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)
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