TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 22, 2025
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 177 N Main St. Telephone (541) 676-9228. E-mail:
editor@rapidserve.net or sykeschris@hotmail.com Web site: www.heppner.net. Post-
master send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner,
Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: In Morrow County $36/year. Outside Morrow County
$41/year. In County Senior Rate (65 years or older) $31/year. 9 month Student student
subscriptions $36/year.
Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea DiSalvo ............................................................................................. Editor
Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.65 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 55¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $16 up to 100
words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.15 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi-
cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. 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 $16
Obituaries
Harold Holly
Holtz
Harold Holly Holtz
Harold Holly Holtz, 95,
died Jan. 10, 2025. Funeral
services will be held at the
Ione Community Church in
Ione on Saturday, Jan. 25, at
11 a.m. with a concluding
graveside at Ione Cemetery
to follow.
Harold was born Feb.
14, 1929, on the family
farm near Northgate, ND,
the second son of Clarence
and Laura (Wolkenhauer)
Holtz.
The family moved to
Grandview, WA in 1934.
Then, in 1946, they moved
to the farm in Ione. Except
for a couple years in the
Army, Harold continued
to live on the farm for 76
years.
Harold married Irene
Grant on June 4, 1960, in
Hermiston.
Harold is survived by
his wife Irene, son Tim
(Debbie), daughter Tamara
(Mike) Bernard and by his
grandson Daniel Holtz.
He was preceded in
death by his parents, his
brother Elmer, and his sister
Mary Kirkelie.
Memorial contributions
can be made to Bethlehem
Lutheran Church in Herm-
iston.
Sweeney Payton Mor-
tuary has been entrust-
ed with the arrangements.
Please leave your condo-
lence messages for the
family at Sweeney Payton
Mortuary (sweeneypayton-
mortuary.com).
BEO reports 2024
earnings
Bank ‘going strong’ entering
2025
Heppner—BEO Ban-
corp
(OTCBB:BEOB)
and its subsidiary, Bank
of Eastern Oregon, an-
nounced
consolidated
year-end 2024 earnings of
$16,489,000. Total assets
were $867.6 million, net
loans $580.0 million, and
deposits $770.9 million.
BEO President and CEO
Jeff Bailey said the bank is
pleased with 2024, noting
that a one-time non-recur-
ring collection related to
a legacy problem credit
contributed approximate-
ly $950,000 after taxes.
“Even without this, 2024
would still be our best net
income in the history of
our bank,” Bailey said.
Chief Financial Officer
Mark Lemmon reported
shareholder equity in-
creased 26.1%, with Re-
turn on Average Equity
at 22.71% and Return on
Average Assets at 1.91%.
“Earnings per share were
$13.40, and we paid our
highest dividend ever at
$1.25 per share,” Lem-
mon said. “Book val-
ue per share increased
24.6%, ending at $65.09.”
Chief Operations Offi-
cer Becky Kindle noted
deposits decreased 0.7%,
which she called “a day’s
swing in activity.” She
added that the bank opened
a Pendleton branch in De-
cember 2024, expanding
services in a market where
they’ve had a loan pro-
duction office since 2012.
Chief Lending Offi-
cer John Qualls reported
11.1% growth in the loan
portfolio, driven primarily
by newer markets. Chief
Credit Officer Ed Roll-
ins said lower commod-
ity prices in grains and
hay are leading to tighter
margins in the ag portfo-
lio. “As a prudent mea-
sure, and with realized
loan growth, we added
$700,000 to our allowance
for possible credit losses,”
Rollins said. “Cattle pric-
es continue to amaze. The
weather has been decent
with above-normal snow-
pack and welcome rains.”
Bailey noted that, in ad-
dition to paying its high-
est dividend ever, BEO
paid down $3.7 million
in subordinated debt in
2024 while growing capi-
tal. “We are quite pleased
with the bank’s earnings,
but the financial stability
of our institution is even
more noteworthy,” he said,
adding that 2025 marks
BEO’s 80th anniversary.
