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
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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
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