Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2011)
II.I h I h .I.I m HI.... IW '"11 jb B essie W e tzell N ew sp ap er Library University of O regon E u g en e, OR 97403 Head of workforce training says funding slashed 80 people, one third staff cut recession, but funding has, Demand for work the head of the Oregon force training services has Workforce Alliance told the not fallen off during the Heppner Chamber of Com merce last week. Kris Latimer, who heads the 24-county train ing consortium, said it is unfortunate that during a recession, when workforce training is most needed, the funding has been cut back. “Demand for ser vices has not fallen off, but funding has dropped off dramatically,” Latimer said, adding that the consortium has laid off 80 staff across 24 counties. In the past several years, the Morrow County Health District, through the efforts of the Willow Creek Economic Development Group, has received about $30,000 in job funding from the Alliance, money Latimer says will no longer be available. “The training for EMTs, nurses and medi cal training...w ell, this program has become un Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon funded,” she said, adding that those funds had come from the federal govern ment and were no longer available. Latimer says the goal of her organization is to train rural citizens in new jobs skills to compete in the global economy. She says the Alliance is now working with CAPECO in Pendleton to get ready for the closure of the Umatilla Army Depot and the displaced workers that will result from that By David Sykes 5(K unes VOL. 130 NO. 29 8 Pages Wednesday, July 20,2011 Morrow County anticipates record-setting harvest Kris Latimer of The Oregon Workforce Alliance showed a slide at last week’s Chamber of Commerce meeting illustrating the high unemployment rate in Oregon. -Photo by David Sykes closure. She said her orga nization only has the money now to work with displaced or laid-off workers, and will only train people in jobs that are on the rise, not ones that are losing in the economy. She cited the printing busi ness as an example. “We will not train people to run printing press es like for newspapers,” she said. “We ask the question, 'What is going to grow?’” Latimer also said the Oregon Legislature created two new workforce training programs, the Or egon Youth Employment Program and the Oregon Employer Workforce Train ing Fund. They are both designed to create a more highly-skilled workforce to support Oregon industries. However, the problem, Latimer said, was that the legislature did not fund either one. One of the success es of the Alliance, Latimer says, is the establishment of an ROV, or remote operated vehicle, program in Or egon. She says that, with the aid of a $2.5 million grant, students are exploring Lake Paulina, with the intention of establishing and grow ing an ROV program in the state. She says her or ganization is also working with 11 different colleges to set up an Oregon Green Tech Certificate where stu dents would be trained in how to set up “green” offices, facilities and busi nesses. L atim er urged chamber members to con tact their congressperson and ask that funding be returned to workforce train ing. “Their cutbacks have left us with fewer staff, less diversity in ser vices and less ability to innovate and compete. We want to turn non-taxpayers into taxpayers, unemployed into employed,” she said. Smalley wins silver at Special Olympics world games Taylor Disque (pictured) guides grain out of a truck driven by Eric Orem on Tuesday. While farmers in south Morrow wait to cut into what promises to be a record-setting wheat crop for the county, growers further north are already hauling the first of their crop into the North Lex elevator. Orem said this load, delivered around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, was his first load of the day, with the windy, wet weather slowing down harvest, but Disque reported that farmers had hauled 48 loads into the elevator on Monday. So far, lush-looking crops are fulfilling their promises; fields in areas like Sand Hollow and Buttercreek, which normally see averages of 40 bushels per acre, are giving preliminary estimates of 60 to 80 bushels, with some growers measuring yields of 77 in their first week of cutting. -Photo by David Sykes Boardman hosts rabies clinic and offers free dog licensing The city of Board- man is hosting a low-cost rabies vaccination clinic August 27 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Boardman City Park. The purpose of the clinic, given by Dr. Bur gess of Country Animal Hospital, is to remind pet owners of the need to keep their dogs and cats current on their rabies vaccinations. Rabies is a fatal disease of the brain and spinal cord, and is caused by a virus carried by mammals. Clinic coordinators say vaccinat ing dogs and cats against rabies is essential to protect loved ones and halt the spread of the disease. The cost of the ra bies vaccination is $18.25 per pet. Along with the vac cinations, the city will offer free dog licensing. All dog owners who reside in the city limits of Boardman are required to have their dog licensed for identification purposes. In addition. Coun try Animal Hospital and the American Cancer Society have teamed up to offer a Doggie Wash and barbeque for donations, with pro ceeds to benefit the Ameri can Cancer Society. Pre-registration is encouraged. To participate in the vaccinations and free dog licensing, call Board- man City Hall at 541-481- 9252. BEO Bancorp reports 2nd quarter earnings BEO Bancorp and its subsidiary. Bank of East ern Oregon, announced 2nd quarter 2011 consolidated net income of $325,000 or $0.35 per share, compared to $459,000 or $0.50 per share for 2nd quarter 2010. Year to date earn ings were $827,000 in 2011 as compared to $903,000 for the same period in 2010. The relatively comparable earnings were achieved de spite a $545,000 provision for loan losses recognized in the second quarter of 2011, an expectedly non recurring charge related primarily to an individual credit. Total assets were $251.6 million, virtually unchanged year over year. Net loans of $199.59 mil lion were up 6.4% from the same period in 2010, while deposits were at $222.6 million, up 2.1% year over year. “We continue to take aggressive steps in writing down problem as sets when necessary. The $545,000 provision is not indicative of overall weak ness in the portfolio, but rather a lingering effect of an already identified prob lem credit,” said president and CEO Jeff Bailey. “Shareholders'eq uity is up 7.6% year over year as a result of continued profitability and prudent capital management. Year to date return on average as sets is 0.66%, and return on average equity is 10.26%. -See BEO QUARTERLY EARNINGS/PAGE FIVE Jillian Smalley, granddaughter of John and Pat Edmundson of Heppner, received a silver medal dur ing competitions at the 2011 Special Olympics Summer World Games in Athens, Greece. Smalley traveled to Greece on June 24 as one of 32 members of Team USA bowling. She was placed in one of the top female divisions after divisioning on the 26th. On June 27, Smal ley and her partner, Leslie Burnett of Chattanooga, TN, placed sixth in their division. Smalley next com peted in singles competition on June 30, playing against top bowlers from around the world. She put together three games of 168,144 and 186 for a total pin count of 498. This score earned her an Olympic silver medal and the second best total for the world competition. Her final competition in team bowling earned her a fourth place finish. The other members of the four-person team were: Joshua Alexander of Jillian Smalley proudly displays the silver medal she won par ticipating in Team USA bowling at the 2011 Special Olympics Summer World Games in Athens. Greece. -Contributedphoto Union, KY; Leslie Burnett Mitchell Isham of McMin of Chatanooga, TN and nville, OR. Get ads in for fair edition The Morrow County Fair & Rodeo is August 17-20, and the special edition will be published August 3. The deadline for advertisements is July 22. Submit your advertisements by email to david@rapidserve.net, mail them to PO Box 337, Heppner, OR 97836 or drop them by our office at 188 W. Willow. Our fax number is 541 -676-9211. 0 * W easler D r iv e l in e COMPONENTS H AR VEST HOURS U ntil furtmìh None* Monday- Friday 7am - 6pm Saturday 7am - Spm M orrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 » 1-800-452-7396 Tor Unn t<iulpin«ni Tltlt our w»> Ut« it www megg ntt ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
