Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2011)
M erkley blames speculators, big oil for high gas prices Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 Wants strategic oil reserve opened up By David Sykes O re g o n S e n a to r Jeff Merkley says high gas prices are caused by specu lators who are not taking delivery o f oil but simply t VOL. 130 NO. 21 14 Pages Wednesday, May 25,2011 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon buying and selling delivery contracts, as well as big oil com panies who are g e t ting tax subsidies and still m aking huge profits. On the other hand, he said he wants to see the country’s 727-m illion-barrel strate gic oil reserve opened up to increase supply, which he says would drive down prices. H igh school stu dent Joe Armato asked the first question at a town hall m eeting M erkley held in Heppner on Sunday. “We are subsidiz ing big oil and they are making huge profits. Sub sidizing them did not lower prices,” Armato said. “When oil goes to $60 or $80 per barrel, these companies don’t need in centives. The tax incentives should be ended,” Merkley said. However, Merkley was m uch more in favor o f making the country less dependent on oil than in creasing supply, giving a list of things that could be done, including air foils on trucks and-converting to 'Heppner water safe Burrows retires on 1 » i , ;to drink nign note Over the weekend, fHeppner city officials de c la re d the to w n ’s w ater supply safe to drink again, .liftin g last w e e k ’s boil warning. R e s id e n ts w e re warned to boil their water or used bottled water after the city’s water tested posi tive for fecal coliform or E. coli bacteria last Wednes day. T hose b a c te ria are usually present when water has been contaminated by hum an or anim al w aste, officials said. W ater can become infected if a well becomes contam inated, a distribution line breaks or •the c h lo rin atio n system ¡fails. The b acteria can make people sick, particu la rly if they have weak im mune systems. Symptoms include diarrhea, cramps, ■nausea or headaches. The bacteria was ^discovered during the city’s routine testing o f the wa t e r last week. City m an a g e r David DeM ayo said ¿samples are taken from the {city water every week and fsent to Box-R Labs, a state- .certified lab in Prineville. When results came back positive for bacteria Wednesday, the city took actio n and im m ed iately notified the residents. Then, according to public works d ire c to r B rian H arm on, city w orkers chlorinated all three o f the city’s res e rv o irs and flu sh ed the to w n ’s hydrants to draw the chlorination through the system. They then took five samples and sent them for testing; all five samples came back clear o f E. coli and fecal coliform. City officials said the problem probably oc curred during the recent storm , when runoff from the rain may have entered an underground reservoir. Harmon said that the city has taken special preventa tive measures at reservoir #2, ordering a new top for the reservoir so no water or debris can enter. The other p rev en tativ e m easure is simply routine chlorination, which has worked well in the past. “I’ve been here 11 years,” said Harmon, who added that the city had been chlorinating water before he started as public works director. “I don’t remember ever having an E. coli hit.” New name, new face at local sewing shop Retiring MCSD superintendant Mark Burrows gave an impromptu speech after being awarded the Doug Flatt Me morial Leadership Award at the 12th annual Crystal Apple Awards this month. -Contributedphoto Mark Burrows will retire on a high note after winning the Doug Flatt Me morial Leadership Award during the 12th annual Crys tal Apple Awards recently. The Doug Flatt Memorial Leadership Award honors a school district administrator for outstanding leadership in education. B u rro w s, w ho has been Morrow County School District superinten dent since 2004, is a former teacher and contractor who began his adm inistrative career in 1997 as an e l ementary school principal in John Day. His school achieved some o f the top marks in the state during his time there. B u rro w s m oved from John Day to Morrow County, where he solidified and provided vision for the district. He gained a reputa tion as an “outside the box” thinker and a team player who wasn’t afraid to make tough decisions. U m atilla-M orrow ESD Superintendent Dr. Mark M ulvihill said Bur rows’ “presence and strong leadership will be sorely missed in the future” as he retires from education at the end o f this month. B u rro w s, w ho was not aware he had won the award until it was an nounced during the c er emony, said he was honored to receive the aw ard. In an impromptu speech, he provided some advice to other educators and admin istrators. “ We need to re m e m b e r w hy w e h av e school b u ild in g s in the first place,” Burrows said. “T hey’re for kids. T hat’s why we’re all here. We need to remember that.” B urrow s and his wife, Anita, plan to travel after his retirement. He says they are talking about Tus cany, and also look forward to getting better acquainted w ith th eir tw o -y ear-o ld granddaughter, Livia, who lives in Portland. Gazette-Times closed Memorial Day Sew On Et Cetera owner Marlene Pointer works on a proj ect for a customer In her shop on Willow Street. Pointer took •over the location in April. