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Rod Osgood
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HEPPNER
50 <
imes
VOL. 117
NO. 13
8 Pages
Wednesday, April 1, 1998
lone Sas station included in DEQ list
The
Department
of
Environmental Quality (DEQ)
has identified 49 high-pnonty
rural gas stations in Oregon that
may close by the end of this year
unless they get financial help to
replace old, and possibly leaking,
W Û -.
underground gasoline storage
tanks. The lone Key Gas Service
is included in those stations,
according to a DEQ news
release.
DEQ estimates there are
several hundred more single-
station businesses which have not
yet
complied
with
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency's (EPA) December 22,
Rod Osgood
1998 deadline for upgrading
Rod Osgood of north Morrow underground storage (UST).
County has filed for the Morrow
DEQ will submit a funding
County Justice of the Peace request that provides more
position, opposing incumbent assistance for rural gas stations to
Judge Charlotte Gray.
the Legislative Emergency Board
Osgood, 40, who lives between meeting on April 9-10. This
Boardman and Imgon, is the appearance at the emergency
owner of Osgood Feed and board is a follow-up to a
Supply, which he started in 1992. November 1997 session where
Osgood was raised in Umatilla board members deferred action
County in the Hermiston area on the initial DEQ funding
and moved to Morrow County request and told the agency to
nine years ago.
return with more specific
Besides operating his store, information.
Osgood runs a few cows, quarter
Stations on the DEQ high-
pnonty list are at least five miles
horses and running horses.
Osgood has been married for away from another station and
22 years to Wendy, his high have been pnontized based on
school sweetheart. The Osgoods community impact if closed
have two children,' 20 and 21 using criteria established in
years old. and one grandchild.
Osgood says he hopes to
"bring some sense to justice in
Morrow County." "I don't think
my job is to raise funds for the
county," he said. "My job is to
make it a safer, more pleasant
place for the citizens of Morrow
County."
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
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Grog Smith of the Port of Morrow, Morrow County Judge Louis Carlson and director of the Tillamook Youth
Accountability Camp following a public information meeting March 26 in Heppner
The prospect of siting a youth
boot camp in Heppner drew more
positive comments than negative
at a public hearing on the issue
held Monday night at Heppner
High School. Around 100 people
attended the hearing with over 60
indicating they were in favor of
siting
a
50-bed
Youth
Accountability
Camp
in
Heppner and around 20 opposing
it. Another
60 written
testimonies were submitted at the
meeting with few negative
comments.
Heppner Mayor Bob Jepsen,
Morrow County Judge Louis
Carlson, Heppner City Manager
Gary Marks, Morrow County
Commissioner Ray French,
Heppner Chief of Police Doug
Rathbun, Morrow County School
District Superintendent Chuck
Starr,
Morrow
County
Commission on Children and
Families Director Dar Merrill,
Church of the Nazarene Pastor
Duane Jones, retired Methodist
minister Grace Drake, Bank of
Eastern Oregon President and
CEO George Koffler and Oregon
State
Representative
Lynn
Lundquist were among the many
speaking in favor of the facility.
The site being considered is
located past the Morrow County
Fairgrounds on the hillside on the
right side of the road as one is
leaving town.
Many of those favoring the
camp spoke of the economic
boost it would give to the
community.
The Youth Accountability
Camp would employ 32 people,
some of which, officials say,
could come from the community,
and is expected to have a payroll
of around $85,000 a month.
Dwayne McNannay, manager of
the Oregon Youth Authority said
that while many goods required
at the camp would be obtained
through a state contract, many
items would also be purchased
on the local economy. He also
said that local merchants and
vendors would get assistance in
filling out the paperwork for
purchase agreements with the
state.
Others in favor of locating the
camp in Heppner stressed the
importance of providing a place
for troubled youth and said they
felt Heppner, because it is a close
knit community, would be an
ideal place to help the young
people turn their lives around.
Concerns were raised that
there are no guarantees that the
camp would not be expanded or
converted into a maximum
security facility. Timothy Travis,
program manager
for the
Juvenile Court Improvement
Project and member of the siting
committee, said that there were
no assurances, but added, "This
facility is not designed as a
maximum security facility. We
just built maximum security
facilities all across the state and
they are all expandable." Travis
said that the committee "was not
here to sell you this facility," but
also said, "Measure 11 got a lot
of support. . . and I think that's
something you've got to own up
to."
Travis also said, "This is not
an
economic
development
project," placing the economic
benefits second to the goal of
helping troubled youth.
Several people indicated
concern about the Morrow
County Health District's ability
to provide medical care for
Youth Accountability Camp
cadets and employees, when the
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Portland attorney to
oppose Earl Woods
Public Hearing held on proposed Heppner youth camp
i i
House Bill 3385 which was
passed by the 1997 legislature.
DEQ established the list based on
requests submitted by individual
station
owners
seeking
assistance. If the emergency
board
approves
additional
funding, financial assistance
would consist of grants providing
75 percent of funding for the
necessary tank upgrade work for
stations that can demonstrate
financial need.
Grants to
individual stations would not
exceed $75,000 per site.
Congress passed the tank
upgrade law in 1984 to protect
groundwater from contamination
from leaking underground tanks.
Groundwater provides drinking
water for much of Oregon,
especially in rural areas,
according to DEQ. House Bill
3385 is Oregon's most recent
attempt to prevent closure of gas
stations deemed to be essential in
ensuring
the
continued
availability of motor fuel for
tourism, recreation and the
economic survival of rural
communities, said the release.
DEQ has already provided
financial assistance to 81 rural
gas stations. Many more than the
49 stations listed face closure,
but do not meet eligibility
requirements for funding under
House Bill 3385, according to the
state environmental agency.
