Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 8,2012
RETIREMENT
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
role of father as he and wife
Sandra, or Sandy, raised
sons Matthew, Samuel and
James.
Van Liew said he
disliked the fixed routine
of the custodian job, but
he loved getting to know
the students and staff. Af
ter being a fixture in the
daily routine of a couple
of generations of students
and teachers, that’s a lot of
lives touched by the quiet,
laid-back custodian.
Not everything has
been constant, though. Van
Liew said he has seen many
changes over the years.
“ There w ere no
computers when 1 came
here,” he said. “I remember
when they got one com
- FIVE
lone defeats Echo at home
puter and said, 'That’s all
we're ever gonna need.’”
Van Liew said he
wants to use his extra retire
ment time to visit his boys
and, when the time comes,
grandkids. Right now, Mat
thew is a civil engineer in
New Jersey, Samuel is an
assistant manager for a fish
hatchery near Sandpoint,
ID and James is a mechanic
near Denver, CO.
T hat said , Van
Liew—who already has one
part-time job and hopes to
sub for the school district—
says he doesn’t see himself
as retiring.
“ I co n sid er it a
change,” said Van Liew.
“Basically, I want to slow
down a little.”
lone soundly de
feated Echo at home games
on Feb. 3, with middle
school girls’A and B teams,
junior varsity girls, and
both varsity teams w inning
their contests.
lone is busy this
week, playing Helix at
home on Feb. 7, Central
Christian at home on Feb.
9, Nixyaawii in Mission on
Feb. 10, and South Wasco at
home on the Feb. 11.
This marks the last
w eek of regular season play
for lone, which must w in all
games to hold their position
in league standings.
D istrict playoffs
will be in Hermiston on
Feb. 16-18.
Mmmm...brownies
Coach Shelly McCabe with the eighth-grade girls at their last Junior Kirk Haguewood during the varsity game against Echo.
home game on Feb. 3. T he team won against Echo. -Photo by The exciting win put lone in third in the Big Sky League stand
Paula Emmel
ings. - Photo by Paula Emmel
Colt wrestling takes BEO reports strong
2011 earnings
it to the mats
First-year 4-H cooking students, Payton Miller and Austin
Carter, try their hand at one-bowl brownies. Austin and Payton
are members of the Cardinal Express 4-H Club and are work
ing toward learning basic cooking skills that w ill allow them to
enter items in the Morrow County Fair. -Contributedphoto
Mustangs compete
in BEO invitational
The Heppner Mus
tang wrestlers competed in
the thirteen-team Bank of
Eastern Oregon Invitational
wrestling tournament last
weekend. The tournament
included nine o f the 11
team s from 2A Special
District 4. Heppner finished
a close third of the teams
in the district and sixth
overall.
G o in g in to the
finals, 3A Riverside and
four-tim e 2A cham pion
Culver were separated by
one point from the overall
team championship. Riv
erside came out on top in
the end, with Culver second
and 4A Mac Hi third.
Seven M u stang
wrestlers finished in the top
six of their weight class.
Jared L em m on,
G arrett G ibbs and Tim
Nelson each made it to the
championship semifinals
before suffering their first
loss. Each won by fall in
their next match to take
home third-place medals.
Andrew Bara won
fourth place after also los
ing in the championship
semifinal.
Treston Maben and
Earl Propheter claimed fifth
places on the podium, while
John Propheter finished
sixth.
Members and coaches of the Colt Wrestling Program roll up
mats after their practice last week. The program hosts their
first meet this Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Heppner High School.
Their second and final meet is next Monday, Feb. 13. Colt
Wrestling is open to any child ages four to fifth grade. -Photo
by Erin Hansell-Heideman
Morrow County
residents shed pounds
Biggest W inner participants register for the county-wide event.
-Photo by Sandy Matthews
Jared Lemmon, in Mustang blue and gold, wrestles an op
ponent during the Bank of Eastern Oregon Wrestling Invi
tational last weekend. Jared was one of three team members
who placed third for their weight classes. -Photo by Jeremy
Lanthorn
Mustangs are going
to districts
The Mustang boys are going to district finals next
week, and the Gazette-Times wants to spread the news
with a page of congratulations for the home team.
Anyone who would like to be listed on the con
gratulations page, either as a business, family or indi
vidual, can contact the Gazette-Times office at 676-9228
or megan@rapidserve.net. Cost is $ 10 per name; deadline
or submissions is Monday at 5 p.m.
The Heppner |r/S r high school wrestling
team is collecting batteries for an ongoing
team fundraiser. Auto, tractor. RV. and four
wheeler batteries will be accepted. Please
bring your batteries to the South end
Transfer station free of charge located at
57185 Hwy 74, Lexington, OR. For further
information or if you need batteries
picked up, call Mark Lemmon at
(541)215-9248.
>
The Biggest Win
ner weight loss challenge
and healthy lifestyle pro
gram is entering the sixth
week and halfway mark.
Three hundred and eighteen
people in Morrow County
have joined the program
to modify health behaviors
(nutrition, physical activity
and tobacco use) that con
tribute to the development
of chronic diseases.
