Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Creative Care Preschool receives
star rating
Creative Care Preschool’s annual field trip to Krebs ranch. -Contributed photo
Creative Care Pre-
school in Ione has an-
nounced that it is now a
“Quality Star Rated” pre-
school.
Oregon’s Quality Rat-
ing and Improvement Sys-
tem (QRIS) is a voluntary
program intended to help
raise the quality and con-
sistency of early learning
programs across the state.
Participants in the program
are committed to ensuring
children are ready for kin-
dergarten.
This is a voluntary pro-
gram, in which, preschools
can submit a portfolio to
be analyzed, then receive a
star rating from the QRIS
by meeting standards that
are first-rate for children.
Creative Care’s star rating
means that the preschool
and staff meet essential
standards that support qual-
ity learning for all children.
Creative Care current-
ly has a few openings in
the three-year-old class
(held on Mondays from
8:30-11:30 a.m.) and the
four-year-old classes (held
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays from 8:30-11:30
a.m.) and will soon be ac-
cepting registrations for
next year.
Contact the preschool
at 541-422-7003 for more
information.
‘A Rose in Bloom’ in Ione Sunday
Heppner performance March 16
Area residents are
again in for a theatrical
treat with the presentation
of “A Rose in Bloom,” this
year’s drama by Father
Gerry Condon and the St.
Patrick’s Players.
Performances will be
at the Ione Community
School on Sunday, March
12, at 3 p.m., and at St.
Patrick’s parish hall, Hep-
pner, on Thursday, March
16, at 7 p.m.
Admission is free, but
donations will be accepted
for Asher’s Army, to help
Asher Schonbachler’s fight
against Vanishing White
Matter disease.
The play is another
original work by Fr. Con-
don.
The cast includes Anne
Morter, Barney Lindsay,
Bill Kuhn, Beth Dickenson,
Dan Van Schoiack, Joe,
Leanne, Cori Jo and Ryan
Lindsay, Larry Lutcher,
Andrew Lindsay, Nikki
Coe, Debbie Gutierrez (in
Ione), Janet Greenup, Rick
Drake, Bill Monagle, Rita
Van Schoiack, Cam Swee-
ney, Josh Coiner and Brian
Kollman.
Special HCC work day planned March 13
Scott Smythe, Jim
Kirkpatrick and Don Ward
will be performing “explor-
atory surgery” on the Hard-
man Community Center
Hall on Monday, March
13, at 9 a.m. HCC normally
plans work days for Sun-
days; however, the 13 th was
the only day the gentlemen
had available before an
upcoming grant deadline,
so the three men took time
off work and out of their
otherwise busy schedules
to do the necessary labor.
They will be taking a
variety of measurements
of the doors, windows and
boardwalk to accommo-
date several scenarios for
use in estimates for grant
applications, including the
Diamonds in the Rough ap-
plication for facades due in
mid-May, as well as future
grant possibilities.
Licensed contractors,
potential donors, members
and the general public are
invited to attend. This is
a unique opportunity to
view the past history of
the façade and share your
input regarding the future
restoration of the Hardman
Community Center facade.
The ideas received so
far include: restoring the
original tall doors or main-
taining the size of the cur-
rent doors and adding a
clerestory window or panel
above, and reverting to
the original tall windows
or a facsimile thereof, or
installing decorative pan-
els instead of boards. Both
these projects are necessary
as the doors leak rain and
snow—the Hall actually
had a snow drift inside the
building this winter—and
the boarded-over former
windows leak so much
air that the curtains bil-
low when the wind blows.
Also under consideration is
building a boardwalk simi-
lar to the original one down
to the “park” area next to
Hardman Community Center with the old boardwalk in front
of it. -Contributed photo
the building.
All of this work must be
accomplished with grants,
and the matching funds (or
pledges for matching funds)
must be in place before the
current planned application
is sent off in May. Matching
funds may be cash, donated
labor, discounts or material
goods and services. A fund-
raising campaign is “in the
works.”
A total need for each
scenario will be determined
from the estimates provided
from these measurements.
