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 - NINE Deputy shares thoughts on current sheriff To the Editor: I have received a lot of questions from different people about this election and what my views o f our current Sheriff are I would like to respond to those questions and let everyone know what kind o f person that I work for as a Morrow County Deputy. First, let me say that 1 have no idea what kind o f Sheriff Mr Matlack would be None o f us know what kind o f Sheriff he would be Mr. M atlack has never worked in a Sheriff’s Office and has never been responsible for a $2 million budget He has never been responsible for the making of policies, for hiring and firing people He has never served as an elected law enforcement official. He has never had to stretch his resources during constantly diminishing budget issues. So, Mr. M atlack do esn ’t know what being the Sheriff o f M orrow C ounty will entail and as v o te rs we certainly cannot know what kind o f Sheriff he will be Mr M atlack has listed six points in his public mailing The first point is that he believes th at the U ndersheriff and Sheriff should be out patrolling and helping the deputies take calls. That sounds great; but, who is going to run the Sheriff’s Office when they are out on patrol? In most businesses, the boss doesn’t help the employee do their job because the boss is busy making sure the business is taken care of. It is no different in the S heriff’s Office. As deputies, we don’t need or want the Sheriff to help us do our jobs. We want him doing his job of keeping the office running so that we can just focus on taking our calls. In saying that he would be out on patrol, it is clear that Mr. Matlack has no idea what goes on in a Sheriff’s Office. Mr. M a tlac k ’s second point is that he will maintain a patrol schedule for all sections o f the county and that patrol w on’t be pulled from one place to co v er calls in an o th er location. I know from ex p erien ce th a t this is physically impossible. We currently have six patrol deputies. With scheduled days off and different shifts, we often times only have one deputy on at a time. The S h e riff tries to get tw o deputies on during busier tim es and schedules the deputies for rural patrol It is just impossible to expect the deputies or even the Sheriff and Undersheriff to be able to cover the entire county all the time And, to say that a deputy won’t be pulled from his area to cover a call in another area is unrealistic at best. How would any voter feel if they knew there was a deputy that was not on a call in another area and would not respond for their complaint or to back-up another deputy on an officer-safety issue? Our Sheriff already maintains the best possible patrol schedule to give all the citizens o f Morrow County the services they need It is easy to point the finger at someone else when they are doing the job and you are not. Sheriff Denton has expanded our reserve program to fifteen reserves and has additional volunteers in the Search and Rescue organization These tw o program s w ork to augment our patrols and help us give more o f a service to our communities. Sheriff Denton is already doing all that can be done at this time to increase our patrol levels Mr. Matlack’s third point is that he would ensure that each area o f the county sees regular police coverage This is already happening Often times we patrol during the night when people are sleeping or during the day when they are away at work The thousands o f miles we each put on our patrol cars each month is proof that we are patrolling the over 2,000 square miles o f M orrow County to the best o f our abilities. Mr Matlack’s fourth point is that he would stress the im po rtan ce of investigating drug houses and known drug dealers. This is also something that Sheriff Denton is already doing O ur d ep artm en t recently hosted a nationally recognized training in rural patrol drug investigation. Our deputies are encouraged to investigate drugs and have been doing so. Recently, several meth labs have been seized by the M o rro w County Sheriff’s Office and investigations continue As w ith anything, we have limited resources when it comes to man hours and many different duties that must be done during a shift. A S h e riff’s D eputy is responsible for taking all calls on their shift (even non emergency calls), serving civil p ro cess p ap ers, tra n sp o rtin g p riso n ers, writing reports, testifying in court, conducting follow-up c o n ta c ts and enforcing traffic violations. W hile doing all these other duties we also attempt to focus on the illegal drug activity in our county. Mr M atlack’s fifth point is th at he w ould explore a C o -O p erativ e Policing Agreement with the Oregon State Police He may not be aware of this, but one already exists. We do have an agreement with them and it was last modified in 1991. O regon State Police has alw ays been helpful in responding to assist us with emergency calls or officer- safety related calls. Unfortunately, their staffing levels have dropped also and they cannot start responding to the non-emergency calls for our county To expect this o f the O regon State Police would be unrealistic. Mr. Matlack’s sixth point is th at he w ould support the effort to create a School Resource Officer th ro u g h gran t funding. Sheriff Denton has already tried to obtain this position th ro u g h g ran ts S heriff D enton has never been unsupportive o f the idea o f a