Joe and Donna Rietmann named county
conservation farm
•• r '.v 3 P A P E R
E U 3 E N E OK
VOL. 117
NO. 23
8 Pages
L I 3
& 7 4 J 3
Wednesday, June 10,1998
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Drowning in creek narrowly averted
L-R: Fred Toombs, Ross VanEtta, Terri Hendricks, Merle Cowett
-,V i
Tragedy was narrowly averted
Sunday, when a teenage girl fell
into Willow Creek and would
have drowned, if it hadn't been
for the quick thinking of nearby
rescuers.
Terri Hendricks of Heppner,
17, was on the bank of the creek
near the tum-around at the
Heppner City Park helping a
younger girl get out of the creek,
when Hendricks fell in and was
swept away by the current.
Fred Toombs and his wife,
Nadine, were working at her
father's place nearby, when they
heard kids playing by the creek.
At first they didn't think anything
of it, but then Nadine heard
screaming and alerted Fred, 62.
Fred ran across the bank and
stepped into the cold water. But,
as he stepped down, he slipped
and went under. "When I got up,"
said Fred. "I saw a face and an
arm. She had gone clear down to
the downstream end of the bridge
by the city park."
"The current had pushed her
under the willow trees and she
was so cold and so scared," Fred
continued. "She was screaming,
'Somebody save me.' I don't
believe you could ever imagine
the terror that little girl was in."
Fred was able to grab hold of
her and she held on for dear life,
so fiercely that she left fingernail
marks on his arms and back.
Once Toombs was able to get
her onto a little sandbar, he
couldn't get her to go back into
the water to go upstream to get
back on the bank.
Then, Ross Van Etta, who was
doing chores at the home of Jean
Strange, who lived nearby,
jumped into the water. He got
Tern's nine-year-old brother,
Scott, safely to shore and then
helped Tern out. Tern’s mother
said that Scott had followed Tern
on the bank, holding her hand.
Heppner Police Officer Merle
Cowett happened to drive by and
was flagged down by Nadine
Toombs. He assisted Van Etta in
helping Terri on shore.
In the meantime Terri's parents
had been contacted. Since she
had taken on so much water and
had gotten so cold, they took her
to Pioneer Memonal Hospital to
be checked out.
Cowett said that later when
Terri's sister tried to get her into
the tub to warm up, Tern refused,
still terrified of water.
"If Fred hadn't been there, we
probably would have lost her,"
said Cowett.
"The nice thing about it is
that it came out all right," said
Toombs. "She came by the house
later and brought me a card and
gave me a hug. I didn't do
anything that anyone else
wouldn't have done in those
circumstances."
Cowett said that this incident
should make parents and children
more aware of the dangers of the
creek."It's so swift, even in a foot
of water, someone could be
swept away."
Propagation of weeds denied
Commercially raised noxious
weed harvested for eventual
medical uses was denied by the
Morrow County Court last
Wednesday.
The matter was referred to the
county court by the Morrow
County Weed Advisory Board.
The board advised the county
court that St. Johnswort, a
noxious weed, is planned to be
grown on trial plots in other parts
o f the state as a potential crop
destined for medical purposes.
St. Johnswort is listed in the state
of Oregon as a class "B” weed
and is also included in Morrow
County's class "B” listing.
The court agreed with he Weed
Board recommendation that any
proposal to plant and raise for
harvest any recognized weed
violates the weed control
ordinance of Morrow County.
St. Johnswort is a rhizome
(elongated
horizontal
root
system), found east of the
Cascades preferably on range
land of sandy, gravely soils. It
spreads in waterways and by bird
and animal carriers. The plant
may be controlled with certain
chemicals or with biological
efforts.
Cattle are reluctant to eat the
weed although they will if there
is a shortage of grass forage.
When cattle eat the weed, they
become sensitive to sunlight.
Light colored animals are most
su scep tib le,
developing
dermatitis, including skin blisters
and hair loss.
The plant grows 12 to 36
inches tall with upright branches
from the base of the plant and
has a yellow flower.
The Soil Conservation Service
and the Morrow County Weed
Control Board caution local
ranchers that propagation of
plants that may be categorized as
noxious weeds of economic
importance would be a violation
of the weed control ordinance.
WCC plans
family barbecue
The Willow Creek Country
Club will have a family barbecue
on Sunday, June 14 at 4 p.m.
Each family is asked to bwng
their own meat to the barbecue.
Those whose last names begin
with “A”-“K” bring salad; “L"-
“Z", dessert.
Dave and Karen W ildman,
Howard and Beth Bryant, Randy
and Bernice Lott and Earl and
Carol Norris will be hosts.
The Joe and Donna Rietmann
farm of lone, JDR Farms, has
been selected the 1998 Morrow
County Conservation Farm of the
Year.
Their farm tour and potluck,
sponsored by the Oregon Wheat
Growers League and the Morrow
County Wheat Growers, will be
held Friday, June 19, beginning
at 4 p.m. on the Doherty farm.
Personal vehicles will meet on
Melville Road just off Highway
207 east of Sandhollow. Tour
participants will see fall seeded
Stephens wheat, summer fallow,
Rod wheat and minimum till
double fallow. The day will
conclude with a potluck barbecue
at the JDR Farms shop on David
Rietmann Road. Participants with
last names beginning 'A’-'L' are
asked to bring salads, 'M'-'Z',
desserts.
