Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2008)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-1 imes, Heppner. Oregon Wednesday, April 30, 2ÜUÖ Corps approves Willow Creek Reservoir irrigation proposal The decision to al low for the long-term w ith drawal o f irrigation water from Willow Creek Reser voir near Heppner was an nounced today by the U.S. Army Corps o f Engineers. After thorough eval uation, the Corps' final deci sion rested on a determina tion that the impacts o f the proposed action do not rise to the level o f “significant” as defined by the National Environmental Policy Act. D ocum ents detail ing the basis for the Corps' decision and the Final Envi ronmental Assessment that evaluates the impacts o f the action can be viewed online at https://www.nwp.usace. army, m i l/pm/e/en_plan_as- sess.asp. I r rig a to rs in th e Heppner area presented the proposal to the Corps, ask ing the agency to provide up to 2,500 acre-feet o f stored water from Willow Creek Reservoir each year, instead o f having to make annual requests based on drought declarations. The irrigation proposal was based on the irrigators’ need for a reli able, supplem ental w ater source throughout the grow ing season, which would help provide farm -based economic stability, and al low for the conservation of groundwater. The irrigation with drawals could begin each year as early as April 15 and continue through Sept. 30. However, before any irriga tion withdrawals can begin, the downstream irrigators must formally establish an irrigation district and initi ate a contract with the Bu reau o f Reclamation for use o f and payment for stored water from Willow Creek Reservoir. Additionally, a secondary water rights per mit must be secured through the Oregon Water Resources Department. Releasing water for irrigation means an earlier and lower draw down o f the reservoir, which will impact some recreational opportu nities and the composition o f the warm water fishery. No fish or wildlife listed un der the Endangered Species Act will be affected. The Corps issued a draft Environmental Assess ment on Oct. 31, 2007 for a 30-day public and agency review. The comment period was extended, by public re quest, to 45 days. Based on requests during the initial public comment period, a public information meeting was held in Heppner on Feb. 19,2008 and the public com ment period was extended to March 5, 2008. A total o f 87 letters were received during the comment period. The W illow Creek Project’s primary purposes are flood dam age reduc tion and irrigation. Recre ation, fish and wildlife, and sedimentation (trapping o f sedim ent from upstream sources) are secondary uses o f storage space and stored water. In managing the res ervoir, the Corps is required to make every effort to fulfill and balance all authorized project purposes while tak ing into account other legal mandates, such as the En dangered Species Act. BMCC to hold grant workshop Blue Mountain Community College will hold a one day workshop entitled “Getting a Grant: An Introduction !o the Basics” on Monday, May 21, at the Morrow County Extension Office in Heppner. The class will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants should bring their own lunch. The cost is $21 and pre-registration is required. Susan Plass, Blue Mountain Community College’s director o f grants will present the workshop. Plass has over 20 years experience in the field of grants and proposals. Pre-registration is required and may be done by contacting Anne Morter, BMCC coordinator for Morrow' County, at 422-7040. Heppner Daycare/Preschool to hold registration On May 14 the Heppner Daycare/Preschool will be open from 5-6:30 p.m. for fall preschool registration for three and four year olds. Kids will do a craft and have fun playing while parents fill out paperwork. Parents are asked to bring immunization records to the registration. Merry Chandler and the board members will be available to answer questions and take suggestions. Estate By DAVID SYKES ■ REALTOR BEST AND WORSE SCENARIOS All lenders must now meet disclosure requirements for adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS). Among these are: an historical example of how the requested loan would have worked during the last 15 years; how to convert that ex ample to the borrower’s own situation, and a worst-case illustration of how the loan could perform if rates go up through the roof. To show how the loan will perform under the worst pos sible circumstances, the ex ample starts at the initial rate and moves rapidly up to the top interest rate and payment possible. Lenders must also explain how the index is ad justed and how future interest rates and payments will be determined. As you know, interest rates can change either upward or downward with an adjustable loan. It’s nice to know how these rate changes (in either direction) will affect your future monthly payments. That’s what the disclosure will tell you. Pioneer Memorial Hospice holding basket raffle Bank of Eastern Oregon employee Cindy Kennedy shows a basket to be raffled which is displayed at the Bank of Eastern Oregon. The basket is to be raffled off to benefit “Sad is not Bad.” a program designed by Pioneer Memorial Hospice staff and offered to all the grade schools in Morrow and Gilliam counties. The program offers instruction for teachers on how children grieve. Books are donated to the schools that can be gifted to a child w ho has recently suffered a loss. For more information on the program, call Pioneer Memorial Hospice at 676-2946. To see the basket or purchase tickets, stop by the Bank of Eastern Oregon. Tickets are $5 each or live for $20.00 The w inner w ill be draw n on May 0. Photo by David Sykes BEO Bancorp earnings grow ers o f these good results,” Koffler added. “We think 2008 will be a challenging year to maintain the excellent earn ings we delivered recently. The aggressive reduction of rates by the Fed will make it difficult for financial institu tions to maintain net interest margin levels o f the past three years. The slowdown in the housing market will affect fee income generation and credit quality is always a concern when values decline as we have seen in parts of the state,” concluded Kof fler. D etailed financial exhibits are available on