Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2005)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 2,2005 - THREE Harvest Scarecrows judged Spooktacular Award: Morrow SWCD employee Merrilee McDowell holds the certificate. Most Welcoming Award: Heppner Ranger Station firefighters greet the Heppner Daycare children. H eppn er H arvest scarecrows began appearing in early October, with the first on the scene at Bucknum ’ s. The farm er started with a dance partner, but the relationship declined rap id ly until, alas, she departed to find a man who would actually look her in the eye. Just down the street at the Bank o f Eastern Oregon, a lost flower child o f the 60’ s were hanging high for the world to see. Beautiful though she was and dressed for the times, one wondered what she had done to be hung? Business scarecrows and readers were visible on the street. There was the to ta lly absorbed guy hunkered dow n at the Oregon Trail Library with a great book and the City Hall w o rk er who c lo s e ly resem bled one o f the dedicated employees. Can you guess who? Ask Alice. I f cooler October days mean the sniffles, than Murrays would be the place to find the scarecrow with pills to make you feel better. And, the fellow in front o f W illow Creek Clinic was in need o f medical attention for sure. Two very attractive scarecrow ladies were seen in vitin g people to com e inside, one dressed to the hilt and rela xin g at V ictoria R ose, and the other com fortable and friendly, p ossib le su ggestin g a quilting project at Artisan Village. Judging was tough for the Spook Patrol, but when all was said and done, the following winners were selected. The three Heppner Ranger District Firefighters were identified as the M O ST W E L C O M IN G , even though one had a topsy turvy head possibly acquired in the line o f duty. Hands dow n , the P otted Plant S carecro w in front o f Most Unique: Wheatland Insurance employee, Kim Bach, receives award from Sheila Piper. Biggest and Best Award: Heppner Post Office employees Shari Stahl and Barbara Watkins receive their certificate from Sheila Piper of the Chamber. Shari says that she has lots of quiet time to plan for next year’s entry on her long mail run. Wheatland Insurance was the M OST U N IQ U E . Though welcom ing is not exactly what one would call the Weed Reaper in front o f the Morrow SW CD; it won the award fo r S P O O K T A C U L A R E F F O R T based on the creative setting and the great work “ he” continues to do era d icatin g w eeds in Morrow County. Last but by all means least, the overall favorite and the BIGGEST A N D BEST award goes to the Heppner Post O ffic e . That postal worker not only had a big bag o f mail to deliver but a huge dog to contend with. The ' H eppner Chamber congratulates the winners and thanks one and all for having fun with the annual Harvest Happening. FIFTH QUARTER at the ELKS LODGE Saturday, November 19th after the HHS home playoff game Salmon and Ham Dinner for $ 15 Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. R a f fle It e m s : P h o e n ix B a r b e c u e , C iv il W a r R e p lic a P is t o l a n d a O n e -D a y B ir d H u n t f o r T w o $2 a tick et o r $6 f o r $10 B u y t i c k e t s a t t h e E lk s L o d g e ! Entertainment provided by Dan Burns 3-D Productions H EPPNER ELKS 358 676-9181 "Where Friemtt Meet" 142 North IMain K Agricultural safety workshops scheduled S A IF Corporation’ s 11th annual agricultural safety seminar for Oregon employers w ill be held in Boardman at the Port o f Morrow, Riverfront Room - C o n fe ren c e C enter on Tuesday, N o v e m b e r 29, 2005 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The free four-hour seminar is designed primarily fo r ow ners, operators, supervisors, and foremen, but anyone working in the agricultural industry is welcom e to attend. Small em ployers attending the seminar will meet one o f the fou r instructional requirements for House Bill 3019 that exempts small agricultural establishments from random OSHA inspections. S A IF is pleased to have Kirk Lloyd, president of R isk M anagem ent Resources, Inc., join SAIF staff once again this year to talk about safety and com p lian ce fo r farm vehicles, as well as how to e ffe c tiv e ly communicate safety to farm employees. As an independent consultant with many years of experience in agriculture, L lo y d sp ecializes in the unique needs and challenges o f the agricultural business community. In addition. rep resen tatives from Oregon’ s Drug Evaluation and Classification Program w ill discuss drug-related issues and p rovid e information on a range o f topics relating to the effects o f drugs in or around your operation. Topics include: Farm Vehicle Safety and Compliance. Farm and m otor v e h ic le accidents continue to be the most d evastating and c ostly accidents affecting Oregon agricultural operations. This session w ill focus on p reven tin g inju ries and reducing exposures while using farm transportation. It will also review the primary OSHA regulations