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.
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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'
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