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo iBy Andrea Di Salvo T hose w ith p e s ky sewing projects but no sew ing e x p e rie n c e w ill welcome one o f Heppner’s I newest businesses. Sew On jEt Cetera. The small sewing shop on Willow Street is a continuation o f the shop ow ned by recent retiree Helen Troxwell. The new ow ner is long-tim e lone resident M arlene Pointer, who has operated the sew ing shop since April. Sixty-five-year-old Pointer was a career teach er, but seamstress work was no leap for this long-time sewer, who has been plying needle and thread since the age o f nine. She started out under the tutelage of mentor Ruth McCabe. “My mother didn’t have the patience to teach me, so she sent me to Aunt 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 31. R u th ,” says P o in ter. “ I did my first 4-H project at home, then my mom took it to Aunt Ruth and she tore it all out. That’s a heartbreak- er when you’re nine.” Ruth McCabe may have been a stick ler for detail. Pointer said, but she was a good teacher who instilled a life-long love o f sew ing in her young -See SEWING SHOP/ PAGE FIVE Senator Jeff Merkley, speaking to a crowd of about 55 at a town hall meeting in Heppner Sunday, said the downturn in the housing construction is the reason for high unemployment in Oregon. -Photo by David Sykes natural gas as ways to cut our use of fossil fiaels. “We send $1 billion per day to foreign countries for energy. Lots o f wealth is going to the Middle East countries. We need to lower our demand for imported oil,” he said. In reference to the theory o f man-made global warming, Merkley said the country also needs to “put less carbon in the air.” C o n c e rn in g th e lack of domestic oil produc ) -See MERKLEY TOWN HALL/PAGE SIX Morrow County Health District breaks profit streak, loses nearly $112,000 for the month A f t e r a th r e e - month streak o f gains. Mor row County H ealth D is trict broke its profit streak last month, losing nearing $112,000 in April, accord ing to figures released by Chief Financial Officer Ni cole Mahoney at the regular meeting held Monday night in Heppner. The district showed a $58,325 profit in March, a $47,162 gain in February and a whopping $216,680 gain in January. As o f A pril 30, M CHD showed a $9,251 average monthly year-to-date gain. The d istric t also held a h earin g M onday night on its $10 m illion proposed 2011-12 budget. Mahoney told the board that she still may have some ad justments to the budget. Board member Da vid Burns told the board that he and CEO Michael Blauer did a walk-through o f the Irrigon Clinic and met with the staff regard ing what they would like to see concerning a possible clinic remodel. Blauer said he plans more research on clinic needs and remodel costs. In other business, the board: -received two bids to clean and repair the de teriorating concrete stairs and w alkw ay at Pioneer Memorial Clinic: a $ 17,728 bid from Concrete Resto ration Technologies, Inc., Seattle and a $12,300 bid from Concrete Restoration Technologies, West Linn, OR. The board asked for additional references on outdoor restoration work done by Concrete Resto ration Technologies, but tentatively approved their bid if outdoor references are received. Mahoney told the board that she had also investigated replacing the concrete, but that proved to be “hugely costly.” She added that finding concrete restoration companies had also been difficult. -heard from Blauer that med students are con tinuing to work with pro viders at Pioneer Memorial Clinic and a physician’s as sistant has been scheduled to work with physician's as sistant Sheridan Tamasky. -learned from Blau er that the federal mandate to change from paper to electronic records through Healthland is progressing, albeit slowly. -h e a rd a re p o rt from Blauer on current state and federal budget concerns with respect to hospitals. A ccording to B lauer the state is looking at cuts to M ed icaid fu n d in g . “ On our end it’s not any cause for concern or panic yet,” said Blauer. Board Chair Larry M ills said that the state is discussing raising the hospital tax in order to create more money to lever age more federal matching funds. Currently, Pioneer Memorial, as a small hos pital, is not required to pay the state hospital tax. -heard from board m em ber Leann Rea that the Veterans Administration is seeking a 1,000-2,000- foot place in which to hold VA clinics. Rea said she b eliev ed th at the clinic could draw people from a larger area than just Mor row County and suggested that MCHD consider the possibility o f working with the VA in establishing such a clinic. - l e a r n e d from Mahoney that upon board ap p ro v al, the d istrict is m oving away from hav ing two check signers and instead requiring only one signer. Mahoney said that the au d ito rs had ea rlie r expressed concern that she, as chief financial officer, approved expenditures and also signed the checks. With the change, Mahoney will approve the payment vouchers, Blauer will sign the checks and a backup document will be attached -See HEALTH DISTRICT/ PAGE SIX AT MCGG GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: Premium W ild Bird Diet 25 lb ONLY $9.99 All MCGG locations dosed Monday- Memorial Day 1 Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 24^2^lnd*r^W ay/H e££n«r^^76^942^^981L 8222j[M C G ^naif^fl»c«^ \ i tion, Merkley again blamed the oil companies, saying they are- simply sitting on many off-shore oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico. “They should use them or lose them," he told the crowd. Joe Miller o f Hep pner asked w hy federal and state governm ents were subsidizing the wind in dustry, w hich is not an economical form of energy production. t
