Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 22,2008 - SEVEN
Three-day closure of U.S. Hwy. 730 begins Oct. 22
The Oregon Depart
ment o f T ransportation’s
contractor, W eaver C on
struction, is repairing two
bridges along U.S. Highway
730 between the junction
o f In terstate 84 and the
small town of Irrigon. The
bridges are located in Mor
row County near mile point
168.8, about a mile east of
the 1-84 junction.
To a cc o m m o d a te
the c o n stru ctio n o f new
concrete bridge decks the
route will be closed to all
traffic for three days start
ing at 5 a.m. on October 22
and ending around 2 p.m.
on October 24. During the
closure through traffic will
be detoured around U.S.
730 via Interstate 84 and
Interstate 82. Motorists are
advised to plan extra travel
time for this detour route.
This is the second
full closure o f the route
needed for repairing the
UPRR Clarke and USRS
Canal bridges. A sim ilar
closure took place in Sep
tember.
Prior to and after
the closure, motorists can
expect minor delays at the
work site with single lane
travel and temporary signals
controlling traffic m ove
ments.
“We understand the
closure w ill affect some
travelers and ask that motor
ists plan ahead,” said ODOT
Region 5 Public Information
O fficer Tom Strandberg.
“We will open the route as
soon as possible.”
The bridge repair
project is scheduled to be
com pleted by N ovem ber
15, 2008.
M ore inform ation
about this project is avail
able by contacting ODOT
Region 5 Public Information
Officer Tom Strandberg at
(541) 963-1330 or by email
at thom as.m .strandberg@
odot.state.or.us.
Valby Lutheran dedicates memorial grove
V a lb y L u th e r a n
Church dedicated a memo
rial grove on Sunday, Oc
tober 19, to commemorate
infants who did not survive
and to honor the grief o f
parents who often mourn
such losses in silence.
T h ree h a w th o rn e
trees, three yellow locusts,
four red dogwood and two
ju nipers were planted in
m em ory o f the child ren
know n to current Valby
members and countless un
told losses dating back to
1886 when the church was
founded.
It is the hope of Val
by Lutheran that this new
life on the Valby landscape
will be a long-lasting source
o f beauty and comfort.
The com m unity is
welcome to come and take a
look, and to join us for wor Top Photo: Workers file in procession to the site where the me
ship every Sunday at 9 am. morial grove is being planted. Bottom Photo: Volunteer workers
from Valby Lutheran Church plant the trees for the memorial
grove. - Contributed Photos
Volunteers needed at Boardman
Grasslands Conservation Area
The Nature Conser
vancy invites anyone inter
ested in maintaining Board-
man Grasslands Conserva
tion Area, located near the
town o f lone, to participate
in a volunteer work party
on Saturday and Sunday,
October 25 and 26.
Sandy flood-deposit
and loamy lakebed soils at
this new conservation area
host excellent exam ples
o f native Columbia Basin
bunchgrass com m unities
with their associated wild
life, including long-billed
curlew s, burrow ing owls
and W ashington ground
squirrels, an endangered
species in Oregon.
The goals for the
conservations area are to
p ro tect C olum bia B asin
sagebrush shrub-steppe and
grasslands. During this work
party, we w ill be p la n t
ing native wildflowers in a
grassland restoration area
and cleaning up around a
corral that was burned in a
recent wildfire.
Participants should
bring: sturdy hiking shoes,
a long sleeved work shirt
and pants, a daypack, ra-
ingear, a hat, sunscreen,
sunglasses, a towel and any
toiletries or personal items
you will need, one large or
two water bottles (drinking
water will be available at the
lone house, but not at the
preserve), insect repellent
and leather work gloves if
you have them (if not, some
w ill be available to bor
row). Bring several layers
o f clothing. Be prepared for
any type of Oregon weather.
Please keep in mind that
there is no shade at this
preserve.
Registration is re
quired. For more informa
tion or to register, contact
Susan Hawes at 503-802-
8100, ex ten sio n 121 or
shawes@tnc.org.
Free Medicare Part D
Prescription Drug Plan Assistance
Coming to Your Town
Morrow County Health District will be offering
Free Medicare Part D consultation appointments
during the month of December to help you determine
the best prescription plan for your specific needs.
Plans change each year so it’s important to review
vour coverage each year!
Morrow County Health District Staff
will be scheduling appointments to meet
with local residents in the following towns:
• H eppner — D ecember 2 n d , 9 t h , 16 th 8 c 29 th
• B o ardm an — D ecember 11 t h & 18 th
• I one — D ecember 4 th & 15 th
• I rrigon — D ecember 1 s t 8 c 8 th
Locations and a phone number for
scheduling consultations
will be announced soon.
Stroeber retires as grooming chairman/
operator for 4-Corners Snowmobile Club
D on S tro e b e r re
cently retired as the groom
ing c h a irm a n /g ro o m in g
operator for the 4-Comers
Snowmobile Club. Don had
been the grooming chairman
and volunteer operator for
15 years, and through those
years Don had operated and
maintained three different
groomers.
Grooming snowmo
bile trails can be a lonely
task, with groom ing usu
ally being done in the early
hours o f the morning when
few other people are using
the trails. Don spent many
cold mornings in the cab of
the groomer smoothing out
the trails for snowm obile
enthusiasts and their fami
lies to enjoy for the upcom
ing w eekends throughout
the winter. The groomers
are owned by the Oregon
State Snowmobile Associa
tion and allocated to clubs
around the state. As a to
ken o f appreciation for his
many years o f volunteering,
the 4-Comers Snowmobile Pictured in the top photo is Don with the groomer. Bottom
Club m em bers presented Photo: Club President Cliff Dougherty presents Don with a
Don with a jack et and a jacket. -Contributed Photo
card of appreciation this past
summer.
