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