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