EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Committee formed to work
on ATV project solution
B> Doris Brosnan
At the January 16 meeting of
the Morrow County Court, public
works director Burke O ’Brien
reported on a meeting to further
discuss the ATV-project grant
with some landowners on Jan.
15. A subcommittee has formed
to explore various related issues.
O'Brien and Commissioner Dan
Brosnan agreed that the meeting
was a positive event, with inter
ested persons now working on a
solution.
O'Brien also reported on a
meeting with homeowners at the
Wagon Wheel Addition. The
landowners are working to form
an association to cover road
maintenance. The Court agreed
with O'Brien that the homeown
ers are to be commended
O'Brien informed the Court
of a break-in at the 4-H building
at Cutsforth Park, damaging the
hasp lock and a light bulb.
O'Brien also reported the
follow ing work of the road crew:
grading of Gneb, Melville, and
Wheatland Lanes. Petty's Can
yon. and Lower Sandhollow and
Crum Roads: work on downed
road signs, installation of cul
verts on Bunker Hill Road: brush
mow ing with ODOT’s tractor
and flail mow er attachment - on
Upper Rhea Creek and Willow
Creek Roads. They have burned
weeds on Social Ridge Lane,
Piper Canyon, and Nolan and
Baseline Roads. The Valby-Road
project continues.
Judge Terry Tallman shared
that the city of Boardman is fi
nalizing its transportation system
plan. One issue is an ODOT re
quirement for a variance at Lau
rel Lane, a county road, because
businesses are not to be located
within 1320 feet of the off-ramp.
Existing businesses are to be
grandfathered in. Also being con
sidered for the plan is an
overpass near Olsen Road.
Judge Tallman also reported
on the preliminary-design cost to
the county if it were to include
space for county planning and
emergency management in this
stage of the city of Imgon-hbrary
distnct-lrrigon Fire District’s
joint building project. After dis
cussion on other options and the
departments’ need for space at
the north end of the county, the
Court agreed to pay $1250 from
the miscellaneous professional
services budget. The emergency
management director agreed to
pay an equal amount from that
budget.
Representing the Heritage
Trail Celebration Committee,
Carol Michael shared with the
Court brochures describing the
North Morrow Community
Foundation. In the process of
becoming a 501C-3. the founda
tion will accept donations for the
trail. She further suggested that
the Court consider a future
movement of funds now adminis
tered by the planning department
to this fund, in a fashion similar
to the Museum Foundation, and
promoting it as tax deductible for
individuals. The Court agreed to
examine the mechanics of such a
transfer and the amounts in
volved.
Morrow County Sheriff. Ver-
lin Denton, reminded the Court
of the agreement to hold over
replacement of one of the patrol
units for another year and re
ported that the vehicle now has
120,000 miles on it and has
thrown a rod. Examining the re
pair estimate, the Court agreed
that the vehicle be removed for
auction. Denton also reported the
repair costs on the copy machine
in the department and informed
the Court of 911 budget money
that would pay for the
lcase/maintenance agreement on
a new machine. The Court ap
proved the lease.
The Sheriff shared the de
partment’s 2001 statistics that
show a 42 percent reduction in
prisoner transportation costs that
result from the new video
arraignment system Juvenile
transports to The Dalles, a new
responsibility in 2001, contrib
uted to the reduction's not being
greater. Denton answered several
questions from the commission-
ers on other statistics.
Denton also informed the
Court that one deputy has sug-
gested adding the phrase "Let s
Roll" to the side of the patrol
units in remembrance of the last
words spoken by those who lost
their lives in the Pennsylvania
September 11 crash. Commis
sioner Brosnan suggested Denton
issue a press release on that sug
gestion.
Morrow County Behavioral
Health director Kelly Sager in
troduced two staff members to
the Court, Mary Elsethagen. a
“qualified mental health profes
sional”, and Courtney Hesla. the
newest employee who is working
on case management and alcohol
and drug cases.
Sager presented, and the
Court approved, after some dis
cussion, a short-term contract
with Woody Koemng, LCSW,
for a project, and an agreement
with Mary Morehouse for "self-
directed services."
Sager shared a proposal from
Gail Sargent, architect, for an
addition to the Boardman Annex.
The commissioners examined the
proposal and questioned Sager
about many related details. They
asked him to speak to the emer
gency management and public
health directors about their needs
and plans, and they agreed to
delay discussion for two months,
until the state special session has
concluded and the state budget
has been determined.
Sager offered the Court a
draft policy for reimbursement of
educational expenses, asking the
commissioners to review it. He
informed them of the installation
of a T-l line to the Boardman
Annex and reported that a tech
nician would be evaluating the
department's computer system.
He emphasized to the Court the
department’s dependence upon
computers and requested assur
ance of quick response time from
ESD in emergency situations.
Director of the Commission
on Children and Families, Bar
bara Hayes, shared with the
Court the department’s plan to
replace, with a leased machine,
the copy machine for the Gilliam
and Bisbee Building. She ex
plained features of the machine
they have in mind and noted that
it would be for use by all de
partments in the building. She
also described some additional
work needed "to polish up" the
Comprehensive Plan Phase II.
