Along the Street : La Bella Casa marks 25 years this week

La Bella Casa is holding a 25th anniversary celebration Oct. 17-19 at the store, 406 N.E. Third St, McMinnville.

From 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, R. Stuart & Co. sparkling wine and Miss Hannah’s Popcorn will be served, and special sales and drawings are planned. The store will celebrate with a canvas bag swag giveaway. Merchandise will be 25% off throughout the week.

Rhonda Feero and her daughter, Jennifer, started in 1999 with a pop-up for Christmas in the garage of a Fifth Street home the first year, then expanded into the house (thus the name La Bella Casa), Jennifer noted in a Facebook post this week.

“It has morphed into something different, exciting, scary, overwhelming, wonderful, surprising and special every year since,” she wrote. For a short time they opened a small pop-up at Third and Cowls streets, where the The Bitter Monk is now, to “test out Third Street.”

“We finally landed in the beautiful Wright Building, where we have been since 2008. It’s been a wild ride, but one that Mom and I have loved every step of the way. But we wouldn’t be here without all of our amazing people that have been with us along the way to make the store a special place to visit; some of those people still work with us today.”

Oct. 17 also happens to be Rhonda’s birthday, “if you want to give her an extra squeeze,” Jennifer wrote.

Greeters gather on Friday

McMinnville Chamber holds its Greeters networking event at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at Chemeketa Community College, 288 N.E. Norton Lane.

The Chehalem Valley Chamber Greeters event gathers at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at Allegra Marketing, Print, Mail, 2401 E. Hancock St. Suite C1, Newberg.

Both events are free and open to the community.

Airport board members sought

The city of McMinnville is seeking applicants for positions on the McMinnville Airport Commission. Airport commissioners serve a four-year term with the option to apply for a second. The commission consists of seven commissioners — six public members and one city council liaison member. A minimum of four public commissioners must be citizens, residents and taxpayers of the city.

Applications are available on the city’s web page, mcminnvilleoregon.gov/sites/, or upon request from the City Recorder’s Office.

Applications will be accepted until Oct. 25. They should be emailed to Willy.Williamson@mcminnvilleoregon.gov or dropped off at the McMinnville City Hall drop box at 230 N.E. Second St.

Voting starts for ‘Coolest Thing’

A new contest, “Coolest Thing Made in Yamhill County,” celebrates the important role that manufacturers play in the local economy and in overall community livability.

It is co-sponsored by the News-Register, McMinnville Economic Development Partnership, McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce and McMinnville Industrial Promotions. Visit newsregister.com/coolestthings for details.

News-Register readers submitted nominations for the “Coolest Thing.” Tournament bracket voting began Friday, Oct. 11, and the winner will be honored at the Chamber’s annual dinner on Nov. 8. Here are the contestants:

Group A: A-Dec Dental 500 Pro Delivery System; Aliza’a Grape Skin Almond Flour Cookies; Amcraft Cabinets; Applied Physics Thermionic Emitter

Group B: ARE Tiger Manufacturing Metal Fabrication; Bierly Brewing Gluten Free Beer; Cascade Steel GRN Steel; Chapul Farms Frass

Group C: Cutting Edge Metals Dronebuster Machine Parts; DCI Dental Chair; EMPWR Nutrition Bars; ExcelTech Circuit Board

Group D: Flag & Wire Coffee; Forest River Inc. Recreational Vehicles; Glorie No Preservative Cookies; Hampton Lumber Wood Products

Group E: Heater Allen German Style Beer; Humble Spirit Tabula Rasa Farms Oreos; Maysara Biodynamic Wine; MHS Welding

Group F: Miss Hannah’s Gourmet Popcorn; Blue Raeven Berry Pies; New Energy Works Pergola; Newberg Glass Studio Glass Straws

Group G: News-Register Newspaper; NWUAV UAVs; Pure Light Botanical Beauty Lip Products; RP Advanced Systems All Terrain Vehicles

Group H: Erin Hanson Gallery 3D Textured Replica Paintings; Sherman Candles Candle; Vadnay Chocolates Chocolate; William Henry Pocket Knife

The Setting Inn opens

The Setting Inn Willamette Valley, a luxury boutique inn, recently opened in Newberg.

Special seasonal guest packages support the international campaign Come Over October, which aims to bring people together over wine.

The Setting Inn is located at 20300 N.E. Highway 240. For more information, call 503-554-9528.

