County seeks regional strategy com m ittee
Morrow County will join with
five other neighboring eastern
Oregon counties to form the
“ North C entral Regional
Strategy” configuration. This
represents a major change in past
economic development prac
tices,” said Louis Carlson, Mor
row County Judge.
Grant, Wheeler, Giliam, Mor
row, Sherman and Wasco Coun
ties will team together on round
four of the state of Oregon-
sponsored regional strategy pro
gram. This is a change from the
previous rounds of regional
strategies, Carlson said, since
Umatilla and Morrow County
previously had been partners dur
ing the past three rounds. Under
the new rules provided by senate
bill 124 of the past session of the
legislature, Umatilla elected to
team up with Union County and
possibly other counties to the east
while Morrow County elected to
join a partnership with the five
counties to the west.
“ The county court is actively
soliciting a written request from
any Morrow County citizen who
is interested in serving on the new
round of regional strategies.
Members who have served on the
previous rounds are eligible.”
The seven member county
committee must be made up of a
majority of individuals who
primarily represent the private
economic sector.
From this county committee a
delegation will be selected to
represent Morrow County in the
north central region. This con
glomerate of six regional coun
ties will examine the region’s
economy and develop a strategy
or action plan.
In developing the action plan,
the regional board will then hold
public meetings in each of the
participating counties prior to a
vote by the governing bodies of
the counties to adopt the action
plan.
Senate Bill 124, as passed,
along with a lottery allocation of
$15 million allows a minimum of
two contiguous counties and will
have a duration of six to 10 years
with a two year action plan.
According to a Morrow Coun
ty Court news release SB 124: ex
pands the focus of a regional
Lady Cards advance to state
By Anne Morter
The lone lady Cardinals ad
vanced to the state volleyball
tournament after winning two
games in last weekend’s District
Tournament. The Cards pulled
their game together at just the
right moment, to defeat Wasco
W alter Jepsen honored for W W I service
“ The Navy and I
always got along
good. The Navy is
just hard work and
that’s about it. I
worked hard and
never got in
trouble.
”
Walter on the USS Pittsburgh
Walter Jepsen, Heppner, who
just celebrated his 102nd birth
day, has been honored for
another accomplishment.
Walter, along with four other
Morrow County World War I
veterans, Alva Jones, Earl Blake,
Bill Lowe, who was a Canadian,
and Huston Leslie, have receiv
ed recognition for their contribu
tion to the war effort.
Walter received a decoration
commemorating the 75th anniver
sary of WWI. The inscription
says, “ They came on the wings
of Eagles.”
Walter, who was born in Den
mark Oct. 22, 1891. immigrated
to the U.S. through Ellis Island
in 1911, when he was 20. He
remembers working on Long
Island the year after and hearing
news that the Titanic had sunk.
In 1917 he enlisted in the U.S.
Navy at Bremerton, WA. During
his three-year stint in the Navy,
Walter traveled all over the world
on his ship, the USS Pittsburgh.
Navy travels took him to the
Mediterranean north and south
Africa, the Holy Lands and what
was then known as Asia Minor,
located between the Black Sea
and the Mediterranean. “ I liked
to travel. I still like it,” said
Walter, although he is unable to
travel because of ill health.
A strong believer in hard work
Jepsen was a fireman 1 st class in
the Navy. A fireman at that time
shoveled coal in the ship’s boiler
room, where temperatures ap
proached 150 and even 170
degrees. Walter recalls that the
men had four hours on duty and
four hours off. He said that with
the heat of the boiler room travel
ing through the Red Sea
was almost unbearable “ with no
relief in sight.”
Not one to complain, however.
Walter says, “ The Navy and I
always got along good. The Navy
is just hard work and that’s about
it. I worked hard and never got
in trouble.”
Walter was discharged June
28, 1920, at South Hampton,
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(clockwise) John and Jean and Walt Jepsen
England, at his request so he
could return to visit his parents
in Demark. That was to be the
last time he saw his mother and
father.
When he returned to the U.S.,
he sold the property he had
bought before the war at Bull
Run, near Portland. He then
came to Eastern Oregon.
Four years after his discharge,
Walter married Matilda Berns.
She died in 1972. The Jepsens
had nine children and raised
wheat, dairy, cows, pigs and
chickens on 580 acres on Rhea
Creek. Walter has 14 grand
children
and
14
great
grandchildren.
Walter’s son John and his wife.
Jean, recently returned from a
trip back east to visit relatives and
see some of the places important
in Jepsen family history. Travel-
School district seeks volunteers
to serve on leadership team
The Morrow County School
District is seeking volunteers who
would like to serve on the district
leadership team through a process
called, “ Creating the Future” .
This leadership team will par
ticipate in training sessions and
meet 10 to 12 times per year to
develop recommendations on the
mission and student outcome
goals for the school district. The
leadership team will be compos
ed of representatives from each
of the following categories:
parents, non-parent community
members, teachers, classified
em ployees, school board
members, principals, superinten-
Wheat League
meeting planned
) J
ing with cousins from Oakland.
CA., they visited Walter’s sister.
Elsie, who lives in Fallston.
