Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2005)
City explains rent increase at St. Patrick’s Apartments 1111111 « 1111111111 • h « 1111 • 1 1 ! I j Bessie Wetzell N 'wspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 9 7 4 '' St. Patrick's Apartment residents protest a rental rate increase by paying the $20 increase in pennies. (Clockwise from front): Residents include Bill French, Velma Wight, Ellis McRoberts, Mabel Heath, Dorris Graves, Bonnie Gates and Ruby Steers. VOL. 124 NO. 23 12 Pages Wednesday, June 8, 2005 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Lexington Volunteer Fire Depart, receives $20,000 grant A p ro p o sed rent increase at the St Patrick’s sen io r a p a rtm e n ts in Heppner has caused hard feelings between residents, the city o f Heppner, and the Heppner Housing Authority, and created a protest where some residents are paying th eir rent in crease w ith pennies The co n tro v e rsy began when the housing authority, which operates the n o n -p ro fit ap artm en t complex, proposed a rent increase to cover increased operating costs. A ccording to City Manager Jerry Breazeale the H o u sin g A u th o rity authorized three successive rate increases o f $20 each at six -m o n th in te rv a ls for residents o f St Patrick’s A partm ents. The rate increase was decided upon due to increased operational costs o f the apartments. After each six-month p erio d , the H ousing Authority will review their financial condition and if the outlook is positive they will d efer fu rth e r in creases, another nice thing about them is th at the Senior C en ter is in th e same building, added Breazeale Having the Senior Center so close allows for tenants to take an active part in senior activities Some residents o f the St. Patrick’s Apartments, especially those with fixed incomes, are worried that they cannot afford the $20 a month rent increase and will be forced to move They are also concerned that they have been left out o f the information loop and fault the Housing Authority and City of Heppner for a failure to communicate Many are still unsure about the amount o f the increase and say that the H ousing A u th o rity o rig in ally had said the increase could eventually amount to an additional $60 to $80 per month In protest to the rate in crease, the resid en ts decided to pay the first rent increase in pennies The all gathered June 3 to pay their rents, including their normal rent paym ent w ith the pennies B reazeale said The first increase took effect June 1 The H ousing A uthority is a non-profit organization unaffiliated w ith any g o v ern m en t agency. B reazeale also explained that the rent the tenants pay for also includes w ater, sew er, garb ag e, e le c tric ity and b u ild in g m aintenance. C able and telephone services are the responsibility o f the tenant The Housing Authority also provides a window unit air conditioner for each o f the apartments. These units are installed and removed at the tenants’ request As fo r bu ild in g maintenance, Breazeale said th at the only thing the tenants are responsible for is changing the light bulbs in the apartments However, for those unable to change the florescent lighting in their k itch en s, th e H ousing A u th o rity p ro v id es assistance B esides the apartments’ proximity to the do w n to w n b u sin esses, Morrow County crop tour and potluck dinner to be held Nicki Clement (right), recorder for the Town of Lexington, is presented with a check for $22,142 by Clayton D. Zeeb of Salem, trustee of the Neil R. Macdonald Charitable Foundation on Wednesday, May 25 at Lexington Town Hall. The L ex in g to n Volunteer Fire Department received a g ra n t in the amount o f $22,142 from the Neil R M acdonald Charitable Foundation This is the larg est grant the foundation has ever given out Neil R Macdonald, an ow ner o f several saw mills, was impressed at how a volunteer fire department on the Oregon coast helped his son and treated him with friendliness and dignity in a bad situation He decided to set up the C h aritab le Foundation to help rural volunteer fire departments with needs that they might not otherw ise be able to fund Clayton D Zeeb and Stanley M Zeeb, both o f Salem, are trustees for the fo u n d atio n and w ere instrumental in setting up the account and its distribution to rural v o lu n te e r fire departments Assistant Fire Chief G lenn A nderson of Lexington had just finished w riting a g ran t for the department when he got a call from Zeeb to apply for a grant from the foundation Anderson decided to apply for the