St. Patrick’s Celebration faces
cutbacks without new funding
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VOL. 128
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NO. 7
8 Pages
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
By David Sykes
If the St. Patrick’s
Day C e le b ra tio n cannot
com e up w ith additional
funding, it may have to cut
back on some activ ities and
scale down the size o f the
celeb ratio n , St. P atrick ’s
Chairman Sheryll Bates told
the Heppner Gazette-Times
this week.
“Most people don’t
realize it, but the St. Pat
ric k ’s C elebration is not
connected to the Chamber
of Commerce,” says Bates,
who is also executive direc
tor of the chamber. The cel
ebration is put on by a stand
alone group o f volunteers.
The City o f Heppner takes
care of their money but does
not contribute funds to the
celebration. The Chamber
o f Commerce is used for
organization o f the festivi
ties. The funding to put on
the celebration comes from
many d ifferen t so u rces;
however there has been an
average $5,000 shortfall in
the past several years.
For in sta n ce th is
year the total budget will
spend $19,250, but there
is revenue o f only $14,050
coming in. The shortfall is
made up from cash carry
over from prev ious years,
a carryover that will disap
pear this year and leave the
celebration with only about
$200 in the bank.
"W e n e e d so m e
fundraising or we will have
to cut back,” Bates says. She
is not happy about it, but that
is the reality she must deal
with. “We have been count
ing our pennies and watch
ing what we spend,” she
adds. Bates did not say what
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon events or serv ices would
have to be curtailed, but said
the committee would have
sold on eBay for $1,997.
to decide that.
In addition McKin
"We will have a cel
nis w as ordered to undergo ebration next year, it just
a psychiatric evaluation and
attend a gambling addiction
program.
Rick S. Smith, 51,
D efen se atto rn e y
Brent Smith said his cli o f Heppner was found de
ent would suffer additional ceased at the scene o f a
hardship from the convic single vehicle crash near
tion. “ His teach in g c e r Heppner on Saturday, Feb
tificate will be pulled and ruary 14.
The Morrow County
he will be suspended from
Sheriff's
Office received a
teaching,” Smith said. "He
report
o
f
a single vehicle
has resigned from the school
district and it will be a long crash around 9:05 p.m. that
time before he works for a
school again,” Smith told
the judge.
Teacher sentenced in book thefts
By David Sykes
Former teacher and
Heppner High School boy’s
basketball coach Forrest
McKinnis plead guilty last
week to stealing 43 books
from the classroom and sell
ing them on eBay. McKinnis
plead guilty to one count o f
first-degree theft and two
counts o f first-degree of
ficial misconduct.
T he th e ft c h arg e
was reduced under the plea
agreement from a Class A
felony to a Class C misde
meanor and Judge Daniel
Hill sentenced M cKinnis
to 180 days in jail, but sus-
pended 150 days in favor o f
30 days electronic surveil
lance. Hill also sentenced
M cK innis to 24 m onths
probation and 40 hours o f
community service. He was
also fined $ 1,000 with $500
suspended.
Also under the plea
ag reem en t, the 43 three
counts o f official misconduct
were reduced to two, and for
those M cK innis received
360 days in jail suspended
w ith 24 months probation to
run concurrently. McKinnis
was fined a total of $ 1,878 in
fees, assessments and judg
ments. Earlier he had repaid
the district $2,600, the retail
value o f the books which he
o f the investigation, MCSO
became aware that Quast
had additional devices that
he had hidden in his young
er sister's bedroom at his
m other's home. Sgt. Ray-
bum, accompanied by bomb
technician Dennis Wagner,
went to the residence and
found three devices in a
bedroom closet.
The Bom b Squad
removed all o f the devices
and they will be destroyed
at a safe location.
Daniel Vernon Quast
was lodged at the Umatilla
may be smaller that it has
been in the past," she said
o f rumors around tow n that
the celebration may end this
year.
In the past, major
fund raisers such as an auc
tion and casino night have
prov ided funding, and the
com m ittee does plan on
holding casino night again
this year, but Bates doesn't
know if it will make up the
gap. "We receive $6,500
from the recreation district
and that funds the entertain
ment,” she says, "but there
are lots o f expenses not cov
ered that need to be funded
in order to draw the crowds
and put on the same level o f
celebration.”
"We are looking for
fund raising ideas and vol
unteers to do the work to
keep our celebration going,”
says Bates, adding that they
also accept donations.
