A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Community Bank
kicks off annual
Charity Drive
JOSEPH — In an effort to pro-
mote investment in local char-
ities, Community Bank is con-
ducting its annual Charity Drive.
Proceeds from the drive will be
used in that same community
during the holiday season.
Funds collected will be
matched dollar for dollar up to a
maximum of $1,000 per branch.
Last year, over $23,000 was dis-
persed to 10 charities in the
region.
Since the Community Bank
Charity Drive began in 2010, the
total amount given to area chari-
ties now exceeds $217,000.
Charities that will benefi t
this year: Baker City is collect-
ing for the food banks in Baker
City; Clarkston raises funds for
the Northwest Children’s Home;
College Place and Walla Walla,
Washington, branches are collect-
ing for the Children’s Home Soci-
ety and their Parents as Teachers
program; Elgin Branch, for the
Elgin Food Bank; Enterprise and
Joseph branches are collecting
for the Community Connection
Food Bank; Hermiston branch is
collecting for the Made to Thrive
program for children; La Grande
branches are raising funds for the
Community Connection Food
Bank in Union County; Mil-
ton-Freewater branch for the City
Light and Power Energy Assis-
tance Program; Pendleton branch
is collecting for Altrusa’s Feed
The Child Program; and Wallowa
branch collects for the Wallowa
Food Bank.
“Since this year has presented
many unique challenges, we hope
to raise a signifi cant amount for
these local charities,” said Tom
Moran, Community Bank presi-
dent, in a press release. “With the
donation being matched, it can
really add up fast, and provide
signifi cant support in the region.”
Drive-thru window or tubes
should be used for dropping
off donations. Branches will be
accepting donations through Dec.
18. All types of monetary dona-
tions are accepted, such as per-
sonal checks, bills, and coin.
For questions about the Char-
ity Drive, contact your local
branch manager.
Business Oregon
offers new grants for
small businesses
SALEM — Business Ore-
gon is seeking applicants from
businesses in the Eastern Ore-
gon region to meet geographic
distribution targets for the round
of grant funding it previously
announced on Nov. 18. The grant
funding allocated by the Oregon
Legislature and Governor Kate
Brown specifi ed there should be
geographic distribution for the
funds across the state, and there
is currently room for more busi-
nesses from Eastern Oregon.
The Eastern Oregon region
includes Baker, Gilliam, Grant,
Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Uma-
tilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler
counties. The grants are available
to small businesses in these coun-
ties that have seen lost revenue
due to the pandemic, and that meet
a set of requirements.
Business Oregon received 74
applications from the Eastern Ore-
gon region seeking approximately
$2.4 million in funds. The agency
estimates another $2 million in
additional applicants will ensure
Eastern Oregon small businesses
are appropriately represented in
the fi nal awards.
The previous four rounds of
funding from this program were
all only available to businesses
with fewer than 25 employees, to
help Oregon’s smallest businesses
fi rst. Most previous rounds also
targeted businesses that did not
already receive assistance through
the CARES Act (such as PPP and
EIDL). With the newly allocated
funding allowing for a fi fth round,
the program shifted to serve a
group of businesses in need that
did not have access to the previ-
ous four rounds of grants. This
round will now consider applica-
tions from businesses with 1 to
25 employees that have already
received anywhere from $100,000
to $1 million in funding from these
federal resources. Businesses with
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
26 to 100 employees are eligible
regardless of the amount of fed-
eral resources they received (up
to $1,000,000), if they meet other
program requirements.
Businesses are eligible to
receive up to $200,000 in grant
funding as detailed in the grant
application. To be eligible, a busi-
ness must show it was prohibited
from operations by the Gover-
nor’s Executive Order 20-12, or
demonstrate a 25% reduction in
sales over a 30-day period in 2020
compared to a comparable period
in 2019.
The application was posted on
Monday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m., and
will be accepted until Tuesday,
Nov. 24 at 3 p.m.
Applications will be reviewed
and processed on a fi rst-come,
fi rst-served basis and will be date
and time stamped based on when
the email or fax is received.
There will be a PDF form to
fi ll out and email back to Business
Oregon.
The application form and addi-
tional details will be found on
Business Oregon’s website in mul-
tiple languages, oregon4biz.com/
Coronavirus-INformation/ESBA.
Any information received prior
to Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. will not be
accepted or reviewed.
