Exhibit 99


OREGON TRAIL FINANCIAL CORP. ANNOUNCES MAILING OF ELECTION FORM IN CONNECTION
WITH THE PROPOSED MERGER WITH FIRSTBANK NW CORP.

BAKER CITY, OREGON - September 8, 2003   Berniel L. Maughan, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Oregon Trail Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: OTFC),
announced that an Election Form and Letter of Transmittal and related materials
would be mailed on September 9, 2003, to Oregon Trail shareholders as of
September 5, 2003, in connection with the proposed merger of Oregon Trail with
and into FirstBank NW Corp. ("FirstBank"). These materials will allow Oregon
Trail shareholders to elect to receive either shares of FirstBank common stock
or cash, subject to the allocation and proration procedures set forth in the
Merger Agreement that was entered into by Oregon Trail and FirstBank on
February 23, 2003.  Oregon Trail shareholders purchasing stock after September
5, 2003, will not have the opportunity to make an election, but will receive
either cash or stock, or some combination of cash and stock according to these
allocation and proration procedures. Oregon Trail shareholders have until
5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on October 14, 2003 to return their Election
Form and Letter of Transmittal.  The specific terms and requirements that need
to be followed for shareholders to make a proper election are contained in the
election materials.

The proposed merger of Oregon Trail and FirstBank has received regulatory
approval from the shareholders of both Oregon Trail and FirstBank as well as
regulatory approval of the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Washington
State Department of Financial Institutions. Approval from the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation FDIC is pending.  It is currently anticipated that the
merger will be completed in October 2003, subject to the receipt of all
regulatory approvals and certain other conditions.

Oregon Trail Financial Corp. is headquartered in Baker, Oregon and is the
parent of Pioneer Bank, A Federal Savings Bank which was founded in 1901.
Pioneer Bank operates nine full service office locations in seven Eastern
Oregon counties.

Forward Looking Information

Statements concerning future developments or events, expectations regarding
regulatory approvals, closing of the merger, and any other guidance on future
periods, constitute forward-looking statements which are subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties including government and regulatory actions, and
the satisfaction of merger closing conditions that might cause actual results
to differ materially from stated expectations.