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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2008)
TWO • Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, Apnl 16, 2008 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Published weekl) and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879 Periodical postage paid at Heppner. Oregon Office at 188 W Willow Street Telephone (541) 676-9228 Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail editors rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site: www.heppner net Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-1 imes, PO. Box 337. Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $27 in Morrow County , $21 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 62 years or older), $33 elsewhere, $27 student subscriptions David S ykes.................................................................................................... Publisher Autumn Morgan ............................................................................................... Editor All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p m For Advertising advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p m Cost for a display ad is $4 90 per column inch Cost for classified ad is 50f per word Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to 100 words Cost for a classified display ad is $5 50 per column inch For Public/Legal Notices public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p m Dates for pub lication must be specified Affidavits must be required at the time of submission Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required) For Obituanes Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines or who wish to have the obituary wntten in a certain way must purchase advertising space for the obituary For Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters All letters MUST include the author s address and phone number for use by the GT office The GT reserves the right to edit letters The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under 'Card of Thanks* at a cost of $10. On the HEPPNER WEBSITE: www.heppner.net • Start or C hange a Subscription • Place a C lassified A d • Subm it a N ew s Story • View Real Estate for Sale • City Council & Planning Minutes • Local Businesses • County Park • Willow Creek Park Reservations • Free Digital Postcards • Senior Housing • and more! Morrow County School District hears biodegradable food tray proposal -Continued from page One O ther options included a classes. pre-Labor Day start with two weeks at Christmas; a post-Labor Day start with 1-1/2 weeks at Christmas and a pre-Labor Day start with 1-1/2 days at Christ mas. Option A was over whelmingly approved in a staff survey. While the board unanimously approved Op tion A, board member Bar ney Lindsay argued that parents should be surveyed to determine their prefer ence. “We’re elected by the patrons,” he said. “After all, we are serving them and their children.” The board subsequently discussed the difficulty of conducting such a survey. A staff survey is mandated by contract. -accepted a resigna tion from Forrest McKin- nis from the Heppner High School boys’ basketball ex tra duty coaching position. -approved appoint ing Lindsay as an Oregon School Board Association Legislative Policy Commit tee representative. -scheduled a work session to deal with budget issues at 6 p.m., prior to the Boardman town hall meet ing planned for Monday, A pril 21, at the Port o f Morrow. -heard the follow ing announcements: OSBA spring regional m eeting, Blue M ountain C om m u nity College Student Union building, April 15, 6 p.m.; Boardman town hall meet ing, Port of Morrow, April 21,7 p.m.; Irrigon town hall m eeting, Stokes Landing Senior Center, April 28, 7 p.m.; first budget meeting, d istrict office, May 5, 7 p.m.; next board meeting, Irrigon High School, May 12, 7 p.m.; Heppner town hall meeting, Heppner El ementary School, May 19, 7 p.m. -held an executive session to deal with person nel and legal issues. ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name o f the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy o f statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card o f Thanks” at a cost o f $10. Why 1 voted “no” on Senate Bill 10 Dear Editor, Citizens have likely read news reports o f local government officials protesting recent changes to Oregon’s ethics laws. The new law requires all local officials, most o f who serve without pay, to disclose personal information about their sources o f income and the names o f their family members, including their spouse and children. City councils, county boards, and planning commissions in 25 cities in Northeast Oregon fall under this new law. Understandably, many people are resigning from their positions rather than having to publicly share personal details about their private lives. Last year, 1 predicted that this new law, also known as Senate Bill 10, would threaten the ability o f citizens in Eastern Oregon to participate in city councils and volunteer commissions. Unfortunately, I was right. 1 support tough ethics requirements for state elected officials, such as myself. However, I don’t believe the state should discourage honest, law abiding citizens from serving in their communities. This is why 1 voted “no” on Senate Bill 10. During the Senate Bill 10 debate, I worked to pass an alternative version that would have protected local of ficials and volunteers from these strict reporting requirements. My alternative legislation would have subjected state officials to strict gift limits, more frequent reporting requirements and more expensive penalties for ethics violations. The majority party rejected my efforts, and instead passed legislation that is now threatening civic participation across Oregon. During the 2009 legislative session, 1 will be introducing legislation that creates a new two-tiered system for public servants. The first tier would retain the tougher standards for legislators and other state officials. The second tier would include practical accountability measures for local government officials and volunteers, but would prevent the mass exodus we are witnessing today. Again, 1 believe we need strong ethics laws to assure accountability and transparency. However, the Legis lature can’t expect to increase confidence in government while it is imposing unreasonable barriers to local public service. As always, 1 appreciate the opportunity to serve as your State Representative. Rep. Greg Smith State Representative House District 57 Transparency is the price of admission Oregonians deserve to know whether decisions made on their behalf benefit the decision-makers The entire planning commission o f Elgin resigned the other day. So did four planning commissioners in Maupin. Some kind of virus seems to be racing through the volunteer corps that governs rural Oregon. We suspect it’s a case o f cold feet. These people -- including some stalwarts o f public service -- quit in the face o f new ethics requirements that kick in next month. By April 15, they would have had to file statements identifying all sources -- though not actual amounts -- o f any income over $1,000, plus those o f close relatives or members o f their households. The disclosure forms go on to address property holdings, honoraria and certain types o f debt and investments. Whoa, Nellie, where are we here: Nazi Germany? Not quite. Return with us now to those thrilling days o f yesteryear — Watergate. In the wake o f the scandal that brought