grant in order to buy a Patriot Air Compressor to fill the departm ent’s self- co n tain ed b re a th in g apparatus tanks at a cost o f $11,650. This is a special compressor made for filling the departm ent’s air tanks and can be used by Heppner and lo n e ’s volunteer fire departm ents. Zeeb called Anderson and discussed the application since it was for more than they usually give one department, but he was im pressed th at several departments would benefit from the grant Other items listed on the grant were for safety eq u ip m en t and clothing and a generator S h o rtly a fte r th eir discussion, Anderson was called with the news that the grant had been accepted and the m oney w ould be delivered by Zeeb to the department Unfortunately, the early afternoon hour for Zeeb's arrival found all o f the volunteers at their day jobs and he was unable to meet them V olunteer fire departments are grateful for people like Macdonald and the Zeebs, who realize the im portance o f volunteers w ho w ork hard to help others wi t h o u t a n y fin a n c ial g a i n Specialized equipment needed by departments is very costly today, so foundations such as Glenn Anricrsnn- these are L e x i n g t o n v e r y Volunteer Fire helpful for D e p a r t m e n t s m a l l Assistant Fire departments. Chief. The L exington Volunteer Fire Department is fortunate to have Anderson in the department He has d e v o ted much tim e and effo rt to u p grading the department Over the past several years, he has applied for and received close to $80,000 in grant for training and updated equipment and clothing for 14 volunteers ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. The Morrow County crop tour, social hour and potluck dinner will be held Friday, June 17 The tour will begin at 2 p m., at Bill Jepsen’s place and end at the Turner Ranch with the social hour and potluck to begin at 5 pm P a rtic ip a n ts may attend the whole day or just the dinner Fam ilies are encouraged to attend For the potluck, those whose last name ends in A-M are asked to bring a salad and those whose name ends in N-Z are asked to bring a dessert. Please RSVP for the event, by calling the M orrow County Extension Office at 676-9642. For those who wish to follow someone to the first stop, you can meet at the School D istrict O ffice parking lot in Lexington (across from Shell Station) The g ro u p will dep art promptly at 1 30 p m A schedule of events is as follows: 2-2:45 p m - Meet at Bill Jepsen’s Place- weed- seek er sprayer d em o n stratio n - chemical fallow field (near house), just east o f mailbox 2 :4 5 -3 :3 0 p m . - Proceed to next stop at Tad, Mark, and Corey M iller’s Place [D irections: From Lexington: Travel 4 miles N/ NE on Hwy 207 Turn east on Turner Lane (at the old Lovgren Place). Drive 1.5 miles to variety trials Site is on the north side o f the road and is clearly m arked ] Refreshments courtesy o f MCGG 3:30-4 p m - View large-plot variety trials. Plots include traditional wheat varieties and ORCF-101, ORCF-102, and Tubbs 4-4:30 p m - Travel to stop at the Turner Ranch [Directions: From large-plot variety trials: Travel 0.7 miles east on Turner Lane Turn north on Nichols Lane and continue on for two miles Turn east on Baseline Road and travel just beyond the Miller’s shop (1.2 miles). There is a “Y” in the road- bear left onto Kilkenny Road and drive north for another 2.1 miles Turn east on Kemp Lane and continue on for 2.5 miles Turn south on Sand Hollow North Road- travel another 0 7 miles to the final stop o f the crop tour ] continued page 2 Mills hired as interim city manager Long-tim e H eppner resident Larry Mills has been hired by the city council as interim city manager following the resignation o f Jerry Breazeale two weeks ago Mills, who managed the Morrow County Grain Growers for 29 years, and also has served on the school board and as chairman o f the health district, will fill in until a new city manager can be hired “I want to make sure the council has the proper time to get the best possible person for the job,” Mills, who came out o f retirement to accept the position, told the Gazette Tuesday. The council voted unanimously at a special meeting last Thursday night to hire Mills, who will work until the end o f the year, or until the council is able to hire a new manager His salary will be $4,000 per month ¿/oa ¿ ¡o tta c& e T if o / PHOENIX High Temperature, Non-Flareup Grill Suggested Price: $698.99 ~ SALE PRICE $ 5 3 2 .6 9 Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm *q u ip m *n t, » h it our w tb tit* at W W W . m en M t
