Mill closure impact discussed
BESSI E wE T 2 E L L
U OF O R C
N E WS P A P E R Î . Î B
E U G E N E OR 0 7 1 . 3
E lks’ Am ericanism winners announced
lone Middle School Americanism contestants (left to right) back row: teacher Chris Davis, Karl Morgan,
Mike Radie, Til Tullis, Cody Bergstrom, Tracy Griffith, Jaysi Bennetto, Andrew Rietmann. Font row: Kody
Rea, Cameron Krebs, Aaron Tworek, Caitlin Orem and Diana McElligott.
Heppner Junior High Americanism contestants (left to right) back row: Cindy Gall, Tracey Baker, Josh
Winters, Brad Adams, Donald Adams, Jerry Shank, teacher Greg Grant Front row: Jessica Krieger,
Sibbea Jones, Sally Calvert, Marcy Miller, Ashley Wsrd, Megan Healy and Whitney Sherritt.
Ashley Ward, Heppner Junior
High School, and Diana
McElligott, lone Middle School
won first place in the
Americanism Poster contest
sponsored by the Heppner Elks
Lodge.
They each received a $ 100
savings bond for their work.
Second place winners, receiving
$75 savings bonds, are Sally
Calvert, Heppner, and Cody
Bergstipm, lone.
A total of 26 students
participated in the contest, 13
from Greg Grant's eighth grade
social studies at Heppner Junior
High School and 13 from Chris
Davis' eighth grade class at lone
Middle School.
In addition to winners being
awarded savings bonds, each
participant received a certificate
of appreciation from the Elks
Lodge Exalted Ruler, Joe
Kenny.
The purpose of the contest is to
encourage patriotism through
increased involvement. Each
year the contest is sponsored by
a number of Elks lodges around
the state. Competition is only at
the local level.
UofO announces degree candidates
University of Oregon has
announced
candidates
for
degrees at the end of the winter
term, 1999.
Dam Maree Hill, bachelor of
science, biology, Heppner, was a
candidate.
A town hall meeting to
discuss the closure of the
Kinzua saw mill in Heppner
drew about 50 participants last
Thursday night.
Representatives from various
government agencies were on
hand to discuss efforts
underway to help laid off
workers, and to acquire the mill
site for future economic
development. The meeting,
called "Life after Kinzua", was
sponsored by the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce.
Employment situation
The first to give a report was
County Judge Teny Tallman.
Tallman said he had talked to
Mike Evans of Frontier
Resources which owns Kinzua,
who
said
three
upper
management members at the
Kinzua mill had lost their jobs.
Jan Jones, Tony Williams, John
Green and Jim Salyers
apparently are no longer with
the company.
Tallman also reported that an
auction to dispose of equipment
at the mill will be held May 4, 5
and 6.
A decision to add a third shift
at the company's Pilot Rock
mill also was being put on hold,
Tallman said he was told. Prior
to the Heppner mill closure at
the end of February it was
announced that a third shift was
to be added to Pilot Rock
operations that would have
added 36 jobs, some of which
could have gone to laid off
Heppner workers. A decision on
the third shift will be made after
May 1.
However, there will be some
workers from the Heppner mill
employed at Pilot Rock no
matter what happens, it was
reported.
In a related matter about 35
people will be employed at the
Heppner site preparing for the
auction until May 4.
Mill property
An original proposal to donate
the Kinzua mill site to the Port
of Morrow for use in attracting
other businesses is also
apparently now in doubt. It was
reported that tax consequences
for the mill owners if the
property is handed over are
being examined, and a decision
on whetherlhe property will be
donated is expected "in about
two weeks". The mill owners
are apparently waiting for an
appraisal of the property before
deciding whether to donate the
property to the Port of Morrow.
The Port had earlier expressed
an interest not only in the
property and buildings to
develop into an industrial
facility, but also the machine
shop and planer operation at the
mill.
Tuesday it was announced by
mill spokesman Evans that
because of prior commitments,
the machine shop probably will
be sold off, however, the
company is working with the
Port of Morrow on the planer. It
is possible the Port may
purchase the planer operation.
On the question of cleanup at
the Heppner mill it was reported
that it should be finished in
three to four weeks. One
million dollars had been
pledged by Kinzua for clean up
o f the mill site. Apparently a
level
one
environmental
assessment has been completed
on the mill site with no major
problems showing up.
Port of Morrow
Port of Morrow board
member Jerry Healy reported
that the Port is interested in the
planer and machine shop areas
of the mill, as well as the office
area. "Things are going to be
tough," Healy warned about
attracting businesses to the area.
"We are off the beaten path
here."
Healy did say that the Port
has hired Richard Hill to do a
feasibility study of the mill site
to identify the type of
businesses that may be able to
locate there.
"The Port is going to make
every effort to make something
happen here," Healy said.
On a related subject Healy
said that Tillamook Cheese Co.,
which is looking to build
another ch«ese operation in
Oregon, is considenng locating
at the Port of Morrow, which
may bring opportunity for some
dairy operations in South
Morrow County.