down President Nixon, citizens across the country began to ask more and more pointed questions about public officials and the things — not all o f them pretty -- that they do. In this national movement, Oregon was a pioneer. In 1974, voters here passed a ballot measure to form an Ethics Commission. In what may be a first — and a last — in Oregon history, communities that didn’t much like the sound of the new law were allowed to exempt themselves. Almost 100 communities and six counties opted out. The ethics law has often been tweaked — and regularly been circumvented — ever since. Last year, legislators finally made long overdue substantive changes to it. They put strict limits on gifts to public officials. They increased fines for ethics violations. And they banned certain kinds o f entertainment. No more luaus with lobbyists. Then, capping what turned out to a watershed year for clean government in Oregon, they swept into the system all those communities that had been left out for 33 years. We recognize that much civic business in Oregon is conducted by volunteers. Nowhere is this more true than in small, rural communities. And w e’re wary o f any change that might inhibit volunteers from fully participating in decision-making affecting their communities. But we hope these people can come to understand that the benefits o f helping grow their communities far outweigh any costs o f filling out a six-page form. Yes, these will be public documents. But the new law does not require them to be posted on the Internet until 2010, and there is talk o f tweaks by the 2009 Legislature that might allow for redaction of certain information, such as home addresses. Helping to make civic decisions is indeed a public service; it is also a privilege. And transparency is the price o f admission. Oregonians, all o f us, have an abiding interest in government being as open as possible. That’s because when people are making decisions, their neighbors need to know whether those decision-makers are in any way benefiting personally. It’s that simple. And it’s that right. Reprinted from the Monday, March 31 edition o f The Oregonian newspaper In other business, the board: -approved a variety of policies with the excep tion o f policy concerning cyber-bullying, which will be modified and presented to the board at the next meeting. The board agreed to expand verbiage con cerning cyber-bullying to include activity conducted in the hom e, such as on the internet or cell phones, which could harass or harm students or staff and “disrupt the educational process.” -heard from B ur rows that he and other ad m inistrators are m eeting to tackle problem s in the way the state reim burses schools for educating stu dents. Burrows said this was o f utmost importance for MCSD, since many MCSD students leave for extended periods for fam ily h o li days and miss a substantial amount o f school. He said that the district loses a great deal of money because, ac cording to the state funding Letter to the Editor: formula, these students can This is a letter in support o f John Wenholz re-election as Morrow County Commissioner, and to ask both not be fully counted. Neither Democrats and Republicans to join me in voting for John. are districts reimbursed for When I served on the Morrow County Court, I witnessed first-hand John’s energy and dedication to serve the summer school and credit people o f Morrow County as their Commissioner. I actively support his re-election. recovery classes, he said. John is a tireless worker in many areas, including Public Works, Public Safety, Public Transportation, Economic “ If w e’re responsible for Development, County Taxes, and Budget. He supports economic development and family-wage jobs, van pooling educating kids, then we for south county residents to north county jobs, and equitable Tippage Fee distribution. He staunchly defends equal should get funding,” said treatment for all citizens o f Morrow County in all situations, and does not hesitate to take an unpopular position if Burrows. he knows it is right. -approved 2008-09 Under his leadership, our public transportation has become a showpiece in the state o f Oregon. In the field of school calendar Option A public safety, John was instrumental in Morrow County’s CSEP Program becoming a national model o f efficiency. which calls for a post-Labor He is currently chair o f the CSEPP Governing Board, as well as their delegate to the National Close Out Program, Day start and a two-week and member o f the Local Re-Use Authority (LRA). These positions assure Morrow County will have a strong voice Christmas break. Under this as the chemical munitions destruction program winds down and UMCD property is returned to the two counties. Loss option, teachers will begin of John’s energy and dedication to Morrow County, as well as his institutional knowledge o f these critical programs work on August 25 with would be a serious loss to our county. students beginning Septem In about three weeks, your ballots for the primary election will be arriving in the mail. Please vote for John if ber 2, Christmas break from you have a democratic ballot. I am also asking all republicans to join me in writing John Wenholz name in on their December 18 to January 5, republican ballot (there is no republican running). This will help assure John serves another term as Morrow County students ending Wednesday, Commissioner, keeping his energy, integrity, and knowledge working for Morrow County in the coming four years. June 10, and teachers end ing June 12. Administrators Ray Grace had previously said that a Heppner post-Labor Day start and a longer Christmas break will result in more class time for students whose families take extended holiday trips and consequently will result in more funding for the district. opment Specialist, will be Morrow County Clerk Bobbi Childers has released The C ity o f H ep structural deficiencies. “We leave probably $40,000 the following report o f marriage licenses issued: pner, with the assistance T h e se f u n d s are discussing the program at on the table when we take a -April 11: Luis Javier Diaz, 29, Boardman and o f Greater Eastern Oregon made available through a the April 14th City Council short break,” said Burrows. Gabriela Rodriguez, 23, Boardman. Development Corporation housing rehabilitation loan meeting in further detail. (GEODC) is announcing the program that the C ity o f Interested parties should call availability o f housing reha Heppner implemented in the 1-877-351-9030 to request AT MCGG GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: bilitation ftinds for qualified mid- 1990’s. Funds origi additional information and/ hom eow ners in Heppner. nated through the Oregon or sign up for the program uouA. A u m m e s i! These funds are available to Housing & Community Ser as funds are limited and ap qualified low-income hom vices Department through plications will be processed eowners, at zero interest, for Community Development on a first-come first-serve basis. Applications will be a deferred payment loan up Block Grant funds. K a r e n K e n d a l l , received through April 30. to a maximum o f $25,000, to correct health, safety and GEODC Economic Devel- Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed Support for MC commissioner re-election Marriages Q el 4fa>ut. t d a e l ' ROTOTILLER & LAWN THATCHERS RENTALS AVAILABLE NOW 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office) City of Heppner announces the availability of housing rehabilitation funds for qualified homeowners
