Greg Smith criticizes Vera Katz* anti-beef stance
E ^ n t î t f ot s s l l
U of 0 Ii3.v3pi i 2 r L i b r a r y
LU'..îïid, On 0 / 1 J-J
State Representative Greg Smith
(R-Heppner) has joined other
legislators to support Oregon cattle
ranchers. This comes after the news
that Portland Mayor Vera Katz had
proclaimed March 20 the "Great
American M eatout Day.
"I support cattle ranchers 150
percent. Their contributions to
Oregon’s economy are priceless,"
said Representative Smith. "I deeply
resent Mayor Katz for portraying
a false image that beef is harmful
to consumers and the environment.
I'm here to represent the citizens
of District 59, not participate in that
type o f nonsense."
According to the Oregon
Cattlemen's Association, cattle and
calves are the largest commodity,
other than nursery stock, in Oregon.
"Now to have the mayor o f
Oregon's largest city, with the largest
port for imports and exports with
55 percent o f the greater Portland
area jobs directly related to the Port
o f Portland, to assign a proclamation
that infers that by eating beef people
will die, have strokes, get cancer,
diabetes, or contact infectious
diseases is absurd and could cause
tremendous harm to not just cattle
producers, but all Oregonians," said
John V. Hays, president o f the
Oregon Cattlemen's Association.
"Mayor Katz should be promoting
US beef, which is the safest in the
world."
Earlier, state representatives and
senators throughout the capitol wore
baseball caps, displaying their
support for beef producers in
Oregon. Said Representative Smith
with a smile, "Tonight, I will be
enjoying a pot roast in honor o f
M ayor Katz."
Representative Smith represents
Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant,
Sherman. Wheeler and portions o f
Morrow and Wasco counties.
Below is the "Meatout"
proclamation signed by Portland
Mayor Vera Katz: "Whereas a
wholesome plant based diet of whole
grains, vegetables and fresh fruit
reduces the risk o f heart disease,
stroke, cancer, diabetes and other
chronic and infectious diseases that
cripple and kill nearly 1.5 million
Americans annually and
"W hereas such a diet helps
preserve topsoil, water, energy and
other production resources that are
essential to human survival, and
"W hereas such a diet helps
preserve our forests, grass lands,
and other wildlife habitats and
reduces pollution of our waterways
by soil particles, debris, manure
and pesticides, and
"Whereas for the past 15 years
many dedicated Great American
Meatout vol unteers have encouraged
neighbors to explore such a diet
"Now. therefore I, Vera Katz
M ayor o f the City o f Portland.
Oregon, the "City o f Roses" do
hereby proclaim March 20, 2001
to be "Great American Meatout
Day" in Portland, and encourage
our citizens to explore a wholesome
diet of whole grains, vegetables and
fresh fruits."
Pie in the face
VOL. 120
NO 13
8 Pages
Wednesday, March 28,2001
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Co-gen plant may be operating by mid-April
The co-generation plant at the
South Morrow Industrial Park
(formerly Kinzua mill) should be
up and operating by mid April,
plant m anager Doug Dubuque
told the Heppner C ham ber o f
Commerce Tuesday.
Dubuque, who came out o f
retirement to head up the restarted
electrical generating plant, said
there will be about 16 full time
jobs to operate the plant, which
will produce about 10 m egawatts
o f electricity by burning wood
waste.
"The jobs will pay between
S14 and $17 an hour with full
medical benefits," Dubuque said.
The start up was good news for
the com m unity which saw 136
job s go away when the Kinzua
mill closed two years ago.
M any o f the same people who
worked at the co-generation plant
when it was built are coming back
to work there, Dubuque said. "I
went out and looked for the ones
who ran it before. That will cut
down on our learning curve," he
said o f the operation
It will take approxim ately one
truck load o f w ood w aste per hour
to fuel the plant Dubuque said
several sources are being looked
at now, including using waste
from the Potlatch wood growing
operation in north county, and
bringing waste from Pilot Rock.
He said a large portable chipper
will probably be brought in to
chip logs and other waste to fuel
the plant.
"W e're probably
looking at around 8,000 loads o f
fuel coming in here per year," he
said.
A new fuel handling system
which will lift the entire truck to
dum p the hog fuel is now being
installed to make unloading more
efficient. "You've probably seen
the trucks coming through town
(with the equipm ent)," Dubuque
said.
There are also plans to add a
second generator to the plant,
which
would
produce
an
additional 3 megawatts o f power.
Dubuque said everything at
the plant is now being inspected
to make sure it is working well,
and added that the equipm ent
looks in pretty good shape. The
plant is a joint venture between
former Kinzua ow ner Greg
Demers and the Port o f M orrow,
w hich owns the industrial park.
Demers and the port will split the
profit from operation o f the plant,
and they have a 10 year operating
agreement with 5 year options to
renew.
"I'm very positive about this,"
Dubuque said. "I see good things
from this for the community."
On April 17 a Department o f
Environm ental Quality public
hearing will be held to renew the
perm it to operate the plant. It
m ust be okayed by the DEQ
before operation can begin, and
Dubuque urged Cham ber o f
Com m erce members to attend
and voice their support for the
perm it and the operation. The
public hearing will begin at 6p.m.
at the Bank o f Eastern Oregon in
Heppner, with public testimony
starting at 7 p.m.
BMCC schedules area classes
Blue M ountain Com m unity
College has several classes
scheduled for the Heppner area
starting shortly after spring break.
Residents o f the South Morrow
County should have received a flier
o f BMCC spring term classes within
the past couple o f weeks. Anyone
wishing to receive a copy o f class
offerings for the area should contact
Anne Morter, BMCC coordinator,
at 422-7040.
