BESS ! E W E TZ E L L
U OF O R E
Additional EPA funds doubtful for project
NEWSPAPER L ! R
E U G E N E OR 9 7 4 0 3
The city of Heppner may not
1989, but problems with siting,
receive an additional $241,113
landowners, and government
Environmental Protection Agen regulations prevented implemen
cy grant to complete the city’s tation of the plan and successive
sewer project, it was learned at ones. The revised plan, approv
the city council meeting Monday ed by the council, was the seventh
night, Sept. 14.
such plan, but is the least expen
DEQ earlier indicated that
sive alternative, according to
there was a good possibility that Allen Rieke, project engineer
the city would be granted addi with Anderson Perry and
tional EPA monies, according to Associates engineering firm. The
city officials.
plan, which also has cooperation
The city has been working of the landowners.calls for a split
toward a sewer treatment plan flow disposal of the effluent. The
since 1988 when a DEQ edict effluent will be dumped into
demanded that the city reduce the Willow Creek in the winter
amount of effluent dumped into months and sprayed onto the
Willow Creek during the summer Willow Creek Country Club and
months.
the adjoining Fred Hoskins place
The original alternative sewage from May to October. Construc
treatment plan was completed in
tion is anticipated in the fall and
winter of 1993.
Costs for the plan have risen to
$1,715,500. City voters approv
ed a 625,000 sewer bond, EPA
granted $742,180 for the project
and another $107,207 has been
earned in interest for a total of
$1,474,387 available.
City officials still have hopes
for obtaining the grant and are in
the process of contacting county
and state officials to help advance
their cause. Council members
discussed obtaining a DEQ loan
or raising rates to pay for the pro
ject as a last resort if the EPA
grant is not approved. City sewer
rates are now $19.80 per month.
Loan program improves store fronts
VOL. 111 NO. 36 8 Pages Wednesday, September 16, 1992 Morrow County Heppner, Oregon
Douglas Orwick presented award
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Photo by Joyce Hughes
Douglas Orwick (R) and his helper Marcy Miller sort paper to
be recycled.
From seven to 78, you’re never
to young or too old to recycle.
Seven year old Douglas Orwick
persuaded 25 teachers and 350
students that they should be
recycling during his first grade
year at Heppner Elementary
School. He researched recycling
collectors and the types of paper
that could be recycled, wrote a
formal presentation and delivered
it a faculty meeting on Earth Day
1992. Teacher Linda Shaw, ex
pected that the school might begin
a pilot project in three or four
classrooms but what happened
was a landslide of approval.
Now the paper is collected and
sorted by Douglas and other
students and picked up by
CAPECO, a non-profit recycler
that drives 60 miles from
Pendleton to Heppner. With the
new school year, a new program
has already begun and the school
is planning to add more materials
to its recycling program.
Douglas accomplished what
many adults could not. Not only
did he plan and promote a recycl
ing program in an institutional
setting, he overcame the obstacles
of skepticism, poor markets and
the absence of a local recycler.
Douglas, son of Mike and Bar
bara Orwick, Lexington, was
honored with the Steele Gale
Martin Recycling Achievement
Award by the Association of
Oregon Recyclers on Sept. 12 at
the association’s 14th annual fall
conference at the Eugene Hilton
and Conference Center.
The Association of Oregon
recyclers is a professional
organization made up of in
dividuals,
organizations,
businesses and government agen
cies
qre dedicated to
ad
vancement of recycling. AOR
each year recognizes deserving
individuals and organizations that
have contributed significantly to
recycling.
The Steele Gale Martin Recycl
ing Achievm ent Award is
dedicated to the young recyclers
of the state of Oregon. To be
eligible for this award the
nominee must be an individual or
group under the age of 18 or be
a high school senior at the time
of the recycling activity and be a
resident of Oregon.
Douglas was nominated by
Linda Shaw, teacher and Bryan
Traylor, principal at Heppner
Elementary School.
Local woman part of Happy Canyon
New store fronts are popping up all over town. Green Feed and Seed is in the process of
getting a new store front. Left to right; Roy, Kay and Mike Proctor discuss progress with loan
officer Rollie Marshall from the Bank of Eastern Oregon.
