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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 2003)
Off highway vehicle park to open Saturday 3 e a si a «íetsell U o f J hoaspape** L i o ; : y Eugene » OR 9 ■' 1 •> O H V Park tour members look at perspective track arena, with the trailhead to the OHV' Park’s 60+ miles of trails. OH Vs will be directed through an In and Out created by large barriers and cattle guards. OHV Park to hold grand opening VOL. 122 NO. 20 10 Pages Wednesday, May 14, 2003 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon No high school for Irrigon—for now Irrigon w on’t have its high school, at least this year anyway, to the dism ay o f the throng o f Irrigon residents p a c k e d in to th e A .C . Houghton Elementary School L ibrary M onday night, M ay 12 . The M orrow County School Board, in a split vote, v e to e d a m o tio n by Jo h n R ie tm a n n o f lo n e to start phasing in a high school in Irrigon this fall. Board C hair J u lie W e ik e l a n d G a ry Frederickson, both Boardman, Pat M cN am ee, Irrigon, and John Renfro, Lexington, voted a g a in st the m o tio n . L arry M ills, w h o s e c o n d e d th e m otion, and Burke O ’Brien, b o th H e p p n e r , j o in e d Rietmann in favor o f the plan, w hich w ould have created a grade seven through 10 junior high/high school in Irrigon at the current Colum bia M iddle School s ta r ti n g th is Septem ber. R ietm ann’s plan included kindergarten through fourth grade schools at current e le m e n ta ry s c h o o ls, A .C . H o u g h to n E le m e n ta ry in Irrigon and at Sam Boardman E lem entary in B oardm an; a grade seven through 12 facility at R iverside High School in Boardman; and fifth and sixth grade facilities in the tw o newly-constructed schools at Boardman and Irrigon. C u r r e n tly A .C . Houghton and Sam Boardman e le m e n ta ry sch o o ls house k in d erg a rte n th rough fifth g ra d e c la s s e s , C o lu m b ia M iddle School, grades six through eight, and R iverside H igh S ch o o l, g rad e s nine through 12. Depending on the h e a tin g and c o o lin g r e q u ir e m e n ts a n d c o s ts involved, pending a feasibility report from architects, Heary International, and completion o f construction, it could be possible that grades five and six could be m oved into the two new buildings this fall. Rietmann pointed out that the district has already budgeted $750,000 for the transition, which he maintained sh o u ld be used for h irin g tea c h e rs, and said that he th o u g h t the d istric t c o u ld access facility grants from the state and possibly other grants. He anticipated a facility grant o f up to eight percent, which c o u ld tra n s la te in to $1.5 million, which, when ratcheted dow n by the state, could still amount to a half a million. “If w e lollygag around, w e ’re going to have six years o f transition,” said Rietmann, in urging a “yes” vote for the m o tio n . “ I th in k w e ’re breaking faith with the voters,” added Mills. “ I think we ought to bite the bullet and do it.” Superintendent Dr. Jack C rippen told the board that because o f scheduling and other issues, he did not think the plan w as possible by the start o f school, but said it may be possible by the sem ester b r e a k . A ls o , he a d d e d , “ W e’re not sure that the new Irr ig o n b u ild in g w ill be com pleted by Sept. 1.” He also said that if the changes w e re m a d e , th e a th le tic program would probably have to be cancelled for that year. The dissenting board m e m b e rs e x p re s s e d th e ir c o n c e rn th a t th e c u rre n t stagnant student numbers did not warrant a move at this time and reiterated the criteria for establishing a high school in Irrigon set down by the board at the O ct. 9, 2000, board meeting. They expressed fears that the plan would merely take students and teachers from one school and place them in another, stretching the teachers and finances too thin, and would hurt the curriculum and program s at both Riverside H igh S chool and the new Irrigon high school. T h e 2 0 0 0 c r ite r ia stipulated: -“ th a t th e fu n d in g levels currently established are maintained by the state with a cost-of-living adjustment. -“that the proposed Ballot M easures 9 1 ,8 8 ,8 and 93 do not pass. A ny m easure o r legislative action, w hich s e v e r e ly c u r t a il s s c h o o l fu n d in g , w o u ld m ake the establishment o f an additional high school unfeasible. -“ th a t in stru ctio n al program s at R iverside High S c h o o l w o u ld n o t be elim inated o r reduced as a result o f establishing a new high s c h o o l. T h is d o e s n o t preclude a m inor adjustm ent in program to accom m odate s c h e d u lin g o r s h iftin g o f re s o u rc e s w ith in e le c tiv e offerings. - “ t h a t e n r o llm e n t betw een the com m unities o f B o a r d m a n a n d Irr ig o n continue to increase at the five percent average as in the past five years. - “ th a t th e d is tr ic t e s ta b lis h a s e p a ra te fund during the transition period, using revenues from student growth. -“that the new high school w ould be phased in over a period o f three years beginning no later than the year follow ing the opening o f the new ele m en ta ry school in Irrigon, so space is available for sixth graders, (i.e. bond passes in Spring 2001; new elem entary school completed in D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 2 ; m ove sixth grade students to new elem entary school in January' 2003; eighth graders that are prom oted in 2003 would stay as the first freshm en in Fall 2003. The next year Fall 2004 w ould have freshm en and sophom ores at Irrigon High School and the fall o f 2005, you w ould have your full b lo w n h ig h s c h o o l. T h e freshman class o f 2002 would graduate from Riverside High School.)” The 2000 motion was p a s s e d by F r e d e r ic k s o n , M c N a m e e , W e ik e l a n d R ietm ann, w ith d issenting votes by then-board members, continued page 3 ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. I The M orrow County OHV