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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2020)
NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 Demand in Eastern Oregon was high for Paycheck Protection Program loans By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER A fi nancial life preserver thrown to small businesses is out of money. The Small Business Administration announced April 16 that the Paycheck Protection Program was no longer able to accept appli- cations “based on available appropriations funding.” The only way the program will reopen is if Congress comes back into session and allots more money. The program, which came online April 3 as part of the larger stimulus pack- age known as the CARES Act, offered loans to busi- nesses affected by COVID- 19 with fewer than 500 employees, covering their payroll, rent and utilities for eight weeks. The loans are forgivable if they meet certain criteria, including not cutting employees or wages during the two-month period. Kelly McPhee, vice pres- ident of communications for Banner Bank, said demand for the loans in Oregon has been high. The Pacifi c Northwest bank had 11,482 inquiries of interest in the fi rst week. On April 13, she said that Banner Bank is usually one of the Small Business Administration’s top performers, process- ing about 250 applications a year. “In four days, we did 443,” she said. The program was off to a “shotgun start” on April 3, McPhee said, with banks scrambling to launch the massive undertaking after getting guidelines just hours before the money was sup- posed to be available. “This was something that had never been done before,” she said. “There was no pro- cess, no loan application, not promissory notes.” Lenders had to work carefully through the pro- cess with businesses, mak- ing sure they had every- thing right so as not to put the loan forgiveness aspect in jeopardy. “It’s taking banks a little bit longer, because we defi - nitely don’t want to mis- step,” she said. “THE RESPONSE WAS OVERWHELMING, WITH 6,500 APPLICATIONS IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS. THANKS TO OUR AMAZING TEAM OF BANKERS AND ASSOCIATES, WE WERE ABLE TO APPROVE NEARLY 7,000 SBA LOANS REPRESENTING ABOUT $1.4 BILLION IN FUNDING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.” Kurt Heath, communications manager for Umpqua Bank Before the SBA ran out of money, some banks had already reached their capac- ity to make loans, based on general rules for banks that only allow them to make loans up to a certain percent- age of their balance sheet. By April 13, Columbia Bank had a notice on their website stating that, “After receiv- ing a signifi cant number of applications and serving a majority of client requests, we have reached our capac- ity to provide support through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program.” “While we are no longer accepting applications for the program, we will con- tinue to help clients nav- igate other SBA options, additional credit options as well as payment deferral options,” the bank stated. McPhee said Banner Bank had not reached capac- ity yet, but was also offer- ing relief to businesses in the form of fee waivers, payment plans and other options, in addition to help- ing them look into options such as the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which has since run out of money as well. Bank of Eastern Oregon was also among the lend- ers processing PPP loans for Eastern Oregon businesses. CEO Jeff Bailey said the bank was “inundated with requests” from the fi rst day. He said from a borrow- er’s standpoint, the process was fairly straightforward, but on the back end, the SBA “is building the plane as they’re fl ying it.” “They’re getting $349 billion out the door in a mat- ter of weeks,” he said. Early applicants through Bank of Eastern Oregon are already seeing money in the bank, helping them meet payroll and keep the lights on after the fi nancial blow most businesses have been dealt by the pandemic. Bai- ley said that’s great for Main Street, but there is some apprehension on the part of lenders. “It’s good for communi- ties, but on the back side of that, are we putting undue risk on the banks?” he said. He said BEO chose to participate, however, because of the obvious ben- efi t to customers. Now the real test will be whether the loan forgiveness part of the program works the way it’s been advertised. “The loans are forgiv- able, but there are hoops to jump through, and things are changing daily, if not hourly,” he said. Kurt Heath, communica- tions manager for Umpqua Bank, said in an email that they were the fi rst bank on the West Coast to start pro- cessing applications. “The response was over- whelming, with 6,500 appli- cations in the fi rst 24 hours,” he wrote. “Thanks to our amazing team of bank- ers and associates, we were able to approve nearly 7,000 SBA loans representing about $1.4 billion in funding for small businesses.” Those included the Hermiston and Pendleton branches. Heath said despite all of the current SBA funds hav- ing been allotted, Umpqua Bank is still working with businesses on applications so that they will be ready if additional funding