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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2010)
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 (C h rist m ct.\ lone School Board discusses upcoming charter school summit, district enrollment VOL. 129 NO. 50 8 Pages Wednesday, December 22,2010 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Nominations being taken for 2011 Town and Country awards H e p p n e r’s Town and Country, sponsored by CenturyLink, will be held on Thursday, January 13, and it’s time to nominate a community member for “Woman of the Year”, “Man o f the Year”, “Business of the Year”, “Citizen-Educa tor o f the Year”, “Lifetime Achievement” and “Youth Award”. Nomination forms are available at the Cham ber Office, Bank o f Eastern Oregon, Kuhn & Spicer and Community Bank. The forms need to be com pleted and turned into the Chamber Office or to Kuhn & Spicer by Friday, December 24. To receive a nomination form electroni cally, contact the chamber office and leave your email address or email the cham ber at heppnercham ber@ centurytel.net. The theme for this year’s event will be “Hep pner - A little town, where big hearts abound ... in every direction”. The event w ill be held at the fair grounds again this year to accommodate more room. Catering will be provided by “Cornerstone Gallery, chef Alvin Liu. The Town & C ountry m eal tick ets ($20) can be purchased starting Monday, January 3, 2011 at Heppner Chamber, Bank o f Eastern Oregon, Murray’s Drugs and Com munity Bank. Rules for the selec tion of Youth o f the Year, W oman and M an o f the Year, C itiz e n -E d u c a to r o f the Year and Lifetime Achievement include: -Nominations should be su bm itted by w ritten le tte r or on a p plication form to Heppner C ham ber o f C om m erce, PO Box 1232, H eppner, OR 97836. -This is not a popu larity contest and only the facts o f the nom inations should be considered. Cri teria for selection shall be: Outstanding volunteer com munity service over many years; Activity in commu nity affairs in the past year; Activity in more than one phase o f comm unity life; Participation in community affairs outside o f his or her business, profession or vo cation; Demonstration of a high degree o f cooperation in com m unity and civic affairs; Leadership in com munity affairs by inspira tion and example; and Con tributions to the economic base of our society. -After all nomina tions have been read and considered, each member o f the selection committee Helfrecht bags first elk shall list his/her first two choices in order o f choice. -The Ch a mb e r M an ag er or C om m ittee Chairman shall collect lists and tally. -Recognition plaques shall be ordered and w inners n o tified o f honor to be given at Town and Country B anquet or Chamber Banquet if Town and C ountry is not held that year. Rules for selection o f B u sin ess A w ards in clude: -C o m m u n ity in volvem ent, im provem ent and investment. -In v o lv e m e n t o f the business in clubs and organizations, especially in the Chamber, although C ham ber m em bership is not a requirement. -A unique or sig nificant contribution by the business to the employment picture of economy o f Mor row County. -Innovation in the b u sin e ss’ em ployee and cu sto m er re la tio n s p ro grams. -Establishm ent o f new business. A list o f form er Town and C ountry w in ners can be found online at www.heppner.net. Irrigon woman arrested for theft By April Sykes The newly-formed InterM ountain Education Service District (formerly U m atilla-M o rro w ESD ) adm inistrator Mark Mul- vihill spoke to the lone School Board concerning an upcoming charter school sum m it that the ESD is planning. Mulvihill told the board, at their regular meet ing on December 14, that the planned summ it will include not only charter schools, but also surround ing school districts, since issues surrounding charter schools affect other districts as w ell. T he P en d leto n Convention Center is be ing considered as a forum for the summit with a sug gested February date. A t th e m e e tin g Mul vi hi l l , w ho is also the lone district’s super intendent, and the board discussed enrollment. Ac cording to estimates, only three to four kindergarten students are expected to enroll in the lone School for the 2011 -12 school year. Dwindling enrollment also has become a concern for Heppner schools as well. M ulvihill said that an is sue concerning exchange students has recently come forth and commented that some districts are staying alive by hosting foreign stu d en ts. He noted that som e educators are now questioning the practice o f loading districts with a large number o f exchange students to boost student population, consequently increasing state education funds to those districts, es pecially in a poor economy when state ed funds are in jeopardy o f being reduced. lone has two for eign exchange students this year, while Heppner High School has around 20. Also at the m eet ing, the board discussed solutions to the district’s janitorial and maintenance problems. One solution