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