Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2011)
TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 2,2011 Secretary Vilsack announces general signup MCGG fueling the future period for Conservation Reserve Program S p eak in g at N a tional Pheasant Fest 2011, Agriculture Secretary Tom V ilsack an n o u n c ed that the next general signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will begin on March 14 and continue through April 15. This is the second consecutive year that USDA has offered a general CRP signup. “Over the past 25 years, support for CRP has grow n th an k s to stro n g b a c k in g from fa rm e rs , ranchers, conservationists, hunters, fishermen and other outdoor sports enthusiasts,” said V ilsack. “ N ot only has CRP contributed to the national effort to improve water and air quality, it has preserved habitat for wild life, and prevented soil ero sion by protecting the most sensitive areas including those prone to flash flood ing and runoff. Today’s an nouncement continues the O bam a A d m in istra tio n ’s effort to conserve sensitive areas and improve wildlife habitat.” Through CRP, eli gible landow ners receive annual ren ta l paym ents and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, re so u rce c o n se rv in g c o v ers on eligible farmland. Land can be enrolled for a period o f up to 15 years. During the general signup period, farmers and ranch ers may offer eligible land at their county Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA) office. Land currently not enrolled in CRP may be offered in this signup provided all eligibility requirements are met. Additionally, current CRP participants with con tracts expiring this fall may make new contract offers. Contracts awarded under this signup are scheduled to become effective October 1. The general sign-up for CRP will not affect cropped acres for this growing sea son. Acres will be enrolled in the program in the fall. To h e lp e n s u re that interested farmers and ranchers are aware o f the signup period, USDA has signed partnership agree ments with several conser vation and wildlife orga nizations that will play an active role in USDA’s 2011 CRP outreach efforts. They include; Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, National Association o f State For esters, Playa Lakes Joint V enture (L e sse r P rairie Chicken/Sage Grouse), and the Longleaf Incorporated B o bw hite C o n se rv atio n Initiative. The FSA im p le m ents CRP on b eh alf o f Commodity Credit Corpo ration. FSA will evaluate and rank eligible CRP of fers using an Environmen tal B enefits Index (EBI) that show s the e n v iro n mental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP. The EBI consists o f five environmental factors (w ildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits) and cost. Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after the sign-up ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers. In addition to the general sign-up, CRP’s con tinuous sign-up program will be ongoing. Continu ous acres represent the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land. For more inform ation, visit http:// www.fsa.usda.gov/crp. CRP protects mil lions of acres of American topsoil from erosion and is designed to safeguard the Nation’s natural resources. By reducing water runoff and sedim entation, CRP protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving veg etative covers, making the program a major contribu tor to increased w ildlife populations in many parts o f the country. T hrough the 2008 Farm Bill, CRP is authorized for a maximum enrollm ent o f 32 m illion acres. USDA estimates that contracts on 3.3 million to 6.5 million acres are sched uled to expire an n u ally between now and 2014. Morrow County Court weekly meetings held The Morrow Coun ty Court met on January 19 in Boardm an with Judge Tallman and Commissioner Grieb in attendance. Fol low ing is a sum m ary o f the meetings provided by Leann Rea. The court reviewed and approved the minutes o f January 11, 2011. The court reviewed and approved the account payables and payroll pay ables in the net total amount of$ 1 2 5 ,943.02. Road Department Ice and snow: The crew has b een p lo w in g snow as n eed ed county w ide, but m ostly on the higher elevation roads. The crew was all geared up for the major snow storm that w as p re d ic te d to arrive overnight on January 11 and into January 12. Fore casts were calling for five to seven inches o f snow, then that was backed off to two to four inches o f snow. A ctually only received a skiff up to a h a lf inch in the north end, then it turned to freezing rain before the transitioned to just rain. B ru s h c re w : A four perso n b ru sh crew has continued with brush removal in the north end of the county. The crew is currently w orking in the Irrigon area. C ulvert cleaning: The crew continued with cleaning out culvert inlets and outlets in the Ione- G ooseberry and L iberty School areas. Later they will be moving back to Spur Loop road to finish cleaning out and extending some culverts in that area. Some utility locates needed to be done before this project can be finish. Road grading: The graders have been assist ing with snow removal as needed. M ost areas were too soft and wet to do much grading. However, the crew