Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2008)
Sheriff candidates campaign as election nears By David Sykes II i I ii I iii I i I ii III um 'II i I h 'II Bessie Wet/ell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene. O R 97403 VOL. 127 NO. 40 10 Pages Wednesday, October 1,2008 The two candidates for Morrow County Sheriff took their campaigns to the Heppner Chamber of Com merce last week. The elec tion looms closer as ballots are expected to be mailed out October 17. Larry Sample and incumbent Sheriff Kenneth Matlack answered ques tions before the Chamber, explaining their priorities and plans for the future of the Sheriff’s Department. Matlack said his most important accomplish ment the last three and one half years is the re negotiat ing of the Um atilla County Jail con- t r a c t . Sheriff Kenneth M o rro w Matlack County contracts with Umatilla County to house prisoners, and Matlack said the new agreement allows more pris oners to be housed which “makes people responsible.” “We had nine beds at $200 per day. I was able to get 11 beds.” Matlack said now lawbreakers face real jail time and they know it. “We now have room at the inn and there isn’t any other place where you are going to do as much time,” he said of Morrow County. Sample agreed that the current jail contract is a good one. Matlack also said the single most important issue facing county law enforcement is drug traffic and usage. "Drug usage drives theft and vandalism and we have it all across the county,” he said. Challenger Larry Sample said there have not been enough rural patrols Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon under the current sheriff and he planned to change that. He also said he plans to establish a citizen advisory committee in each com munity, “So we know what the problems are.” He also wants to get funds restored for the DARE drug program. “DARE works,” Sample said. He also told the cham ber he wants to build back Annual lone Education Foundation Dinner held up the search and rescue and the sheriff reserves. During a question and answer session from the audience Sample said he would totally reorganize the sheriff department and also institute an employee incen tive plan. Matlack said a big change he instituted was the number of calls he and the undersheriff take. “Deputies go from call to call. Myself and the undersheriff take 300 to 1,000 calls per year.” He said he also increased animal control for better livability. On a question about the budget, both can- d i d a t e s agreed that the current budget is “ a d e quate”. On a question about dep uty train Larry Sample ing, both agreed that deputies need adequate training. About the current contract with the city of Heppner to provide police protection, Matlack, who negotiates the contract on a yearly basis, said he is satis fied with the current contract and that he rotates all the deputies through Heppner and that the sheriff and un dersheriff take calls when a deputy is not available. Sample said the con tract does not provide enough coverage for Heppner and he wants another deputy assigned here. “Sometimes at night you need another deputy. I would want to re-negotiate that contract,” he said. “1 would investi- gate all crimes in Morrow County,” Sample said. “You will nol hear on the phone ‘We don’t ha\e anyone to respond to that’. You would not hear that if I am the sheriff,” Sample said. He also favored assigning dog control and code enforce ment to non certified sheriff department employees. Matlack said calls are covered and crimes are investigated in the county. “Steve (Myron, undersher iff) and 1 take those calls,” Matlack said. He said he did not support non certified officers doing code enforce ment and animal control. "I prefer a uniformed guy,” he said. On drug enforce ment Matlack said the coun ty participates in BENT (the regional narcotics inves tigation unit) and that the deputies do street and other searches that find drugs. “We ask people if we can search their car or their house, and you would be surprised how many people consent, and we end up find ing drugs,” he said. Sample said BENT is not working in Morrow County as much as it should. “We need more than knock and talks,” Sample said of the procedure of knocking on suspicious doors and talking to people. Sample also said if elected he would work on keeping victims and people who file complaints informed on what is going on. He said the current sher iff department is not getting back to people. Matlack disagreed. "Every 30 days we contact the person that made the complaint,” he said. Christian Life Center welcomes Antonucci as new pastor Bv Autumn Morgan The annual lone Education Fundraiser and Dinner was held this past weekend in lone. Photo by David Sykes Health district loses $35,000 in August; prepares for levy By April Sykes The Morrow Coun ty Health District saw a $35,000 loss for the month of August, further demon strating the district’s need for a successful levy this November. The district has been operating without levy monies for the past several months as the previous levy has expired. Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney reported at the district’s regular meeting Monday night in Boardman that the year-to-date loss since July I is $69,000. M orrow C ounty Health District is seeking a .39 cent levy deemed nec essary to maintain services and continue to provide up-to-date care for district patients. MCHD CEO Victor Vander Does reported that he nixed the installation of a heating and ventilating system in the Pioneer Me morial Hospital basement and solarium for $90,323. A new HVAC system is in the process of being installed upstairs as part of the recent renovation designed to al low for care of long-term care patients at the hospital. Vander Does said that $90 thousand was just too ex pensive and said that they would try to make do with the old system downstairs. Vander Does said that with the renovations “possibly the downstairs heating sys tem will run more effec tively.” He suggested that the district wait through the winter to see how the current downstairs system operates. Vander Does also vetoed a $24,000 expenditure for car pet replacement throughout the hospital. "We are watch ing our funds,” he said. He said that Ma honey and a hospital team are looking at used hospital beds to outfit the new long term care rooms, as hospital beds are required for the fa cility to meet code. He said a new hospital bed would have cost $9,000 apiece. He said that the hospital has some beds, but they need seven more to outfit the rooms for nine long-term care patients. In other business at the meeting, the board: -approved a change in malpractice carriers for the district. Mahoney and Vander Does suggested that -Continued on Page THREE Morrow County educator arrested for theft On Wednesday, Sep $2,600, owned by the Mor tember 17, the Morrow' row County School District, County Sheriff's Of and then selling fice arrested Forrest them. Dean McKinnis, 30, The Mor row C o u n ty the director at the School District Morrow County Al has placed McK ternative Education innis on adminis Center in Irrigon for trative leave. He Theft I and Official is scheduled to Misconduct I. appear in circuit M c K in n is court in Heppner was charged with Forrest McKinnis on November 6. the theft of refer ence books totaling ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Christian Life Cen ter in Heppner welcomed a new pastor on August 1. Dean Antonucci and his wife, Teri, began their work with the church after the Van Cleave family moved to Pendleton. The Antonuccis moved from Port Angeles, WA where Dean was the senior pastor of Light in the City Church of God. Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Dean knew that he was being called into the ministry at age 13. He lived in Buffalo until he was 17, moving to Ellendale, ND to begin Bible college. He is the first in his family to go to college and graduate and is the only minister in his family. After beginning his college education in North Dakota, Dean transferred to Southwestern Assembly of God University where he re ceived a bachelor of science in professional studies. He is certified in food service mid-management in the study of culinary arts from the American Culinary Fed eration. He has also begun graduation work through the University of Phoenix in Business Leadership. Dean has been in the ministry for 24 years. He started in Buffalo as a Royal Ranger commander for his Dean and Teri Antonucci home church. He then be came a youth pastor after moving to North Dakota. Dean met Teri while at Bible college. They later moved to Oregon and were married in Milton-Freewater. The couple went on to serve as children's pastors in Prineville and then youth pastors in Toledo. They then moved to Grand Prairie, TX where Dean was called to be an associate pastor. It was during this time that Dean graduated from Southwest ern Assembly of God Uni versity is Waxachie, TX. After graduating. Dean was transferred to Wakeeny, KS where he served as the senior pastor at Harvest Time Assembly of God. They later moved G u id a n c e S y s te m $ 2995.00 back to Oregon and Dean served as associate pastor at Living Faith Church in Hermiston. He was then transferred to Roseburg to be an administrative pastor and then to Port Angeles, WA to be a senior pastor before ultimately transfer ring to Christian Life Center in Heppner. “I fell in love with Heppner.” said Antonucci. “We are looking forward to building long-term relation ships with the community and becoming a vital part of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ in Morrow County. I'm amazed that even though Heppner is a small town, there's a great deal of life and hope.” -Continued on Page THREE G u id a n ce L E D S Fu n ctio n B u tto n s La rg e C o lo r D isp la y U SB C o n tro l B u tto n s A c c u ra c y O p tio n s M o r r o w C o u n ty G r a in G r o w e r s Lexington 989-8221 * 1-800-452-7396 For lina «luIpninL Ililt oar ««( siti il « v i m en ntl
