lone School receives excellence award
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ass . lorrison from the Oregon Department of Education presents the state school excellence award flag
p ' . ! ,0 r'Unt> lone Elementary School Representative Beth Morter. lone Middle School Student Bods
l resident Jennifer (.ritlith and lone High School Student Body President Salli McElligott.
120______ NO. 52______10 Pages
Wednesday, December 26,2001
Morrow County. Heppner, Oregon
“Osama Files'” include lone woman
INVESTIGATION
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"If [the F.B.I.]
had taken up my offer
in February 1998, they
could have prevented
the bombings," says
Gutbi al-Mahdi.
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Janet McElligott of lone was featured in an article in January Vanity Fair about efforts to turn over files on
Osama bin Laden to the US before the Sept. 11 terror attacks
According to the January issue
o f Vanity Fair magazine, former
lone resident Janet McElligott
was involved with failed efforts
by the Sudanese government to
turn over intelligence information
to the US that may have helped
prevent the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
The six-page article by reporter
David Rose lays out a compelling
story of how the Sudanese
intelligence agency. Mukharbarat.
tried on many occasions to turn
over files and information on
Osama bin Laden and the al-
Qaeda terrorist network which,
the magazine says, may have
prevented the terror attacks.
McElligott was cited as a go-
between taking messages and
attempting to arrange meetings
between the FBI and state
department officials and the
Makharbarat.
Because of her contacts in the
middle east, and her background
as a Washington lobbyist who had
worked at the White Mouse under
George H. W Bush, McElligott
became a central figure in
attempts to turn over the
intelligence material, efforts
which to her, and the magazine
reporter's dismay, failed.
“...she assumed that rational
statecraft would, in the end.
prevail,” the magazine says. “In
this she was mistaken. On
February 5, 1998. her efforts
helped produce perhaps the
smokiest of all the smoking guns
in this story; a letter direct from
Gutbi
al-Mahdi
of
the
Mukhabarat to David Williams,
chief of the F B I's Middle Fast
and Africa desk It read. I would
like to express my sincere desire
to start contacts and cooperation
between our service and the F B I
I would like to take this
opportunity with pleasure to
invite you to visit our country.
Otherwise, we could meet
somewhere else.
Till then I
remain, yours truly.’
“Eighteen days later, (the
article says on February 23, 1998.
Osama bin Laden issued his
bloodcurdling fatwa from his
hideout in Afghanistan, calling on
all Muslims to kill Americans and
Jews, adding that civilians were
now to be regarded as targets.
McElligott followed up the letter
with a personal appeal: T told
them, ‘You do realize bin Laden
lived there (in Sudan) and they
(Mukhabarat) have files on his
main people?' There is simply no
doubt the F B I . knew what was
available. The guy I dealt with
said, ‘I'd give anything to go in
there, but they’- meaning the
State Department- “won't let
us.'" McElligott quoted the F B I.
as saying.
The article went on to detail
how McElligott tried on other
occasions to set up the transfer of
bin
Laden
and
al-Qaeda
intelligence information from the
Sudanese to the US government,
each time being rebuffed. On one
occasion she arranged for the
outgoing Sudan ambassador to
meet with a senior FBI official at
her home, at which time the
official “expressed his deep regret
for what had happened and said
he hoped that in time the
politicians would allow his
agency to examine the Sudanese
intelligence.”
How useful might the files
have been to the US? “They knew
all about them: (the al-Qaeda) "
the magazine quoted a senior
Egyptian intelligence officer who
worked
closely
with
the
Mukhabara as saying, “w ho they
were, where they came from
They had copies of their
passports, their tickets; they knew
w here they went. Of course that
information could have helped
enormously.”
Vanity Fair’s investigation
into what it calls “The Osama
Files” caused the magazine to
say: “September 11 might have
been prevented if the U.S. had
accepted Sudan's offers to share
its intelligence files on Osama bin
Laden and the growing al-Qaeda
threat.”
WCEDG annual
meeting Jan 23
The Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development Group
will hold its annual meeting
Wednesday. Jan 23 at 12 noon at
John's Other Place in Heppner.
The public is invited to attend.
Last meeting
At its last meeting Dec. 19, the
group voted to write a letter of
support to the Heppner City
Council in favor of the City
I tail Library project. It also voted
to endorse the ATV project put
forth by the county, and send a
letter of support to the county
court. The group also agreed to
send a letter of support to the
Morrow
County
Planning
Commission in favor o f land use
approval for the proposed race
tract project at Boardman
Correction
A public meeting will be held
to gather input from Heppner
residents on the proposed library
city hall joint project on Hiursday.
Jan. 3 at St Patrick's Senior Center
in Heppner. not Jan. 5 as stated in
last week's Gazette.
