Record crowd enjoys IUCC auction
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Photo by Joyce Hughes
Jsan Nelson and Jean Jepsen help customers decide on which baked goodies to purchase
a* lone's annual auction.
By Anne Morter
The event drew people from all besting last year’s total of just
VOL. 111
NO. 22
8 Pages Wednesday, June 10, 1992
Morrow County Heppner, Oregon
Grass fire burns over 800 acres
Sunny skies and soaring
temperatures kept bidders sear
ching for shade but didn’t seem
to slow the bidding as all depart
ments enjoyed record sales at the
lone United Church of Christ’s
30th annual barbecue and auction
last Saturday.
Photo by Joyce
Joy Hughes
Investigation is underway on an
out-of-control grass fire that
burned over 800 acres near Kin-
zua Corp outside of Heppner
Thursday, June 4. The fire broke
out around 12:30 p.m.
The property burned is owned
by Claude and Happy Graham
and Fred Hoskins. The Graham
land is leased by 4-C Ranches,
Louis and Betty Carlson and their
sons Phil and Clint Carlson. Phil
Carlson estimates that the fire
burned around 320 acres of CRP
and 115 acres of pasture grass.
Between 400 and 500 acres of
grass was estimated to be burn
ed on the Hoskins place. “ We
really appreciate everyone com
ing out,” said Carlson. “ That’s
a lot of hard work and everybody
came out and volunteered.” He
said the fire burned for over four
hours.
“ It was just about under con
trol until the wind took it,” said
Heppner Fire Chief Forrest
Burkenbine. “ Right at first we
thought we would be able to stop
it.” Burkenbine said he had “ no
idea” what caused the blaze. He
said that an outside investigator
has been called in to determine
the cause of the fire.
The Heppner Volunteer Fire
Department, Columbia Basin
Electric Co-op, Morrow County
Grain Growers, lone Rural Fire
Department, Kinzua Corp and the
Morrow County Road Depart
ment responded to the fire.
Wayne Seitz also responded with
a spray plane. Burkenbine said
that 40 to 50 people volunteered
their assistance.
No buildings were damaged in
the blaze but two Kinzua
employees, Sid Kennedy and Les
Paustian. were treated and releas
ed at Pioneer Memorial Hospital
emergency room. No dollar
amount of damage has been set.
City finalizes sewer negotiations
After three years of struggling
to comply with DEQ regulations,
the city of Heppner is finalizing
negotiations for a solution to the
sewer effluent problem.
According to the plan effluent
water will be sprayed on the
Willow Creek Golf Course and
adjoining property belonging to
Fred Hoskins, city attorney Bill
Kuhn told the city council Mon
day night.
DEQ regulations prohibiting
effluent water from entering
Willow Creek during low stream
flows, resulted in a battle to ac
quire land for an effluent irriga
tion system on land below town.
It is expected that it will take
three to six months for govern
ment agencies to review the
engineering plans. Completion of
the $1.5 million project is
estimated for the fall of 1993.
DEQ has indicated that the city
adhere to a construction schedule
or fines will be imposed.
Both Hoskins and the golf
course board have agreed to the
project and easement rights are in
the process of being established,
according to Kuhn.
In other business:
-LoRayne Bowman was ap
pointed as liaison with the newly
elected Oregon Trail Library
District Board. The board also
accepted the July 1 resignation
date of the Heppner City Library
board. Heppner Library contents
will be transferred to the new
library district.
-The 1992-93 city budget was
approved as presented.
Council member M artha
Doherty commented on the five
percent cost-of-living raise for ci
ty employees when the city is fac
ing cuts in the police department
and elimination of the library.
-the board agreed to sponsor
the Heppner Neighborhood sum
mer program for youth for city
liability insurance coverage on 12
field trips. According to Bob
Kahl, the city insurance represen
tative. premium costs will not
increase.
-the board accepted the only
bid for city fuel from Devin Oil
Company.
-instructed city administrator
Gary Marks to institute a policy
regarding extra duty city police
operation in the .event of the
absence of the two police officers
who wiil be on staff after July 1.
under 400.
Frank and Nick Bettencourt of
Triad Auctioneers conducted the
auction, and according to Riet
mann, the items sold well.
Rietmann was pleased with the
outcome of the annual event,
noting that the only downside was
that it was just a bit too warm.
Ned Clark elected bank director
Voters to
decide city
bond issue
Charred grass surrounds a burning pile of wood near where Thursday’s fire started
over the area plus many former
residents returned to enjoy the
gathering. “ People use it as an
excuse to get together,’’ said
chairman, Bob Rietmann. “ Some
people come every year and make
it a family event,’’ he added.
Just over 400 people feasted on
the barbecued beef dinner,
A ballot requesting voter ap
proval of $390,000 in bonds, for
use by the Heppner fire and
police departments, should be in
the mail by Friday.
The city is asking for a 10-year
bond to purchase a new pumper
truck, fire fighting equipment, ci
ty automobile and construction of
additional equipment bays at the
fire hall.
