Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1998)
:i « * . : • JT . X, *. * z * J * \ 1 * * V „ * ., j * A - -, , ; . *. ’ i 1 •. • .» w ..*• •••'» • . • *1 W - - * ’ 1 . » .. • » - 1 .ZÊ A I V Problems arise over waterpark management BESSIE W E T : H U O F OR E N EWSPAl'ER L I E U j t N i L * s Oh HEPPNER «.■ ” V * w. '/ • •' 50 < V ' -, V- / ; • * . • o* ; :• r > - ; ». Young swimmers and their mothers enjoy the sun at the Willow Creek Waterpark Monday afternoon M * imes VOL. 117 NO. 26 8 Pages Wednesday, July 1,1998 lone Fourth of July festival this weekend The lone Fourth of July Blues Festival will get underway this year with the fifth annual Best Ball Golf Tournament, slated to begin on Friday, July 3, at 10 a m. That evening, beginning at 6 p.m.. the Red, White and Blue Band will play, followed by the Oregon East Symphony's Bonneville Brass Quintet. The next day, July 4, festivities will begin with the sixth annual Dawn's Early Light Fun Run, Walk and Kids' Dash, planned for 8:30 a.m. Participants will meet at the lone School grounds flagpole. The run has something for everyone with a 3K run. 5K walk and sash for the kids. All registrations for the race will be done on race day this year, beginning on 8 a.m. Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in both the men's and women's fun runs. All registered :ntrants are eligible for the after- •ace random drawing, featuring a selection of prizes. Proceeds from :his even benefit the Creative Care Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Mid-Columbia Bus ranks among top 50 Preschool of lone. Homemade pies, German sausages, ribs, chicken, hot dogs and a beer garden will be available all day, along with children's activities and go-carts. The horseshoe tournament will begin at 10 a.m. with the parade, featuring the Northwest's Best Classic Antique Cars, starting at 11 a.m. The Blue bands begin performing in the outdoor amphitheatre at 2 p.m. with the Doug Rowell Band. Also at 2 p.m.. fhe lone swimming pool will open for a free swim until 4 p.m. Anne-Louise Sterry will provide "storytelling for the young and old" at 3 p.m. Blues artists Linda Hombuckle will perform at 3:30 p.m. at Lloyd Jones at 7 p.m. At 9:30 p.m. Bugs Henderson and the Shuffle Kings will begin their performance. At dusk a special 50th anniversary fireworks display will get underway. Mid-Columbia Bus Company of Condon has been featured in the June/July issue of “School Bus Fleet,” a national management and maintenance magazine for school transportation fleets, as one of the 50 largest school bus contractors in the nation. Mid-Columbia Bus Company’s fleet grew from 378 buses last year to 421 this year. The com pany has contracts with 26 school districts, including Morrow County, and transports 12,839 stu dents per day. Mid-Columbia Bus Company owned and operated by Bill Flatt of Condon with his sons and daughters-m-law, is listed as the 21 st largest bus company in North America. Laidlaw Transit, Inc. of Burlington, Ontario is number one, with a fleet of 38,300 buses which carry 2,100,000 students daily. Storer School and Contract Ser vice of Modesto, CA., is the small est of the top 50 group with a fleet of 102 buses which transports 1,495 students per day. Done 4 th ofi ÿ.ulu S e c o n d A nnual Friday, July 3rd and Saturday, July 4th M usic, T ood & *Tun at Done's A/eurly C om pleted Outdoor -Amphitheater! 12 noon 16 p.m. 1 F R ID A Y , J U L Y 3 r d 5th annual lone 4th of July Best Ball Golf Tournament begins *Hole-in-one prize = Alaskan cruise for two! ICABO Polish sausages, beer garden, frog jumping & much more j “RedWhiteBlue” Band followed by Oregon East Symphony’s “Bonneville Brass” Quintet (bring your lawn chairs, blankets picnic dinners and enjoy!) Concessions sold all day SA TU R D A Y , JU L Y 4 th ^8:30 a.m. Dawn’s Early Light Walk/Run and Kids' Dash i 10 a.m. Horseshoe Tournament begins ! 11 a.m. Parade 'Including the NW Best Classic Antique Cars (Call 422-7243 for more information) |2 p.m BLUES BANDS BEGIN PLAYING IN THE PARK with The Doug Rowell Band ¡3’p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 9:30 p.m. DUSK • * From the Condon Times-Journal hilinMiiiiniiiiiihiiliniiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiniiniMiiiiiiiiiiiiliNniÉiiÉiiiiiiiiiMi 10 a.m. X * t Free swimming at the pool until 4 p.m. “Simply Songs & Stories" by Anne-Louise Sterry (Storytelling for the young and old) Linda Hornbuckle Lloyd Jones Bugs Henderson and The Shuffle Kings 50th Anniversary FIREWORKS DISPLAY Children’s activities, go-carts and great food all day (homemade pies, German sausages, ribs, chicken, hot dogs, beer garden and more!) For More Information, Call 422-7243 or 422-7410 / » . V. “* ■ . -, . Hungry swimmers swarm around the newly-opened snack shack at the Willow Creek Waterpark The Willow Creek Park District Board and the Willow Creek Waterpark manager Sarah Carlson both want what's best for the new Heppner waterpark. But, Carlson and the board disagree as to how that will be accomplished. Carlson tearfully told her staff of assistant managers and lifeguards at a meeting Monday that she is at odds with the board's decision to eliminate a break for the lifeguarding staff from 3-3:30 p.m. and said that she would not implement the decision until she spoke with the board. Carlson maintains that the break is necessary from a safety standpoint. She said that the staff