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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2006)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 26,2006 - THREE 2006 C andidates’ Forum - M orrow County Com m issioner, M orrow County DA and Circuit Court Judge speedway? 1 support the County. 1 believe they have federal hearings related to B allots w ill be mailed out April 28 for the May 16 election. Included in the election are races for M orrow C ounty Commissioner, Position 2 (a p artisan race w ith two Republican candidates filed), M orrow C ounty D istrict Attorney (nonpartisan) and Judge of the Circuit Court, 6lh District, Position 5 (a newly added position). Candidates in each category were asked the same questions. Running for County Commissioner, Position 2 are Loyal Bums, Jr., and Ken Grieb. Loyal R. Burns, Jr., 57, lives in lone with his wife, Betty. They have two grown children and three grandchildren. They came to Morrow County in 1995. B urns g rad u ated f r o m C orvallis Hi gh School and has taken the re q u ire d classes for electrical licensing. He is self- employed and owns Loyal Burns L.R. Bums Electric. He has been an electrical contractor/ supervisor for over 25 years. He also served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War from 1966-1971. B urns has been p resid en t o f the lone Community Agri-Business Organization (1CABO) for the past five years. He has been the Chairman or co- chairman of the lone 4lh of July Celebration for the past six years. He is also a m em ber o f the lone C om m unity School F o u n d atio n , the lone Booster Club and is a Past member of the Oregon State Electrical A pprenticeship Board. He was also a school board budget com m ittee member. He has been o f a mem ber of the Colum bia B asin C o-O p B oard o f D irectors since 2000 and currently serves as the vice- president. Why would a voter select you over your opponent? I feel that 1 am the most qualified candidate for this position. I have e x p erien ce in b u sin ess m anagem en t, b u d g ets, employee issues and public c o m m u n icatio n . 1 have w orked on vario u s d ev elo p m en t and construction projects for both myself and others. I can co m m u n icate effectiv ely w ith a wide variety of people. 1 am civic m inded, en erg etic, enthusiastic, motivated and results oriented. I am a “people person." If elected what is the b iggest ch a llen g e facing you? My biggest challenge will be channeling my e x p erien ce and enthusiasm and becoming a team player with my fellow c o m m issio n ers for the b etterm en t o f M orrow County. This is a challenge 1 feel I w ill be able to accomplish in a short period of time. 1 am a team player, I have experience and I am enthusiastic. What is your stand on the a ctiv ity tax proposed for the speedw ay p ro ject and activity tax proposed for the speedway. After a hard look at the proposed project, it is c le a r to me that the economic development this project brings to Morrow County is in the best interest for the communities and the taxpayers. It needs to move forward and succeed and the first step is to support the effort. The second step is to pass the activity tax that will fund roads to and from the speedw ay and freew ay improvements to mitigate tra ffic co n cern s. It w ill provide for the development o f infrastructures, which in clu d e w ater, w aste d isp o sa l, e lec tric and c o m m u n icatio n s for the speedway and surrounding businesses in the district. No co st - No risk to the tax p ay ers o f M orrow County. What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing Morrow County at th is tim e? The m ost im p o rtan t issu es facing Morrow County are family wage rate jobs, affordable housing and secure safe sch o o ls to ed u cate our children. 1 believe parents are lo o k in g for jo b s to support their families, with a life style that provides ad eq u ate h o u sin g , in neighborhoods that offer good education for their children to become young adults and hopefully live and thrive in Morrow County. What area do you feel county governm ent could most improve? It has been my observation for som e tim e that the co m m issio n ers have not done well at communicating to the taxpayers of Morrow I FIXTURES FOR SALE] STORE CLOSING •PAINT •TOOLS •HOUSEWARE •GIFT ITEMS •GARDEN ITEMS I •AUTOMOTIVE •AMMUNITION •SPORTING GOODS •PLUMBING SUPPLIES •FISHING SUPPLIES •AND MUCH MORE! STORE HOURS 9:00 to 6:00 MON. to SAT. Closed Sundays SALES TERMS: CASH VISA • M.C. ALL SALES FINAL ALL MERCHANDISE THE REGULAR PRICE OR LOWERI IHEPPNER HARDWAREl 106 MAY S T R E E T H E P P N E R , O R 97836 done a good job managing the various departments with the monies at hand, but need to be more open to the public- on issues and problems that they deal with on a day to day b asis. As county commissioner, 1 would hope to have the freed o m to discuss with the public, their opinions and concerns for the people o f M orrow County. It is also important that o ur c o m m issio n e rs work and communicate as a team, for the good of all. I am com m itted to being a team player. Ken A. Grieb, 45, lives in Lexington with his wife Carri and th e ir t h r e e c h ild r e n , Paige, 9, L ogan, 7, and Claire, 5. He came to Morrow County in 1967 and graduated f r o m H eppner Grieb H igh S chool. He p articip ated in the a g ri business program at Linn- Benton Community College. He is self-employed as a wheat farmer. For the past 20 years he has been the managing general partner of Grieb Land Company. Grieb has served on M orrow C ounty OSU E x ten sio n A d v iso ry Committee, Morrow County School District Ag Science Advisory Committee and is a member of the Chamber of C om m erce in Irrig o n , Boardman and Heppner. