Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2010)
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm will move forward DOD says it will no longer oppose construction o f one o f the world's largest green energy projects; Industry expects to hire more than 700 workers to complete project By David Sykes A m o n th s - lo n g stand-off came to a close last Friday after the Dep uty Secretary o f Defense inform ed U.S. S enators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and UnTvîTsitV o^O jegon Eugene, OK HEPPNER imes VOL. 129 NO. 18 10 Pages Wednesday, May 5 ,2 0 1 0 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon School district to appeal court ruling By A pril Sykes M o rro w C o u n ty School D istrict S uperin tendent Mark Burrows told the Gazette-Times Monday that the district will appeal a federal court ruling that the district pay a form er employee around $200,000 for lost wages, benefits and damages. Around a year af ter the district fired Noe M elendez, 40, w ho had w orked for the M orrow County School District as a teacher’s aide for Irrigon Junior/Senior High School and the M orrow E duca tion Center, Melendez sued the district, claiming dis crimination because o f his national origin, race and a mental illness he claimed he had, in addition to his being disciplined by the district because he engaged in “whistle blowing.” T h e ju r y th re w out M elendez’ claim that the district discrim inated a g ain st him b e c au se o f race and national origin. Melendez is Hispanic and originally from Mexico. Burrows said that the reason M elendez was fired by the district was because he could not pass a math test required o f em ployees under the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. C o n c e r n in g th e whistle blowing, Melendez had ea rlie r rep o rted the district for alleged child abuse by a teacher and an assistant football coach. Melendez said that because o f the whistle blowing, the district sent him a disciplin ary letter, transferred him to another school and then ultimately fired him. Ron Anthony, former Heppner High School principal, was Irrigon Junior/Senior High School principal at the time o f the alleged abuse. A ccording to re- ports, Melendez was sched uled to take the math test, but then said that he suffered from an anxiety disorder. The district then gave him 20 more days to take the test. The jury ruled that the district should have made additional efforts to work with Melendez. According to Burrows, however, Me lendez met with the district only a day before he was scheduled to be terminated to inform them that he had an anxiety disorder. Burrows maintains that the district has done nothing wrong. The jury also ruled that the district retaliated against Melendez because he said he had a disability, in this case the anxiety dis order. The issue concerning the disability is a violation of the Americans with Dis abilities Act, w hich was why the case was filed in federal court. Missing wind-surfer found dead On Monday, May 3, the Morrow County Sher iff’s Office received a report o f a m issing wind-surfer. Friends o f Jeffrey T. Young, 48, of Hood River reported him missing when his board washed up on shore and he could not be located. Young had last been seen between 3:30 and 4 p.m. U n its fro m th e Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Intertribal F ish eries, O regon State P olice, M orrow C ounty Health District, and Klicki tat County Sheriff’s Office searched the area until dark ness hampered the efforts. A US Coast Guard helicopter from Astoria arrived at ap proxim ately 10 p.m. and continued to search from the air aided with night vi sion devices. A t a ro u n d m id night, the crew o f the US C oast G uard h e lic o p te r located the body of Young floating approximately three miles down river. Cause and manner of death is to be determined by the G illia m C ounty Medical Examiner. NOAA issues monthly climate summary for Heppner i i o » According to pre liminary data received by NOAA’s National Weather Service in Pendleton, tem peratures in Heppner aver aged slightly colder than normal during the month o f April. The average tem perature was 47.4 degrees which was 1.8 degrees be low normal. High tempera tures averaged 58.3 degrees, which was 3.0 degrees be low norm al. The highest was 72 degrees on the 20,h. Low temperatures averaged 36.5 degrees, which was 0.6 degrees below normal. The lowest was 25 degrees, on » « ij I M - Mo-Mrui-, it • 17 I« i X a * a u it » » » » * Cirrmc c a n Piowaoa By r.o/S'.'Natcna waonor Ecrvcs the 10th. T here w ere four days with the low tempera ture below 32 degrees. P re cip ita tio n to taled 1.15 inches during April, which was 0.25 inch es below normal. Measur able precipitation -at least .01 inch- was received on 11 days with the heaviest, 0.34 inches reported on the 21*. Precipitation this year has reached 4.46 inch es, which is 1.23 inches be low normal. Since October, the water year precipitation at Heppner has been 7.60 inches, which is 1.88 inches below normal. T he o u tlo o k for May from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center calls for above normal temperatures and near normal precipita tion. Normal highs for Hep pner during May are 69.1 degrees and normal lows are 43.1 degrees. The 30 year normal precipitation is 1.67 inches. T h e N a tio n a l Weather Serv ice is an office o f the National Oceanic and Atm ospheric Adm inistra tion, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department. U.S. C ongressm an G reg Walden (R-Ore.) that the Pentagon w ould no lon ger block construction o f the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Oregon’s