TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 8, 2017 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES 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. ‘Asher’s Army’ dinner, auction this Saturday An “Asher’s Army” benefit dinner and auction for Asher Schonbachler is planned for this Saturday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Heppner Elk’s Lodge. Din- ner will be $20 for adults, or $10 for children 10 years and younger. Asher has been diag- nosed with leukodystrophy, also known as Vanishing White Matter Disease. The family has asked that pro- ceeds go to research to find a cure. The evening will in- clude dinner, music, and si- lent and live auctions. Auc- tion items are being added continually, but items will include Trailblazer tick- ets, several canvas prints and framed art, Pendleton Roundup tickets, Roundup Museum tickets, Happy Canyon tickets, Hamley’s gift certificate, half a butch- ered pig, steer, custom trout Please Join Us.... fishing rod, Chris Stapleton concert tickets, various quilts, Pendleton blanket, Asher Schonbachler 50” TV, LuLaRoe outfit, Usborne books, Valentine’s gift basket, gift certificate for 100 homemade peanut butter cups, gift certificates for Italian ice cream, Coil Fabrication headache rack, and much more. Anyone who would like more information or who would like to donate may contact Juli at 541- 350-3974. Asher’s Army Benefit Dinner for Asher Schonbachler Saturday February 11 @ 6pm at the Elks Lodge in Heppner Dinner - Music Silent & Live Auction If you wish to donate or would like more information contact Juli at 541-350-3974 Some of the Auction Items: Trailblazer Tickets - Art - Roundup Tickets - Gift Certificates - 1/2 Butcher Pig - Steer - Quilts - Saddle - Concert Tickets Pendleton Blanket Champion 1500 Watt Generator - DeWalt Air Compressor - Fit Bit - Beats headset - 50" Screen TV - Coil Fab Headache Rack WE PRINT! k Cree n 103 8 Box r • P.O. 97886 N. Wate ton, OR 6889 Wes ) 569- 2376 e: (888 566- phon (541) 9270 or ) 566- t (541 ci.ne Fax: u@u : pcfc E: mail Pine Tele edit Cr ral Fede site: Web io n U WILD- HORSE RESORT SINO & CA- 72777 HWY Letterhead AND Envelopes AND MORE!!! Heppner Gazette 541-676-9228 Bank of EO reports Tax Wise and Otherwise 2016 earnings Heppner—BEO Ban- corp and its subsidiary, Bank of Eastern Oregon, announced consolidated year-end 2016 earnings of $3,389,000, an increase of 12.3 percent when com- pared to $3,017,000 in 2015. Basic earnings per share were up 13.8 percent from $2.46 in 2015 to $2.80 in 2016. Total assets in- creased seven percent from $357.3 million to $382.2 million. Net loans ended 2016 at $302.3 million, up 6.6 percent year-over-year. Deposits increased seven percent from $317.7 million to $340.1 million. “We are very pleased with the 2016 results. Net income is at an all-time high for BEO Bancorp. The increase in profits was fueled by strong net inter- est income and provision for loan losses, which was down 51.7 percent year- over-year,” said President and CEO, Jeff Bailey. “As an agricultural- based institution, we are seeing tighter margins for our farmers and ranchers. After a number of years of strong commodity pric- es, we are seeing the less pleasant part of an agricul- tural cycle. Increased world wheat stocks and decreased beef demand coupled with a strong dollar have equated to lower prices. We are en- couraged by the increased moisture that we are ex- periencing this winter. As with every year, we will just have to wait and see what materializes,” Bailey added. “Total shareholders’ equity increased 6.8 percent year-over-year to $29.74 million, an all-time high for the bank,” said Chief Financial Officer Mark Lemmon. “2016 Return on Average Assets is 0.92 percent compared to 0.86 percent in 2015. Return on Average Equity is at 11.77 percent compared to 11.43 percent in 2015. Both reflect improved profitabil- ity. In December, the Fed increased rates as expected and most experts expect modest, measured increases during 2017.” “In 2016 we saw good growth in both loans and deposits,” added Chief Operations Officer Gary Propheter. “This came from all areas of our branch and loan production office net- work. In 2017 we look forward to opening our new branch in Athena and are pleased with the warm reception from the com- munity as we prepare to open the branch late in first quarter.” “2016 was a good year for the bank. Earnings per share were $2.80 up 13.8 percent year-over-year. These results are only pos- sible with a dedicated group of employees serving the financial needs of dedicated customers and sharehold- ers. It is rewarding to see our market area and share continue to expand. 2017 is bound to have its own set of unique challenges, but the bank is well po- sitioned to build on prior years’ success. We look for- ward to serving the banking needs of eastern Oregon and Washington for many years to come,” concluded Bailey. For further informa- tion on the company, visit the website at http://www. beobank.com. County parks subcommittee to meet The Morrow County Parks plan subcommittee will hold a regular meet- ing at 1 p.m. at the Mor- row County Bartholomew Building, 110 Court Street, Heppner on Feb. 13. The meeting will cov- er topics for the Morrow County Parks Master Plan, bylaws and resolution re- garding parks committee members. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. A periodic column by Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA Previous articles have discussed the importance of maintaining good records when confronted by the IRS. Disputes often arise as to whether adequate records have been kept. When a taxpayer disagrees with a determina- tion made by the IRS, they can make an appeal to the United States Tax Court. The process doesn’t always end there, however. Tax court decisions can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals, and from there, to the Supreme Court. The tax court system was established by the Revenue Act 1924. One of the earliest and most precedent cases was heard in the 1930s involving a famous entertainer, George M. Cohan. His case was ultimately decided by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He did not a keep good record of some of his business expenses, which were disallowed by the IRS. The Second Circuit Court recognized Cohan had incurred the expenses and allowed him to deduct them by making a “reasonable estimate.” The case set a precedent known as the Cohan Rule. While the Cohan Rule is still used as a basis for esti- mating some tax deductions, certain deductions require strict substantiation under section 274(d) of the tax code. Deductions for meals, entertainment and personal vehicles expenses fall under that section. In a recent case, Garza vs. Commissioner, the taxpayer was disallowed $20,086 for use of his Ford F-150. His records did not indicate the date, purpose and the number of miles for each busi- ness trip. Instead, he just kept track of the beginning and ending mileage for each month. In another case, Reiff vs. Com, the taxpayer prevailed against the IRS, which had disallowed his standard mile- age deduction for lack of adequate records. Reiff was a disc jockey who contracted to provide music at events. For each event, he wrote the mileage on a piece of paper and later entered that information on a spreadsheet along with the time, date, and location of each event. The tax court overruled the IRS and determined that his records were adequate and met the strict substantiation test. In this case, the taxpayer could have saved the trouble of going to Tax Court if he had kept a current mileage log in his vehicle. This week, the Oregon Senate Finance and Revenue Committee is expected to release plans to deal with a $1.8 billion deficit over the next two years. It sounds like a “broad based business tax” might be in the works. That will be discussed more in the next article. Please feel free to contact me if you have any ques- tions about this article. Daniel Van Schoiack CPA, can be contacted at 541- 676-9971 or danielrvan@yahoo.com. Recent articles can viewed at danielcpapro.com. Little League registration this month Little League registration will continue on Feb. 9 and Feb. 15 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Columbia Basin Electric in Heppner. The deadline for registration is March 1. Boys ages five to 14 and girls ages five to 16 are eli- gible to play T-ball, Minors, Majors and Juniors baseball A request for an inter- and softball. preter for the hearing im- paired or for other accom- modations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before Christian Life Center volunteers will serve lunch on the meeting to the Morrow Wednesday, Feb. 15, at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. County Parks Department Lunch will include pot roast with potatoes, carrots, at 541-989-9500. onions, celery and sliced tomatoes, French bread, and For more information apple cobbler for dessert. please contact the Mor- Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is row County Parks Depart- $3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change. ment at 541-989-9500 or by email at mcparks@ co.morrow.or.us. JOIN US FOR VALENTINE'S DAY 2017 February 14th Prime Rib or Baked Salmon Valentine's Dinner $14.95 Choice of Potato or Rice Pilaf, Soup or Salad and vegetable Reservations Welcomed Community lunch menu YOUR ORDER EARLY! HEADQUARTERS VALENTINE'S DAY IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! CALL OUR FLORAL DEPT TODAY 541-676-9158 CHECK OUT OUR VALENTINES DRINK SPECIALS! NEW DAILY HOME MADE LUNCH SPECIALS! 2016 PRESCRIPTION PROFILES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST . See Pharmacist for more information MEDICARE PATIENTS- WE ARE A Provider for Cigna HealthSpring Please note MUSTANG DINER 541-676-5737 217 North Main St., Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426 Have a news story or photo for the Gazette? e-mail editor@rapidserve.net call 541-676-9228 or stop by the office on Willow St., Heppner Today