THREE - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 6, 2019
~ Letters to the Editor ~
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following
criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name
of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you
provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The
address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be
printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the
right to edit. 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.
Keeping Heppner litter
free
To the editor:
Many people and organizations help with keeping
Heppner clean, tidy and litter free. We do this to make
our community nice for ourselves and our visitors.
Various retired people pick up and dispose of litter as
they go on their walks around town. A few of these folks
are Ginger, Frances and Marilyn. There are many others.
They don’t do this for recognition. They do this because
it is a good thing to do.
The Chamber of Commerce participates in the
Oregon Department of Transportation Litter Pick Up
Program on the state highways through town. The town’s
main highways are litter free and the entries to town are
litter free too, thanks to several organizations that have
adopted highway segments leading into Heppner. These
organizations include the Heppner Lions Club, the County
Employee Association, the Heppner Elementary School
staff and the employees of the Bank of Eastern Oregon.
Also, the U.S. Forest Service employees of the Heppner
Ranger District do litter pick up on the first two miles of
Morrow County’s Willow Creek Road.
Here is a big THANK YOU to all the people who
pitch in to keep Heppner litter free.
John Edmundson, Heppner
Students attend
chess tournament
January slightly
warmer
BEO Bancorp
reports 2018
earnings
BEO Bancorp and its
subsidiary, Bank of Eastern
Oregon, announced consol-
idated year end 2018 earn-
ings of $3,949,000 an in-
crease of 27.6 percent when
compared to $3,094,000 in
2017. Average earnings per
share were up 28.1 percent
at $3.33. Total assets were
up 0.5 percent from $414.5
million to $416.6 million.
Net loans were up 1.8
percent at $324.6 million,
while deposits decreased
0.7 percent year over year
to $368.2 million.
“While after tax income
was considerably higher
than 2017, pre-tax earnings
were down 2.9 percent year
over year, due primarily
to an increase in loan loss
provision and write down
of a legacy problem asset,”
said president and CEO
Jeff Bailey. “The December
2017 reduction in corpo-
rate tax rates equated to
approximately $700,000
for 2018, this coupled with
an increasing interest rate
environment helped con-
tribute to strong earnings.”
According to chief fi-
nancial officer Mark Lem-
mon, “2018 Return on Av-
erage Assets is 0.95 percent
compared to 0.78 percent in
2017. Return on Average
Equity is at 11.91 percent
compared to 10.06 percent
in 2017. Our book value per
share is up 9.5 percent at
$29.21 compared to $26.67
one year ago. Shareholder
equity is also up 9.0 percent
year over year.”
Chief operations officer
Gary Propheter said, “In
2018 we opened a new loan
production office in Day-
ton, WA. We also continued
to expand our deposit tak-
ing ATMs in the region pro-
viding enhanced banking
options for our customers
across our branch and loan
production office network.”
“We are pleased with
the 2018 results. Solid earn-
ings for 2018 and an im-
proved renewal season for
our agricultural borrowers
are encouraging for the
year ahead, but time will
tell,” said Bailey. “It is also
important to note that our
application with the FDIC
to acquire the four Umpqua
branches (Colfax, Dayton,
LaCrosse, and Pomeroy,
WA) has been approved and
the conversion is set for the
first weekend in February.
While there will be ex-
penses associated with the
acquisition, the prospects
for those markets is encour-
aging. We look forward to
having the employees in
those branches join our
banking family and wel-
come our new customers,”
concluded Bailey.
Senior residents at Wil-
low Creek Terrace are able
to get their hair done at the
on-site salon at the facili-
ty. Jan Stroeber, a former
hairstylist in Heppner, visits
that salon to provide beauty
services for the residents
once a week. Lea Hyatt, an-
other hairstylist sees clients
at the salon also.
Stroeber, a stylist for 51
years before retiring three
years ago, says, “These
women came to my salon
for many years, so now I
come to them. Everyone
wants to look good at any
age, and it’s a really won-
derful space provided by
Willow Creek.”
Willow Creek’s admin-
istrator, George Nairns says
the salon has been a great
asset for their residents.
“They do not have to worry
about transportation to a sa-
lon and it helps the facility
stand out from other small
assisted living facilities
in the region. An hour of
primping and pampering
can go a long way for senior
mental health and well-be-
ing,” Nairns said.
According to prelim-
inary data received by
NOAA’s National Weather
Service in Pendleton, tem-
peratures at Heppner aver-
aged slightly warmer than
normal during the month
of January.