More information is avail-
able from HCC Secretary
Claudia Smythe, hcc@
hughes.net, 541-676-9718
or 48284 Hwy 207 S, Hep-
pner OR 97836.
In lieu of a potluck,
HCC is asking that those
attending bring finger food
trays to share. Coffee will
be provided.
HORSESHOE BEND
-Continued from PAGE ONE
DeMayo said someone
from the Guard has already
been to the site and they are
somewhat familiar with the
particulars of the project.
Commissioner Jim Doherty
said he has heard a figure of
$3.5 million to do the proj-
ect, and said it has never
gotten “into the queue” of
work by ODOT because of
the highway’s low level of
traffic.
“This looks like a no
brainer,” he said.
“Sounds like you have
piqued some interest,”
commission chair Melis-
sa Lindsay told DeMayo.
“It sounds like discussion
should be started (with the
Army).”
Later DeMayo told the
Heppner Gazette-Times
that following the county
court meeting he contacted
the Army officially and
was told they are ready to
come and take a hard look,
and start discussions with
the county and ODOT,
about possibly taking on the
Horseshoe Bend straighten-
ing project.
In other business the
court heard a report from
Morrow County Assessor
Mike Gorman, who said the
county’s assessed value is
down more than 20 percent
for 2017 from last year.
Gorman said a couple of
factors contributed to the
decrease, including Port-
land General Electric’s con-
WEATHER
-Continued from PAGE ONE inch of snow reported on
has reached 2.13 inches,
which is 0.46 inches below
normal. Since October, the
water-year precipitation
at Heppner has been 6.45
inches, which is 0.20 inches
below normal.
Snowfall totaled three
inches with at least one
two days. The heaviest
snowfall was two inches
reported on the eighth. The
greatest depth of snow on
the ground was two inches
on the eighth.
The highest wind gust
was 60 mph, which oc-
curred on the 20 th .
struction of a new gas fired
power generation plant
(Carty) near the Coal Fired
Plant. The plant was includ-
ed in the valuation last year
but this year was moved to
the Strategic Investment
Tax Exemption Program
(SIP) where now only $25
million of the new facilities
valuation will be on the
tax rolls. However, under
the SIP agreement PGE
will now make payments
in lieu of taxes of about
$3,141,111 per year to the
county general fund over
the next 15 years. Also in
the SIP program from previ-
ous years is Willow Creek
Energy with payments of
$160,000, and Shepherds
Flat with $1,349,000 pay-
ments.
Gorman estimated that
the county will collect tax
revenue of $7,204,893
in 2017 and a total of
$10,346,004 when SIP pay-
ments are added it.
In other action the court
authorized the county road
department to “run a blade”
through two subdivisions
Wagon Wheel Loop in Ir-
rigon and West Glen in
Boardman. Road depart-
ment boss Burke O’Brien
said this will not be a regu-
lar maintenance schedule
and they were doing it only
because they would have
equipment in the area and
the roads are considered
access roads.
The outlook for March
from NOAA’s Climate Pre-
diction Center calls for
near- to below-normal tem-
peratures and above-normal
precipitation. Normal highs
for Heppner rise from 51
degrees at the start of March
to 58 degrees at the end of
March. Normal lows rise
from 30 degrees to 36 de-
grees. The 30-year normal
precipitation is 1.52 inches.
The National Weather
Service is an office of the
National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration,
an agency of the U.S. Com-
merce Department.
- FIVE
Tax Wise and
Otherwise
A periodic column by Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA
Rodeo Association Denied Tax Exempt Status in
Private Letter Ruling
Much of my tax news comes from a paid research
service called RIA Checkpoint, to which I subscribe.
The service sends out daily e-mails on tax court cases,
revenue rulings, private letter rulings, tax legislation and
other developments in the tax world. A recent private letter
ruling illustrates a couple of things: first, how a private
letter ruling works and, secondly, how an organization can
take the wrong path when applying for tax-exempt status.
