Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2008)
Father Condon selected Heppner Chamber man of the year; Jan Stroeber, woman of the year I l lll lln 'l Bessie University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 Whitney Mat thews, student of the year VOL. 127 NO. 4 8 Pages Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Father (Jerald Condon, man of the year Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Weeds, birds and cougars discussed at annual livestock and soil meeting bv David Svkes The Morrow County Soil and Water Conserva tion District and the Live stock G row ers held their annual program and meet ing January 17 in Heppner. On the program was a presentation from two Hep pner FFA students about the group’s trip to the national convention in Indianapolis, a report on using goats for weed management, how to improve upland bird habitat, a report on the lower Willow Creek Weed Management area, and a presentation on the cougar management pro gram in the Heppner unit. OCA president The meeting started with a talk from O r egon Cat tle m a n ’s A s s o c ia tion Presi dent Bill Moore. Moore s a id th e biggest job facing the group in the com ing years is to do a better job communicating what the cattlemen are doing. “The cattle industry contributes $600 million to the economy o f Oregon and we need to let people know this,” Moore said. He said the group needs to he part o f the solu tion posed by protecting the environment. He pointed out the problems o f wildfires on ungrazed land, and how livestock can knock down 50 percent o f the fuels that cause wildfires. He said the associa tion has been working hard to protect members’ private property (livestock) from cougars and w olves. He said there will be a breeding pair o f wolves in Oregon this spring, and cattlemen will have to deal with that. “When they come to Oregon they will be protected by the endangered species act,” Moore said. G oats & weeds Larry Larson of Eastern Oregon University gave a talk on an experiment he had been conducting on using goats to control Rus sian Knap Weed and other weeds. Larson said goats, w hen c o m b in e d w ith a spraying program, had been very effective in controlling the weeds. The experim ent was carried out using boar goats on several thousand acres in Harney County out side Bums. He said the goats were “selective” grazers and would go for the Knapweed and W hite Top and leave grasses alone. Larson said he even ate some of the meat afterward and did not detect and Knapweed flavor to the goat meat. “ I’m not saying goats are a cure all, but they are a good tool,” he said. Upland game birds Dennis Newman, a wildlife habitat technician, gave a talk on improving upland game bird habitat. N ew m an said many landow ners w ho w ant to improve habitat focus on feed, but there are many aspects to better bird habi tat. He said water is very im portant, as are a large enough parcel to support birds, and type o f cover. He urged those who want to develop their bird habitat to contact him, as there are often grants and other funds to do the work. Weed M anagm ent Clint Carlson gave a talk on the weed control efforts in the Willow Creek drainage. He reported on the spray ing efforts. Gilliam County donated Milestone spray to do 505 acres from Willow Creek to the county line. They spray for Knapweed. A helicopter was used for some o f the spraying and landowners helped with in- kind services. C ougar m anagem ent in the H eppner Unit Steve Cherry, Or egon D epartm ent Fish & Wildlife Di s t r i c t biologist, gave a report on the ongo ing efforts to reduce th e c o u gar popu la tio n in Oregon. Steve Cherry Cherry gave some history on the cougar, point ing out that in 1961 there continued page 2 Informational meeting on lake irrigation set The US Army Corps o f Engineers is planning to hold an inform ational meeting Tuesday, Feb. 19, to discuss and explain the proposed long-term irriga tion contracts under con sideration for Willow Creek Lake. The meeting will be held from 6 to 9p.m. at the Morrow County Fairgrounds in Heppner. According to Jennifer Sowell o f U.S. Army Corps o f Engineers Portland Dis trict Public Affairs Office, it will be an “open format, meaning people can show up and leave when they want, although there will be a short presentation at 6:30 p.m. The rest o f the time is for people to discuss with and ask questions o f the Corps related to the pro posed project.” Representatives from the irrigators, the Bureau of Reclam ation, the Oregon Water Resources/Watermas- ter, Mdrrow County Parks, and the Dept, o f Agriculture also plan to be on hand, Sowell added. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Jan Stroeber, woman of the year The Heppner Cham ber o f Commerce held their annual Town and Country Banquet on Thursday, Janu ary 17. The banquet is held each year to honor local individuals and businesses for their contributions to the community. This year's them e was “C eleb ratin g Small Town Life” and was sponsored by Century Tel. Awards presented included Lifetime Achieve m ent, Man o f the Year, Woman of the Year, Citizen Educator, Business o f the Year and Youth Recogni tion. The w inners were rec ognized during a prime rib dinner at the Elks Lodge. Musical entertainment was provided by Heppner High School. Les S ch w ab T ire C en ter was recognized as the 2007 Business o f Year. Les S chw ab Tire C enter came to H eppner in 1978 and moved to their current location in 1982. In its earlier years Les Schwab c o n sisted o f a tw o man crew. During those years the com pany donated its normal sponsorships, but on a smaller scale. In the mid 90’s the store started making a profit and was able to