Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2004)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - FIVE Sheriffs wife shares her unique perspective To the Editor My name is Andrea Denton and I’m married to Verlin Denton, the Sheriff of Morrow County As most of you know, Verlin is running for a second term o f office Also running for the Sheriff’s position is Ken Matlack I am in a somewhat unique position o f knowing both candidates Many years ago, when Mr Matlack was an OSP trooper working out of the A rlington office, I worked in the Irrigon Justice Court and got to know him I found him to be a very nice guy My husband and I have very strong feelings against the popular form of “mud-slinging” politics and are very proud o f the fact that we have not engaged in a negative campaign We have tried very hard to focus the campaign on why you should vote for Verlin, not why you should not vote for Ken Both candidates have a strong law enforcement background Both are good men The reason I write this letter is to say what no one has been saying Ken’s platform is p rom oting com m unity policin g , interagency cooperation, strong drug enforcement, an active reservist program and the duties o f the Sheriff and Undersheriff What no one has said is “been there, done that.” Verlin (along with m ost Sheriffs) has been living and p ro m o tin g com m unity policing for decades Verlin has strateg ically located his deputies in every community in the County to facilitate quick response time and encourage participation in community activities. Verlin already has c o o p erativ e agreements with every law enforcement agency in this part o f the state and has enjoyed excellent working relationships w ith every agency he w orks w ith including Ju v en ile D epartm en ts, D istrict Attorneys, the Courts and o th e r law enfo rcem en t agencies Verlin has actively prom oted enhanced drug enforcement for every one of his 21 years with Morrow County. He was a founder of the drug task force that increases the effectiveness of d rug en fo rcem en t by com bining th e lim ited re so u rc e s o f m ultiple agencies. He continues to support their work, currently serving as Chair o f their Board of Directors. He has met with local ag businesses and individual farmers to help them learn how best to p ro te c t th eir anhydrous ammonia tanks from theft Verlin is a strong believer in stretching our resources through the use o f reserves and has expanded the reserve program three fold just in the last few years Keeping in mind that the reserv es are unpaid volunteers, generally with a full-time job elsewhere, they cannot be used interchangeably with the reg u lar com plem ent o f deputies So, finally, the differences betw een the candidates comes down to two things: 1) what Ken says he would do if elected versus what Verlin is and has been doing for years; and 2) the duties o f the Sheriff and Undersheriff Ken promotes having the S h eriff performing the duties o f a patro l deputy, w hat he characterizes as being a “working supervisor ” M eaning no disrespect to Ken, I would expect that from his background His experience is sim ilar to th at o f the Morrow County Sergeants, who are also w orking supervisors. His suggestion th at the S h eriff and Undersheriff should do the same demonstrates a lack of ex p erien ce and understanding o f the scope o f the responsibilities o f the primary administrator o f a Sheriff’s Office the size of Morrow County The reason Verlin d o e s n ’t p atro l is because he spends 40-50 hours per week performing the fu n ctio n s o f the administrator o f his agency: supervising 30+ people, managing $2+ million dollar budget, executing contracts, g ra n ts and in terag en cy agreem ents; acting on a v ariety o f b o ard s and com m issions and representing the department to the public. While Verlin can and has competently and professionally performed the d u ties o f a deputy, the deputies cannot reciprocate by performing the duties of Sheriff So, if the Sheriff is p atro llin g , I am left to wonder who (that we didn’t e lect) will co n d u ct the business o f the Sheriff While Verlin is not a particularly good politician (is n ’t co m fo rtab le g lad handing and “kissing babies” for a vote; w on’t tell you what you want to hear just to secure your vote, and isn’t good at blowing his own horn), he is an excellent S h e riff He is a man o f integrity that is dedicated to professionalism and hard work He has many years of experience “making more with less” by maintaining (or even expanding) services w ith o ften dw indling budgetary resources He is resp ected by his peers around the state And, despite implications to the co n trary , he is a very approachable and accessible leader, as evidenced by every member o f his department publicly supporting him I am hopeful and confident that the voters can see past the political rh eto ric to recognize that Verlin is the “real deal ” And while I am clearly not unbiased in this election, I thought some might appreciate my unique perspective (s) Andrea Denton Heppner Lewis has pro growth ideas To the Editor: I am endorsing Keith Lewis for Heppner mayor He has a pro-growth agenda for H eppner- not the CONGRESSMAN G iieg W aldev Leading the Oregon Way Greg W alden.. Making a difference for us: Greg has returned to Oregon over 220 times to stay in d o se touch with Heppner City Government How much m ore can residents afford to pay in city taxes9 Is having one o f the highest tax rates in the state p ro -g ro w th 9 How much higher will w ater ra te s increase9 How much will it cost the city if it goes ahead and start its own garbage service? How much do you want your garbage service rates to increase9 The city has a track reco rd of fiscal irresponsibility. It is time for an accounting o f our local government It is time that our city’s dealings see the light o f day. Keith Lewis has the business background and in teg rity needed to successfully tackle our city’s issues Please vote Keith Lewis for mayor (s) Randy and Bernice Lott Heppner Matlack offers comment on Lambier letter To the Editor: T his a rtic le is in reference to remarks made by Deputy Jeff Lambier in the Oct. 13, 2004 issue of the Heppner Gazette Times The article contains num erous erro rs and d isto rtio n o f facts and exaggerations. The article appears to be one o f desperation on his part. I know it is the political season and emotions can run high but for a person with his background I would have expected a better effort to report factual information I do appreciate the fact that he did spell my name correctly. I w on’t address all the areas that are incorrect but I will address a few I want to make it clear that in a public forum at Irrigon Stokes Landing on Oct. 28, 2004 the question was asked if I was going to give out officer phone numbers to the public. I said, no that I was not going to do that. It is my b e lie f th at to be m ore