JDR Farms consists of
approximately 11,500 acres of
dry cropland with 50 percent
seeded to wheat each year and
500 acres of grassland. The farm
stretches across the center of
Morrow County into eastern
Gilliam County. There are three
main
areas
of
farmland
concentration; 4,383 acres at the
Doherty Farm at Sandhollow in
Morrow County; 3,958 acres in
the lone area; and 3,070 acres in
Gilliam County east of Olex. An
addition 80-acre parcel located in
the Eightmile area is seeded to
CRP grass.
Most of the land farmed by JDR
Farms is Ritzville silt loam with
a soil depth varying from three to
seven feet. The slope of the soils
averages five-10 percent and
average rainfall is 10 inches. The
soils are prone to wind erosion
and special care is imperative to
sensitive areas. Most of the fields
range from 300-800 acres and
less tillage is used in sensitive
areas of the fields.
The Rietmanns' goal is to
produce maximum yields. Along
with those yields
comes
maximum residue. They manage
the overall straw disbursement
for an even cover of residue,
starting with the chaff and straw
spreaders on the combines,
which increases the efficiency of
herbicide application and moves
the residue more efficiently
through seeding equipment. In
high yield years the stubble is
lightly disked after harvest. In
low residue years or in sensitive
areas, no disking is done.
Anhydrous ammonia, applied
with chisel plow, saves a tillage
operation and all tillage is done
with wind erosion in mind. Care
is taken to rod weeds across the
prevailing west to southwest
winds.
Given the low rainfall, moisture
conservation is imperative. The
Rietmanns manage all aspects of
farming to increase the chances
of seeding in the best possible
time frame. Early establishment
of the wheat crop is critical in
reducing water erosion over the
winter. The newly-seeded crop is
soil tested in October with top
dressing needs based on the test
results and on the amount of
rainfall received over the winter.
The Rietmanns personally
monitor the crop several times a
year for insects and weeds,
treating as necessary. They use
only clean, quality seed in
planting. The personal attention
allows
them
to
control
undesirable plants and insect
infestations before they get out of
hand.
Joe and Donna Rietmann both
come from fourth-generation
farm families, but JDR Farms is
a creation of their own making.
In 1981, Joe leased 1,300 acres
in western Gilliam County from
his cousin and employer, Van
Rietmann. Three years later,
other land in Morrow County
became available and Joe and
Donna began to farm in the lone
area. The farmland was increased
by leases and purchases over the
years.
The
formal
JDR
partnership came into being as a
result of Donna's expanding role
on the farm.
While Joe and Donna spend the
majority of their time on the
Joe and Donna Rietmann
farm, they know the importance
of being
active in the
community. The family belongs
to the lone United Church of
Christ, the Wrangler's Riding
Club and the Willows Grange.
Donna has served as co-chair of
the lone Fourth of July
Celebration and Joe currently
serves on the board of the
directors of the E.R Jackman
Foundation. He has been a
director of the Morrow County
Soil and Water Conservation
District and is a member of the
lone Lions Club and the Heppner
Elks Lodge. He is also organizer
and coach of the first girls' minor
league fast pitch softball team in
lone.
The Rietmanns have an eight-
year-old daughter. Emily, who
attends lone Elementary School,
and a four-year-old daughter,
Mary, who attends preschool.
BEO moving into Boardman and Irrigon
Bank plans expansion
The Bank of Eastern Oregon,
with branches in Heppner, lone,
Arlington and Condon, has
announced plans to expand into
Boardman and Irrigon, Bank
President and CEO George
Koffler announced this week.
"These areas are the fastest
growing communities in the
state," Koffler said in the
decision to open the branches.
He declined to name the exact
location of the branches, since
property negotiations were still
underway, but he did say the
branches should be in operation
during the last quarter of this
year.
Mardean Patton, who currently
manages the bank's lone branch
will move to Irrigon and manage
both the branches, Koffler said.
He said the bank plans to buy
property in both Irrigon and
Boardman and put up two new
modular structures to house the
bank.
Koffler added that the
expansion will create 10 new
jobs in the two communities.
"We are the only locally owned
community bank in Eastern
Oregon," Koffler pointed out. He
said the bank has just over $50
million in total assets and 275
stockholders. 85 percent of
whom live in Morrow and
Gilliam counties.
The bank last expanded in 1995
when it opened a branch in
Condon.
Health district appoints
new administrator
Susan Brock has been
appointed the chief executive
officer of Morrow County Health
District, according to Roger
Rieger, Adventist Health vice
president and liaison to the
district's board of directors.
Brock will assume her new
responsibilities in early July.
Brock, who has 20 years
experience in various capacities
within health care, was appointed
following the resignation of
former district CEO Ken
Schmidt.
Since 1995. Brock has been the
executive director of Meridian
Association of Physicians, a 102-
member primary and specialty
care group in Tualatin. For five
years prior to that, she was the
co-owner/co-operator of the
Pacific Crest Rehabilitation
Center, an 88-bed sub-acute
long-term care facility in
Gresham.
Brock has also worked at other
Adventist Health institutions
including Feather River Hospital,
Paradise, CA; Adventist Medical
Center in Portland; and Walla
Walla General Hospital. She
holds a BA degree with a
concentration in health care
management.
VBS planned at Christian Church
Vacation Bible school,
sponsored by the First Christian
Church, the Christian Life Center
and the Church of the Nazarene,
will be held at the First Christian
church, 293 N. Gale in Heppner,
from July 6-10 from 6:30-8:30
p.m.
M orrow
C o u n ty
G r a in G rowers
Lexington 989-8221
1-800-452-7396
For fami equipment, visit our web site at
www.mcgg.net
The theme for the VBS will be
"Space Camp" and Chadder
Chipmunk will make and
appearance.
Registration will start at 6 p.m.
Monday, July 6.
For more information, call
Chandra, 676-5424.
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