Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2006)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 23,2006 - FIVE School supplies aw ait students Church of the Nazarene Pastor Duane Jones (left) delivers school supplies collected in a recent drive to Heppner Elementary School teacher Mary Ann Elguezabal. The Church of the Nazarene has been hosting the annual school supplies drive and Pastor Duane Jones made his first delivery to Heppner Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 22 in preparation for the upcoming start of school. HES teacher Mary Ann Elguezabal is organizing the distribution of the supplies at the school. Those in need of items can contact Elguezabal at the school at 676-9128. Donations will continue to be accepted at the Church of the Nazarene for the next several weeks. W hat is Hospice? By Molly Rhea, Director, Pioneer Memorial Hospice One of our canned answers is: “ Hospice is a c o m p assio n ate, p a tie n t- c en tered ap p ro ach to medical care and support for people at the end of life and th eir fam ilies. It is care fo cused on m ain tain in g dignity, increasing quality of life and providing comfort, including pain and symptom control. Hospice recognizes th at every p e rs o n 's experience will be different and the hospice team creates a plan of care according to the individual needs and wishes of each patient.” Yes, Hospice is all of th a t- and more, so much more. Several years ago, w hen our team started w orking to q u alify as a Medicare-Certified Hospice, I felt it w as im p o rtan t because the residents of south Morrow county did not have access to this M edicare benefit, w hich pays for the m edications, equipment and care of those deemed to be terminally ill (north Morrow and Gilliam counties both had agencies coming into these areas). What 1 have come to realize is that, although the financial aspects can not be trivialized, what is even more important to terminally ill persons, and their families, is to have someone to talk to about the m u ltitu d e o f issu es, from p lan n in g a memorial service to how to provide personal care. And the com fort o f having a hospice nurse available 24- hours a day. One of our goals at Pioneer Memorial Hospice is to sensitize the public on issues related to death and dying. W ith that goal in m ind, look for reg u lar articles submitted by myself, and perhaps some of our staff, v o lu n te e rs and caregivers, on what Hospice means to us. O SU agricultural undergraduates earn honors Ten Oregon State University undergraduates in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics have earned honors for their academic and community work. Students honored included Cameron Krebs of lone. Krebs is a junior in agricultural business management. He earned the Rachel and Harold Hollands Scholarship, established by Harold Hollands, an OSU professor of agricultural and resource economics, in memory of Rachel Hollands. cfeßl Estate B y D A V ID S Y K E S REALTOR WHY A SECOND MORTGAGE? A second mortgage, which is so-called because it is re corded behind a senior or first loan and has a secondary pri ority, can be a very valuable tool for both buyers and sell ers of homes. Buyers can sometimes af ford more home through hav ing the seller carry back a sec ond mortgage, and thereby enabling the purchaser to have to qualify for and secure a small first mortgage, usually from an institutional lender. Some mortgage companies and banks make second mort- S Y K E S gages, both for purchasers and for owners to tap some of their unused equity and get cash out. For a seller willing to car ry back a second mortgage, it could mean getting a higher price and a quicker sale, since doing this will expand the available pool of buyers who may not have all the cash re quired for a large down pay ment. Sometimes the willing ness to carry a second in itself may bring a buyer who might have otherwise overlooked a particular piece of property. Property listings are available at www.syktsrealestate.net 188 W. Willow • P.0. Box 337 • Heppner, OR 97836 (541) 676-9228 • 1-800-326-2152 Cell (541) 980-6674 • Fax (541) 676-9211 E-mail: david@sykesrealestate.net DEQ seeks input on Willow Creek TM DL and water quality plan The O regon D ep artm en t of E n v iro n m en tal Q u ality (DEQ) is seeking input on water quality planning for streams in the Willow Creek watershed. W'illow Creek drains into the Colum bia River and flows through the Oregon towns of Heppner, Lexington and lone. DEQ is proposing water temperature goals for much of the basin, bacteria goals for the Balm Fork tributary and pH targets for the Willow Creek Reservoir and tw o fa c ilitie s that discharge waste water into W illow C reek in the Heppner vicinity. The federal Clean Water Act requires DEQ to develop plans with pollution control targets for improving water quality in impaired water bodies. To this