Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
will be able to target specific
funding into the school »o
provide opportunities the state
will not provide through its
state school funding formula.
The budget crisis in
Morrow County’s Schools
and the state budget crisis will
not be solved with more taxes
at the state level. The state of
Oregon must provide a base
line of funding for local school
districts that provides a basic
education. Then state spending
needs to be reigned in to limit
government program growth in
all areas and decisions need to
be made regarding what are
leg itim ate program s to
continue to fund. After this, the
state truly needs to develop a
rainy day account so that
slumps in the economy are
cushioned. Local school
districts then need the ability
to go to the v o ters for
additional property tax money
to fund any programs that the
local citizen’s feel their children
need above the basic
education funding provided by
the state. Morrow County
voters will continue to provide
an excellent education for their
children if they are given
control to do so.
Decisions made by
the Morrow County School
Board need to be driven by
what is best for all the children
they serve. The state funding
formula distributes money by
the child. Costs to educate a
classroom o f children vary
greatly from situation to
situation. Some discretion
needs to be used so that all
children receive as great a
learn in g o p p o rtu n ity as
possible. Other decisions the
school district makes that are
not classroom related need to
be
m ade
w ith cost
effectiveness as the number
one priority.
Stability is the reason
I have filed for re-election, as
many members of the board
are leaving and several of the
administrators are changing or
have changed in the last couple
o f years. Experience is the
greatest asset I would bring to
a new board.
Continuation of school board forum questionnaire
Debbie Radie did not
receive her c a n d id a te's
forum questionnaire in time
to make last weeks deadline.
The Gazette-Times regrets
this delay and wishes to give
their readers a chance to
read Radie s comments.
Questions asked to
the candidates: Q l- Why
would a voter select you over
y our o p p onent? Q2- If
elected, what is the biggest
challenge facing you? Q3-
W hat is your p o sition
regarding lone’s secession
from the Morrow County
School District? Q4- How
would you deal with budget
constraints and what are some
solutions you feel would help
resolve the budget crisis. Q5-
Currently funds are distributed
to each school by the amount
they bring in. Is this fair and
equitable, or should there be
a different form of distribution?
Q6- What is your opinion on
moving the district office from
Lexington to Irrigon?
Pos. 3 candidate:
Debbie Radie, 39,
along with husband, Dave and
son, Mike, live in lone. Radie
graduated from Falls City High
School and attended Merrit
Davis College of Business. She
has worked as the Operations
Manager at Boardman Foods,
Inc., since 1990.
Radie and her family
moved to Morrow County in
1992. She has been active with
t
h
e
Boardman
Community
Chur ch
and acted
as a youth
group
leader for
one year.
Radie was
a board
member of
t
h
e
B oardm an C h am ber o f
Commerce and the Boardman
Community Development
Committee. She was on the
M orrow C ounty School
B oard
g rad u atio n
requirements committee, the
B oardm an C ham ber o f
C om m erce sch o larsh ip
committee. Currently, Radie
has been actively involved with
the Cardinal Booster Club, as
p re sid en t; the lone Site
Council, member; and City of
lone Budget Committee. She
is also an lone school events
nike
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(541) 676-9218
193 N. Main Street • Heppner
M.C.S.6.
photographer and reporter for
the Heppner Gazette.
Other experience or
qualifications pertinent to the
school board position include:
parent, hum an resources
training and experience, cash
flow and business accounting,
purchasing and negotiating
skills, creative thinking,
budgeting, listening skills.
Q l-
“I
have
experience in dealing with
people from different cultures
and social status. I know' how
to get people involved and
help them feel connected to
the process. 1 have experience
in leadership positions. I know
how important it is for others
to be heard and their needs
taken into account prior to
making a final decision. 1 have
experience working within
budgets and cost saving ideas
for the company that I work
for. I am accessible and
available to the needs o f the
com m unities in M orrow
County through email, phone,
mail, and personal visits. I
travel to both ends o f the
county daily.”
Q2- “To retain our
teachers when there is a lack
o f adequate funding for our
schools. Continue to offer our
high school students choices in
class offerings over and above
the state requirements.”
Q 3-
“ lo n e ’s
com m unity has and is
committed to the education of
the children in its community.
They have proven this in so
many ways. Meetings and
functions relating to the schools
have overwhelming support
and participation. The entire
lone community came to the
conclusion that it was in their
best interest to form their own
school district. I feel that this
is primarily due to the school
board and administration not
listening and not responding
adequately to the needs of this
motivated community within
their jurisdiction.”
Q4- “Meet with other
school board members from
throughout the state via v-tel,
internet or personal visit and
brainstorm with them on
solutions. Work with state
legislators on allowing a tax
within our county to support
out schools. Learn everything
about the school budget and
understand where every dollar
comes from and is used on.
Find out more and help push
through PERS reform.”
