Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2004)
Morrow County School District selects Yecha as superintendent -postponed action on D e s a l e i7 e 1 2 s 1 1 U o f 0 ."e«spaiar I loriry Eu g e n e , OB VOL. 123 NO. 15 10 Pages 9 .’ 4 J3 Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Council moves on new city hall purchase T he H e p p n e r C ity C o u n cil voted M onday to move ahead with the proposed purchase o f the Klamath First Bank building on Main Street for use as a new city hall, but a t th e s a m e tim e v o te d unanimously to reject an offer from the H eppner G azette- T im es for purchase o f the present city hall building for use as a new spaper office. T he co u n cil said it w ould m ake an offer to The B an k o f E a ste rn O re g o n , which now owns the Klamath building, for $325,000. The offer is contingent on the city arriving at an acceptable sale > agreem ent w ith the G azette and a satisfactory inspection of the Klamath First building by a qualified building inspector. T h e G a z e tte h a d earlier made a written offer of $ 107,140 for the present city hall building w ith paym ent including a trade of the current Gazette building plus $40,000 in cash. T he council, under advisement from the Parks and L ands com m ittee, rejected that and m ade a counter offer for a price o f $ 112,140, with payment to include the current Gazette building and $45,000 in cash. T h e c ity h a s indicated it w ould use the G azette property for future e x p a n s io n o f th e fire departm ent, w hich is next to the Gazette. O v e r a ll m o st c o u n c il m e m b e rs at th e m e e tin g s a id th e y h e a rd positive com m ents about the purchase and move. “At some point you have to take a stand and do w hat is best for the city,” said council m em ber C indy D ougherty. C ouncil m em bers Kay Robinson and M erle C ow ett both said they h a d o n ly o n e n e g a tiv e c o m m e n t. T o m W o lff, however, said he had received a num ber o f calls both for and against. "The newer people to town and the business owners on M ain Street m ostly said yes,” W olff said, and the older persons in tow n m ostly said no. In a related dog issue it was reported that four dogs T h e c o u n c il v o te d m ay have been poisoned in u n a n im o u s ly to e n a c t a H e p p n e r. O n e c o u n c il “ p o o p e r s c o o p e r ” law member said she knew of dogs requiring dog owners to clean belonging to Dean Robinson. up after their pets on city D ic k P a ris a n d G in g e r streets and elsew here. The K eithley dying o f suspected law will take affect immediately poison. Police said they had not received any reports of and carries a fine of $50. poisoning. “ It is unlaw ful for an ow ner o r keeper to allow a Water system needs dog to deposit solid waste on treatment any property other than that of The council heard that the person owning or keeping the city water system has been said anim al, but it shall be tested since S eptem ber with defense to this action if the u n a c c e p ta b le le v e ls o f ow ner o r keeper prom ptly coliform bacteria and that the re m o v e s th e s o lid w a ste city m ust in sta ll c h lo rin e deposited by his or her animal treatment in the water system. on any property other than that T h e S ta te o f O re g o n o f the ow ner or keeper,” the Departm ent of Public Health law states in part. directed the city to take action against the contamination. New Pooper Scooper law Mr. Bunny comes to Town Lane Wilhelm, age 5, gets a hug from the Easter Bunny on Saturday, April 10 at City Park during the Heppner Elk's Cluh Easter Egg Hunt. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P .M .I The M orrow County School Board, in a four-three split M onday night, selected former Riverside High School Principal Duane Yecha as the district’s new superintendent. Y e c h a , w h o is c u rr e n tly s u p e r in te n d e n t fo r th e Reedsport School District, will fill the position that was left vacant w hen f o rm e r superintendent Jack Crippen resigned. G eorge M urdock, U m a tilla -M o r ro w ESD superintendent, has filled in as an interim superintendent since Crippen's resignation. Board members Julie W eikel, Pat M cN am ee, Bill Kuhn and C raig M iles cast their vote for Yecha. while board C h air Jo h n R enfro, B arney L in d say and Ken M atlack voted for the other candidate, M ark Burrows o f John Day. in a separate earlier motion. A third candidate for the position, Mark Mulvihill, dropped out o f the running. A fter their selection, Renfro stressed that the entire board will be unified in its support o f Yecha. Y echa r e c e iv e d b a c h e l o r ’s a n d m a s te r 's d e g re e s from W ashington State U niversity, com pleted his administrative program at Portland State University, his basic superintendent program at Lew is and C lark C ollege and is currently enrolled in a su perintendent program at G eorge Fox U niversity and p u rsu in g h is d o c to ra te at George Fox. He was principal at Riverside High School from July 1994 to June 2003. He was also principal at Lakeview High School and Daly Middle School, both at Lakeview. In other business, the board postponed action on fiv e re q u e s ts fo r Irrig o n students to attend R iverside High School during the 2004- OS school year. If the requests are not granted, the students w ould be required to attend Irrigon Junior/S enior High School this fall. P reviously, m iddle school students in Boardman and Irrigon attended school at C olum bia M iddle School in Irrigon and Boardm an and Irrigon high school students attended school at Riverside High School in Boardm an. This fall Irrigon students in grades seven through 10 will attend school at