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
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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.______
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Lexington 989-8221 * 1-800-452-7396 For form equipment visit our web »it« at www mrgg net