end, DEQ is establishing limits known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for the Willow Creek watershed. The Willow Creek TM DL and m anagem ent plan will be available for public com m ent Aug. 25 through Oct. 10 of 2006. A public hearing will be held mid-way through the public com m ent period. At the hearing, discussion will be e n co u rag e d fo llo w in g a presentation of the TMDL study and outcomes. Written and oral testimony will be invited at the hearing, to be held Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 6-8 p.m. at Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District O ffice, 430 H ep p n er/ Lexington Highway. Comments may also be sent by em ail to butcher.don@deq.state.or.us. In the sum m er, te m p e ratu re and pH m easurem ents in W illow C reek have re g u la rly e x ce e d ed O reg o n w ater quality standards. Bacteria concentrations in the Balm Fork have often exceeded stan d a rd s as w ell. The TM D L id e n tifie s targ et levels of pollutants or other controls needed for streams to m eet stan d a rd s. The a cc o m p an y in g W Q M P broadly addresses the water q u a lity issu es and e x p e c ta tio n s fo r management organizations h av in g w ater q u ality responsibilities in the Willow C reek area: O regon Departments of Agriculture and Forestry, and US Army C o rp s o f E n g in eers and F o rest S erv ice. T hese agencies will then prepare and implement plans specific to their area of responsibility. W ater q u a lity standards are established to protect beneficial uses of w ater b o d ie s, such as sw im m ing, fish in g and drinking water sources'. High temperature is particularly threatening to the survival of some species offish. Willow Creek and its tributaries are not cool en o u g h in the sum m er to fully p ro tect redband trout as they rear and spaw n. E levated pH levels are also dangerous to aquatic life. The bacteria stan d ard is e sta b lish e d p rim arily to p ro tect recreational activities such as swimming. W'illow Creek was studied through DEQ's Total M axim um D aily Load (TMDL) program. A TMDL uses scientific data collection and analysis to determine: sources of the pollution, the m axim um am ount of pollutant that can be present while meeting water quality standards, and the current amount of excess pollution. A TMDL takes into account the pollution from all sources sheet are available for review at: DEQ Pendleton Office. 700 SE Emigrant, Suite 330, Pendleton, OR 97801.(541) 2 7 8 -4 6 0 3 ; DEQ W ater Quality Program. 811 SW 6th Ave. P o rtla n d , OR 97204, (503)229-5279;and M orrow Soil and W ater Conservation District, 430 Heppner/Lexington Hwy., (541) 676-5452 C o p ies (p a p e r or CD) can also be obtained by c a llin g Don B u tch er at D E Q ’s Pendleton o ffice including “background” (i.e., the am ount o f p o llu tan t types naturally found in the w ater), and in c lu d e s a margin of safety to account for uncertainty. The TMDL study was carried out in partnership with the Morrow Soil and Water Conservation D istrict, and citizens and o th e r n atu ral re so u rce s organizations participated as well. The Willow Creek TMDL Document and fact (541) 278-4603 or Dianne Eaton in Portland at (503) 229-6756. DEQ encourages individuals with computer c a p a b ilitie s to view the d o cu m en t d ire c tly at w w w .deq.state.or.us/W Q / T M D L s / UmatillaBasin.htm. To d iscu ss the TMDL and water quality plan, call Don Butcher at (541 ) 278-4603, or send an em ail to butcher.don@deq.state.or.us. Beautification, Parks and Lands com m ission discuss fall activities Park, there is a tree that was The Aug. 10 meeting of the H ep p n er B eau tificatio n /P ark s and Lands commission was held at 8 a.m. at City Hall. Planting at the old pool site is almost complete. Sagebrush will be planted in the fall to ensure that it will survive. Most of the other plants are doing well; one or two of them may have died d u rin g the hot w eather. There have been a lot of favorable comments on the site. C o o rd in a tin g installation of rock cribs by the Boy Scouts is being done. The south part of the site will depend on when the fence is in sta lle d and investigation of materials for the sp lit rail fence are ongoing. Watering the new plants is still necessary and a line in to make the watering more efficient is planned. Hager Park has two more irrigation lines that need to be installed. This work is being done as time allows due to preparations for the fair and rodeo. Grass should be seeded in mid- Septem ber/early O ctober and there is the possibility of hydro-seeding the area. A master plan for the park w ill be developed by a steering committee starting this fall. C o m p o sitio n of the com m ittee was discussed with two members of the B eautification/P arks and Lands Commission, several re sid en ts of the n eig h b o rh o o d , plus a re