Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2008)
More water in lake may get study By David Sykes A plan to raise the level o f the Willow Creek Lake by 12 feet may get a closer look by the Army Corps o f Engineers, Con gressm an Greg W alden’s office said last week. The Willow Creek Valley Economic Develop ment Group (WCVED) has been pushing for a feasibility study that would allow more w ater to be stored at the lake and alleviate some of 11 1 1 1 • 1 • 111 • • • • • 1i 11 1 11 111 1 Bessie Wet/ell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 HEPPNER An aerial shot of the W illow Creek Lake. the negative recreational ef recreationists’ water needs. fects o f a recent decision by Sykes wrote a letter to the the Corps to sell 2,500 acre Corps asking that they con feet of w ater to dow nstream duct “a study determining irrigators on a long-term • the feasibility o f increasing the con serv atio n pool at permanent yearly basis. The irrigators have Willow Creek Lake.” To been receiving extra water show broad community sup under yearly drought dec port the letter was signed by larations, and had formed various community leaders, an irrigation district to ask including Heppner Mayor for the extra water on a per Les Paustian, Snider, Wil manent basis. In April the low C reek Park D istrict Corps granted the request chairm an Skip Matthews, after taking public comment W illow C reek Irrigation and holding a public meet District board member Brian Thompson, Morrow County ing in Heppner. Following the Corps’ Judge Terry Tallman and action WCVED president State Representative Greg N ancy Snider appointed Smith. The letter was sub group member David Sykes mitted to the Corps o f En to investigate the possibility gineers through the office o f allowing additional water o f US Congressman Greg to be stored at the lake, thus Walden. Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon satisfying both irrigators and L ast w eek C olby M arshall o f W alden's La Grande office said that the request could be included in the Water Resources Devel opment Act, which governs projects by the US Army Corps o f Engineers. How ever M arshall said not to expect action too soon as the congress will most likely not act on much until the new administration takes office in January. “ There is no draft bill yet. We don't know if we are in or out, but we like our chances,” Marshall said. The request is asking for $400,000 to complete the study, and Marshall said the Corps helped write the request and “get the word ing right.” Marshall also point ed out that U.S. Congress man Peter DeFazio, of the 4th Congressional District o f Oregon, serves on the imes VOL. 127 NO. 39 8 Pages Wednesday, September 24,2008 Bennett, Lemmon have successful bow hunts committee which will con sider the request. In addition Heppner C h am b er o f C om m erce executive director Sheryll Bates, with funding from Morrow C ounty for eco nom ic developm ent, has been contracted by WCVED to work on the water raising request. She has sent let ters to Senator Ron Wyden, W alden, Senator G ordon Smith and the Army Corps o f Engineers offices urging support o f the feasibility study and raising the lake level. “On b eh alf o f the Heppner Community, we would like to request that you give strong support ... to have a feasibility study on Heppner Dam to raise the water level. The raising o f the water level increase considered should be from three-foot to 12-foot to ac commodate irrigation for farmers and to allow more recreational opportunities at Willow Creek Lake..,” the letter said. Bates said this week that the Chamber has been in regular contact w ith rep resentatives from Walden, W yden and S m ith 's o f fices and Corps o f Engi neers. “They helped to put together the final request in the “required form” in order for it to be placed on the docket for discussion during the September session. Each of the representatives from Walden. Wyden and Sfnith's offices has been very sup portive o f what we are re questing. Colby Marshall has been a great liaison to understand the process and what action we as a commu nity needed to take to make this happen," Bates said. Contacted last week, W alden's office said the study and the decision “was not going to happen quickly” because o f the new- congress and the new president com ing in. Marshall said, “ We like our chances,” but also pointed out that nothing was going to move quickly. He did say that there was an “assumption” in the Corps that raising the pool will be “okay.” Elks Lodge to hold oyster feed The Heppner Elks plate and will include oys ters and salmon/ham with au gratin