needs a break in which to refresh themselves, relax or eat, so that they can be alert and able to concentrate fully on their job. She also said that a straight four- hour swim is too long for young swimmers. "They get tired and often don’t know that they are tired,” she added. Carlson said that the break would help prevent a tragedy at the pool, similar to the one which occurred around 10 years ago at the former pool, in which a boy died. "Ninety-five percent safe is not safe," she told her young crew. "An accident is not going to happen on my watch." According to board member Patty Wehrli, Willow Creek Waterpark is the only pool in the area that clears swimmers out of the pool mid-session. She said that the lone, Pendleton, Hermiston and Milton-Freewater pools do not have a break.. Carlson said that the staff was not paid during that half hour and elimination of the break would add $1,500-$ 1.700 to the payroll in wages, overtime and payroll taxes, an increase that would be detrimental to an already ailing waterpark budget. Wehrli said that she understood that the staff was, indeed, paid during the break time. Carlson told her staff that she believed that the pool could continue operation throughout the season, despite a serious budget crunch. "It will be tight, but I think we can make it." she said. Wehrli was not so optimistic, expressing serious concerns about the financial viability of the waterpark throughout this summer season. Carlson said that a large part of the cost of operation is for electricity, with around $5.000 per month going out to heat the outdoor pool. She said that a thermal pool cover could reduce those costs by half, but a cover is estimated at around $12-15 thousand and there is no money to buy one. Carlson said she has cut hours for the staff, but the shape of the pool and the waters!ide make it difficult to cut additional staff hours and still maintain safety. It is difficult for a lifeguard in one area of the pool to watch over swimmers in other areas, she said. Carlson encourages people to support the pool by coming to swim, buying passes and especially by enrolling for swim lessons. "I want to let grandparents know they can come down," she said. "They don't have to get in the pool, you can sit and watch." The snack shack, which opened this year at the pool and is run by volunteer labor may add to the pool's income. Carlson said that she and assistant manager Karen Morgan have tried to come up with other ideas to help the financial situation. One such suggestion was to place picnic tables outside the pool fence, so the snack shack could also be accessed from the outside, thereby bringing ip more money. But there are no funds to purchase tables. Carlson said that cutbacks have also been discussed in the area of groundskeeping. She said that the groundskeeper has been eliminated and that the assistant manager has been assigned to lawn maintenance. However, Carlson said she would not implement this decision either because of safety concerns about the slope of the lawn and exposed sprinkler heads. Carlson w as visibly upset over other complaints concerning the children of staff members swimming at the pool. She said that neither her children nor Morgan's swim at the pool when they are working unless the children are accompanied by a babysitter or another parent. "I, like everyone else, bought a season pass for my family," she said. "I'm not out here for my health," said Carlson. I'm not out here for personal gain. I"m not out here for my bank account. You need to understand I don't need to work here. I"m committed to this facility and to its safety." Board Chairman Skip Matthews told the Gazette-Times Tuesday that the board implemented changes that they believed were straightforward and requested by the community, but, he added, "We'll have to sit dowTi and work things out." Matthews said that the board will discuss the issues at its next meeting on Wednesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. at lone City Hall. The meeting is open to the public. • .X - ■ * c ' - - < ' ' **'. r K,. ' -■ , V O'. *-•; . ' V ''V -V v . ' '* - -• . ' - •*' . h ■ % * ‘ . " - V. VV ' *.’* . -■ \ ' • • * ■ . ' ' 1/ V,--**,. * v > s ' * ' * . v **' v ** : "> ■ - à s S S t o » *- • " V ■ ■ •. -' > . '/ ¿ v T • 'V '- ''-¿ V ' - J. • % • • > 7 - «"V - - > r'* ■'>' •-. > - - . v. v- -, A r" ■*'- '• ■ • ■ - - - -C i•; v ;o '* * ■_ ,y . V. * A « ^ -4 r,-- - V, - ~ -> *: . ^ : jv ^ . V ■' V ■ > . V ''■•w.' • -öT . * Fireworks stand open It's almost time for the Fourth of July and the Heppner Lions Club is again helping supply the fireworks. Their annual fireworks stand is now open downtown between the post office and The Shoe Box. Hours are from 1-7 p.m. daily through July 4. Dav Care seeks yard sale items Heppner Daycare and Preschool are seeking donations for their annual yard sale to be held Saturday, July 11. Proceeds from the sale will go toward the purchase of supplies and new activity equipment. For more information, contact Merry Brannon at 676-5429. • , **’ . A ; V « \ MCGG WILL BE CLOSED FRIDAY, JULY 3rd & SATURDAY, JULY 4th HARVEST HOURS Starts Monday, July 6th 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday thru Friday 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday M orrow C o u n t y G r a in G rowers Lexington 989-8221 • 1 -800-452-7396 for farm tqmpmtnt, wit our wtb sitt at www meg ntt I * *
