Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2008)
Vanpooling to jobs may be in future Company gives presentation on commuting II i I m I i i i I i I m I I I h i i i II i I h i II Bessie W et/ell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 « VOL. 127 NO. 27 8 Pages Wednesday, July 2,2008 By David Sykes A company that spe cializes in setting up and supplying vans to groups o f workers who commute gave a presentation in Hep- pner last week. They met with around 20 workers to explain their program. V ictor Spencer o f VPSI, Folsom , CA, said his company is the nation's oldest, largest and most ex- Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon tone ’s Annual 4th of July Celebration perieneed vanpool provider with over 5,000 vanpools in serv ice in the U nited States. S p e n c e r cam e to Heppner at the invitation o f the Willow Creek Valley E conom ic D ev elo p m en t Group (WCVEDG), and the Heppner Chamber o f Com merce as part o f an etfort to help people who live in the Heppner, lone and Lexing ton area save money while commuting to w ork in the Victor Spencer of VPSI, Inc. shows one of the vans that north end ot Morrow and could be used in vanpooling if enough local workers are Umatilla counties. interested. -Photo by Dave Sykes A 2003 study done by WCVEDG showed at that time there w ere over 100 w ork- ers living in this area and commuting to the north end. WCVEDG would like to bolster the local economy and keep people in our communities by helping those people who work in Boardman, Irrigon and Hermiston live here if they w ant to. “Especially with the rising cost o f gasoline, vanpooling can save workers sub stantial amounts o f money,” Spencer said. The company pays all the van expenses and then charges the riders monthly. The actual savings would depend on the size o f the van and the total miles the workers commute. See table. For instance, a 15-person van commuting 45 miles one way five days per week would cost a worker $156 per month including gasoline at $4.45 per gallon. The w ay the program works is the company w ill meet w ith groups o f w orkers who may work in the same area with similar working hours, etc. The company would help set up schedules, then contracts with a primary driver who runs the van, collects the fees, and does the driving. For handling the driving and administrative duties the driver normally receives free or reduced expenses for his seat on the van. The rest o f the workers split up the cost among themselves. VPSI pays all expenses including maintenance, insurance and gasoline and the group o f workers pays VPSI on a monthly basis. There are seven, nine, 12. and 15 pas senger vans av ailable. There are also certain economic benefits to employers who might participate in the vanpool. Sheryll Bates, executive director of the Heppner Chamber o f Commerce, is in charge o f coordinating the v anpooling program, and anyone who is interested, or just wants more information, should call her at 676-5536, or email at heppnerchamberfu centurytel.net. The website for VPSI iswww.vpsiinc.com for anyone who would like more information on the vanpooling company. Sample Rates 021843310201 Thursday. July 3rd July 3rd - July 5th Friday. July 4th 7 - 1 0 a.m. 8 a.m. 10 a.m. 11 a.m. 12 p.m. Annual Golf Tournament at China Creek Golf Course in Arlington. $50 per person. Start time 8 a.m. Contact Craig Holland, 422-7455, for more information. Evening Events at the lone City Park: Music, Food and Drink, plus Golf Awards Paintball Extravaganza! $15 per person (in cludes rental of semi-automatic paintball marker, goggles, 100 paintballs and up to two hours playtime). Open play field times all three days: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-7 p.m. at the field across Willow Creek at the bonfire site. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Firemen’s Breakfast Dawn’s Early Light 5K Run Run/Walk Topic Club Book and Button Sale Fish Pond* Altar Society Pie Sale Monthly C o st M onthly Per Person Per P e rso n Gas W/ G A S 1458 208 440 4 45 271 1930 1375 -175 567 240 1980 1980 1980 1565 1696 1669 130 175 111 677 677 677 156 3080 1717 245 635 343 3080 1858 206 913 308 3080 3080 3080 1848 2031 1992 154 1054 1054 1054 242 Incentive 1-way mil Heppner Sample Rates M onthly Miles Rat« 1980 Per Pers New Rat« W / Incentive S u b sid y New Rat« W / S u b sid y 121 145 133 166 22C 203 VPsi Int Sample monthly rates for various size vans traveling different commute miles. Renovations underway at Pioneer Memorial Hospital 1 p.m. Red, White and Blues Parade and 12th Annual Blues Cruise A Clas sic Car Show. Contact Chuck Nelson, After parade 2:30 p.m. 989-8148, for registration form and additional information on the cruise/car show. Bingo Talent Show CRUISIN' TO THE BLUES MUSIC featuring John Lee Hooker, J r., lone All Stars (with special guest), JR Sims and Texas Special, and Baseline. Music funded-by the Morrow County Unified Recreation District. Boat Trip Auction lone’s 60th Anniversary of 4th of July FIREWORKS DISPLAY honoring lone's W W II Veterans (the original crew) Other fun events during the day: Frog Jump ing, Straw Money Pile, Dunk Tank, Pie Throwing, Ducky Races, Rodeo Court Raffle, Horseshoes, Volleyball, and Free Swimming! Renovations are underway at Pioneer Memorial Hospital to accommodate lonu term care pa- tients. See Morrow County llealth District story on page three. Photo by Autumn Morgan All MCGG stores and facilities will be CLOSED July 4th, 5th and 6th.* H a ve a h a p p y a n d safe 4th of J u ly ! Gazette-Times closed for 4,h of July The Heppner Gazette-Times h ill he closed on Friday, July 4. Harvest hours start July 7th: Mon-Fri 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sat 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipment visit our wrb sit* at www m t « net
