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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2017)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 19, 2017 - THREE SAGE Center hosts Shrine Club honors Mustang all-star Heppner High art football players exhibit Unveiling, reception Saturday This Saturday, April 22, the SAGE Center in Boardman will unveil Hep- pner High School’s “Mor- row County: From Here to There” gallery exhibit. The unveiling and gallery recep- tion will take place at 3 p.m. at the SAGE Center, 101 Olson Road, Boardman. “Morrow County: From Here to There” is an exhibit created by HHS students ranging from sev- enth to twelfth grade. With support from the Morrow County Cultural Coalition, the art students at Heppner High School have worked to create a vibrant collec- tion of work, interpreting the local landscape through their young eyes, highlight- ing the beauty and diversity of Morrow County, and showcasing their various talents. HES ‘Kindergarten Roundup’ next week On April 25, Heppner Elementary will be round- ing up all the kindergarten students for the 2017-2018 school year. Appointments are available from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and will last approximately 45 minutes. Each child will meet Mrs. Calvert, undergo a skills test and have their eyes checked. Parents need to bring their child’s birth certifi- cate, immunization record and emergency contact information. Parents and staff will be filling out pa- perwork while each child is with Mrs. Calvert. Please contact Mrs. Sweeney to set up an ap- pointment time at 541-676- 9128 ext. 2610. Students must be five years of age on or by Aug. 31, 2017 to enroll at HES. DA’s Report Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney Justin Nelson has released the following report: -Kevin Dennis Lee, 29, was convicted of Assault IV – constituting Domestic Violence, a Class A Misde- meanor. Execution of the sentence of 180 days’ jail time was suspended and the defendant sentenced to 36 months bench proba- tion. Probation conditions include 80 hours of com- munity service, no contact with the victims, substance abuse evaluation, alcohol and/or drug evaluation, mental health evaluation and completion of a bat- terers intervention pro- gram. In addition, Lee was convicted of Strangulation – constituting Domestic Violence, a Class A Misde- meanor. Execution of the sentence of 180 days’ jail time was suspended and the defendant sentenced to 36 months bench probation, to include the above condi- tions. In addition, Lee was convicted of Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, a Class A Misdemeanor. Execu- tion of the sentence of 180 days’ jail time was sus- pended and the defendant sentenced to 36 months bench probation. Proba- tion conditions include the above-named conditions. Additional counts of As- sault IV and Strangulation were dismissed. Fines, fees and assessments totaled $100. KISSLER CHARGED WITH RAPE -Continued from PAGE ONE He was arraigned Monday an unidentified female, disclosed to the deputies on scene that she had been raped. Deputies arrested Kissler on charges of Rape I, Sodomy I (incest) and Unlawful Sexual Penetra- tion I. Kissler was lodged at Umatilla County Jail. and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for this Thurs- day, April 20. The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office was as- sisted by officers from the Umatilla Police Department and the Boardman Police Department. The Tri-County Shrine Club hosted a banquet to honor Mustang football players Kevin Murray and Logan Grieb recently. Both young men were chosen to the Portland Shriners Chil- dren’s Hospital All-Star Team. Kevin was selected to play in the Shrine game that will be played on Aug. 5 in Baker City. Logan will serve as an alternate on the team. They were nominated by their coach for this honor and then selected by a com- mittee on three criteria. Their athletic accomplish- ments, their academics and their community service were why these players were chosen to represent the Shriners in their cause to help children receive medical care. The Portland Shriners Children’s Hospi- tal, which started operation in 1924, has served more than 60,000 children since its doors opened. The players and their families and friends were treated to a dinner at the Heppner Elk’s Club. Tri- County Shrine President Herman Winter welcomed everyone and introduced the other Shrine Club members present—Merlin Hughes, Gene Orwick and Archie Ball. The featured speaker of the night was Dick Crist, who is the Outer Guard for District 1 of the Al Kader Shriners. He spoke about the work the Shrine Club Pictured L-R: Gene Orwick, Herman Winter, Kevin Murray, Dick Crist, Logan Grieb, Archie Ball and Merlin Hughes. -Contributed photo does and all the programs that are available to patients at all Shriners Hospitals across the nation. Heppner football coach Greg Grant then spoke about the work ethic of both the players on and off the field, how they both were four-year lettermen, helped the Mustangs win eight home playoff games, accumulated a 44-5 record over their careers and won a state championship. He also stated that the boys were great teammates, leaders and always worked hard, and that they were unself- ish and set a great example for the younger players on the team. Both Kevin and Logan got up and thanked their families, coaches, team- COUNTY COURT -Continued from PAGE ONE asked Huwe. That is the Following the meet- ing Huwe said the