FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Morrow County Court weekly meeting held
The Morrow Coun
ty Court met on February
2 in Heppner with Judge
Tallman and Commission
ers Grieb and Rea in at
tendance. Following is a
summary of the meetings
provided by Leann Rea.
The court reviewed
and approved the minutes
of January 26.
The court reviewed
and approved the account
payables in the net total
am ount o f $54,711.10.
There will a slight increase
in this amount due to some
adjustm ents for mileage
expenses.
Road Report
R o a d M a s te r ,
Burke O ’Brien provided
the court with a project list
for the spring, summer and
fall of 2011. He also pro
vided a list for long range
projects. Ice and snow: The
crew had to plow and sand a
few days the past couple of
weeks, mainly in the Hep
pner area and south towards
the higher elevations. Brush
Crew: The brush crew has
finished cleaning up the
brush in the Irrigon area.
Most of the clean up was
done with a mini excavator
and two dump trucks, the
rest was hand work. This
finishes the brush work for
this year. They are starting
some ditch cleaning in the
Boardman area, mainly in
the Kunze and Wilson Lane
area. Culvert Cleaning: The
crew finished extending
five culverts along Spur
Loop Road and one on
Basey Canyon Road. They
then continued with clean
ing the culvert inlets and
outlets along Balm Fork
Road, Basey Canyon Road,
Lunceford Canyon Road,
Sanford Cany on Lane, and
are currently working along
Upper Rhea Creek Road
and Spring Hallow Road.
Road Grading: Road grad
ing has been completed on
County Line Road, Rand
Road, Sunset Lane, Wagon
Wheel Loop, West Glenn,
Skoubo Road, Crum Road,
and Ella Road. Other grad
ers are currently working
in the Hanna A rbuckle,
Homestead Lane and Im
migrant Lane areas. Gravel
was hauled to rough spots
and washouts on Fairview
Lane, Ella Road, Immigrant
Lane, Baker Lane, Elmer
Griffith Road, and finished
the upper end of Little But
ter Creek Road. The crew is
currently hauling gravel to
Balm Fork Road to finish
the project that was halted
because the road was too
soft. Road Signs: The crew
continues with sign repairs
and replacements county
wide. Misc.: Weed super
visor, Dave Pranger has
been working on convert
ing the old spray truck into
a de-icing unit by adding
a spray bar. He then met
with ODOT and learned
the ins and outs, and then
test sprayed some mate
rial yesterday on Bombing
Range Road and a few
intersections and bridges.
Bid Awarding: The court
on the recommendation of
the road and weed depart
ment awarded the herbicide
bid to Wilbur Ellis in the
amount of $54,383. The
contract for this award was
then signed. Purchase Pre-
Authorization: The court
approved an expenditure
of $25,000 for a 500 gal
lon Poly Elliptical unit and
spray unit for the weed
department. Permits: After
reviewing and on the rec
ommendation of the road
department the following
perm its were approved:
Approach permit 163 and
164 between Blattner En
ergy Inc. and the county for
approaches on Four Mile
Road. One approach is 3.4
miles for Highway 74 and
the other is 4.6 miles from
Hwy 74. The court also
approved a permit between
Umatilla Electric Coop and
the county for a temporary
overhead crossing in the
area of East Columbia Lane
and Lewis & Clark Drive.
Sheriff Report
U n d e r - s h e r if f ,
Steve Myren provided the
court with the following
report: Irrigon area - Stolen
pickup recovered, agen
cy assistance with mobile
home fire (total loss). Ar
rested a male subject walk
ing over the fog line on
Hwy 730 on a warrant out
of Washington, failure to
register as a sex offended
and cited for possession of
marijuana. A landlord called
and stated that he was being
threatened by a 19 year old
male with a knife. Two Pit
Bulls attacking and killing
livestock, dogs put down.
Boardman area - A male
riding a horse with a ma
chete, threatening persons
and livestock was arrested
for harassment. Heppner
- Agency assistance for a
fire at the Blake Ranch. The
home was fully involved, no
injuries involved. A single
log truck accident on Hwy
207, with driver trapped for
approximately 1.5 hours,
driver was transported to
Pioneer Memorial Hospital.
The court also reviewed the
proposed vehicle rotation.
Title II Project Prioritiza
tion
D al^ Boyd, r e
viewed the projects pre
sented from the Northeast
Oregon Forests Resource
Advisory Committee. Fol
lowing are the ratings of
the three projects: Noxious
Weed Eradication Project
(High Priority), Black Mt.
