Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2008)
M.C. Road Committee unveils plans for upcoming road projects II.I..I.„ I.U l l .....11,1.nil Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 The Morrow County Road C om m ittee met on Monday, September 29, at the Columbia Basin Co-op conference room. Discus sion was held on the past year’s road department proj ects with some discussion on upcom ing projects as well. These roads have been listed on the Transportation System Plan (TSP) and they have been approved by the Road Com m ittee and the County Court. The projects listed for this coming year are: -Road Canyon Road - which will consist o f re placing the bridge -Rietmann Lane - a .9 mile portion to reclaim the old beaten up asphalt -Willow Creek Road - a 20.5 m ile stretch o f crack seal from Hwy 207 to Cuts forth Park -Depot Lane - will finish up the 4.1 mile por- tion o f ditch work and pave w ith hot mix from Patterson Ferry Rd. to the Wagon Wheel subdivision -Juniper Lane - w ill have shoulder and ditch work and pave w ith hot mix from the end o f the good pavement to the lone- Boardman Road -Io n e-B o a rd m a n Road shoulder and ditch work on the 6.0 mile portion o f the Ella Road to the end o f the pavement -Rhea Creek Road Hiding in plain sight VOL. 127 NO. 41 10 Pages Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Boardman Rural Fire Protection District proposes to build new fire station Ten years ago, by a vote o f the people, the Boardman Rural Fire Pro tection District annexed the City of Boardman creating a more efficient fire depart ment. In the years since the community and fire district have grown. The current building was built in 1973 and remodeled in 1998. Since the station was originally built, Sam Board- man Elementary and Windy River Elementary have been constructed across the street. This has created a major safety concern during emer gency responses when there are numerous children walk ing to and from school as well as increased vehicle traffic with parents drop ping off or picking up their children. The Fire D istric t proposes to build a new fire station and training facility funded by a General Obli gation Bond not to exceed $11,000,000. The proposal that the Fire D istrict put together for the new fire station incorporates several im provem ents. This will increase the level of service provided by the fire district. The estimated tax rate for an $11 million bond would be $.45 per $ 1,000 o f assessed property value, or $45 for each $100,000 o f assessed property value. The bonds are expected to mature in approximately 30 years. The rate could vary depending on interest rates, growth in the district’s total assessed value from new homes and busi nesses, and from other new development. For example if assessed value increases more than assumed, the tax rate would go down. The new fire station would be built on the south east corner o f C olum bia Avenue and Olson Lane on land donated by the Port of Morrow. The new station would include housing for up to 15 students enrolled in our new firefighter sleeper program. These students, in exchange for housing and education, would do shift work at the station while completing their degrees in fire science and paramed ics. They would respond to em ergency fire and EMS calls when not attending classes. In c re a s e d am b u - Lemmon shoots first buck Sammantha Lemmon, 12, shot her first buck on opening day of deer season. She was hunting with her father. Will Lemmon. This was Sammantha's first hunt. -Contributed Photo 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 off photos, or email them to editar'a rapidserve net lance service through a co operative agreement is an additional benefit with the student program. This will allow the district to provide 24 hour staffing for emer gency calls 365 days a year. The district could not other wise afford this coverage. The new station in clu d es up to date tra in ing facilities that will be utilized by the fire district and other local emergency services. Having training within the district not only reduces traveling costs but also keeps all our firefighters close at hand. Currently, the Board- man Rural Fire Protection District has three full time paid firefighters that work M onday through Friday, also responding during non work hours. The majority o f fire fighters are dedicated vol unteers who live and work throughout the community. The demand on these volun teers with family and work obligations, to include fire fighter training and emer gency calls, is very heavy. A lso, in the past, when there was a fire vol unteers dropped what they were doing and left work to help out with the fire call. This is no longer the case. Most employers no longer allow their employ ees to leave work to respond to fire or ambulance calls. This leaves the district at times during the day when there are not enough ready people to staff a fire engine. While this is rare, it has hap pened and the effects can be disastrous. For fu rth er in fo r mation contact the Board- man Rural Fire Protection D istrict Board o f D irec tors. They are: Don Rus sell, 481-4277; Clint Finley, 4 8 1 -2852; Randy Yates, 481-2057; Rick Sandlin, 481-2377; and Jerry John son, 481-6117. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. This four point mule deer knows he will stay safe this hunting season as long as he stays within the city limits of Heppner. This picture was taken on the opening day of deer season on Willow street in Heppner-TVio/o by David Sykes shoulder and ditches work -B o m b in g R ange Road - project to realign the south end at the intersection o f Hwy 207, from just north o f Straw berry Lane to Hwy 207; including building new roadway and pave with hot mix -Road Canyon Road - add a lift o f gravel from Upper Rhea Creek road to the top o f the grade -Porcupine Lane - add a lift o f gravel over the two inch rock -Sumner Road - add a lift of gravel over the two inch rock -South Transfer Sta tion to add two new spots for garbage bins -H a rd m a n R id g e Road - about a 2.5 mile section adding base rock and gravel from Porcupine Lane to Wyland Grade Road Junction -Bunker Hill Road - the Road Committee voted to not reclaim Bunker Hill Road at this time; a two year extension was approved by the committee. O th e rs a tte n d in g voiced opinions on their par ticular roads and the county will take into consideration these particular areas. Any questions or concerns please contact the Public Works of fice 541-989-9500. Economic Group gets tour of Lexington airport By David Sykes The Willow Creek Valley Economic Develop ment Group (W CVEDG) w as givdn a to u r o f the Lexington airport last week, and was shown all the im provements that have been made there. Sandi P utm an o f the Morrow County Public Works Department, which maintains the airport and did much o f the upgrades, gave the tour and explained what has been done. Putman pointed out the new Secure Automated Weather System which al lows pilots to phone in to get the local weather condi tions. A total o f $732,000 was spent on improvements to the airport including the weather system, an extended runway, new gas card lock system, new ag site refuel ing station, and a new han gar. Money for the improve ments came from grants, with the county putting up in-kind services. The runway is now Sandi Putman (center) gives a tour of the Lexington airport and show s the improvements to WCVED. -Photo by David Sykes 4,800 feet long and is as long as the Pendleton air port runway. Public Works D irecto r Burke O 'B rien pointed out. He said hunt ers coming in to use local fee hunting ranches use the airport quite a bit, and that it has potential for more commercial uses. He said a commuter type 8 passenger plane could land here now. Putnam said the card lock system was a big im provement. Previously the airport fueling was on an honor system with pilots fueling up and then writing their billing information on a clip board. “ We would then bill them and wait for payment. Now they slip a credit card in there and get their fuel. And we get paid." And w ith aviation fuel now going for $5.38, “th at’s a good thing," Putnam said. She added that the airport probably sells 1200 to 1500 gallons o f fuel per month. “We wanted to view the airport and see the im provements you have made," WCVEDG president Nancy Snider said. “And we can see there is potential here.” NOAA issues monthly climate summary for Heppner A ccording to p re liminary data received by NOAA's National Weather Service in Pendleton, tem peratures at Heppner aver aged slightly warmer than normal during the month of September. The average te m perature was 61.6 degrees w hich was 0.5 d e g re e s above normal. High tem peratures averaged 76.5 de grees, which was 0.5 degrees above normal. The highest was 91 degrees on the 17th. Low temperatures averaged 46.8 degrees, which was 0.6 degrees above normal. The lowest was 33 degrees, on the 29th. On one day, the tem perature exceeded 90 de grees. Precipitation totaled 0.03 inches during Septem ber, which was 0.66 inches below normal. Measurable precipitation -at least .01 inch- was received on one day. The outlook for ()c- tober from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center calls for near normal tem peratures and above normal precipita tion. Normal highs for Hep pner during October are 64.3 degrees and normal lows are 38.5 degrees. The 30 year normal precipitation is 1.07 inches. The National Weath er Service is an office o f the National Oceanic and A tm ospheric A dm inistra tion, an agency o f the U.S. Commerce Department. AT MCGG GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: ALL IHIUCK FOOTWEAR NOW 10% OFF M orrow County Grain G rowers Green F eed & S eed 242 W. Linden Way, H eppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office) I
