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 !
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‘row County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
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