The IRS issues Private Letter Rulings to determine the
tax status of a particular situation. Private Letter Rulings
are initiated and requested by an individual or organiza-
tion. They are made public like tax court cases. However,
they cannot be used as precedence. The public version of
the letter is edited so that the individual or organization
involved remains anonymous.
For example, I once requested a Private Letter Ruling
for a client who had missed the 60-day window to make
a tax-free rollover of funds distributed from her deceased
husband’s retirement accounts. The request was granted
under special circumstances. She was allowed extra time
to roll over the funds to an IRA; otherwise she would
have paid about $17,000 in taxes. That particular letter
ruling is available for viewing online at the IRS electronic
reading room as PLR 201033041. However, the names of
the taxpayer and the financial institutions involved were
edited out to protect the identity of the taxpayer.
Now back to the case of the “Anonymous Rodeo As-
sociation” whose tax-exempt status was recently denied
by Private Letter Ruling 201706019. The letter ruling
gave some background on the association, which sanc-
tions about 14 seasonal rodeos. They chose to file Form
1023 and apply for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)
(3) of the federal tax code; a choice that led to an adverse
determination.
When it comes to 501(c) tax exempt organizations,
there is a whole buffet to choose from, ranging from
501(c)(2) to 501(c)(29). Locally, we have a variety of
501(c) organizations, including the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce—501(c)(6), Willow Creek Country Club—
501(c)(7), Heppner Elks Lodge—501(c)(8), Columbia
Basin Electric—501(c)(12), many 501(c)(3) organiza-
tions, and the list goes on.
Of these, 501(c)(3)s are the most common type and
include organizations that are religious, educational,
charitable or scientific; some private foundations; and
groups that foster national amateur sports competitions.
That is where the “Anonymous Rodeo Association” went
astray in its application. Although the members might
compete in an amateur sporting event, the association does
not foster national competition. Besides that, the associa-
tion failed to meet some technical provisions of Treasury
Reg. 1.501(c)(3)-1. Also, according to its bylaws, (which
are required with the application) the members consider
themselves to be professional rodeo contestants instead
of amateurs.
Although the “Anonymous Rodeo Association” lost
the round, they have the opportunity to dust themselves
off and make another run at it. Next time they should file
Form 1024 and apply as a 501(c)(6) organization, which
offers tax-exempt status to business leagues and profes-
sional athletic associations. Otherwise, the association
will be required to file an annual Form 1120 - U.S. Cor-
porate Income Tax Return and subject itself to corporate
income taxes.
Tax-exempt and charitable organizations will be
discussed further in a future article. The next article will
discuss a pilot program initiated by the IRS to audit ex-
penses of farmers. Please feel free to contact me if you
have any questions 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.
Bob Baker Memorial
Fundraiser Saturday
The 13 th annual Bob Baker Memorial Fundraiser will
take place this Saturday, March 11, at the Ione American
Legion Hall. The doors will open at 5 p.m. for the sand-
wich and salad bar meal and bake sale; cost of the meal
is by donation. Beverages will be catered by Bucknum’s.
Bunco play will take place from 5-7 p.m. Texas Hold
‘Em poker sign-ups will begin at 6 p.m. with play to
begin at 6:30 p.m. Poker buy-in will be $40 with re-buy
available until 7:30 p.m. Winners will receive cash prizes.
Bingo play will run from 7-9 p.m.
In addition to the food and game play, raffles will be
held for a Howa 7mm Rem Mag rifle and for two beef
halves, cut and wrapped. Raffle tickets are available at
Ione Market, MCGG Ione, at the door, and from Ione
Legion and Auxiliary members.
Ione Fourth of July
planning meeting
tonight
This year’s first planning session for the Ione Fourth
of July Celebration will take place at Route 74 restaurant
tonight, March 8, at 7 p.m. The meeting is planned to
last an hour.
Anyone who cannot attend the meeting or who has an
organization or activity they would like included in the
Fourth of July lineup is asked to contact Heidi Nelson at
heidi@hen-online.com or 541-256-0411 (text or call). All
ideas are welcome.
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