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Pioneer Resources LLC sold
to New Hampshire company
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Kinzua mills not included in sale
A sale o f Pioneer Resources
L L C , including 360,000 acres o f
commercial timberland. won't
affect the operation o f the
Heppner and Pilot Rock Kinzua
Resources mills, according to
Jenny Ulum o f the Ulum Group,
a public relations firm hired by
Pioneer Resources LLC.
Ulum said that the sale
between
Pioneer
Resources
L L C , owner o f Heppner and
Pilot Rock Kinzua Resources
mills,
and New Hampshire-
based Strategic Timber Trust did
not include the sawmills in
Heppner and Pilot Rock and also
35,000 acres o f land in Oregon.
She said that the agreement
between Pioneer Resources LLC
and Strategic Timber Trust
specified that the two mills will
continue to get logs from the
lands sold in the deal.
Pioneer Resources' holdings
included
approximately
1.7
billion
board
feet
of
merchantable timber, primarily
Douglas Fir, second-growth
redwoods and pine. Financial
terms o f the acquisition were not
disclosed. The 360,000 acres
included commercial timberland
in northern California, eastern
Oregon and Washington.
C. Edward Broom, S T T s chief
executive officer, said, "We are
delighted with the acquisition o f
Pioneer
Resources.
The
company has been well managed
and key members o f the Pioneer
management team
will
be
joining STT. The timber is
diversified by region, tree
species and age class, and the
lands are located advantageously
in western timber markets. The
age class o f these holdings-
where much o f the value is in
younger
stands-provides
a
HEPPNER
50 <
imes
VOL. 117_______NO. 41______ 10 Pages
Wednesday, October 14,1998
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Community supports lone Legion Hall projects
Bank of Eastern Oregon lone
Branch manager Fran Barnett
Overwhelming community
response was credited
for
making the lone Legion Post's
heating system project a success.
The Bank o f Eastern Oregon
recently added $1,500 towards
the project.
A ll o f the money required to
install a propane heating system
at the lone Legion hall, which
was constructed either in 1900
or 1901,
has been received.
"The
new
heating system
donations’ w ill give us 100
percent o f what we need," said
post
adjutant
(secretary
treasurer) Conrad Tworek. "The
community was overwhelming
in their generosity and quick in
their response."
"The response was excellent
and I'm sure we're not all in,"
said past commander and
executive board member L.J.
Jerry M cElligott. "W e can
accomplish what we set out to
do."
"We're really thankful," added
Post 95 Commander Wayne
Rietmann.
The heating system will
consist o f two to three new
heating units-one to two for the
main hall and one for the club
room. The system is still in the
bid process and the Legion Post
hopes to have the project
completed by Thanksgiving.
Once a bid is awarded the
project is expected to take two to
three weeks for completion.
The Legion Post 95 also plans
to insulate the building, which
has not been insulated up to this
point, and update the electrical
system to handle the new
heating system.
They may also have an
opportunity to get new windows
(center) presents a $1,500 check
to Wayne Rietmann, lone Legion
Post 95 Commander (centerright)
Wayne Rietmann, Conrad Tworek
(left) and Jerry McElligott right).
in the ballroom, which will also
assist in heat conservation.
The building, which has been
host to dances in the big band
era, wedding receptions, high
school proms and square dance
clubs, has been meticulously
maintained over the years. The
ballroom's beautiful interior was
paneled in knotty pine by World
W ar II veterans after the war.
Last summer the front end o f the
building was remodeled with a
new deck on the porch and a
handicap ramp. The building got
a new roof in 1995, following
damage by a hail storm. The
wood floors have recently been
refinished to a patent-leather
sheen.
strategic complement to our
other, more mature holdings in
the U.S. South."
According to an Ulum Group
news
release.
STT.
headquartered in New London.
New Hampshire, was organized
earlier this year. It intends to
qualify
as
a
real
estate
investment trust for federal
income tax purposes and is
actively building a diversified,
balanced global portfolio o f
investment-grade timberlands.
Pioneer was organized in 1994
and focused on growing and
harvesting timber for sale to
domestic and foreign market,
said the release.
Pioneer's
management built its timberland
holdings by purchasing large
tracts, paying prices which
reflected a transaction size
discount, they said. Pioneer's
founder and C EO, Greg Demers,
who will become a member o f
S T T s board o f directors, said,
"W e had been exploring various
monetization
options
and
Pioneer and felt that acquisition
by a responsible organization
such as S T T made the most
sense. Operation as a real estate
investment trust offers many
advantages. We are also pleased
that there w ill be continuity o f
management o f the Pioneer
assets. S T T s management also
has a proven track record in the
integrated business o f forestry ,
finance and management. We
expect that their many years o f
'know how’ w ill keep the
company running strong into the
future."
Demers also stated that the
Demers Group, made up o f
Demers and other Pioneer
partners,
has
retained
approximately 35,000 acres o f
land in Oregon, two sawmills in
eastern Oregon (Pilot Rock and
Heppher),
real
estate
development assets. Pioneer
A via tio n
and
other
miscellaneous
assets
in
a
surviving
company
called
Frontier
Resources
LLC.
