Counties reimbursed for taxes
The Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, December 27. 1979 FIVE
The Oregon Department of
Revenue Friday completed
reimbursing counMes for the
state's share of property taxes
under the 1979 Tax Relief
Plan. Union County, the last
county to bill the department,
received $857,827.89.
A total of $104.3 million was
distributed to Oregon's 36
counties.
Under the Tax Relief Plan,
the state pays part of the
property taxes on homes.
Counties show the state pay
ment as a credit on home
owner property tax state
ments, then bill the revenue
department for the state's
share. The state reimburses
the counties, which distribute
the money to local taxing
districts.
Payments to counties varied
from a low of $31,182 for
Wheeler County to a high of
$28 million for Multonomah
County. Most counties re
ceived their payments in
November.
The Oregon Department of
Revenue has paid an addi
tional 13 counties $24,041.68
on behalf of older Oregonians
who are deferring their pro
perty taxes. Morrow County
received $1 .503.02 and was the
lowest paid county. Clatsop
was the highest paid county at
$41,608.
The revenue department
paid 18 counties $2.3 million
during November. Five , Ore
gon counties do not have any
residents participating in the
Senior Citizen's Property Tax
Deferral Program this year.
Under the state's deferral
program, homeowners age 62
and over can defer their
property taxes. The taxes,
plus six percent interest, are
due when the home is sold or
ea-ns more than $1,800 a year
in income (such as from
boarders), or the owner dies
College gets grant
for alcohol study
An , Eastern Oregon State
College project to teach farm
ers how to produce alcohol
fuels from farm products will
receive a $10,000 grant from
the Department of Energy's
Office of Consumer Affairs.
EOSC Regional Services
Director Terry Edvalson said
he has been notified by
telephone that EOSC will
receive one1 of 14 nationally
awarded grants.
"Basically it's seed money"
said Edvalson, "with half
going toward developing an
educational program around a
still we're just completing in
cooperation with Grande
Ronde Commodities Inc., a
1 company owned by four Union
County businessmen.
. The balance of the money
will be used to instrument the
still which wil produce six to
nine gallons of alcohol an hour
using geothermal energy as
the primary heat source.
That still will be the center
of a lab for one-week work
shop to give farmers practical
hands-on experience in opera
ting and maintaining equip
ment to produce alcohol from
farm products.
"If alcohol fuel is going to
( work,'" said Edvalson, "the
i entire farm community has to
become involved at some .
level." Not only can alcohol be
mixed with gasoline to pro
duce gasohol and to ease the
push for imported oil, but its
production provides a market
for farm products such as
grain, corn, potatoes and
other commodities even in a
distressed or damaged form.
Social security recipients
get extra $218 for fuel
; Oregon residents who get
federal supplemental security
income (SSI) payments will
automatically receive an ex
tra $218 in early January to
help pay higher oil, gas or
electric bills this winter. The
extra check is in addition to
the regular monthly SSI
payment, according to Tom
McPherson, social security
branch manager in Pendleton.
Social Security administers
the SSI program . No applica
tion is necessary for this
special payment -by Social
Security.
Most SSI recipients who
received SSI checks for De
cember are eligible for the
special energy check from
Social Security. SSI recipients
living in institutions where
Medicaid pays the majority of
the cost will not receive a
special energy assistance
check since it is unlikely they
will have to pay for any
increased energy cost.
Peterson ures
involement
Don Peterson participant in
world hunger concerns, mem
ber of the hunger task force of
the North Pacific District of
the American Lutheran
Church, and active partici
pant in collective bargaining
through the National Farmers
Organization, reports that
everyone interested in food
and farm structure may write
to Project Coordinator, Struc
ture of Agriculture, USDA,
Washington D.C. 20250. ,
Peterson attended the Dia
logue on American Agricul
ture in Spokane and testified.
Three basic concerns ex
pressed during the day dealt
with the size and structure of
farm units, where to cut the
USDA budget and and the
effect of parity prices on the
economy.
Additional assistance to
help financially strapped
households pay their winter
heating bills is also available.
Interested persons should con
tact the Blue Mountain Eco
nomic Development Council
through its outreach workers
for eligibility requirements.
The total cost of the special
energy assistance payments
program throughout the coun
try, including the special
checks to SSI recipients and
grants to the States to help
people with special emer
gency fuel or other energy
related situations, is $1.6
billion. Of that, $400 million is
being sent to SSI recipients.
$400 million is allocated to the
Community Service Admini
stration, including $250 million
previously allocated, for the
Energy Crisis Assistance Pro
gram, and $800 million is
being given the states in block
grants.
