Davis begins work as deputy district attorney
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper l ibrary
University ot Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
By Autumn Morgan
There is a new face in
the Morrow County District
A ttorney’s O ffice. Kelsie
Davis began working with
District Attorney Elizabeth
Ballard as the deputy district
attorney on December 2.
Before joining the
M orrow C ounty D istrict
A tto rn e y ’s O ffice Davis
worked at a p ro secu to r’s
office in Washington. She
recently passed the bar exam
this summer and this is her
first time working as a fully
licensed attorney. “ I feel
very lucky to be in this posi
tion,” said Davis.
Born and raised in
Portland, Davis is the first
in her family to receive a
law degree. She received her
undergraduate degree at the
University of Washington in
Seattle and her law degree
from Gonzaga University in
Spokane, WA.
D avis has alw ays
w anted to be an attorney. “I
was one o f those kids w ho
knew w hat they alw ays
wanted to do,” said Davis. “I
knew I wanted to be an attor
ney in the fourth grade.”
Davis' parents and
sister still
l i v e in
Portland.
"They are
proud that
I'm doing
something
w ith my
degree to
help peo
ple,” said Kelsie Davis
Davis.
"B ein g a
D.A. has given me that op
portunity.”
As the deputy dis
trict attorney Davis not only
has her ow n case load, but
also works as a team w ith
D istrict A ttorney Ballard
on some cases. Her work
begins when she receives
an arrest report. Then the
decision is made on what
charges should be filed and
how' to proceed with the
case. These procedures can
include many court appear
ances. Her responsibilities
begin from the time some
one is arrested to the final
outcome o f the case is an
nounced.
“ I’m excited to be
in Morrow C ounty,” said
Davis. "Everyone has been
extremely welcoming."
Robinson not returning after 19
years on Heppner City Council
By Autumn Morgan
A fte r se rv in g 19
years on the Heppner City
C o u n cil, Kay R obinson
decided not to run again for
the office to which she had
devoted so many years to
public service.
Robinson said she
originally decided to run be
cause o f the way the council
and “the whole thing” was
being handled. She and a
friend decided they could
do ju st as well. So Rob
inson ran for the office of
VOL. 127
NO. 51
8 Pages Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
A winter wonderland
Heppner was transformed into a winter wonderland over the weekend with the town’s first snow
fall of the season. According to the National Weather Service in Pendleton, Heppner has received
approximately eight inches of snow so far. -Photo by Teresa Crawford
M u ra l o f fo rm er h o tel d isp la y e d at L es S ch w a b
councilor and won. She was
elected to the Heppner City
Council in 1988 and began
service in 1989.
“I continued serving
because I liked it,” said Rob
inson. “ It was interesting
and I enjoyed every minute
of it”
Robinson also served
as mayor of Heppner for a
period of time. She served
from August 13, 1991, to
January 10, 1993. "I enjoyed
being there, knowing what
was going on, and trying
to make things better.” said
Robinson. The most satisfy
ing accomplishment during
her career was when she got
the fire trucks for the fire
department during the time
that she was mayor.
"I h a v e e n jo y e d
w orking with everyone,”
said Robinson. Her official
last day will be on January
12 at the city council meet
ing w here S am arra Van
Doom will be sworn in as
her replacement.
Court Street reconstruction
project goes to bid next month
By David Sykes
Bids on the major
Court Street reconstruction
project will most likely be
let out in January, represen
tative o f ODOT (Oregon
Department of Transporta
tion) told the Heppner City
Council recently.
Three re p re se n ta
tives from ODOT were at
the D ecem ber 8 council
meeting to give an overview'
on the project which will
see Court Street completely
redone and straig h ten ed
from the courthouse to the
fairgrounds.
B ids on the $2.8
million project will be let
out on January 2, 2009,
with construction to start
in March and the project
w rapped up by O ctober,
said Tim Rynearson w ith the
LaGrande ODOT office.
