Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2006)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 20,2006 4-H members help clean Willow Creek Local farm organizations receive grant monies E leven O regon projects were among the 194 projects from 40 states and two territories to receive $22.6 million in USDA Rural D ev elo p m en t grant assistan c e th ro u g h the V alue-A dded P ro d u ce r Grant (VAPG) and Small M inority Producer Grant (S M P G ) p ro g ram s. The projects were announced Wednesday by Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns. “T hese g ran ts support farm families in rural America by helping them to market their commodities and increase their financial returns,” said Johanns. “I'm pleased to announce that some of these funds will focus on developm ent of a lte rn a tiv e fu els from renewable energy sources- part o f President B u sh ’s co m p re h en siv e n atio n al energy policy.” "The competition for the grants was fierce, but Oregon still managed to be among the top five states in to tal am ount o f m oney re c eiv e d u n d er this p ro g ra m ,” said M ark S im m ons, O regon State Director for USDA Rural Development. “I think the ran k in g o f the O regon p ro je c ts and our total application package, says a lot about the inventiveness of rural Oregonians and their (Back L-R): Chelsev Hedman, Colby Hedman, Thomas Holland, Clay Morter, Beth Morter, Rebecca Jepsen, Kylee Svetich, Stephanie Holland and Eric Jepsen and (Front): Jared Hedman. M em bers o f the North Lex Livestock 4-H Club and a few parents spent Sunday afternoon cleaning W illow C reek through Heppner of trash, boards, pipes, a deer carcass, a bus seat, a m attress and m iscellan eo u s o th er interesting finds that can become lodged in the creek and restrict the water flow. The City of Heppner allowed the group to deposit the refuse at the city yard. The Heppner Water Control District conducts an annual clean up of the creek to remove debris that can create a flooding hazard. The C ity o f H eppner also conducts a spring cleanup allowing citizens to bring large items to the city yard. M orrow C ounty also accepts large items at the (L-R): Stephanie Holland, Kylee Svetich, Beth Morter and Rebecca Jepsen and other members of the North Lex Livestock 4-H Club removed seven truck loads of debris from Willow Creek. tra n sfe r statio n s free o f bank is against Oregon State Law. H ep p n er W ater charge. C ontrol D istrict asks for C itiz en s are your assistance to keep the reminded that dumping or throwing items in the creek creeks clean for everyone’s or piling refuse on the stream safety. ab ility to be forw ard looking,” Simmons said. The Oregon projects that were funded included five that were focused on development of alternative fuels from renewable energy sources and six designed to add value to e x istin g commodities. L ocal p ro je c ts in cluded: R ietm ann & Rietmann Partnership, lone: received $24,050 to develop a feasibility study for the production of high quality micro distilled vodka and vital wheat gluten flour from soft white wheat. K&S Madison, Inc., Echo: received $63,000 to p u rch ase ad d itio n a l inventory for the Processing of canola seed into biodiesel. T his w ill resu lt in the replacement of diesel fuel used on farm w ith a renewable resource-canola seed. Since 2001 the Bush A d m in istra tio n has committed more than $136 m illio n to v alu e-ad d ed agricultural investments. Value-Added Producer G rants may be used for planning activities, such as feasibility studies or business plans, or to provide w orking cap ital for m ark etin g v alu e-ad d ed agricultural products and for farm -b ased ren ew ab le energy projects. E ligible a p p lic a n ts in clu d e in d ep en d en t p ro d u c e rs, farm er and ran ch er c o o p e ra tiv e s, and a g ric u ltu ra l p ro d u c e r gro u p s. V alue-added products are created when a p ro d u c e r ta k es an a g ric u ltu ra l com m odity, such as milk or vegetables, and processes or prepares it in a way that increases its value to consumers. U SD A R ural Development’s mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As a venture c ap ital e n tity , R ural Development has invested over $72 billion since the b e g in n in g o f the B ush Administration to provide e q u ity and te c h n ic a l assistance to finance and fo ste r g ro w th in hom eow nership, business developm ent, and critical community and technology infrastructure. As a result, over 1.2 million jobs have been c re ate d or saved through these investments. A complete list of the g ra n ts and fu rth e r in fo rm atio n ab o u t rural programs is available at a local USD A R ural Development office or by visiting USDA’s web site at www.rurdev.usda.gov. Wood shop takes hold at IHS United Way names new director The United Way of U m atilla and M orrow Counties has hired Kricket N icholson as its new executive director. She begins