Sheriff says drug use a factor in much of county’s crimes
Matlack featured speaker at Tea Party meeting
I ■ 1 1 ■ 1 1 1 ■ I • • < l l l l l l i i l l l l l i l
By David Sykes
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
M orrow C ounty
Sheriff Ken Matlack was
the featured speaker at the
monthly m eeting o f the
Willow Creek Tea Party
P atriots M onday night.
HEPPNER
imes
VOL. 130
NO. 4
8 Pages
Wednesday, January 26,2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Walden says FCC exceeding its authority
with Net Neutrality rules
By David Sykes
Congressman Greg
Walden says the Federal
Communications Commis
sion overstepped its author
ity recently when it enacted
Net Neutrality rules with
out congress’ permission.
Net Neutrality would al
low the federal govern
ment more control over the
internet which, opponents
say, would only lead to
increased censorship and
invasion of privacy.
“ T hree h undred
members of the house say
‘don’t do net neutrality,” ’
Walden told a gathered
group of Eastern Oregon
telecom business leaders
at a lunch in Boardman
Friday. And Walden should
have some say in the mat
ter as the newly-appointed
chairman of the Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee
on Communications and
Technology. He was ap
pointed after Republicans
gained control of the House
in the last election. Walden
is the only Republican con
gressman from Oregon.
“The FCC chair
man crammed this through
and it exceeded its author
ity,” Walden said. He said
Net Neutrality is a “solution
in search of a problem.” “I
don’t want government run
ning the internet. There are
those who think this is the
Fairness Doctrine for the
internet,” Walden said.
Walden also said
Greg Walden R-Oregon (right) visits with Eastern Oregon
telecom leaders at a meeting in Boardman last Friday. With
Walden is his newest staff member Ray Baum, former chair
man of the Oregon Public Utility Commission who will assist
Walden on communications and energy oversight and legisla
tion. -Photo by David Sykes
with the Republican con
trolled house there will be
a lot more oversight of how
the government is regulat
ing the telecom business.
He said federal monies have
been misspent on broad
band infrastructure and that
he would like to see more
broadband build out in the
rural areas.
Walden also intro
duced his newest staff mem
ber, Ray Baum. Baum was
the chairman of the Oregon
Public Utility Commission
and will assist Walden on
communications and energy
oversight and legislation.
On o th er issues
Walden said the Republi
can house is changing rules
Gregory Smith & Co., for
the past 10 years. He has
offices in Heppner and La
Grande where he manages
the Eastern Oregon Uni
versity’s Small Business
Development Center.
As part of his con
tract with the county, Smith
has agreed to establish an
office in downtown Baker
City as soon as possible with
business hours from 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Monday through
Thursday and nights and
weekends as needed.
Sm ith’s proposal
was one of four submitted
to the county.
County Commis
sioner Chair Fred Warner
Jr. said the Economic De
velopment Commission,
which he is a member of,
recommended Smith for the
job even though his bid was
the highest.
“It was not an ap
ples to apples kind of as
sessment,” Warner said.
Sheriff Ken M atlack addresses the iqonthly meeting
of the Willow Creek Tea Party Patriots Monday night.
-Photo by David Sykes
said. “Personally I believe
the law is the law and if a
person is here illegally he
is breaking the law, but not
everybody sees it that way,”
he said. “The law is the law
and the federal government
should enforce the law,”
he said. “I have been in
this business 30 years and
I would like to see the law
enforced,” he said. Matlack
said he did not think it was
fair to the people who com
ply with the immigration
laws, and wait up to nine
years sometimes to become
legal citizens, to have other
people come here illegally.
He said his depart
ment does not track the
cost of dealing with illegals
separately, and does not
know their financial impact
on the legal system in Mor
row County.
Matlack, who grew
up and lived in the Uma-
tilla/Irrigon area most of
his life, says he began to
see a change in Morrow
County back in the 1970s
when circle irrigation came
and there was a demand
for more labor. He said in
the beginning the workers
pretty much stayed on the
farms, worked and did not
cause much trouble. Later
when more illegal workers
arrived and jobs became
scarcer, we began to have
some troubles. He said he
saw a rise in gang activity in
Irrigon and that is one of the
factors that prompted him
to run for sheriff. He had
been a state police officer
for many years, but wanted
to do something to rectify
the deteriorating safety felt
in North Morrow County.
Matlack sees his
number-one accomplish
ment during his six years as
sheriff, as being a change in
the way the county purchas
es jail space. Previously he
said the county had a con
tract with a set number of
beds available at the Uma
tilla County Jail. He said he
reworked the contract to so
the beds would be averaged
out which made more space
available when needed. He
said this allowed him to put
more people in jail when
they needed it. “People
are more apt to obey the
law and do what they are
supposed to do when they
know there is a possibility
they will go to jail if they
don’t,” he said. He said pre
viously people who should
have gone to jail were being
released with just a ticket.
Matlack says an
other positive sign for the
department is the Secure
Residential Treatment Fa
cility in Heppner which
has made beds available
for people who are having
mental problems. Previ
ously he would have had to
transport the people to Bend
or other far away facilities,
taking up valuable deputy
time.
Tea Party m em
bers asked Matlack what
they could do to help law
enforcem ent in Morrow
County. The sheriff said,
“ Be our eyes and ears.
Report things that are sus
picious.” He said ordinary
people have every right to
make citizen’s arrests, but
“I don’t recommend it.”
