Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2011)
Smith has not signed on' in support of illegal alien tuition bill 11 1 1 1 • 1 1 ■ 1 1 1 1 ■ 1 111 1111 • 11 1 1 ■ I ■ 11 Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 Parents need to step up and do the right thing and be here legally, he says ’ By David Sykes Oregon Represen tative Greg Smith of Hep- pner said last week that he has not “signed on” in favor of the controversial Senate Bill that would give certain illegal alien students the HEUBNER right to pay in-state tuition to attend state colleges in Oregon. The bill, SB 742, says, in part, that the State Board of Higher Education shall exem pt a student who is not a citizen nor a lawful permanent resident of the United States from paying nonresident tuition and fees for enrollment in an institution of higher education. “I believe we are all children of our Heavenly Father,” Smith said in a conference call with the H ep p n er C h am b er o f Commerce, concerning the argument in favor of giving illegals in-state tuition, but, “Our programs need to focus on people who are here legally rather than those who have chosen to come here illegally.” Chamber member and local resident Larry Mills questioned Smith concerning his decision whether or not to support the bill. “The question comes up, if we don’t educate these kids what do we do with them?” Mills asked. Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon “ Parents need to azette VOL. 130 NO. 19 10 Pages Election Results Wednesday, May 18, 2011 ‘Sounded like a jet breaking the sound Padberg & barrier, only louder’ Lindsay win Port, Kindle gets Local man describes lightning striking his house Saturday school board ing fast four hours later,” and several other neighbors By David Sykes In contested races in Morrow County following is the unofficial vote: Port of Morrow Marvin Pad berg beat Gerald Breazeale 1,053 to 487, and Larry Lindsay beat Kelly Kraft 1,083 to 418. Morrow County School District saw Becky Kindle beat Patrick NcNamee 752 to 474. In the Irrigon Park and Recreation race Stan An derson beat Andrew Reid 208 to 148. For complete returns go to http://www. m o rro w c o u n ty O regon, com/clerk R od W ilso n o f Heppner was standing by his pickup outside his house Saturday, when one of the lightning strikes that hit in the area struck his house. “ I ju m p e d for cover,” Wilson, a building contractor who lives at the top o f Cemetery Hill in Heppner, told the Gazette Monday. “It sounded like a jet breaking the sound bar rier, only louder.” He said the event was like nothing he had ever experienced before. “My heart was still beat Danielson retires from school district Assistant Superin tendent Phyllis Danielson will retire from the Morrow County School District at the end of this month. The 54-year-old has been assistant superin tendent for four years, but has worked in the MCSD for 31 years, ever since she was hired by Chuck Starr and Mick Tolar in 1979. D a n ie ls o n w as bom and raised in Portland, where she graduated from Wilson High School. She went on to obtain a bachelor o f science in elementary education from Eastern Or egon State College and a master’s degree in educa tion with an emphasis in school administration from Eastern Washington Uni versity. During her time in Morrow County, Danielson has served as a teacher at A.C. Houghton Elementary in Irrigon for 19 years, a language arts and social studies teacher at the former Columbia Middle School for a year, principal at Hep pner Elementary for three years, a reading teacher in Irrigon for two years and principal at Irrigon Elemen tary for two years. Danielson and her husband, Paul, lived in Heppner for three years, but now reside in Irrigon Phyllis Danielson -Contributed photo where, she says, they intend to stay put. The couple in tends to use their retirement time to make frequent trips to visit their grandchildren in Illinois, as well as back packing throughout Oregon and Washington. Danielson says she is profoundly grateful to the MCSD board of directors and administration for be lieving in her and encourag ing her career pathway over the years. “I’ve had the privi lege of working, learning and laughing with students, teachers and parents in Irrigon, Boardm an, and Heppner,” says Danielson. “I couldn’t have asked for a richer career experience.... who knew the path would lead to assistant superinten dent? I’m so grateful for the experience.” he said. T h e li g h tn in g strike was one of several in the area during the big thunder and rainstorm that dumped over 2.3 inches of rain on the area Saturday and caused flooding (see related story). The strike blew a four inch hole in the roof and started a smolder ing fire in the attic. Wilson grabbed a garden hose and had the fire mostly out by the time the fire depart ment arrived. Larry Mills, who lives above Wilson, came over to help. Besides the hole in the ro o f the lighting “bume.d up the computer and the TV and a bunch of wiring,” Wilson said. He said the strike hit the peak o f the roof and traveled down some metal casing into the electrical system. The house is with out electricity now. How ever, neighbors are helping provide power and an insur ance adjuster was coming soon to look at the damage, Wilson said. Local man speaks at U of O award ceremony L-R: Pat Kilkenny, Pat Sweeney and Phil Knight at the Uni versity of Oregon Pioneer Award gala. -Contributedphoto Heppner native and local business owner Pat Sweeney attended a recent award gala at the University of Oregon to speak on be half of award recipient Pat Kilkenny. Kilkenny, another Heppner native, was one o f two recipients o f the University’s 2011 Pioneer Award. According to the university, the Pioneer Award “recognizes individ uals who have been willing to lead rather than follow, take risks rather than see opportunities pass.” The award was begun in 1979; Kilkenny is the 71” recipi ent in the award’s 32-year history. Kilkenny studied journalism at the University of Oregon