Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 11, 2000 - SEVEN Maintenance crews receive awards Re-elect Ferrioli Letters to the Editor Editor's note Letters to the Editor must be signed. The Gazette-Times w ill not publish unsigned letters Please include your address and phone numt>er on all letters for use by the G-T office The C-T reserves the right to edit The C-T is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Task force not effective "Æ Heppner crew The Heppner and Spray Maintenance Crews received safety awards from the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health D ivision (OR-OSSA), Consultation and Services Section, 'the awards were presented September 28 at the Heppner Maintenance Station by George Vorhauer of Oregon OSSA. Only 48 of 80,000 employers in Oregon have been recipients of the Oregon OSSA SHARP Award. The awards are provided through the Safety and Health Award Recognition Program, (SHARP). This program provides incentives for Oregon employers to work with their employees to 1 find and correct hazards, to develop and implement effective safety and health Programs, to continuously improve and become self-sufficient in safety and health. The overall goal is to reduce injuries and illnesses and to provide a means for showing other employers that occupational safety and health can work for everyone. The Heppner crew includes manager Jim King, Scott Strouse, Paul Arbogast, Frank Osmin, Larry Heath, Shawn Wilson, Charles Grabeel, Rick Sanford and Dan Metz. The Spray crew is Dave Humphreys, assistant supervisor, Diane Petersen, Ralf Graham, Ginger Cromwell, Stacy Robinson and Zion Jacobson. The Heppner and Spray crews are responsible for 500 lane miles. Their duties include paving, ditch cleaning, installing and repairing guard rail and delineators, building and blading shoulders and snow removal and sanding operations. Successful SHARP candidates must ultimately achieve a safety and health program effectiveness rating of 75 percent or better out of a possible point value of 100. SHARP recognizes employers who find and correct hazards, and who implement effective safety and health programs. Heppner/Spray Maintenance Stations do not use any one particular safety management system. Heppner uses a variety of different systems, choosing the portions of the programs that best fit their employees and operating styles. Below are some of the qualities of the Heppner/Spray maintenance station employees and manager that set them apart from our states transportation industry standards. • All employees take ownership for their personal safety, as well as, ownership of ODOT's safety and health programs and standards. • If a potential hazard is identified, regardless by whom, the employees have the authority to correct the hazard or eliminate the potential for employee exposure. • Formal monthly/weekly safety and health meetings are held, as well as informal "tailgate talks" to address day-to-day safety concerns, • Various safety signs are posted though out the shop to affirm an internal commitment and to display that commitment to visitors and customers. Exchange student attends HHS In Germany Christian lives with his mother, Gabriele, a homemaker, and father, Karl- Dieter, a TV journalist. He has two older sisters, Andrea and Ulrike. At home, Christian says he enjoys being with his friends, playing soccer and rowing. Since his arrival in Heppner, Christian is trying out football, which, he says, is "fun." Christian, who has studied English for six years, says that he experienced only a "little bit" ot shock at his arrival in Heppner. T£ l UiU I O ' IJiU( Weather Report Christian Möller There's a new student at Heppner High School. Christian Möller, a 16-year-old from Germany, is now a junior at HHS. Christian comes from Ettlingen, a "little town" of around 34,000 near Karlsruhe, a city of over 200,000 in southwest Germany. Christian's host parents are Kari and Michael Keown of Heppner. A J t iQ Jill jll By1 the City of Heppner For the month of Se High Low 50 9/1 75 49 64 9/2 67 42 9/3 43 9/4 63 68 43 9/5 70 50 9/6 45 9/7 72 49 82 9/8 45 9/9 70 47 72 9/10 67 53 9/11 54 80 9/12 56 86 9/13 55 9/14 88 58 88 9/15 51 81 9/16 9/17 51 76 55 86 9/18 64 9/19 85 48 78 9/20 84 45 9/21 31 55 9/22 28 55 9/23 30 60 9/24 69 30 9/25 40 73 9/26 77 43 9/27 49 80 9/28 51 80 9/29 56 75 9/30 Meeting set on soccer program An informational meeting for those interested in learning about or helping organize soccer teams will be held upstairs at Kate's on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. This is a start-up meeting to discuss the basics of organization of teams within the communities of Heppner, Lexington and lone. For more information, contact Tina Edwards, evenings: 676- 8710, or Darrell Raver, weekdays, 676-9125. FAX increased sharply. Ahhh what motivation there is in an election year.) 1 have photocopies of the OUCR's (Oregon Uniform Crime Reports) from Morrow County for 1999. That is the first full year Mr. Denton was operating in the capacity of sheriff. Looking at the drug-related offenses, it is respectable at first glance. There were roughly 23 suspects charged with 31 different offenses. The problem is, that only one suspect was arrested by the task force. The other arrests were made by patrol officers who were doing their jobs. I have a problem with that. I do not feel that we are getting our fair share for the investment of over 2000 hours of employee time. Yes. Morrow County does get funds from asset forfeiture. But is that the correct goal to have? It is my feeling that the average citizen on the street feels as I do. Let's w ork on both ends of the problem. Do I think we should arbitrarily pull out of the task force. . .the answer is no. But it needs to be made clear to the board that oversees the task force that we expect and deserve our fair share. If that stance does not gamer any satisfaction, then maybe we should look at other options. I am sure that if the tables were reversed, the other agencies involved in the task force would expect nothing less. The current sheriff was the "executive board chairman for the Blue Mountain Drug Task Force" last time I heard. Maybe he would have a means to take that concern to the board. