Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 23, 2021 -- THREE
Port of Morrow cancels
financing deal with Lake
County biofuel facility
Piece of town’s history finds
new home at Farm Museum
New info shows project ‘in distress’
By David Sykes
The Port of Morrow re-
cently cancelled a planned
$65 million bond sale help-
ing to finance construc-
tion of a new biofuel plant
in Lake County Oregon.
The sale was nixed after
the port received new in-
formation indicating the
project may be in financial
distress. “The bonding for
Red Rock has been can-
celled. The concern was
with new information that
the project was in distress,”
a Port spokesperson told the
Gazette-Times last week.
The port added there is a
potential for another client
to utilize those funds in
Morrow County,
Earlier this year the
Port had voted to issue a
combination of tax exempt
and regular revenue bonds
and then loan that money
to Red Rock. The decision
was made after a tax-ex-
empt bond opportunity to
finance a local Morrow
County solid waste disposal
facility became unneeded,
causing the port to look
for other ways to use the
tax-exempt bonding op-
portunity. Congress allows
only a limited amount of
tax-exempt bonds each
year, and rather than let this
special funding opportunity
expire, the Port agreed to
combine the $10 million
with another $55 million
in regular revenue bonds
and help the Lake County
project.
According to the Fort
Collins, CO based Red
Rock, the biorefinery was
scheduled for completion
in spring of this year. Once
operational, the company
says it would be the world’s
first commercial size plant
to utilize waste woody bio-
mass from forests to create
sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF) and cellulosic re-
newable diesel.
Prior to moving ahead
with the bond issue, how-
ever, the port had petitioned
the courts to determine if it
could legally sell bonds for
a project outside its juris-
dictional boundaries. The
Port’s boundaries are the
same as Morrow County.
The court recently dis-
missed the petition without
making a ruling just shortly
before the port pulled the
plug on the financing deal.
Representatives from
Red Rock attended a recent
Port meeting to go over
their project once again in
an apparent last-ditch effort
to save the financing ar-
rangement, but to no avail.
Later when contacted by
the Gazette to confirm that
the Red Rock bond sale
had indeed been cancelled,
a Port spokesperson said in
The old Green Feed store front is now located at the Farm Museum in Heppner, where it is
being preserved and on display for the public. -Photo by Kim Cutsforth.
By David Sykes
The old Green Feed
store front uncovered
during the recent construc-
tion of a new fitness center
on Main Street in Heppner,
has found a new home at
the Farm Museum, Kim
Cutsforth has announced.
As administrator of the
Howard and Beth Bryant
Foundation that finances
worthy local projects, Cuts-
forth had arranged for the
purchase of the old Lotts
Electric building on Main
Street with plans to remodel
it into a new fitness center.
However, once construction
began it was discovered
that the old building was
not salvageable for a new
modern fitness center. But
what was able to be saved
was the old vintage Green
Feed sign uncovered on the
front of the building.
Discovery of the old
sign caused much interest
around the community so
Cutsforth and building con-
tractor Dave Allstott went
looking for a new home,
where a part of Heppner’s
history could be preserved
and viewed by the public.
They found that home at the
Farm Museum not far down
the road in Heppner.
Cutsforth is pleased the
old historical sign is being
preserved, and also gave
an update on construction
of the new “Lotts of Fit-
ness” workout center. “The
new center, which housed
Lott’s Electric and many
other things prior to that,
will house a community
fitness center accessible
by membership. Hopefully
completed in September,
it will contain state of the
art exercise equipment and
space for yoga or other
classes,” Cutsforth told the
Gazette-Times.
The new facility is
owned and is being de-
veloped by Heppner Com-
munity Foundation, with
funding coming from grants
from Willow Creek Val-
ley Economic Develop-
ment Group, Howard and
Beth Bryant Foundation,
Northwest Farm Credit,
Wildhorse Foundation,
Good Shepherd Commu-
nity Foundation and The
Morrow County Unified
Rec District, Cutsforth said.
Now under construction is the new “Lotts of Fitness” workout center on Main St. -Photo by
David Sykes
Elks Lodge holds annual
Father’s Day picnic
The Heppner Elks Lodge held their annual Father’s Day picnic at Cutsforth Park on Sunday,
June 20. A large group turned out for the event that included, food, beverages and games such
as the egg toss (below). -Photos by Bobbi Gordon.
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