Umatilla and Morrow county nonprofits receive
more than $45,000 from PGE employees and retirees
^
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Portland General
Electric em ployees and
retirees are doing their part
to support local nonprofits
in Umatilla and Morrow
counties. During the com
pany’s annual Employee
Giving Campaign, more
than $45,000 was raised for
24 Umatilla and Morrow
county organizations, in-
HEPPNER
eluding area schools, com
munity groups and service
organizations serving those
in need.
PGE em ployees
set a new record, raising
more than $1.65 million
(including PGE’s 50 per
cent match) for community
organizations throughout
O regon and southw est
Washington in 2010. A to
tal of 63 percent of all PGE
employees made donations
to 926 nonprofits, nearly
doubling the em ployee
giving national average of
35 percent.
“ The E m ployee
Giving Campaign is one
of our key employee-led
events each year and no
matter what the state of the
economy, PGE employees
and retirees continually
increase their generosity to
those in need,” said Dave
Robertson, vice president
of public policy, PGE.
United Way of Um
atilla and Morrow Counties
topped the list of recipients
this year with donations
totaling more than $ 15,000
to help fund local health and
human service programs.
Other local recipi
ents include: Hermiston
Agape House, Hermiston
High School, Humane Soci
ety of Eastern Oregon - Pet
Rescue, lone Education
Foundation, lone School
D istrict, North Morrow
Community Foundation,
OSU Umatilla County Ex
tension Service and Vange
John Memorial Hospice.
D u rin g the a n
nual Em ployee G iving
Campaign, PGE’s 2,700
employees and more than
1,000 retirees can designate
any charitable nonprofit or
accredited school to receive
their pledges, and PGE
matches their contributions
by 50 percent.
Since the company
match program began in
1998, PGE and its employ
ees and retirees have con
tributed more than $13.7
million to their communi
ties through the campaign.
Heppner seniors begin fundraising for
all night drug and alcohol free party
imes
VOL. 130
NO. 6 8 Pages
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Forest Service plans thinning project
T he U m a tilla
N ational Forest, H epp
ner Ranger District is be
ginning planning for a 70
acre commercial thinning
project in Wheeler County
about 52 miles from Hep
pner, the district recently
announced.
Called the Radar
Commercial Thinning Proj
ect, the district plans to use
a commercial timber sale to
thin trees that are diseased
and heavy mistletoed. No
tree more than 21 inches in
diameter will be removed.
“A history of fire
suppression has created
dense, overstocked stand
conditions that are favor
able for insect and disease
outbreaks and severe wild
fire effects”, the district
said.
The thinning proj
ect is located in the Buck-
horn Creek watershed.
MCPW taking on Cutsforth Park funding opportunity
Morrow County
Public Works Department
(MCPW) is applying for a
Local Government Grant
from the Oregon Parks and
Recreation
Department.
This grant will aid in
the funding of water,
electrical and accessibility
upgrades at Cutsforth
Park. This project will
allow for improvements
to primitive campsites,
and ADA accessibility.
This project is expected
to take approximately one
year to complete if there is
no unexpected inclement
weather or unforeseen
situations.
Cutsforth Park is
a favorite among the three
county parks. MCPW
strives to offer many
upgraded sites with power,
water, ADA accessibility,
and
sidewalks
while
accommodating as many
campersas possible. Further
development will help
meet the public’s request
for more accessibility and
amenities at the park.
Letters of support
o f this project will help
enhance M CPW ’s grant
application. If you would
be willing to support this
grant please contact: Kirsti
Cason, M orrow County
Public Works Department,
P.O. Box 428, Lexington,
Oregon 97839. You may
also send letters via e-mail
to mcparks@co.morrow,
or.us - Subject: 2011 LG
Cutsforth. For more infor
mation call 541-989-9500.
Mark your calendars for annual St. Patrick’s celebration
Heppner’s 29lh an
nual “Wee Bit of Ireland”
St. Patrick’s Celebration
will be held March 17-20
and the H eppner C om
munity is getting the town
ready to celebrate.
The weekend will
include, just to name a few,
family flags hung through
out the tow n, H eppner
Chamber’s Irish Amateur
Boxing event, KUMA cof
fee hour and CEILI, with
lots o f singing, laughing
and celebrating. You will
find Leprechauns through
out the city and will have a
chance to stop by and Kiss
the Blarney Stone. Check
out the Cruz-In Cars and
save your spot to watch
the Great Green Parade.
Don’t forget to take in the
Sheep Dog Trials and sign
up to participate in the Irish
Bowling team competition.
There will be plenty of Irish
music and entertainment,
local shops for shopping,
food vendors and book,
crafts and photography
fairs. All of the entertain
ment (Tiller’s Folly and Old
Time Fiddlers, just name a
few) is sponsored by the
Morrow County Unified
Recreation District and is
free to the public.
So go ahead, mark
your calendar and plan on
participating in some good
old Irish activities. The new
schedule is being finalized
and will be out soon, visit
www.heppnerchamber.com
or call the Chamber Office
at 541-676-5536 for ques
tions or to get a copy of the
schedule.
WCVEDG to hold annual meeting
, The Willow Creek
Valley Economic Devel
opment Group will hold
their annual meeting on
Thursday, February 17, at
noon at St. Patrick’s Senior
Center.
