Economic development group looks at South
Morrow Industrial Park improvements
B e s s ie á e t z e l l
U o f J I«6*3p3 .*r L i b r a r y
Eu g en e , UR 9 7 4 J 3
r
A committee to study the use
o f a $100,000 grant for
im provem ents to the South
Morrow' Industrial Park was
appointed last week by the Willow
Creek
Valley
Econom ic
D evelopm ent Group. The
committee hopes to meet soon and
come up with recommendations
on how to spend the money to
make the park
m o r e
attractive to
p ro s p e c tiv e
businesses to
locate there.
S J
In a
A
n
call with Port
WCVEDG Pres.
o f M orrow
George Koffler
General
Manager Gary Neil, WCVEG
president G eorge K offler
suggested
the
econom ic
development group look at ways
to spend the money to improve the
attractiveness o f the form er
Kinzua Mill site at the edge of
town.
The Port of Morrow owns the
site and Neil told the group he was
in favor of coming up with a plan
for improvements. One of the
suggestions was to build smaller
size shop or manufacturing areas
perhaps within the former sawmill
building. An earlier marketing
effort that targeted small
m anufacturering businesses
turned up the need for 5,000 to
20,000 square foot facilities.
Currently most of the structures
at the industrial park are large in
the 47,000 to 85,000 sq.ft, range,
for which there seems to be little
demand.
The $100,000 grant was
earmarked for providing smaller
shop or manufacturing facilities at
the industrial park, which could
then be better m arketed to
prospective businesses. The grant
came last year from the Morrow
Baker Partnership, but has not yet
been used.
Members of the WCVEDG
committee are Port of Morrow
board m ember Jerry Healy,
Heppner City Manager Jerry
B reazeale, WCVEDG Vice
President Tom Wolff and Luella
Taylor of Lexington
A lso discussed at last
Wednesday’s meeting was the
possibility of tearing down the
former plywood facility building
and also spending money to
upgrade the entrance to the
industrial park. Upgrading the
entrance was recently suggested
by Chapin consulting firm, which
has been hired with another
Morrow-Baker Partnership grant
to develop a marketing plan to
m arket M orrow and Baker
counties.
In other business at last
Wednesday’s meeting the group
discussed coming up with a plan
to investigate the possible
purchasing o f a business and
moving it to the industrial park. A
com m ittee had earlier been
formed to investigate a business
purchase. That com m ittee
consists of Tom Wolff, Sharon
Lewis, Erik Wenberg, David
Sykes, G eorge K offler and
M orrow County Econom ic
Development manager Martin
Davis.
Tom W olff had earlier
presented an economic outline for
the purchase of a business. Now
the committee will study what type
of business would best fit into this
area, how to structure the
management, financing options
and how to locate prospective
businesses.
At an earlier meeting this year
the economic development group
elected officers for the year 2002
G eorge K offler was elected
president, Tom W olff vice
president and Doris Brosnan
secretary. The group also heard
from Marsha Kemp who recently
initiated a new membership drive
for WCVEDG bringing the total
membership up to 40. Kemp said
that anyone who wished to join
should contact her at 676-9187.
Dues are $25 per year.
County ATV Park moves closer to reality
V O L. 121
NO. 21
16 P a g e s
W ednesday, M a y 2 2 ,2 0 0 2
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
District teacher-contract negotiations at a standstill
The M orrow County School
Board, at its May 6 regular
meeting, learned that contract
negotiations between the district
and the teaching staff were at a
standstill. According to MCSD.
because o f increases in the
d istric t's PERS (retirem ent)
contributions, the district will not
be able to “make the gains on the
salary schedule that it had hoped
to.”
Also at the meeting, the board
voted five to two to eliminate
board zones and instead elect all
board members at large. The
district had earlier sought a
population-based map for zoning
purposes from Portland State
University. Board members Larry
M ills, John Rietm ann, John
Renfro, Burke O'Brien and Julie
W eikel voted in favor o f
elim inating the zones; board
m em bers Pat McNamee and
Gary Frederickson voted against
the proposal.
