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
♦
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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.
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