Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2010)
Community group plans food assessment II. lnlinlil»IH"" Library Bessie Wetzell Newspaper University ot Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 By David Sykes H ow we grow , raise, process, distribute, access and recycle our food will be the subject of a food assessment study now un derway by CAPECO (Com m unity A ction Program East Central Oregon), a representative of the orga nization told the Heppner Chamber of Commerce last week. Community Food Resource Developer Karen Wagner of CAPECO said her organization will soon begin studying all aspects o f food in the Columbia Plateau region. The re gion stretches from Eastern Washington down into Or egon including the Willow Creek Valley. Wagner said be cause most of us rely on food that is trucked in and sold at retail stores, our food supply is not “secure”. She said the assessment study might show that it would be better if people grew more of their own food for the own consumption. She said the Co lumbia Plateau produces a lot of food, but most of it is shipped somewhere else to feed other people. “How can we keep some of that food here?” she asked. “If you live near good land you can have access to grow your own food.” She gave an ex Karen Wagner, Community Food Resource Developer, was program speaker at the Heppner Chamber of Commerce last week. Photo by David Sykes ample of “local food” as the school in Fossil that has a green house. The kids will grow things as part of their education," she said. “The town depends on a big truck coming in every couple of weeks with food,” Wagner said, which can lead to food insecurity. She said CAPECO supports farmers markets and community kitchens and those efforts at growing and distribut ing food in communities. Wagner said people need to get control of their food and their nutrition. “ We have the first generation of kids who are going to live shorter lives that their parents, and that’s prepos terous,” she added. Wagner said Com munity Food Assessment will “tell the story of what is happening w ith food in our region.” The assess ment and other aspects of the program are funded by federal stimulus money, and she said a grant of $350,000 in stimulus funds is also available for a larger food project that has yet to be developed. Morrow County voters said no to 66 & 67 Following an Eastern & Southern Oregon trend, all pre cincts voted no on both tax increases VOL. 129 NO. 5 10 Pages Wednesday, February 3,2010 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Kegler files for county judge D ean K egler o f Boardm an has filed for Morrow County Judge. According to the Secretary of States website Kegler filed for the position on January 29, 2010. In the past he has been self em- ployed grocery owner from 1986 to 2009. He owned K eg ler’s Sentry M arket in Boardman. Kegler has also worked for Denver Burglar Alarm Sales from 1985 to 1986 and in sales for Boyd Coffee from 1982 to 1985. He is Currently unemployed. He is a graduate of Sheldon High school and the University of Oregon. Two file for county DA Justin N elson o f Lexington and Elizabeth Ballard o f Heppner have both filed for M orrow County District Attorney. Ballard, who is the incumbent, graduated from Indian Hills Community College, Missouri Western State College with a bach- elor’s degree in psychology and University of Oregon with a Doctoral Law de gree. Nelson is a resi dent of Lexington and is currently Umatilla County Deputy District Attorney. He graduated from Heppner High School and attended Following the trend of most counties in Oregon, Morrow County voters said no to both tax increase measures last week in a big way. All five precincts in the county voted against the measure, and the county as a whole voted down both tax increases by about a 60 to 40 percent margin. Morrow County echoed the feelings of voters in all of Eastern and Southern Oregon which voted against both measures. Only 11 of the state’s 36 counties said yes, with Multnomah County logging the big gest yes vote by a 70 to 30 percent margin. The state on a whole passed both measures with approximately 46 no to 54 yes percentage. Graph 1 is the breakdown of Morrow County precincts and how they voted M easure 66 Yes votes Precinct 2 Irrigon 260 419 No votes 344 437 Precinct 3 Lexington Precinct 4 lone 43 74 187 236 Precinct 5 Heppner 321 522 263 411 347 445 189 235 533 Precinct 1 Boardman M easure 67 Precinct 1 Boardman Precinct 2 Irrigon Oregon State University where he received his bach Precinct 3 Lexington 41 elor’s degree in agriculture Precinct 4 lone 74 business. Nelson received Precinct 5 Heppner 312 his law degree from Wil lamette University College GRAPH 1 of Law. He also is currently serving on the M orrow Following is a break down of w ho the major contributors to the election on County Planning Commis both sides were. As of January 26,2010, “Vote Yes for Oregon’VDefend Oregon which sion. was in favor of the tax increase, reported raising approximately $6.85 million. The major contributors to that effort are displayed on Graph 2. Condon farm family pops their wheat By David Sykes A Condon farming family has found a new way to prepare their wheat, and have started a home based business as well. They pop it. The