City votes to cut $4 million from
water repair project
Bessie « etze ll
U of U Ne*3pa j ô t * l i b r a r y
E u g e n s, OR
The H eppner City Council
M onday pared back the large
city w a te r p ro je c t, v o ting
instead to cut almost $ 4 million
from the proposed $6 million
renovation and upgrade. Cut
from the project are three new
w ells and a new 750,000-
gallon storage tank.
A bout 26 m em bers o f the
public attended the city council
meeting, which was moved to
th e S e n io r C e n te r to
a c c o m m o d a te th e la rg e r
crowd.
L eading the effort to trim
back the size o f the project was
council m em ber Tom Wolff,
who made a detailed report on
why he thought the city could
not afford the more expensive
$6 m illio n p ro je c t. C ity
M anager Jerry Breazeale and
M ayor Bob Jepsen argued in
favor o f the larger project
saying the city needed the
increased capacity in order to
grow.
A t last m onth’s m eeting
W olff had proposed that the
c ity u se th e e x tra m o n ey
currently being taken in with
higher water rates to do the job
p ie c e m e a l w ith le a s e d
equipm ent and seasonal help
97403
o v e r a n u m b e r o f y e a rs .
M onday night he said he had
re evaluated his proposal and
now felt the city should borrow
m oney to do the project, but
at the smaller scale.
T h e c ity is c u r r e n tly
e x p e c te d to ta k e in a n
additional $143,000 per year
w ith the re c e n tly e n a c te d
w ater rate increases, w hich
W olff said should be able to
pay for the debt on the $ 1.73
to $2 m illion sm aller project.
He said the priority o f the
sm aller project w ould be to
“put pipes in the ground.”
E veryone agreed that the
c ity ’s 43,000 feet o f w ater
pipes are in bad shape and
need to be replaced. The pipe
replacement will move ahead
and be the m ajor scope o f the
reduced size project.
W olff gave several reasons
w hy he was against the $6
million project. “I believe the
m a ste r p lan is go o d . T he
financing plan is good and the
city council did approve the
plan,” Wolff said. “I found out,
how ever, that churches, ball
fields, the water park and the
h o s p ita l, w ith its 104
paychecks, do not pay for
water. The people in Salem
(the state agency providing
low interest financing and
g ra n ts fo r th e $6 m illio n
project) don't feel that is good
enough. (They would require
charging these groups if the
f in a n c in g p a c k a g e w e re
accepted),” W olff said.
W olff told the council and the
gathered crow d that he "ran
the num bers” on the project
and found that it w ould cost
$203,000 per year to finance
the debt on the loans and city
is only collecting $ 143,000 for
debt service. “There is a gap,”
he said. In addition he pointed
out that 110 percent o f the loan
would have to be collected the
first 10 years w hich w ould
req u ire $ 2 2 3 ,0 0 0 for debt
service. He estim ated that
w ater rates w ould have to be
ra ise d a g a in by 65 to 80
p e r c e n t to c o v e r th e
payments.
W olff also voiced his
d isp le a su re w hen he first
learned the debt would not be
r e v e n u e b o n d s as firs t
proposed, but instead general
obligation bonds, w hich are
continued page 3
81st Pro Rodeo to host world
and local contestants
VOL. 122
NO. 33
8 Pages
Wednesday, August 13,2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
2003 Morrow County Fair and
OTPR opens Wednesday
The 8151 Oregon Trail
Pro R odeo w ill be held this
w eekend, A ug. 15 and 16.
M any top-ranked contestants
w ill be fa c in g up a g a in st
challenging local talent.
T h e P R C A ro d e o
kicks o f f in H eppner w ith
M utton B u stin’ at 6:30 p.m .,
on F rid a y , A u g . 15. T h e
R odeo action w ill begin at 7
p.m . D uring the rodeo there
will be a “C all Your D og”
c o n te st an d fo llo w in g the
rodeo, the ladies will be out in
the PR CA Slack contest.
Saturday events will
begin w ith M utton B ustin’ at
12:45 p.m ., and rodeo action
begins at 1:15 p.m.
T ic k e ts m a y be
purchased at the gate. A dult
prices are $8 each and the cost
fo r c h ild r e n 7 -1 2 is $5.
C hildren six and under are
admitted free.
Sunday, Aug. 17, will
bring the M orrow C ounty
Rodeo with local residents or
g r a d u a te s c o m p e tin g fo r
m oney and awards. O pening
th e e v e n t w ill be a slack
com petition at 10 a.m ., and
M orrow County Rodeo action
will begin at 1:15 p.m.
Headlining the list o f
entries for the PR C A rodeo
are four o f the top 15 w orld
standing contestants. They
Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview,
O R, w ith $69,638 won this
Cowboy breakfast at Fairground
The W rangler Cowboy Breakfast will be held at the Morrow
County Fairgrounds, Sunday, Aug. 17. Breakfast will be served
from 8-11 a.m.
