Phyllis Danielson named Morrow County
School District assistant superintendent
l l i li i l i i i li l i i l l l i H i i l l i l i i i l l
Bessie W et/ell New spaper Library
University o f Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
By April Sykes
The Morrow' County
School Board, at their regu
lar m eeting at R iverside
High School in Boardman
M onday night, approved
p rom oting a d m in istrato r
Phyllis Danielson to the as
sistant superintendent posi
tion. She replaces former as
sistant superintendent Wade
Smith w ho resigned to take a
position w ith the Hermiston
School District.
The board also ad
opted a resolution declaring
an emergency for roof re
placement at Sam Boardman
E lem entary School. The
roof was blow n off during
a recent wind storm. The
declaration o f an emergency
allows the district to bypass
the bidding process to expe
dite the roof repair.
Also at the meeting,
the board accepted a letter
o f separation from Irrigon
High School art teacher Ray
Davis. Under the separation
agreement, Davis will re
ceive his salary through the
end o f the school year, but
w ill not return to his position
at IHS. He was also a coach
at the school.
In other business,
the board:
-heard a presenta
tion from Lea Mathieu who
is teaching advanced place
ment classes.
-voted to write a let
ter of appreciation to Virgil
Hausinger who has been a
custodian with the district
for 30 years. He will be
retiring from his position as
A.C. Houghton Elementary
assistant custodian effecti\ e
June 30.
-accepted resigna
tions from: Sarah Christy,
Riverside High School vol
leyball coach; and Susan
Hisler, Heppner Junior High
head track coach.
-approved employ
ment with Dean Mason, in
a temporary contract for a
half-time music teacher at
A C H , rep lacin g A driene
Lorraine.
-approved extra duty
contracts with: Martie Mc-
Quain, Irrigon Junior High
School half-time boys’ as
sistant basketball coach;
Dawn C allow , R iverside
Junior High School head
track coach; Rebecca Ren
fro and Richard Rockwell,
sharing assistant track coach
position at RJH.
-approved the first
reading o f revised special
education policies, whLh
are mandatory' and canno; be
modified by the district.
-approved a resolu
tion establishing a Section
125 plan, which would al
low for deducting district
e m p lo y e e s ’ m edical e x
penses prior to taxes.
- h e a r d th e f o l
lowing attendance report:
ACH-354 students in kin
dergarten through fourth
grade; Heppner Elementary
S c h o o l-188, kindergarten
through sixth grade; Hepp
ner High School-227, grades
seven through 12; Irrigon
Elementary-127 grades five-
six; IHS-326, grades six-12;
RHS-388. grades seven-12;
Sam B oardm an Elem en-
tary-316, grades four-six;
Windy River Elementary,
Boardman-226, grades four-
six; Morrow Education Cen
ter-102.
-held an executive
session following the regu
lar meeting to discuss per
sonnel and legal issues.
Council considers garbage rate increase
VOL. 127
NO. 7
12 Pages
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Boardman council raises concerns
over “Mayor’s Notebook 99
The Boardman City
Council revisited a topic
from a year ago, M ayor
Ed G lenn’s column in the
North Morrow' Times new s
paper. M ayor G lenn has
been writing the monthly
opinion column under the
heading “From the M ayor’s
N otebook” since he took
office in January o f 2005.
Previously he had written
an opinion column in the
same paper on a regular
basis. The North Morrow
Times is published monthly
and is distributed for free
throughout North Morrow
County to all mailboxes and
at local businesses.
According to a press
release from the C ity o f
Boardman by Jackie M c
C auley, C o u n c ilo r Pam
Docken brought the concern
before the Council at Tues
day’s meeting. She was ap
proached by concerned citi
zens who feel the monthly
column is written on behalf
o f the City Council. Coun
cilor Docken said the most
recent article regarding the
Tippage Fee Initiative was a
negative article and is an at
tempt by the mayor to sway
votes on the issue. She is
concerned about the City’s
liability. She asked for a
disclaimer to be published
along w ith each "Notebook”
article.
E ach c o u n c ilo r
w eighed in on the issue.
Councilors Hollandsworth
and Perry wanted to see the
colum n’s title changed to
"Ed Glenn’s Notebook” to
avoid m isleading readers
that the mayor was speak
ing on behalf o f the City.
Councilor Pambrun also felt
the column was misleading.
She believes the media does
not understand that Mayor
Glenn is not representing
the City o f Boardman when
he acts as spokesman for
the m ayor’s and city man
agers on the Tippage Fee
Initiative, and would like
them to be better informed.
C o u n cilo rs D oherty and
Yates did not see a real
problem with the column,
although Councilor Doherty
did ask the mayor to publish
a disclaimer in his column.
Councilor Yates would like
the C ity’s attorney to look
He had to hurry on his way
Although he has probably disappeared by now, this snow
man could be spotted last week at the home of John and
Linda Bristow of lone.
into the issue and to get his
view on free speech.
M ayor G len n re
sponded by saying other
elected officials such as the
president and the governor
publish their opinions for
their constituents. He said he
tries to separate the kinds of
messages he is sending and
on occasion has published
that his colum ns are his
opinions. The mayor said he
would consider the Coun
cil’s request to print a dis
claimer at the beginning of
his column. He also remind
ed the Council he is acting
only as spokesperson for the
M ayor’s and M anager’s on
the Tippage Fee Initiative,
although he understands
the City o f Boardman has
not taken an official stance
on the issue. He reminded
the Council that the North
Morrow Times is happy to
publish any rebuttal views
submitted to them.