Shelley Wight, co
coordinator of the Heppner
Biggest Winner reflects.
“This is much larger than
we ex p ected ...th ere are
four times the number of
participants we hoped for
when we began planning.
This type of turn-out dem
onstrates the need and de
sire our community has for
developing opportunities to
improve nutritional habits
and physical activity in
Morrow County.”
It is not too late to
participate in the Morrow
County movement toward
w ellness. One does not
have to register or partici
pate in the weight loss chal
lenge to attend any of the
free weekly sessions and
receive general health in
formation, or to participate
in group physical activity
such as stretching, walking,
ballroom dancing, yoga or
cardio fitness.
Each community
group meets 6-7 p.m. in lone
(Mondays, lone School),
Heppner (Mondays, Hep
pner Elementary School),
Boardman (Mondays, Sam
Boardman Elementary ) and
Irrigon (Tuesdays, Irrigon
Jr./Sr. High School). Each
site has tailored the pro
gram to reflect the interest
of the community.
See the Community
Health Improvement Part
nership of Morrow County
website for information and
resources at http://www.
ohsu.edu/MCCHIP.
BEO Bancorp and tells us our customers are
its subsidiary. Bank of East happy with Bank of Eastern
ern Oregon, announced Oregon’s style of banking,
consolidated year end 2011 our flexible products, and
earnings of $2,011,567, an the excellent, professional
increase o f 21.5% when service provided by our
compared to $1,656,016 in banking teams.”
2010. Earnings per share
According to EVP
were $2.18, up from $1.80 and Chief Credit Officer E.
in 2010. Total assets in George Koffler, during peak
creased 3.5% from
borrowing season
$25 1.7 million to
their loans were at
$260.4 million. Net
an all-time high,
loans ended 2011
but w ith a great
at $199.9 million,
harvest and high
up 4.2% year over
cattle prices, as ex
year. Deposits in
pected. the bank
creased 3.0% from
experienced pay
$223.5 million to Jeff Bailey
downs a bit sooner
$230.3 million.
in the cycle than
“ We a re
normal.
very' pleased with the 2011
“This is good news
results, especially when but translates to more mod
you consider the sluggish est loan growth when you
economic recovery that our look at year over year num
nation is experiencing. On bers. We continue to see
a regional basis, the farm good lending opportunities
and ranch economy per within our market and are
formed quite well. We had ready to loan money to
a fabulous wheat harvest qualified borrowers,” said
across the region and cattle Koffler. “When we look at
prices are very strong. The provision for loan losses
strength in the agriculture and write downs on other
sector is helping to sup real estate, the 2011 num
port our rural communities bers were very similar to
in spite of unemployment 2010. Over the last three
numbers higher than we years, we have taken pru
would like to see,” said dent steps in aggressively
president and CEO Jeff addressing problem loans.
Bailey.
Other real estate owned is
Chief Financial Of down 49.6% from 2010.
ficer Mark Lemmon said the We see this as a very posi
bank's Tier 1 capital ratio of tive sign but will cautiously
10.63% matches up favor watch developments associ
ably to peer banks across ated with the slow national
the nation, continuing to and global economic re
make Bank of Eastern Or covery.”
egon the highest-capitalized
“2011 was a very
bank in eastern Oregon.
good year for Bank of East
“Total sharehold ern Oregon. The past three
ers' equity increased 12.3% years have been challeng
year over year to $17.55 ing for all banks, but thanks
m illion,” said Lemmon. to the loyalty of our share
“Return on Average Assets holders, custom ers and
is 0.79% and Return on employees. Bank of Eastern
Average Equity is 12.12%, Oregon has weathered the
compared to 0.67% and storm. Our capital ratios are
11.0%, respectively, year strong, our troubled assets
over year.”
are manageable, and we
C hief Operations continue to fund our loan
O fficer Gary Propheter loss reserve to buffet the
said, “Year-over-year de possibility o f a prolonged
posit growth has slowed, economic downturn. Even
but we still see growth though there are still a few
in spite o f the continued challenges to be m et, I
low-rate environment. The remain confident the worst
overall support from our lo is behind us and that there
cal communities is impres are brighter days ahead,”
sive. The continued trend concluded Bailey.
of growth in core deposits
Chamber lunch
Get ready to rumble meeting
on St. Pat’s
The next meeting o f the Heppner Chamber of
Heppner Chamber of Commerce is getting “ready
to rumble” at their fifth annual St. Patrick’s Boxing
Smoker on Friday, March 16 at Heppner High School.
The chamber is still looking for boxers who
would like to participate.
Anyone who is interested should contact the
Heppner Chamber of Commerce at 541-676-5536 for
more information.
Commerce will be Thursday, February 9 at noon at All
Saints Episcopal Church.
The guest speaker will be John Turner, president
of BMCC. He will speak on what is new on the com
munity college front. Cost o f lunch is $9; The Stable of
Youth will cater the lunch.
Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP
by Wednesday of each week.
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