He said a person could be
sued or the suspect could
be dangerous. He said if
a person catches someone
on their property stealing
something, they do not have
the automatic right to shoot
that person. “Don’t be a
-See TEA PARTY MEET
ING/Page SIX
pete. Tickets are available
at the door and concessions
will be available.
M ark Lem m on,
Bank of Eastern Oregon’s
C hief Financial Officer
and Heppner High School
wrestling coach, has been
instrumental 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 2011
competition. The first two
years o f the event were
outstanding and we intend
the BEO Invitational to be
a “can’t miss” tournament
on every school’s future
schedule,” said Lemmon.
“We appreciate bank staff
and local citizens who vol
unteer to help at the event
or sponsor amenities; their
help makes the tournament
run smoothly!”
Anyone who would
like to volunteer to help or
has any inquiries concern
ing the upcoming event,
contact H eppner High
School’s Athletic Director,
Greg Grant, at 541-676-
9138 or Mark Lemmon at
541-676-0224.
to better serve the public.
“We are taking away the
opening statements of the
all the committee members
except for the chairmen,” BEO to host annual invitational wrestling tournament
Walden said. He said when
you have 50 com m ittee
members and they all get
to talk for three minutes,
the testimony drags on for
too long. “We want to hear
from the citizens we have
asked to come in testify,”
he said
Walden heard of a
variety of telecom problems
from the industry leaders
who attended the luncheon.
Fred Ziari of EZ Wireless
said his company is having
problems finding quality
-See WALDEN/Page SIX Pictured are members of the Heppner Mustang wrestling team, along with their coaches.
-Photo by Sandy Matthews
Baker County hires Greg Smith
Editor s Note: The follow
ing article was written by
Chris Collins and appeared
in the January 21 edition o f
the Baker City Herald.
A state legislator
from H eppner who op
erates a private business
consulting firm has been
hired as Baker County’s
new economic development
director.
The Baker Coun
ty Commission signed a
contract Wednesday with
Greg Smith, 42, who serves
constituents of Union, Wal
lowa, Umatilla and Morrow
counties in District 57 of the
Oregon House of Represen
tatives.
Sm ith w ill earn
$8,000 per month - $96,000
per year - to recruit busi
ness and industry to Baker
County and to offer support
to existing businesses.
Smith and his wife,
Sherri, have operated their
business consulting firm.
Matlack spoke on various
issues including illegal im
migration, drug use and jail
space.
“A large percentage
of the crimes committed in
the county are in some way
related to drug usage,” Mat-
lack told the group. He said
the production and usage of
methamphetamines “figures
into much of the crime we
have in the county.”
Matlack said Uma
tilla County was number
two in Oregon in the pro
duction of meth, and that
has spilled over into Mor
row County. He said a lot
of the thefts on ranches and
farms in the area are meth
addicts searching for cop
per and copper wire to sell
and make money for the
drug. He said after Oregon
put controls on the sale
o f Ephedrine, previously
an over-the-counter cold
medication, and made it
a prescription-only medi
cation, the production of
meth decreased. Ephedrine
is a material that is used
in the production of meth,
and drug makers would
purchase large amounts at
retail outlets. “The meth
epidemic is still with us,
however,” he said.
Matlack also said
the much of the meth pro
duction has shifted to Mex
ico where the materials to
make it are cheaper and
more available. He also
said that Mexican nationals
have been caught growing
marijuana in our National
forests. “Not so much in
Morrow County, but it is
going on,” he said.
On the subject of
illegal immigrants, Matlack
says his department does
not seek out illegals in the
county, and that he, in fact,
cannot arrest a person for
just being in the country il
legally. “In Oregon we have
a law that says you cannot
make an arrest if is just for
being an illegal,” Matlack
said. He explained that a
person could be charged
with being an illegal in
conjunction with another
crime, but not just being an
illegal by itself.
“This (illegal im
migration) has become a
political issue,” Matlack
Other EDC mem
bers are Mike Kee, Baker
City manager; Baker City
M ayor D ennis D orrah;
banker Jeremy Gilpin; and
rancher Craig Ward.
The four applicants
first were screened by a
three-person committee of
businessmen Dave Lind-
ley and Peter Ellingson,
and Rick Minster, Eastern
Oregon regional business
developm ent officer for
Business Oregon.
W arner outlined
the three other proposals:
-Gene Stackle, who
formerly worked for Baker
City as economic develop
ment manager, bid $69,000
for the job, but that did not
include the cost of setting
up an office.
-Jake Jacobs, who
also has provided busi
ness consulting services
for the city and county, bid
-See GREG SMITH/Page
SIX
Bank o f Eastern
Oregon announces the in
vitees to Bank of Eastern
Oregon’s 2011 Invitational
Wrestling Tournament to
be held at Heppner High
School on February 5.
High schools scheduled
to compete are Heppner,
Riverside, Irrigon, Adrian,
Crane, Elgin, Enterprise/
Wallowa, Grant Union, Im-
bler, Joseph, MacHi (JV),
and Union.
The com petition
begins at 10 a.m. and Bank
of Eastern Oregon invites
the public to come watch
these talented athletes com-
()tt Open House February 4th
n \ F ree L unc I h
P ()
10:00
am - 2:00
pM
Hamburgers & Hoi Dogs
Open House Special - January 31st-February 4th-
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