in cluded hiring the Pendleton School District for janito rial services on a limited basis. T h e b o a rd a ls o learned from lone School Principal Jerry Archer that the boiler at the school, which heats the gym, caf eteria, locker room s and pool, is down. The board is considering replacing the aged boiler with a heating and v e n tila tin g system , w hich could cost in the neighborhood o f $200,000- $ 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 , and p o ssib ly heating the pool with a so lar-powered system, which could be around $13,000- $16,000. Mul vi hi l l sug gested to the board that they consider prioritizing the re maining bond projects and use remaining bond monies for the replacement. Some sort o f asbestos abatement in the hallway between the gym and the cafeteria will also be a factor if the boiler is removed, which could prove costly. In other business the board: -heard from Mulvi hill about"School Reach”, a company that provides an autom ated system to inform parents, students and teachers about school closures, student absences, substitute teachers, school events, “rumor abatement” and other issues via cell phones, email, Facebook and other electronic media. -See /ONE SCHOOL DIS- TRICT/Page SIX St. Patrick’s holds Christmas pageant On Sunday, December 12. Saint Patrick's Catholic Church held a potluck and Christmas pageant. The students partici pated in a Christmas play to help teach about the meaning of Christmas. -Contributed Photo CD to benefit spinal cord research on sale A CD to benefit spinal cord research is cur rently on sale. The CD, These Old Hills Will Sing, was in spired by Dave Matheny, an eastern Oregon wheat rancher who was injured in a horse accident in 2001. Several community mem bers, including Matheny’s sister, Sandy, and aunt, Doris, joined together to make the album. The CD can be pur chased for $15 at Murray’s Drugs in Heppner or Con don, or by sending a check or money order for $ 15 plus $2 for shipping and han dling to Matheny Project, P.O. Box 1095, Heppner, Oregon. All proceeds from your purchase o f this CD are donated to the Oregon Health Sciences Univer- sity Foundation in support of Neurological Surgery’s Innovation Fund and their ongoing research. Because you will receive a CD val ued at $15, your purchase is not a tax deduction. If you wish to donate a larger amount to OHSU, please make your check payable to OHSU and either send it to our address or directly to the OHSU Foundation at 1121 S.W. Salmon St. #100, Portland., OR 97205. If you are making a direct donation to OHSU, please list “Ma theny” on your check. You can view OHSU’s informa tion at their website www. ohsufoundation.org. For more informa tion send an email to mathe- nyproject@ gm ail.com or visit www.matheny project, com. Boardman Police Department seeks help from public in homicide investigation The Boardman Po lice Department is seeking help from the public to solve a homicide that oc curred over the weekend. Ariel Velasco, 16, o f Boardm an was found shot at Anderson Street in Boardman at approximately 7:45 p.m. Velasco was pro nounced dead upon arrival at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston. Investigators be lieve there were several wit nesses that have not come forward and would like to speak to them. Investiga tors indicate the homicide is possibly gang related. No possible suspects are known at this time and the police are follow ing all leads. The case is being investigated by the Board- m an P olice D epartm ent with assistance from the M orrow/Um atilla County Major Crime Team. Anyone who may have witnessed the killing or have any inform ation about the crime is asked to call the Boardman Police Department at (541) 481- 6071. The Morrow Coun ty Sheriff's Office recently completed a six-week inves tigation o f theft of money from Irrigon High School with the arrest o f Amy J. Tolar, 37, o f Irrigon. Tolar was arrested and released on her own recognizance for the charge of Theft I and First Degree Official Misconduct. The Investigation is continuing and the case The Heppner Gazette-Times will be closed on Friday, December 24. The office will be referred to the Mor row County District Attor will re-open on Monday, December 27. ney’s Office. Heppner Gazette-Times closed Friday Keenan Helfrecht, 14, of Heppner «hot hi« fir«t elk on the la«t day of this year'« «econd «ea«on. Contributed Photo Open house to be held for D.A. Nelson An open house will be held at the Morrow County Courthouse on Friday, January 14, 2010 to formally introduce the county's newly elected district attorney, Justin W Nelson. Refreshments will be served upstairs in the courtroom from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING 13MWZ Cowboy Cut jeans $19.95 ALL Other Wrangler Apparel 15% OFF M e r r y C h r is tm a s ! A ll M on tana S ilv e r J e w e lr y 2 0 % off We.will be closed 12 noon Friday until Monday M orrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & S eed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppn«r • 676-9422 » 989-8221 (MCOG main offle«)______