Q5- “This is a method
for the school district to explain
how the funds received are
spent and to give each school
the feeling that they arc getting
their fare share of the funds. I
do feel that there are areas
where it may not serve the best
interests of all students. School
board members and district
administration must think
about this when m aking
'd ec isio n s. P arents and
teachers from each school
should be allowed to meet and
give input into how the funds
might best be spent. I would
look at this as a guide but
would want to ensure that
program s are m aintained
throughout the district as much
as possible for all students
benefit. There should be some
b en efit to the schools
throughout the county for
being apart of the larger school
district. These benefits should
be explained and offered as
n ecessary to m aintain
adequate education throughout
all school in the district.”
Q6- “I feel that that
the board made a decision to
move the district office to
Heppner based on saving
money for the district. I was
surprised to hear about a
decision to move these offices
to Irrigon. It appeared from the
article in the newspaper that
this was a personal issue and
was not investigated well
enough in regards to cost
savings. I would have to have
more information about the
savings of moving the offices
from Lexington to Irrigon to
make an informed decision.”
Pos. 1 candidate:
John Rietmann lives
on a wheat farm south of lone
with his wife K erry and
daughter Brenna who is in sixth
grade. His oldest son Nathan
is finishing his first year of law
school after graduating from
Willamette University last
spring. His middle son Jeremy
is finishing his sophomore year
o f college at Colorado State
University.
Rietmann grew up ip
lone and
graduated
from lone
H i g h
School
a n d
completed
a
B.A.
degree
f r o m
Eastern
/
Washington
University
i
n '
Industrial Arts Education.
After teaching three years in
the Lake O swego public
schools and then trading grain
for N orth P acific G rain
Growers for two years he
leased and purchased land
south of lone where the family
has lived for the past eighteen
years. He has been an active
member o f the lone United
C hurch o f C hrist, L ittle
League Baseball, lone Lions
Club as well as serv ing on the
M orrow C ounty School
Board for the past twelve
years.
Rietmann’s response
to the above six questions is
as follows:
M orrow C ounty
School D istrict’s greatest
challenge is to maintain the
quality educational program
that they currently have while
the state provides less financial
support. The p aren ts,
grandparents, and voters o f
Morrow County have always
been great supporters o f their
children’s education. As long
as the state of Oregon does
not allow some form of local
financial control, Morrow
County Schools will continue
to suffer. The need for local
control is why I favor lone
forming its own school district.
The com m unity o f lone,
through its local foundation;
/
Retirement
party for Les
Payne Saturday
A retirement party in
celebration of Les Payne’s 35
years of teaching will be held
Saturday, May 17. A “Roast
and Toast- hors d’oeuvres and
no host bar” will be held at
6:30 p.m. at the Heppner Elks
Lodge, Main St., Heppner.
For more information
you can contact Jake, Carter
and Ali at (509) 782-2135;
Cohen at (541) 922-3294; or
e-m ail
Steph
at
sball@cashmere.wednet.edu
or
K athy
at
paynek@umatilla.k 12.or.us.
WCCC ladies
held tournament
The Willow Creek Country
Club ladies held their annual
flag tournament, Tuesday, May
6 .
B etty
C arlson
received first place; Pat
Edmundson received second;
and Shari Stahl and Lynnea
Sargent tied for third. Joyce
Dinkins was the first to plant
and Edmundson received an
In the Hole on 9.
Morrow CountyiGroin Growers m.
LEXINGTON, OREGON
1-800-452-7396 • 989-8221
WASCO, OREGON
1-800-824-7185
www.mcgg.net
SUPPORTING YOUR COMMUNITY
AND PROVIDING:
QfieSBiny fa b le s
rO a/tm (Bovr & tfetfiry. S yn ttiek
IVrdtHmj - Saturday, rf a n t 21
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FARM EQUIPMENT SALES, PARTS AND SERVICE
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* ATV SALES, PARTS AND SERVICE
* FERTILIZER AND FARM CHEMICAL SERVICE
* FARM SUPPLIES AND LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT
* DIESEL AND GAS SALES
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Lot th# good time* roll
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Servtng Heppner Lexington A lone
676-9426
lone Booster
Club announces
4th of July t-shirt
design winner
lone Cardinal Booster
Club met Monday, May 5, at
the high school library. Ten
members were present. The
club continues to look for a
solution to the sports
equipment storage problem.
Charity McEUigott shared
prices she had researched for
various-sized cement floors. It
was agreed to postpone
building anything at this time,
but to continue researching
options.
Jeri McEUigott will
resend the A rticles o f
Incorporation with a physical
address included. She will also
re-w ork the C ardinal
Scholarship application form,
eliminating the financial need
section.
It was reported the
tennis court lights are up, but
not working. Club members
agreed the area west o f the
tennis courts to the creek
needed to be paved, along
with the area south of the shop.
It was recommended the club
ask the lone Advisory Board
to suggest those areas when
the school construction is
completed. The club will also
ask the board to insure the
club’s gym improvements are
maintained.