involved with people and your community it is helpful to be available to them and I personally believe in listing my phone number However, I understand the other side of the issue and the concerns for safety and I will not force people to provide phone numbers, etc. N othing in D eputy L am bier’s citing ORS 192 445 or 192 502 3 has anything to do with preventing officers from listing th e ir p erso n al information It has more to do with the requirements they must submit in writing when they req u est the Elect Bobbi Childers Morrow County Clerk residents and w ork on their con cerns. As Chairman of the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee, he co-authored legislation to improve forest health, safeguard o ur communities from catastrophic wildfire and create jobs— it is now law and beginning to deliver results A Small business ow ner working to create fobs: After 18 years as a small business owner, Greg knows the challenges rural communi ties face in creating jobs Thai’s why he's supported incentives to information not be disclosed The m eeting in Irrigon was not a fundraiser but a chance to meet the candidate and hear what I had to say If people wish to contribute to my campaign, I appreciate it But it’s their v o te th at will m ake the difference and I appreciate each person that intends to vote for me D eputy Lam bier may not have liked my response to the question at the H eppner Forum concerning the duties o f the Sheriff’ but I know what a S heriff does and I know what the people want and I will do it I have never promised daily patrols to the most remote parts o f the county. W hat I have promised is that the Sheriff and the Undersheriff will be more in the field and will provide assistance to the deputies when they become overloaded with calls This is not unusual and I rem em ber on many o ccasio n s when form er Sheriff Roy Drago would respond to calls and take complaints to take some of the work load off deputies His active participation is one o f the things I remember m ost about his administration and I will do it again If I am elected Sheriff, you will see deputies in the most remote part of the county but it won’t be every day and I don’t think people ever expected it to be every day. D eputy Lam bier cites that I “promised” to deliver mail to a woman near Cutsforth Park He has taken a statement completely out o f context and which is not true trying to make “political hay.” I have no intention of delivering the mail The person he is referring to is Barbara Gilbert I asked Barbara if I could give her name and let people call her if they wanted to know the context o f this discussion She quickly agreed We had a good laugh over this one Deputy Lambier needs to investigate his leads and go to the source before he quotes things totally out of context and creates a false image I have mentioned to Deputy Lambier that there are a lot o f people in Morrow County that do not share his perception that everything is wonderful in Morrow County I explained to him that this is what elections are for If he is so right and I am so wrong then I won’t be elected anyway so “lighten up.” If I am right and he is w rong, 1 will implement the changes the people o f Morrow County have told me they want (s) Kenneth Matlack C andidate for M orrow County Sheriff Irrigon Childers brings experience to office To the Editor I am w ritin g in support o f Bobbi Childers for the office o f M orrow County Clerk and encourage the voters to elect her to this position I have three reasons for supporting Bobbi One is that she has been trained to handle the duties o f county clerk when needed When Barbara Bloodsworth had to be away from the office, Bobbi stepped in as a very capable, knowledgeable and personable assistant, as she has done when I needed help The second reason is that Bobbi has attended state training sessions and belongs to professional g ro u p s related to her job, which has allowed her to personally becom e acquainted with people at the state level who could assist her when needed The third and most important reason is that with limited county money, I think it would be better to elect someone who already has had the train in g and experience than spending much needed dollars training som eone new W hen som eone w ith no prior experience in the clerk ’s office is elected , it will require training to certify that person and bring them up to speed with state laws and statutes Why should we do that when we already have a very capable and experienced person who w ould like to hold that office? T h erefo re, I am asking you, the voters, to consider this very carefully and cast your vote for Bobbi Childers. She will do an excellent job for all o f us. (s) Sally Walker Heppner Kemp to run as write-in candidate To the Editor: Due to no fault of my own, I was not on the Nov 2 ballot for Lexington Town Council, Position 1 As a council member, I would strive to provide a safe, attractive and affordable community for people to enjoy and live com fortably. I have experience in grant writing, budget co m m ittees, economic development and city governm ent to help make Lexington prosper I believe as a council member, one must have com m on sense, be fin an cially responsible, honest, truthful and above all lawful I would appreciate your support by writing in Marcia Kemp, Position 1- Lexington Town Council (s) Marcia Kemp Lexington Gardner’s Men s Wear revitalize the economy, stood up for Oregon's resource-based jobs, and strongly advocated for farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin in H e p p n e r. O re g o n is clo sin g its d o o rs fo re v e r! and throughout our district. Complete Liquidation! Wall to Wall Close-out! A father and husband who cares about quality education: As the parents of a 14-year-old in an Oregon public school, Greg and his wife understand the importance of providing o ur children the best education possible. ADDITIONAL "Returning home to Oregon et<ery week from our nation "s capital, / see firsth and the prob lem s u e fa ce an d work cbsely w ith local people to develop solid solutions. With yo u r support. I w ill continue to work hard to m ake a real difference fo r real people Together u e u id make our state an d our nation stronger and m ore secure. “ C urrent Chief Dcputx for Barbara Bloodsworth. Morrow County Clerk g e t® ~ Walden FON C O N G N E S S — "----- A Trusted and Proven Leader PAID FOR BY WALDEN FOR CONGRESS • PO BOX 1091 • HOOD RIVER, OR 97031 / have over fo u r years o f experience and training in the Clerk ’v office. I can do all the duties of Clerk. It’s my job. Paid for b\ Bobbi Childers REDUCTIONS S ta rtin g M o n d a y , O o t. 1 8 th . All Sal*« F in al - C a»h o r M ajor C r r d l l C a r d , - No L a r a w a r . P l» a « r G a rd n e r’s M e n ’s W e a r 1 9 3 N. M ain. D ow ntow n H e p p n e r Store h o u r«: 9 a .in .-6 p .m . 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