Broken meters will cost property owners
City warns residents to insulate meters
Bessie Wetzel I New spaper Library
University o f Oregon
Eugene. OR 97403
V O L 124
NO. 46
8 Pages
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
H ep p n er
public
works director Bruce Nelson
Monday urged residents to
insulate their water meters
before cold weather hits.
Nelson told the city
council it may be especially
vital to insulate early given
that the new water meters
from the city water project
have now been installed.
N elson
said
S ty ro fo am
shipping
“ p e a n u ts ” m ake good
insulation, but they should be
sacked in a plastic bag before
placing around the water
meter. Council member Tom
W olff reminded everyone
that it is the responsibility of
the homeowner to pay for
the meter if it is broken by
freezing.
Nelson also told the
co u n cil at its m onthly
meeting Monday that Moore
Construction is done with
the big city water project and
that most o f the pressure
issues have been worked
out. He said varying water
pressure in the area around
the hospital has been solved,
and that the city is working.
In other business at
November’s meeting the city
council:
H eard
from
M orrow C ounty D istrict
Attorney Dave Allen who
agreed to help the city with
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Heppner schools honor local veterans
its urban growth boundary
(U G B )
ex p an sio n
application. Martin Davis of
Milton-Freewater had been
w orking on the p ro ject;
however, he recently passed
away. The council agreed to
e n te r into an in te r
governm ental agreem ent
will Allen. Cost will be $850
from the city and $850 from
M orrow C ounty fo r the
project. The city is making
a p p lic a tio n to ex ten d
Heppner’s UGB east toward
the industrial park.
D iscu ssed
a
p o ssib le p ro ject by the
O regon D ep artm en t o f
Transportation that would
widen the road around the
curve at the Heppner Grade
School on N orth C ourt
Street. The project would
make the area safer for foot
traffic and is still in the
planning stages.
- Learned that the St.
P a tric k 's S en io r C en ter
c u rre n tly
has
three
v a c a n c ie s, and that the
S e n io r M eal Site has
c o n tra c te d w ith John
Gouchnauer to provide the
meals every Wednesday.
- Decided to have an
open house at city hall on
Dec. 1 to introduce the new
city
m an ag er
D avid
DeMayo.
School district receives
excellence award
The Morrow County
School D istrict Board
learned at its Monday night
meeting that the district has
received an award, a “Salute
to E xcellence” , from the
O regon School B oards
A sso c ia tio n
p resen ted
d u rin g
the
OSBA
c o n v en tio n . The aw ard
included a blue ribbon, a
desk plaque and a $500
prize, which the MCSD will
match and present to each of
the two schools involved,
A.C. Houghton Elementary
in Irrig o n and Sam
Boardman Elem entary in
Boardman.
The tw o sch o o ls
w ere n o m in ated for the
award because they achieved
testing results in the 90lh
percentile, despite having
large numbers of children
atten d in g who are still
English language learners,
said MCSD Superintendent
Mark Burrows.
F ollow ing
the
schools’ nomination, they
were invited to participate
w ith a d isp lay at the
c o n v en tio n , w hich was
actually a competition. The
schools won the competition
continued page two
VS8ÊÊÊ
Local veterans pose for group photo at High School
The Heppner Jr. and Sr.
High Schools honored the
local veterans on Thursday,
Nov. 10.
The day started when sev
eral veterans spoke to vari
ous classes at the high school
about their experiences in the
military.
Later an assembly was
held in the gymnasium where
Principal Daye Stone wel
comed the 62 gathered vets.
The HHS Band and Chorus
performed the Star Spangled
Banner and Within These
Hallowed Halls.
The guest speaker was
former HHS Principal Lt.
Colonel Steve Dickenson of
the Oregon National Guard.
Students then put on a
video presentation and Wade
Sm ith,
A ssita n t
Superintenedent of Morrow
County Schools, read a rool
call of all the gathered vets.
Tom B ed o rth a then
played taps to close the cer
emony. Afterwards the vet
erans were served lunch in
the High School cafeteria.
Mustangs face
Lost River
L ost R iv er beat
G lide 12-7 last w eek to
advance in the playoffs. The
H ep p n er H igh School
Football team plays Lost
River this Saturday, Nov. 19
at 1 p.m. at the M orrow
County Fairgrounds.
If the Mustangs win
this Saturday, they will play
the winner of the Blanchet
vs. Monroe game.
Valby Lutheran
welcomes new
interim pastor
The new in terim
pastor and his wife. Don and
Ruth S w an so n , w ill be
attending for their First time
on Sunday, Nov. 20 at Valby
Lutheran Church.
The church service
will begin at 11 a.m. and will
be followed with a potluck
d in n e r at the Valby
Fellowship Hall.
The com m unity is
invited to attend and help the
c o n g re g atio n w elcom e
P astor Sw anson and his
wife.
Lexington chooses lighting contest theme
The Lexington Town
Council chose “Red. White
and Blue Christmas” for its
Christmas lighting theme this
year, in honor of service men
and w om en. C ateg o ries
include “best interpretation
of theme,” "mini but bright,”
“most original” and “just
rig h t.”
L orrene
M ontgom ery and M indy
Wilson were selected to head
up the lighting committee.
The co u n cil also
approved obtaining a debit
card for city use in the event
o f an em ergency and to
facilitate city purchases and
d ire c te d re c o rd e r N icki
C lem en t to look into
obtaining a card.
In other business, the
council:
-learned the town's
c o m p u te r crash ed and
a n o th er one had been
purchased. Tony Clement
agreed to assist and was in
the process of putting the
com puter together. Nicki
Clement said that she was
lo o k in g into so ftw are
sp e c ific a lly fo r local
governments, which could
co m b in e d ata input to
integrate and facilitate billing
and financial reports. She
had been using several
systems to generate billing
and re p o rts. It was
su g g este d
that
the
information be backed up on
line. The town had budgeted
$1,000 for a new computer
and a n o th er $ 1 ,0 0 0 for
program s with additional
monies for the television and
water billing systems.
-approved a motion
confirming an OLCC permit
with regard to the Lexington
mini mart, transferring the
perm it from the M orrow
County Grain Growers to
H attenhauer D istributing,
b ased on tra n sfe r o f
ownership.
-rec eiv ed $2,0 0 0
from ODOT in payment for
a break in the city water line
caused by ODOT workers.
-a u th o riz e d new
bank signature cards for new
council members. Beverly
Steagall and Mike Orwick.
-heard a report from
Fire Chief Charlie Sumner,
who said that the town has
five certified drivers now. He
also said that some pipes on
the fire truck that had been
almost rusted through had
been replaced, at a cost of
around $1.100. which will
extend the life of the truck.
The town also agreed to
have Sumner check out the
cost of obtaining a report
c o n cern in g the to w n 's
system with respect to fire
su p p ressio n . T his could
enable the town to find and
correct problems prior to an
official audit, which could
o ccu r at any tim e. Data
collected from an audit may
be supplied to insurance
companies and could affect
fire insurance for the town's
residents.
-discussed a process
by which the reason for the
discrepancy betw een the
town water meter and the
meter for several residences
could be discovered.
-heard from Mayor
Val D oherty co n cern in g
several options concerning
the old telephone building
which is currently on private
property. Doherty suggested
that: 1) the b u ild in g be
b u rn ed
by
the
fire
d e p artm en t for train in g
practice; 2) be dismantled for
the wood (the woodworking
in the old building is reported
to be beautiful); or 3) be
renovated, which would be
extensive and expensive and
would most likely require a
continued page two
MCGG will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24th
through Sunday, Nov. 27th in observance of
Thanksgiving. Have a safe & happy holiday!
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
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