New salon opens in Heppner
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 138
NO. 22 10 Pages
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Bank of Eastern Oregon
among 200 top performing
banks in nation
American Banker mag-
azine has ranked three Or-
egon banks among the top
200 community banks in
the country.
The magazine, a trade
publication based in New
York City, named Oregon
Bancorp of Salem, OR;
FS Bancorp of Mountlake
Terrace, WA; Timberland
Bancorp of Hoquiam, WA;
Summit Bank of Eugene,
OR; Baker Boyer Bancorp
of Walla Walla, WA; Cash-
mere Valley Bank of Cash-
mere, WA; BEO Bancorp
of Heppner, OR; Commu-
nity Financial of Spokane,
WA; Peoples Bancorp of
Bellingham, WA; U&I Fi-
nancial Corp of Lynnwood,
WA; Pacific Financial Corp.
of Aberdeen, WA; Coastal
Financial Corp. of Everett,
WA; Riverview Bancorp
of Vancouver, WA; and
Sound Financial Bancorp
of Seattle, WA to the list
based on average return of
shareholder equity between
2016 and 2018. Banks with
less than $2 billion in assets
were eligible.
At 25.18 percent av-
erage return, Oregon Ban-
corp, ranked one; FS Ban-
corp ranked six at 15.57
percent average return;
with a 13.24 percent re-
turn Timberland Bancorp
ranked 26; 12.70 percent
return Summit Bank ranked
34; with 11.6 percent Baker
Boyer Bancorp ranked 59;
Cashmere Valley Bank was
72 at 11.22 percent; at 10.71
percent average return BEO
Bancorp ranked 97; Com-
munity Financial ranked
104 with 10.63 percent;
Peoples Bancorp was 121
with 10.3 percent; U&I
Financial Corp ranked 141
at 9.85 percent; Pacific Fi-
nancial Corp. ranked 153
with 9.66 percent; Coastal
Financial Corp. ranked 173
with 9.41 percent; River-
view Bancorp ranked 197 at
9.15% and Sound Financial
Bancorp ranked number
199 at 9.13 percent.
“We are extremely
pleased with the recognition
in American Banker maga-
zine. We find ourselves in
the company of some of the
best run and most admired
banks in the nation,” said
Jeff Bailey President and
CEO of Bank of Eastern
Oregon. “This is testimony
to the dedication of our em-
ployees and the tremendous
support of our customer
base. We are proud of our
track record serving eastern
Oregon and southeastern
Washington communities
for over 74 years and are
delighted to be the one of
only three banks located
in Oregon that can make
the claim of being in the
top 200 community banks
in the country,” concluded
Bailey.
There’s a new hair sa-
lon in town. Schatzi’s Mane
Attraction, owned by Torri
Lovgren, opened in Febru-
ary in Heppner. Schatzi’s,
which offers haircuts and
styling, coloring, waxing,
nails and facials, is in a
brand-new shop, located
next to the former bowling
alley.
Torri, 27, is the daugh-
ter of Pat and Bobette
Lovgren of Heppner. She
has two younger sisters,
Hanna Rinehart and Ali
Lovgren, both Heppner;
and two older brothers,
Kyler of Pomeroy, WA, and
Kody, who lives in Central
Oregon. She graduated
from Heppner High School
in 2010 and then attended
Blue Mountain Community
College, where she played
basketball on the BMCC
team for three years. She
worked for Morrow County
in the tax collection office
in Heppner before attending
beauty school, graduating
in 2018.
Construction of the
new shop started in No-
vember of last year and was
completed by February 1,
with the help of contractor
Rod Wilson and Torri’s dad,
Pat. The shop has a country
look, featuring barn door
sliding partitions.
The name Schatzi’s
(which means pretty girl
or sweetheart in German)
comes from a nickname
Torri was called by a rel-
ative when she was young
and Mane (vs. main) is a
play on words, as in horse’s
mane, since Torri loves
riding.
Above: Torri at the entrance to her new shop
Below: Torri shows off her new country-themed salon.
Salon hours are Mon-
day through Friday, 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. or by appointment
at 541-980-7081. Torri also
has a Facebook presence,
called Hair by Torri, where-
by people can make ap-
pointments online.
PGE official talks big green
energy project coming
to Morrow County
Wind, solar, battery first of its kind in US
WCVEDG breaks ground on
new duplex
Aims to ease rental shortage in area
Brad Jenkins of Portland General Electric speaks at the Willow Creek Valley Economic De-
velopment Group annual luncheon. -Photo by David Sykes.
Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group board members last week broke ground
on construction of a new duplex in Heppner. Left to Right: David Sykes treasurer, Nancy
Snider VP, Sheryll Bates executive director, Kim Cutsforth president, board members Kraig
Cutsforth, Bob Houser, Ed Rollins, Darrell Green and project general contractor David Allstott.