BEO Bancorp 3Q earnings increase 5.7%
BEO Bancorp, and
its subsidiary, Bank of East
ern Oregon, continued with
its steady and strong earn
ings result for 2008 with net
income for3Q2008 o f $610,
000, compared to 3Q2007
earnings o f $577,000, an
increase o f 5.7%. YTD earn
ings were even more im
pressive with 2008 YTD
net income o f $1,831,000,
com p ared to 2007 YTD
earnings o f $1,616,000, an
improvement o f 13.3% year
over year.
“We are very pleased
with these interim results
being posted today,” said
E. George Koffler, Presi
dent and CEO of the hold
ing company. “Despite the
significant financial head
w inds we see nationally
and regionally, our team of
dedicated bankers continues
to make good decisions that
benefit us in the long run.”
“Our challenge, like
many banks, is to maintain
credit quality in these tu
multuous times,” said bank
President and Chief Credit
Officer, Jeff Bailey. “ We
have consistently improved
our regular monitoring sys
tems in the credit area and
aggressively built up our
loan loss provision.”
The bank booked a
$500,000 recovery during
the quarter from a charged-
off loan relationship in 2005,
while also adding $300,000
to the reserve from earnings.
This was balanced by write
downs totaling $268,000 on
loans secured by real estate,
o f which the bank expects
to recover about $115,000
in the fourth quarter. The
net effect o f these activi
ties was an increase in the
loan loss reserve balance
from $2,001,000 on June
30, 2008, to $2,536,000 on
September 30, 2008. Loan
totals increased 33% year
over year to $176,101,000,
and the loan loss reserv e ra
tio to total loans now stands
at 1.44%. “ Strong profit
ability has allowed us to add
appropriately to the reserve
while sustaining continued
growth,” added Bailey.
N on-accrual loans
grew from $ 7 6 0 ,8 8 6 to
$1,726,303. A bulk sale is
expected to pay off the real
estate loans noted above
during October and the re
maining $760,886 is a well-
secured agricultural loan in
a Chapter 12 bankruptcy.
No loss is expected on this
credit.
Non-performing as
sets increased from 0.46% to
1.02% as a result of the non
accruals and the classifica
tion o f a single construction
and land development loan.
That loan is well secured and
is expected to be performing
in the fourth quarter.
D e p o sit lia b ility
growth continued slow and
steady, ending the quarter
at $178,293,000, a 4% im
provement year over year.
“Our branch operations staff
continues to attract good
quality, reasonable priced
deposits,” said Executive
Vice President and C hief
O p eratin g O fficer, G ary
Propheter. “We are also us
ing a variety o f strategies to
help depositors keep their
nest egg safe and sound, in
cluding FDIC insurance re
structuring and our CDARS
product that gives customers
access to $50,000,000 worth
o f FDIC coverage,” added
Propheter. Bank o f Eastern
Oregon opened a full-ser
vice branch in Enterprise,
O regon, on O cto b er 14,
building on its very success
ful Loan Production Office
in Wallowa County.
Liquidity issues that
have caused a number o f
bank p ro b lem s recen tly
were aggressively addressed
during the quarter according
to Executive Vice President
and C h ie f Financial O f
ficer, Mark Lemmon. “We
implemented a multifaceted
liquidity plan during the
third quarter that assures our
ability to meet cash require
ments and lending needs of
our customers. The plan has
been rigorously tested and is
sound," said Lemmon.
Total assets o f the
bank grew to $222,605,000,
a 12% increase year over
year. Capital growth was
also a bright spot w ith total
equity at $20,056,000. an
improvement o f 12% year
over year. The bank contin
ues to be well capitalized by
FDIC standards.
For further infor
mation on the company or
to access internet banking,
please visit our website at
http://www.beobank.com.
Walden discusses lake level at Heppner campaign swing
-Continued from Page ONE
asked Walden to work on
getting it approved.
Kuhn said the origi
nal and still main mission of
the dam is flood control, but
raising the level may be pos
sible. “It sounds like a good
idea and may be viable,” he
told Walden and the crowd
o f public. “We will need to
study the impact o f flood
control and balance flood
control against w ater capac
ity,” he said. 'We need to do
the necessary study.”
A fter listen in g to
the reports, Walden said his
office was behind the effort.
“We are fully committed to
working with you on this,”
he said, but was not sure
o f when it would happen.
He said the last water ap
propriation bill (where the
study would be done) was
completed four years over
due. He also said with the
new administration coming
in next year it would take
some tim e before things
settled down.
On another subject
o f public concern, Walden
explained his position on
voting in favor of the recent
$750 billion bail out bill.
Jack Meligan o f Heppner
asked Walden why he voted
in favor w hen the public was
“300 to one against it.”
“ I don’t put my fin
ger to the wind and decide
how I am going to vote,”
Walden said. He said he
met with the Federal Re
i
serve and Treasury officials
and was convinced it was
critical for the country and
the economy. “I am a small
businessm an and I never
asked for a bailout," said
Walden.
He said he did not
want to see eight percent un
employment and the freez
ing o f the credit markets,
and there was a possibility
the US economy could de
cline by one third. He said
they also made sure there
w ere p ro tectio n s for the
tax payer and not “golden
parachutes" for CEOs. ‘It
was the most controversial
and difficult bill 1 have every
voted on." Walden told the
crowd, “but I think it was
absolutely necessary.”
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