Gilliam and Morrow counties and w ould instead upgrade a nearby radar system which had, until now, put the proj ect’s future in doubt. The announcement would also eliminate the threat to other planned wind farms in the area that is adjacent to the Columbia River. “In allow ing this p r o je c t to go f o r - w ard, both th e W h ite H ouse and th e P e n ta gon have underscored th e ir c o m Patricial Pilz m itm ent to of Caithness U.S. energy Energy s e c u r ity ,” said W yden. “As I have said throughout this effort, blocking this project would have had a chilling-effect not just on Shepherd’s Flat but on private investment in new energy projects across the country. As a member o f both the Senate Com mittees on Energy and In telligence, I am convinced that national security and energy security are not only com patible, they are one and the same.” “The D epartm ent o f Defense’s earlier deci sion threatened to drop a bom b on jo b creation in central O regon. T oday’s decision defused that bomb. This is great news for thou sands o f families who will earn a paycheck because of work on this project. And it will help contribute to Ore gon’s emergence as a global leader in clean energy pro duction,” Merkley said. “I thank the D epartm ent o f Defense for resolving this issue and responding to our concerns about the negative effect that shutting down Ballot drop sites announced E le c tio n D ay is May 18. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Elec tion Day. Morrow County drop sites are as follows: N ew B o a rd m a n City Hall - 200 City Cen ter Circle, Monday through Friday, April 30-May 18, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Election Day hours 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Irrig o n A n n ex Planning Department lobby - 205 NE 3"* St., Monday through Friday, April 30- May 18, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Election Day hours 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Bank o f Easter Or egon lone Branch - 280 West Main St., April 30- May 18, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Election Day hours 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. M orrow C o u n ty Courthouse, 100 S. Court St. in Heppner, M onday through Friday, April 30- May 18, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Election Day hours 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more informa tion co n tact the county clerk at 541-676-5604 or visit www.morrowcounty- oregon.com. lone resident Linda LaKue speaks at a public meeting last Tuesday night. ‘We need the jobs this project will create,” she said. -Photo bv David Svkes this project would have had on the Oregon economy.” “ This is a m ajor re lie f for the la n d o w n ers, business owners, and community members who endured weeks o f nerve- wracking uncertainty over the future of the project,” Walden said. “They deserve credit for remaining patient and engaged. Going for ward, Congress must work on reforming this process to provide smoother siting while protecting security and aviation. Our great state can and should play a role in a strong national defense and be a leader in our coun try’s smarter energy future at the same time.” If com pleted, the Shepherds Flat wind farm will be the largest land- based wind energy project in the w orld, producing 845 megawatts o f power, which is the equivalent of a nuclear power plant. At the beginning o f March, days before the project was slated to begin construc tion, the Pentagon brought the project to a halt, citing its concerns that wind tur bines could interfere with a 50-year old radar system located in nearby Fossil, Oregon. Oregon’s congres sional delegation has spent the last two months press ing both the White House and Department of Defense (DOD) to discuss ways that the P entagon’s concerns might be addressed without halting new green energy construction. DOD’s announce ment today will allow the FAA - which on behalf of the Pentagon had formally placed the project on hold - to remove all "notices of presum ed hazard,” thus clearing the way for Caith ness Energy to begin hiring the more than 700 construc tion w orkers that will be needed to build Shepherds Flat. W hile clearing the way for Shepherds Flat, today’s decision still leaves undeterm ined how future projects may be affected. O regon’s representatives intend to keep w orking with DOD to ensure that national security objectives are met while not impeding efforts to increase energy independence and promote job creation. A town hall meet ing was held in lone last Tuesday night with repre sentatives o f M erkley’s, Wyden’s and Walden’s of fices in attendance. About 60 members o f the public attended the m eeting to voice their concern over the hold up o f the project. Patricial Pilz o f Caithness Energy, Shepherds F lat’s developer, was in atten dance and said the hold-up was more than just about just this project. “This is more than just about Shep herds Flat and an outdated radar,” she said. “This proj ect is being held hostage be cause o f its size.” She said the FAA and DOD were sending a message about all outdated radar stations and new wind farms across the country. HHS performs spring play “Alice” (Kolleen Chapa) and “Hatta the Mad Hatta” (Shane Smith) discus« the way to the nest square in the Heppner High School Drama “Wonderland” directed by Jodi Chapa. Photo bv Sandv Matthews A L L NEWS AND ADVERTISEM EN T D EADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. G§?jl ]A Mac's Total Fuel System Cleaner (12 oz.) Y our C ho ke ! $ 2.99 4 ^ NAPA Mac's Penetrating O il 02 02.) Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
