Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2011)
Hinton Creek causes some Heppner flooding VOL. 130 NO. 23 10 Pages Wednesday, June 8,2011 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Wyden lays out immigration plan that leads to citizenship for illegals “What do we do with all the people already here?” he asks Ron Wyden held a town hall meeting in Heppner last Friday. He addressed a wide range of topics during questions and answers from the audience. Here he talks with Morrow County Commissioner Leann Rea. photo by David Sykes By David Sykes Senator Ron Wyden laid out his plan for a national illegal immigra tion plan last week, which included a way for those in the country now illegally to gain citizenship. Wyden, who vot ed in favor of what became known as the amnesty bill, Proposed during the Bush administration, explained his four points in dealing with the problem of illegal immigration, mainly com ing from Mexico. “ First we need to do a better job at the borders. We need to show our sovereignty,” he told a crowd o f about 25 at his town hall meeting last Fri day evening in Heppner. “Then we need to enforce the laws on the books.” He said employers who know ingly hire illegals should be faced with sanctions. He did not say what those sanctions would be, but said employers need to be part of the solution. Finally he said something has to be done about the millions of ille gals already in the country. “What do we do with all the people already here?” he asked rhetorically. “I am for the idea that if people here illegally come forward and pay a fine, learn English, have broken no other laws, then that person should be able to apply to be a citi zen,” Wyden said. “Some people say that is amnesty. But what do we do? Send millions o f people home? That is not going to happen in the real world,” he said. Several govern ment officials in the audi ence said the requirement that local governments have to advertise and present information in Spanish is costly. On other topics, Wyden said in response to a question that he supports Obamacare and will not vote to repeal the contro versial health care bill. Passage of the bill last year was strictly on a party-line basis, and Wyden also said later changing the extreme partisan nature of the con gress at this time was one of his top priorities. In discussing Obamacare Wyden con tinually referred to a bill he had introduced prior to passage o f the health care bill, which, he said, was more bi-partisan and market driven. He admitted however that his bill had no chance of being passed. Wyden told the crowd that the best feature of Obama care was that insurance companies could no longer exclude people with pre existing conditions. “The insurance companies will no longer be able to ham mer you with pre existing conditions.” It was pointed out that if people were able to wait until they are sick before buying health insurance, that requirement would bankrupt any insur ance company. On the subject of Social Security Wyden said nobody would be get ting less from the system than they paid in, but some people would be getting more out than they paid in. He did say the number o f people who would be getting more was a small percentage. Some people at the town hall meeting thanked Wyden for is help. M orrow C ounty Judge Terry Tallman said Wyden was instrumental in helping with problems between the Shepherds Flat wind farm project and the department of defense. He also said Wyden was helpful in land ing the Zeachem business at the Port o f Morrow in Boardman. Wyden, who was in Heppner as part of his promise to hold a town hall meeting in every county in Oregon every year, was asked by Heppner Chamber of Commerce Executive Di rector Sheryll Bates if local entities could receive more econom ic developm ent money. “ We need some more money h ere,” she said, pointing out that local groups like Willow Creek Economic D evelopm ent have used the funds for workforce training. Bates said a lot o f w orkforce money was earmarked for failing businesses the past year. “That sounds foolish even by Washington stan dards,” Wyden said, but added that his staff would look into it. Wyden also field ed several questions about what some people felt was misuse of public funds, all the way from people being able to buy fountain pops with food stamps, to people claiming disability when they did not deserve it. Wyden urged those attend ing to report people abusing the social security disability program. Wyden was also asked by Gary Propheter of the Bank of Eastern Oregon about new bank regulations under the “Durbin Amend ment” that will cost small community banks like the Bank o f Eastern Oregon “lots of money.” It was also pointed out that the Obama administration’s small busi ness lending program was not helping the economy. “We have plenty of liquid ity. We have money to lend to qualified borrow ers,” Propheter said of the pro gram. “We are not going to use the small business lending fund,” he