Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 2008)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - THREE Heppner Garden Club sponsors HES students in poetry contests The Heppner Garden Club recently sponsored elementary school students for state and national poetry contests. The theme is nature’s song. A few o f the poems that were entered will be run each week in the Heppner Gazette-Times. Buck Alligator Brown, tall, Lazy, hunter Some have spots Hungry, rude, mean Grazing ju m p in g , sleep Biting, slashing, splashing, ing, laying smashing, A hungry grazer Sleepy hunter By Leo Waite Second Grade By Hayden Qualls Second Grade Snake Big, fast, Fat, long reptile Slithering, hunting, molt ing, basking, Bull snake By Hunter Nichols Second Grade Panda Bear Cute, furry They like bamboo, Swinging, caring, playing, climbing, White and black bear By Morgan Burch Second Grade FFA alumni meeting to be held A Heppner FFA alumni meeting will be held on Monday, December 15, at 7 p.m. in the HHS Ag class room. You do not have to be a current or former member to attend. State economy prompts school budget cut -Continued from Page ONE dance variance for a MCSD student to attend Umatilla High School. -received the follow ing enrollment report as of December 1: A.C. Houghton Elementary, Irrigon-347 stu dents; Heppner Elementary School-187; Heppner High School-236; Irrigon Ele mentary School-121; Irrigon High School-324; R iver side High School, Board- man-392; Sam Boardman E lem entary-3 10; W indy River Elementary, Board- man-228; Morrow Educa tion Center (Morrow County School District students)-77; MEC (Umatilla School Dis trict students)-29. -received the follow ing employment report: res- ignations/retirements-Sam Thurston, HHS special edu cation teacher at the end o f the school year; Jill Wright, Irrigon High School head volleyball coach; Heather Miller, Irrigon Junior/Senior High School; employment/ p rom otions-Jessica Leh man, HES educational assis tant, replacing Tammy Lien; extra duty co n tracts-Jo y Hearn, IJH assistant girls’ basketball coach; Sheila Corpus, RHS drama advi sor; Mindy Wilson, Heppner Junior High head girls’ bas ketball coach; Keith Price, HHS assistant girls’ basket ball coach; Melissa Coiner, HHS head track coach. -heard the following announcem ents: D ecem ber 18-last school day be fore Christmas; December 22-January 2-winter break; January 5-school resumes; Jan u a ry 12-next school board m eeting, H eppner Elementary School, 7 p.m. Port of Morrow announces commission meeting date The Port of Morrow will hold their next commis sion meting on Wednesday, January 14, at 1:30 p.m. IRZ Consulting Study discovers method to conserve Oregon’s dwindling water resources In an effort to maxi mize the state’s water re sources, IRZ C onsulting, an irrigation resource man agement engineering firm known for its creative solu tions, has developed a pro cess to store thousands o f acre-feet o f Columbia River water in groundwater aqui fers during winter months in Oregon’s Umatilla Basin and recover the water for farmers when agricultural needs are high. IRZ’s design is the first ever large-acreage Aquifer Storage and Recov ery (ASR) system developed specifically for agriculture, and if implemented by the state and landowners, has the potential to significantly boost Oregon’s agricultural revenue. T he O reg o n W a ter Resource D epartm ent (OWRD) selected IRZ in the spring o f 2008 to conduct a study to determine how to replenish Um atilla Basin aquifers in U m atilla and M orrow C ounty through ASR. IRZ perform ed the study, formally known as the Umatilla Recharge Project, over the summer and pre sented the initial results that demonstrated the feasibility of the project to OWRD and other regional stakeholders this November. Municipalities have successfully implemented ASR for some time, but to date no one has attempted an agricultural ASR system o f the Umatilla Recharge Proj ect’s scope. “Although some said an ASR project o f this size - across two counties - was impossible, our study is indicating o th erw ise,” said Fred Ziari, president of IRZ Consulting. “Our hope is that this system, beyond helping us here in Oregon, will serve as an example of how the new water resource management technologies o f 21 st-century agriculture can solve food and water shortage issues on a global basis.” Due to co ntinued decline o f groundwater, last year OWRD allowed farm- HHS Students of the Month For the month of November the Heppner High School staff selected students who were “Trustworthy” as Students of the Month. From left to right are Emily Thompson, Blake Greenup, Seth Palmer, Quinn Chick, and Eric Chick. Not pictured is Bryce Fowler. -Contributed Photo Greenhand Initiation ceremony to be held The Heppner High School Chapter o f the FFA will be holding a celebration at the HHS cafeteria for the Greenhand Initiation ceremony on Thursday, December 11, at 7 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend. ers to use only 33 percent o f the potential amount of groundwater available. This came at a high cost to Uma tilla and Morrow County, which combined generate an estimated $1.65 billion from crops and food processing activities each year. Beyond Oregon, farmers around the nation and globe are facing the same groundwater short ages as the scarcity o f water from aquifer depletion and irrigation from wells threat ens the future o f their food production. “Innovation and sus tainability are at the heart o f the Umatilla Recharge Project,” said Barry Nor ris, technical services ad ministrator o f OWRD and p roject m anager for the Umatilla Recharge Project. “This represents a huge op portunity to solve the water needs o f our farmers while positively im pacting our economy in the long term.” The proposed ASR system would transport m assive amounts o f water each w in ter from the Columbia River, estimated at betw een 50,000 to 100,000 acre-feet, making it the largest