TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Tax Wise and Otherwise
Taylor wins
A periodic column by Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA
The arrival of a new year is depicted by the image of
Methodist quilt raffle old Father
Time handing over his duties to the infant—a
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing, LLC and entered as periodical matter at the
Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage
paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-
9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.
net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner
Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $30 in Morrow
County; $24 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $36 elsewhere;
$30 student subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $5.75 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for pub-
lication must be specified. Affidavits must be required at the time of submission. Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not
responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will
be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
NRCS plans local
work group, seeks
public input
A Morrow County stra-
tegic conservation work
group and community
meeting is planned for Jan.
31 at 1 p.m. in the USDA
Service Center conference
room, 430 Linden Way,
Heppner, NRCS Morrow
County District Conserva-
tionist Kacee Lathrop has
announced. The meeting is
open to the public.
The USDA Natural Re-
sources Conservation Ser-
vice (NRCS) will be host-
ing a meeting to gather local
input regarding the natural
resource opportunities and
priorities across the county.
Lathrop says the goal
is to bring together indi-
viduals with a variety of
expertise and knowledge,
allowing NRCS and others
to “build on our collective
successes while focusing
our efforts to make the
greatest impact with our
available staff and fund-
ing.”
NRCS will consider the
information provided for
use in future conservation
implementation strategies
for the county. Items in the
discussion will help guide
conservation efforts and
funding over the next five
to ten years, Lathrop said.
Anyone who is unable
to attend the meeting but
who would like additional
information or would like
to provide input, contact
NRCS at 541-676-5021
x113, or email kacee.lath-
rop@or.usda.gov.
A request for accom-
modation for persons with
disabilities should be made
at least 48 hours before the
meeting.
Republican
committee to meet
The Morrow County Republican committee will meet
Saturday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. at Lexington Town Hall. All
county Republicans are invited to attend.
Community lunch menu
Willow Creek Baptist Church volunteers will serve
lunch on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at St. Patrick’s Senior
Center.
Lunch will include beef stroganoff and noodles, green
beans, carrot salad, French bread, and brownies.
Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is
$3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change.
NOW
HIRING
DRIVERS
Former Lexington resident Luella Taylor won the Heppner
United Methodist Women’s quilt raffle held over the holidays.
UMW member Peggy Fishburn presented the quilt to Luella.
Monies raised by the raffle will be used to help construct a
handicap-accessible restroom at the church. -Contributed photo
time to wipe the slate clean and resolve to make better
habits, or toss out old ones. While many resolutions
involve diet or health, you might consider resolutions to
help keep your financial affairs in good order like: creat-
ing or updating a will; estate or succession planning; or
a budget to help you save for financial needs.
Maybe you could benefit by putting your records on a
computer or organizing the flow of paper that tends to pile
up around us. How long to keep tax records? Usually the
IRS can audit you for three years back; that is the statute
of limitations. The statute is longer for cases involving
fraud or understating of income by 25 percent. For some
property, records should be kept for as long as you own it.
For example, I once worked with a couple who sold
a cabin they had built and improved on over the years.
They hadn’t kept track of all the cost needed to establish a
basis to offset the gain. However, they were not totally out
of luck. In some cases, a reasonable estimate is allowed
under the Cohan Rule (named after a 1930s tax court
case involving George M. Cohan, a famous entertainer
but admittedly a poor record keeper). In the case of the
mountain cabin, the couple chose to estimate the cost of
lumber and other materials to establish a cost basis.
For some expenses, like those for personal vehicles,
strict substantiation is required to prove the time, place
and business purpose. So, if you use a personal vehicle
for your job or business, you might resolve to keep an
up-to-date mileage log. The time spent keeping good
records can seem like an inconvenience but can save a
lot of grief if you are challenged by the IRS. That will be
discussed more in the next article.
Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA can be contacted at 541-
676-9971 or at danielrvan@yahoo.com.
Elks hoop shoot winners announced
Local girl advances to state contest
On Dec. 18, the Hep-
pner Elks Lodge held its
annual Hoop Shoot Free
Throw contest. Nineteen
participants ages eight to
13 shot 25 free throws dur-
ing the contest in hopes of
advancing to the Northeast
District Hoop Shoot in
Hermiston in January.
The following partici-
pates earned that spot: for
eight to nine year old girls,
Zaleta Masterson; eight to
nine year old boys, Alakae
Rodriguez; 10-11 year old
girls, Hallee Hisler; 10-11
year old boys, Ty Boor; 12-
13 year old girls, Sydney
Wilson; and 12-13 year old
boys, Cody Fletcher. Other
participants included Sarah
Munkers, Maya Payne,
Logan Turner, Zandra Mas-
terson, Madison Orem,
Katie Spivey, Mason Orem,
ZaBrena Masterson, Kylie
Boor, Brock Hisler, David
Cribbs, Conor Brosnan and
Jace Coe.
On Jan. 15, local Elks
Hoop Shoot winners gath-
ered for the Northeast Dis-
trict Elks Hoop Shoot in
Hermiston. This year, more
than 1,800 girls and boys
competed at their local
hoop shoot competitions
from the surrounding areas.
Heppner, Hermiston, Pend-
leton, Baker City, Condon,
The Dalles, Enterprise and
Hood River are the lodges
that make up the NE Dis-
trict.
The Heppner lodge was
represented well, with the
places as follows: in eight
to nine year old girls, Zaleta
Masterson placed fourth;
for eight to nine year old
boys, Alakae Rodriguez
placed third; 10-11 year
old girls, Hallee Hisler
placed second; 10-11 year
old boys, Ty Boor placed
second; 12-13 year old
Above: Local Elks Hoop Shoot winners (L-R): NE District Elks Hoop Shoot Director Corey
Sweeney, Cody Fletcher, Ty Boor, Alakae Rodriguez, Sydney Wilson, Hallee Hisler and Zaleta
Masterson. Below: District Elks Hoop Shoot winner Sydney Wilson (far right), representing
the Heppner Elks Lodge, will advance to the state competition for her third and final oppor-
tunity. -Contributed photo
girls, Sydney Wilson placed
first; and 12-13 year old
boys, Cody Fletcher placed
second.
As the first-place win-
ner in her age group, Syd-
ney will represent the NE
District in the state com-
petition in Milwaukee, OR
on Feb. 11. This will be
Please Join Us for an Open House
Honoring Sheridan Tarnasky, PA-C
Upon her Retirement from Morrow County
Health District on
Thursday, January 26 th , 2017, St. Patrick’s
Senior Center, 190 N. Main St., Heppner.
Sydney’s third time at the
state competition and, due
to the age limit for partici-
pation, her last opportunity
to compete.
If she places first in
state, she will advance to
regionals. If placing first
there, she will represent
Oregon in the National Elks
Hoop Shoot in April.
WE PRINT!
SINESS CAR
BU TERHE DS
AD
LET
BROCHURES
FLYERS
AND MORE!
The Heppner Gazette-Times
188 W. Willow
Call Dave Today
(541) 676-9228