Plans aired for Main Street renovation
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VOL. 111
NO. 6
8 Pages Wednesday, February 12, 1992
Morrow County Heppner, Oregon
Motel-hotel tax ordinance to be drafted
Facing a budget shortfall and
reduction of fund earmarked
for the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce manager's aJary, the
city council directed ad-
mini trator Gary Mark to draft
an ordinance for a city hotel-
motel tax.
Rollie Marshall, on behalf of
the chamber, proposed a five per-
cent tax that would eventually be
pa sed down to cu tomers at the
Northwest Motel, the only motel
in town, and Penland Hou e Bed
and Breakfast.
Tom LaRus o , owner of the
orthwest Motel and RV Park,
protested the tax, saying that
neither he nor his partner Dolores
Cooper had been consulted about
the tax. " We shouldn't be singl-
ed out," aid LaRusso. " We're
an easy target. '' LaRusso said
that the ordinance would place tax
collecting burdens on him and
would pre-empt any increases in
motel rates he and Cooper might
have planned. He said he feared
that with additional charges the
motel would not be competitive
with other motel in the area.
A small portion of the tax
monie would be returned to
LaRus o and Cooper for ad-
ministrative costs, according to
the chamber plan.
Formation of pool district
for Heppner not possible
Heppner
City
Council
members learned Monday even-
ing that formation of a pool
district to fund con truction of a
new city pool is not possible.
Forming a di trict had been the
most promising option in deaJing
with an ailing city pool, but of-
ficials say that a new district can-
not be established because the
Willow Creek Park Di trict is
already in existence.
Other o ption
included
operating the city pool as is for
another year, but the pool's
deteriorated condition and fun-
ding problems will most likely
preclude this: raisi ng funds
through a city bond i ue, but the
city does not have enough
allowable debt and puts new fire
equipment at a higher priority ;
seeking funding through the
school district, which is aJso fac-
ing Mea ure 5 budget hortfalls;
or seeking funding through the
Willow Creek Park Di trict,
(WCPD) . Spoke men for the
di trict aid earlier that becau e
of their involveme nt in
e tabli hing an RV park at
Willow Creek lake their next pro-
ject would probably be earmark-
ed for the Lexington-Ione area
and WCPD support of a Heppner
pool was probably unlikely. Ci-
ty officiaJs indicate, however,
that they intend to approach the
WCPD again, considering this
latest development.
At an earlier pool committee
meeting, committee members
discussed community input they
had received and discussed the
possibility of opening the pool for
wimming lessons only or busing
children to the Ione pool for
lessons. Concern was voiced the
pool would be closed for two
years and that more children
would be swimming at the dam.
The pool committee asks that
anyone with comments contact
committee members , Steve
Dickenson, chairman; Bob Kahl ,
Barb Watkins, Cara Osmin, Jean
Strange, Kay Robinson or Mar-
tha Doherty. A video detailing the
problem with the old pool is
available for viewing. Contact ci-
ty admini trator Gary Marks for
more information.
Ranger district to have
prescribed burn
The Heppner Ranger Di trict
of the Umatilla ational Fore t
will ha ea large pre cribed bur-
ning during the prtog of 1992 .
Pre cribed
burning
in
regeneration harve t cut i
planned for 34 eparate unit
di tributed throughou t the
dt trict. The purpo e of burning
i to reduce the fire hazard and
to prepare the area for planting
of tree eedling .
n additi nal 9 ,4 0 acre of
" environmental'' burning will be
under pre cription and ready to
bum . Thi type of burning i con-
ducted to improve fore t health,
provide , ite preparation for
n· tural tree edlm e tabli h-
· m fi ra e
and remove natural accumula-
tion of fuel from the fore t
floor. These bums will be of low
inten ity and will bum with flame
lengths from one to three feet in
length, con urning needles, limb
and dead tree bole , aid a fore t
service poke person.
Burning could tart a early as
late February and continue into
the m nth of June. Locally heavy
concentration of wood moke
can be expected in and adjacent
to the individual bum but hould
di ipate quickly, they said. Con-
cern or que tion about the bur-
ning program hould be directed
to Gary Clark, Heppner Di trict
fuel peciaJi tat 676-91 7.
•.
•t
LaRusso said that he suggested
that all businesses be charged for
a city license to offset the
chamber manager's saJary. All
the businesses benefit from the
chamber of commerce, LaRusso
added, so they all should
contribute.
Computer altered photograph of Main Street without utility poles
The Heppner City Council
heard plans Monday night from
Columbia basin Electric Co-op
manager and Heppner Economic
Development
Corporation
representative Fred Toombs to
renovate Heppner's downtown
area.
Bob Jepsen
In other business:
-Bob Jepsen was sworn in as ci-
ty council member replacing Kay
Robinson , who resigned to
become mayor. Jepsen's term
will expire Dec. 31, 1992;
-held public hearings on three
city properties designated public
nuisances .