that apply to farm vehicles and cover m ajor safety issues. As always, practical solutions and best practices that work in the real world w ill be presented. ...... C o m m u n ic a t in g Safety to Farm Employees. Communication is the key to success! In this session, ideas will be presented to promote effective communication in an agricultural environment. Learn tips on how to make safety a priority and how to utilize both verbal and non verbal communication to reduce the risk o f employee injury. D rug Aw areness. R epresen tatives from Oregon’ s Drug Evaluation and Classification Program examine substance abuse issues within your industry and community and provide in form ation on drug id e n tific a tio n and impairment. This session will also examine drug-related theft issues and how drug waste disposal sites affect your operation. By the end o f the session, you will walk away with a v a riety o f information and resources you can rely on when addressing dru g-related issues. Because pesticide related injuries are so rare in Oregon, this year's seminar series w ill not focus on pesticide related exposures and hazards. As a result, applicator license credits will not be available with this year’s seminar. Early registration is required, as seating is limited. Participants w ill re c e iv e a registration confirmation letter with the address and facility location approxim ately one week prior to the seminar. For more information, contact the SAIF Groups Division at 1-800-285-8525 or visit S A IF 's W eb site at www.saif.com. BEO Bancorp profits up 28% in first nine months B EO Bancorp posted net incom e o f $179,000 fo r the third quarter o f 2005. The results o f the quarter were lower than 2004 because o f an addition to the Reserve for Loan Losses account o f $395,000 to recapitalize that account. Bank o f Eastern Oregon charged o ff a loan o f $925,265 during the quarter. The loan is still paying down but had been on non-accrual for the past 10 quarters and management felt the prudent action was to charge o ff the loan at this time and continue its collection. Absent this action, core earnings for the third quarter showed a 27% increase, g ro w in g from $300,000 in 2004 to $380,000 in 2005. Earnings year over year increased from $593,000 to $762,000, or 28%. R O AE increased to 12.82% and ROAA increased to .60% for the year to date. “ W e are pleased to report good earnings for the Company at the end o f the third quarter despite the large charge o ff and recapitalization o f the Reserve for Loan Losses," said President and CEO E. George K offler. “ We are looking at setting a record fo r net incom e for BEO Bancorp in 2005. Earnings per share for the year stands at $1.73 versus $1.35 last year.” Loan growth was a strong feature with total loans up 18% year over year and loans grow in g 1.6% during the quarter despite expected pay downs in the agricultural sector with com m o d ity sales and government payments the prim ary d rivers. “ W e continue to see loan totals increasing in our newer markets with Burns, O ntario. John Day, and Moro leading the way,” said Vice President and C h ief Credit O fficer Jeff Bailey. “ We are particularly pleased we had no past due loans at quarter end. The lending staff works hard to mònitor and encourage a current status," said Bailey. Non accrual loans were .05 % o f total loans at quarter end, down from 1.09% at the end o f the second quarter D eposit grow th showed a solid performance with year over year growth o f 7%. Non-interest bearing deposits led the way with a 12% increase. Total deposits at quarter end were at $154,382.000. an all time high for the institution. “ Our new account openin gs continue to be very strong as customers like the variety o f offerings and great customer service they encounter.” said Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer L in d a L aR u e. D eposit growth for the quarter was a highlight, g ro w in g by $3,380,000, or 2.2%. Net interest margin (N IM ) for the bank showed a slight decrease during the third quarter, dropping from 4.51 % to 4.48%. This small decline comes as the Federal Open Market Com m ittee continues to raise rates each time they meet. “ N IM year over year increased from 4.27% to 4.48% because o f a continuing migration o f securities to loans,” said Koffler. “ We monitor our interest rate risk closely and with a slightly positive gap, we should not be hurt by what we believe will be two or three more increases in short term rates by midyear 2006.” BEO Bancorp is the holding company for Bank o f Eastern Oregon, which operates 11 branches in six eastern Oregon counties. Branches arc located in Arlington. lone, Heppner. Condon. Irrigon. Boardman. Burns, John Day, Prairie City, Fossil and Moro. Bank o f Eastern O regon also operates a m ortgage division, has loan production offices in Hermiston and O ntario. and o ffe rs brokerage services through BEO Financial Services. The bank’ s w eb site is w w w .b co b a n k .co m . E. George Koffler. President, BEO Bancorp