A design by Billy Ross
of the Class o f2004 won the
4th o f July t-shirt design
contest. The club received
many worthy entrants, and will
locate a place to display them
over the July 4th holiday. Club
members voted to buy treats
for the classes who
p a rtic ip a ted
in
the
competition.
The club will be selling
Cardinal visors, in black or
white, for $ 10 each. The visors
are available at Sunflower
Junction. Stadium seats are
being ordered and will soon
be available. The club will
provide ice cream treats for
students’ lunches on the last
day o f sch o o l, p rovide
condiments for the Watershed
Field Day hamburger lunch
and will purchase cakes
honoring retiring teachers
Marlene Pointer and Betty
Rietmann for the elementary
program. Drinks and snacks
will be furnished for district
and state track and tennis.
There will be a grant
writing class for Morrow and
Baker counties on Thursday,
May 22 at the Port of Morrow
at 10 a.m. Anyone needing
more inform ation should
contact Betty Gray.
There will be two
parent openings on the lone
Site Council next fall. The two
year terms begin October 1.
Anyone who is interested is
asked to contact Debbie Radie
or Jeri McEUigott.
lone will host a boys’
summer league tournament
June 14-15. Eight teams will
be competing.
The next meeting of
the Cardinal Booster Club will
be Monday, June 2 at 7 p.m.
Mustangs
sweep Tigers
continued from page 2
Donald Adams, Elguezabal
(H). 3B- Kory Paullus (H).
HR-Gates (H).
Game Two
Heppner 230 010 5-
11 146
Stanfield 000 022 0-
434
Brad A dam s and
Gates; Michael Sobotta, Sam
Tayler (3), Josh Austin (7) and
Tyler Gabriel. W- B. Adams.
L- Sobotta. 2B- B. Adams 2,
Luke Murray, Gates, Josh
Gutierrez (H). 3B- none. HR-
none.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - FIVE
Chamber Chatter
By Claudia Hughes,
Chamber Executive
Director
O nce-upon-a-tim e
Heppner was wild and wooly
and one reserved soul wrote
the following: “I am alone; the
people I board with have gone
to a dance. There is an awful
wicked class o f people here,
a low grade o f society where
the girls swear and drink. Mr.
S. is very wicked himself.”
(E.L.M. March 17, 1904.)
The letter went on to talk about
tim ber claim s, surviving
winters with 3-10 feet o f
snow 12 miles out of Heppner,
his garden, and people going
“clear through the mountain
with a mining claim”. People
got together for ice cream
socials and special events like
Memorial Day and the Fourth
o f July. It was about
community and diversity.
Once-upon-a-time in
the 1950’s Heppner had car
dealerships, three gas stations,
J.C. Penny, variety store,
cleaners, creamery, women’s
clothing, two motels and a
hotel, and the list goes on.
R anches
had
m any
employees; families had one
vehicle, which Dad took to
work. Shopping was done
locally except for maybe one
or two City trips a year. There
were bam dances, rodeos,
picnics, parades, and it was
about com m unity and
diversity.
Today, Heppner is still
changing and the Chamber and
other entities are working hard
to bring people and jobs to try
to grow business. Why have
we grown smaller? There are
about as many answers as
there are people on the street.
“An epidemic of regulations;”
“global shopping;” “a more
mobile society;” “less people
producing products and more
government jobs;” “lawsuits
putting more restrictions on
doing business;” “prices of
commodities;” “technology
rev o lu tio n ;” “ the school
situation;” and the list goes on.
L ocal, State, F ed eral...
everybody blames somebody
and nobody solves the
problem even though anybody
can come up with a new law
or process to implement for a
band-aid solution.
So, in spite of looking
at more and more change,
what comes around goes
around. Heppner is still about
community and diversity. We
are, after 100 years, a
com m unity o f survivors,
working together, accepting
change, making changes, and
holding fundraisers to support
our schools, to help those less
fortunate, to grow productive
organizations and to create a
memorial to flood victims 100
years ago. We’re taking care
of our hometown.
And we’re still having
picnics, and pie auctions, and
parades, and rodeos, and
celebrations, and inviting
others to enjoy recreation
when they visit, because no
matter what, it’s a beautiftil
world. If we can open our
eyes to the truly important
things, which we see, feel, and
touch and remember to laugh
with those around us, then
everything will be okay.
Heppner will go on and on and
on for generations. Someone
else will say “once-upon-a
time”..... and hopefully, won’t
describe us as a wicked class
of people. E.L.M. must have
had an attitude.
Thought for the week:
“Be careful what you put in
writing, it may come back to
haunt you.”
Marriage Licenses
M ay 9: N orberto
Garcilazo, 22, Hermiston and
Maria de la Luz Armenia, 22,
Hermiston. James Raymond
King, 48, lone and Shawn
E lizabeth W ilson, 41,
Lexington.
>