Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1992)
Police officer cut from ‘92-93 budget r U V.’ F. T 2 . 3 , r , f OK t: r . •’ P ” •' “ l< E'JOFNL o n L 1 ” 0 7 4 35C azette imes VOL. 111 NO. 12 8 Pages Wednesday, March 25, 1992 One city police position will be eliminated as a result of city budget cuts for the 1992-93 fiscal year. The police cut is in addition to elimination of the city library and city pool budgets, forced by Ballot Measure 5 shortfalls. Included in the 1991-92 budget and eliminated from the upcom ing budget was $23,413 for a police officer, $25,923 for city pool expenses, $15,229 for city library expenses and $5,000 for the Chamber of Commerce manager’s salary. The city will operate with one less police officer and the pool and library will be closed. For mation of a library district, in cluding Heppner and Boardman precincts, will come before the voters this year, but not as a city issue. The city proposes a hotel- motel tax to offset the chamber manager’s salary. Capital outlay expenditures will also be eliminated from the general fund. A fire protection, law enforce ment and administrative capital bond issue will come before the voters in June. City administrator Gray Marks said that city employees will receive a five percent cost-of- living increase, or, in lieu of a cost-of-living increase may enroll in a dental plan. The city has entered into a con tract with the county to provide grounds maintenance services for the county for $6,000 for the year and hopes to provide budgeting services for the proposed library district for $4,000. The estimated tax rate of $6.04 per thousand will cost $241.60 a year for a taxpayer with a $40,000 home. A person with a $100,000 home would pay $604 a year in estimated taxes. The proposed 1992-93 general fund budget of $372,661 appears to be up from the 1991-92 estimated budget of $350,241. But Marks said the apparent in crease is because of a change in accounting procedures and the 1992-93 budget is actually 27 per cent less than the 1991-92 budget. The '92-93 budget includes $82,000 in a beginning fund Proposes new fire hall lone RFD to drop levy at $90,000 savings Morrow County Heppner, Oregon Lilly Sasser celebrates 102 birthday The lone Rural Fire District is proposing an operating levy and a $30,000 capital improvement levy for the next fiscal year. However, because the district had paid off the five year equipment loan in three years, the directors are also recommending that the district drop the final two years of the special levy at a savings of $90,000 to lone Rural Fire District taxpayers. The $90,000 savings includes the $30,000 capital improvment levy. The district has purchased six lots next to the Post Office at a cost of $4,500 as a site for con struction of a new fire hall. The proposed four-bay steel structure, which includes a meeting room and office, is estimated to cost around $50,000, which is less than the cost involved in rebuilding the existing building, according to the directors. The district has $51,000 in its building fund, after land acquisition and Pageant to be aired on Channel 3 Did you miss the St. Patrick’s Celebration’s first pageant ‘Erin Came to County M orrow ’, directed by Jane Rawlins with over 100 county residents perfor ming? Heppner T.V. Inc. is bringing it to your living room on Monday, March 30 at 7 p.m. on Channel 3. To air the pageant the company must interrupt USA Network from 6:30 until around 8:45 p.m. or when the show ends. Everyone is invited to tune to Channel 3 and enjoy an evening of community involvement from some great folks with music, singing, dancing, joking and just having a good time. Area schools schedule conferences Lilly Sasser’s (center) children helped her celebrate her birthday on March 24. L-R Lester Sasser, Portland; Minnie Miller, Prineville; Lilly, birthday girl; Vernon Sasser, Portland; and Mary Lee Britt, Lexington. were able to attend her birthday celebration. Jack Dean, Lucille’s husband, was also on hand for the festivities. Lilly has numerous grandchildren, several great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Mrs. Sasser was a homemaker and enjoyed having a big garden. She was active in the Baptist church and sang in the choir with her beautiful alto voice. Mrs. Sasser lived at home and was still driving until she moved into the Haven House care facility in Fossil three years ago. Spring parent-teacher con ferences have been set for lone Elementary school and Heppner Elementary, Middle and High Schools. Parents of lone students in Kindergarten through fifth grade will hold conferences on Thurs day, April 2, all day. Students in those grades will be dismissed from school. Students sixth grade through seniors will have a regular school day. Heppner schools will hold con- ferences Friday afternoon, April 3. Students will attend school in the morning and will be dismiss ed at 12:20 p.m. following lunch. Busses will run at that time. There will be no kindergarten classes on April 3 to allow ade quate time for conferences at that level. Parent-Teacher conferences at all schools are pre-arranged. If you have questions or would like to schedule a