Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - FIVE
NRCS announces local EQIP 2009 application cutoff
Local farmers and
ranchers interested in finan
cial and technical assistance
for conservation measures
on their working lands have
until October 3 to apply
for Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQ1P)
funding for federal fiscal
year 2009.
“EQIP is a voluntary
conservation program to
provide incentives to farm
ers, ranchers, and foresters
to improve and enhance
the condition of water, soil,
and other natural resources
on private working lands,”
says Tom Bennett. “With the
onset of the new Farm Bill
the program has changed a
little providing an opportu
nity not only to individual
farmers and ranchers but
also group projects with
organizations.”
T here are many
practices available for each
different land use and here
are just some highlights.
For irrigated and dryland
farmers there are incentives
for the use of GPS guidance
systems or overlap reduc
tion spray systems, the use
of cover crops, or precision
nutrient management. Ir
rigators also have incen
tives which include water
management and structures
that allow better water man
agement such as the conver
sion from flood to sprinkler
irrigation.
Ranchers have in
centives which include new
seedings, cross fencing,
water developments, and
grazing management. In
centives on Vineyards and
Orchards include the use of
onsite weather stations for
irrigation and pest manage
ment and intensive nutrient
management. Improved
Forest Health and fire risk
reduction can be achieved
with incentives that include
forest stand thinning, seed
ing and tree planting.
The USDA-Natural
Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) accepts
applications for EQ1P year-
round. Funding decisions,
however, are made at cutoff
points during the year. Ap-
plications received before
October 3 will be given
priority for 2009, in the fol
lowing counties: Umatilla,
Morrow, Gilliam, Grant, and
Wheeler.
Interested parties
should contact their local
USDA-NRCS to apply. In
Heppner, the USDA/NRCS
service center located at 430
W Linden Way. NRCS also
has offices in Pendleton,
Condon and John Day.
For more informa
tion about EQ1P, including
local ranking information,
enrollment requirements and
program payments, please
visit the Oregon NRCS web
site at: http://www.or.nrcs.
usda.gov or contact your
local NRCS office.
C o F I S C T V iltio n G ä r d C l l O f t h e
Year award given to Verrall
By Kay Proctor
Lyle Verrall of 630
N. Main Street, Heppner,
has been awarded the first
“Conservation Garden of
the Year” recognition by the
Heppner Garden Club.
Part o f G ard en
Club’s conservation pledge
states “I pledge to protect
and conserve the natural
resources o f the planet
Earth..... so that we may
become caretakers of the
air, water, forests, land and
wildlife.” Members strive
to meet that pledge and de
cided to establish this new'
recognition to honor others
who do, too.
Verrall, who is re
tired from the Corps of En
gineers, purchased his home
in 1987 and had a traditional
grass yard, vegetable garden
and a monthly water bill to
prove it. He couldn’t live
with the idea of just letting
the yard go to weeds to save
money, so he came up with
a plan that is “something I
can live w ith.” A few years
ago, he rototilled the lawn,
laid down black plastic and
spread a thick layer of gravel
over his entire yard. Spray
ing a few weeds that pop
up is needed only occasion
ally.
Other projects fol
lowed, but not all at once. Cy
clone fencing has been built
by Larry Kennedy in phases.
Lyle has several ‘islands’
put in throughout the gravel
mulch bordered by brown
landscape blocks and filled
with a variety o f plant
ings. Lyle’s favorite ‘island’
holds a 90 gallon pond that
The remodeling project underway at Pioneer Memorial Hospital is “on schedule," according hos is home to a school of gold
pital CEO Victor Vander Does. The remodel, which includes three private rooms, two semi-pri
fish, albino catfish and algae
vate rooms, a tub room, and a solarium/dining room, should he linished around mid-November.
eaters with a turtle statue
The changes were made to accommodate a long term care facility . Photo hy Autumn Morgan
named “Brownie” guarding
over them. Stored away is
an unused 110 gallon pond
form that if Lyle does not
put to use, he may sell.
Plantings include
Alberta Spruce, a tomato
plant, butterfly bushes and
colorful poppies and wild-
flowers that reseed them
selves. Trees include birch,
horse chestnut, spruce and
Hospital remodel project on schedule
Oregon East
Symphony
presents gala
opening weekend
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Assembly
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Secondary
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if you're experiencing any of these
symptoms, stop by for
0 FREE BRAKE
We re
proud to service
domestic and
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import
(ON M OST VEHICLES)
and trucks.
Supermarket pricing promOes
Free senice i narranti
a price torent/huQget.
contract »itti four purchase.
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25,000 Mile
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124 North Main St., Heppner 6 7fi-948l
The Oregon East
Symphony will start its
2008-2009 concert season
with two very special con
certs.
On Saturday, Octo
ber 4th at 7:30 p.m. in the
historic Vert Auditorium,
conductor Kenneth Woods
will lead the Symphony in
a performance of Oregon
composer Ernest Bloch’s
rarely performed Suite for
Cello and Orchestra. Cellist
Parry Karp returns to the
Vert stage for this perfor
mance.
To round out the
weekend, join Kenneth
Woods and Parry Karp with
special guests Suzanne
Casey, Adam Lamotte and
David Yang on Sunday,
October 5th at 2 p.m. at the
Pendleton Center for the
Arts.
Tickets for the Satur
day concert are $20/$ 16 for
adults and S17/$ 14 for se
niors. Tickets for the Sunday
concert are $12. Tickets for
both these events are avail
able through the Oregon
East Symphony office, call
(541) 276-0320, or email
i n f o ld oregoneastsy mphony.
org., or at the door.
Season tickets for
2008-2009 are still available
starting at just $46 for the
entire year.
Lyle Verrall was awarded the Conservation Carden of the Year
award by the Heppner Garden Club. -Contributed Photo
a maple that was a gift from
Lyle’s sister.
One of Lyle’s favor
ite activities is to watch fam
ilies of birds at the feeder
in one of his ‘islands’ from
his comfortable, shady front
porch. Future plans are to
attract more fine, feathered
friends with a bird habitat;
Hinton Creek borders his
property providing fresh wa
ter and berry bushes already
provide cover.
Having faced health
challenges, Lyle’s goal is
to “live long enough to fix
this up.” He credits several
who have helped him put his
water conserving plans into
reality; Cheryl McBride,
Erik Skaggs, Dewey Har
vey. Verrall enjoyed helping
others when he could and
states that he is “now the
old man" that others help
although his enthusiasm for
life, and gardening, proves
he is still young at heart.
The Conservation
Garden of the Year recogni
tion is co-sponsored by the
Heppner Garden Club, Pet
tyjohn’s Builders Supply,
Miller and Sons Excavating
and Heppner TV.
New bathrooms to be installed
at Willow Creek Lake
The Willow Creek Park District is putting in new bathrooms
at the W illow ( reek Lake. Concrete pre-fabrkated bath
room will he put in on Thursday with a sidewalk around
them. Photo ln David Sykes
Armato, Pranger named
season winners for NEOJGA
Northeast Oregon Junior Golf Association season winners Mag
gie Armato and Joe Pranger led in overall points earned for
the NEOJGA. The NEOJGA provides competitise golf tourna
ments in North East Oregon for Jr. Golfers ages S through 18.
(.oil tournaments were held twice a month during the sum
mer. Golfers from all over participated in tournaments held
in l nion. Baker ( its. La Grande, Pendleton and Echo. Logan
Greih placed second in his division. Contributed Photo