Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2008)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 1,2008 Skaggs recognized with last Yard of the Month award Groups act to protect public health, environment Call for Boardman coal plant to clean up its act By Kay Proctor Frank and Janice Skaggs have received the last Yard of the Month rec ognition for 2008 from the Heppner Garden Club. The Skaggs reside at 230 W. Baltimore in a charming home built in 1010. The name D .O . Ju stu s is stamped in the front side walk. Its second story was lost to fire years ago, but the original wraparound porch is used by the Skaggs as a gathering place for “cof fee hour.” Close by is the pleasant sound of a running waterfall and Frank’s “stur geon pond" one of the many outdoor projects done by the busy couple. One of those proj ects was adding a large w ood deck to the back of the house w ith a Barbecue grill set ting on a brick paved area nearby. Adult children, Kim, Rob, Donna and Brian gath er there often with family making it the Skaggs’s fa vorite part of the yard. At move-in time four years ago, buttonweed had taken over the lawn. With work, the current yard has become a thick, green car pet. The soil is good and they have found some “old marbles” in it. Frank does the mowing and fertilizing, but credits Janice as being the “boss.” A bare spot in the backyard was turned into a rock garden with statuary and low growing peren nials. The Skaggs prefer river rock as mulch for their flowerbeds. A towering ever green in the front yard was identified by a forester as an older “Port Orford” Ce dar, a rare find in Eastern Oregon. Other older plant ings include Oregon grape, quince a gnarled lilac, and three unidentified, old-fash ioned perennials close to the house. Frank and Janice have added their own plant ings such as roses, heather, Frank and Janice Skaggs were awarded the final Yard of the Month award for 2008. -Contributed Photos cleomes, weigelia, Cam panula, snow on the moun tain, cotoneaster, variegated grass, a variety of sedums, lemon balm, dahlias, gladi- olas, Joe Pyes, rue, ferns, hostas. Hummingbirds are attracted to the sweet pea and clematis vines growing near the back fence. The Skaggs began their married life in Joseph, Oregon 53 years ago. Be fore arriving in Heppner, they lived in Sunnyside, Washington and Board- man and gardened in every one of their homes. Both remember as children work ing in their family’s large vegetable gardens; Janice in Joseph and Frank in West Virginia. Upon being asked what his gardening advice is to others, Frank jokes “Don’t start; it’s a lot of work,” but quickly changes that to “Plant something!” Janice serves as the Executive D irector of Neighborhood Center of South Morrow County while Frank is a retired mechanic. They share their home with Muffin, their 17-year-old guard dog, and Frisky, Brian’s 17-year-old cat. They share their love of family, home and gardening with each other. Yard of the Month recognition is co-sponsored by the City of Heppner, MCGG-Green Feed, Hep pner TV and the Heppner Garden Club. A coalition of envi ronmental groups took ac tion today to force Portland General Electric (PGE) to clean up its Boardman coal- fired power plant in Board- man. The Boardman coal plant is the largest stationary source of numerous air pol lutants in Oregon-emitting harmful levels of asthma* causing soot and smog as well as high levels of toxic mercury and carbon dioxide pollution. The coalition, which includes the Sierra Club, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Northwest Envi ronmental Defense Center (NEDC), Columbia River- keeper and the Hells Canyon Preservation Council, filed suit against PGE for failing to install modem pollution controls at the Boardman plant. “By law PGE was required to update the Boardman plant’s pollution controls when it upgraded other parts of the facility,” said PEAC attorney Au brey Baldwin. “PGE failed to do so and as a result the plant has been pouring ille gally high levels of harmful pollution into our air for years. The company also has been violating the terms of its state-issued air quality permit for the Boardman plant.” Oregon has a wealth of natural resources that can be used to meet the region’s energy needs without any of the negative side effects of coal. Energy efficiency and renewable energy can more cleanly and safely keep the lights on, while creating new jobs and saving the environ ment. Dan Ritzman, re gional director with the Si erra Club, stated that “PGE’s plan to bum coal until the year 2040 takes Oregon and the northwest in the wrong direction. We need to look beyond coal. We already have cleaner, safer, readily available ways to power our future through efficiency and renewable energy. Or egonians deserve a coal-free clean energy future.” Respiratory illness, asthma, chronic coughs and birth defects are just a few of the harmful health ef fects caused by the pollution from the outdated Boardman plant. Pollution from the plant also reduces visibility and causes acid rain and fog in more than 10 protected parks and wilderness areas, including the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, and Hells Canyon. “Our parks and wil derness areas are an impor tant part of our heritage, and our economy. We need to clean up the Boardman plant now to protect our national scenic treasure, the Columbia River Gorge, and our other special places so that future generations can enjoy