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«)______