SIX- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 8, 1997 BEO announces cash dividend Boardman grad wins competition The Bank o f Eastern Oregon (BEO) has announced a cash dividend o f $3.50 to owners o f record for the operating year o f 1996, said BEO president George Koffler. The cash dividend o f $511,000 is the largest ever paid to the stockholders o f the bank and is a 27 percent in­ crease over last year's divid­ end. Koffler, speaking for the board o f directors, stated, "the continued loyalty o f our de­ posit and loan customers combined with the hard work o f the staff and the strong local economy made 1996 a solid year for bank eamings. BEO is 52 years old and has offices in Heppner, Condon, Arlington and lone. Total assets o f the bank at year's end were $43,813,065. An Oregon State University (OSU) pharmacy student's skill in patient care earned her a spot in national competition in Louisiana. Kassie Westmoreland, a 1990 graduate o f Riverside High School in Boardman, earned best overall campus score in OSU’s American So­ ciety o f Health-System Phar­ macists (ASHP) Clinical Skills competition. Her success qualified her for the ASHP nationals, recently held in New Orleans. Westmoreland, a senior at OSU, is working toward her bachelor's degree in pharmacy and has a job as staff phar­ macist lined up with Kaiser Permanente after graduation in 1997 . Local Geography Bee finals held St. Patrick's Senior Center _______ Bulletin Board_______ There were 54 people present for the senior meal Dec. 31. George Jeffries won the free meal ticket. Members o f the Christian Church served. The menu for Wednesday, Jan. 15 is not available at this time. It will be posted in the window o f the Senior Center soon. Members o f the Christian Missionary Fellowship will serve. There will be a Senior Center board meeting at 1 p.m. The Red Cross blood drawing was canceled Dec. 30 due to bad weather. There was too much ice on the roads in Yakima, WA. as there was here. No date has been set for rescheduling. The Senior Center Christmas tree was undecorated by some o f the tenants Jan. 2. The sitting room looks very bare without that beautiful tree. One table o f cards was in play Friday afternoon, Jan. 3 There was no movie Sunday evening. It has been too cold to sit there in the evening. Dates to remember are: Tuesday and Thursday exercise, 10 a.m.; Wednesday blood pressure clinic, 11 a.m., senior meal, noon; Friday cards, 2 p.m. No movie will be shown until further notice. 'M m * # By Murtyn Wobtnuon Have those New Year's resolutions died gracefully yet? Sure, many o f us "wannabes" have hopes o f either losing weight or just getting in shape. I'd be happy with an uplifted face that doesn't register as many miles as that o f the unstoppable Road Runner. Other resolutions might focus on spending less at Christmas time to prevent being over­ whelmed with January bills while bracing for the inevitable income tax bite. But people here also need to count their blessings. As has been said, the generosity and caring within our area seems to know no bounds. We should also be thankful that we live where we don't have to swim for our lives or watch homes being destroyed. Someone should have clued Seattle residents about a little old-fashioned snow shoveling to prevent collapsing o f roofs. Many holiday plans were ruined. It would be wise to delay vacation trips to Reno until all mud-slinging is finished or slot machine players are furnished with taller stools. Resourcefulness keeps people going and it is also the key to Christmas happiness. Who else besides me would camouflage a body pillow by decorating it into a snowman, reuse saved Christmas paper or concoct useless crafts? One thing 1 don’t pinch on is postage for Christmas letters as receiving same from relatives and friends is one o f the best things about the holiday season. Surely the Postal Service benefits from all these mailed exchanges in the customary fashion. Don't refer to E-mail communications; I'm just not in that league. For me, the current mail system is more than adequate compared to Pony Express delivery-the four-legged kind, that is. Yet a newspaper article says that the Postal Service spent nearly $90 million more than was budgeted for advertising this year. That certainly could dent the profits from Christmas mailings. Along with the Christmas stamps, I do not object to the ever-changing postal stamp pictures featuring things ranging from flags to ferry boats. If the agency profits from collectors who prize stamps bearing Elvis Presley's face, so be it. If you believe what is printed, it says that Postal Service ads generated $300-700 million in additional postal revenue and increased Priority Mail volume by more than 20 percent in a month-to-month comparison. Comparing December mail to other months is like comparing monkeys to zebras. Then there's the mailing o f income tax forms nationwide so that one government agency can lend a helping hand to another. The Postal Service spent $232.4 million, slightly over its 1996 $140 million advertising budget. No one was punished for this excessive spending. Loren E. Smith, the senior vice president responsible for this overspending, resigned under pressure in October. Yet he received a $94,000 severance package and high praise from his boss, Postmaster General Marvin Runyon. It must be that ordinary folks who don't work for the government simply don't know how to get ahead in this world. If our government allows agencies like this to overspend, the taxpayers should at least receive a free calendar or perhaps a kickback o f one free stamp for every 100 purchases. But then, hey, we have been blessed with updated services, such as longer zip codes and we no longer have to lick stamps-just peel 'em and stick 'em. ATTENTION: HEPPNER GARBAGE CUSTOMERS Due to equipment problems, the routes will be off-schedule. I apologize greatly for the inconvenience and we will get to you as soon as possible. I appreciate your patience. Thanks, Dave School finals of the Geography Bee were held at Heppner Junior High School and Heppner Elementary School on Friday, Jan. 3. A1 Beck, social studies teacher at the junior high, and Linda Shaw, reading and Talented and Gifted specialist at the elementary school, conducted the two contests. Seventh grader Jessica Gutierrez, daughter o f Gayle and Kim Gutierrez of Hepp­ ner, won the championship for the 7th-8th grade level. Daniel Jepsen, a sixth grader and son o f Nancy and Bill Jepsen of Heppner, was champion for the 4th-6th grades. These two students will next take a written test provided by the National Geographic Society that will determine qualifi­ cation for the Oregon Geo­ graphy Bee. Second place finishers in the contests were Meghan Bailey, seventh grade, junior high school, and Shanna Rietmann, fourth grade, elementary school. NOTICE OF VACANCY C olum bia B asin E lectric C ooperative, Inc. is n o tify in g all m em b ers of a v a ca n cy on th e Board of D irectors from Zone # 5. T he ap p oin ted p erso n w ill serv e u n til th e n e x t a n n u a l m eetin g o f th e C ooperative. Zone # 5 ’s d escrip tio n is a s follow s: T h at territory serv ed or to be serv ed by th e C oop erative ly in g S o u th of th e T ow n sh ip lin e d ivid in g T ow n sh ip 2 S ou th and 3 S o u th and E a st of th e M orrow-Gilliam C ounty lin e and in W heeler C ounty th a t area E a st o f th e range lin e b etw een R ange 2 4 E a st and 2 5 E ast. In terested p e r so n s m u st resid e in, and receive serv ic e in Zone * 5 . In q u iries w ill be a ccep ted up to and in clu d in g J a n u a ry 2 2 , 1 9 9 7 . In terested m em b ers sh o u ld c o n ta c t Jerry H ollom an at 5 4 1 -6 7 6 -5 2 4 1 or Fred T oom bs a t 5 4 1 -6 7 6 -9 1 4 6 . PSSST .... Guess iuh at! Bank of Eastern Oreqon now has FREE C H E C K S! That s right, Honey. The free wallet-style checks are available to both current and new customers. But don't keep it a secret, pass it on!! Bank of Eastern Oregon "around the corner, not around the state” Arlinngton Condon Heppner lone 454-2636 384-3501 676-9125 M»mb»f FDIC 422-7466