Lamb cook-off
Entries are now being accepted
for the second annual St .
Patrick's Day Lamb Cook-Off to
be held at the Farley Motor Com-
pany in Heppner on Saturday,
March 14. Deadline for entrie is
Wedne day, March 11 . Entry
forms are available at Heppner
TV.
Grand prize for the lamb cook-
off will be two nights lodging at
the Driftwood Shores in
Florence, donated by Lee Bab-
cock and 3-K Live tock in
Brownsville. Prizes will aJ o be
awarded for the best lamb recipe
in three categories: barbecue,
conventional and mi cellaneous.
Students grades 10 through col-
lege senior, will compete
separately for two scholarship
award : $100 for fir t and 50 for
second.
Intere led cook may reque t
an entry form or submit a copy
of their recipe ( erving 4-6) with
their name, address, phone
number to Maureen Kreb , event
coordinator, Cecil Star Route,
lone, OR 97843 . Conte tant
hould indicate any pedal equip-
ment needed for on- ite cooking
or whether their entry will arrive
already prepared.
After a uccessful first year. the
Oregon Sheep Commi ion
agreed to join the Oregon Sheep
Grower A sociatioin and Hepp-
ner'
t. Patrick' Day Com-
mittee in pon ring the 1992
Lamb Cook-Off. The lamb
k-
off i a promotional activity of the
Oregon heep Grower A
ia-
tion to how ase the variety, taste
and heaJthful nature of t ay '
lamb.
According to Toombs, CBEC
plans include removal of utility
poles from Main Street to im-
prove service and decrease the
C'O-<'J)'s liability. Ex.tensive plan
include reconstruction of Main
Street with adequate storm drains,
store front improvements, in-
stallation of permanent planter
boxes with trees and benches, and
improvements in water and sewer
lines. The whole project is
estimated to be around $1.2
million.
The Bank of Eastern Oregon
has set up a speciaJ loan program
for local businesses for store front
improvements.
Zero interest loans are
available in Heppner through a
grant from the Oregon Develop-
ment Dept. which subsidizes in-
terest on the loan.
A $4 ,830 Oregon Department
of Forestry grant has been ap-
proved for the planter boxe ,
trees and benches, but in-kind
donations of labor and materiaJs
are needed to complete the pro-
ject.
Marks
encourages
volunteers of time and materiaJs
to come forward . A buy-a-tree
program is aJso underway .
The State Highway Department
had plans to resurface Main Street
as part of an extensive road pro-
ject, but Toombs and Heppner
City Administrator Gary Marks
say they have per uaded the
highway department to delay the
project o that all improvement
could be made at the same time.
While the highway department
has proposed re urfacing only ,
Toomb
aid that re urfacing
would only make the highway'
crown even higher and torm
drain are not adequate not.
The highway department ha
not yet committed fund for the
road project and ha not pecified
the extent of work it plans to do
on the road, but ha committed
some engineering for the project,
according to Toomb . Marks said
that recon truction of the road
would make an ideal time to make
improvements on city water and
sewer lines, which may not be
adequate for future development.
' ' It' a tremendous project with
lots of hoops to jump through,''
said Toombs. "It may not fly ."
The project will require funding
from several sources-including a
bond issue or local improvment
district, the highway department ,
grants, in kind work and dona-
tien and other source . Too .,
said that grants are available,
" We've got to scrap for them."
Tentative plans are to place a fun-
ding mea ure on the ovember
1992 ballot.
Fonner mayor and owner of
the local Coast to Coast store,
Cliff Green commented, " We
have an opportunity to do a ma-
jor beautification project to
enhance our town . We must take
hold of it and try to fix Main
Street like it should be. Thi
project is in character with
pre ervmg our future in that all
nt1 1e are working together.
Toun m is the corning attraction
for our small town economy , par-
ticularly since we have a major
pot on the Blue Mountain Scenic
Byway .''
Enhancing the area has been a
two-year project of HEDC, VI-
SION 2000 committee, the city
and the tourism committee.
Fred Toombs
Hughes honored by 4-H for
LABO exchange work
Joyce Hughes (I) receive
ilver plate from Carol Bennett
Carol Bennett, OSU Exten ion
agent, on behaJf of the Oregon
4-H Foundation, presented Joyce
Hughe with a ilver plate in
recognition of her time and
dedication to the LABO/LE
program. Joyce i the local coor-
dinator for the total inbound e -
change in Morrow and Gilliam
Countie .
LABO. LEX and UTREK
Japane e organization and the
O regon Cooperative Exten ion
ervice of Oregon State Uni ver-
ity coordinate the 4-H/ Japanesc
Exchange program. It i a two-
way ho t family and cultural ex-
change. 4-H 'er are placed with
ho t famiJie . The tay i approx-
imately four wee .
Oregon ha been ho ting
Japane e children ince 1973.
Bank of Ea temOregon
HOME LOAN PROGRAM
Rates as low as 7¾%
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