Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2008)
Council gives tentative “okay” to locating mental health facility here in Heppner Plans tour o f Umatilla facility, & public meeting By David Sykes 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 • a 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 a 11 • 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Bessie W et/ell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 The Heppner City Coun cil Monday was generally receptive to locating a se cure mental health treatment facility in Heppner, however final judgment w as reserved until after a planned trip to a similar facility and a public meeting to be held on the HEPPNER unes VOL. 127 NO. 29 8 Pages Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Research project on harmful algal bloom prevention begins at Willow Creek Reservoir A research project focused on preventing harm ful algal blooms began this week at the Willow Creek R eserv o ir near H eppner announced the U.S. Army Corps o f Engineers. Two solar-powered long distance water circula tors were placed in the Balm Fork arm o f the reservoir. The units draw water from specified depths and distrib ute that water throughout the reservoir. A ccording to the m anufacturer, this process mixes the specified layer o f reservoir, disrupting blue-green algal habitat and diversifying aquatic organ isms within the lake. Unlike the aeration system used in the reservoir in the past, the long distance water circulators mix only the top portion o f the res ervoir, leaving the cooler, nutrient rich waters found at depth undisturbed. T he p ro je c t w ill stu d y th e e ffe c ts o f an em erging technology, so lar-powered long distance circulation, for preventing freshw ater harm ful algal bloom s w ith the goal o f gain in g accep tan ce as a management method by the scientific community. This is the first year o f a poten tially multi-year study. R esearch ers from Oregon State University and the University o f Idaho will study the changes caused by the long distance circulator y-C~- _, l«=«sSg«| ' - | ---*• ?! - '»>„• - . ' - , T< - - - . a's. \W .X - * ^ iC f - - - - .O - This is one of two solar-powered long distance water circulators that were placed in the Balm Fork arm of the Willow Creek Reservoir. -Photo by Autumn Morgan treatment in the populations of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), zooplankton, bacte ria and viruses in order to understand how the technol ogy can potentially prevent hlooms. The study will in volve genetic characteriza tion o f the bloom-forming organisms, using technology that will replace identifica tion solely on the basis of microscopic observation. The study is a col laborative effort between the two universities with long distance circulators provided by Solar Bee, Inc. and in cooperation with the Corps o f Engineers. The units float on the surface o f the w ater and are anchored directly un derneath. They are marked and have light beacons as a safety precaution. There are no anticipated recreational impacts of the study. H a rm f u i a l g a l blooms caused by cyanobac teria affect many lakes and reservoirs across the US. They are fueled by excess n u trie n ts d e riv e d from sources such as fertilizer run-off or from manure or septic system contam ina tion. Willow Creek Res ervoir was chosen because o f the presence and docu mentation o f regular harm ful algal blooms caused by the toxigenic genera, Ana- baena, Aphanizomenon, Mi crocystis and Oscillatoria. Exposure to toxins released by these algae blooms can produce symptoms o f numb ness, tingling and dizziness which can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems and require immediate med ical attention. A dditional symptoms o f exposure to toxins include skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting. Articles wanted for annual fair edition The annual Morrow County Fair is fast approaching. Once again this year the Heppner Gazette-Times will he putting together a special fair edition. Anyone interested in writing any fair related articles are asked to turn in those articles by Friday, July 25. Articles can be dropped o f at the Heppner Gazette-Times or emailed to ed ito rs rapid- serve.net. Raport*a cool. p g portatole evaporative evaporati' cooling units 1 6 ” Vi-hp H D Cooling Unit with cart & tank S A L E : $959.00 36” Belt-Driven Cooling Unit Sa lt limited to stock on hand S A L E : $2,000.00 M o r r o w C o u n t y G r a in G r o w e r s Lexington 989-8221 * 1-800-452-7396 project. Last Tuesday the council, along with the Willow Creek E conom ic D evelopm ent Group, and members o f the county court heard a pre sentation from Rod Estes, who develops residential treatment facilities used to house and treat mentally ill persons convicted o f crimes and found “guilty except for insanity.” Estes talked about locating an eight-bed 6,200 square foot facility in Heppner. The council again dis cussed the proposal at its monthly meeting Monday night, and was generally fa vorable to the idea because the facility would give an economic boost to Heppner, providing 20 to 24 full-time positions paying $30,000 to $65,000 in wages for annual salaries o f $720,000. The annual o p erating budget would be around $960,000, and construction costs o f the facility would be $1.2 million, Estes said. In addition, most supplies for the facility would be purchased locally, includ ing food, medications, and transportation and gener al supplies. It would also strengthen the local mental health services, increase lo cal school populations with more students o f workers, and generally strengthen the local economy, Estes said. The council was polled at M onday's meeting, and all in atten d an ce (coun- cilm e m b er K eith Lew is was absent), said they are, at this time, in support o f the project. The council said, however, it is