By David Sykes
After several years of
planning and the accumu-
lation of funds, the local
economic development
group has broken ground
on construction of a new
duplex in Heppner. Located
on Cowins Street, construc-
tion of the duplex will hope-
fully help to ease a chronic
lack of rental housing in
Heppner.
The Willow Creek Val-
ley Economic Development
Group (WCVEDG) has for
many years recognized that
a lack of housing in south
county is an impediment to
maintaining and growing
healthy local businesses
and jobs. The opportunity to
do something about it came
several years ago when the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone in Boardman began
allocating to WCVEDG
funds earmarked for hous-
ing. The group has used
The new units will be three-bedroom two-bath each with a
garage.
some of that money for
a housing rehabilitation
project in south county, but
a majority of the money
has been held to where now
there is now enough money
for construction.
WCVEDG bought a
parcel of land on Cowins
Street, tore down the old di-
lapidated apartments there,
and put the project out for
bids. Allstott Construction
of Heppner was awarded
the contract and plans to
start construction soon.
Miller and Sons of Heppner
also did the building tear
down and excavating on
the lot in preparation of the
construction.
The two-story units will
be of quality construction
featuring three-bedrooms,
two-baths with kitchen, liv-
ing room, nook and covered
patio out back. Each 1213
square foot unit will have
its own garage. Completion
date is not set yet, and the
rent amount has not yet
been established.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
By David Sykes
An official from Port-
land General Electric, PGE,
was the featured speaker at
this year’s Willow Creek
Valley Economic Devel-
opment Group annual lun-
cheon and he talked about
the big green energy project
coming soon to Morrow
County. Although the coun-
ty has seen lots of wind-
mill projects already Brad
Jenkins, vice president for
Utility Operations, said his
company is partnering with
NextEra Energy Resources,
LLC, to construct the first
ever wind, solar and battery
operation of this scale in all
of North America.
The project will pro-
duce 300 megawatts of
wind generation with 50
megawatts of solar gen-
eration and 30 megawatts
of battery storage, all of
which will be purchased by
PGE to meet its green en-
ergy commitment. “We are
committed to reducing our
carbon output by 80 percent
by 2050,” Jenkins told the
gathered luncheon crowd.
He reminded everyone that
the coal-fired electrical gen-
erating plant owned by PGE
in Boardman will be closing
in 2020, putting an end to
coal generating in Oregon.
Called the Wheatridge
Renewable Energy Facility,
it includes 120 turbines on
a wind farm to be located
just north of Lexington, as
well as a new solar farm and
a large battery operation to
store the power for when
it is needed. Wheatridge
will provide up to 300 jobs
during construction of the
wind site and up to 175
jobs during construction of
the solar and storage sites.
Approximately 10 full-time
employees will operate the
combined facilities once
they’re commissioned for
service.
Jenkins said PGE will
buy all of the electricity
from the new facility but
will only own 100 mega-
watts of output. A subsid-
iary of NextEra Energy
Resources will own the
balance of the project and
sell its output to PGE under
30-year power purchase
-See ENERGY/PAGE ??
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN STREET, LEXINGTON OR 97839
CONTACT: JUSTIN BAILEY, 541-989-8221 EXT 204
*Offers vary by model and are subject to availability. Rebate and financing offers valid on select 2015-2019 new
and unregistered Polaris ® RZR ® , RANGER ® , Sportsman ® , GENERAL ® , and ACE ® models purchased between 3/1/19 -
4/30/19, but availability of the offers and the offer terms may vary by State, so see your local authorized dealer for
complete details. "Rates as low as 3.99% APR for 36 months. Examples of monthly payments required over a
36-month term at a 3.99% APR rate: $29.52 per $1,000 financed; and with a 60-month term at a 6.99% APR rate:
$19.80 per $1,000 financed. An example of a monthly payment with $0 down, no rebate, an APR of 3.99% APR for
36 months at an MSRP of $12,699 is $374.87/mo. total cost of borrowing of $796.27 with a total obligation of
$13,495.27. Down payment may be required. Other financing offers may be available. See your local dealer for
details. Minimum Amount Financed $1,500; Maximum Amount Financed $50,000. Other qualifications and
restrictions may apply. Financing promotions void where prohibited. Tax, title, license, and registration are separate
and may not be financed. Promotion may be modified or discontinued without notice at any time in Polaris' sole
discretion. WARNING: Polaris ® off-road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not intended for on-road use.
Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver's license to operate. Passengers, if permitted, must be at
least 12 years old. All riders should always wear helmets, eye protection, and protective clothing. Always use seat
belts and cab nets or doors (as equipped). Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp
turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don't mix. All riders should take a safety training course. Call 800-342-3764 for
additional information. Check local laws before riding on trails. © 2019 Polaris Industries Inc.