The city’s current fire truck is
a 1961 International and needs to
be replaced, Heppner City
Manager Gary Marks told the
Heppner Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday.
Marks said the truck is wear
ing out and is only capable of
pumping at 65 percent capacity.
In addition, Marks said the roof
on the present fire hall is “ about
to fall in” , and needs to be fix
ed. If voters okay the bond
measure, Marks said the city
plans to tear down the building
next to the present firehall and
construct new facilities that would
house the new fire' truck and in
clude a meeting room. The city
plans to keep the old fire truck to
be used as a water tanker.
“ We tried to project 20 years
into the future as to what the city
would need, and this is what we
came up with,” Marks said.
To pay off the bonds, Heppner
residents would pay an additional
property tax of $2.47 per thou
sand dollars of valuation.
Marks said the passage of
Ballot Measure 5, which limits
the amount of property tax the ci
ty may levy, caused a 40 percent
drop in income for the city, mak
ing the bond issue necessary.
Under the bond issue plan, the
city fire department will receive
about 82 percent of the $390,000.
The police department will
receive 15 percent and a little
over two percent will go to
administration.
Ned Clark, a Morrow County
native, has been elected to the
board of directors of the Bank of
Eastern Oregon, announced G.H.
Pierson, president of the bank.
Clark fills the position held by
Ken Walters of Arlington who
retired in 1991.
Clark, a Heppner area rancher,
graduated from Heppner High
School and attended Linfield Col
lege and Oregon State Universi
ty before returning to the family
farm. He manages and is a ma
jor stockholder in Horseshoe
Hereford Ranch, Inc., a Century
Farm owned by the Clark fami
ly. Clark is a director of the
United Heritage Mutual In
surance Company and also serves
on the board of directors of Mor
row County Grain Growers. He
is also active in the Morrow
County Private W oodland
Owners Association, the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association and All
Saints’ Episcopal Church.
Ned and his wife, Kathleen,
have five children.
Ned Clark
Ken Walters, served on the
Bank of Eastern Oregon’s Board
of Directors for 17 years. “ In his
tenure on the board he served on
a variety of committees and made
a substantial contribution to the
growth and health of the bank,”
Pierson said. W alters was
honored by the directors and
stockholders at a retirement din
ner in his honor.
Flood warning drill successful
Heppner Fire Chief Forrest
Burkenbine said that the flood
warning drill held in Heppner on
Tuesday, June 9 “ went quite
well. We had some questions
arise,” said Burkenbine “ which
is what we want.”
The drill tested the flood war
ning system and procedures, but
did not involve evacuation. A
short siren blew at 10 a.m.
Burkenbine said that in the event
of a real flood, the siren would
sound for a longer period.
Involved in the drill were the
Heppner Police Department, the
Sheriff s Department, the Corps
of Engineers and the Heppner
Fire Department.
According to Jim Williams,
operations superintendent for the
Army Corps of Engineers, the
test was “ excellent” and the
response of local emergency
agencies “ superb.” He said that
reasons for the test were three
fold, to test equipment, determine
emergency vehicle response and
to evaluate what took place. Both
Williams and Burkenbine concur
red that communication
could be improved.
A flood warning system located
at the Heppner pool was discon
nected over eight years ago
because moisture seeping into the
system caused it to malfunction
and sound the alarm when there
was no danger of flooding. Ac
cording to Burkenbine it would
have cost over $10,000 to put
new lines in. The present system
uses the fire warning alarm.
Burkenbine said that the system
will be tested on an annual basis,
hopefully in April before the
onset of the rainy season. He said
that the system will also be tested
if the Sheriffs office moves to the
location of the former Forest Ser
vice building.
City residents to vote on room tax ordinance
The referendum petition drive
to submit a transient room tax or
dinance to a public vote has suc
ceeded, according to Gary
M arks,
H eppner
city
administrator.
On June 1, Thomas LaRusso,
chief petitioner and co-owner of
the Northwest Motel, filed peti
tions containing 127 signatures
with Marks. On June 4, Marks
received confirmation from coun
ty clerk Barbara Bloods worth that
114 signatures had been verified.
According to Oregon law, 10
percent of the registered voters in
a city are required to refer a
measure to the ballot. In Hepp
ner, the required number of
signatures is 86. Marks said that
by law the measure would be sub-
mitted to the voters at the
September 15, 1992 special elec
tion, which would be a vote-by-
mail election.
LaRusso's action follows an
April 13 vote by the city council
to enact a transient room tax.
Eighty percent of the monies
from the five percent room tax
would go toward funding the
chamber of commerce manager's
salary. Ten percent of the tax
would be used to reimburse the
hotel-motel owners for collection
of the tax and bookkeeping.
Another 10 percent would go to
the city for administration and
payroll taxes.
City funding for the chamber
manager’s salary was cut follow
ing budget shortfalls attributed to
Measure 5.
Proponents of the tax say that
the Chamber manager is vital the
entire community.
Congratulations
CHUCK & LISA NELSON
Conservation Fanner
Of The Year
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