The lone School was
honored
Thursday as the
recipient
of
the
coveted
"excellence" award from the
Oregon
Department
of
Education.
Tass
M o rris o n ,
representing the Oregon State
Department of Education and
herself an lone graduate and the
first female IMS student body
president at lone (class of 1963).
was on hand to present the award
and a Hag to the school.
Oregon
State
Representative Greg Smith.
Heppner, delivered an address
commending the school and
community. "It's truly an honor
to be here." said Smith."Your
school, your community are truly
exceptional. You can see you
have pride in your community
and your school. O f 1028
schools, only 44 received this
award and for that you ought to
be commended."
Smith went on to note a
"correlation between small town
living, community pride and
academic success." "It's because
you folks step up to the plate and
make sure every child has access
to an equal education," he said.
"You folks are standing
up and fighting for your
community and youi school."
continued Smith. "You folks
have your priorities right."
Smith also took the
opportunity to criticize the state
school funding program. "There
is something wrong with our
state school funding program
when our teachers have to use
their own money for their
classrooms." he said to applause
from the assembly.
Current lone Principal
Mike Stuart commended the lone
students, saying. "You are by far
the hardest working students I've
ever encountered in my 24 years
in education," and noted their
"work ethic, diligence and
perseverance."
He
also
recognized the students, the staff,
the community and former
Principal Dick Allen for the
achievements made under his
leadership.
"I’ve never considered
m yself a leader, but a partner
w ith the students, the staff and
the community." replied Allen.
Jo h n
R ie tm a n n .
representing the Morrow County
School Board, read a letter of
congratulations from school
board chair Julie Weikel. who
said. "All o f Morrow County is
proud o f you and your
accomplishments."
L e t t e r s
of
congratulations were received
from U.S. Representative Greg
Walden and U.S. Senator < iordon
Smith.
After Morrison presented
the "excellence" flag to student
body
representatives,
the
assembly adjourned to the llag
pole for the raising of the flag.
Public meeting set on library/city hall project
A public meeting will be held
to gather input from Heppner
residents on the proposed library'
city hall joint project on Hiursday.
Jan. 3 at St. Patrick's Senior Center
in Heppner.
Ylary Nixon, w ho w orks tor Rural
Development Initiativ es and has been
hired to facilitate the public meeting,
explained that the audience at the
public town meeting will he asked
to recommend names of individuals
to serve on a w orking committee.
The working committee will be
comprised o f a member from the
city council and the Oregon frail
Library Board, an individual who
supports the project, an indiv idual
w ho opposes the project and a citizen
at large.
This group will address the
issues/coneems from the public
meeting. It will also develop an
objective survey and compile the
results of the survey. Nixon said that
officials hope that the surv ey and
the public meeting comments will
prov ide the city council and library
hoard with a clear message as to how
the community feels about the
*'• ’L,
project. The committee meetings
will be com ened and facilitated by
Nixon.
When asked why a community
resident would attend the town
meeting when there w ill also he a
surv ey. Nixon replied. 'The public
town meeting is an opportunity for
community members to hear both
sides of the issues as well as the
background information. Participants
at the public meeting will also he
invited to submit names of people
for the working committee. A survey,
w bile another valid too! tor gathering
input, does not allow participants
tilling out the survey to express then-
opinions in a detailed fashion or to
hear w hat other community members
are feeling and thinking."
Nixon is a community
development coordinator tor Rural
Development Initiatives Inc. (RDI)
She lives in Pendleton and serv es
small rural communities in Morrow.
Umatilla. Union. Wallowa, Baker.
Malheur. I lamcy and Grant counties
RDI is a private non-profit
organization, which since its
incorporation 10 years ago. has
w
i
i
.
i
.
helped over 200 communities in
Oregon with leadership dev elopment,
project assistance, facilitation and
mediation, planning and regional
initiatives, said Nixon. Nixon and
other RDI staff members see
themselves as" facilitators, teachers,
project managers and most
importantly as advocates tor the
success of rural communities".
Funding for Nixon's facilitation
services are provided by the < )regon
Economic
and
Community
Development Department.
G-T deadline
Friday
1 he deadline for news
and
advertising
for
the
Wednesday. January 2. i ia/ette-
I lines will be Friday. December
28. at 5 p.m. I he G- l office w ill
be closed Monday . December 31.
and 1 uesday. January 1
I he new spaper will be
published as usual on January 2.
i t i :
... I 1
T
H
News deadline
5p.m. Friday
The Oregon Department of Education excellence award Hag was
raised at the lone School in a ceremony Thursday.
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M orro w County G rain G row ers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1 -800-452-7396 i»
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