said. Former County Judge Louis Carlson o f Heppner asked why the United States seems to be continually at war, and why we can’t take the money we use for wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and use the money to develop our own domestic energy reserves and to balance the budget. “I voted against go ing to war in Iraq,” Wyden said. He said there were no WMDs and the coun try should not have gone in there. He said when the country went into Iraq it “took its eye o ff Bin Laden in A fghanistan.” Wyden did not say if he was in favor of staying in Afghanistan now that Bin Laden is dead, but did say there would be “a decision coming up” about the US involvement in Libya. “We were told at the outset it was going to be limited. What is America’s national security in Libya?” Wyden said. “Now the commitment is open ended and we have a big decision coming up. “ What about the president not evoking the War Powers Act?” Dick Sargent asked. “It appears that the president is ig noring you,” he added. Wyden, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Com mittee, would not criticize President Obama’s decision to become involved in a war in Libya, but only said “I am going to look at it.” Heppner football field was flooded (above and below) H ^ Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 A cloudburst in the Hinton Creek watershed above Heppner caused some flooding and the evacuation o f the grade school last Thursday. A large amount of rain came down causing the creek to jump its banks just above the fairgrounds and bus bams on the east edge of town. The fairgrounds office had done some sand bagging, but not enough to keep the water out as the water saturated the rug and also came through the exhibit area. The water also came fairly heavily through the Wilkinson Arena, caus ing some erosion. Under the ad vice of Heppner Fire Chief Rusty Estes, Heppner El ementary School students were evacuated to the high school. The water had cov ered the football field and the parking lot just east of the grade school play ground. Although the water never threatened to go into the school, officials felt it was getting too close and was better that the children moved to safety out of the area. City crews, fire men and some of the Co lumbia Basin Electric crews monitored the Hinton Creek bridges through town to make sure debris did not build up under the bridges and cause flooding and oth er problems. A tree coming down the creek apparently severed a sewer line cross ing the creek on the Adkins St. bridge. Homes owned by the Jack and Rene Yocom and John and Alita Nelson families were especially hit by the flooding. Bridges across Hinton and also Willow Creek were reported washed out. The Willow Creek Dam controls the outflow of that creek preventing flooding, and the Corps of Engineers reportedly shut down out put last Thursday to aid in the excess water from Hinton. The rainfall, along with snow melting in the mountains, is putting the water level at the dam at unusually high levels for this time of year. ■ by David Sykes Gale St. bridge over Hinton Creek. Bus barn next to fairgrounds photos by David Sykes CELEBRATE HEPPNER - EVENT SCHEDULE June 10-11,2011 FRIDAY, June 10th: 9am - close Merchant Sidewalk Sale All Day Free Cup o f Starbuck’s Coffee - Heppner Family Foods 9am-3pm Shaved Ice - Murray Drugs 1 lam-3pm Mini Carnival for kids and a prize wheel for adults - Community Bank 12:00 pm Strawberry Shortcake- Sweet Productions Ice Cream Parlour “Welly Toss” event will be held on West Willow Street (between Murray’s and Artisan Village) 10:30 am-12pm “Welly Toss” - Team competition 11:30am-1:30pm Community BBQ sponsored by Bank o f Eastern Oregon - AmeriTitle parking lot 12:00-1:30 pm“Welly Toss” - Individual and Children competition 1:00-5:00 pm Morrow County Heritage and Agricultural Museums open 2:00 pm “Welly Toss” - Team Championships All Children’s Games and Small Dog Races will be held on East Willow Street (between Heppner Family Foods and Senior Center) 2:30 pm Small dog races on East Willow Street (between Heppner Family Foods and Senior Center) 3:00 pm Tricycle race - 3-5 years old Water Balloon Toss - 6-10 & 11-18 years old Support a local food merchant - eat dinner downtown and stay for the Community Play 6:30 pm Community Play “The Star Theater in Film and on Stage (written and directed by Doris Brosnan and Sharon Harrison) Upstairs at Elks Lodge. Tickets $10 per person and may be purchased at Bank of Eastern Oregon, Community Bank, Heppner Chamber, Murray’s Drug SATURDAY, June 11th: 2:00 pm Community Play “The Star Theater in Film and on Stage (written and directed by Doris Brosnan and Sharon Harrison) Upstairs at Elks Lodge. Brake Parts cleaners YOUR CHOICE •MAC 4700 Brake Parts Cleaner •MAC 4800 Nonchlorinated Brake Cleaner •MAC 4810 Low-VOC Nonchlorinated Brake Cleaner M o r r o w C o u n t y G r a in G r o w e r s J j x ln g t o r ^ 8 9 ^ 2 2 V ^ J j 0 0 ^ 4 5 2 - 7 3 9 6 ^ r « T t im i *wt —r uw n www t » mi