family busi ness makes four different kinds o f popped wheat, plain, ranch, Italian and brittle, which it markets un der the name Wheat Springs Bakery. Conceived out of the search by mother Donna Bates to find a way to di versify her family’s wheat products, she came up with the idea to pop some of the soft white they grow on their farm. “These light and tasty snacks are made from wheat exclusively grown on the Bates Ranches’ family farm outside of rural Con don, Oregon,” according to advertising literature sup plied by Sam and Donna Bates, who recently attend ed the Heppner Chamber of Commerce to talk about their product. SEIU Local 503 (Oregon Public Employees Union) $229.200 $100.000 $75.000 $30.000 $25,000 $20,000 $10,000 Alida Rockefeller Mesinger Senate Democratic Leadership Fund Sam Bates shows his home grown popped wheat to the Heppner Chamber of Commerce. -Photo by David Sykes The fam ily does the whole process from their farm including pack aging and marketing. The price ranges from three to four dollars for a 4oz bag, and $9.75 to $12.75 for a 16oz bag depending on the flavoring. A description of the different types says that the plain popped wheat “many people like to use this flavor as a cold cereal or in yogurt to give it a crunch. This fla vor has also been used as a substitute for Rice Krispies in Rice K rispie treats.” The Ranch flavor is “great in salads, on top of baked potatoes or ground to use as a breading for chicken or fish." The Italian is “also great in salads, on top of baked potatoes and as a breading for chicken or fish. Also excellent on its own as a snack”. And the fourth flavor, Brittle, is “a great sweet snack, is a great base for trail mix and can be used to make granola bars”. available. M ark L em m on, Bank of Eastern Oregon’s chief financial officer and H ep p n er H igh S chool wrestling coach, has been instrum ental in organiz ing the bank's sponsorship of the event. “The bank's management has been very involved in establishing this annual tournament and looks forward to the 2010 competition. The inaugural 2009 event was outstand ing and we intend the BEO Invitational to be a “can’t miss" tournament on every school’s future schedule,” said Lemmon. “We appre ciate bank staff and local citizens who volunteer to help at the event or spon sor amenities; their help makes the tournament run smoothly.” Anyone who would like to volunteer to help or have any inquiries concern ing the upcoming event, c o n tact H eppner High School’s athletic director, Greg Grant, at 541-676- 9138 or Mark Lemmon at 541-676-0224. A L L NEWS AND ADVERTISEM ENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. 7 $400,000 Oregon AFT Political and Legislative Action Network PAC Oregon Health Care Association American Federation of Teachers Oregon School Employees Association Nurses United PAC BEO to host Invitational Wrestling Tournament Bank o f Eastern Oregon announces the invi tees to the Bank of Eastern Oregon 2010 Invitational Wrestling Tournament to be held at Heppner High School on February 6. High schools scheduled to com pete are Adrian, Colton, Crape, Enterprise/Wallowa, G rant U nion, H eppner, Imbler, Irrigon, Joseph, McLoughlin (JV), River side, and Union. The com petition will begin at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at the door and concessions will be Amount $1.65 Million $850.00 C ontributor Oregon Education Association (Teacher's Union) I Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney GRAPH 2 As of January 26, 2010 Oregonians A gainst Job-K illing Taxes, who were op posed to the measures, reported raising about $4.56 m illio n. The major contributors are listed on Graph 3. C ontributor Amount Associated Oregon Industries PAC $357,000 Oregon Bankers Association $150.000 Nike Chairman Phil Knight $150.000 Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle $75.000 Weyerhauser Company $75.000 Qwest Communications $65.000 Portland Business Alliance $37.000 $20,000 Oregon Restaurant Association GRAPH 3 Health Dept. plans ‘rest stop flu clinic’ By David Sykes In an effort to reach more people who might not have received their H1N1 swine flu vaccination, the Morrow County Health De partment is planning to set up a clinic at the rest area near Boardman (Milepost 161) on 1-84 February 10. Public Health Di rector Sheree Smith says they will be stationed at both the east and west bound rest stops between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Feb ruary 10 and will offer the H 1N 1 vaccine to those who have not yet received it. The Boardman Fire Department is helping by setting up tents, tables and chairs. “We hope to reach some of those people who have not had an opportunity to receive the vaccine," says Smith. As an example she points out that truck drivers may be away from home for long periods of time and not have the chance to be immunized. -See REST STOP FLU CLINIC/Page FOUR GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: V alentine’ ó V a y Special 4 m o n t a n a 20 % OJJ Montana Silver EDD S IL V K R S M I I I I S Valentine’s Day February 14th I M orrow County Grain Growers Green F eed & S eed I_____ 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner » 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCOQ main offic» I '