“While other banks in our
trade area have consolidat-
ed or sold out, we are go-
ing strong.”
Spiritually Speaking
Father Thankachan Joseph
Anointed with the Spirit of the Lord
We have just witnessed the inauguration of the Presi-
dent of America. When the parties contest for the election,
each political denomination has its agendas to propose to
humanity at large; we can call it the election manifesto
of the political alliances.
This Sunday, we are reminded of our Christian
fellowship with the rest of humanity in bringing about
a change for the better in the lives of the poor. Jesus
initiated this process in a Jewish Synagogue by means
of proposing a missionary agenda of “bringing the good
news to the poor.”
Jesus proposes the kingdom of peace, joy and con-
cern for everyone. As a preparation for this Sunday, let
us examine our own personal agendas, and see if they are
in consonance with what Jesus has initiated.
Jesus’s life was all about change. He came to change
the world, to teach us how to do a better job of loving
God and loving our fellow human beings. His mission
was oriented to this concept: He changed sinners by
forgiving them and telling them to live good lives. He
changed the lives of everyone who encountered Him. (In
changing water into wine, he invites us to be His partners
in transforming the world with Kingdom values.)
In his opening preface (1:1-4) Luke tells us why
he wrote the Gospel. It was to explain to Theophilus,
probably a Roman official, what Christianity was all
about. The name “Theophilus” is a Greek name mean-
ing “one who loves God.” Theophilus could represent
many non-Jewish characters, real as well as fictitious, in
Luke’s Gospel—like Zacchaeus, the Good Samaritan, the
repentant publican who stood in the temple along with
the proud Pharisee and many others. Theophilus could
also represent each one of us today, as we hear Jesus
presenting His “missionary agenda” at the beginning of
His Nazareth ministry.
Have you ever tried to explain to someone what Chris-
tianity is all about, especially that which you profess and
live? Many people think that Christianity is all about sin
and judgment, heaven, and hell, and that God is a divine
sheriff who is always monitoring our movements, writing
down all our sins in His book and waiting to throw us into
hellfire as soon as He catches up with us. The Evangelist
Luke sees it all differently. For him to follow Christ has
more to do with God’s care, concern, love, empathy, and
mercy than with punishment. That is why. in telling The-
ophilus about the Christian faith, Luke finds the incident
in the synagogue in Nazareth extremely useful.
People who initiate a revolution usually start off with
a declaration of their manifesto. Karl Marx started by
publishing the “Communist Manifesto.” Martin Luther
started with the publication of the ninety-five theses in
Wittenberg, Augsburg. Jesus has come to start a revolution
of mercy, empathy, concern, compassion and love towards
the marginalized and the downtrodden of society.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Luke announces the
Christian manifesto: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed
go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke
4:18-19).
In these few words we see in a nutshell how Jesus,
in Luke, understands His mission in the world. What is
Jesus’s work? It is “to bring good news to the poor, to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to
the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favor.” Now, what is the significance
of the statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me?”
From the Gospel we know that the Spirit of God guides
the whole life of Jesus.
Remember, when Jesus was conceived, it was by
the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit
descended upon Him as a dove. The Spirit led Him day
after day to a ministry of healing and the forgiveness of
sin. After the resurrection, Jesus promised the same Spirit
to His disciples. At Pentecost He bestowed them with the
gift of the Spirit (Acts 2: 1-4). Our faith affirms that the
Church founded by Him continues to live in the presence
of the Spirit. So, all of us are called to be the Sprit-filled
witnesses of Christ.
Buyer beware: Oregon
DMV warns of potential
vehicle and dealership
scams
SALEM—Oregon
Driver and Motor Vehicles
Services is warning Ore-
gonians about a new scam
using fake Manufacturer
Certificates of Origin to
obtain titles for stolen ve-
hicles.
