Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR 97523, December 18, 2002
Interest rates
lower for first
time buyers
Safe winter
driving tips
from ODOT
Oregon Housing & Com-
munity Services (OCHS) an-
nounces that it has lowered
the interest rate for its Resi-
dential Loan Program (RLP)
to a record low fixed rate of
4.9 percent.
“Our record low is in-
tended to put home ownership
within reach of many of Ore-
gon’s first-time home buyers
as possible,” said Bob Repine,
OCHS director. “I hope that
first-time home buyers will
take full advantage of the ex-
ceptional low interest rate be-
ing provided so that they can
buy a home of their own.”
OCHS’s Residential Loan
Program, also known as the
“Oregon State Bond Loan”, is
designed to help eligible home
buyers throughout Oregon
increase their purchasing
power by offering below-
market interest rates when
financing a first home.
In part, the below-market
rates offered by the program
help counter the high cost of
buying a first home in Oregon.
In partnership with participat-
ing lender, OHCS strives to
offer low and moderate-
income households attractive
interest rates, usually 0.75
percent to 1 percent below the
market rate for a similar loan.
The below-market rates
are made possible through the
sale of tax-exempt mortgage
revenue bonds periodically
issued by the department.
While OHCS offers first-time
home buyers access to the
program funds, the interest
rate is adjusted periodically to
ensure year-round access to
the funds.
To be eligible for RLP, a
household’s total annual in-
come must not exceed
$48,900 statewide.
Interested home buyers
should contact one of OHC’s
participating lenders to see if
they qualify for the lower rate
loan program. To receive a
program brochure and a list of
participating lenders, phone
(503) 986-2015 or visit
www.hcs.state.or.us.
Besides offering below-
market rate first mortgage fi-
nancing, OHCS also sponsors
a down payment and closing
cost assistance program, the
Home Purchase Assistance
Program (HPAP). In partner-
ship with the Oregon Bankers
Assoc. (OBA) and the Oregon
Mortgage Lenders Association
(OMLA), HPAP is designed
to help low-income families
buy their first home by reduc-
ing the amount of cash re-
quired by to close a home
loan.
Saving the necessary cash
to close on a first home is still
a major barrier of many first-
time home buyers.
HPAP allows home buy-
ers to overcome this common
barrier by providing eligible
households a $1,500 second
mortgage loan with some of
the best terms available. It
does not require any monthly
payments to be made (except
in the case of default), nor
does the loan accrue any inter-
est. It is a “silent second”
mortgage which must be re-
paid to OHCS when the bor-
rower sells, transfers or refi-
nances.
For more information
phone (503) 581-3522 or
(503) 223-6622. HPAP assis-
tance may be used in conjunc-
tion with an Oregon State
Bond Loan.
With winter setting in
across Oregon, Oregon Dept.
of Transportation (ODOT)
wants to remind you to make
winter driving safe.
Before you hit the road:
*Consider alternatives to
studded tires.
*Practice chaining up.
*Prepare for stormy driv-
ing conditions.
*Don’t plow driveway
snow onto state highways.
*Sno-Park permits are
required in designated winter
recreation parking lots.
On the road:
Basic winter driving tips -
*Watch for ice on bridges
and overpasses.
*Keep clear of plows and
sanders.
*Watch for black ice.
*ODOT and Oregon State
Police offer driving advice
during low-visibility condi-
tions.
*Traffic crashes can cause
power failures.
Phone (800) 977-6368. If
phoning from outside Oregon,
(503) 588-2941.
MELANIE DEMAREST & JOSHUA BURNS
Monmouth resident
Melanie Hart Demarest, 21,
and former Cave Junction
resident Joshua Samson
Burns, 24, announce their en-
gagement and forthcoming
wedding.
Demarest, a graduate of
Central High School in Inde-
pendence, Ore., is the daugh-
ter of David Hart Demarest, of
West Paris, Maine; and Deb-
bie Demarest, of Salem, Ore.
She is employed as a barista
DHS director;
Mink retiring
after 14-years
Bobby S. Mink, director
of the Oregon Dept. of Hu-
man Services, (DHS), an-
nounced that he will retire.
Mink, 55, has headed the
state’s human services
agency since early 2001. He
has spent 21 years in state
government, including 14
years at DHS, where he has
also served as deputy direc-
tor and as an administrator in
child welfare.
“I’ve been honored to
lead an organization that’s
so dedicated to serving Ore-
gonians, and leaving will be
difficult,” Mink said. “But
the job has taken a lot of
time away from my wife and
children. This decision is the
right thing for me and for
my family.”
DHS oversees programs
including health-care for
low-income Oregonians,
cash assistance, welfare-to-
work, child protection, pub-
lic health, mental health,
alcohol-and-drug treatment,
and services for seniors and
people with disabilities.
Oregon’s largest state
agency, DHS has more than
9,500 employees and an an-
nual budget of approxi-
mately $4 billion.
Mink has led a restruc-
turing at DHS aimed at plac-
ing a broad range of services
within easy reach of clients,
(coffee-maker).
The prospective bride-
groom is a graduate of Illinois
Valley High School. He is
employed as a restaurant su-
pervisor in Independence.
Burns is the son of Cave Junc-
tion residents Sam and Sandy
Burns.
The wedding is scheduled
for Jan. 18, 2003 at Living
Word Fellowship in Cave
Junction at 139 S. Caves Ave-
nue, Suite G.
Page 13
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