offices are important to the city because they have so very little. “We have no main street businesses and no in- dustry. Don’t take that away for us, it is all we have,” she said of the county offices. She acknowledged that the Bartholomew Building in Heppner was expensive to build. “We don’t need a Ca- dillac building, just a Ford.” She said, talking to residents, they say they do not want to lose the offices and get “totally pulled out of the mix” from the rest of the county. She said the current buildings are in bad shape and need to be torn down, and that the footprint of the buildings is enough to build a two-story to handle all the county office needs. Commissioner Don Russell said the county has a responsibility to all the citizens of the county when deciding what to do. “When you gathered those petitions did you ask them if we can save a half million dollars by going to Boardman?” Russell amount initially figured to be the savings by buying the BMCC building over building new in Irrigon. “It’s hard for me to look the other 9,000 (county) citizens in the face and say we are going to spend $1/2 million more to build in Irrigon,” Russell said. “If we were going to move from Boardman to Irrigon I would feel the same way,” he added. Commissioner Jim Doherty said they were still in the planning stages on where to locate and the county would look at “lots of options. We are strug- gling right now and up against the budget,” he said. County commission chair Melissa Lindsay said she appreciated Huwe’s comments and concerns, saying the county needs to do what is best for the com- munities, but in the end the decision has to be a finan- cial one. She added that the commission needs to get the true cost of building a new building in Irrigon and any remodeling cost for Board- man before any decision is mates and the community for always supporting them. They both said that they made many great memories playing Mustang football, but the best memory they will have is winning the state championship with their “brothers.” Both boys had interest- ing side stories to go along with their selections to the team. Kevin stated the he is the third member of his family to play in the game. His father John and brother Ian also represented the Mustangs in the game. Logan then told of his family’s direct knowledge of the great work the Shrine Hospital does. In 1937 his great-grandfather Charles Christensen was 12 years old and spent a year in the Portland Shrine Hospital after a load of wood crushed one of his legs. The Port- land Shriners Children’s Hospital saved his life. Although one leg ended up being shorter than the other and he walked with a stiff leg, he was able to live a full life and have a family, which would even- tually lead to Logan being selected to this honor. In another interesting story line, Logan’s father Ken was also selected as a Shrine game alternate. These two fine young men certainly deserve the honor of being selected to the Portland Shriners Chil- dren’s Hospital All-Star Team. made. Huwe suggested that SIP (Strategic Investment Program) money be used to construct a new facility in Irrigon. SIP funds come from energy projects, main- ly wind, and are paid to the county in lieu of taxes. SIP money was used to con- struct the new administra- tive building in Heppner, and comes into the county on a yearly basis. Russell addressed that idea also. “People think there is a pile of SIP money out there.” He said it is true that SIP “doesn’t have side- boards” and the county has wide latitude on how to spend the funds, but the county gave up regular property taxes in exchange for SIP funds. Irrigon City Manager Aaron Palmquist also urged the commission to keep the facilities and offices in Irrigon. He had some additional advice for the commission if they decide to move only some of the services to Boardman. “If you are going to move some of it, then move it all,” Palmquist said, meaning don’t take just the plan- ning commission, VA and sheriff and leave the courts and parole and probation in Irrigon. “Criminals stay close to the court system,” he said, which has not al- ways been beneficial to the city of Irrigon. “Don’t take the good away and leave the bad. Move it all.” he told the commission. Palmquist also echoed Huwe’s feelings that people come to Irrigon to use the county facilities and with that comes economic activ- ity for the local businesses. The commission has not announced a date for a decision on the new facili- ties and where they would go, but has hired an archi- tect firm to come up with costs and concepts so the commissioners have solid information on which to base their decisions. In other business the commission voted to give county employees a three percent cost of living wage increase (COLA) for the coming year. The increase will cost the county $66,000 in additional wages. The in- crease does not cover union employees, who are negoti- ated separately. Lindsay said next year she would like to deal with the COLA earlier. “I feel we were kind of backed into a corner hav- ing done elected (officials) already,” she said. In other action the com- mission voted to approve a new Columbia River Enter- prise Zone (CREZ) agree- ment with VA Data, the Amazon business that runs server farms in Boardman. The agreement will allow Amazon to pay CREZ fees in lieu of property taxes for the next five years. FISHERMAN'S NIGHT Thursday, April 20th Scalloped Potatoes, Coleslaw & Garlic Bread Dinner 6:00pm Lodge 8:00pm Mossberg 12 Gauge & Other Prizes