Fuels reduction (thinning
and piling) near the Blake
Addition along Shaw Creek
Road, (high priority) and
Morrow County small di
ameter thinning (medium
priority).
Budget Update
Financial director,
Fred Carlson provided the
court and several depart
ment heads with a status
report for the 2011-2012
budget year. From all infor
mation provide it appears
the next budget cycle is
going to be very tight and
all departments will need
to help reduce costs where
possible.
CSEPP Update
The E m ergency
manager, Casey Beard pro
vided the court withtan up
date regarding the close out
of the Umatilla Army Depot
destruction of chemicals.
Explaining how this will
impact the county when
some of the facilities are
turned over to the county
and the costs associated
with this action.
The court conduct
ed the following business:
Signed a letter requesting
Raymond James & Associ
ates (retirement fund man
ager) to transfer $ 1,000,000
from the fixed account into
the equity account. This
transfer is being made be
cause the equity fund has
been outperform ing the
fixed account. Last year the
equity fund had a 12.4 per
cent return while the fixed
account only had an 8.17
percent return; Approved
a resolution for an applica
tion for a grant program
from the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department for
development at Cutsforth
Park; The court heard a re
quest from Lisa Rietmann,
Shannon Rust and Kyle
Carnine to have Morrow
County forward a request
for a Disaster Declaration
for Morrow County be
cause of significant damage
caused by aphid. Several
letters regarding this mat
ter were also reviewed,
the court then agreed to
sign a letter to the gover
nor regarding this matter;
The court reviewed and
updated committee appoint
ment for the commission
ers; The court agreed to
continue membership in the
Columbia-Blue Mountain
RC&D, pay the $225 dues
and appointed Com m is
sioner Grieb to represent
the county on their board;
Approved the expenditure
of $718.84 for misc. items
for the remainder o f the
2009 “Needs and Issues”
award for the Boardman
Senior Center; Approved
the expenditure of $376.54
for signs and flags for the
remainder of a “Needs and
Issues” award for the Town
o f Lexington; The court
reviewed the status of the
remaining “Needs and Is
sues” awards and trans
ferred $ 15.76 from unspent
awards back into the Tip-
page Fund; Reviewed and
granted a refund of over
payment of taxes to Larry &
Cindy Curry in the amount
of $536.02; Awarded one
scholarship in the amount
of $340 from the court’s
Discretionary' Fund to al
low a local girl to attend
Oregon Girls State. In ex
change for the scholarship
the Court did request that
the girl make a presentation
before the court, related her
experiences.
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 minutes,
please contact Karen Wolff
a t (541)676-5620.
Senior wrestlers recognized during weekend tournament
A view from the hill
By Doris Brosnan
Hard to believe, some Willow Creek Terrace
residents say, that Christmas and New Year’s celebra
tions happened so long ago that the Terrace is now just
a week away from a Valentines Day celebration!
In December, the Christmas theme prevailed
in the halls decorated by eleven of the residents and
throughout the many visits by carolers, the OF Time
Fiddlers’ Jamboree, and Rebecca Jepsen’s harp con
cert. Residents and staff enjoyed caroling by the fire
on Christmas Eve, and the staff looked almost elf-like
when they brought individualized gifts to all the resi
dents. And Dorothy O’Dell celebrated a birthday on
December 23, with her family enjoying a special lunch
and cake with her and her neighbors.
Symbols and symbolic foods were part of the
festive meals served on New Year’s Day, all said by
some cultures to be important to a good year ahead.
The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl were appreciated by
some fans on that day, and the designated Fruitcake
Toss Day on January 8 was appreciated by some not-
fans of that traditional holiday food. With that last
vestige of the holiday season taken care of, thoughts
turned to the bizarre, the mundane, and the crazy-fun
special days of January, as well as the days designated
as celebrations of some really good foods. “Read and
Share a Book” was the theme from the 16th to the 22nd.
And the 24th through the 28lh highlighted “Belly Laugh”
week, with joke-telling during morning exercises be
cause the residents learned that one good belly laugh
bums up six calories! Dessert-first was a surprise at
lunch on January 28, a surprise that residents warmed
up to quickly on Backwards Day, the perfect excuse
for starting a meal with that last course that diners are
sometimes too full to enjoy. And the last meal of the
day? A blueberry-pancakes breakfast, of course!
Maybe January 10’s Organize Your Home Day
- when residents were encouraged to organize their
closets - was not as enjoyable as Bubble Wrap Ap
preciation Day, with the popping of those tiny bubble
pockets, on the 31“.