Cost will be $ 15 for a family, $5 for adults and $3 for children
(L-R): Merle Cowett, JoAnne Burleson, Betty Bailey, Heppner Garden club members, 12 and under.
and Chuck Bailey, Heppner Garden Club president, receive a place flower entries for
Bring the family and enjoy pancakes, ham, eggs, hashbrowns,
the 2003 Morrow County Fair. The fair opened Wednesday and runs through Sunday. coffee and milk.
School board breaks
deadlock, selects Bill Kuhn
Lizz Green (left) receives vegetable entries from
Lexington resident John Renfro, a former sweepstakes
winner.
(L-R): Joey Olson and Ashley Sjurset, with mom, Lori
Sjurset, set up their stall for their sheep which will he
coming in later.
The M orrow County
S ch o o l B oard, w h ich had
tw ic e d e a d lo c k e d o v e r
selection o f a seventh board
member, broke their deadlock
M o n d a y n ig h t to s e le c t
H eppner lawyer Bill Kuhn to
com plete the board.
The board voted 4-2
to select Kuhn, w ith board
chair John Renfro, Lexington,
C raig M iles, H eppner, Ken
M atlack, Irrigon, and Barney
Lindsay, north L exington,
voting in favor o f Kuhn. Julie
W eikel, B oardm an, and Pat
M c N a m e e , Irrig o n , voted
a g a in s t K u h n . R e n fro
expressed the appreciation o f
the board to Angela Gutierrez
o f B o a r d m a n , th e o th e r
candidate who had expressed
interest in the position.
T h e b o a rd e le c te d
Barney Lindsay as vice chair
6-1, w ith W eikel having the
lone dissenting vote.
The board approved
the initial presentation o f their
2003-04 goals, which includes
a statem ent that the board
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P .M .I
“w ants to open the Irrigon
H igh School in the fall o f
2005.” W hen pressured for a
d e f in ite c o m m itm e n t on
opening the school by Irrigon
resident M eredith DeHaven,
Renfro replied that the current
b o a rd in te n d s fo r th is to
happen, but has no guarantee
o f the actions o f future boards.
The proposed 2003-
04 goals include:
Financial:
-continue many o f the
ideas established in 2002-03;
- m a in ta in a c a s h
carryover o f $ 1.5 million;
-m aintain the equity
issue w ith the goal that the
amount o f money each school
g e n e r a te s w o u ld b e th e
amount that each is allowed to
spend;
- h a v e a b a la n c e d
b u d g et in term s o f yearly
in c o m e a n d e x p e n s e s by
2004-05;
-seek board approval
for any exceptions to the equity
funding issue;
-try to develop a 3-5
year budget concept so that
the board can plan for the
future.
Communication:
-continue the meetings
that are held with each school’s
staff;
-increase newsletters,
trying to publish six o f them
and put out a Spanish version
th a t w o u ld be p la c e d in
supermarkets;
-ex p an d
th e
celebration o f testing w ith
more board involvement and
continued page 3
W e W ill B e C lo s e d
S a tu r d a y , A u g . 1 6 t h
F or Fair A nd R o d e o
IVe 7 / S e e You There!
year and currently standing first
in the world in steer wrestling;
third place in calf roping in the
wor l d,
Blair Burk,
Durant,
O K , w ith
$ 5 7 ,7 1 4 ;
C o r y
Petska,
Lexington,
0
K ,
c u rr e n tly
e ig h th in
the w orld
Blair Burk
in te a m
roping, w ith $36,364; and
Clint
Corey,
Powell
Butte, OR,
fifteenth in
the w orld
1
n
b a re b a c k
riding, with
$33,884.
A
Clint Corev
g o o d
show ing o f M orrow County
talent will also be available. Bill
B ishop, o f Irrigon w ill be
participating in c a lf roping;
Tom Cam arillo, lone, will be
steer wrestling; Dave Cannon,
Jr., H eppner, w ill be c a lf
r o p in g ; S te v e C u r r in ,
Heppner, will be participating
in c a l f ro p in g a n d s te e r
w r e s tlin g ; J e rr y G e n try ,
Heppner, will be c a lf roping;
and Blake Knowles, Heppner,
will be participating in steer
wresting and team roping.
Big Bend Rodeo Co.,
ofRitzville, WA will supply the
rough stock again this year.
They are nationally renowned
for their quality stock. They are
bringing a “National Bucking
Horse,” a “National Bucking
Bull” o f the year and a NF- R
Bucking Bull champion.
The w hole fam ily is
sure to enjoy the many events
and “world-class" talent to be
s e e n a t th e ro d e o . A lso ,
rem em ber to enjoy all the
m any other fair activities that
w ill begin W ednesday, Aug.
13.
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r
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington
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for form equipment, Wtlt our web wt# at www.imis.net