"This is not going to be easy,"
Healy stressed again about
economic development in this
area. "People are not going to
be tearing doors down unless
there is a sweetheart deal." He
said the Port is also looking at
setting up an enterprise zone in
South Morrow County, either
through petition for a new zone
or expansion of the one in
Boardman, to further help in
attracting businesses.
Enterprise zones
give
property tax abatements to
businesses for set lengths of
time. "We don't like enterprise
zones, but you need it to attract
industry," he said.
Rick Minster, regional
economic director, also gave a
short report and said that if the
site is transferred to the Port,
help from government agencies
could be expected.
Schools
Chuck Starr, school
superintendent, gave a report
on the impact of the mill
closure on the Morrow County
school district.
Starr said that about 70
students in the Heppner-Ione
area had been identified as
members of mill workers'
families, he said the district
will lose $4,600 in state aid for
every student it loses, however,
with the growth in the North
end of the county he expected
no major problems for the
district. He said the district
expects to lose about 20
students from the Heppner-Ione
area because of the mill closure.
HEDC
George Koffler gave a report
from the Heppner Economic
Development Corporation.
He said that Kinzua had
pledged to put up $15,000 to
help fund a study on economic
diversification of the Willow
Creek valley. (As of Tuesday
Kinzua had given $12,000 to
help with the study).
Koffler reported that the jobs
forum sponsored by HEDC had
attracted six businesses from
out of town to come to Heppner
and talk to former Kinzua
employees
about
job
opportunities.
He said about 30 to 35
workers had come to the
meetings and some people had
applied for jobs.
City of Heppner
City manager Jerry Breazeale
said that the city was mostly in
the support role for workers,
and that the city was looking at
some type of transportation
system to Pilot Rock if enough
former employees went to work
there, or possibly transportation
to the North end of the county
for workers.
He also asked for community
input on the city's strategic plan
which is available for viewing
at city hall or on the city's web
site at www.heppner.net.
Mayor Bob Jepsen gave a
report on Bums, Oregon which
went through the same type of
economic upheaval when Hines
Lumber closed there and they
lost 200 jobs. "Four years ago
unemployment was 19 percent,"
Jepsen said. "Now it is six
percent."
He said a motor home factory
located in Bums with 350
employees, and a youth camp
there employs another 50 as
some of the examples of
economic recovery.
He said economic incentives
of no property taxes for three
years, were given to attract
businesses.
Jepsen also said many of the
workers in Bums that were laid
off did not sell their homes, but
opted instead to commute to
other jobs
outside
the
community.
CAPECO
Denny Newell from
CAPECO reported that his
agency will be setting up a full
time office in the Pettyjohn
building soon to help laid off
workers.
Employment training
programs will be available and
he said there are "bundles" of
money available to help
displaced workers find re
employment. He said about 50
percent
of
the
Kinzua
employees had applied at his
office.
Other matters
Other matters related to the
mill closure and discussed at the
transition meeting Tuesday
morning were:
1.
) it was reported that some
of the equipment from the
Heppner mill will be moved to
Pilot Rock before the auction.
2. ) Pioneer Resources plans to
begin purchasing logs from
state and federal timber sales.
(A three year ban on such
timber purchase because of the
company's former log exporting
practices has apparently ended).
3.
) Cattle grazing leases on
the company's land will remain
the same. Brian Thompson will
be handling the leases.
4.
) The company's portable
chipper will work through
August.
5.) Mike Evans will be in
charge of the Heppner mill
through the auction May 4, 5
and 6.
6.
) The talked about sale of
the Pilot Rock mill is a "dead"
issue and the mill there will
continue to be operated.
7. ) The company expects to
sell the boiler at the mill at
auction, but does not expect that
the co-generation plant will be
sold.
Band festival
to come to
Heppner
High school bands from
Morrow, Grant and Umatilla
counties will gather at Heppner
High School on Wednesday,
March 31, at 6:30 p.m. for the
Tn-County High School Band
Festival.
This yearly gathering of
smaller bands gives students
from Arlington, Condon, Fossil,
Culver, Helix, Heppner, Pilot
Rock, Riverside, Sherman,
Stanfield and Weston-McEwen
the experience of being a part of
a large band.
The guest conductor will be
Leon McKinney, former band
director of East Wenatchee
High School. McKinney will
choose three or four individual
bands from different schools to
perform, followed by the
Dixieland Band, a band formed
from the band conductors from
each school. Finally, all of the
participating bands will combine
into one and play an ensemble
performance.
The songs this year will
include the themes from
"Jurassic Park" and "Phantom of
the Opera”, the famous Fillmore
march, "Americans We", and
James Swearingen's haunting
melody, "Romanesque".
The cost is $1 per person at the
door.
SciFi exhibit
to hover
at museum
SciFi FANtastic IV, the fourth
annual
exhibit
of local
collections of science fiction
memorabilia, will be on display
Tuesday, April 6, through
Saturday, May 1.
The exhibit features books,
toys, movie and TV scripts,
posters and other memorabilia.
Area fans who would like to
share their collections (or any
prized item) for the duration of
the exhibit may bring them in to
the museum during open hours,
1-5 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday, March 30 through
May 3.
Space limitations may restrict
the display of large collections.
Collectors of all ages are
welcome.
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