School Resource Officer but unfortunately it takes a lot more than just an idea to m ake it happen G rant funding is highly competitive and most grants come with many different requirements for matching funds I believe that Mr. Matlack’s points show that he does not have the knowledge o f what it would really be like to run the Sheriffs Office But I know someone who does know what it is like to run the Sheriff’s Office because he has been doing it for many years. Sheriff Denton has been doing a great job as the Sheriff o f Morrow County. Let me tell you what it is like to work for Sheriff Denton: Sheriff Denton is a man with a lot o f integrity. His employees respect him and look to him fo r an example o f professionalism and honesty Sheriff Denton holds his employees to a high standard o f conduct and expects nothing but their b est w hile serving the citizens o f our county When thinking about what kind of manager a person is, you can get the best answer by asking th eir em ployees Sheriff D e n to n ’s em ployees are sending a very clear message th at they are m ore than happy with him and want him to continue to be their Sheriff I think that I can best describe the type o f person Sheriff Denton is by sharing what his response was on April 12, 2004. Two of our deputies were injured and tak en to the hospital in Hermiston. Sheriff Denton immediately responded to the scene and arrived as the tw o deputies were being placed into the w aiting ambulance. Sheriff Denton made a point to reach out to each o f those deputies so that they knew he was there and was supporting them A fter they left in th e ambulance, Sheriff Denton did not linger at the scene or return to the office to talk with the media and handle the flood o f questions. You m ight ask w here Sheriff Denton was Well, he was waiting at the hospital He felt that his first priority was to see th at both o f his deputies were going to be okay and he be able to talk to them and tell them how much he appreciated them and supported them. Most law enforcement officers go th ro u g h th e ir careers wondering if that awful day comes and they are forced to tak e the life o f an o th er person; will their department stand by them Our deputies w ere not left to w onder about this because Sheriff Denton was there to set their minds at ease. I w ork for a man with experience, integrity and the desire to serve his public. I know what kind of Sheriff he is: the kind that I am proud to work for. His em ployees unanim ously su p p o rt him as sheriff; shouldn’t you? (s) Karen Zeiler Senior Deputy with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office Measure 37 provides opportunity for just compensation To the Editor: We strongly disagree with the decision o f several county Farm Bureaus not to support Ballot Measure 37. Neither o f their two main argum ents for opposing this measure: “It will break the government if they have to pay” and “It will gut the land use planning we have in place” are true If this Measure will “cost too much”; then it m ight be said the governm ent is taking or diminishing the value o f too much property That is why th e fram ers o f our Constitution included in the Fifth Amendment the words “Nor shall private property be tak en fo r public use without just compensation.” G o v ern m en ts have not protected this right, in many cases governm ents have abused it. G overnm ent regulators tend to view the taking clause o f the Fifth A m endm ent as an unfortunate obstacle This measure addresses that The second argument is an emotional one This measure does not V change the land use laws already in place It only provides an opportunity for a landowner to ask for just co m p en satio n when ,a regulation, zoning or land use change restricts the use o f their property and/or diminishes the value o f that property Property rights need to be taken seriously and are essential to the generation of w ealth upon w hich all government depends And, most importantly, clear title to property is a cornerstone to the freedom we have in this country and directly resp o n sib le for our prosperity. According to Saint Thomas Aquinas: “Private ownership o f property is the best guarantee o f a peaceful and orderly society for it provides maximum incentive for resp o n sib le stewardship ” Our Oregon cen tu ry farm s are an excellent example o f this. Measure 37 deserves a resounding yes vote (s) Jerry and Deanna Dyksterhuis Monroe, OR the best man for the sheriff position and would like to encourage everyone to vote for him (s) Connie Jo Yutzie Arlington 4-H helps local girl with dreams Lewis will bring fresh approach to city government To the Editor I am w riting this letter in support o f Keith Lew is for the office o f Heppner City Mayor I have know n K eith for over a decade and believe that he will bring a fresh approach to the city’s government. As a local business owner he has brought many new families to the area As owner of 15 rental properties in Heppner, he has a keen view as to the economic development needed in the city. He has invested heavily in the Heppner community and economy His stewardship o f the city and its finances w ould create a m ore attractiv e com m unity to families looking to find an affo rd ab le and safe com m unity in which to Balanced plan reside. Now that is the very definition o f pro-growth already exists, Please jo in me in vote no on 34 v o tin g K eith Lew is for mayor. The city deserves his To the Editor: