Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2005)
Is there a problem? Council grapples with stray cat question 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 111 1 1• 1 1 11 ■ 1 1 1• 11 Bessie Wetzel 1 Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 The H eppner City C o u n cil M onday ag ain addressed the problem of feral, or wild cats, running loose in the city. T he co u n cil discussed the problem last month when sheriff deputy Randy Rayburn said he had received citizen complaints but told the council he would need an ordinance if he were to deal with reported stray cat problems. The council took no action but again discussed the problem after re c eiv in g a le tte r from H ep p n er re sid en t John Edmundson who wrote: “At o ur re sid en c e on N orth G ilm o re St. we have frequent invasions of our deck by neighborhood cats. T hey o ccu p y our deck furniture and leave lots of cat hair on the furniture. We are also subject to frequent cat defecations on our lawn and flower beds. 1 urge you to ad d ress the stray cat p ro b le m ,” E dm undson wrote. He suggested that the co u n cil “c o n sid e r a licensing requirem ent for household pet cats in the city, accompanied by a procedure for trapping, marking and d isp o sin g of rep eat offenders." The council took no action with several council members saying they might consider action if there is a “ hue and c ry ” from the public or if the problem seem s to reach “c ritical mass.” Long time Heppner resident Jerry Healy told the council there has been "a cat problem in Heppner for 30 years.” While he did not ask the council to act he did say there are many stray cats on Hagar Street where he lives. “The council will monitor the s itu a tio n ,” council m em ber G eorge K offler said. In other business, the co u n cil heard from Bill F erg u so n o f Ferguson Engineering who said the w ater p ro ject should be wrapped up by the end of the m onth. He said M oore Excavating is going around the city finishing up little things on the project as well as the work on Baltimore Street. He said some repair w ork had to be done on Balm Fork Bridge where the water line was strung under the bridge, but by the “end of the month we should be out o f h e re .” He said H eppner had receiv ed a "good p ro d u ct” with the w ater line rep lacem en t project and that the project was on budget. T he co u n cil also talked about painting the new ly paved R iv ersid e Street. Much discussion was held on where to put the cen ter line on the road. Placing the line on the crown of the road would change the nature in w hich som e residents along the road have been parking. Some on the council urged not to have the road stripped, or painted, but eventually the council voted 4-2 to move ahead with a center line and fog lines being painted on Riverside Street. The council heard a report from Judy Buschke of the housing authority that runs the St. Patrick's Senior Center, that there were 54 at last w e e k 's W ednesday lunch. There had been some p erso n n el p ro b lem s concerning the senior lunch, but “that is a good number,” B uschke said. She also reported that there were five vacancies at the center with one person possibly moving in soon. Cycle Oregon stops for lunch in lone VOL. 124 NO. 37 12 Pages Wednesday, September 14,2005 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon lone restaurant re-opens with new name An lone volunteer serves up lunch to Cyle Oregon participant Taylor’s restaurant owners Roy Taylor and Carol Taylor (right) with Karan Piening. lone’s former Beecher’s restaurant re-opened in Au gust with new owners and a new name. The business is now named Taylor’s Restaurant and is owned by Roy and Carol Taylor. The couple bought the restaurant in April of 2004 and have been doing extensive remodeling to get it ready for opening. Hours of the restaurant are 7a.m . to 9p.m . T uesday th ro u g h S aturday. The lounge is open until 2:30 a.m. They are closed Mon day. T aylors is o fferin g barbeque Friday and Satur day outside and “we have good food and good atmo sphere,” says Roy. One interesting aspect of the restaurant is that the old hard w o o d flo o r o f the Heppner Grade School gym was purchased and installed as the Taylor’s restaurant and lounge floor. District has fewer students than expected M orrow C ounty School D istric t S u p e rin ten d e n t M ark Burrows told the board, at th e ir re g u la r m eeting Monday night at Heppner H igh S ch o o l, that the district’s student population is dow n around 50 less students than anticipated. B urrow s said that the student population at Sam Boardman Elementary is down, after consistently growing for several years. He also said th at the a lte rn a tiv e ed u ca tio n program attendance is also down, but added that later g row th is ty p ical and expected. A cco rd in g to enrollment figures on Sept. 12: H eppner Elem entary School (kindergarten though six th grad e) rep o rted enrollment of 193 students; H ep p n er H igh School (seventh through 12,h) had an en ro llm en t o f 232; Sam Boardman Elementary (k- fourth), 424; Windy River E lem entary (fifth -six th ), Boardman, 154; Riverside High School (seventh-12lh), 458; A .C. H oughton Elementary (pre-k-fourth), Irrig o n , 333; Irrigon Elem entary (fifth -six th ), 133; Irrigon High School, (seventh-12'h), 296; district total, 2239. A ctual attendance on Sept. 12 was somewhat lower: HES-190; HHS-224; SBE-400: W RE-149;RHS- 450; ACH-311; IES-131; IHS-259; district total-2140. B urrow s also commented on the impact the in c re ase d co st o f gasoline has on the district. He said the district burns about 38,000 gallons o f g aso lin e a year, w hich amounts to a cost increase of around $36,000 per year over last year. The district, however, is reimbursed by the state for transportation costs at a rate of around 70 percent. He said that the main concern is the affect increased gasoline costs will have on state funding. B urrow s also discu ssed recruiting and re ta in in g q u ality staff; p a rtn e rin g w ith Blue M ountain C om m unity College to provide advanced placement classes for MCSD students; and setting policy continued page three A L L N E W S A N D A D V E R T IS E M E N T D E A D L IN E : MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Bike rider signs the Yikes Bikes! wall in lone. Riders came from all over the USA C ycle O regon b ro u g h t 1600 b ic y c lists through the streets of lone on Saturday, Sept. 10. The stopover in lone was the first lunch break of the eight-day ride. Participants from all over the world and the U.S. began in Boardman and are following a trail that takes them to Condon. The Dalles. C orbett, C ham poeg State Park, Vemonia and ends in Astoria on Sept. 17. W hile in lone, cyclists also had a chance to visit with local residents and sign the hardware store wall to show where they were from. A ccording to Anne Morter, lunch coordinator, cyclists were from places such as Ireland. England, Sweden, Germany, Canada, and m ost o f the states, including Hawaii. The ride this year was slightly undersold, with only 1600 tickets sold, while Cycle Oregon has the ability to acco m m o d ate 2000 cyclists. At their daily “final" stopping points, cy clists have the chance to enjoy hot show ers, m assage, yoga, cold m icro h rew s and O regon w ines and live entertainment. They are also fully supported along the route wi t h state p o lice escorts on motorcycles and two support wagons. Case IH EZ-Steer Assisted Steering System • Hands-free steering • Easy installation and set up • Low cost alternative to auto-guidance • Easily transferred from vehicle to vehicle • Allows operator to focus on equipment operation Also available: C a s e IH EZ-Guide plus Lightbar Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipment, vi»it our web *ite at ww*rmcju(«et
