\
CREZ continues work on program
to attract residents to county
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Libran.
University o f Oregon
Eugene. OR 97403
also live here. The program
would also provide low
interest “gap” financing
for developers who want
to construct rental housing
in the county. There is an
acknow ledged shortage
o f rental housing in all
sections of the county, and
the CREZ board hopes the
program will encourage
more market-driven rental
housing. There seems to
be enough low -incom e
housing throughout the
county.
At its meeting Monday
the b o ard review ed a
proposed housing program
d ra w n up by C R E Z
administrator Carla McLane
sim ilar to one adopted
by the city of Boardman.
T h e C R E Z p ro g ra m
w ill be a d m in is te re d
by G r e a te r E a s te r n
O reg o n D ev elo p m en t
Corp. (GEODC), which
administers other housing
programs in Morrow and
U m atilla counties, and
funded by fees CREZ
receives in lieu o f taxes
when businesses locate
in the enterprise zone at
the Port o f M orrow in
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Boardman.
CREZ has so far given
the city o f B oardm an
By David Sykes
The Columbia River
Enterprise Zone (CREZ)
c o n tin u e s w o rk on a
housing program that would
encourage people who
work in Morrow County to
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VOL. 132
N O . 40
8 Pages
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
G-T Trophy Corner
$100,000 for its housing
program, but members said
Monday there probably
will not be funding for a
county-wide program for a
year or two.
T he b o a rd a ls o
talked about encouraging
b u sin esses lo catin g in
the en terp rise zone to
im p le m e n t th e ir ow n
housing program.
“ We need to s ta rt
having a conversation with
our business partners,” said
CREZ board member Gary
Neal. "They know we are
trying to promote Morrow
County living and they have
a tool (to assist in this) that
they can use,” he told the
board.
If e n te rp ris e zone
businesses implement a
housing assistance program
they can partially offset
the cost o f that program
against the fees they will
be p ay in g the CR EZ.
T illa m o o k (C o lu m b ia
River Processing) already
has a pro g ram w here
employees who move into
Morrow County can receive
a $7,500 grant tow ards
the purchase o f a home,
and Neal suggested the
CREZ use that template to
approach other businesses
such as ConAgra to offer
similar incentives. ConAgra
is in the midst of a major
expansion at the Port of
Morrow and plans on hiring
up to 100 new employees.
The company is holding
a job fair in Hermiston on
Friday and members of the
Willow Creek Economic
Development Group plan
on attending and handing
out in fo rm atio n ab o u t
south M orrow C ounty
in an attem pt to entice
new employees to live in
Morrow County. Boardman
Chamber of Commerce will
also be at the job fair.
The CREZ does not
currently have any funds
for the housing program
and will not for a couple of
years; however, the board
did discuss the expenditure
of approximately $300,000
they have collected already
from b u s in e s s e s . T he
money is paid the CREZ
instead o f property taxes
and can come in for up to
15 years in some cases.
Som e b o ard m em b ers
felt the $30 0 ,0 0 0 was
already committed to the
Morrow County Education
Foundation. The foundation
-See CREZ TALKS HOUS
ING/PAGE FIVE
Robinson retires after
32 years in banking
By Andrea Di Salvo
Florene Robinson will
retire from the Bank o f
Eastern Oregon this month
after 32 years in banking
and 10 years with the Bank
o f EO’s Heppner branch.
Robinson will be 66 on the
day she retires, Oct. 18.
R obinson was born
in Ontario and raised in
Adrian, in Malheur County,
Oregon. She says she spent
all 12 grades in Adrian
schools, graduating from
A drian High School in
1965. She spent one year
pursuing general studies at
Treasure Valley Community
College in Ontario before
m eeting her soon-to-be
husband, Heppner native
Dean Robinson. She left
school when they were
married, and the couple
m oved to La G rande,
where Dean completed his
teaching degree.
The Robinsons moved
to Moro, OR in 1971, where
Dean taught and Florene
took a job as a part-time
te ller at First N ational didn't mean the loss o f a
Bank in Moro, now the job, though.
