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)