before building his own business. Arrow head General Insurance Gazette-Times closed Memorial Day The Heppner Gazette-Times office will be closed Memorial Day, May 30 for the holiday. All news and ad deadlines will be the previous Friday, May 27, by 5 p.m. The newspaper office will reopen on Tuesday, May 3 1. Agency, in San Diego. Af ter selling his business, K ilkenny served as the university’s athletic direc tor and donated his entire salary to support programs for low-income students. His leadership helped U of O athletics gain a higher profile, reinstate baseball and build new baseball and basketball stadiums. He and his wife, Stephanie, also founded the Lucky Duck Foundation and support a variety of other organiza tions through their dona tions and service. Sw eeney jo in ed another friend of Kilkenny, Philip Knight, in speaking on K ilkenny’s behalf at -See A WARD CEREMONY SPEAKER/PAGE THREE step up and do the right thing and be here legally,” Smith responded. On other issues, Smith says the House is grappling now with SB 99, which requires Oregon Health Authority to estab lish Oregon Health Insur ance Exchange to comply with the federally mandated health care law commonly known as Obamacare. He said all the business organizations in Oregon, including Asso ciated Oregon Industries and the Oregon Cattlemen, are lining up in favor of the law. He referenced a two-page list of organiza tions in favor. While 29 states are suing the federal government, trying to get Obamacare overturned on the basis it is not constitu tional, Oregon is not one of those states and is moving forward with the federally mandated state health insur ance exchanges. “ This is a very com plicated issue. It is going to be a tough one,” Smith told the chamber. Smith also said the state’s economic outlook is not as dire as earlier ex pressed, and the state has $127 million more in rev enue than had been earlier estimated. He said there still would be no kicker re funds for 2011 and that the economic forecast for the state is not good for at least the next three years. “Don’t expect any big growth in revenue (tax),” he said. He added that lottery revenue is stable despite the reces sion. In o th er issues, Smith said a bill that would have consolidated several courts and closed down H eppner’s courthouse is not going to happen. “It is done. It is behind us,” Smith said. In response to a question from a chamber member. Smith said that Health and Human Services budgets are most likely to be funded at a lower level, putting stress on local of fices. Smith, who sits on the Ways and Means Com mittee, said meetings are still ongoing concerning funding levels and “some programs are just not going to have the cash.” Heppner reels from rain, flooding By Andrea Di Salvo Heppner and sur rounding areas are still feeling the shock from the severe storm that crossed the region last Saturday afternoon. One Heppner resi dent reported rainfall of 2.3” between 8 a.m. Satur day and 8 a.m. Sunday. That measurement matches the official city measurement from the sewer plant but, says Heppner Fire Chief Rusty Estes, it doesn’t ac count for the severity of the storm’s beginning. Ac cording to Estes, Heppner received almost three-quar ters of an inch of rain within the first fifteen minutes of the storm. The heavy rain fall—some of the heaviest in the tow n’s history— resulted in flooding all over the area. The Morrow County S heriff’s Office received multiple reports of flooding and debris in the road. Several instances of washed-out roadways and mudslides were also reported, though most roads remained passable. In Heppner itself, city workers used trash pumps to remove water from two basements. An other house had a couple of feet of water on the ground level, said Estes. He also noted that workers who went to the city park to open the flood gates had to wade through knee-deep water on the sidewalk. In the middle of the storm, the situation became even worse when lightning struck a local man Rod Wilson’s house. That’s when the City o f Hepp ner called for mutual aid from Lexington and lone to help combat the fire. Once the fire was under control, helpers stayed and filled sandbags, which were then distributed to several Hep pner homes. Damage wasn't re stricted to private property. Workers also had to respond to public offices such as City Hall, which had ceiling tiles coming down because of the volume of water. “Just about every body got a little bit of water in something,” said Estes. “You can’t get that much water and not have dam age.” As of Monday, the Corps of Engineers report ed that Willow Creek was still in flood, with water so high that the docks in Wil low Creek Lake came off their supporting beams and floated upstream. The good news, though, is that Willow Creek Dam is still hold ing well. While Estes said it was the most water he’s ever seen above the dam, water is still about 21 feet from the spillway. “The dam is still doing well,” said Estes. “It's still doing what it’s supposed to do.” OSU Morrow County extension celebrates 100 years The Oregon State University Extension Service and Extension offices around the state are celebrating their centennial this year. With this series of centennial articles, we hope to celebrate not just the passing of calendar pages, but the power of shared knowl edge in all its many forms over the past 100 years. On July 24, 1911, with authorization from the Oregon legislature, the Board W E HAVE A G R IC U LT U R E of Regents of the Oregon Agricultural College—later to become Oregon State Uni versity—organized the Or egon Extension Service. The legislature and college were responding to requests from the citizens of the state for assistance from the college. Oregonians wanted to tap into the college’s faculty expertise, particularly in agriculture and -See OSU EXTENSION/ PAGE SEVEN •WlNDBREAKERS •T-S hirts •H oo dies B R A N D E D C L O T H IN G Morrow County Grain Growers Lexinc^or^8^822^^V800^452^739^^»M»rm»2Bip»«BUrt«j^n^Mn^n»w»Mme*^i