In other business, the board:
-learned
from
assistant
superintendent Mike Keown that
the 2001 dropout rate was the
lowest ever recorded for the
district with 18 dropouts and a 2.77
dropout percentage rate. In 2000,
the district had 27 dropouts for a
3.91 percent dropout rate. In 1999
the district had 38 dropouts for a
5.76 dropout rate. In 1998, the
district had a record-high 65
dropouts for 10.43 percent. The
district credits the Union-Baker
ESD A lternative Education
program for the improvement,
-learned from construction bond
project manager Nan Hall that the
Heppner City Council approved
a request to vacate the county
road and to provide easement
along Baltimore Street. She said
that bids for construction in
Heppner are scheduled to be
opened at the district office on
May 22 at 8 p.m. A walk-through
was scheduled in lone for May
15 with bids opening on May 30
at the district office.
-received a report from
Superintendent Bruce Anderson
concerning possible staff
reductions,
including
a
recommendation from Heppner
Elementary School Principal
Phyllis Danielson that a teaching
position at HES not be refilled.
Cherry Webber, HES first-grade
teacher, has announced that she
is retiring. That position would not
be refilled unless enrollment
increases.
It
was
also
recommended that the business
ed position at Heppner High
School not be filled, following the
retirement of business ed teacher
Walt Pilgrim. HHS Principal Dick
Allen said that the business ed
classes have had low enrollment
and some o f the business ed
instruction, such as keyboarding,
could be absorbed into other
classes. HHS may be able to
offer accounting via computers or
V-tel (an interactive program via
television), he said.
In other staffing changes,
language arts teacher Lea
Mathieu received approval for a
voluntary transfer from a full-time
position at HHS to a half-time
position at Riverside High School,
which leaves a language arts
position at HHS open. Also vacant
are a seventh and eighth-grade
math position, which will come
open upon the retirem ent of
Karen Beck, and an advanced
math position, which came open
upon the resignation of current
math teacher Luke Casady.
Other staff changes include a
recommendation that one full-time
position be reduced at lone and a
remedial math position be reduced
at Columbia Middle School. A
language arts/Spanish position is
still vacant at CMS. All positions
are filled at A.C. Houghton and
Sam Boardm an Elem entary
schools. All positions are filled at
RHS with a half-time temporary
science position and a half-time
language arts position to be RIF'd
(reduction in force).
-received a report from Anderson
concerning problems surrounding
the relocation of the Boardman
Head Start facility from its
location near Sam Boardman
Elem entary to a site near
Riverside High School.
-accepted as a second reading
and adopted Certificate of Initial
M astery requirem ents for a
second language. The district will
now require that students
receiving the CIM be able to
speak and write at a proficiency
level of two years o f Spanish
language study. Students w ho feel
that they could meet the standards
without enrolling in classes may
take assessments from a district-
licensed Spanish language
instructor. Students who feel they
can meet the standards in another
language must find a licensed
teacher, approved by the school
district, who would score their
work samples.
-accepted as a first reading the
following extra duty contracts
(south M orrow County only
listed):
H eppner High School-John
Flaherty, annual advisor; Linda
Dutcher, Talented and Gifted
program coordinator; Dave
Fowler, computer trainer; Wendy
Appleton, half-time choir and
half-time pep band: Les Payne,
head teacher, assistant football
coach; Val Campbell, DART;
Virginia Grant, rally advisor; Dale
Conklin, athletic director, head
track coach; Greg Grant, head
football coach, head golf coach;
Jason Hanna, assistant football
coach; Terri G entry, head
volleyball coach; Becky Kindle,
assistan t volleyball coach;
Melissa Metz, assistant volleyball
coach; Chuck Matteson, head
b oys' basketball coach; Jay
Papineau, assistan t b o y s’
basketball coach; Ken Eckman,
assistant boys’ basketball coach;
Dana Reid, head girls' basketball
coach; Ron Brisbois, assistant
girls’ basketball coach; Molly
Rhea, assistant girls’ basketball
coach, depending on a sufficient
number of players; Rick Johnston,
head baseball coaeh; Rick Paullus,
assistant baseball coach; Steve
Brownfield, assistant track coach;
Lindsay Harle, head softball
coach.