An MCO is a document
that certifies the original
ownership of a vehicle. It’s
issued by the manufacturer
when a vehicle is produced
and contains information
like the make, model, year
and vehicle identification
number.
Crooks are creating
fake VINs that appear to be
legitimate and adding them
to counterfeit Manufactur-
er Certificates of Origin
created by either altering
printed information on a
genuine certificate or by
creating a completely fake
version downloaded from
the internet.
A fake certificate often
lists the manufacturer’s
name and an out-of-state
dealer or distributor as the
first buyer.
To determine if your
VIN is legitimate, you
should:
1. Run the VIN through
the National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration
recall site. This will show
if the VIN on the certifi-
cate is one issued by the
manufacturer. If no VIN
is found, you will get an
error message meaning the
VIN was not issued by that
manufacturer. This search
is free.
2. Research the ve-
hicle history through the
National Motor Vehicle
Title Information System,
a consumer protection da-
tabase that provides title
information from states
Did you know?
We are still giving FLU shots. February is
typically peak for flu season. No appt. needed.
We have a drug take back kiosk for expired or
meds no longer needed. We have free sharp
containers with a prepaid label to ship off for
disposal. Medicare Part D has a payment plan
for high copay drugs new for 2025.
We are open Sundays for espresso
window only 9 am-2 pm
Don’t forget the dinner and auction for the
Barney Lindsay scholarship Saturday,
January 26, 2025 beginning at 5:00 pm
217 North Main St.,
Heppner, OR
Phone 676-9158 Floral 676-9426
Upcoming Events
Jan 24th, Feb 7th, Feb 21st Mar 7th Music by
Joe & Andrew Lindsay w/Western Dance
Lessons. Dinner is off the menu. Dinner hours 5
to 8 Music at 7:30.
Feb 9th Super Bowl Party. Bring your favorite
finger food or snack. Lodge opens at 2pm.
Feb 15th Elks Annual. Ladies Tea 2pm, Lodge
4pm, Prime Rib Dinner 6pm.
March 6th Old Timers Night
March 15th St. Patrick's Day. Cornbeef and
Cabbage Dinner 5pm
Members and their Guest
Lunch
& Dinner
Menu
1/23 - 1/29
Thursday - Open faced chicken fried steak
sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy
Friday - Corn Chowder with a turkey deli
sandwich
Saturday - Chicken Dumpling soup with
salad & breadstick
Sunday closed
Monday - Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
Tuesday - Loaded Potato soup with grilled
cheese
Wednesday - Tuna wrap with fruit
across the country. Only use
an approved National Mo-
tor Vehicle Title Informa-
tion System data provider.
These sites will generally
charge a nominal fee.
If you suspect a certif-
icate or VIN is fraudulent,
Oregon DMV recommends
you contact the dealer that
originally purchased the
vehicle from the manufac-
turer (listed as the buyer on
the back or distributor on
the front of the certificate)
to determine if the vehicle
transaction, certificate and
VIN are genuine.
If the dealer or distrib-
utor cannot confirm they
purchased the vehicle from
the manufacturer, the certif-
icate is probably fake.
If you’re buying a ve-
hicle from someone other
than a certified dealer, al-
ways take a photo of the
seller’s identification and
get their contact informa-
tion. If they have another
vehicle, write down or take
a photo of the plate on that
vehicle.
Oregon DMV is also
warning of fraudulent deal-
erships being set up, giving
the appearance of being a
legitimate certified dealer.
The DMV website pro-
vides a look-up tool to ver-
ify if the business is a cer-
tified dealer DMV strongly
urges you to check the web-
site before doing any busi-
ness with a vehicle dealer
in Oregon. You should also
verify the person you are
dealing with is an employee
of the dealership.
For more information,
visit Oregon DMV’s dealer
web page.
DMV customers can
also ask questions by call-
ing 503-945-5000.
murraysdrug.com
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm • Sat 8am-6pm •
Pharmacy- Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
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Hermiston, OR 97838
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options! (541) 371-1900
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