p re se n ta tiv e from the baseball fields. The G arden C lub w ill clean the area in Heritage Plaza around the sign before fair time. The en tran ce to the fair and rodeo grounds has already been clean ed . A future project planned will be a landscaped entryway and might be a good project for 4-H clubs. In the past, there was a drip system installed and the landscaping should be low-m aintenance. Fair and Rodeo banners will be installed around town on Aug. 11. The City Park looks very good this year and has been getting a lot of use. It has received many favorable com m ents from residents and visitors. The old school house in the park needs to be cleaned up and painted. The museum committee is working on ideas for the building, including possibly moving it to the Agricultural M useum area. Plans are underway to re-do the City Park. M ore d e ta ile d information will be coming at future meetings. O th er to p ic s o f interest: The hanging baskets are thriving now’ that the problem with the water tank pump has been resolved. There have also been many positive com m ents from residents and visitors about how nice they look. The City litter pickup was canceled since it is not necessary. The am ount of litter that has accumulated since the last pickup in March has been insignificant, which is a compliment to the citizens of Heppner. In the Memorial dedicated for Arbor Day a few years ago. The tree is dead and will be removed and the Garden Club will take care of replacement in the future. In the center of town, the evergreen by the post o ffice needs to be trimmed and will be taken care of soon. A grant for the tennis courts is being written to request covering the cost o f in stallin g a new backboard, which will be ap p ro x im ately $500 in addition to resurfacing the entire court. The fall Garden Club Association meeting for the Blue Mountain District will be held in Heppner this year. Mexican dinner sponsored by St. Patrick youth Francisca Ramirez was pleasantly surprised last week when some of the nuns from her hometown came to Hermiston. Their order of The Franciscans of Jesus and Mary are in the United States doing retreats and raising money to help with their m issionary efforts in the Sierra M adre M ountains where they work with the H u ich o les, C oras, Tepehuanes, M exieaneros and the mixed indigenes that live in that region. Francisca’s sister was also a member of their order and F ran cisca spent her childhood at their school and helping provide for the daily living necessities in that harsh country. R am irez, M aria Sanchez, Dora Collins and Mary Ann Elguezabal will be cooking up a d e lic io u s Mexican Dinner that will be served on Aug. 27 at the St. Patrick Parish Hall. The hours for the dinner will be from 12-2 p.m. and the cost will be $5 per plate. They w ill also be sellin g hom em ade tam ales ¿md homemade cheese to take home. All proceeds will be donated to The Franciscans o f Jesu s and M ary. The youth of the parish will be serving and cleaning up at the event. Sister Guadalupe will be on hand to show p ic tu re s and an sw er questions. Hope to see you there. Stickhorse Race results announced F o r t y - p l u s Stickhorse racers flooded into the Oregon Trail Rodeo Arena and the crowd went wild. It was a beautiful sunny day and the racers were decked out in their finest w estern attire for the Morrow County Rodeo. W hen the dust settled, the lovely Queen Heather Yocom and Princess Josie M iller aw arded the tro p h ies to C ham pion Andrew Miles, second place to Hunter Greenup and third place to Rachel Sogge in the 3 year olds and under age group. In the 4 and 5 year olds, D aniel M iles was crowned champion, Gavin Hanna trotted into second place and Cheyenne Smith was a close third. The 6 and 7 year olds ran a tough race and a very fast Alex Lindsay com e out first, follow ed closely by Coby Dougherty in second place and Wyatt Steagall came in third. A couple of horses lost shoes and a comment ov erh eard w as, “ I think we’d better get a new horse shoer next year.” A few racers slip p e d , started , stumbled and fell, but there were no serious injuries and everyone who participated had a good time. H anding out gold medals and fruit snacks to all the c o n te sta n ts w ere Pennant B earers Jessica Hamilton and Jarreid Miller, wi t h assistan c e from M cKenna Ramos. Nancy Vander Does took entries and members of the OTPR committee judged the races. College now? Sure. Over a w eekend On you r ow n In class. W ith Eastern! On the Web. EASTERN OREGON 400+ course choices in 35+ subject areas U N I V E R S I T Y Learn more at a free Orientation Division of Distance Education ( 541 ) A u g u st 30. Noon Heppner City Hall Phone or F mail for details or to schedule an advising appointment 278-5776 Marie Hall. Regional Advisor Mid-Columbia Region mkhall,feou.edu Toll free ’ 866 801 -6196 wsvw.eou.edu/ddc' \