This year’s celebra
tion will be March 12-15 and
will be the 27th annual.
Heppner man dies in crash
Three pipe bombs seized, man charged
The Morrow County
Sheriff's Office has arrested
a 19 year old Irrigon man,
Daniel V. Quast, in connec
tion with manufacturing a
pipe bomb.
S e rg e a n t R andy
Rayburn with the Morrow'
County Sheriff's Office was
in the process investigating
a civil issue when he was
shown a possible pipe bomb
in a vehicle at the Irrigon
Mobile Court on February
11. The vehicle was oper
ated by Quast, o f Irrigon.
During the course
The 27-year-old Heppner St. Patrick’s Celebration may
have to say goodbye to some aetiv ities oi events if additional
sources of revenue are not found. -Photo b\ David Svkes
County Jail on the follow
ing charges: three counts of
possession o f a destructive
dev ice, a class C felony, and
three counts o f illegal manu
facturing o f a destructive
device, a class C felony.
The Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office reminds ev
eryone that manufacturing
a destructive device is both
illegal and dangerous. Two
years ago, another M or
row County man was killed
w hen the pipe bomb he was
working on detonated unex
pectedly.
Colt basketball teams show off their skills
day. A passing m otorist
found the vehicle near mile
post 8 on W illow Creek
Road.
An investigation by
the Morrow County Sher
iff's Office determined that
Smith's 1998 Toyota pickup
was northbound on W il
low Creek Road when the
vehicle left the road and
entered the soft gravel on
the shoulder o f the road. The
vehicle then returned to the
pav ement, crossed to the op
posite side o f the road where
it rolled at least twice.
The incident is still
under investigation.
Valby Lutheran to formally
install Anderson as pastor
V a lb y L u th e ra n
Church will be holding a
special worship service on
Sunday, February 22, at 3
p.m. to formally
install Rev. Katy
Anderson as their
pastor. Members
of the community
are cordially in
vited to join lo
cal clergy, luther-
an pastors from
aro u n d E a stern
Oregon, former pastors o f
Valby, and current m em
bers o f the congregation in
celebrating this event.
Bishop Dave Brauer-
Rieke o f the Oregon Synod
o f the Evangelical Lutheran
C hurch in A m erica will
preside. The serv ice will be
followed by a reception.
Pastor Anderson has
been serv ing the members
o f Valby on a half-time ba
sis since October 2007, the
first six months as an
intern and then con
tinuing informally
until her ordination
at Peace Lutheran
Church in Pendleton
on D ecem ber 20,
2008. The serv ice
o f installation for
malizes her role as
pastor o f Valby, follow ing
in a long line o f faithful
pastors who hav e serv ed this
congregation since it was
founded in 1886.
Katy is the fourth
generation o f Lutheran pas
tors in her family. She came
into the m inistry after a
career as a family law para-
legal and mediator, working
for more than 20 years w ith
her husband, attorney Bruce
A nderson, in La Grande.
She continues to serve the
C ircu it C ourts o f Union
and Wallowa Counties as
a court-connected custody
and parenting time mediator
during the portion of each
week she spends at the fam
ily home in La Grande.
Valby L u t h e r a n
C hurch w orships w eekly
on Sunday mornings at 9
am. Several opportunities
for Bible study are av ailable
during the week. For more
information or for directions
to the church, you can reach
Pastor Anderson any day o f
the week at her Lexington
phone number: 989-8174.
lowe’s community fundraiser
linripr t o hp H p IH
Howe's Community Fundraiser Dinner will be held at the Elks Lodge on Thurs
day, February 26, from 5-8 p.m.
A spaghetti dinner will be served. Raffle tickets for a print by Sandra Haynes
will be available for purchase.
Anyone interested in bringing a dessert is asked to contact the Chamber at 676-
5536 or Shelli Britt at 676-5489.
Al the MCGG GREEN FEED STORE in H eppner:
W IN T E R C L O T H IN G S A L E
Players in the Colt basketball program showed off the skills they have learned, playing
games during halftime of the Mustang games on Friday. -Plwln by Sotuh Matthew s
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
In su lated Bibs and C overalls • F lan n el S h irts
W inter Pac B oots • W inter Insulated G loves • S to ck in g Caps
M orrow County Grain G rowers Green F eed & S eed
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)