conference, call the appropriate school office. some permit fees, so the special levy will be for finishing the building. The building fund is comprised of funds from Pioneer Memorial Hospital and from the first year’s operating budget. The district has monies remain ing from the three-year special levy plus additional monies that have yet to be collected, which are expected to be ‘‘more than adequate for” their present equip ment needs. Hermiston man dies result of work accident A Hermiston man, Bob E. Grotz, 28, died March 22 at the Port of Morrow as the result of an industrial accident. According to the sheriffs department, Grotz was working w ith a front end loader in the seed processing plant at the Port of Morrow when the accident occur red around 4:30 p.m. Forest Service makes move The U.S. Forest Service offices were scheduled to move to their new location on Main Street in Heppner beginning Wed., March 25. They expect to have their of fices completely moved by Thursday evening, March 26. An open house is tentatively scheduled for sometime in May. HMS sixth graders DARE class graduate Meeting airs USFS access travel plan H e p p n e r/ H a rd m a n March 24, 1992 Special Election Alternatives range from pro viding greater motor vehicle ac cess to closing all but the main travel routes. The planning process of developing an access and travel plan started over a year ago with local citizens and officials work ing with the Forest Service. This group’s purpose was to represent a wide variety of public uses. For further information contact Don Finley, Heppner Ranger District 676-9187. L ex in g to n A public meeting to disclose the proposed ‘‘Access and Travel Plan” of the Heppner Ranger District will be held Monday, March 30 at the Heppner Grade School multi-purpose room beginning at 7 p.m. The meeting concerns alter natives developed by the Ranger District and a local public group. These alternatives will be presented for public comment before a final decision is made on the plan. Irrig o n Dwayne Carroll, Irrigon, who was uncontested for Morrow County School Board director for zone 2, received 1,376 votes in the March 24 mail-in ballot. Zone 2 is an at-large position. James H. Hankins received 555 votes for Morrow County School District advisory position no. 3, Boardman and Irrigon. Hankins was unopposed. Other unopposed advisory can didates include Robert Pointer who received 359 votes for Lexingon-Ione advisory position no. 2; Anita Orem, who receiv ed 319 votes for Ione-Lexington position no. 1; and George Miller, who received 354 votes for Ione-Lexington position no. 5. In the BMCC directors’ spot, Joe Green received 1,456 Mor row County votes for position no. 3 and Tom Able 1.561 votes for position no. 4. lo n e Election results Mrs. Sasser was born in Lon don, Kentucky in 1890. She mar ried Scott Sasser at Mitchell on March 27, 1910 and moved to Fossil in 1911. Her husband, who was the Wheeler County Clerk for 50 years, passed away in 1964. The couple had seven children, Paul and Lucille, both of whom have passed away; Lester and Vernon, both of Portland; Min nie Miller, Prineville and Mary Lee Britt, Lexington and Lillian Reedze, Lakeview. All her sur viving children, except Lillian B o a rd m a n Lilly Sasser of Fossil turned 102 Tuesday, March 24 and celebrated with cake and ice cream at Pioneer Memorial Nur sing Home in Heppner. balance which will be used to pay bills for the coming year and $53,700 in transfers which were previously not included in the general fund. Monies for ad ministrative purposes which had been listed in the street, sewer and water funds were transferred to the general fund, where they were combined and listed as a lump sum in the administrative budget. Marks said that this pro cedure makes the administrative budget more visible and therefore more accountable. Also changed in the 1992-93 budgeting procedures is a move of payroll costs from the ad ministrative budget to the area where the cost is incurred. For example, $25,500 in estimated costs for ‘92-93 for police social security, medicaid, SAIF, retire ment, death and dismemberment, health and life insurance, previously listed in the ad ministrative budget have been transferred to the law enforce ment budget of the general fund. T o ta ls Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No 414 116 1082 183 Shall Morrow County Levy $3,358,245 211 158 319 923 239 80 209 76 Operating Purposes 1992-93? 127 550 1213 166 153 Shall Morrow County Levy $506,344 217 789 266 69 185 201 68 Health Care Operations 1992-93? 164 92 276 720 149 39 Director Zone 6 - Bill Doherty 566 80 355 33 65 33 Director Zone 6 - Edward P. Hiemstra 22 60 314 192 603 15 Director Zone 6 - Don Russell The first DARE class of sixth graders graduated from Heppner, lone and Irrigon recently in ceremonies held in their respective cities. In addition to DARE pledges read by the students, speakers included DARE coordinator and teacher Morrow County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Myren, Morrow County District Attorney Jeff Wallace and County Commissioner Raymond French. DARE is an anti drug and alcohol program taught in the schools.