Frontier will continue to operate
Health district hires
interim administrator
The Morrow County Health
District Saturday, Oct. i(). hired
an interim administrator for
M C H D . which includes the
financially
ailing
Pioneer
Memorial Hospital and Nursing
Home. Pioneer Memorial Clinic
and Heppner Dental offices in
Heppner. clinics in Boardman
and Irrigon. the Boardman
dental office and ambulance
services county-wide.
Sheila Dahlman, Enterprise,
who specializes in interim
administration, is expected to be
on
the job starting this
Thursday and will spend three
days a week in Heppner.
Dahlman will divide her time
between P M H , and districts in
Pomeroy and Matawa. W A.
Cara Osmin, M C H D
chairman, said Dahlman may
work with the district for around
six months. After that time, a
permanent administrator
is
expected to be hired.
Dahlman's husband is C E O o f
W allowa Memorial Hospital in
Enterprise.
She
was
recommended by Michael Bell,
a consultant hired by the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital Foundation
to study the medical district's
financial situation.
Dahlman
and Bell have worked together
on rural health operations on
several occasions during the past
15 years.
Western Health Resources,
which has provided management
services for the past several
years, and M C H D
jointly
terminated their management
contract, according to Scot
Jacobson.
MCHD
human
resources director and interim
administrator. Jacobson will
serve as administrator until
Dahlman comes on board and in
Dahlman's absence.
Former administrator Susan
Brock, who is employed by
Western Health Resources, is no
longer with the district, as o f
last Friday.
out o f the Veneta office.
According to the release, S T T s
senior
management
has
structured
and
managed
investments
in
high-quality
timberlands for more than 15
years. Broom founded U B S
Resource Investments Inc. At
UBS/R1I. he and others (now
members
o f STTs
senior
management) helped assemble
an
institutional
investment
portfolio o f domestic
and
international
timberlands
exceeding $2 billion in value.
"Recognizing its obligations
as a responsible steward o f its
forest lands," continued the
Levi Nelson Connor. Heppner.
has retired from the Kinzua mill
after 37 years.
Connor, 63. started out at
Kinzua as a watchman and also
cleaned up the sawmill. Around
a year later he began operating
the boiler, the job he has done
ever since.
Connor say* that a major
change occurred at the mill in
1985 when they put in a new
boiler with a steam turbine-that
generated electricity. He said
that previously when the mill
wasn’t running, they had to
scoop hog fuel into the boiler.
Now, they can just push a
button. "You can't believe the
difference," said Connor.
Connor, 63, was bom to Mary
Elizabeth and Albert Connor
and
raised
in
Heppner,
graduating from Heppner High
School when it was in the old
building
across
from
the
elementary school.
After graduating from high
school, he worked a year for the
Heppner school district and then
joined the Army for three years,
serving in Germany.
Connor and his wife, Lois,
have two children, daughter
Mary Givens, Arkansas, and
son. Levi, Jr., Heppner; and
three grandchildren. Jessica,
eight, Kimberly, five, and
Jeffery, four.
Connor says that after
retirement he and his family plan
to go to Columbia River in their
fifth wheel and would eventually
like to go visit their daughter in
Arkansas. They also have plans
to
travel
to
Aloha
and
Springfield to visit relatives.
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L-R Bobbie Rankin, Brooke Boyer, Tracy Rankin and Nonnee Walters
Photo by Merlyn Robinson
The 1998-99 Morrow County
Fair and Oregon Trail Pro
Rodeo Court has been selected.
The new queen is Bobbie
Rankin, daughter o f Tim and
Kathy Rankin. Heppner. Bobbie
was a princess on the court this
past year.
Princesses are Bobbie's sister
Tracy Rankin. Brooke Boyer,
daughter o f John and K elly
Boyer. Lexington, and Nonnee
Walters, the daughter o f Joe and
Linda Halvorsen. lone.
Group Size
Price
IG24/24F
« ¡7 4
$49 OS core »change
J5J.70 core eichange
Basar 7SDT-I4W
| S 7 f.ff core »»change"]
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
mmmmm a ■
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Fair & Rodeo court selected
M orrow C ounty G rain G rowers
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SALE GOOD THROUGH OCTOBER 24th
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L-R: Nelson Connor, Jim Salyers, John Green, Jan Jones and Dave
Mitchell.
4«4s. etc. The Big Gun will take vibration and punishment and will continue to deliver manmum starting power.
... . .11.... t-r » -
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B ig G un 675 The Big Gun is a true heavy-duty service battery designed to meet the demand of off the road automotive use in trucks,
A candidates forum has been
scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 20.
at 7 p.m. at the Lexington
Grange.
Everyone is invited to attend.
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Connor retires from mill
Candidate's
Forum slated
>
release, "STT prides itself on the
practice o f sustainable forestry.
Consistent with such practices,
S T T will promote high-value
timber
production
through
value-added
management,
including the utilization o f
intensive silviculture techniques
to maximize
growth and
merchantable timber yields. The
company plans to grow not only
by improving the growth rates
and yields on its current
holdings, but also by acquiring
addition, quality, commercial
timberlands in both the domestic
and foreign markets.
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