Kurt Christensen,
president of Renewable Ag
Energy based in Ontario,
OR, will be the speaker. He
will discuss the purchase
and operation of the power
Colt Wrestling Program
holds first tournament
Pictured are some of the senior boys that will be available to help with spring projects. -Photo
by Sandy Matthews
Saturday will be
the kick-off for fundrais
ing for the after graduation
drug and alcohol free party.
Seniors will be auctioned
during half time of the boys
and girls varsity basketball
games on Saturday, Febru
ary 12. This auction is a
major fund raiser for the
seniors. They hope to raise
over $1,500 towards the
party’s nearly $9,000 cost.
The auction allows com
munity members to bid on
a day of work from two or
more students. The students
will be available on week
ends to perform yard work,
office work, painting, farm
ing any reasonable task.
The class will also
be selling Mustang water.
The water will be in cus
tomized bottles and may
be purchased by the bottle
or case at different events
in town. It will also be sold
at Heppner Family Foods
by the case. Mustang water
will be available later in the
spring with 100 percent of
the proceeds going to the
class of 2011 as the water
has been paid for through
local advertising and sup
port.
This will be the
fourth all night party held
for the graduating seniors.
Seniors arrive in the early
evening to find food, in
flatable structures for rock
climbing, jousting, laser-
tag, video games, massages,
a casino room, and tables
stacked with prizes. Every
student receives prizes that
are valued over $ 150 each.
Most prizes are items that
the graduates will use in
college, including micro-
waves, mini fridges, laundry
baskets and numerous other
items. “It is not just the fun
entertainment and prizes,
but also the opportunity
for the students to spend a
last memorable time with
their classmates in a safe
environment. It is a perfect
way to end high school,”
said a spokesperson.
Anyone interested
in contributing (cash or
prize) or to purchase water
can contact Heppner High
School may call (541) 676-
9138. “Please attend the
basketball game on Sat
urday and buy a senior or
two to help with a spring
project.”
Road Bowling returns to St. Patrick’s weekend
H ep p n er’s Irish
Road Bowling event will
draw the St Patrick’s Day
weekend celebration to a
close on Sunday, March
20 .
P a r tic ip a n ts in
this fourth-year event will
gather on Sunday afternoon
before the 1:30 p.m. activity
commences. Participants
must be eighteen years old
or older.
This Irish sport that
dates back to the 1600’s was
played in America by the
Irish troops in West Virginia
during the Civil War. In
recent years, a resurgence
of interest in the sport has
developed in both Ireland
and the United States. Hep-
p n er’s event has gained
popularity since it was first
offered in 2006, and entries
are limited. If you are inter
ested in participating, entry
forms are available at the
Chamber Office and need to
be filled out and dropped off
with the entry fee ($5 per
person - $20 team of four)
so number of teams can be
determined.
Teams o f two to
four members compete over
a course of approximately
one mile by tossing the
iron- and- steel “bowls”
that weigh 28-ounce and are
slightly smaller in diameter
than a tennis ball. The team
that completes the course
with the fewest tosses wins.
The purse is then divided,
with half going into the St.
Patrick’s weekend fund and
half being divided among
the top three teams. Names
of the winning team's mem
bers will be added to the
trophy that is on display in
the City of Heppner office.
The starting point
of the course will be de
termined and that informa
tion will be available at
the Information Booth on
Main Street on Saturday,
March 18. Spectators are
welcome at the event but
are cautioned to remain a
safe distance from the ac
tion because the bowls are
heavy and have been<known
to break bones in unfortu
nate situations.
D on’t forget to
come by the chamber office
and pick up an entry form.
They will be available at the
chamber office starting on
Friday, February 11.
plant at the South Morrow
Deadline to file
County Industrial Park.
Renewable Ag En
for special dis
ergy is a company formed
trict position set
after several years of re
search in the renewable
for March 17
energy field. Christensen
Mtarch 17 is the
and his partner Lance Wells
deadline to file for open
were instrumental in the
special district positions on
formation of a new Farmers
the upcoming ballot. May
Cooperative, Agri Energy
17 is the date for the up
Producers Association that
coming election for board
operates in both Malheur
members to fill the posi
County and in the Morrow
tions and terms for special
and Umatilla county areas
districts in Morrow County.
in Eastern Oregon. This
Petitions can be picked
cooperative was formed
up at the Morrow County
to produce Energy Crops
Clerk's office or from the
for the purpose of creating
state website at www.sos.
electric energy in the local
state.or.us.
areas surrounded by the
grower member’s farms.
This is the driving factor
Boardman ci(y manager announced on Friday, February 4, the resignation of
working toward the pur
Boardman’s
Chief of Police John Zeiler. Chief Zeiler’s last day will be March 3.
chase and operation of the
power plant at the north end
G R EEN F E E D & S E E D IN H E P P N E R :
of Heppner.
A hosted luncheon
TAN A
M o n ta n a S ilv e r 2 0 % O F F L J S M I I V O K N
will be prepared by Sweet
R S M IT » IS
Productions. Those plan
ning to attend are asked to
W inter Clothing, Heated
m
RSVP to Marcia Kemp at
541-676-2100.
Buckets & Tank H eaters
1
Boardman police chief resigns
5% OFF
Leo Waite and Justice Petzoldt. members of the Colt Wrestling
Program, work on their moves during their first tournament
on February 2. - Photo by Megan Futter
M orrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & S eed
2 4 2 W. L in d e n W ay, H e p p n a r • 6 7 6 -9 4 2 2 • 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 (M CGG main office)
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