and explore these magnificent areas too,” said Michael Lang, Conservation Director for Friends of the Columbia Gorge. “Pollution from the Boardman plant is harm- ing our health and hurt ing our environment,” said Mark Riskedahl, executive director of NEDC. “Coal- fired power plants are the nation’s largest sources of smog, soot, and mercury, the pollutants that lead to asthma, cancer, and other illnesses. Old-fashioned coal combustion has no role in a clean energy future for our state.” Mercury pollution in the Columbia River from the Boardman plant was raised as a key concern by the coalition, and PGE is now asking to further de lay installation of mercury controls at the Boardman Plant. “Mercury contamina tion in our water is cause for alarm,” said Brent Foster, executive director of Co lumbia Riverkeeper. “Chil dren and tribal members are particularly susceptible to serious neurological dam age from eating mercury- contaminated fish.” Brian Kelly, Res toration Coordinator for Hells Canyon Preservation Council, said, “Continuing to burn coal at the Board- man plant without installing the best controls to protect Oregonians and our envi ronment isn’t right. Hells Canyon and the alpine peaks of the Wallowa Mountains deserve clean air-not pollu tion and haze. PGE needs to clean up its act.” The coalition is rep resented by the Pacific Envi ronmental Advocacy Center (PEAC) at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland. Heppner Head Start takes field trip FSA offers increased loan limits Larry Frey, SED of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Oregon, announced that effective October 1, 2008, the maxi mum loan limit for FSA’s guaranteed loan program will be $1,094,000. The previous loan limit was $949,000. Earlier, it was an nounced that the new Farm Bill also raised FSA’s direct loan limit to $300,000, up from the prior $200,000 limit. These increased guar anteed and direct loan limits reflect the rising input costs affecting farmers and ranch ers. farmers who do not meet the lender’s normal underwrit ing criteria. FSA provides loans programs for begin ning farmers and limited resource producers, and pro vides lenders such as banks, Farm Credit System offices and credit unions with a guarantee to cover up to 95 percent of the loss if a loan goes into default. There are two types of guaranteed and direct loans: Farm Ownership (FO) and Operating (OL). FO Loans may be made to purchase farmland, con struct or repair buildings and other fixtures, develop farmland to promote soil and water conservation, or to refinance debt. OL Loans may be used to purchase livestock, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insur ance, and other operating expenses. Operating Loans can also be used to pay for minor improvements to buildings, costs associ ated with land and water development, family living expenses, and to refinance debts under certain condi tions. Farmers and ranch ers interested in FSA guar anteed loan programs may contact their lender or their local USDA Service Cen ter or FSA office for more information. To find your Maggie Armato was recognized for ranking in the top 2% for the nearest FSA office you can state of Oregon in pre-SAT scores for the National Merit Scholar visit www.fsa.usda.gov or Program. She was one of 200 students from Oregon who placed call 503-692-3688. in the percentile. Photo by Autumn Morgan “In these difficult financial times, our state’s lenders and borrowers will appreciate these higher Guaranteed Loan program lending limits. It responds to the increasing credit needs of the state’s farmers and ranchers,” said Frey. “In the same way, our direct loan program’s higher loan ceiling raises capital usage options for producers who obtain their loans directly from us.” FSA’s guarantee loan programs allow lenders to offer agricultural credit to Armato ranks in top 2% for test scores ♦ f The Heppner Head Start visited Heppner Family Foods on September 24 fora field trip. The children were given a tour of the store and had the opportunity to meet the employees that work there. They were given a treat bag that included healthy snacks, such as an apple, yogurt, and cheese. Additional apples were purchased by the class to make applesauce in their classroom. -Contributed Photo lone kicks off speech and debate season with success The lo n e H igh School Speech and Debate team started its 2008-2009 season on Saturday, Sep tember 27, at Silverton High School. This was a novice tournament, featuring stu dents who have never com peted before. lone took five new speech team m em bers: freshman Steven Holland competed in Extemporane ous Speaking; freshmen Jordan Peterson competed in Poetry Reading and joined freshman Christine Raible in Dual Interpretation; and freshman Jeremy Coleman joined his brother, senior Matt Coleman in Public Debate. The Coleman broth ers finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, but Matt was recognized as Top In dividual Speaker among all debaters. Also receiving recognition were Peterson and Raible, who took third place in Dual Interpretation. r Experienced team members, sophomore Mary Gates and junior Mikey Raible also traveled with the team to help the new members and to judge rounds of competi tion. The team 's next scheduled tournament is at Willamette University in October. If you would like to know more about speech and debate, or would like to help support the team, contact Coach Jim Raible at the school. f
