C om pany purchases Colum bia River Title
AmeriTitle enters Morrow Countv
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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)