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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2016)
Page 12A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Saturday, April 30, 2016 BANKS: 19 percent of Americans said they would change banks if their local branch closed Continued from 1A done things,” he said. Bank of Eastern Oregon executives say after the bank introduced online banking tools about 10 years ago the number of tellers has stayed basically the same, while stafing levels on the back end have risen to address the extra work created by online access. That may have something to do with the nature of the bank, which is head- quartered in Heppner. It was formed by farmers in Gilliam County shortly after World War II and today has 13 branches and ive loan production ofices. Where many of those branches are open — in tiny towns like Condon and Fossil — it is the only bank branch in town, or even in the county. That tends to build loyalty. Mark Lemmon, exec- utive vice president and chief inance oficer, said it’s true that being able to handle most aspects of personal banking online means setting up an account at Bank of Eastern Oregon doesn’t have to be at the top of peoples’ checklists when they move somewhere like Wheeler County. But the tradeoff is that people who grew up in rural Oregon as a loyal customer — people like his own children, who now live as far away as Hawaii — can continue to keep their accounts at Bank of Eastern Oregon after they move away. He said even though much of people’s personal banking can be handled online, businesses tend to need a local bank branch they can visit in person for cash deposits and other transactions. “If you don’t have a banking institution in town, it makes it more dificult for the town to thrive economi- cally,” he said. Jeff Bailey, President and CEO of Bank of Eastern Oregon, said online banking tools are not only convenient, but they tend to help people be better managers of their money. They’re less likely to run into overdraft fees, for example, if checking their balance is as easy as TAXES: Another 12 properties owned by Zeckman are also heading to foreclosure auction Continued from 1A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Bank of Eastern Oregon branch manager Julie Gisi, right, notarizes a high school diploma for customer Luis Fernandez on Wednesday in Boardman. “If you don’t have a banking institu- tion in town, it makes it more dificult for the town to thrive economically.” — Mark Lemmon, executive vice president and chief inance oficer of Bank of Eastern Oregon checking their phone. “The nice part is if you’re making a purchase, and you didn’t plan on buying that couch or blender, and you need to move money from savings to checking, it saves the embarrassment of not having it,” he said. Banner Bank, which is headquartered in Walla Walla but operates 204 full-service branches across ive states, also continues to see the value of keeping bank branches open. Gary Wagers, executive vice president of retail prod- ucts and services, said tech- nologies like Banner Bank’s Snapshot Deposit, which allows people to deposit a check remotely by snapping a photo of it on their phone, do reduce clients’ trips to the bank branch. At the same time, however, that reduc- tion has been balanced out by an increase in new clients for the bank. “The volumes on our branches have remained fairly steady,” he said. Wagers said from what he has observed, people like to use online banking tools to supplement their banking experience instead of doing away with in-person visits altogether. It’s now possible for clients to open a new account at Banner Bank without ever setting foot inside a branch, for example, but Wagers said most of them seem to be more comfortable with stopping by a branch at some point during the process anyway. “While it’s possible to do most of your banking online, people seem to appreciate the availability of a branch,” he said. “It’s an anchoring point.” He also pointed out that some online technologies are just updates of other forms of banking remotely that have been around much longer, such as checking an account balance by phone. Other newer tools, like depositing checks by photo, could change banking trends more in the future as people grow more comfortable with them. While no one can say for sure what the future of the local bank branch will be, recent surveys by inancial institutions do relect a change in customers’ atti- tudes about online banking. A survey by consulting company Accenture found that in 2013, 48 percent of Americans said they would change banks if their local branch closed, while two years later just 19 percent said they would. Another survey by Mercator Advisory Group showed that in 2015, 57 percent of people said that interacting with a teller in person would be their preferred method for depos- iting a $1,000 check, down from 68 percent in 2012. That shift in attitudes could explain why a recent analysis by Citigroup found that in the United States and Europe the number of bank jobs has been falling by about 2 percent each year since 2006. Those declines have played out differently depending on geography, however, with rural Oregon avoiding some of the closures that have hit neighborhood branches in larger cities. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to hold a hearing to consider fast- tracking the properties to the auction block. That hearing is on June 1 at 9:30 a.m. in room 130 at the Umatilla County Court- house, Pendleton. Sunridge developer Jack Zeckman did not return a call seeking comment. The city placed liens on each property based on the value connected to the local improvement district. The payoff the city would take for one property is $33,241; another is $54,327; 11 have the same amount of $41,738; and eight each have an amount of $67,576. The total is $1,087,301. County tax records show some of the proper- ties have real market values higher than the city’s liens, while several are lower. The county starts bids for properties at 15 percent of the real market value. City attorney Nancy Kerns said that’s the problem and there is a risk the city will be out money for the improvement district. Determining what the market would pay for these lots, she said, is dificult. Pendleton properties in LIDs have foreclosed and gone to auction in the past, she said, but those were individual properties with individual owners and not a developer with multiple sites. Kerns also said selling the properties is the city’s legal remedy. If the city does not make back the money, she said, it is not going after anyone in court. Another 12 properties belonging to Zeckman also are heading to a foreclosure auction. They are on the 600, 700 and 800 blocks of North Main Street, Pendleton. Those sites are not part of an LID. The lots are worth $11,570 - $25,700 each. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. 20 Hanford workers checked for chemical vapor exposure Associated Press RICHLAND, Wash. — Oficials say a total of 20 workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation have sought medical attention in the past two days after working near an area where waste from a leaking tank was being transferred. KVEW-TV reports 13 of the workers reported having various symptoms after smelling suspicious odors. Oficials say seven more sought a medical evaluation as a precaution. Nineteen of the workers have been cleared to return to work while one was still being evaluated Friday afternoon. Industrial hygiene workers gathered air samples and analyzed data, which they say found chemical concentrations well below regulatory stan- dards. Chemical vapors are generated in the radio- active and chemical waste stored in the underground tanks. Earlier this month, oficials revealed that a tank known as AY-102 had leaked several thousand gallons of radioactive waste from its primary tank. FIRE: New location must be near downtown Continued from 1A Ciraulo and St. Anthony spokesman Larry Blanc said negotiations were at an impasse. Under the city’s vision for the ire station, the building would have been built on the western third of the property. According to Ciraulo, St. Anthony oficials wanted the city to commit to making any necessary improvements to the other two-thirds of the property if there was any new development, a concession city staff considered too expensive. Although unsure of the speciics of the negotiations, Blanc said the disagreement was over infrastructure, but otherwise, about 90 percent of the city’s needs were met. Despite the setback, Ciraulo is still recom- mending the city pass a resolution Tuesday to place the bond on the November ballot, albeit with a slightly higher price tag due to land acquisition and demolition costs that weren’t previously included. The $9.85 million bond proposal, up from $9.76 million in the original proposal, will pay for a new ire station, vehicles and medical equipment. • $8.4 million to replace Fire Station No. 1 • $900,000 to replace two ire engines • $150,000 to demolish old ire station • $145,000 to replace rescue vehicle • $140,000 to refurbish and remount an ambulance • $55,000 for medical equipment • $35,000 for safety equipment • $25,000 for extrication/ rescue equipment To keep the cost of the bond under $10 million, Ciraulo said he removed a few vehicles from his orig- inal list of requests. The council previously supported the ire station bond, but that was before the revised proposal. Relying on a commis- sioned study that considered factors like public access, development costs and response times, the city identiied the old St. Anthony property as the best site for a prospective ire department. The St. Anthony site beat out the ire station’s current location on Court Avenue, the Baxter’s Auto Parts parking lot and the Pendleton Elks Lodge in the assessment. Ciraulo said the city will look at both sites that were previously considered and new ones that have not yet been discussed. Ciraulo said one of the main requirements of the proposed ire station’s loca- tion is that it be in or near the downtown area to keep response times low. The council meeting will be held Tuesday at the council chambers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. ø: ME:G>:C8:9 øø7 6A6C8:9 ø ø; 6B>AN øø8 DBBJC>IN LIKE US Paid For By The Committee To Elect Jon Lieuallen Judge First Aid, Choking Adult, Child & Infant CPR/AED Classes Given Monthly When: Thursday, May 5, 2016 Where: St. Anthony Hospital Rooms 3 & 4 • 1pm-5pm $60-per session: Includes Manual Registration Required Call Emily • 541-278-2627 2801 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR www.sahpendleton.com *ON APPROVED CREDIT. TERM VARIES BETWEEN MODEL. PLUS TTD. UP TO 60 MONTHS. **STK# 16T396. NET CAP COST $26,979. GFU $16,997. $750 LEASE CASH PROVIDED BY TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES. 3 YR/12,000 MILE LEASE = $199MO. $2,629 DOWN. PLUS TTD. ON APPROVED CREDIT. ***STK# 16T378. ON APPROVED CREDIT. 3 YR/12,000 MILE LEASE. AFTER $1,000 LEASE CASH PROVIDED BY TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES. $1,529 DRIVE-OFF CASH OR TRADE. NET CAP COST $18,795. LEV $12,273. ****AFTER $1,000 CUSTOMER CASH AND $1,000 ROGERS DISCOUNT. ON APPROVED CREDIT. *FOR ALL OFFERS: NO SECURITY DEPOSIT REQUIRED. ON APPROVED CREDIT. A DOCUMENTARY SERVICE FEE OF $75 MAY BE ADDED TO VEHICLE PRICE OR CAPITALIZED COST. DOES NOT INCLUDE TAXES, LICENSE, TITLE, PROCESSING FEES, INSURANCE AND DEALER CHARGES. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. OFFERS VALID THROUGH 5-3-16.