her United Way service Oct. 1, replacing Lauren Dickey who is emigrating to Brazil after a thirty year career in human services. Nicholson comes to U nited Way w ith an extensive background in n o n -p ro fit serv ice and management that includes foster parenting, case work, youth w ork, n o n -p ro fit consulting and training and eight years as executive d ire c to r for D om estic V iolence S erv ices in U m atilla and M orrow Counties. She has served on the United Way Board of Directors on two separate occasions. “The Board o f D irectors is confident in Kricket’s ability to provide leadership, raise awareness of U nited W ay’s com m itm ent to address community needs in the two- county area and enhance opportunities for citizens to help address those needs,” stated board president Hal McCune. "We are underway with the 2006 United Way campaign to raise funds for our 23 partner agencies and we foresee a seamless hand- off from Lauren to Kricket. Kricket will address one of our m ain ch allen g es: to provide opportunities at all area em ployers for their employees to give to United Way via payroll deduction- BURNING BAN The Burn Ban for the City of Heppner will no longer be in effect beginning Tuesday, September 19, 2006. A 5-day buring permit is required for all open (out of container) fires and may be purchased for S I .00 at Heppner City Hall, 111 N. Main St. Rusty Estes, Fire C hief to m ake it sim ple and convenient for all of the generous people in our area to make an impact on their neighbors' lives and provide a safety net for those in need.” The United Way of Umat i l l a a n d Mo r r o w C o u n ties 4, i is a local lone High School students, under the instruction of Tom Shear, show the gardener's n o t-fo r- storage shed they will be completing in the next few weeks. The shed will be available for profit sale and proceeds will allow the shop class to purchase more wood and supplies for organization future wood projects. % t h a t identifies and funds community kricket Nicholson needs th ro u g h c itiz en and c o rp o ra te 'g iv in g . Its 17 member volunteer board of directors and approximately 85 em p lo y ee cam p aig n v o lu n teers and fund distribution volunteers work closely with the United Way executive director on behalf of the community. For more in fo rm atio n on how to support your com m unity through United Way payroll deductions and pledges, call (541) 276-2661. Classes for business and fun offered locally through BMCC Fall Term for Blue M ountain C om m unity C o lleg e gets underw ay Monday, Sept. 25 with some personal interest classes offered locally as well as a range of distance education classes. In the local area, a variety of classes are on the schedule. Computer Basics is a four-week class offered at lone High School starting Oct. 5. Best for seniors and beginners, this class covers St. Patrick’s Senior Center news Members from Hope and Valby Lutheran will be serving the Sept. 27 noon meal at St. Patrick's Senior Center. The menu for the day includes scrambled eggs and ham. with peppers and cheese, hash browns, orange and grapefruit slices, biscuits and gravy, assorted fruit Danish and tomato juice. Everyone is invited to join in the meal. som e basic c o m p u ter functions including internet navigation. Excel for Ag Producers is a tw o-w eek course beginning Oct. 17 at the Morrow County School District Office in Lexington. Done on the BMCC laptop lab, the first class will focus on working in Excel and the second class will delve into m an ip u latin g and using existing spreadsheets. Great Customer Service I and II w ill be o ffered at the Extension Office on Oct. 24 and Nov. 14. Carol Frink of the Sm all B u sin ess Development Center is the presenter of these helpful and in fo rm atio n packed sem inars. Frink will also offer a session of Business Start Up on Nov. 14. This workshop is designed to help prospective business owners get off on the right foot. Calligraphy is a fun, four- week class beginning Oct. 9 at Heppner High School. G e ttin g a G ran t is an in fo rm ativ e d a y -lo n g w orkshop that w ill help grant seekers locate possible grants, successfully apply for the grant and then do the necessary follow up. Susan Plass, the BMCC Director of Grants will instruct the class on Oct. 23. For m ore information on any of the above classes, contact Anne M orter, BM CC Coordinator, at 422-7040 or amorter@bluecc.edu. Students wishing to take one or m ore c red it classes may register online at www.bluecc.edu or contact Anne Morter for an advising appointment in the Heppner area. ANDERSON SEED Position 5 Umatilla & Morrow Counties Endorsed by all the Circuit Judges in Umatilla and Morrow Counties pwo roe er elect C hristopher r brauer circuit court judge committee f / / / - y EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL TOUCH ------ ^AIR C E R T O R C F 102 w/Dividend S9.70/BU Loading by appointment only. Call ahead! ( 541 ) 498-7804
