Smith has not signed on' in support of illegal
alien tuition bill
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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
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