In other City news,
the Council approved ap
plying for an Oregon De
partment o f Transportation
Enhancement Grant to im
prove south Main Street.
Councilors asked to see the
engineered drawings o f the
project before the applica
tion is submitted. The City’s
Tree Com m ittee reported
they are ready to order trees
to be planted along Front
Street NW and Front Street
NE. The Interchange Area
M anagem ent Plan C om
mittee reported they have
an upcom ing m eeting on
February 28. Also, the City
is looking into recognizing
its honored citizens with
a memorial, the type and
location is still being deter
mined. And, the City will
be designating the parking
along the Post Office as 15
minute parking as soon as
they can post it.
T he next re g u la r
City Council meeting will
be Tuesday, February 19,
2008 at 7 p.m. at Boardman
City Hall.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
\
I
The Heppner City Coun
cil Monday considered a
request by the city gar
bage collection company
for an increase in fees for
residential and commercial
pickup.
Under the proposal the
cost to pick up a 32 gallon
garbage can would go up
from $10.80 per month to
$11 per month, if the cans
are brought to curbside.
If cans are not brought to
curbside there will be an
additional $2.50 per week
or $10 per month charge.
Additional cans are $1.50
per month.
Previous garbage collec
tor, Heppner Garbage Dis
posal, did not charge addi
tional fees for picking up
cans not on the curb.
Ryan Miller o f Miller &
Sons, which now has the
garbage collection fran
chise in the city, is request
ing the increase because of
increased fuel and equip
ment costs.
Miller said the company
was going to charge the ad
ditional $2.50 per week to
pick up cans not on the curb
because o f the increased la
bor cost to go into people’s
backyards and other areas
to pick up the cans.
Miller says that by the
time he sends a man into
someone's yard, and there
may be dogs and such there,
retrieves the can, empties
it into the truck, and then
takes it back, he has quite a
bit o f time invested than if
the can were on the curb.
The council also dis
cussed the problem o f cans
left on the sides of streets
that have been blowing
around in the wind and
weather.
In re
q u e s tin g
the
rate
in c r e a s e
Mi l l e r
also point
ed
out
that fuel
costs have
gone up
40 cents John Bowles
a gallon,
and he has
had to invest in an addi
tional back up truck for the
business.
A new picece o f equip
ment called a roll off truck
and box have also been
purchased. Miller said the
box would be available to
deposit on site where peo
ple could fill it and then
have the box picked up and
dumped.
The council did not ap
prove the new rates, but did
set another meeting to dis
cuss the request.
In other business at Mon
day's meeting the council
appointed John Bowles to
fill a council position left
vacant with the resigna
tion o f George Koffer. Kof-
fler resigned effective this
month after he moved out
side the city limits.
Bowles, 35, who has been
a deputy with the Morrow
County Sheriff's Depart
ment since 2002, has three
children and his wife's
name is Kristen. Kristen is
employed as a dispatcher
with the sheriff's dept.
Their children are Tosha.
17, Alex, 15 and Jake, 13.
"I have been interested in
the city council for a couple
o f years,” Bowles told the
Heppner
Gazette-Times
"and I would like to do my
part and help out the city o f
Heppner.”
In other action the coun
cil learned that the city has
been awarded a $25,000
small city Oregon Depart
ment of Transportation
grant to do work on Mor
gan Street. The city will
probably do a thin overlay
or extensive patching with
the money.
The council heard that
the Corps o f Engineers may
not be able to assist with
funding for construction
of a rest room facility near
the little league field below
the Willow Creek Dam.
The city had hoped that
money would be available
from the Corps to help w ith
construction. The Corps
did offer to help find other
grant or funding oportuni-
ties for the city.
The council also agreed
to enter into a computer
services agreement vv ith
Pat Struthers Consulting
o f Heppner to maintain the
city's computer and net
work systems.
AARP Tax-Aide to offer free tax preparation
AARP Tax-Aide is the nation’s
largest free volunteer run tax assistance
and preparation service for low and
middle income tax payers. This free tax
preparation service is again being offered
in the Heppner area. Both State and Fed
eral returns are prepared and electronically
transmitted free o f any charges. This free
tax serv ice is av ailable to tax payers of all
ages and a w ide range o f income lev els.
You do not need to be a member of AARP
to benefit from this service.
Prepares w ill be available to assist
tax payers at the OSU Extension Office
located at 5 4 176 Hw y 74 on Fridays from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone interested in tak
ing advantage o f this free service can call
676-9642 to schedule an appointment.
This service will be offered from February
8 through April 11.
Please be sure to bring all W-2’s.
1098’s, I099's and any other documents
showing income. If you have paid for child
care, please bring information showing
the amount paid, as well as the provider's
identification number. If you think there
may be a possibility that you would benefit
from itemizing on your return, please be
sure to bring all information pertaining to
prescription drugs, medical care, including
mileage to providers, plus proper!) taxes,
mortgage interest and charitable contribu
tions. It is important to remember that the
Oregon standard deduction is considerably
lower than the Federal, so you may benefit
from itemizing for the State return only.
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