“ The road is ju s t
worn out,” Rynearson said.
He told the council the new
road would be built out of
concrete and should have a
life o f 40 years. He also said
that ODOT would do the
best it could to not disrupt
the residents along Court
Street.
He said there would
be new sidewalk from the
courthouse out to the fair
grounds, and that quite a few
retaining walls would have
to be built.
The sharp co rn er
near where Stansbury Street
joins Court Street will be
straightened significantly
w ith a 10-foot retaining wall
required there. The center
line o f the new street will
be where the edge o f the
cliff is now, Rynearson said.
He said there would be nine
retaining walls total, rang
ing from three feet high to
This major curve at Court St. and Stanshury by the grade school
will be substantially straightened out upon the completion of the
ODOT rehabilitation project in Heppner. -Photo by David Sykes
be parking on the west side
of Court Street. The bridge
near the court house w ill also
be rehabilitated as part of the
project with the old asphalt
removed and replaced.
During construction
there will be one-way traffic
on Court Street and at times
residents will not be able to
use their driveways. There
will also be disruption of
water and sewer services.
Heppner Mayor Les Paus-
tian said arrangements have
been made with the grade
school to p ro v id e some
parking. There also will
be no construction during
the St. Patrick's Day Cel
ebration or Fair & Rodeo.
"It’s going to be quite an
improvement to our city,”
Paustian added.
“ It’s going to be a
crazy summer, we will be
tearing up your city,” said
Craig Sipp o f ODOT, but he
said they would all do their
best to keep the impact on
the people o f Heppner to
a minimum. “ I urge you to
contact us if you have prob
lems," Sipp added.
“When we get done
you are going to very pleased
with the finished product,”
Sipp told the council, “es
pecially with the concrete
work.
In oth er busin ess
at the meeting, the council
heard from Dick Sargent
Robert Harrison displays the mural he painted of the Palace Hotel. The mural can be seen at l.es
Schwab Tire Center. -Contributed Photo
A magnificent three ously, even surviving the Palace and decided he want
story building, one o f the Flood o f 1903, until it was ed to paint it and preserve 1 0 ft .
finest in the Inland Empire, destroyed in the Fire o f July a little piece o f history. He
The road w ill be
completed the painting and widened by three to five
was erected in Heppner at 4, 1918.
the comer o f May and Main
A mural o f the Pal donated it to the Morrow feet, curbs and gutters would
Streets in 1890. Known as ace Hotel is now displayed County Museum.
be installed and there would
Les Schwab has al
the Palace Hotel, it was built at the same location, the
to accommodate the increas corner o f May and Main, lowed the sepia-toned mural
AT MCGG GREEN
ing number o f travelers to where the hotel once stood. to be placed on the outside
Heppner that the train was The mural is a gift from the o f their business so all pass-
bringing in.
artist, Robert Harrison, who ersby can see a little bit of
The Palace H otel admired old pictures of the history.
served the public continu
who said he had read about
the city curfew law' pub
lished in the paper and that
members o f his church were
concerned about possible
youth problem s in town.
“ M aybe we have a need
to initiate a public watch
program," he told the coun
cil. City Council Member
John Bowles, who is also
a Morrow County Sheriff's
Deputy, said the Neighbor
hood Watch is separate from
law enforcem ent, but he
would be glad to meet with
people about setting up a
watch. "We are concerned
and we would be glad to get
together," Sargent said.
In other business it
was announced that the eity
received $66,000 in tippage
money for various project
and equipm ent, from the
recently concluded Needs
and Issues meeting.
Public Works Direc
tor Brian Harmon said he
has been meeting w ith mem
bers o f the Willow Creek
G olf Course, and that they
are working through their
problems with irrigation. "I
have met w ith Dale Holland
and 1 am looking forward to
the next irrigation season,"
Harmon told the council.
Previously there had been
some disagreement betw een
the golf course and the city
about how much and how
-Continued on Page EIGHT
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