is approved by Congress. According to the Small Business Administration, as of April 13 — 10 days after loans fi rst opened — more W EEK Blue Mountain Com- munity College furloughed nine employees last week. The temporary release of the employees came several weeks after the Oregon Department of Corrections suspended all visits to the prison and also locked out personnel working in prison educa- tion programs. The DOC said the change was neces- sary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the state’s correctional institutions. BMCC holds the con- tract to provide education services to inmates at Pend- leton’s Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, and Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City. The nine employees worked at EOCI and TRCI. Their furlough began April 13 and will last until at least June 13. State offi cials originally notifi ed educational part- ners on March 13 about the suspension of education contracts, but didn’t imme- diately stop payments to the college. That move came about a month later. “On April 12th, we again notifi ed our education part- ners that we needed to sus- pend the education con- tracts until the governor lifted the state of emer- gency,” said DOC spokes- woman Jennifer Black, via email. “The suspension, rather than a contract ter- mination, will allow us to more easily restart the edu- cation programs.” In a letter to inmates, state corrections director Collette Peters said stop- ping visits and education was the fi rst in department history. “The decision did not come lightly,” she wrote. “We value visiting, we value your connections with your loved ones, and we value all of the activi- ties and programs avail- able to you. Visiting, edu- cation, programming, special events make incar- ceration what it should be — an opportunity to learn and grow and prepare to become neighbors once again.” BMCC, the largest pro- vider contracted by the state DOC system, is con- tracted to instruct 961 inmates across the three prisons, according to Casey White-Zollman, BMCC’s vice-president of college relations and advancement. White-Zollman said BMCC’s faculty associa- tion is working to draw up a memorandum of under- standing regarding expec- tations for the remaining 15 full-time faculty mem- bers and four part-time fac- ulty members who worked in the prison education program. First-Class Team. World-Class Treatment You Deserve. MEET TROUBLES Small and Large Animal Care 541.567.1138 By KATHY ANEY STAFF WRITER For more details on all of these services, please visit us online at tccancer.org Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA Mon: 8-6 Tue - Fri: 8-5 Sat: 8-12 Emergency Service BMCC furloughs nine employees Integrative Oncology Services: Radiation Oncology • Patient Navigation Education & Support Services Naturopathic Clinic Survivorship Clinic • Chaplain Nutrition & Fitness Support PET OF THE Troubles is just the opposite of her name. She is a very sweet senior gal who is looking for her forever home. She loves to snuggle and would make a great companion. She does great with other dogs, good with cats. than 4,600 lenders had made 1,035,086 loans totaling $247.5 billion. The average loan size was $239,152, but 70% of the loans were for less than $150,000. Construction topped the list of industries, with 13.7% of the loans, followed by “professional, scientifi c and technical services” at 12.3%, manufacturing at 12.3%, health care and social assis- tance at 11.3%, hotels and food services as 9.2% and retail at 8.6%. Oregon had 9,508 loans approved for more than $2.4 billion. Earlier this month, Uma- tilla Electric Cooperative opened an offi ce in Hermis- ton to assist area businesses with advice on applying for the Paycheck Protec- tion Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan. On April 16, the offi ce sent out a news release stating that while both programs are out of money, staff are still available for general busi- ness advising and other potential fi nancing options. “We are waiting to hear whether additional stimu- lus funds will be appropri- ated and will alert the pub- lic immediately should this occur,” the release stated. It also noted that some businesses were having money from the programs show up in their account unannounced, and encour- aged people who have already applied to check their balance often. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan The Blue Mountain Community College Board of Education has declared an emergency in late March. The board made the move as COVID-19 halted on-campus instruction and forced classes online. 80489 Hwy 395 N Hermiston www.oregontrailvet.com Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, animal shelters need our help more than ever. Please donate to your local shelter, or offer to foster an animal in need. If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application. If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838 Now offering telehealth visits for patients, when appropriate Two convenient locations: 600 Northwest 11th Street, Suite E-23 - Good Shepherd Medical Center Hermiston, OR - (509) 783-9894 7350 W. Deschutes Ave. - Kennewick, WA - (509) 783-9894