Other actions of the Court
included the following:
-appointment of Kim Camme
to the Commission on Children
and Families;
-extension of the tippage fee
grant to the town of Lexington
for completion of the compre
hensive plan;
-approval, contingent upon
approval by the finance depart
ment. of the purchase of a re
placement computer monitor and
printer for the Commission on
Children and Families;
-approval of the purchase of
some office equipment for the
Fossil Behavioral Health Office;
-approval of an agreement
with Wilbur-Ellis for the pur
chase of weed chemicals for the
road department:
-approval of a quitclaim deed
with Loyal and Betty Bums and
Diamond Properties Investment
Company/Cricket Flat Develop
ment Company:
-approval of the modified
Farm Agricultural Building
Agreement;
-approval of an agreement
with the Port of Morrow for re
tention of a land-use attorney to
assist in the review of the speed
way application;
-approval of a contract be
tween the Morrow County Fair
and the Oregon Department of
Agriculture;
-approval of $500 from dis
cretionary tippage fees as a re
tainer for the Trail Band’s per
formance at the Heritage Trail
event;
-request that executive secre
tary. Andrea Denton, procure
from other counties sample poli
cies dealing with expenses such
as meals, refreshments, hotels,
and vehicles.
LEARN TO SQUARE DANCE!
Tuesday nights starting Feb. 5, 7-9 p.m. (16 weeks total)
at the Heppner Grade School Gym
For anyone 10 years and older (younger children
welcome to accompany parents to lessons)
Cost: $ 1 2 .5 0 singles; $25 couples; ages 10-18 free
(First two lessons are freel)
For m ore in fo rm a tio n , call Jo M e lig a n , 6 7 6 - 5 8 0 5
Heppner Cham ber installs new officers
Ihe Heppner Chamber ot
Commerce installed new officers
during their annual luncheon held
last week. Leading the chamber
in 2002 will be President Jerry
Breazeale. Heppner City man
ager; First Vice President Darrel
Raver, Bank of Eastern Oregon:
and Second Vice President Vic
tor Vander Does, Pioneer Memo
rial Hospital administrator.
New board members, Nancy
Snider, Wheatland Insurance,
and Larry Lutcher, County Ex
tension agent, join continuing
Heppner Chamber Board of Di
rectors Dave Sykes. Heppner
Gazette-Times; Dick Allen,
Heppner High School adminis
trator; Cliff Green, Heppner
Hardware; and Bert Houweling.
Red Apple Market. Barbara
Hayes continues to serve as
treasurer. Heppner High School
Representatives are Julie Proctor
and Ashley Ward.
Claudia Hughes, executive
director, pointed out that "the
heart of Heppner is its people" as
she presented a surprised Jim and
Cam Wishart with the annual
Hats Off Award. The Wisharts
were honored for: “the clerk be
hind the counter who makes the
customers feel important because
she truly enjoys doing so; the
painter of shamrocks and volun
teer greeter of visitors and for
keeping Heppner clean on their
daily walks.” "They exemplify
people putting their energy to
positive use,” said Hughes.
Sharon Harrison was pre
sented a plaque and a collage of
photos in appreciation of her two
years of leadership as Chamber
President. Tnsh Sweeney was
recognized for her service on the
board of directors and as secre
tary of the meetings. Shelley
Rietmann leaves the board as
youth representative.
New
president
Jerry
Breazeale encouraged all to work
together as the Heppner Chamber
enters into 2002-a time of "chal
lenges. change and compromise."
The Chamber Board will be
working on goal setting in the
coming week and encourages
input from the membership, said
Hughes.
Fifty-six attendees were
served a lunch catered by Cham
ber member "Puddin’ On The
Ritz" and served by Willow
Creek Valley Service Club. Joe
and Leann Lindsay entertained
Chamber members with a medley
of songs.
Jim and Cam Wishart received the Chamber of Commerce Hats Off
Award from Chamber President Sharon Harrison.
Heppner TV rates increase
After discussing the financial
situation for several months prior
to making the final decision, the
board of directors of Heppner TV
decided on rate increases that
went into effect Jan. 1,2002. The
decision to raise rates was a dif
ficult one, but it was necessary to
pay for increases in programming
costs, to save toward rebuilding
an aging system and to pay for
the Emergency Alert System that
must be operational by October
2002, according to a news release
from the board.
Heppner TV pays for the
right to rebroadcast every chan
nel on the system. These costs go
up each year, sometimes dra
matically. And some channels
attempt to increase their own
revenue by dividing their pro
gramming, and also by asking for
extra payment for special pack
ages. “The board has resisted
pressure to pay for additional
channels from one provider and
extra packages (that's why not all
Seattle Mariner games were re
ceived last summer),” said the
release. “It is simply too expen
sive to buy the additional equip
ment and to ask subscribers to
pay for each new channel.”