potatoes, coleslaw, dinner roll and dessert. E v ery o n e is w el- come. Ryan Bennett shot his 5x5 elk on September 14. He also shot a Mark Lemmon shot his 5x5 elk on September II. -Contributed Lodge will hold H unter's deer, antelope, and turkey with his bow this year. Those pictures Photo Oyster/Salmon/Ham Feed can be found on Page THREE. -Contributed Photo on Saturday, October 4, be ginning at 5 p.m. The Heppner Gazette-Times wants to see pictures o f your trophy animals from this hunting season. Stop by to have your picture taken, drop o ff photos, or email them to editor@rapidserve. net. The cost is $16 per lone School Board surprised by chairman's resignation From the U m atilla-M orrow ESD The lo n e S chool Board held interviews Mon day night for potential board members to replace board member Joel Peterson, who resigned in August. Little did the board know that after it filled Mr. Peterson’s position, it would soon have another vacancy to fill. In open session, the board selected Lisa Riet- m ann as Mr. P e te rso n 's replacement. Board mem ber John Rietmann, Lisa’s brother-in-law, declared a conflict o f interest and did not vote. “We were very lucky to have such a good group o f board candidates to pick from," said board vice-chair Joe McElligott during the meeting. “We want to thank you for your interest and your com m itm ent to the lone Community School." During the bond up date, Board Chairman John Rietmann answered ques tions that he and others had heard in the com m unity regarding the bond, which will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. His comments are available on the lone School District web site, www.ione. kl2.or.us. H alfw ay th ro u g h New Business on the meet in g ’s agen d a. C hairm an John R ietm ann ab ru p tly announced his resignation from the board, effective immediately. In passing the gavel, John Rietmann ad dressed the rest of the board and the audience. “ It is my experience that perception is reality, especially in a small town," he said. “ Lisa and I are close relatives, and the fact that both o f us are on the board might lead some in the com m unity to think that ‘the Rietmann's' are running the school. For our school to be successful we need have the confidence and trust o f the community. No one board member is irreplaceable. As we have seen tonight, there are many fine candidates in our community for the board, and I think we should give them a chance.” With that, Mr. Ri etm ann left the m eeting and the b u ild in g . V ice- Chairman Joe M cElligott then took over the m eet ing. Board member Anne M orter moved to accept Mr. Rietmann's resignation. However, the motion died for lack of a second motion. “I won’t second that motion, no way,” said Board mem ber Bink Ramos. The board will take up the issue of John Rietm ann’s open position in its October meeting. In other business, the board ap proved the proposed extra- duty contract schedule and approved Jim Raible to run concessions. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEM ENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Marijuana plants discovered by BENT Blue M ountain Enforcement N arcotics Team (BENT) discovered approximately 1,200 marijuana plants grow ing on an island in the Columbia River on August 12. The plants were found during a marijuana flight conducted by BENT. BENT has no suspects at this time. According to OSP, the previous week the Benton County multi-agency task force also found a stash o f marijuana plants. BENT is multi-agency narcotics team made up of the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon National Guard, Pendleton Police Department, Hermiston Police Department, Umatilla County Sheriff's Office, and the Oregon State Police. Chamber Adopt- A-Highway lit ter pick up to be held The final 2008 Or egon Department o f Trans portation Adopt-A-Highw ay litter pick up will take place on Thursday, September 25, from 5-6 p.m. This event is spon sored by the Heppner Cham ber o f Commerce. Sheriff's Candidate Forum to be held at Chamber Lunch This week's cham- Please RSVP your her lunch meeting will host atte n d an c e and resp o n d the Sheriff Candidate Fo- w ith any q u e stio n s you rum , w ith Bill Kuhn as would like to have asked moderator________________ so that the C ham ber can prepare the list o f questions for the moderator, Final R S V P 's are needed by Wednesday after noon, September 24.______ USB Guidance LEDS C ontrol Buttons Function Buttons Accuracy Options Large Color D isplay Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 * 1-800-452-7396 For form equipment visit our web »it« at www mrgg net
