Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1996)
Taekwon-Do classes to be held Ü A new member of the Hepp ner community is planning to start Taekwon-Do classes soon. Gary Oberg, who just took the job of Mental Health Direc tor for Morrow County, has been involved with martial arts the past 20 years, and says he plans to start youth and adult classes soon. Taekwon-Do stresses self discipline and self defense says Oberg, who plans to hold his classes Tuesdays and Thurs days at the Morrow County fair annex. He says instruction will be for children six and up and for adults. Oberg, who recently moved to Heppner from Longview, started with self defense when he was in the military, and has also studied and is affiliated with Grand Master Hong Sik Kim for the past seven years. Kim lives in Portland and operates 100 schools in seven western states. -■SSIE WFT ? F t r OF ORE ‘ O F A P F R ? I r> EUGEN£ OR 9 7 4 0 3 HEPPNER e imes Gary Oberg demonstrates Taekwon-Do There will be an information meeting about the Taekwon-Do classes Tuesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. at the 4-H annex for anyone who is interested. Hearing set on pool site selection VOL 115________NO. 18________8 Pages Wednesday, May 1, 1996.________ Morrow County Heppner, Oregon Downtown renovations only one year away By April Hilton-Sykes The downtown renovation of Heppner is only a year away, says city manager Gary Marks, and decisions as to what our downtown will look like are be ing made now. "This is a very dramatic pro ject," says Marks. "It's going to dress up the town and com plement the buildings. I hope it's going to reinvigorate downtown. Marks says that the project will involve new sidewalks, new streets, street lights, tree plantings, bumpouts at in tersections, the removal of power and cable poles from the downtown area, and perhaps even a green shamrock on the Gary Marks points to drawing pavement to mark the intersec tion of Main and Willow Mam Street to the Willow Streets. Creek Bridge near the court Light poles have been house. selected to be placed at 32 sites The downtown renovation downtown. There are current committee is now moving on to ly 13 lights. The new poles will a decision about the placement be dark green, almost black, and type of trees. Committee with an arm on one side for members include Delanne banners and a shorter arm on Ferguson, Cliff Green, the other side for hanging JoyceKay Hollomon, Claudia planters. The new lights, which Hughes, Bill Kuhn, Mike are shorter and more traditional McGuire, John Murray, Cara in design, will replace the cur Osmin, Randall Peterson and rent cobra-head lights that the Rev. A1 Trachsell. Marks come off the telephone poles. said that it was important that "I feel that lighting downtown the people involved in the deci will be improved," said Marks. sions "come from the com Bumpouts planned at in munity, so w e'll have tersections are expected to ac something we'll like and be complish two functions. They proud of when we're all will shorten the crossing done." distance, which will aid seniors Marks says the project is and the disabled. And, by nar estimated at about $1.5 million. rowing the paved area, the The Oregon Department of resultant psychological effect Transportation has agreed to should cause drivers to slow cover $1.3 million of the project down. However, Marks stress cost, with the remaining ed that the width of the actual travel lanes will not be changed. er Section Proposed highway pool site of renovation project $200,000 paid by the city. The city has secured three grants to help meet its obligation, said Marks. A $108,000 grant to the city from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA) will be used to cover sidewalk costs. Another $16,000 ISTEA grant will cover the costs of paving the turnout at the mini-park and construc tion of a sidewalk at the same location. The city has also se cured a $49,500 grant from the Oregon Department of Justice to pay for new street lights. The street light grant is a one-time opportunity made possible through a legal settlement bet ween seven states and seven oil companies, added Marks. The rem aining funds, about $25,000, will be drawn from the city's reserve fund for the pro ject. September football trip planned A new street, new storm drainage system and a new water main will be installed on Main Street. The present water main, which is made of asbestos concrete pipe, is very brittle, says Marks and must be replaced. Marks says that the street project will probably last four to five months, but stresses that only one side of the street will be worked on at one time, so that people can still get downtown. TTie city engineer is now working to set tle issues concerning driveways downtown. A sidewalk will start at the mini park on the right side of the street coming in to town from Lexington. After the Willow Creek Bridge, side walks will b« on both sides of The Heppner Mustangs and Ponies will travel to Yoncalla for a preseason football contest Friday, Sept. 13, and will watch the University of Oregon (UO) Ducks play the Colorado State University Rams in noncon ference action. A rooter bus will follow the team, watching the junior high, junior varsity and varsity foot ball teams play Friday after- noon and evening. The rooters will stay in Cot tage Grove Friday night, travel to Eugene to watch the UO- CSU game Saturday afternoon and then return to Heppner that evening. The trip and accomodations must be booked by Wednes day, May 15. Contact George Koffler, 676-5192 after 6 p.m. for reservations. MC Historical Society trip has vacancy The spring getaway trip, to Isaquah, Washington, spon sored by the Morrow County Historical Society is well underway. The group will board the bus at 7 a.m. Thursday, May 9, from the St. Patrick Senior Center. The bus will also pick up Lexington and lone riders. Breakfast will be at the Ir- rigon Marina. There is still a vacancy on the bus. Anyone interested in go ing on the trip should call either Ruth McCabe in lone or Delpha Jones in Lexington. Construction of the pool is A public hearing to gamer in the city, but a conditional use put on the site of the proposed permit will be required. Several not expected to be completed swimming pool has been set for neighbors near Hager Park until next year. In 1995, voters approved Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. at have said that they do not want the pool located at the park. If $975,000 for pool construction. Heppner City Hall. Two sites are being con the pool were to be built at The pool will feature a zero- sidered for the pool-one on the Hager Park, it would not be as depth fan, much like the slope highway coming in to Heppner visible to the community, but of a beach, a four-lane 25-meter from Lexington, between M&R traffic safety there may not be competition area and a deep Floor Covering and an Oregon as much a concern. Rocky plunge well with a slide, dress Department of Transportation ground may also be a problem ing rooms and an office. If (ODOT) building; and one at at Hager Park, but officials do enough outside funds are rais not plan to do a core sample ed, a therapy pool and a Hager Park. According to Ken Turner, until a site is selected to cut general purpose room for chairman of the Willow Creek down on cost. Marks said that meetings and instruction could Park District, the site on the a core sample could be as much be built. highway is now favored by the as $10,000. park district members and the pool committee. "W e're not County employees donate to baseball committeed to a site yet," add ed Pool Committee chair Gary Marks. Officials agree that the site on the highway is more visible and is in an area of town that needs dressing up. Plans had also been discussed earlier concer ning a farm museum near the proposed highway pool site. Turner said that access to the pool at that site would be limited to Riverside Street, rather than the highway, thus lessening concerns over pedestrian safety. He also stressed that landscaping would also be a crucial part of the plan. Turner said that if the high way site is selected for the pool, ODOT has indicated that they would give Willow Creek Park District (WCPD) the land, if Gayle Gutierrez (I), trustee of the Morrow County Employees WCPD agrees to build a fence Union Local, presents a $200 check to Shawn Kempas, Little around OD OT's building. League secretary/treasurer. Turner estimates that a fence Half of the funds will go to the lone Little League program and would cost around $11,600. half to the Heppner program for equipment. There is no additional cost in obtaining land at the Hager Park site, since it is owned by SN A P P E R LAW N M O W ER S A L E Till May 1 1 t h . We also rent T hatch ers * * * ■ ... Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 1-800-452-7396