the bank’s website at www. beobank.com. BEO Bancorp, par ent com pany o f Bank o f Eastern Oregon, announced earn in g o f $623,000 for the first quarter o f 2008, com pared to earnings o f $455,000 in the first quarter o f 2007, a 36.9% increase. Earnings per share improved from $0.52 to $0.71. T o ta l a s s e ts in creased 11.4% year over year to $209,793,000. Total loans grew' 29.1% to $ 152,355,000 and total deposits increased to $174,012,000, a 5.3% increase. “ We re g is te re d a solid start to 2008 in the first quarter,” said President and CEO, E. George Koffler. “The continued growth o f good quality loans and the reduction o f our cost o f funds were the primary driv- Irrigon Elementary School sixth grade teacher publishes book On Thursday, April decided to finish it. She 17th, A nne O ste rlu n d ’s completed the first draft first book, “Au in 2004, taking a relia,” went on year off teaching sale. “Aurelia,” to revise and be p u b lis h e d by gin the submission Penguin Books, process. is a young adult The excit fa n ta sy ab o u t ing news o f offi a princess who cial acceptance by should not be Penguin Publish a princess, re Ann Osterlund ing came in March volving around 2005. Anne’s sec an assassination ond book, “Acad plot. The target audience emy 7,” is already in the is adolescent girls, but the works. She expects it to be story reaches far beyond published in April 2009. to include adult readers Anne has worked as well. “Aurelia” is the for Morrow County School first book in what may be District since 2006 teach a three book series. ing sixth grade at Irrigon Anne has always Elementary School. One been interested in writing o f her students comment and according to her, “has ed, “It’s really cool to have a plethora o f stories in my an author for a teacher.” head’. She wrote the be Interested readers should ginning draft o f “Aurelia” visit A nne’s author web several years ago setting it site: http://w w w .anneo- aside until 2002, when she sterlund.com. BEO Brainiacs take trivia win Once again, congratulations to the BEO Brainiacs. The Brainiacs took first place in the Mr. Bill’s Trivia con test held by the Heppner Daycare/Preschool on Saturday, April 26. Do you think calling yourself “brainy” has any thing to do with success or are they just smart? Let’s all work on our trivia skills and see if we can challenge them in the fall. The Heppner Daycare/Preschool looks forward to seeing contenders again this fall for an evening o f fun. MC Fair Board meeting to be held The next Morrow County Fair Board meeting will be held on Monday, May 5, at 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds in the fair office. Bristow and partner win Oregon State doubles handball tournament McCabes Jerry Bristow, a graduate o f lone High celebrate 60th School and Eastern Oregon U niversity, started p lay anniversary ing handball when he was The children o f Er nie and Mary Jean McCabe treated their parents to a prime rib dinner in honor of their 60,h wedding anniver sary. Dinner was served in the McCabe’s home with all four o f their children pres ent. Several grandchildren, who live in Oregon, also attended. The McCabes were married in lone on April 18, 1948. One fun memory of their wedding day is that as Mary Jean’s young brothers, Donald and Jerry Bristow, about 12 and 13 years old, were walking to the church, a carload of older boys drove by and yelled at them “are you going to Ernie’s wed ding?” to which they yelled back “no, his funeral.” Hosts were Pam and Jim Doherty of Wilsonville, John and Sonja M cCabe o f Heppner, Joe and Lisa Gifford o f Hermiston and Laurie and Dan Wilson of New berg. 26 years o f age. A fellow teacher introduced him to the game that he has enjoyed ever since. B ristow is in the Eastern O regon A thletic Hall o f Fame and the NAIA District 2 Hall o f Fame for football and baseball. He has added another feat to his love o f athletics by winning the Oregon State Doubles Handball Championship in his age group. This is actu ally his sixth Oregon State Handball Championship. In the recent state tournam ent in C orvallis, B ristow and his partner, Butch Roper o f Roseburg, never lost a game on their way to the title. Handball is the total w orkout, as it com bines strength and conditioning along with hand-eye coor dination. Bristow and fellow Tillamook handball players meet from three to four days a week and play two to three hours. Handball is played Jerry Bristow (right) and his partner Butch Roper won the 70+ division of the Oregon State Doubles Handball Tournament. -Contributed Photo on the same size court as racquetball, with a similar premise. Instead o f rackets, players, wearing gloves, use both their hands to hit the ball o f the wall surround ing the court. The ball can bounce once before having to be returned. A m atch consists o f three sets, with the first two games going to 21 points and the third an 11 point tie breaker. B ristow loves the game and the competition. He stated that the tourna ment that he is most proud o f is a second place win in the YMCA National Tourna ment in Chicago, IL in 1996. ........................... JOHN’S PLACE w Heppner A lm o st w / W edding T a ti es \ » Jod ie C a rlso n & R yan M a tteso n ^ Cinco de Mayo ¿M exican Buffet YCeddiny - Saturday, May 10, 2008 A m y D rak e & D erek G u n d e r s o n J jillS Property listings are available at h ’H’ h ’. sykesrealestate. net Bristow stated that the only reason he got beat in the finals was because the other player was better than him. He played against handball players that entered from all over the United States. On two occasions he en tered tournaments in Hawaii and also won second place. Bristow plans to continue the competition in handball by entering the Northwest Championships in Vancou ver, WA in May 2008. Another competitive handball player from lone is Billy Gates, playing out o f Pacific University. Wedding - Saturday, July 5, 2008 Margarita Madness & Saturday, May 3rd 5 - 8 p.m . ^ M umuj ' ì D alli ] & ^ 217 North Main • Heppner 188 W. Willow • P.O. Box 337 • Heppner, OR 97836 (541) 676-9228 • Cell (541) 980-6674 F a x (541)676-9211 E-mail: david@sykesrealestate.net J O H N ’S PLACE Main Street, Heppner iA. • Phone 676-9158 «Floral 676-9426 e Serving Heppner. Lexington A lone e‘ e