New store fronts are going up
all over town as the Bank of
Eastern Oregon’s Low Interest
Main Street Improvement Loan
Program kicks into high gear.
The program, started last fall,
allows Main Street businesses
to fix up the exteriors of their
businesses with interest rates of
five percent. The Heppner Vision
2000 Committee, a committee
formed to write a strategic plan
for the city, was able to get a
$10,000 grant from the Oregon
Economic Development Depart
ment. This grant, administered by
the city, will pay the five percent
interest charged by the bank, ef
fectively making the loans interest
free.
As a young girl watching Hap
py Canyon, local woman Joyce
Hughes used to imagine how
much fun it would be to be one
of the Happy Canyon dancers.
This year she gets to find out.
Joyce says her dad Carl Mar-
quardt would take the family each
year to see the western show dur
ing Pendleton Round-up. “ I real
ly liked Happy Canyon, but I
especially liked the dancers. I
always thought it would be fun to
be a dancer in it.”
This year she is doing it. After
being encouraged to try out by
one of the Happy Canyon direc
tors, Joyce made the cast of
dancers, and will be perform
every night. Wednesday through
Saturday Show time is 7:45 p.m
committed, the grant money is
quickly running out. There are
still enough funds available for
several more projects, however,”
Koffler said. The Bank of Eastern
Oregon, which is making this
same low interest offer to Lex
ington, lone and Arlington
businesses, still has about
$75,000 available in the Heppner
area for these low interest loans,
he explained. According to Kof
fler, the program will cost the
bank about $15,000 the dif
ference between a market rate
and the low interest rate charged
on the loans. “ We’ve been very
pleased with the response of the
business community to this pro
gram and are hopeful that other
businesses will take advantage of
the opportunity,” said Koffler.
Heppner voters
retain motel tax New mechanic at Skaggs
The repeal of Heppner’s five
percent transient motel tax was
defeated by 47 votes Tuesday,
303 no to 256 yes.
A no vote means that the tax
approved by the city council
April 13, will remain in effect.
Ten percent of the tax collected
will go back to the motel owners
for costs involved in collecting
the tax, another 10 percent will
go the city of Heppner for ad
ministrative costs and the re
mainder is earmarked for use by
the Heppner Chamber of Com
merce. The tax is expected to
generate around $5,000 annually.
Proponents of the tax maintain
ed that a tax paid by out-of-
towners would benefit the entire
community by helping to promote
business and tourism.
Opponents of the tax cited
several reasons for the opposi
tion. They maintained it would
open the door for additional tax
without a vote of the people; and
invade the motels privacy by ex
amination of their books.
Happy Canyon can can dancers l-r: Liz Doherty, Joyce Hughes, Tammy Schultz, Carrie Robin
son, Laura Brice.
Five Main Street businesses
have completed the projects they
have undertaken. Those include
R & W Drive-In, the Shoe Box.
Murray Drugs, Contry Rose and
the I.O.O.F. Lodge. The other
project in process besides Green’s
Feed & Seed store is Bucknum’s
Tavern.
According to Heppner branch
manager George Koffler. six
other businesses have made loan
requests that have been approv
ed and those projects should be
finished within the next 60 days.
Those include Ployhar Insurance,
Heppner T.V., Van Matter &
Kahl Insurance, Cheri’s Hair &
Nails, Gardner’s Men’s Wear
and Peterson’s Jewelry.
“ With all of those projects
Dave Miler has joined Skaggs Auto Clinic
Dave Miler has been hired as
a new mechanic at Skaggs Auto
Clinic in Heppner.
Miler. 30, comes to Heppner
from Salem. He has extensive
background and experience in
auto repairs. “ I've spent my
whole life in the business,” says
Miler, “ the last 12 professional
ly ”
Miler is married, his wife’s
name is Wendi and they have two
children.
“ We want to invite everyone
to stop by and meet our new
mechanic, and just say hi.” says
Frank Skaggs, who along with his
son Rob operate the auto repair
business.
Bank o f Eastern Oregon
HOME LOAN PROGRAM
Rates as low as 7.125%
n A h j K OF — ----
D p a s te r n
(jreqon
Arlington • Heppner • lone
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Member
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