agricultural ASR system in the nation. The water w ould be injected and stored in designated underground aq u ifer re charge areas across Umatilla and Morrow County. Water would then be released in the summer for agricultural use, resulting in a process that minimizes the impact on the environment. OW RD contracted with IRZ following the pas sage of the Agriculture and Community Water Act o f 2008 (SB 1069) and IRZ will complete the study by June 30, 2009. If approved by the state, the Umatilla Recharge Project will un dergo an initial pilot study followed by a full-scale im plementation. Teaming with IRZ, GSI Water Solutions and HDR Engineering also contributed their expertise to the project. Chamber Lunch Meeting speakers announced This week’s speakers for the Chamber Lunch Meet ing on December 11 will be Craig Miles, Beth Dickenson and some o f Heppner High School's FFA students to give an update on FFA, and talk about the value o f being an FFA alumni. The meeting will be held at noon at John’s Place. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by end o f business day on Wednesday, December 10, so meals and seating can be planned. There will not be a Chamber Lunch meeting next week so preparations can be made for the Celebrate Hep pner Christmas event on Thursday, December 18. Also, don’t forget about other events happening this week on December 11: ICABO M eeting at 7:30 a.m. at Colliers in lone. ODOT will be present to discuss Horseshoe Bend.; Welcome Home Open House for City Manager Dave DeMayo will be held on from 3-5 p.m. at City Hall. .............. .. Public comment requested on West-End OHV Draft Environmental Assessment District to Host Public Meetings in Heppner, Fossil and Monument A fter nearly 30 years in the insur ance INDUSTRY IN lONE, JlM SWANSON HAS DECIDED TO RETIRE FROM WHEATLAND insurance C enter , I nc . on D ecember 31 st , 2008. P l e a s e j o in u s in c o n g r a t u l a t in g J im FOR ALL HIS HARD WORK AND DEDICATION t o W h e a t l a n d . A n o p e n h o u s e w il l BE HOLDING J IM ’S HONOR ON THURSDAY D ecember 18 th from 10 am to 3 pm a t WHEATLAND INSURANCE IN lONE. E v e r y o n e is w e l c o m e ! The Heppner Ranger District will host three pub lic meetings over the next two weeks to discuss the five alternatives developed for the West End OHV Project Draft Environm ental A s sessment (EA,) announced Tom Mafera, Heppner Dis trict Ranger. The scheduled December 15th release o f the Draft EA will begin the official 30-day public com ment period, intended to provide those interested in Daily lunch sp ecials & H o m e m a d e soups fr o m S a n d i's c a te rin g Christm as boxed cards ZS% off Yankee Candles Christmas scents 25% off Open Sundays for Christmas i Z - S p.m. % M umuj ' j D/UUJ I.IN C . 217 North Main • Heppner • Phon* 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426 Serving Heppner, Lexington A Ione or affected by this proposal an opportunity to make their concerns known prior to a decision being made. The m eetings will be held at the follow ing locations: Heppner Ranger District Office in Heppner on Wednesday, December 17, from 6-8 p.m.; Wheeler County Family Service Cen ter in Fossil on Thursday, D ecem ber 18, from 5-7 p.m.; and the Senior Center in Monument on Monday, D ecem ber 22, from 5-7 p.m. The Heppner D is trict initiated the West End OHV project in response to the 2005 Travel M an agement Rule; Designated Routes and Areas for Mo tor Vehicle Use. The rule calls for the designation o f roads, trails and areas open to motorized travel to provide better opportunities for sustainable motorized recreation and high-quality access for all users while protecting natural and cul tural resources, increasing public safety and reduc ing effects on big game. Designated routes for mo torized travel are already in place on m ost o f the Umatilla National Forest. The Forest’s one exception is the 91,000-acre West-End OHV Project Area which is generally open to Class 1 and Class III OHVs for off-road travel. The West-End OHV Project Area is located on the west side of the Heppner Ranger District and includes all Forest Service lands west o f Forest Road 22 (Morrow C ounty Road 670/G rant County Road 3). No deci sions will be made concern ing private or county lands. A copy o f the West End OHV Project Area Draft Environmental Assessment will be available at the Hep pner District Office or can be viewed on-line at: http:// www. fs. fed. us/r6/uma/proj - ects/readroom/. For more informa tion please contact Janet Plocharsky, Heppner District Planner at 541-676-9187, 117 South Main Street, P.O. Box 7, H eppner, Oregon 97836. Senior Center Menu Heppner Christian Church members will be serving lunch on Wednesday, December 17. The menu will include baked chicken with orange sauce, new potatoes and peas, fruit cocktail, hot rolls, and apple crunch. 2009 M edicare P art D Plans Advantage Freedom Plan by RxAmerica 800-429-6686 www.Meds4Medicare.com Advantage Star Plan by Rx America 800-429-6686 www.Meds4Medicare.com Asuris Medicare Script 800-452-2909 www.regence.com Asuris Medicare Script Enhanced 800-452-2909 wwAv.regence.com Community CCRX Basic 866-566-8741 wwAv.communitycarerx.com Community CCRX 866-566-8741 www.communitycarerx.com Community CCRX Gold 866-566-8741 www.communitycarerx.com SilverScript Value 866-552-6106 wAvw.silverscript.com SilverScript Plus 866-552-6106 www.silverscript.com SilverScript Complete 866-552-6106 WAvw.silverscript.com Sterling RX 866-228-8920 www.sterlingplans.com Providence Part D 800-457-6064 www.providence.org Trusted LOCAL care since 1959. For detailed information on theese plans please contact them directly or visit the medicar ewebsite at www.medicare.gov. We would be happy to visit with you about our services. Celebrating 50 years o f serv ice to Eastern Oregon, thank you. ^ Mtu/uuj'i D aiuj 217 North Main • H«ppn#r • Phon* 67ft-« 1M • Floral 676 *42« Serving Heppner, Lexington A lone
