Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2010)
People on verge of losing control of water By David Sykes 97403 ................. Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 T he g o v e rn m e n t is trying to take more and m ore control over w ater usage and that w ill be det- rimental to agriculture and in the long run the people of America, an Oregon water rights expert told a gathered crowd of around 75 people in Heppner Sunday. H elen M oore o f Water For Life, an agricul- Helen Moore of W'ater For Life talks to community members at a water rights program put on by the Willow Creek Valley Tea Party Patriots Sunday, March 21, at Heppner High School. -Photo by David Sykes VOL. 129 NO. 12 8 Pages Wednesday, March 24, 2010 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon tural advocacy organiza tion, said there is very little respect in the Oregon State Legislature for what agri culture does or represents in our culture. She pointed out several exam ples o f both the state and federal governments trying to gain more control o f not only water but the land around the water. In one e x a m p le Moore said legislation in troduced in the last Oregon legislative session would have changed the definition o f ’navigitable” water ways to m ean “ an y th in g you could float a toothpick in”. She said the bill would have also allowed people using a waterway to come on to private property bordering the river or creek. “ You could have kayakers for in stance coming on your land, opening gates camping and leaving their garbage on your land.” And, she said, there was nothing in there (the bill) that limited how much time they could stay on your land. This is an uncom pensated taking of private property. P o r ts a re a ls o against this because people could come onto their lands, Moore said. “More govern m ent, m ore rules, m ore takings. We believe water rights are property rights.” A lthough the navigable waters bill did not pass,she is confident it will be com- Town of Lexington Gray set to retire after 32 years of service with Morrow County Court purchases Kingdom Hall Justice of the Peace C harlotte G ray is set to retire after 32 years with the Morrow County Court. Her current six-year term will end on December 31, 1978, Gray was ap pointed by the gov ernor o f Oregon as justice of the peace. In 1980 the M or row County courts 2010 . were combined and While her work in the Morrow County the c o u rt system began D istrict C ourt was 32 years ago in M orrow established in Hep County, Gray got her first pner. Currently Gray taste of court work in The spends tw o nine-hour Dalles. Gray moved to The days in Heppner on Dalles in 1971 from Kansas Mondays and Tues and was hired by Municipal d ays and tw o 11 - Charlotte Gray Court Judge Ron Summers hour days in Irrigon to be a clerk. In addition on Wednesdays and also taken a four-week class to being the clerk, she was Thursdays. also the deputy municipal While Judge Gray with the Legal Institute’s judge. “The Lord provided does not have a law degree, National Judicial College, on that job," said Gray. she has made sure to keep followed by eight months In 1 9 7 6 G r a y up with changes to the law of video and testing. This moved to Heppner, and in by attending judicial con course was equivalent to 1978, after Dee G ribble ferences. A few years ago one year o f law school. Gray states that one retired as ju stic e o f the she also attended a two- peace, G ray applied for week non-attorney judge o f the hardest things about the job. On December 15, course in Reno, NV. She has her jo b is the jail space. “It has improved but there have been times that I have had to let people out early, and that’s hard.” However, she does enjoy when she can help people who are ready to get their licenses returned. One thing Judge Gray will not be missing with the upcoming election cycle is running for re-elec tion. “It’s hard to have to stand in front o f a room full o f people and sell yourself to them,” said Gray. Gray and her hus band, who will be retiring Septem ber 1, are already making plans for their re tirem ent. In March 2011 the couple is planning are RV trip to the coast where they will stay for a month, as well as a spring 2011 trip to Richland, OR. R etire Students at Heppner Daycare and Preschool recently learned ment will also provide more about the letter “Z" with Zoo Day on Wednesday, March tim e to spend with sons 17. Pictured are: front row (L-R) Camryn Scrivner, David Kevin and his wife Leslie Cribbs, and Sallie Orem; second row (L-R) Reece Gorham, o f Lafayette, Terry and his Isiah Martin, Hattie Orem, Teagan Ramsey, and Chace Jones; wife Amy o