Heppner and Boardman high schools named
‘outstanding’ by U.S. News & World Report
97403
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
By April Sykes
M orrow C o u n ty
School District Superinten
dent Mark Burrows told the
school board Monday night
that two district schools,
Heppner High School and
Riverside High School in
B oardm an, w ere nam ed
outstanding schools by U.S.
HEPPNER
News and World Report.
Burrows said that only 31
schools in Oregon were so
noted.
Burrows also pre
sented a plaque to Heppner
Elementary School Princi
pal Matt Combe commem
orating Heppner Elemen
tary School being named
an “outstanding” school by
the Oregon Department of
Education.
Combe credited his
staff for their hard work
and dedication and their
em phasis on curriculum .
Two HES teachers, Jannie
Allen and Melissa Coiner,
made presentations on their
resp e c tiv e read in g p ro
grams that evening. Coiner
implements the COLT Time
read in g program in her
class curriculum and A l
len oversees the extracur
ricular Basketball Reading
Program.
Also at the m eet
ing Morrow County Clerk
Bobbi Childers presented
an election report on the
school district’s Com m u
nity Education C om m it
tees, which, she says have
often lacked candidates.
They have also tradition
ally lacked quorums for the
meetings and do not have
authority to take action.
Childers said CEC votes
must be counted by hand
and that CEC e le c tio n s
prove to be expensive for
the school district. Many
o f the functions of the CEC
groups overlap w ith the
site c o u n c ils w hich are
state m andated. CEC are
c u rre n tly esta b lish e d in
the H eppner, B oardm an
and Irrigon communities.
C hilders said the district
may opt to abolish CECs or
may continue with them.
In other business,
the board:
-received a state
ment o f assurances from
Burrows that district schools
are com plying with state
standards.
-approved naming
Joe Taylor to the district
budget committee position
7 as nom inated by Berto
Hernandez.
-See MORROW COUNTY
SCHOOL DISTRICTPage
TEN
Chamber elects Sponseller president for 2010
By David Sykes
imes
VOL. 129
NO. 2
10 Pages
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Public invited to Cap & Trade program
Free presentation to address effects o f legislation
on energy costs and the economy
By David Sykes
program will present both
A program
sides o f the issue,
to inform the pub
w ith p lu sse s and
lic about Cap and
minuses, and win
Trade, what it is and
ners and losers.
how it will affect
Some of the
people’s lives, will
topics to be covered
be held this Sunday,
include assumptions
January 17, begin
p eo p le m ay have
ning at 2 p.m. at the
on Cap and Trade,
Heppner Elementa
what is it and how
ry School gym. The Jeff
does it work, pos
Burkhart
program will be put
sible effects o f the
on by Jeff Burkhart,
legislation, effects
a Walla Walla attorney and on a g ric u ltu re , im p acts
expert on Cap & Trade.
to m anufacturing and the
According to Bur economy, and how much
khart, the presentation will the bill is expected to cost
focuses on the bill known in d iv id u a l h o u s e h o ld s
as “Waxman-Markey” that through increased energy
passed the U.S. House of and other costs. There will
R epresentatives on June be a questions and answer
26, 2009. Burkhart says his session with the public.
“ P rice in cre ase s
would be essential to the
success o f a cap-an-trade
p ro g ra m b e c a u s e th ey
would be the most impor
tant m echanism through
with businesses and house
hold would be encouraged
to make investm ents and
behavioral changes that re
duced C 02 emissions,” said
Terry Dinan, Congressional
Budget Office, testifying
before Congress on March
12, 2009.
The program is free
to the public and is spon
sored by the Willow Creek
Tea Party, a local nonparti
san group advocating public
education on various issues
facing the country.
Ballot drop site locations announced
B allo ts w ere re
cently m ailed out for the
vote on Measures 66 &67.
Ballots can be returned by
mail or at any designated
drop site. L isted below
are the M orrow C ounty
drop site locations and the
available days and hours
the sites will be open. All
ballots m ust be received
by 8 p.m. on January 26,
Election Day.
-N ew B oardm an
City Hall, 200 City Cen
ter Circle, Boardman, OR
97818; Open January 8-25,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
th ro u g h F riday, and on
January 26 (Election Day)
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
-Irrig o n A n n ex -
Planning Department Lob
by, 205 NE 3rd St., Irrigon,
OR 97844; Open January
8-25,8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon
day through Friday, and on
January 26 (Election Day)
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
-Bank o f Eastern
O regon-lone Branch, 280
West Main St., lone, OR
97843; Open January 8-25,
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
th ro u g h F riday, and on
January 26 (Election Day)
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
-M orrow C ounty
R oad O ffic e , 365 W est
H ighw ay 74, Lexington,
OR 97839; Open January
8-25,8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon
day through Friday, and on
January 26 (Election Day)
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
-M orrow County
Courthouse, 100 S. Court
St., Room 102, Heppner,
OR 97836; Open 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday, and on January 26
(Election Day) 8 a.m. to
8 p.m.
For more informa
tion contact the M orrow
County Clerk at 541-676-
5604, 541-481-2112, 541-
9224103 or visit www.mor-
rowcountyoregon.com.
Boardman grants extension to sell
Tower Road property to Love’s
T he B o a rd m a n
City Council voted in favor
o f extending an agreement
w ith L ove’s Travel Stop
and C o u n try S to res for
the purchase o f approxi
mately thirty plus acres o f
city property located on
Tower Road near Board-
man. Love’s plans to build
a travel stop on the property
and is currently working on
their site approvals.
L o v e ’s o r ig in a l
agreement with the city was
due to expired on January
12 o f this year, after both
45 day ex ten sio n s w ere
exhausted. Frank Ule, o f
Love’s Travel Stops asked
the council Tuesday night
for the extension, explain
ing the land use issues with
the state have been time-
consuming. He asked for an
extension, ending January
12, 2011, to complete the
sale o f the land.