.
only doctor in south Morrow
County has said he will not
renew his contract, which
expires May 31. However, Ken
Schmidt, Morrow County Health
District and Pioneer Memorial
Hospital administrator, assured
the siting committee that the
district has a "very good clinic"
(Pioneer Memorial Clinic) and a
Level 4 trauma center at PMH
which could handle the camp's
medical needs.
Several of those against siting
the facility in Heppner said they
were concerned such a camp
would lower the real estate
values and discourage people
from moving to the area.
Testimony indicated that re^l
estate prices have continued to
climb and the population has
continued
to
increase at
Tillamook, where a Youth
Accountability Camp and a work
study camp are located.
School Superintendent Starr
said that the school district would
be willing to contract for
education services for the camp.
He said that the state, not the
district would pay for education
costs of the camp's cadets and the
per student outlay is $8,700 per
student, double the amount spent
on Morrow County School
District students.
Starr said that he spoke to
officials at the Tillamook School
District, who said that his
teaching staff enjoyed working at
the camp and " did not want to
go back" to teaching at the high
school.
Other fears voiced about
locating a camp in Heppner
include the possibility of the
cadet's
escaping
escape,
damaging property and being a
bad influence on local youth.
Officials said earlier at two
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public information meetings held
in Heppner on March 26 that the
cadets are not allowed in the
community and escapes are few
and dealt with severely. They
also said that the cadets enter the
program as volunteers and must
be committed to succeeding in
the program and stressed that the
facility "is not a prison". At least
two individuals at the public
hearing said that they were more
concerned about the vandalism
that already exists in the
community than they were about
the cadets.
The siting authority will
receive
written
testimony
through April 16 in care of Brad
Mulvihill, area coordinator
Central/Eastem Oregon Youth
Authority, 62910 O. B. Riley
Road, Suite A-200, Bend, OR
97701-8696. The committee will
then make its recommendation
on a site to Rick Hill, Oregon
Youth Authority, who will
announce his decision by May
16.
One site out of the three
finalists-Heppner, Hilgard State
Park west of LaGrande and the
town of Union, northeast of
LaGrande-may be selected or all
three sites may be rejected and
the siting process started all over
again. In making its decision, the
committee will consider the costs
of building the facility, available
resources in the community, such
as medical facilities, education
and goods and services available,
and community support or
opposition to the camp, among
other considerations.
HHS baseball
team to sell
sign ads
David Allen
A Portland attorney, David
Allen, 32, has filed for the
Morrow'
County
District
Attpmey's
position
against
incumbent E&rl R. Woods, Jr.
Allen grew up in western
Kansas
and attended the
University of Oregon Law
School. While still in law school
he worked under Bill Hanlon,
who was then district attorney in
Madras. (Hanlon served as
interim Morrow County District
Attorney while Woods served in
Bosnia with the National Guard.
Hanlon remains the Morrow
County counsel.)
After law
school Allen returned to Madras
and worked as a deputy district
attorney for Hanlon for three
years. He also spent one year in
Madras in private practice before
moving to Portland in 1995 He
is now employed with the law
firm of Gary Carlson.
Allen says that he has missed
working in a district attorney's
office and is excited about
criminal law.
He says that having grown up
in Kansas, he is looking forward
to living in a small rural area and
is interested in being an active
member of the community.
Allen and his fiance, Dierdre.
have a 10-month old daughter.
Alexandra.
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Response overwhelming in
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favor of assisted living
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A questionnaire on a proposed
Patrick's Senior Center, which is
assisted living center in the
designed for independent living.
Willow Creek Valley sent out to
An assisted living center would
local residents received better provide help to its residents who
than a 50 percent return, which is need assistance in one or more
exceptional,
said
Suzanne of the activities involved in daily
Jepsen, a member of the Willow' living, such as bathing, dressing,
Creek Valley Assisted Living preparing meals or taking
Corporation,
the
group medications, for example.
conducting the survey.
Jepsen said that the group is in
Jepsen said that the the process of negotiating for a
questionnaire was sent to 994 consultant to apply for a $10,000
homes and 500 surveys were technical assistance grant to fund
returned. Of those 500, 474 were a feasibility study. They have
in favor of establishing an also applied for tax exempt status
assisted living center in the area and are working on their bylaws
and only 26 were against it. and mission statement.
"This shows this is a project
She said that All Saints
people are really interested in," Episcopal Church in Heppner has
said Jepsen.
dedicated its February mission
An assisted living center is a and outreach money, which came
facility which would provide to $1,500, for start-up costs.
intermediate care for seniors-in
Any group interested in having
between Pioneer Memorial someone speak about the
Nursing Home which provides proposed facility is invited to call
high level care and the St. ' Jepsen.
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By Rick Paullus
The Heppner Mustangs base
ball team is selling 4x8 foot out
field ad signboards to further fund
improvements on the field and in
the program. Players will be vis
iting local businesses soon to in
quire about ad signs, or call Robin
Graff, 422-7191, if your business
is interested in purchasing a sign
board.
Martingale 4-H club to sponsor egg hunt
The Martingale 4-H Horse
Club of lone will sponsor their
fifth annual Easter Egg hunt on
horseback on Sunday, April 5.
In addition to the Easter egg
hunt, other Easter games and
playday events will be held.
All 4-H members, their
families and guests are welcome
to attend the hunt which will be
held at Gene and Knsty
Crowell's at 68104 Highway 74,
lone, beginning at 1:30 p.m.. For
more information call 422-7564.
SAVE ON MANY
SPRING ITEMS
THROUGIIOIT THE
STORE!
x im
YARD & HOME SALE
M orrow C o u n ty G r a in G rowers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6
For farm equipment wit our web site at www megg net
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