“For a tow n the size of Hepp
ner, the range of channels and the
quality of television signal is
exceptional,” says the release
“The addition of Channel 3 has
been a popular service to the
community.” Although the cur
rent television signals are ade
quate, Heppner TV is an old sys
tem. The co-axial cables, which
are the original ones installed in
1965 and which usually last
about 25 years, are still in place
37 years later. These cables have
been maintained well by techni
cians Tom Springer and Tom
Rawlins, but they will wear out.
Several years ago, when fiber
optic cable became available, the
board started to save toward the
need to rebuild the system. The
first step in this rebuild was to
run a fiber optic cable from the
location of the satellite dishes on
a hill a few miles from down
town to the office on Main
Street. This allowed instrumenta
tion that had been at the head-end
to be relocated to the TV office.
It is a safer location and makes
reception problems easier and
quicker to correct, said the re
lease. Because of savings, the
company was able to pay for the
materials for this first step of the
rebuild process without a rate
increase. Tom Rawlins, the cur
rent head technician, is working
on plans to gradually change the
main trunk line and neighbor
hood extensions from the old
co-axial cable to fiber optic lines.
Ten years ago, the FCC
warned cable TV providers that
by October of this year, all cable
TV systems, no matter w hat size,
must develop the ability to re
ceive emergency signals and
generate warnings to subscribers
through the Emergency Alert
System (EAS). This system re
ceives national, state and local
emergency information. People
are familiar with this system’s
tests, which interrupt program
ming and give instructions to
tum to a designated station for
instructions in case of a real
emergency.
Heppner
TV's
equipment will allow both audi
tory and visual warnings.
Heppner TV’s cost for the
EAS equipment was about
$6.500, and did not include in
stallation, which was handled by
company personnel. The costs
were paid out of the savings for
the system rebuild project. Some
small systems might attempt to
obtain a waiver of the FCC re
quirement to install EAS equip
ment, but the board felt that the
company has a responsibility to
its subscribers to provide emer
gency information, said the re
lease. The town of Heppner has a
history of emergencies, espe
cially floods. In addition, many
Heppner citizens work or do
business in north Morrow and
Umatilla counties (or the
Tri-Cities area in Washington),
and would need information
about any emergency regarding
nuclear or chemical weapon
stockpiles in those areas.
“ironically, viewers who do
not have cable and who receive
TV only though direct satellite
broadcasts, will not receive such
warnings, as direct broadcast sys
tems are not required to have
EAS systems,” said the board.
The board of directors meets
at the Heppner TV office on the
third Tuesday of each month at
6:30 p.m. Current Board mem
bers are Jackie Allstott, presi
dent, Doug Dubuque, Bob Ploy-
har, Linda Shaw and Greg
Sweek.
Outgoing President Sharon Harrison was presented a plaque for her
service by incoming President Jerry Breazeale.
4
New Chamber officers (left to right) Treasurer Barbara Hayes,
President Jerry Breazeale, First VP Darrell Raver and Second VP
Victor Vander Does were installed at the Chamber’s annual luncheon
held last Tuesday at the Episcopal church.
Chamber Chatter
Last year's Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trial Pro Rodeo Queen
Tracy Rankin (left) introduces this year’s court (l-r) Queen Salli
McElligott and Princesses Julie Proctor and Genia Grant.
By Claudia Hughes
Chamber Executive Director
J
Heppner Chamber kicked off
the new year last week with the
annual Chamber luncheon and
Town and Country Banquet.
Well-deserving citizens were
honored both during the chamber
luncheon and at the banquet.
Honorees are chosen through
nomination forms and verbal
suggestions, with a committee of
past recipients making the final
elections. The committee works
hard to see that honorees are sur
prised. It's the only time of the
year that a few little fibs are ac
ceptable. Congratulations to one
and all.
Now comes the hard work.
The board of directors, with input
from the chamber membership,
will devote a half-day to defining
goals of the organization, a plan
of work and some creative ideas
for leading the chamber into the
future. It's also a time to visual
ize where the community wants
to be in five years and how the
chamber can work with the
community and other organiza
tions to make this happen.
As we move into a future of
challenge, change and diversity,
we need to work especially hard
to come to the table together, to
encourage new faces, to work
with people with different opin
ions and learn to compromise.
It's an explosion of change and it
will take hard work to keep the
"Heartbeat of Heppner" strong.
We need to remember to
celebrate our successes and laugh
at ourselves along the way.
Thought for the week: "One
hearty laugh is a bombshell
exploding in the right place.”
Heppner Mayor Bob Jepsen presents a plaque honoring the Heppner
Garden Club to Chuck Bailey,
IS BACK
We will be meeting Thursday, Jan. 24th
Heppner Methodist Church
175 West Church Street
Weigh in and Registration: 6:00 p.m.
Meeting: 6:30 p.m.
We Print
Business Cards
F or m ore in fo rm a tio n ,
call E vie C h estn u t
1*800 3 2 6 -8 4 5 0 ext. 2 0 4 3
Heppner Gazette-Times
(Minimum of 20 participants)
1