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the N orth M orrow V ector C ontrol D istrict and the H eppner H igh School Advisory Com m ittee. He also currently serves as a v o lu n te e r re a d e r in the H eppner E lem en tary SMART program and as vice-chairman of the Oregon Wheat Foundation. He also serves on the Morrow County Planning Commission, the Morrow C ounty G rain G row ers Board of Directors and as Vice C hairm an o f the Morrow County Soil and Water Conservation District Board. He was the Morrow C ounty W heat League President in 1999 and 2000 and served on the Oregon W heat League Executive Board from 2001-2004. He served that organization as its State President in 2003. He was on the N ational A sso c ia tio n o f W heat G row ers Board in 2003- 2004 and was elected by 45 board members to represent them on the budget committee in 2003-2004. In his work with the O regon W heat G row ers League, he gained extensive ex p erien ce dealing with policy issues, budgets, and decision-m aking. He has lobbied state and federal agencies and policy makers and testified at state and agriculture. The M orrow County Commissioners just recently appointed him to the M orrow C o u n ty Pre- D isaste r M itig atio n Committee. Why would a voter sele c t you ov er your o p p o n en t? I have been involved in every community in Morrow County in one way or another and have built relationships in those communities that would give me an excellent opportunity to help this county grow and prosper. I have served the entire county in my work w ith the Soil and W ater Conservation District and with the Morrow County P lan n in g C o m m issio n . W hile re p re se n tin g the Oregon Wheat Growers, I learned how to deal with politicians and agencies that Morrow County has to deal w ith ev ery day. I built relationships with those agencies and individuals and that would serve our county well. If elected, what is the b ig g est c h a llen g e facing you? We need our co u n ty to be strong fin a n c ia lly in o rd e r to p ro v id e a high level of services. To do this we must plan strategically to ensure that p ublic d o lla rs are utilized to their fullest. We must continue to grow our tax base by finding and recruiting businesses and in d u strie s that are compatible to our area. We should continue to diversify industry in our county, which would bring in more family wage jobs. Securing our share of the Umatilla Army Depot when incineration is com plete w ould provide sig n ific a n t eco n o m ic development opportunities. What is your stand on the a c tiv ity tax p roposed for the .speedway? I am in favor of the proposed user fee. That is what it really is - a User Fee. If you use the facilities, you would then be subject to the fee. I believe it is a fair and equitable way to help fund the infrastructure cost at the speedway. What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing Morrow County at th is tim e? E conom ic Development is high on my list. The County Court must continue to work with the Port of Morrow and all of the v o lu n teer econom ic development organizations w ithin our county to promote our area to others. We need to expand our economic base by recruiting industries and businesses that will contribute positively to our county. M orrow County consistently ranks in the top 10 statewide in total agricultural sales. Therefore, we must also continue to be a leader in Agri-Business. I believe that Morrow County can successfully merge our agricultural base with new industry for the enrichment of our citizens. What area do you feel county governm ent could most improve? At this time, I do not see any specific area where 1 believe it can most improve. County government does many good th in g s. As w ith any organization. I'm sure there is room for improvement. If elected, I will see first-hand ex ac tly how and why decisions are made for our county. 1 believe that once I am involved at that level I w ill have a b e tte r understanding o f exactly where im provem ents are needed. As your C ounty Commissioner, I will take my past leadership experiences and use them to m ake a positive difference for the citizens of Morrow County. Running for District A tto rn ey are E lizab eth Ballard. John Ballard and Valerie Doherty. Doherty did not respond to the forum. Elizabeth Ballard. 39, of Hermiston, has one daughter, Sarah, who is 15. B allard graduated f r o m Fairfield H i g h School a n d received h e r associates o f arts f | / a n d P » • ' & bachelor Elizabeth Ballard o f scien ce d egree from M issouri W estern State College and received doctor o f ju ris p rudence from University of Oregon. Ballard has served as M orrow C ounty D eputy District Attorney for three and a half years. She has attended the F irst U nited M eth o d ist Church of Hermiston for sev eral y e ars, she is a m em ber o f the PEO and have participated in various OW LS (O regon W omen Lawyers) events. She is a past president of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. B ecause she currently serves as Morrow C ounty D eputy D istrict Attorney, she is familiar with how the district attorney's o ffice o p erates. Furthermore, she has spent years developing goodwill and positive rapport with ag en cies the d istric t attorney's office interacts with regularly. She also has a public service background working with troubled youth p rio r to a tte n d in g law school. Why would a voter select you over your opponent? I'm a prosecutor and both of my opponents are defense attorneys. I've ded icated my sk ills and energy to co n v ictin g crim inals and supporting victims. I believe my work history dem onstrates my sincerity and motivation. Likewise, my opponents' actions dem onstrate their m otivations and crim inal defense orientations. ...continued on page 4 AN A M E R IC A N R E V O LU TIO N B u yin g a new veh icle sh o u ld be a p le a s a n t experience. Too often , th is is n ot how it tu rn s ou t. In stead o f resp ect, you g et p ressu r e s a le s p eop le, c o n fu sin g figu res, m isle a d in g ad vertisin g and a p u rch a se b a sed on how m u ch you can pay a m on th and n ot w hat yo u are buying. 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