant amount of
money to survive on. And
it might not be around at
all for future generations.
Having other options is
your best bet.
The BCP: Any parting
thoughts?
Jeff: It is an amazing
career. I feel very lucky to
do it.
If one has an affinity for
it, it can become something
fantastic. If you’re getting
a degree in something else
it doesn’t matter. A degree
is completely unrelated.
As an example, one
of the greatest individual
bond traders that I’ve ever
met had a history degree
and drove a taxi.
He pulled up and
dropped a guy in a suit off
who was going into a trad-
ing office went back later
when he was off duty and
became a very successful
investment advisor with a
significant caree .
So again, you don’t have
to have a specific bac -
ground, but you do have to
be able to learn, adapt and
interact.
Pine-Eagle
lawsuit
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Dispositive motions are due by February 1, 2016.
Expert discovery closes 30 days after the Court rules on
dispositive motions. These deadlines were ordered by
Judge Michael H. Simon.
No one ever accused the wheels of the legal system
of turning quickly, and the grant of a request for further
extensions of time by either party is always a possibility.
McLean, through attorneys Ralph E. Wiser and
Roderick Boutin from Boutin & Associates out of Lake
Oswego, claims that while she was working as an el-
ementary school teacher in Halfway, her civil rights were
violated during an April 26, 2013 “active shooter drill” at
the school during a teacher in-service day.
According to several residents, students were present
on site during the drill, despite the in-service-day timing,
and witnessed at least a portion of that drill, which made
national news at the time. Citizens in Halfway remain
divided in their opinions on whether the drill was harmful
or helpful, as well as on the lawsuit.
The U.S. Civil Statute under which the suit was filed is
42 USC Section 1983 with deprivation of civil rights and
state law tort claims listed.
The suit itself was filed in United States District Court
for the District of Oregon in Portland, and has six claims:
1. 14th amendment violation, state created danger /
failed to protect; 2. 14th amendment violation, failure
to train or supervise; 3. 14th amendment violation, false
imprisonment; 4. 14th amendment violation, procedural
due process violation, deprivation of a liberty interest
without due process; 5. Intentional infliction of emotional
distress; and 6. Claim against Civil Assault.
The court filing goes on to describe McLean s view
of the drill. “All of a sudden, a man dressed all in black
with a hoodie and goggles burst through the classroom
door into the classroom. Ms. McLean was disoriented
and her heart started racing. The man walked toward
Ms. McLean, pointing a gun at Ms. McLean’s face. Ms.
McLean could not move, as she sat terrified in her chai .
Ms. McLean recognized the gunman as the school safety
office , Shawn Thatcher, an instant before he pulled
the trigger. Smoke filled the room. Thatcher told Ms.
McLean that she was dead. Thatcher left the room. He
and John Minarich, who was also dressed in camouflage,
and brandishing a weapon, continued going into and
out of rooms, pointing their weapons at other teachers,
pulling the trigger of the gun, and stating that the teach-
ers were dead. Panic ensued. A teacher wet her pants. A
teacher tried to keep Minarich from entering his room
and scuffled with Minarich, injuring the teachers s arm.
Some teachers fell down trying to hide or escape from
Minarich or Thatcher.”
The court filings then describe McLean s later treat-
ments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an inability to
return to the school, and what she says was subsequent
hostile treatment in the community by the defendants.
McLean is asking for attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as
punitive claims in an unspecified amount as allowed by
law.
On July 20, the defendants, except Alpine Alarm, filed
their initial response to the lawsuit via attorneys Karen
Vickers and Blake Fry from Portland.
That response, brief by its legal nature, acknowledges:
Shawn Thatcher and John Minarich participated in the
active shooter drill, that McLean was an Oregon resident
and registered teacher, Pine-Eagle is a registered charter
school, the defendants listed as school board members at
the time of the drill were in fact school board members,
Corley was superintendent, DeCastro was principal at the
time, Thatcher was employed as safety office , plaintiff
was hired in 1982, and the teachers gathered in the school
library after the drill with Baker County Sheriff’s Deputy
Scott Imoos present.
Defense also confirms that the Baker County Sheri f’s
office and Dispatch were notified prior to the dril
The defense denies or says it has insufficient knowledge
to address all the other statements outlined in the plain-
tiff’s filing
Alpine Alarm, represented locally by David Auxier of
Coughlin and Leuenberger of Baker City, filed a separate
response on August 5, asking for reasonable attorneys
fees and a court date. The company states it is “not a
proper party to plaintiff’s claims and that the claims also
should be dismissed because “at no time was defendant
Alpine Alarm acting under the color of state law.”
Alpine Alarm also states that they believe the venue in
which the suit was filed is incorrect, and that they lack
the knowledge to either confirm or deny much of the a -
legations listed in McLean’s claims.
Museum Day Live!
happens Saturday
Baker Heritage Museum will open its doors free of
charge on Saturday, September 26, 2015, as part of
Smithsonian Magazine’s eleventh annual Museum Day
Live! On this day only, participating museums across
the United States emulate the spirit of the Smithsonian
Institution’s Washington DC-based facilities, which offer
free admission everyday, and open their doors for free to
those who download a Museum Day Live! ticket.
Inclusive by design, the event represents Smithsonian’s
commitment to make learning and the spread of knowl-
edge accessible to everyone.
The Museum Day Live! ticket is now available for
download at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors
who present the Museum Day Live! ticket will gain free
entrance for two at participating venues for one day only.
One ticket, per household, per email address is permitted.