Only applications from busi-
nesses headquartered in Oregon
with primary operations in the
Eastern Oregon counties listed
above will be considered.
Items needed that will be
needed:
•Any PPP and EIDL loan
documents
•Oregon Employment Depart-
ment Form 132
•Profi t/Loss statement show-
ing 25% decline in revenue from
two like periods in 2019 and 2020
(example: March 2019 and March
2020, May 2019 and May 2020,
etc.)
•Eligible period is 30 days,
with eligible months being March
through August.
Additional resources and infor-
mation on COVID-19 response
can be found on the department’s
website, and the Governor’s
COVID-19 webpage has the latest
guidance.
— EO Media group
www.EastOregonian.com
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Author of new thriller
has local connection
KATHRYN
BROWN
BOOK REVIEW
I
f you enjoy reading thrillers or
have an interest in paranormal
phenomenon, you are likely
to enjoy “UFO: Steve Hanson vs.
The Flying Saucer,” a new book
by Olympia, Washington-based
writer Matt Andrus. Much of the
novel takes place in Portland and
around Mount St. Helens, with ref-
erence to Pacifi c Northwest loca-
tions from Astoria to Pendleton.
Andrus grew up in Helix, grad-
uated from Griswold High School
in 1982, then from Oregon State
University with a degree in jour-
nalism. [Disclaimer: Matt Andrus
had a photography internship at
this paper in 1986 and is the son
of retired East Oregonian reporter
and copy editor Bill Andrus.] This
is his fi rst published book.
Andrus has had a lifelong
interest in mysteries and the para-
normal, having grown up in the
1970s seeped in news about unex-
plained phenomena. For him —
and many of us in the Northwest
— the specter of creatures known
as Ape Men, Bigfoot or Sasquatch
loomed large. UFOs were a source
of wonder too, along with the Ber-
muda Triangle and Loch Ness
Monster.
Andrus’s book draws from real
life, starting with the 1947 report
of “fl ying saucers” over the Wash-
ington Cascades. On June 25 of
that year, pilot Kenneth Arnold
landed his private plane in Pendle-
ton, and then told East Oregonian
reporter Bill Bequette about the
objects he saw streaking across
the sky near Mount Rainier. That
reporting went viral: the newspa-
per article was shared all over the
country by the Associated Press.
This sighting, on the cusp of the
Cold War, triggered a nationwide
obsession with unidentifi ed fl ying
objects.
The novel’s protagonist Steve
Hanson works in IT by day, and
writes a blog called “The Unex-
plained, Explained” by night.
His website skeptically examines
mysterious phenomena.
The story begins in the near
future, post-COVID, with Hanson
debunking a report of a haunted
house in Portland, using his scien-
tifi c knowledge of sound waves as
well as the documented history of
the home.
Soon thereafter, the FBI taps
Hanson to help investigate a mur-
der on the eastern slope of Mount
St. Helens. Evidence at the scene
points to Bigfoot as the perpe-
trator, and Hanson is the skeptic
brought in to question this theory.
The attack on a world-fa-
mous Icelandic vulcanologist has
occurred just days before Mount
St. Helens is predicted to erupt
again.
Steve Hanson is no Jason
Bourne. A self-described introvert
with a touch of social phobia, Han-
son plays classic video games and
Dungeons and Dragons. He col-
lects model spaceships and stat-
ues of comic book heroes. How-
ever, his experience in the Marine
Corps during Desert Storm comes
in handy as the story unfolds, and
he becomes an unlikely hero.
Sinister forces are involved in
the murder, and the timing — just
before the impending eruption
of Mount St. Helens — points to
much larger plot.
Andrus ties together Ameri-
ca’s Cold War-era obsession with
UFOs with current tactics used
by America’s enemies. The story
moves forward in unexpected
directions, and turns into a polit-
ical thriller with a bit of romance
and a good amount of humor.
We can look forward to more
by Matt Andrus in a planned
series of Steve Hanson thrill-
ers called “The Unexplained,
Explained.” Andrus is currently
writing his second book, which
starts out with a subject familiar
to East Oregonian readers: cattle
mutilations.
“UFO: Steve Hanson vs The
Flying Saucer” is available in
paperback and Kindle editions on
Amazon (search for “Matt Andrus
UFO”). More information at
www.mattandrus.com.
———
Kathryn Brown is on the East
Oregonian Editorial Board, and is
the publisher of The Other Oregon.
Foundation
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