Eleven residents, all women, enjoyed a morn
ing of free manicures on January 26. The free experi
ence was offered by Pat Edmundson, Jan Paustian,
Sharon Harrison, Carmen Healy, and Doris Brosnan.
It was as much an opportunity for some visiting as it
was for a relaxing pampering of the digits. This was
a soothing start to birthday day for Mary Lou Wilson,
who was joined for lunch by family who brought her
favorite pie for dessert.
A new resident was recently welcomed to
Willow Creek Terrace. Meg Murray brought her posi
tive energy with her on January 23, to the delight of
the staff and her new neighbors. Now, two apartments
remain available at the Terrace. Administrator George
Naims has announced, however, that, until rented to
new residents, these apartments can be rented for
temporary respite care.
Naims explained “respite care” as a service in
tended for individuals who need temporary assistance,
for any of a variety of reasons. Occasionally, a person
who faces a health setback needs extra help until he or
she can return home in better health. Occasionally, a
care-giver in a home environment needs to be gone for
a period of time and the person being provided the care
needs somewhere to stay until that care-giver returns.
Sometimes, a person simply needs some extra rest and
a break from the physical and mental demands of living
independently. Any of these situations, and others, may
be viewed as reasons for turning to Willow Creek Ter
race for this respite-care service. A furnished apartment
and meals are basic to this service, and added assistance
can be included, if needed. Naims encourages calls to
541 -676-0004 so she or her staff can answer questions
about the respite-care service.
With Valentines Day approaching and St. Pat
rick’s Day around the comer, the following wish for
friends and neighbors of Terrace residents is viewed
as an appropriate closing to today’s column: May the
sun always shine on your windowpane; May a rain
bow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of
a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart
with gladness to cheer you.
Allstott makes University
of Oregon’s dean’s list
Aaron Michael Allstott of Heppner has been
named to the University of Oregon dean’s list for the fall
semester of the 2010-11 academic year. Allstott is a senior
studying journalism with a focus on advertising.
The dean’s list is compiled for fall, winter and
spring terms. To qualify, a student must be an admitted
undergraduate and complete at least 15 credits for the
term; 12 of the 15 credits must be graded with a GPA of
3.75 or better.
Senior wrestlers Jerreid M iller (left) and Alex Fuentes (right)
were honored during the Bank of Eastern Oregon Invitational
wrestling tournament held this past weekend at Heppner High
School. -Photos by Sandy Matthews
Community Lunch Menu
Applications for GRP to be
received through Feb. 25
Willow Creek Baptist Church members will be
serving lunch on Wednesday, February 16, at St. Patrick’s
Senior Center. The meal will include chicken pot pie,
coleslaw, Jell-o with fruit, hot rolls, and raspberry mouse.
Menu is subject to change.
Valentine's Special
Saturday, F ebruary / 2th
Steak 8 Crab D in n e r
$ 2 f.0 0 p e r p la te
D essert t S alad B ar In clu ded
Heppner Christian Church to
host community ham dinner
Heppner Christian Church will hold a free com
munity ham dinner with all the fixings on Sunday, Febru
ary 13, at the Senior Center dining room from 4-6 p.m.
There is no charge to the public.
Anyone who needs a ride or cannot attend and
would like a meal delivered can call Sam Bellamy at
541-561-8881.
Marriage Licenses
The Morrow County Clerk’s Office has issued
the following marriage licenses in December:
February 3: Leonardo Martinez-Nava, 34, Ken
newick, WA and Josefina Costeno Pantaleon, 32, Ken
newick, WA.
The Grassland Re
serve Program (GRP) is
a voluntary program to
help landowners and land
managers protect, restore
and enhance rangeland,
pastureland, shrubland and
other grasslands.
The b en efits o f
GRP include: protecting
vital grazing lands from
co n v ersio n , prom oting
agricultural stability, in
creasing forage production,
maintaining and improving
wildlife habitat and biodi
versity of plant and wildlife
populations, and providing
scenic and recreational op
portunities. By participat
ing in GRP, landowners/
operators retain ownership
of the land and the right to
•use the land for grazing and
other compatible uses.
Eligible landown
ers or operators who man
age their grasslands, have
an active grazing operation,
and who want to maintain
and prevent their land from
future conversion from uses
other than grazing can ap
ply for GRP at the USDA
Service Center. Applica
tions must be received by
Friday, February 25. For
more information contact
the Heppner Service Center,
430 Linden Way, call 541-
676-5021, or visit www.
or.usda.gov.