Park will be holding its grand opening Saturday, May 17. The ribbon cutting will be h eld at 11 a.m . A fte r the ribbon cutting, persons will be able to try out some o f the new trails. A picnic lunch will also be a v a ila b le fo r th o se in attendance. The Park is located 26 miles south o f Heppner along Hw y 207. It currently has 60 m iles o f available trails. The P ark is op en to all O H V classes o f vehicles. A n a g e n d a for the opening ceremonies include: A w elcom e by Burke O 'B rien, w ith M orrow County Public W orks and M orrow County Judge Terry Tallman; History o f the project by Karen Wolff; a discussion o f “Where we are now. W hat to expect in the future” presented by O'Brien.; presentation by the M ichael Carrier, W ayne Raw lins and the ATV Allocation committee; comments from the governor’s r e p r e s e n ta tiv e a n d o th e r dignitaries; concluding with the R ib b o n C u ttin g by Judge T a llm a n , C a rrie r an d the governor’s representative. Ballots due May 20 Election ballots lor the c u r r e n t M o rro w C o u n ty election are due by 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 20. Ballots mast be at th e o ffic e s by th is deadline, ballots not received by 8 p.m., will not be counted. M o rro w C o u n ty ballot boxes will be located at the following sites: in Heppner, at the M orrow County Court House Clerk’s Office; in lone, a t th e B a n k o f E a s te rn O regon; in Lexington, at the Public W orks B uilding; in Irrigon, at the Justice Court lobby; and in Boardman, at the Behavioral Health Building. All box locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day, except for B ank o f E a ste rn O reg o n , which will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p .m ., a n d M o rro w C ounty C ourthouse C le rk ’s O ffice, w hich will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. G-T to close for Memorial Day The H eppner Gazette-Tim es will be closed M o n d a y , M ay 26 fo r Memorial Day. The news and advertisement deadline for the M a y 28 e d itio n o f th e newspaper is Friday, M ay 23, at 5 p.m. Burke O ’ Brien (second from left) discusses prospects for the Morrow County OH V Park w ith tour members at the Grant County line, the O H V Park's south most point. M o rro w C o u n ty OHV (O ff Highway Vehicles) Park will be a new fixture in M orrow C ounty, 27 m iles south o f Heppner, this 6200 a c re p a rk w ill b o a s t approxim ately 80 m iles o f o p e n tra ils . M e m b e rs o f M orrow C ounty received a to u r o f th e O H V P a rk , Tuesday, May 6. The Park will host its grand opening May 17 w ith ribbon cutting ceremony, picnic and trail rides. The O H V Park will be op en to all c la sse s o f O H V s , in c lu d in g A T V s, M o torcycles and 4-W heel Drive vehicles. Special trails w ill be ta ilo re d for e ach vehicle, along w ith general trails. Currently, 60 m iles o f trails are open. A long with special class trails, all trails will be rated for level o f difficulty. T here will be three levels, ranging from beginning to extreme. The Park will be open free o f charge to those w ith t h e ir O H V lic e n s e s a n d permits. For those who do not have these items, there w ill be a place m ade available for their purchase. Along with the OHV Park trails, a 120-unit RV park is in the works. It is planned to have the RV site completed in 3-5 years. This season, only dry camping w ill be available. T here are currently two day-use areas in the Park as w ell. These areas will be open from daw n til dusk and closed during the evening. However, the trails themselves will be open for night riding. Also being created is a w ash dow n area for the O H V s. A part o f the old log area has been maintained that will be m ade accessible to O H V s and eq u ip p ed w ith water. This area will be close to the trailhead. The trailhead was created to m anage the traffic in an out o f the Park entrance. C reated by large cem ent barriers and cattle guards, there w ill be an “ in” and “out” from the main Park area. For those who need a rest from riding, fishing ponds h a v e been c re a te d . T h ese areas will be stocked with fish from local areas. A ccording to Burke O ’B rien w ith the M orrow C ounty Public W orks, and project m anager for the Park, it is hoped that the Park will be o p e n y e a r ro u n d . However, he did state some trails might have to be closed due to water saturation. If the trails get to wet, riding on them could tear up the ground and ruin the trails. Also part o f the OHV Park is Porter Creek, a fish- sensitive stream . OH V Park w orkers will be w orking to m aintain this creek and keep it from being disturbed. A park host will be on the g ro u n d s, and M orrow County Sheriff's Office will also be patrolling the area. T h ro u g h g ra n ts o b ta in e d th r o u g h th e O H V P a rk , M CSO has been given money to hire a part-time deputy. O H V Park creators hope that the Park will be e n jo y e d by e v e ry o n e in M orrow County and through out the Northwest. According to O ’B rien , th ey w a n t to prov ide a place for people to enjoy and for an expansion tool for M orrow County. A v a ila b le at th e opening and to any new riders will be maps of all the trails and o f the OHV Park itself. Adopt A Teacher foundation to go door-to-door On M ay 17, volunteers for the A dopt a Teacher foundation will be going door-to-door selling bricks that w ill be placed at the new H ep p n e r E lem entary School. They will also have inform ation on becom ing a m em ber o f their organization and answer any questions you may have. “ W e h a v e so far collected over $8000 for our foundation,” stated an Adopt A T e a c h e r p re ss re le a s e . Every little bit helps Heppner s c h o o ls a n d s ta y s in the Heppner community. Get Your Lawn Thatcher and Front Tine Garden Hototiller Rentals Here! Morrow County Crain Growers Lexington 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 • 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6 For farm equipment. visit our web site at www.mcfg.net