"Beginning G olf1 has been added
to the schedule. This class will be
held on Thursday evenings from
6-7:30 p.m. beginning April 12 at
W illow Creek Country Club. The
six-week course costs $30 plus $20
for a tem porary m em bership to
W CCC for all non-members.
Spanish Basics I and II are being
offered
on
M ondays
and
W ednesdays at lone Elementary
School. The instructor has offered
to move the class to Lexington or
Heppner if there is interest in those
locations. Contact Morter for further
details.
Volunteers stuff envelopes for marketing effort
Students and visiting "dignitaries" didn't look so dignified during a contest at Heppner High School last
week. The contest consisted of Fishing a piece of gum from a whipped cream pie and then blowing a
bubble. The First to blow the bubble won. The activity was a part of a motivational presentation at the
school, co-sponsored by the Morrow County Sheriffs Office.
Court hears Boardman senior center request
By Doris Brosnan
Representatives of the Boardman
Senior Center spoke at the March
21 session o f the Morrow' County
Court to report fund raising results
and efforts to obtain grant funding
for the building o f a center. They
explained the center's current
operation and the plans for the future
and requested funding help from
the county.
In discussion o f the issue.
Commissioner Dan Brosnan asked
for the estimated annual operating
expenses and Commissioner John
Wenholz noted the need to treat all
such centers in the county
consistently and the need to follow
the process for a tippage-fees
funding request. The Court heard
that a commitment from the county
would be necessary' within the next
two months and Judge Terry
Tallman explained that the court
is supportive and would have to
include the request in the budget
process.
Surveyor
Ron
McKinnis
requested from the Court the
purchase of a reconditioned 36-inch-
format copier and a stand. Judge
Tallman explained that the purchase
would be funded by the assessor's
office, public works, the surveyor's
budget and possibly the planning
department. The Court approved
the purchase. McKinnis added that
the sale o f maps produced w ith the
copier will add revenues to the
surveyor's budget.
County
Clerk
Barbara
Bloodsworth submitted a two-year
contract with a com pany for
maintenance on the ballot counting
machine The Court examined the
details o f the contract, asked
Bloodsw orth several questions and
agreed to have the contract reviewed
by County Counsel Bill Hanlon
County Assessor Greg Sweek
described for the Court the
properties petitioning for annexation
into the Heppner Rural Fire
Protection District and parcels that
property owners are preparing to
petition for inclusion. The Court
initiated the annexation process for
territory into the Heppner Rural Fire
Protection District.
Sweek also reported that, despite
the tape drive replacement, the tape
backup still is not functioning
properly. He expressed concern
about efforts to correct the problem,
reporting that LSD plans to replace
the controller next.
Public Works Director Burke
O'Brien reported completion o f the
Blackhorse Bridge project, work
on the Balm Fork Bridge and the
new guardrails on Morter Bridge,
and work on Four-mile and
Gooseberry O'Brien also reported
that two employees are attending
mine-safety training. He told the
Court that the Boardman City
Council has agreed to cost-share
some work on Columbia Avenue.
He announced that the ODOT
vacuum sweeper will clear the
county parking lots on March 30.
O ’Brien awaits the agreement
for the Ruhl Pit and the Court
expressed concern about the delay's
possible effect on the county's w ork
schedule. O’Bncn reported that two
employees are now w orking on weed
control.
Work continues on development
of a cost factor for crushing. O'Brien
said. He also described an attempt
to develop a list o f maintenance
projects on county buildings. Use
of a form will help in planning and
prioritizing time and budgeting,
O’Brien noted. The repainting o f
the courthouse windows and the
need for repainting the clock tower
to avoid rot problems are examples
for the use o f a prepared form.
Other actions o f the Court
include:
-approval o f annexation o f
territory into the Oregon Trail
Library District;
-approval of a replacement printer
for the sheriff s office;
- allocations o f vehicles from
public works;
- agreement to change from four
years to tw o years the time period
in the management salary scale for
moving from Step B to Step C,
effectiv e w ith the 2001-2002 fiscal
year.
School budget
meeting April 2
The Morrow County School
District will hold their first budget
com m ittee meeting on Monday,
April 2, at 7:30 p.m at the district
office.
Account to
benefit injured
woman
An account at the Bank
o f Eastern Oregon has been set
up to help Lexington resident
Shari Stahl who was injured in a
m otorcycle accident on March
18 .
Stahl, who broke her
back in three places and
dislocated and broke her hip in
the accident, has undergone hip
surgery and is still hospitalized
Oregon
Health
Science
University.
Donations will help with
Stahl's expenses.
TIM E TO
Ten thousand is a lot, as volunteers stuffing envelopes have found out this past week The volunteers
are stuffing 10,000 envelopes as part of the Zero Money Marketing Plan, which is attempting to attract
businesses and jobs to the South Morrow Industrial Park (former Kinzua mill) in Heppner
The Marketing Plan (which uses mostly donated labor and services), under the direction of the Willow
Creek Valley Economic Development Corp (formerly HEDC), Is using direct mail, signs, news releases and
telemarketing to find businesses that may be interested in locating and providing employment at the park
Following the closure of the Kinzua Mill, and loss of 136 jobs two years ago, the park has been taken
over by the Port of Morrow. The Port currently has located two employee type tenants at the industrial
park: Miller Manufacturing, and the soon to be activated co-generation plant (see related story this issue).
Above (left to right) David Sykes. Debbie Koffler, Ron Lindner, Marsha Kemp and John Edmundson put
Heppner brochures and flyers about the site into envelopes in prepartion for mailing
He«* flie Tir«‘ D ep a rtm en t nt*
M orrow C ounty C rain Ci ro w e rs
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
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