Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2017)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 22, 2017 News from Hardman Community Center Tax Wise and Otherwise Creth Harris’s 100 th birthday party at the Hard- man Community Center was well attended. While members say they don’t have an official head count from the guest book, they Creth Harris at her 100 th birthday party at Hardman Community Center Sunday. -Photo by Dick Paris are guessing that close to 200 people stopped by to congratulate the centenar- ian. Creth had lots of family in for the celebration and her many friends and neigh- bors enjoyed the chance to visit after the long winter. Donnamae Craber Grannemann donated cake pedestals for the occasion and Don Craber provided a laminated article for dis- play; Paul and Gayle Arbo- gast also made a donation. The Palmer girls minded the store again as part of their 4-H Community ser- vice. Congratulations are also in order to Hannah Palmer—she is our state Make It With Wool ambas- sador. Bob and Sylvia Allen’s daughter, Linda, brought out their handmade rocking horses, trucks and dream- catchers to add to the store merchandise—the proceeds go to photo framing costs. Gerald and Diana Hoeft and Tami Rietmann have stated they will look through their photo collections for pic- tures or copies to donate. HCC members say they really appreciate this and are looking forward to the “surprises.” The Annex heater is on back order—MCGG called the supplier several times in an effort to get it there in time for the party, and their efforts were appreci- ated. The new ship date is the middle of March. Mel McDaniel worked a bit more on trim in the dining room. Claudia Smythe, Jan- ice Weis and Kathy Rankin tidied up the Hall prior to Creth’s party, and Mel filled the wood box and got the water on. Kathy Rankin will donate a mud rug for in front of the main double doors to replace the piece of carpet they are currently using. The HCC Board has approved the following projects for summer of 2017: finish ceiling and window trim in dining room, clean the upstairs, tile the women’s bathroom floor, paint the women’s bath hall, re-stain the dark edges of the main floor and reseal the whole main floor, and have the piano tuned. These projects were all funded by private dona- tions from 2016 and have been okayed by the State Restoration Specialist. The board is pending approval on remodeling the men’s room into a handicap bath, until they have had a chance to look at plans and costs. They also okayed Rick McDaniel to weather strip the front door as ongoing maintenance. The following items were tabled, pending more information on plans and costs: reroofing the An- nex, removing carpet on stage, rebuilding the back porch and removing pan- try the door. The board also shelved work on the front of the building and steps down to the “park” as they have authorized the secretary to write a façade grant, which will incorpo- rate those items. Last, HCC members express gratitude and ask for prayers. They say they are thankful that their neighbor, Sam Schmidt is finally home after breaking his hip two months ago, and that member May Ward’s hip, also broken, is mending nicely and that she was able to recuperate at home. They also ask for prayers for board member Bob Stevens, who is in the hospital with complications from appendicitis surgery. They say that Stevens’s recollections of all things Hardman is their guiding light in their preservation and restoration efforts. Fi- nally, they ask for prayers and send condolences to Jere LeDoux, who lost his dear Linda to cancer this past week. Jere was instru- mental in much of the work done on the Hall in the 80s and early 90s, including reroofing both buildings. Linda was a warm and welcoming person whose light will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Boardman sets council annual retreat date The Boardman City Council, at its Feb. 7 meet- ing, scheduled its annual goal-setting workshop for March 4. Councilors and city department heads will meet at the Boardman Se- nior Center at 7:30 a.m. for the community breakfast, then assemble at Boardman City Hall at 8:15 a.m. to begin the meeting. This is a planning ses- sion where no planned de- liberations or decisions will be made regarding any specific subject. General discussions regarding city council goals and direction will occur. The public is invited; however, since this is a workshop session, there may not be opportunity for public comment. In other city business, the council approved a reso- lution to transfer $100,000 of grant money the city received in 2013 from the Columbia River Enterprise Zone II for economic in- centives to the Boardman Community Development Association for their hous- ing program. Councilors also passed two other resolutions, one for a budget transfer from the contingency fund. The other resolution was in support of legislation to restore recreational immu- nity to property owners and employees of recreational facilities. The next regular meet- ing of the Boardman City Council will be Tuesday, March 7, at Boardman City Hall and will begin at 7 p.m. A periodic column by Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA IRS Responds to Executive Order Last week the IRS responded to President Trump’s executive order concerning the Individual Mandate pro- vision of the Affordable Health Care Act. The Individual Mandate penalizes taxpayers who are without full health- care coverage; they face an additional tax as ruled by the Supreme Court in 2012. For tax year 2016, the penalty/ tax rose to 2.5 percent of total household adjusted gross income, or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, to a maximum of $2,085. Previously, the IRS stated they would reject any tax return which did not indicate if every member of the taxpayer’s household was covered by health insurance or not. In response to the executive order, the IRS gave notice they will accept returns and process refunds for taxpayers who do