leadership. The State Forest (s) Calvin and Beverly Management Plan is diverse Sherman The members who made up Heppner the planning forum were also diverse. The groups represented are as follows: Oregon Trout, North Coast Land Conservancy, Coast Range Association, Sierra Club, O regon F orest The C ardinal Industries Council, Oregon Booster Club met Monday, State University, Tillamook Oct. 4 at the school library County, Forestry Extension President Lynn Dee Ramos Agent and Stimson Lumber had design samples for the Company. The plan was also banners the club plans to peer reviewed by another diverse group of 26 scientists order for the sixth grade to sell. It will take two to three from around the country. weeks for a sample to be sent The planning effort back to the club for included input from all approval The club plans to segments o f our population. This is a b alanced, order 50 banners to sell for th o u g h tfu l fo rest $50 each The club will take management plan that will o rd ers for ey e-catch ers ensure predictable timber during basketball season and revenues for our schools Mr Holland’s math and local economies, diverse habitats for wildlife and fish class measured the cafeteria and recreatio n al hallway and calculated the amount of paint needed to opportunities Ballot Measure 34 paint it. The ceiling needs to proponents say they have a be repaired before painting balanced approach to forest can begin. Bryn Browning management. The diverse will give a progress report at membership who worked the next meeting The com m unity seven years on the State calendar changes have been Forest Management Plan, forwarded to Anne Morter know what a balanced plan and the committee will meet is. to finalize the 2005 calendar Win or lose the Progress is also being made Rainforest Coalition is using on the 2004-05 sport Measure 34 to raise money schedule poster on sound bites, not science, The club voted to for their corporate profits retain the same slate o f (s) Charles J. iW liman o fficers T hat includes Tillamook County Ramos, president; Sharon Commissioner Rietmann, vice president; Tillamook Jeri McElligott, secretary/ tre a su rer; and A rlynda Matlack served concessions/dinner with honesty and Gates, chairperson M cElligott read a integrity letter from the Townsend family expressing concern To the Editor: I am w riting in for the rem oval o f the Tow nsend support o f Ken Matlack for M ancell Memorial trophy case from M orrow County Sheriff I th e hallw ay M em bers met Ken when he lived in Arlington and served on the agreed to clean out the case Oregon State Police force and place it in the high Ken was a great asset to our school hallway. A trophy community and served with co m m ittee o f Laurel honesty and integrity He Cannon, Betty Gray and tre a te d everybody w ith Lynn Dee Ram os was respect and did not use his formed to clean out the cases and rearrange the trophies position to intimidate The junior varsity He served on our girls’ basketball coaching school board and his comments and insights were position will remain open g reatly re sp ected We until filled The next meeting of considered it a great loss Cardinal Booster Club will when he left our community be Monday, Nov 1 at the I believe that Ken would be school library Cardinal Booster Club news Jessica W ainwright By Lin Wolfe, Oregon State Fair Marketing Director We’ve all heard the story before: small town girl dreams o f leaving behind her small town life for the bright lights of the big city. Jessica Wainwright plans to follow this script but she has a twist ending: she plans to return to Morrow County “ I like this lifesty le in rural Oregon,” said Jessica, age 17, “While 1 look forward to leaving my home to pursue my career, I know 1 will be back.” Jessica plans to pursue p o litics and advertising - two topics that she wouldn't have dreamed she would enjoy if it wasn’t for her experience with 4-H “I have more self confidence because o f 4-H and my experience at the Morrow County Fair has taught me that I can meet any new challenge.” In the eight years of being a 4-Her, Jessica has been able to improve her social and speaking skills In addition, she has learned responsibility through raising a market lamb and working through all the basics o f nurturing an animal feeding, watering, and working her lamb, and p ro v id in g necessary veterinarian care When she showed her market lamb at the recent Morrow County Fair, Jessica didn’t get butterflies in her stomach On the contrary, she revels in the challenges of figuring out the various judges and their styles “I really enjoy the guessing game,” she said Her lamb took first place, something she is proud of. It also caught the eye of a generous anonymous donor who has provided $450 to Jessica toward her Oregon State Fair experience in 2005 4- H appealed to her just as it appealed to her m other Jessica’s mother was a 4-H m em ber when she was young and she has been Jessica’s club leader for the past 12 years This winter Jessica will set her sights on learning the finer points o f livestock judging She intends to learn how to ev alu ate the co n form ation and the different cuts of livestock As for the future, yes, Jessica does intend to leave the wide-open spaces of Morrow County to study politics and, perhaps, get an opportunity to change things for the better She also has an eye toward photography - she’s an avid photographer and hopes to weave that into her advertising pursuit ♦