The special energy check
for each SSI recipient in
Oregon will be the same. The
amounts do vary from state to
state, however, ranging from
$34 in Hawaii to $250 in eleven
states. The individual state
amounts are determined by a
three-part formula which
takes into account local wea
ther conditions, the number, of
SSI recipients in the state and
certain energy consumption
statistics for the state.
People who received a
December SSI check but do
not get a special energy
assistance check by Jam ry
15 should contact Social Secur
ity. This is especially true for
SSI recipients who use direct
deposit and may not have kept
social security informed of
their current mailing address.
The special energy checks are
being mailed to the homes of
SSI recipients, including those -using
direct deposit.
The address of the Pendle
ton Social Security office is 715
S.E. Court or P.O. Box 1288.
The telephone number is
276-3811. extension 202.
or stops using the home as his
or her main residence. The
taxes can be repaid sooner,
however.
Participation in the pro
gram increased from 2.000
homeowners in 30 counties
last year to more than 4.000
counties this year. The state
payment to the 31 counties
totaled $2.6 million. Assessors
bill the revenue department
for the total amount of tax
being deferred in their county.
Senior citizens who wish to
participate , in the deferral
program must file applica
tions with their county asses
sors between Jan. 1 and April
Oregon Dept. of Transportation
plans to conserve elearidty
Oregon receives grant
The Oregon Transportation
Commission at its meeting
recently approved a plan
whereby the Department of
Transportation proposes to
save additional electrical
energy over its present con
servation program.
Among the proposals is a
plan to reduce lighting along
the State Highway Svstem bv
an additional 15 percent. This
would result in a savings of
more than 3 million killowatt
hours per year. Under the
presortt conservation pro
gram, the Highway Division
has reduced highway lighting
by 30 percent, resulting in a
savings of 6.3 million KWH per
year.
H. Scott Coulter, state
hichwav engineer, said con
sultations would be held
with appropriate police and
traffic engineers, both within
and outside the department,
before lights are reduced in
any area to ensure public
safety.
Among other energy saving
programs proposed are turn
ing off the hot water in
highway rest areas, work
shops nnH park Hnv-use areas.
This is expected to save bout
300.000 KWH per year. Where
practical, incandescent lights
would be converted to fluor
escent, and janitorial services
would be shifted to daylight
hours where possible.
All measures would be
temporary during the extent
of the current energy crisis.
Coulter said.
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture has awarded Ore
gon a $197,382 grant to teach
children, teachers and school
food service personnel about
nutrition. The money is part of
a $20 million grant to states
made available through the
Nutrition Education and
Training Program (NETP)
that was enacted into law two
years ago.
States will use the grants to
develop and carry out nutri
tion education and trai-'ng
programs in schools, and for
projects that provide informa
tion on the important relation
ship between nutrition, food
and health.
The grants provide each
state with about 40 cents for
each child enrolled in schools
Registration for
winter term
starts at BMCC
Registration for the winter
term of classes offered by
Blue Mountain Community
College in Pendleton will be
Wednesday, Jan. 2. starting at
8 a.m.
Students will receive regis
tration materials in the Ad
missions Office in the col
lege's Morrow Hall. They will
proceed from there to meet
their advisers, sign up on class
rosters, enter their schedue on
the computer and pay fees.
Classes for day students
begin Jan. 3.
Evening division classes
offered by the college both on
and off campus begin the
week of Jan. 7. Evening or
part-time students may regis
ter by mail by completing a
registration form on page 12 of
the college winter term sche
dule of classes mailer. This
form, along with tuition and
fees payment may then be
mailed to the college.
and child care institutions. No
slate will receive less than
$75,000. Congress recently pro
vided the $20 million in the
Agricultural Appropriation
Act for Fiscal Year 1980
(Public Law 96-7).
A notice announcing how
muh money each state will
receive appeared in the Dec.
7. Federal Register.
Oregon homeowners receive $3 million
Drivers get
liability
insurance
More than 3,500 Oregon
drivers have had to get
liability insurance under the
state's financial responsibility
law after being convicted of
driving without insurance this
year.
In ad Jition to convictions for
driving without insurance.
4.350 drivers' licenses were
suspended during the first 11
months of the year when
random surveys of registra
tions or notions of cancellation
from insurance companies
showed liability insurance
was not in effect.