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Miller on the issue of personnel. I feel that there is a great team of deputies working for the sheriffs dept, now. There have been people who "did not work out" but all agencies have that problem. It is an unfortunate, but integral part of building a quality agency. (s) Steve Myren DA's Report Morrow County District Attorney David C. Allen reports the following business conducted: Carl Allen McKim plead guilty to Theft I-Class C felony. He was sentenced to 36 months probation and w as ordered to pay S7.374 m fines, fees, assessments and restitution and complete a drug and alcohol package. Michael Hammons plead guilty to Assault IV-Class A misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended, with 24 months probation and 80 hours of community service and was ordered to pay $559 in assessments and complete an anger management treatment program with Morrow County Behavioral Health. Lloyd Arthur Costello plead guilty to Attempting to Elude a Police Officer-Class A Judge seeks court position To the Editor: My name is Paul DeMuniz. 1 am a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and a candidate in November for an open position on the Oregon Supreme Court. My respect for the independent role of the judiciary, my more than 10 years of experience as a judge, and my commitment to fairness are among the reasons why I am running for this position. More and more, Oregon courts are asked to resolve conflicts involving critical issues such as individual rights, property rights, criminal procedure, state regulation, and complex state and federal constitutional questions. 1 have over a decade of experience in resolving exactly these kinds of issues. I believe a Supreme Court judge should be experienced, honest, fair and willing to work hard. I believe it takes a person who is grounded in family, community, and common sense. I am qualified and ready to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. I hope to earn your vote in November. (s) Paul DeMuniz Salem misdemeanor. Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Failure to Perform Duties of a Driver, Giving False Information to a Police Officer and Reckless Endangerment of Highway Workers. He was sentenced to 24 months probation, 180 days in the Umatilla County Jail, with 30 days credit for time served and Births 150 days suspended, one year suspension of his Oregon driver’s G racie Robin Crum-a license and was ordered to pay daughter Gracie Robin was bom $1,824 in fines, fees and to Rosanne Baker and Steven assessments and complete an Crum of lone on September 19, alcohol package. 2000 at Good Shepherd Commu­ nity Hospital in Hermiston. The SCRATCH P / n S - $ 1 lb . baby weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. Gazette-Times ■ 676-9228 PAPER Heppner Gazette-Times STATEM ENT O F NONDISCRIMINATION Eas Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative, Inc. is the recipient of federal financial assistance from the Rural Utilities Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is subject to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture which provide that no person in the United States on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, or handicap shall be excluded from participation in, admission or access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any of this organization’s programs or activities. The person responsible for coordinating the organization’s nondiscrimination compliance efforts is Jerry Healy, Manager. Any individual, or specific class of individuals, who feels that this organization has subjected them to discrimination may obtain further information about the statutes and regulations listed from above and/or file a written complaint with this organization; or the Secretary; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250; or the Administrator, Rural Utilities Services, Washington D.C. 20250. Complaints must be filed within 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible. I To the Editor: Comments on Drug Investigations I worked for the Morrow C ounty Sheriffs Dept, from July of 1989 to August of 1998 during which time I had the chance to watch the evolution of the Drug Task Force. First, let me say that I have a lot of respect for task force members past and present. But, unfortunately, Mr. Miller's arguments are not well taken. Back in 1989, drug arrests in Morrow County were truly impressive. 1 marveled at how often we were doing search warrants and making cases in our county. As time went on however, drug investigations began to shift towards the larger cities with the theory being that if the task force concentrated on the "bigger fish" in those areas, the "minnows" that are prevalent in our area would have their source of drugs interrupted. . . I am sad to say that I have never seen that part of the equation work out as planned. In fact, 1 ask you as citizens, have you noticed a decrease in activity at your suspected neighborhood drug house? During the last few years of my employ with the sheriffs department. Sheriff Drago, (prior to his retirement) would have to rattle his saber every once in a while, threatening to pull our representative out of the task force if there was not some increased drug investigations in Morrow County. This usually got results for a time, but the focus would eventually drift back to the larger population areas. Do not misunderstand my point, the entire purpose of a drug task force is to share resources with other smaller agencies thereby increasing the overall ability to perform these investigations. My point is that it has not been happening. I feel that we need and deserve our "fair share". (Within two weeks of my filing for election in Morrow County, task force activity in Morrow County To the Editor: We are asking that the voters of this district re-elect Senator Ted Ferrioli when they cast their ballots. Senator Ferrioli has gone above and beyond his responsibilities with compassion for our family and determination to see a difficult situation come to the right conclusion. In early May when there were two fatalities in a crosswalk on Highway 281 /12th St in Hood River, one of them our father, he (Ferrioli) responded to letters from our family for help with ODOT officials, helped us figure out a way to get some action and is still working on the final phase of the safety project for Highway 281. His resources and contacts are great and he is not afraid to use them. It is rare in government today to find an official who will respond and act on a problem w hich may seem to many to be small, in a small community, but this is exactly the kind of person Senator Ferrioli is and the kind of voice we need in Salem. Please join us in re-electing Senator Ted Ferrioli. 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