f Nevada, and third row (L-R) Irelynn Kollman, Narin Stone, TV Boor. Olivia Foster, and Shavlynn Deloach; and hack row (L-R) Trevor granddaughters Autum n, Nichols, Cole Greenup, Eli Petzoldt, and Jake Lentz. Photo Leslie, and Katelyn. Town government to move into former church building The Town of Lexington and fire department will he moving out of their current facilities (top photo). The Town of Lex ington will be moving into the former Kingdom Hall building (bottom photo). New fire department facilities are yet to be determined. -Photo by David Svkes ing back to the legislature again. “ It is important we engage with our legislature and let our voices be heard,” she said about w ater rights legislation. “Agriculture is using water to grow food and raise animals, and our legislature can be very dis heartening to listen to and what our leaders are saying about working people. No other issue will matter if we lose the fight against water control,” she added. M oore also said the federal government is trying to gain more con trol over w ater from the states, and she cited the San Joaquin Valley of California w here thousands of acres of farm land no longer receive irrigation water in order to protect the Delta Smelt fish. “And the fish is not even native to that area,” Moore says. She points to the proposed Clean Water Res toration Act that talks about n a v ig ita b le w ater w ays and would give the federal governm ent control over all water. “Our governor (Ted K ulongoski) w rote a letter supporting this,” Moore says. “ We support local control. The federal government is not neces sarily good at m anaging anything,” she says. She says sim ilar situations could eventually cause the United States to begin im porting food. “ I would prefer my food come from the United States. We don’t have a problem pro tecting fish,” she said. But she pointed out that in one area o f Oregon diverting water for fish has caused m ore dust and weeds to develop in a former wet lands area. approximately $300,000 for The Town o f Lex construction, not counting ington has purchased the the cost of the land. -See WATER RIGHTS/Page fo rm e r K in g d o m H all EIGHT building at 325 S. F Street in Lexington and plans to move town hall to the new location. The present town hall, along with the attached fire department, w ill be tom 70.000 BTU down. Kerosene Forced-Air The town received Heater With Thermostat a $103,000 FEMA grant • 70,000 BTU heat output. to buy the building, which • Thermostat heat control. cost $40,000. and will use • Mult-fuel compatible. some of the rest of the grant • Fully enclosed air over motor. money for repairs and up a m ________________ mm only grades to the building. “It IX 815-5111 is with excitement that the Town o f Lexington moves 125.000 BTU forw ard into a b rig h te r Kerosene future,” Lexington Mayor Forced-Air Dw yla Yocum said after the purchase on March 19. Heater With She said the town is now Thermostat moving forward to find ad • 125,000 BTU heat output. ditional funding with which • Thermostat heat control. to build a new fire hall. • Mult-fuel compatible. Only Under terms o f the FEMA • Fully enclosed air over motor. mooucT to grant the present building housing town hall and the N 117-1114 fire department must be tom down because it is located 175.000 BTU in the flood way. by Megan Futter Kerosene On March 3 Lex Forced-Air ington re sid e n t M arsha Heater With Easter will be celebrated April 4 this year. Area pastors are invited to submit Kemp called an unofficial their Easter messages to be published in the March 31 edition of the Heppner Gazette- tow n m eeting w hich 25 Thermostat people attended. At that Times. • 175,000 BTU heat output. The deadline to submit articles is Friday. March 26. Messages can be emailed meeting, Kemp and several • Thermostat heat control. • Mult-fuel compatible. other residents discussed to editor@rapidserv e.net, faxed to 541-676-9211, or dropped off at the office. Only • Fully enclosed Air Over motor. asking the city to not pur PMW CTM.______________ chase the Kingdom Hall N 111-1243 and instead look for other funding to com bine with Limited to Stock On Hand the FEMA grant and build either a com bination fire ' Morrow County hall and town hall or two separate stmctures. Grain Growers > U U-J Kemp said at that Lexington 989-8221 -1-800-452-7396 For rara «gulp time her group had esti I oar «ok otto at www k ( | . m mated a new fire hall to cost Zoo Day at Heppner Preschool By David Sykes Space Heater Clearance Sale Save big $$$ on these units $233 $394 Area pastors invited to submit Easter messages $450 ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. » t
