Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 2008)
C om pany purchases Colum bia River Title AmeriTitle enters Morrow Countv 11111 1111111111111 Ililio ll Bessie W et/ell Newspaper Library Univ ersity o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 By Autumn Morgan On M onday, June 2, C olum bia R iver Title changed hands and became AmeriTitle. Both the Hepp- ner and Boardman branches are now operating under the A m eriTitle um brella, but still doing the same work. Pam Neal, who has ow ned and operated C o lumbia River Title for the last seven years, sold the Pam Neal will still work as an office manager and escrow officer business to the Bend based for AmeriTitle. -Photo by Autumn Morgan A m eriT itle in the begin open.” ning o f May. “Nothing has Along with Colum changed,” said Neal. "We bia River Title, A m eriTi are ju s t part o f a bigger tle also acquired Morrow company." AmeriTitle will County Abstract and T itle, remain in the same Heppner the oldest title plant in Mor and B oardm an locations row County. Because of this without interruption of ser acquisition, AmeriTitle w ill vice. “As part o f this transi be able to offer the most tion and expanded service, complete title plant on re all transactions currently in cord in the county dating escrow will automatically back to the patent. be transferred to a client AmeriTitle has been trust account in AmeriTitle's serv ing Oregon communi n am e,” said Neal. "T his ties for over 24 years. The transition will not impact company also has operations the closing dates o f funds for in Idaho and Washington. those transactions currently The company has 44 loca- tions in the Pacific North west including 30 offices in Oregon. Besides the Hep pner and Boardman offices, AmeriTitle also has offices in Hermiston and Pendle ton. “ We found a very healthy, well run title com pany in C olum bia R iver T itle,” said Linda Stella, president for A m eriTitle. “ Pam has done a good job o f grow ing the company. AmeriTitle has wanted to be in Morrow County for many years. We were ex cited when Pam wanted to sell her business. Columbia River Title was a perfect fit for AmeriTitle because we do business in sm all and mid-size communities. Heppner and Boardman are perfect com m unities. We are happy to be in Morrow County.” Pam N eal, o ffic e m anager/escrow o fficer, may be reached at the Amer- iT itle H eppner o ffice at 676-5005. Jeff Bailey named new president of Bank of Eastern Oregon VOL. 127 NO. 23 12 Pages Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Health district awards renovation project bid By April Sykes The Morrow Coun ty Health D istrict Board, at th e ir reg u lar m eeting Monday night in Heppner, aw arded the bid for the Pioneer Memorial Hospital renovation project to low bidder Wellens Farwell at $747,477. Wellens Farwell had previously been aw arded the bid for $9,868 more, but architectural errors re sulted in the district having to rebid the project. Second low bidder was Knerr Con struction at $762,000 (pre vious bid $784,350). Other unsuccessful bidders were Mike Becker at $787,243 ($844,338 previously); Mc Cormack, $862,500; Robin son, $785,000; and Ausland, $957,000. Board Chair Larry Mills told the board that he did not believe the district should have to pay for the architect’s “screw up” to the tune of $8,500. MCHD CEO Victor Vander Does said construc tion is expected to start “right away” after he meets w ith the co n tracto rs. He said he expects completion of the project in four to five m onths. The renovations will allow the hospital to once again provide care for long-term patients. Vander D oes said th at once the renovations are complete, the district will have the potential to provide long term care for seven to 11 residents. MCHD Chief Finan cial Office Nicole Mahoney told the board that the Bank of Eastern Oregon has of fered the district a loan for renovation at four-and-a- half percent with a 15-year payoff with an early-payoff option and a one-percent loan origination fee which would save the district “con siderable”, compared to the New signs welcome visitors to HHS Heppner TSA (Technology Student Association) students built new signs for Heppner Jr/Sr High. Pictured are Matt and Mercedes Garrett and Travis Richards. -Contributed Photo flex-lease loan that MCHD had anticipated using. Ma honey said that closing costs alone for the flex-lease op tion would have cost the district over $20,000. “I like the flexibility to pay it off early,” said board member Linda LaRue. “I like doing business lo cally ,” added Mills. The board approved o b tain in g the loan from BEO with one abstention, Linda LaRue, who is a for mer BEO employee and is currently BEO board chair. The MCHD board also ap proved amending the dis trict’s budget to indicate the change in finance options. Other budget items o f note include anticipated revenue from the long-term care residents and a six- percent rate increase, said Mahoney. The district antici pates hiring five to seven new em ployees resulting from the new long-term care program. In m ore “ u n fo rtu nate news,” Mahoney said that the d istric t has had to pay back $178,000 to Medicare. She said that the M edicare estim ates have been recalculated by the district’s accountant, who anticipates that the district may owe only $99,000 to M edicare, rather than the $ 178,000. She said the pay back am ount, if any, d e pends on hospital utilization between now and June 30. In other business, the board: -heard from Vander Does that Pioneer M emo rial Physical therapy will be moving from upstairs in the PMH Clinic building to downstairs. The move will free up more space for doc to r’s offices and a meeting room. A nother physician. Dr. Nichols, is expected to join the staff soon. -Continued on Page two ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: M ONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. The Board o f ficer. Directors o f Bank of The cur Eastern Oregon an rent p resid en t n o u n c ed J e f f B a i o f the bank, E. ley has been named George Koffler, President o f Bank of will retain his Eastern O regon e f title o f C h ie f fective July 1, 2008, E xecutive O f subject to regulatory ficer o f Bank o f approval. Bailey has Eastern Oregon been at Bank o f East and P resident ern Oregon since 1996 Jeff Bailey and C hief Ex and currently serves ecutive Officer as Chief Credit Officer and o f BEO Bancorp, the bank's is on the executive manage holding company. This an ment team. He will retain nouncem ent is a planned the title o f C hief Credit Of- m an ag em en t su ccessio n move coinciding w ith Kof- fle r’s announcem ent o f a retirem ent date o f March 31,2009. "Jeff was a natural choice for the bank. He exemplifies the core values and business ethics the orga nization has embraced. He is the right person to lead the bank as we continue to grow at a measured pace and build on our excellent profitability o f the past few years,” said C hairm an o f the B oard, Linda K. LaRue. Ione-Lexington C em etery Board unveils m em orial display The Ione-Lexington C em etery Board created a memorial display where the names o f people who have been cremated can be placed. The memorial will hold around 50 plaques. A plaque in memory o f John Wallace was placed by the family o f Scott Denny McMillan. Wallace was the son o f Colleen Kitch. Scott Denny McMillan was Myr tle McMillan's husband and Colleen Kitch's brother. Wil White installed the memorial for the Ione- Lexington Cemetery Dis trict. Pictured are Colleen Kitch, Ed Baker, Marilyn Childers, Mau reen McElligntt and Myrtle McMillan at the Ione-Lexington Cemetery in Lexington. Photo by April Sykes Ed B a k e r, M a r Ione-Lexington Cem etery ilyn C h ild e rs and M au Board. reen McElligott are on the Rollins named branch manager at BEO The Bank o f Eastern Oregon announces that ir i d a Rollins has been named branch m anager at Bank o f Eastern Oregon in Hep pner. "We are pleased to recognize Tricia for her hard work, experience, and dedi cation. She has the back ground and experience to give her custom ers great cu sto m er serv ice and to lead our largest branch facil- ity,” said Presi tional Bank in B el dent and CEO, E. grade. MT, and came George Koffler. to Bank o f Eastern Rollins O regon from First graduated from Interstate in Butte, M ontana S tate MT, where she served U n i v e r s i t y in a four-year stint. B ozem an, MT, Rollins and with a degree in her husband, Ed, who b u sin e ss m a n Tricia Rollins is a lender with the a g e m e n t . She bank, live in lone and began her bank have two children. ing career with First Na- Taylor and Bryce. Physical therapy office m oves Pioneer Memorial Physical Therapy has announced its move from upstairs to downstairs in the Pioneer Memorial Clinic building as o f Tuesday, June 3. The address remains the same, 130 N.E. Thompson in Heppner. AT MCGG GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: Jadeson 6 Peifeins looses ON CALF ~ 15% OFF M orrow C ounty d ra in G row ers G reen F eed & S eed 242 W Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)