A fter declaring a
Conflict o f Interest as he
works for Devin Oil Com
pany, Councilor Steve Do
herty was the first from the
audience to speak in oppo
sition to the sale; Devin Oil
has been an outspoken op
ponent to the Love’s Travel
Stop project. Mr. Doherty
said he originally voted in
favor of the sale because he
mistakenly believed Love’s
would be subject to an 8%
tax on all sales because the
project would be located
within the proposed speed
way excise tax district. He
said he w ould not have
voted in favor otherwise.
Mr. Doherty said having a
travel stop at that exit would
cause a commercial district
to develop outside the city
limits.
The H eppner
C h am b er o f C om m erce
elected Claire Sponseller
president for 2010. She w ill
take over from Jeff Bailey
who served the past two
years as president o f the
group.
Sponseller, along
with the rest o f the Chamber
Board o f D irectors, was
sworn it at the Cham ber
annual m eeting luncheon
held last Thursday at All
Saints Episcopal Church.
Sponseller, who previously
served on the C ham ber
Board o f Directors, is the
4-H Agent at Oregon State
University Morrow County
Extension Service, with of
fices in Heppner.
Before being pre
sented with a plaque o f ap
preciation, outgoing presi
dent Bailey praised all the
volunteers who worked on
various community projects
the past year including St.
Patrick’s Day Celebration,
the going away party for
Barbara Hayes, Christmas
lights on Main Street, Cel
ebrate H eppner and the
Parade o f Lights.
C ham ber E xecu
tive Director Sheryll Bates
also gave out aw ards to
some special volunteers in
the community. “When I’m
putting together any type
o f event or activity, I have
learned it is very important
Top Photo: 2010 Heppner Chamber of Commerce officers
were sworn in at the group's annual meeting last Thursday.
They are left to right: Board members Dean Antonucci (also
second vice pres.), Dave DeMayo, Nancy Snider, Kay Fow ler.
Les Faustian (also vice pres.) Dave Stone, Jeff Bailey (also
outgoing pres.) Claire Sponseller (2010 president), Lisanne
Currin (treasurer) and not pictured Anne Murray. Middle
Photo: Incoming Chamber of Commerce President Claire
Sponseller presents Jeff Bailey w ith a plaque of appreciation
for his work as president the past two years. Bottom Photo:
Chamber Executive Director Shery ll Bates (left) presents Doris
-See CHAMBER OF COM- Brosnan, Joanne Burleson and Babette Wall with volunteer
MERCE/Page TEN awards. -Photos hv David Sykes
Residents must now dial 541 to make local calls
Beginning January
10 residents living in the
541 area code had to begin
dialing a three-digit area
code for their local calls to
be connected. According
to Oregon’s Public Utility
Com m ission, if you dial
incorrectly you will get a
recorded announcement in
structing you to hang up and
dial again with 10 digits.
Customers have been able
to m ake calls by dialing
either 7 or 10 digits since
July 12.
The Public Utility
Commission also states that
custom ers with existing
541 area code telephone
numbers will continue to
use their same area code
and seven digit telephone
number. It may take some
time before customers be
gin seeing phone numbers
with the new 458 area code.
Phone companies will first
use their inventory of 541
phone numbers. However,
after February 10, 2010,
they may assign numbers
w ith the 458 area code.
City manager concerned over possible
conflict of interest on sewer study
By David Sykes
Heppner City Man
ager Dave DeMayo is con
cerned about a possible
conflict o f interest when
the same engineering firm
scheduled to do a study
o f the city sewer system,
will probably end up doing
the engineering work on
the final system upgrade
project.
M onday DeM ayo
shared emails he has ex
changed w ith LaG rande
engineering firm Anderson
Perry w ith the Heppner City
C ouncil, outlining those
concerns.
“ I am very c o n
cerned in general, that an
unbiased study is even con
ceivable, A-P (A nderson
Perry), DEQ (Department
o f Environmental Quality)
and the funding agencies
all have a vested interest in
an unfavorable outcom e,
and I might add. typical
ly an expensive unfavor
able outcom e," DeM ayo
em ailed Anderson Perry
President Brad Baird on
Dec. 16. DeMayo also sent
a copy o f the email to Del
Little, Program and Policy
C oord in ato r o f the Safe
Drinking Water Revolving
Loan Fund, which would
help finance any planned
improvements to Heppner’s
Sewer Treatment facilities.
An unfavorable outcom e
would mean the study will
find extensive and expen
sive upgrades are necessary
to the waste system.
At their December
m eeting the city council
heard a presentation from
Baird who talked then about
the waste water treatment
facility improvement plan
his firm will be working
on. The $25,000 study will
identify where Heppner's
sewer system needs work,
and where it will need ex
pansion. There are currently
690 connections in the city,
-See CITY COUNCIL/Page
TEN
-See BOARDMAN GRANTS
EXTENSION/Page TEN
Town and Country Awards event to be held Jan. 14
The Heppner Cham
ber of Commerce Town and
Country Community Awards
event, sponsored by Centu-
ryLink, will be held in the Pa
vilion at the Morrow County
Fairgrounds on Thursday,
January 14. This year’s theme
is “Honor Our past. Celebrate
the Future.”
A no-host social hour
will begin at 6 p.m. and din
ner will be served at 7 p.m.
Catering will be provided by
“Pudding on the Ritz”.
Tickets will be $20
and can be purchased at Bank
of Eastern Oregon, Com
munity Bank, Chamber of
Commerce, Heppner TV, and
Murray Drugs.
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221
*
1-800-452-7396
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