Maryland. In New York, they
saw his sister Catherine's name
on the registry of immigrants at
Ellis Island. They visited the
Statue of Liberty, the Trade
Tower. Washington. D.C., and
Gettysburg. They were also able
to stay with Heppner native Vince
McElligott, who lives in Virginia
County in their first match and
then to down league-leading Con
don for the District’s second
place slot. The lady Cardinals
will play their first match at the
State Tournam ent Friday,
November 12 at 5 p.m. at Lane
Community College in Eugene.
The Morrow County Wheat
League growers fall meeting and
banquet will be held Monday,
Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at Beecher’s
Restaurant in lone.
Topics will include the resolu
tions, election of officers, a pro
gram on farm safety as it pertains
to children.
A social hour will be held from
5 to 6 p.m. sponsored by Mor
row County Grain Growers
followed by dinner compliments
o f Morrow County Wheat
League.
The Bank of Eastern Oregon is
sponsoring a trip to the coast as
a door prize.
Dinner speaker will be Norm
Goetze. Oregon Wheat Growers
League vice president.
dent, students and business
representatives.
Individuals interested in serv
ing on this team should contact
superintendent Chuck Starr at
989-8202 and request an applica
tion form. Applications should be
returned to the School District of
fice by December 3. The school
board will review the applicants
at their December 20 meeting and
select the members of the team.
The first meeting of the team
will be held on Monday, January
10 at the district office in Lex
ington at 7:30 p.m.
strategy from a single key in
dustry to two or three key in
dustries; encourages individual
counties to form partnerships
with m ultiple counties or
geographic regions; and em
powers regional boards in the
development and implementation,
with the delegation of decision
making on staff, technical
assistance, project selection and
funding. The regional board will
be held accountable for perfor
mance in meeting mutually
agreed upon benchmarks.
Written applications for the
Morrow County regional strategy
committee will be received by the
Morrow County Court until 1
p.m.‘November 24.
“ We believe that this new
round of regional strategies af
fords Morrow County with the
best opportunities that we have
yet experienced in this economic
development program,” Carlson
said. “ We anticipate a large
number of folks in Morrow
County who will want to par
ticipate on this exciting new com
mittee.”
M ustangs to
play Vale Sat.
The Heppner Mustangs will
travel to Vale Saturday, Nov. 13
for the first round of the OSAA
state football playoffs. Heppner
earned the second place berth by
defeating the Umatilla Vikings at
their last home game of the
regular season Friday, Nov. 5.
Heppner put a stopper on Vales
38 game winning streak as the
Mustangs beat the Vikings 24-12
last year for the state
championship.
Vale returns several players
from that team including Larry
Ramirez, a 6’8” 270 pound giant
and running back Cory Maag.
Vale is 9-0 on the season and will
be a stiff challenge for Heppner.
The game is scheduled for 1
p.m. mountain standard time.
Gate prices are $5 for adults,
$4 for students. If Heppner beats
Vale they will play the winner of
the Amity Warrenton game on
Saturday. November 13. time and
place to be announced.
County Court seeks nominees
for charter committee
The Morrow County Court is
investigating the feasibility of a
county charter according to ORS
Chapter 203. Under this Chapter
a committee of nine lay citizens
shall be appointed to study the
benefits of a chartered county
government and to determine if
such a form of government is in
the best interest of Morrow
County.
The court is acting under coun
ty resolution.
As set forth in ORS
203.740(2)(a), the county court is
entitled to appoint four members
of the committee and a majority
of the state senators and state
representatives which represent
Morrow County shall appoint
four additional members of the
committee. Those eight members
will then choose the ninth
member.
According to Judge Louis
Carlson, the county court en
courages anyone who is in
terested in working on this com
mittee to submit their names in
writing to the Morrow County
Clerk by December 1. Applicants
must be citizens of Morrow
County and cannot be engaged in
business with the county which is
inconsistent with performance of
duties as a member of the
committee.
“ The work of this committee
will involve substantial time and
dedication to properly investigate
all of the possibilities of a Home
Rule Charter,” said Carlson.
County defeats tax measure
lone community
dinner Nov. 14
m
The lone annual community
Thanksgiving Dinner will be held
Sunday. Nov. 14, starting at 4
p.m. at the lone Legion Hall.
Turkey, rolls, potatoes, table
service and beverage will be fur
nished by St. Williams, lone
United Church of Christ and
Valby Lutheran church.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Participants are asked to bring a
salad or dessert.
Munkers, Heppner, signs in to vote Tuesday Nov. 9, dur
Kitzhaber to speak on health plan Riley
ing the special election sales tax measure which was defeated.
Former Oregon State Senate
president Dr. John Kitzhaber will
discuss the proposed Oregon
Health plan at a public meeting
on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
at the Riverside High School
auditorium. Boardman. Kitzhaber
is the author of the plan.
The meeting is sponsored by
the Morrow County Intergovern
mental Coalition and the Morrow
County Medical Services.
Fifty-three percent of Morrow
County voters turned out on elec
tion day Tues., Nov. 9 to sound
ly defeat the five percent sales tax
measure. 2,020 to 386.
Following are complete Mor
row County results:
Boardman
lone
Irrigon
Lexington
Hardman/Heppner
Yes
109
39
77
25
136
No
385
237
539
202
657