The law provides that a
citation for driving without
insurancemay be dismissed if
the person cited goes to court
within 15 days and shows proof
that insurance has been ob
tained. David P. Moomaw. admini
strator of the Motor Vehicles
Division, said Friday that
even though the two figu.es
combined indicate nearly
8.000 drivers have violated the
mandatory insurance law in
some way this year, monthly
surveys of driver accident
reports show that only about
four percent of the drivers
involved in accidents do not
have insurance.
Moomaw said about 15
percent of the drivers report
ing accidents were uninsured
before the mandatory la w took
effect in Julv of 1978.
Weatherization tax credits now
available for mobiles
More homeowners can now
take advantage of the state's
weatherization tax credit be
cause of action by the 1979
Oregon Legislature. Owners
of mobile homes, houseboats
and individual units within
multiple-unit residential hous
ing can now claim the credit
on their income tax returns if
the weatherization work was
done during 1979. Previously,
only owners of conventional
homes cold qualify for the
credit.
The credit wil also be easier
for taxpayers to claim when
they file 1979 state income tax
returns next spring. Home
owners will no longer need to
have a building inspector or
contractor certify that wea
therization work meets build
ing code standards. The home
owner alone may sign the
certificate claiming the cre
dit. The credit, which reduces
the amount of state income
tax owed, is $125 or one-quarter
of the cost of Jhe
weatherization. whichever is
less. The credit applies to
various types of insulation,
storm doors and windows,
caulking and other items wheh
make a home more energy
efficient. t
Homeowners have until
Dec. 31 to install qualified
items they wish to claim for
credit on 1979 taxes. The
weatherization work must be
done by that date, even if it is
paid for later.
Some items which qualified
for the 1979 credit will not
qualify for 1980. The Oregon
Department of Energy, which
decides what items are eligi
ble, has ruled that fireplace
inserts, heat exchangers,
glass fireplace screens and
several other items will not
qualify for 1980.
Information about items
that qualify for 1979 is in a free
circular, "Tax Credit for
Weatherization." available by
writing: Publications. Oregon
Department of Revenue. State
Office Building. Salem. OR.
97310. A new list will be
available in January on items
that qualify in 1980.
Registration
continues for
BMCC
Registration is continuing in
Heppner. Lexington and lone
for Blue Mountain Community
College classes.
Three classes: Tole Paint
ing, Cross-Country Skiing, and
Oriental Cooking are closed
with full enrollments.
The Private Pilot Ground
School class will meet for the
first class Jan. 10 in Lexing
ton. The Bridge class will begin
Jan. 21 in Lexington.
For further information call
the south Morrow County
coordinator, Nancy Brown
field, at 676-5039.
Checks are in the mail to
17.non Oregon homeowners for
the slate's partial payment of
their property taxes uner the
Tax Relief Plan passed by the
1979 Legislature.
A total of $3 million was
distributed to homeowners in
2(1 counties.
Most Oregonjans who filed
claims under the new plan had
the state payment shown as a
credit on their fall tax
statements. Homeowners
whose claims were filed or
processed late will receive the
state payment directly from
the Oregon Department of
Revenue.
The revenue department
issued checks today for claims
received from county asses
sors by Dec. 13. The revenue
department did not receive
claims in time to process
checks for homeowners in the
following counties: Benton,
Douglas. Jackson. Lane, Linn,
Morrow. Union, Washington.
Wheeler and Yamhill.
Homeowners who do not
receive a check by Jan. 2
should first contact their
county assessor to see if the
claim was approved and sent
to the revenue department.
Checks will be issued in
January for claims received
by the department after Dec.
13.
Western Heritage Federal
Savings & Loan Association
sent out some $315,000 to home
owners in northeastern Ore
gon. The funds are the result of
the Oregon Legislature's deci
sion to reduce 1979 property
taxes by 30 percent. This
reduction produced an excess
amount in the tax reserve fund
of many home loan customers
of Western Heritage.
Refund checks should reach
all qualified parties by Dec.
21. the association said.
Pendleton Grain Growers
receive profit checks
Checks totalling $185,037.51
were mailed Dec. 15 to
members of Pendleton Grain
Growers. Inc.
These checks, which are
historically mailed at this
season of the year, represent a
portion of the profit made by
PGG during 1971. "The money
goes primarily to residents of
eastern Oregon and Washing
gon and is made possible by
members doing business with
their ' locally owned com
pany." according to Don Cook,
general manager.
Cook commented this
brought the total amount of
cash paid back to local
members during the year to a
total of $222,937.61. Cook
added, "These are local pro
fits being returned to local
economies, which is good
business for the entire community."
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