Heppner Junior High School-
Chuck Matteson, head football
coach; Rick Paullus, assistant
football coach; Dana Reid, head
volleyball coach; Cindy Doherty,
assistant volleyball coach; Jason
Hanna, head boys' basketball
coach; Tim Van Cleave, assistant
boys' basketball coach, assistant
girls’ basketball coach; Greg
Grant, head g irls' basketball
coach; Susan Hisler, head track
coach.
Heppner Elementary School-
Jannie Allen. Talented and Gifted
program coordinator; Karen
Sm ith-G riffith, DART; Cara
Osmin, computer trainer; Wendy
Appleton, halftime band and half
time music.
lone High School-Knsty Crowell,
annual
advisor;
D arlene
M arquardt, half-tim e music;
Dean Robinson, athletic director;
Dale Holland, head football coach;
Dennis Stefani. assistant football
coach, head boys' basketball
coach; Charity McElligott, head
volleyball coach; Cathy McCabe,
assistant volleyball coach, head
tennis coach; Scott Burright,
continued page two
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Visitors look over proposed ATV park site at the Kinzua Re-load site.
A planned All Terrain
Vehicle (ATV) campground and
trail system in Morrow County is
moving closer to becoming a
reality after a visit by state
officials to the area this past
weekend.
A group of 35 officials
responsible for allocating money
for purchase of the park toured
the proposed site located at the
old Kinzua Reload 33 miles from
Heppner on Hwy. 207.
The ATV Park, which
C a m p in g
has been in the planning stages
a re a
for some time, “is real close to
becoming a reality”, Morrow
County Public Works Director
Burke O'Brien told the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce. O'Brien,
along with Executive Assistant
Karen Wolff,
has
been
working quite
some time to
produce an
a c c e p ta b le
ATV park for
the county. An
earlier effort
Public Works Dir.
to establish
Burke O'Brien
trails near
Anson W right Park was
discarded because of surrounding area, fishing pond, heliport and
access to US Forest Service land
property owner's objections.
with
many more miles of trails.
“We think we have the
There
is also electricity and an
problems mostly solved,” O'Brien
800-ft.
well available on the
told the Chamber. The new site
reload
site.
at the form er Kinzua reload
The park is to be
avoids most of the problems with
purchased by the State of Oregon
adjacent landow ners and,
“probably worked out better”, using ATV fuel taxes, and then
turned over to Morrow County for
O'Brien said.
operation.
“There is money in the
The new plan calls for
grant
for
law enforcem ent,
the purchase of about 2,000 acres
emergency
services and other
o f property from Pioneer
impacts
to
the
county,” O'Brien
Resources (the former Kinzua
said.
He
said
once
purchased and
owners) and turning it into a park
developed,
the
park
will pay for
that could have 120 tent and RV
itself
with
fees
collected.
“We
cam psites, three different
think
there
will
also
be
more
motocross and ATV tracks, and
up to 150 miles of trails. The park dollars available for maintenance
would also feature a wash down down the road." he added.
Proposed ATV park
at Kinzua re-load site
N ew s
d e a d lin e
changed this w eek
The Heppner Gazette-
Times office will be closed on
Monday, May 27, to observe
Memorial Day. The deadline for
news and ads w ill be changed
from th e n o rm al M o n d ay
deadline to Friday. May 24 at 5
p.m. for all news and ads.
The normal deadline will
resume next week.
Frozen french fry
give away Thursday
There will be a frozen
french fry and hash brown give
away Thursday. May 23, at 1
p.m. in the neighborhood center
parking lot. Anyone is welcome
and donations are accepted.
$4” per gallon
Bulk $3*s per gallon
All Season Engine
Coolant and Antifreeze
(5 gallon m inim um -bring yo u r own ju g )
Triton antifreeze is non-evaporating, water soluable and offers exceptional
foam resistance, which promotes efficient circulation and heat transfer
M orrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221
• 1-800-452-7396
»
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