did get a chance to build up the shoulders along Pleas ant View Road in Irrigon. Currently a grader is grad ing the roads in the West Glenn subdivision, while another one is working in the Baker Lane area, and one is working in the Dee Cox Road area. R oad signs: The crew has been working on sign replacements and re pairs, county wide, as well as putting object markers on some of the bridges. P erm its: On the rec o m m e n d a tio n o f the road department approved P e rm it #O H X b e tw e en Um atilla Electric and the county for an o v erhead electrical line on Paul Smith and Kunze Roads. B r i d g e s : M r. O ’B rien reported to the court that there are three bridges in the county that need w eight restrictio n s posted on them. On bridges is on Big Butter Creek and two of the bridges are on Rhea Creek. Olson Road: Held a general discussion regard^ ing assisting the City o f Boardman with work that needs to be done on Olson Road w hich w ill be the primary access for the new Ag Center Facility. T h e c o u rt c o n ducted the following busi ness: Authorized a purchase preau th o rizatio n for the Road and Weed D epart ment to put a 500 gallon poly spray unit on a Ford F-450 in the am ount o f $9,030; The court received an update report from JR Cook regarding the prog ress of the Umatilla Basin Water Commission towards the water restoration proj ect being proposed in the County Line area; The court heard the second reading of the zone change proposal from the Port o f Morrow. The court then ad o p ted the change and requested that the C om prehensive Plan be amended to reflect this change; The court ap pointed Vem Frederickson to another three year term to serv e on the B udget Committee. The court also rev ie w e d and a p p ro v ed the budget calendar for the 2011-2012 budget dates; Greg Sweek, Assessor/Tax Collector provided the court with information regarding a new program for Assess ment and Taxation that is currently being used in 11 o th er O regon C ounties. A discussion on how to finance such a change was discussed. Various correspon dences and upcoming meet ing notices were reviewed and discussed. If you would like to be placed on the list to receive county m inutes, c o n ta c t K aren W o lff at (541)676-5620. The Morrow Coun ty Court met on January 26 in Heppner with Judge Tallman and Commission ers Grieb and Rea in at tendance. Follow ing is a summary o f the meetings provided by Leann Rea. The court reviewed and approved the minutes o f January 12 and 19. The court reviewed and approved the account payables, retirem ent tax es and the fourth quarter SUTA taxes in the net total amount o f $65,633.85. A p p eal o f P la n ning C om m ission D eci sion on Rem and Review o f Condition o f Approval 1 Conditional Use Permit CUP-N-213 (Wind Tower Noise). The court reviewed and approved for signature the “Order” which upheld th e P la n n in g C o m m is sio n ’s decision regarding the William’s residence and overturned the Planning C o m m is s io n ’s d e c isio n legarding the Wade, Mingo and Eaton residences. Bid Opening: The court opened three herbi cide bids from Wilbur Ellis, Crop Protection Services and Morrow County Grain G row ers. The bids were turned over to the Road and Weed Department to check for c o m p leten ess. O nce that process is completed a recommendation will be provided to the court. P u b lic H e a rin g : The public hearing regard ing the naming o f McCabe Lane was called to order and after receiving all in form ation regarding the change, the court approved changing a portion of Olden Lane to McCabe Lane and the extension o f McCabe Lane from Brenner Canyon Road to L iberty School Road. P u b lic H e a rin g : T he pu b lic h e a rin g for the “ Recreation Elem ent A m endm ent” was called to order and after som e discussion it was decided that there were additional lodgings in the county that needed to be referenced. After making these addi tions the planning director w ill bring the adoption order back to the court for signature. H e a lth D e p a r t ment: Sheree Smith, Direc tor provide the court with an update on activities in her Department. A report on immunizations for school age children was provided, stating that February 16 is the cut exclusion day for children who have not received their necessary im munizations. Smith stressed the importance for the im munization for Whooping Cough, citing some death numbers. If you have ques tions regarding immuniza tion you should contact the county health department. Smith requested that she be considered for a replace ment vehicle. Her vehicle needs were then discussed and the court assured her that her request would be given serio u s c o n sid e r ation. The court conduct ed the following business: Reviewed a request from Justin Nelson, District At torney for one o f the ve hicles being rotated out o f the sh e riff’s departm ent. The court assigned one o f the Dodge Durangos to the D. A. with the use of vehicle to take place immediately. R eview ed and approved two property tax refunds. The first was to John and Janna Vandenbrink in the amount o f $2,129.83 due to an overpayment of taxes after BOPTA stim ulated agreem ent and the other to Finley Buttes LTD Part nership in the amount o f $8,114.12 due to overpay ment o f taxes after a revised value transmittal sheet from the Oregon Department o f Revenue. After a lengthy discussion and reviewing o f past records, the court approved the payment o f $8,500 to the Boardm an Cemetery for a “Needs and Issues A w ard” th at was o rig in a lly a p p ro v ed for the Boardman Community Development Association in 2006. Various correspon dences and upcoming meet ing notices were reviewed and discussed. If you would like to be placed on the list to receive county m inutes, c o n ta c t K aren W o lff at (541)676-5620. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 RM. I ( John Ripple (center) with Morrow County Grain Growers presents a check for $982 to Heppner Elementary School Principal Matt Combe (left) and Heppner High School Prin cipal Daye Stone (right). The money donated is from Morrow County Grain Growers Fueling the Future program. -Photo by Sandy Matthews City of Irrigon to adjust water rates The City o f Irrigon will be adjusting water rates to cover the loan payments that financed the Water Im provement Project. That project includ ed drilling of two new wells that are essentially free of nitrate pollution, a 1.5 mil lion gallon water reservoir and many miles o f new and larger distribution piping. The project increased the system reliability and the ability to provide adequate water for fire fighting. The improvements also allow the city to maintain a safe source o f water in an emer gency when electric power is out. The water now pro vided by the City of Irrigon exceeds all state and federal standards for purity and is am ong the highest qual ity drinking w ater to be found. The annual loan payments are now $ 167,974. If paid for according to wa ter sold, the cost just for the debt service would be $ 1.08 per 1,000 gallons. Or, if the costs were divided accord ing to the number o f meters, the cost would be $22.80 per month per meter for the debt service. The Irrigon C ity Council has proposed ap portioning the added cost o f the loan payments with a portion being applied to the number o f meters and a portion to the cost o f the water sold. The council is proposing to set the base rate for w ater service at $24 per service and allow up to 5,000 gallons of wa ter with the base rate. The cost o f water sold above the 5,000 gallons would be set at $1.80 per thousand gallons. This rate structure would put Irrigon into av erage territory with other East Oregon cities. Many users would actually see a decrease in the cost of their water under the new simpli fied structuring. Although the City o f Irrigon records and bills water usage in cubic feet, the City has chosen to use g a llo n s for co m p a riso n as m ost people are more familiar with gallons as a term o f water measurement. One cubic foot o f water is equivalent to 7.48 gallons. A public hearing will be held on February 15 at Irrigon City Hall at 6 p.m. regarding the change in water rates. If customers have questions regarding what their water bills might look like under the new rate structure, they are en couraged to visit City Hall at 500 NE Main Avenue, Irrigon Oregon, or to call 541-922-3027. Sheriff’s Report The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office reports handling the following business: Dec. 2 cont.: -MCSO arrested Don Caraway Weems, 53, on a Morrow County Circuit Court warrant for Failure to Appear/Possession of Meth. The subject was also wanted on a Umatilla County warrant. IN V IT A T IO N T O B ID FOR MORROW COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS 23 Portable toilet self contained free standing units Sealed bids for twenty three ( 23) portable restroom units (Porta Potty's) will be received by Morrow County, Public Works Office, P.O. Box 428, 365 West Highway 74, Lexington, Oregon, 97839. Until the bid closing time of 4:00 p.m., on the 22rd day of February 2011. Bids will be publicly opened and read at the bid opening time of 9:30 a.m. On the 23rd. day of February 2011..At the Morrow County Court house, 100 Court St., Heppner, OR. Morrow County Public Works requires the units to be serviced on a mid week schedule on a weekly basis. Units are located at various locations in Morrow County, locations and numbers of units are as follows., •1 Unit South end transfer station 57185 Hwy 74, Lexington, OR 97839 •1 ADA Unit North end transfer station 69900 Frontage Ln, Boardman, OR. 97818 •2 Units Cutsforth Park 58430 Willow Cr. Rd., Heppner, OR. 97836 •1 Unit Ansonwright Park 47500 Hwy 207-Spray, Heppner, OR. 97836 •16 Units OHV Park 71000 FS Rd. 21, Heppner, OR. 97836 3 of 13 units at remote locations Harrington Creek, Day use (Grant Co. Portion) and Rock Pit (lake). •1 ADA Unit OHV Park 71000 FS Rd. 21, Heppner, OR. 97836 •1 Portable wheeled Unit Various road project locations Bids shall be bid by monthly basis. Morrow County réservés the right to reject any and all bids or to postpone the award of bids for thirty (30) days from the date of opening. The County will award the yearly contract with in twenty (20) calendar days of the bid opening at that time units will need to be readily available and in place. Morrow County does not discriminate on the basis of age, religion, race national origin, sex or handicapped status in hiring or the provision of services. For additional information and concerns please contact Morrow County Public Works (541) 989-9500. 2-2-3c I