hire two more em ployees and was also able to share their profits with the community on a larger scale. C u rre n t m an ag er Keith H erbison cam e to Heppner in January 2002 and today runs a seven man crew. Today Les Schwab donates to numerous com munity programs and activi ties including the SMART reading program, basket ball scoreboard points for both H eppner and lone, football billboard sponsor, high school yearbook for Heppner and lone, St. Pat rick's Motor Cross, Morrow- County Livestock Auction, Booster Club Auction, and is a major sponsor for the Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo and Morrow County Fair. Father Gerry Condon was recognized as 2007's Man o f the Year. Father Condon is the pastor o f St. Patrick and St. William's parishes. Father Condon was first appointed to the Heppner parish in the early 90's but took a year off to be w ith his sister in Ireland. When Father Con don returned to the United States he learned that the person who had been ap pointed to replace him dur ing his absence was retiring. Father Condon was then re-appointed to St. Patrick's parish. Along w ith his work in the parish. Father Condon visits the sick at the hospi tal and enjoys visiting and entertaining the residents at the assisted living facility. Father Condon also enjoys playing golf. citizen-educa tor of the year Larry Mills, lifetime achievement J a n S tro eb e r was named as 2007's Woman of the Year. S in ce m o v in g to Heppner 40 years ago, Jan Stroeber continues to make her home here and promote shopping locally. She enjoys being a Garden Club mem ber, volunteering at the Wil low Creek Assisted Living Center, and being involver in her church’s activ ities. Stroeber also volunteers as a taxi service to seniors in the com m unity. She also enjoys her grandchildren's extracurricular activ ities. Jean Strange, a PE. teacher at Windy River El ementary was named Citi zen Educator o f the Year for 2007. Strange has worked for 28 years w ith the Mor row C ounty School D is trict. She has worked for 20 o f those years at Heppner schools. Strange is currently serv ing as president o f the American Legion Auxiliary. She joined the A uxiliary over 15 years ago in honor for her parents. Strange is active in the St. Patrick C atholic C hurch, church choir, and helps with the youth group. She also enjoys Keith Herbison, Les Schwab manager, busi ness of the sear playing golf and participates in the Willow Creek G olf Club. Currently, along with fundraising. Strange keeps the score clock for HHS games and prov ides help for the athletes and coaches. L arry Mills, retired m anager o f the Morrow County Grain Growers, was honored with the 2007 Life time Achievement Award. In 1969 Larry Mills, along w ith his wife Betty and their two children, mov ed to Heppner from the Spokane area. Since then Mills has been an incredible force in the community, participat ing in many projects to help get the job done. In the past Mills has served on the Morrow County School Board. City Council and was the mayor of Heppner at one time. Cur rently he serv es on the Mor row County Medical District Board, Hospital Foundation Board, Farm Foundation Board and Morrow County Budget Committee. Mills also serves as a trustee of the Leonard Foundation, a foundation that gives schol arships to students to help further their education. continued page two Two file for county commissioner position By David Sykes So far two people have filed to run for the upcoming county commissioner elec tion. John W en h o lz o f Irrigon is the in cum bent, and Leann Re a of 1967 to his wife Jeanette. They have two children and four grandchildren. Wenholz says one of the big challeng es facing the county in the fu ture is the closing out of the Umat i l l a chemi cal disposal Leann Rea operation, as well as main taining county serv ices. “We need to find funding to keep up serv ices, maintain our county road system and take care o f the sheriff de partment and public safety. I’ve always appreciated the opportunity to serve the people o f the county. And I'm committed to represent ing Morrow County to the best of my ability.” Leann Rea lives in Boardman and has filed for the position o f county commissioner. Rea, 66. has her roots in Morrow County. She is the daughter of 1 Jarrell (deceased) and Alv ina (Case- beer) Padberg of lone. She has one brother, Marv in Padberg of lone, and is the granddaugh ter of the late Lee and Lana (Wood) Padberg of lone, and the great-granddaughter of the late Henry and Martha (Riggs) Padberg of lone. I ler grandpar ents on the Case beer side were Boardman w i l l be ch allen g ing him. Wen h o l z , 6 5, John VVcnhol/ has served on the court since 1996. He has lived in Morrow C ounty since 1973. W enholz attended high school in Portland, attended Portland State Uni versity and served in the army where he received and honorable discharge. He has worked as an iron worker and owned a trucking com pany, and currently owns Irrigon Motors, a truck sales company, which he started in 1993. Some o f his pub lic service includes eight years on the Morrow County school adv isory board, was 1999 Irrigon man of the year, 1997 grand marshal o f the Irrigon Watermelon festival, 2000 dealer o f the year, is on the board of directors o f CAPECO and on the board for the Oregon Consortium Workforce Alliance. Wen holz has been married since continued page 2 At the MCGG GREEN FEED STORE in Heppner: L illy M ille r uumit\ Ultra Green Fall & Winter Lawn Food 20 lb, bag Res. $ 10.99 SALE $8,99 M orrow County (¡rain (¡rowers Green F eed S eed 242 W L in d e n W ay, H e p p n e r • 6 7 6 -9 4 2 2 • 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 (MCGG main office)