Irrigon Junior/ S e n io r H ig h S c h o o l an d Boardman seven-12 students and Irrigon juniors and seniors will attend Riverside Junior/ Senior High School. In 2005- 06 Irrigon students in grades seven-11 will attend school in Irrigon and Boardman seven- 12 students and Irrigon seniors will attend school at Riverside. In 2006-07 both Irrigon and B oardm an will have fully functional seven-12 facilities. Board members Craig Miles and Pat M cNamee said M o n d a y n ig h t th a t th e y believed parents should be able to choose w here their children attend school within the district, how ever other board m em bers expressed c o n c ern th at g ran tin g the transfer requests would open a floodgate o f requests from other Irrigon parents w ho are unhappy w ith their children a tten d in g the new Irrigon junior/senior high school. Their complaints range from a feared reduction in curriculum to a lack o f varsity sports at the Irrigon school this fall. “I’m not for an open enrollment policy,” said board m em ber Bill Kuhn and that sentiment was echoed by b o a rd m e m b e r K en M a tla c k . T h e y in d ic a te d c o n c e rn ab o u t the im pact numerous transfers would have on staffing, transportation and space available in the tw o schools. Currently intra-district t r a n s f e r s a re le ft to th e su p erintendent's discretion and only Irrigon juniors and seniors w ould be provided transportation to and from school in Boardm an. O ther Irrig o n s tu d e n ts w h o are granted transfers w ould still have to provide their ow n transportation to and from school and athletic contests, even if the student’s sibling or neighbor is provided busing. The B o a rd m a n - Irrigon Community Education Committee asked the board to revise the attendxmce policy to say that the decision as to which school a student attends w ould lie betw een a student and his parents. The board decided to postpone action until they have studied the issue further and consulted with a lawyer. In other business, the board: raising the extracurricular pay- to-participate fees for 2004- 05 from $35 to $50 for junior high students and from $50 to $75 for high school students, p e n d in g f u r th e r s tu d y . R iv e r s id e H ig h S c h o o l Principal Dirk Dirksen told the b o a rd th a t th e d is tr ic t anticipates additional costs over the current budget in b e g in n in g a n ew s p o rts program at Irrigon Junior/ Senior High School. "R ight now th ere’s not enough to m ake ends m eet,” he said, adding that there will be more programs to run beginning this fall. “That comes as a surprise to m e ,” re s p o n d e d b o ard m em ber Bill Kuhn. “ I d o n ’t e v e n k n o w w h y w e a re c h a r g in g s tu d e n ts to p a r tic ip a te in s p o r t s ,” comm ented Renfro. Heppner Elementary/Junior Senior High P r in c ip a l W ade S m ith explained that a JV program w ill have to be created at Irrigon and cuts may have to be made, possibly at Heppner. Deputy clerk Rhonda L orenz ex p lain ed that the program is around $40,000 over budget and that a raise in pay-to-participate fees would generate around $ 13,000. She said that cuts in some current p r o g ra m s m ay a ls o be re q u ir e d to b a la n c e th a t continued page 2 ‘Onward’ sculpture proposed for Heritage Plaza A miniture o f a proposed sculpture is on display at city hall. “A sculpture dedicated to the pioneer spirit, honoring all those who display courage and fortitude in new endeavors especially those who established the Willow Creek Valley and our communities, after their long journey. Also in remembrance o f man's special relationship with the animals who help sustain us and provide companionship in our way o f life. The sculpture will be made of copper and will stand over eight feet tall when complete," says Mark Bruno of lone who designed the sculpture. Funding to pay o f the sculpture, which is estimated to cost $9,000, has not yet been found. The sculpture depicts a sheep herder and his dog. I V I c C u b C C f ltC T S U O t g u i l t y p l C B i n embezzlement case Sonja Rae M cCabe plead "not guilty” in front of Judge John Kelly of The Dalles a t th e M o rro w C o u n ty Courthouse Thursday. April 8, to 221 c o u n ts o f th e ft in connection with as m uch as $ 100,000 allegedly embezzled fro m n u m e ro u s H e p p n e r o rg a n iz a tio n s. A round 40 p e o p le f ile d in to th e c o u rth o u se to w itness the p r o c e e d in g s , m an y r e p r e s e n tin g th o s e organizations, which include the W illow C reek Country Club, Heppner Junior/Senior High School Booster Club. H eppner C e m e te ry M aintenance District and the Heppner Rural Fire Protection District. M c C a b e 's attorney D ennis Hachler. Pendleton, a s k e d J u d g e K e lly fo r additional time in which to file any motions. However, he said that w hile he and M orrow C o u n ty D istric t A tto rn ey David C. Allen had not yet com e to an agreem ent, they may still be able work out details prior to a trial. Hachler also said that he may file a motion for a change of venue. D u rin g th e c o u rt proceedings, it was mentioned that restitution is one item that H achler and A llen plan to discuss. A fter bond m onies have been paid to the injured parties, some monies alleged stolen may still be outstanding. A p re-trial hearing was scheduled for May 7. At that time, if no motions are filed a trial date could be set. Bail was initially set at $500.000. but M cCabe. 40. Heppner. was released on her own recognizance to fam ily members. It's S p rin g tim e ! G e t Y o u r P o ttin g S o il and F e rtilis e r at M C G G ‘row County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipment, v iiit our web site at w ww .m cfg.iiet $