going to reserve final judgm ent until after a trip tentatively scheduled for Monday. July 21, to visit a similar facility recently opened in Umatilla. A public m eeting with a presentation from Estes and chance for questions and answers from the public is also being planned, but the date and time have not been announced. Several member o f the public in attendance at the council m eeting M onday expressed support for the project, saying it w ould help the local economy and the schools. No one in the audience voiced opposition to the facility. Umatilla City Manager Larry Clucas attended Mon day’s council meeting and said there have been very few problems with McNary Place, the secure facility lo cated at McNary in Umatilla which opened in December. The facility is not exactly what is planned for Hep pner, however Clucas said it has been an asset to the community. C o u n c ilm e m b e r John Bowles, who is also a Mor row County Sheriff's Depu ty, said following last Tues day’s meeting he toured the facility at Umatilla, talked to the staff and found the security to be “impressive”. Bowles also said the two- bed crisis respite unit for local people that is part of the treatment facility would be very helpful for the local community and law enforce ment. Bowles said that a lot o f times deputies, who also provide patrol duties for Heppner, encounter local people hav ing mental health crises and law enforcement officers really do not have any place close to take them. He said the beds reserved for locals w ould be o f great benefit. Mayor Les Paustian said the facility would be a ben efit to Heppner, but the city would have to be compen sated somehow for the addi tional city services needed. "Stable employment from state jobs would sure help local businesses," he said. “ We haven't had anything like that for a long time." He added that the city would need to be com pensated eith er through increased taxes or direct payment for services used. The facility would re quire one to one-and-one- half acres of land on w hich to locate, and could be lo cated in a residential zone without a conditional use permit. "We will work hand in hand w ith the community to find a piece o f property that works,” Estes told the council. Although an okay from the city council is not “required” to locate a facility here, Estes said he wants a general approval from the community before pursuing a facility in Hep pner. A mental health facil ity recently proposed for Fossil caused considerable upheaval in the com m u nity because it was to house sexual offenders. The Hep pner facility will not house continued page four Heppner United Methodist Church welcomes new minister By Autumn Morgan Jonathan Enz said he received his call to the min istry when he was a senior in high school, but did not answer it. In 1991 he heeded to the call to go into ministry and now, 17 years later, he has been appointed as the new m inister at Heppner United Methodist Church. Enz was raised in p a rs o n a g e s th ro u g h o u t western Oregon as his dad was a M ethodist pastor. After graduating from high sch o o l, he atte n d ed the University o f Puget Sound (UPS) and Willamette Uni versity College o f Law. He later passed the bar and be came an attorney. He served for four years as an attorney in the Army with the Judge Advocate General. He later practiced business law in Portland for 17 years. After answering the his call to ministry in 1991, Enz went to San Francisco Theological School where he completed the four year course in two and a half years. Methodist ministers are appointed to churches hy the bishop annually at conference. In January of 1995 he was appointed to Philomath United Methodist Church where he served un til July o f 2001. He was then appointed to Monroe United Methodist C h u rc h . He served there until the end of June2008, w hen he w as a p pointed to ■,ona,han Lnz H eppner United Methodist Church. “1 like Heppner, the area and the people,” said Enz. “We are getting settled and unpacked and getting to know people both inside and outside the church.” Enz and his w ife Dorine, who he met at UPS, have two children and three g ran d ch ild ren . One son, David, a police officer, lives in Molalla. Their other son, Michael, lives in Framing ham, MA, and is a professor o f economics at Framing ham State College. His three grandchildren live in Mo lalla. Dorine is a retired elementary school teacher and is hoping to be able to substitute in the area. Enz is very active in community organizations. He served for four years as co-chair of Benton County's Com m ission on Children and Families. For the last 10 years he has been on the Oregon Hunger ReliefTask Force. This is a legislative task force that was formed 12 years ago to address the fact that Oregon was number one in hunger. Now Oregon is ranked in the 2()'s. “ Elim inating hunger and the root causes o f hunger is important to me," said Enz. He has also served for four years on the Oregon Faith Round Table on Hunger and has served for the past three years on the Bishop's Initia tive to Eliminate Hunger. “ 1 am looking for ward to meeting and work ing with area pastors," said Enz. “The church (Heppner United Methodist Church) will continue to be active in the community.” Enz is still an active member o f the Oregon State Bar. He is currently looking for the opportunity to work on pro bono projects with a non profit agency. Free tax preparations available for those who have not filed The IRS recently announced that 61 people in the Heppner zip code area have not filed a 2007 tax return to get their stimulus payment. Leann Rea will make arrangements to come to Heppner and provide free tax preparation for those who have not yet filed their 2007 tax return. To make an appoint ment call 541-481-5922. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. ForrannequlpmanLTtsltonrwsbsltaatwwwmcH.net \