E-filing options available

Oregon resident taxpayers preparing their own tax returns in 2025 will have the option to electronically file both their federal and state income tax returns using the combination of IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon, the IRS and the Oregon Department of Revenue announced today.

“The Direct File Program is a game-changer for taxpayers,” Gov. Tina Kotek said. “This free filing option is an equitable opportunity to save Oregonians time and money, regardless of their income.”

The IRS and U.S. Treasury Department announced an expansion of the types of returns that can be filed using IRS Direct File beyond what was available in the pilot program during the 2024 tax filing season.

During the pilot last year, IRS Direct File covered limited tax situations, including wage income reported on a W-2 form, Social Security income, unemployment compensation and certain credits and deductions. For the 2025 filing season, IRS Direct File will support Forms 1099 for interest income greater than $1,500 and retirement income.

In the 2024 tax season, more than 140,000 taxpayers in 12 states filed their federal tax returns using the limited pilot program while nearly 7,000 Oregon taxpayers filed their state returns using the free, state-only Direct File Oregon option.

The IRS estimates that 30 million US taxpayers will be able to use IRS Direct File in 2025, including 640,000 Oregon taxpayers who will be able to e-file both their federal and state returns for free.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced in May that it would make IRS Direct File a permanent option for taxpayers and invited all 50 states to participate to create a seamless free filing system for both federal and state taxes. Oregon was the first of 12 new states to accept the invitation from the IRS in June.

“Connecting Direct File Oregon with the IRS Direct File option beginning next year will give Oregon taxpayers a seamless way to electronically file both their federal and state income tax returns — and do both for free,” Oregon Department of Revenue Director Betsy Imholt said.

Oregon Parks fees go up

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is increasing its camping, parking and reservation fees to keep pace with the rising cost of utilities, operations and maintenance.

Most of the increases range from $2 to $5 depending on the fee.

The park system has experienced record visitation as well as the impacts of rising costs and inflation. Utility costs for example have increased by 28% over the last four years, but most fees have remained the same. Depending on the fee, the last increase was anywhere from seven to 15 years ago for base fees.

“We know that raising fees by any amount can be challenging for visitors, and we don’t make this decision lightly. We try to keep costs and fees as low as possible to minimize the impact while still fulfilling our commitment to stewardship and recreation,” said OPRD Director Lisa Sumption.

OPRD will increase its base camping fees for the first time since 2017. The increase applies to all camping reservations for 2025. Starting on Oct. 15, all reservations made for 2025 stays will include the fee increase. Increases in base rate by site type: $2 increase for sites such as teepees, meeting halls and other facilities; $3 increase for tent sites (includes horse tent sites, horse group sites, group tent) and primitive sites (includes overflow, fly-in and walk-to-sites); $4 increase for RV sites (includes full hookup, electrical, horse RV and group RV sites); and $5 increase for cabins and yurts (includes rustic, mini, totem, and deluxe sites.

Seasonal rate increases were adopted in 2020. The seasonal adjustments will be added to the new base rates. As in previous years, summer rates are $2 more for tent sites, $3 more for RV sites and $5 more for cabins/yurts.)

Starting Jan. 1:

- OPRD will increase its reservation fee from $8 to $10 per site starting Jan. 1, 2025. This fee has not been increased since 2010.

n Daily parking permit fees will increase from $5 to $10 at the 25 parks that charge a fee for day-use parking. Parking permit fees were last increased in 2009. The annual parking permit and the two-year permit fees remain the same at $30 for the annual permit and $50 for the two-year permit.

Starting July 1:

- OPRD will expand the 25% out-of-state surcharge for RV campsites (required by state law) to all site types for out-of-state campers.

- New camping rate ranges replace the existing ones. These ranges set the lowest and highest fees that OPRD can charge over time. It gives OPRD’s director the ability to change fees in the future as needed. The last rate range update was adopted in 2018.

OPRD has three main sources of funding: a little less than half comes from constitutionally dedicated lottery funds, about 15% from recreational vehicle license plate fees and 35% from park fees from visitors. OPRD is not funded by taxes.

Most Oregon State Parks offer free day-use parking. Special access passes for free camping and day-use parking permits are available for:

- Oregon foster parents, guardians and parents who have adopted Oregon foster children.

- U.S. veterans with a service-connected disability.

- Active duty U.S. military on official leave.

To submit items for consideration in Along the Street, email Starla Pointer at spointer@newsregister.com.