The average tempera-
ture was 36 degrees which
was 0.8 degrees above nor-
mal. High temperatures
averaged 43 degrees, which
was 0.6 degrees below nor-
mal. The highest was 63
degrees on the 28 th . Low
temperatures averaged 29.1
degrees, which was 2.3
degrees above normal. The
lowest was 21 degrees, on
the 1 st .
There were 22 days
with the low temperature
below 32 degrees. There
were five days when the
high temperature stayed
below 32 degrees.
Precipitation totaled
1.06 inches during Janu-
ary, which was 0.41 inches
below normal. Measurable
precipitation, at least .01
inch, was received on seven
days with the heaviest, 0.26
inches reported on the 23 rd .
Since October, the wa-
ter year precipitation at
Heppner has been 5.07
inches, which is 0.46 inches
below normal.
The outlook for Febru-
ary from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
below normal temperatures
and near normal precipi-
tation. Normal highs for
Heppner during February
are 47.4 degrees and normal
lows are 28.2 degrees. The
30 year normal precipita-
tion is 1.12 inches.
Rural cemetery
signs repaired
On-site salon
benefits seniors
Pictured top row: Mary Ashbeck, Owen Guerra, Joe McMas-
ters, Delilah Sauceda and Journey Cavan. Bottom row: Claire
Lindsay, Isabel Payne, Julius Wright, Jasper Hanna, Isiah
Martin and Avia Botefuhr.
Eleven students from Heppner Elementary school
attended the Chess for Success regional tournament in
Hermiston on Feb. 2. Owen Guerra took first place in the
K-5 division. Claire Lindsay and Joe McMasters tied for
first place in the fourth-grade division.
The team, consisting of the top five players and an
alternate, will head to the state tournament at the Oregon
Convention Center in Portland on Mar. 8 and 9. Currently
there is a four-way tie for the team members.
Snowmobile club
holds playday
Cemetery steward Dana Wilson and cemetery director Gerald
Arnson stand beneath the recently repaired Pleasant Point
Cemetery sign.
Two rural cemetery
signs, removed for main-
tenance in December,
were recently repaired and
re-installed by the Heppner
Cemetery Maintenance
District. District directors
Gerry Arnson and Tommy
Resident Mary Jean during Wolff, along with ceme-
(below) and after (right) her tery steward Dana Wilson,
salon visit with hairstylist, Jan repaired and rebuilt them
Stroeber.
and re-installed the signs
this past week.
The Pleasant Point and
Upper Rhea Creek cem-
etery signs are now back
in place identifying these
historic cemeteries. The
Heppner Cemetery Main-
tenance District is respon-
sible for the activities and
maintenance of four local
cemeteries; Heppner Ma-
sonic, Pleasant Point (on
Little Butter Creek), Upper
Rhea Creek Pioneer and the
Tippett cemetery.
Snowmobile club members enjoy the snow on a recent outing.
The Four Corners
Snowmobile club held its
annual Holiday playday at
Kelly Prairie Sunday, Dec.
29. Over 70 snowmobile
enthusiasts and their fami-
lies were there to enjoy the
fresh powder snow on the
prairie, the groomed trails
and the annual poker run
that paid out 100 percent of
the entry fees.
The poker run course
spanned about ten miles and
some lucky snowmobilers
took home some cash. Trev-
or Rhea took first place,
winning $225, and Suzanne
Rea won $110 for second
place. Papa Murphy’s gift
cards were awarded to Gigi
Peterson, Elsie Winters and
Coby Dougherty. Other
blind draw prizes were
awarded as well.
After the poker run,
chefs Mike Gorman and
Steve Peck served hot dogs
and chili for the riders as
they warmed up next to the
bon fire.
The club also met on
MLK weekend when 21
club members made the
trek to Granite, with a
stop for refreshments at
the Dougherty cabin out
of Ukiah. Other events
are being planned for the
winter. Those interested
should contact Mike Gor-
man at 541-980-3396 or
Cliff Dougherty at 541-
676-5491.
122nd Elks Annual
Saturday Feb. 23
FOR SALE
235 SKYLINE DRIVE, HEPPNER
"Diamonds are Forever"
Ladies Tea 2 pm - Indoctrination 3pm
Lodge 4pm
Enjoy a great view of Heppner from this well-
kept 3 bedroom 1700 square foot home with
large double garage on a .7 acre lot.
Dinner 6 pm
Live Music by Wicked Mary 8 pm
Also available, .7 acre adjacent lot with easy
access to Chase Street and all utilities.
Accepting purchase offers until March 1.
Call Bill Jepsen- 541-667-7498
Tickets will be available to
RSVP
purchase at the lodge
541-676-9181
for a men's and women's raffle basket. elks358@centurytel.net
Drawing will be Feb. 23