M oro branch o f Bank
“ Four o f us m oved
o f Eastern Oregon. She up here to Bank o f EO
worked there until
(Heppner branch),”
1975, when Dean
she says.
took a “sabbatical”
She spent her
from teaching. The
first year with BEO
couple m oved to
as a teller before
A rlington, where
b e c o m ing the
Dean w orked for
assistant to financial
Frank Anderson for
services. She has
Robinson
13 years.
spent the last eight
years serving as
“ Then CRP
came into p la y ,” says phone recep tio n ist and
Robinson, and the couple assistant to current financial
moved to Heppner. Dean advisor Russ Murfitt.
took a job teaching in lone,
While many people
where he stayed until his look forward to retirement,
retirement, while Florene Robinson says she isn’t one
returned to banking, going of thqm.
to work for First Interstate
“I want to put on the
Bank in Heppner, located brakes. I'm not sure I want
where Heppner City Hall is to leave!” she says, though
now. She worked there as a she adds that her husband
teller and operations officer is ready for her to spend
through bank mergers and more time with him in joint
buy-outs with Wells Fargo retirement.
and Klamath First Federal,
“This is my family, too,
until the Bank of Eastern my second family. It’s kind
Oregon bought out the bank
-See ROBINSON RETIRES/
in 2003. The consolidation
PAGE FIVE
Ballots go out next week
for Nov. election
B a l l o t s for the
upcoming special election
will be mailed Wednesday,
Oct. 16. Remember, ballots
are not forwarded. Those
who don't receive ballots
but believe they should
have should contact the
Morrow County C lerk’s
office at 541-676-5604.
The bal l ot onl y
co ntains one issue for
Morrow County residents to
determine this November,
a m easure shared w ith
U m a t i l l a C o u n t y to
determ ine the future o f
a capital im provem ent
bond for Blue Mountain
Community College.
Measure 30-96
“ A u t h o r i z e s Ge n e r a l
Obligation Bonds for Blue
Mount ai n Co mmu n i t y
Co l l e ge D i s t . ” The
quest i on as stated on
the ballot is whether the
college will “issue general
obl i g a t i o n bonds not
exceeding $28,100,000
fo r c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
improvements, technology,
l and a c q u i s i t i o n and
capital assets? If the bonds
are approved, they will
be payable from taxes
on property or property
ow nership that are not
s u b j e c t to the l i mi t s
o f sections 11 and I lb,
Article XI of the Oregon
Constitution.”
E l e c t i o n Da y is
Tuesday, Nov. 5. All ballots
Drop boxes like this one in
the Morrow County Court
house parking lot are avail
able for 24-hour delivery of
completed ballots in the up
-See ELECTION BALLOTS/ coming special election, Nov.
PAGE FIVE 5. -File photo
E N TE R TO W IN
Above: Better than homework.... Thirteen-year-old Aaron Smythe of lone had only about
an hour of daylight to hunt after football practice on Monday, Sept. 30, when he bagged this
3x4 buck on his family’s property using a .257 Roberts inherited from his grandfather, Tom
Huston. Middle: Colton and Josey Evans both bagged their first deer (ever) during their first
time hunting (ever) this season. Colton, 13, took down his 3x4 on the Columbia Basin Unit
on opening day, while Josey downed hers, a 4x4 with a 24-1/2 inch spread, the day after. Top:
Diana Healy, 13, of Heppner shot this 3x4 buck with a .243 Winchester on Oct. 6 on the Healy
Ranch on Butter Creek. This was Healy's third successful hunt. -Contributedphotos
fo r John Nelson
2 0 1 4 P olaris S p o rtsm a n 5 7 0
R a ffle T ic k e ts $ 1 0 0 / e a c h
t ic k e t s w ill be s o ld D ra w in g 1 2 /6 /1 3
Ticket* ca n he purchased at MCOO in Lexington, JfCGG
Fertiliser Office in lone and Green Feed in Heppner
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For U m wprt
fiat owe«* UM it w«w.
* * * **
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