not make the disclosure. What happens after that remains to be seen. The IRS might later request proof of healthcare coverage, and if not provided, assess the penalty/tax. However, the IRS has limited tools to collect the penalty; they cannot file liens or levy property due to a special provision of the tax code. Also, a taxpayer is not subject to criminal charges or penalty for failure to pay the individual mandate penalty in a timely manner. It appears taxpayers without health insurance might be able to dodge the penalty for now. More changes can be expected as incoming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will soon oversee the IRS. Oregon Deduction for Marijuana Business Expenses That came as a surprise when released earlier by the Oregon Department of Revenue. However, when com- paring Oregon law to federal law, it makes perfect sense. Under both federal and Oregon tax laws, any income from illegal activities is fully taxable. However, most related expenses are not deductible under section 280E of the federal tax code. Since marijuana is illegal under federal law, most related expenses are not allowed as deductions against federal taxable income. The only deductions allowed are for the cost of goods sold; which is basically the cost of inventory for retailers or the cost of raising crops for growers. Retailers have been hit with huge federal tax bills since they are not allowed to deduct their operating expenses. One of the largest medical marijuana providers in the United States is currently battling the IRS in tax court over a $2.4 million tax bill. Since marijuana sales are legal in Oregon, the state now allows a deduction for the expenses disallowed on federal tax returns. The deduction is allowed by select- ing Code 359 on Schedule OR-ASC. A future article will discuss how an IRS agent tried to earn a bribe from a marijuana retailer and ended up in jail. 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 be viewed at danielcpapro.com. Camelina oil could be economically feasible as source of commercial jet fuel, new OSU analysis shows By Chris Branam CORVALLIS, Ore.— The camelina plant, which shows promise as a biofuel because of the oil contained in its seeds, could become an economically feasible alternative to conventional jet fuel under certain market conditions, according to a new Oregon State Univer- sity analysis. Years of research at OSU and other universi- ties has demonstrated that camelina can be grown on marginal land and has potential as a rotation crop with wheat, thus preserving soil that would otherwise erode from fallow fields and providing a new alternative market for farmers. But the current low price of conventional kerosene-based jet fuel makes it cost-prohibitive for commercial airlines to use camelina-based jet fuel, said Jeff Reimer, an economist in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the study’s lead author. Reimer’s regional eco- nomic model accounts for key sectors of the camelina supply chain as an alterna- tive jet fuel, using detailed data for the Pacific North- west. He found that a gallon of camelina-based jet fuel would cost about 60 cents more than conventional jet fuel. “Farmers won’t grow it unless there is a market for it, and they don’t have a market for it unless refin- ers have a place to sell it,” Reimer said. “That’s the supply chain problem.” The study was pub- lished in the journal Re- newable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. The U.S. Air Force is already using camelina fuel in some of its aircraft. Reimer said “substantial government intervention” would be one way to create a market for camelina for use as a commercial avia- tion biofuel. Three alterna- tives include: -a 17 percent subsidy on camelina crop produc- tion; -a 20 percent tax on conventional jet fuel; or -a combination nine percent subsidy on the alter- native fuel and nine percent tax on the conventional fuel. Camelina would also be a practical alternative if airline passengers volun- tarily elect to pay more to travel if they perceive an environmental benefit to using the oilseed, he said, allowing airlines to use the proceeds to offset the higher cost. “This case is unlikely to arise in the real world,” he said. “This biofuel works brilliantly,” he said. “A number of airlines want to buy it. But we are in an era of very low oil prices. If the airlines are using millions of gallons of fuel per year, it would cost them too much to switch.” Operators of com- mercial airports, including those in Portland and Se- attle, have a strong inter- est in U.S.-sourced biofu- els, either for diversifying their fuel supplies or for perceived environmental reasons such as a reduction in net greenhouse gas emis- sions, he said. One of the selling points of camelina is that it can be a “home grown” source of fuel with very low production costs, Re- imer said. But even if the camelina is produced by local farms, its processing might not occur within their region. Or, he said, if the pro- cessing is done within the region, the camelina could perhaps be sourced most efficiently from outside the region, such as from Canadian farmers, thereby diluting the “home grown” nature of the energy re- source from the viewpoint of U.S. policymakers. “It might be cheaper to produce both the camelina and camelina-based avia- tion fuel in Canada and im- port it to the United States, he said. “That wouldn’t benefit American farmers or processors.” Xiojuan Zheng, a doc- toral graduate of OSU who now works for Dell Corp., co-authored the study. The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture partly funded the research. HEPPNER LES SCHWAB WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE LADY MUSTANGS ON THEIR FINE SEASON! VARSITY GIRLS- TRESSLYN MCCURRY - MAKAYLA SILVIA - RIANE DOMPIER JACEE CURRIN - JAIDEN MAHONEY - JENNA MCCULLOUGH EMILY CECIL - CLAIRE GRIEB - KACIE GRAY - NICOLE PROPHETER MORGAN CORREA - MADISON COMBE - DAKOTA DURFEY 124 N. MAIN STREET HEPPNER OR 541-676-9481
