Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 3,2011 - THREE
Murray plays in Shrine
All Star Game
Heppner’s Ian Murray (top) played on the East team of the
2011 East-West Shrine All Star Game. Despite the team’s best
attempts, the East ended up short on the scoreboard in the
second half, losing to the West team in Baker City last Saturday.
-Photo by Sandy Matthews
M
lan M urray was
one of the high-school star
football players who par
ticipated in the 59th annual
East-West Shrine All Star
Game at Bulldog Memo
rial Stadium in Baker City,
OR on July 30. Murray
represents Heppner on the
Shriner’s East team.
It was a disappoint
ing game for the East team,
which led the game 6-0 at
halftime. The West then
converted three second-half
interceptions into touch
downs to turn the game into
a 20-6 victory for West.
Struggling in tem
peratures that hovered in
the upper 80s all afternoon,
the East mostly controlled
the first half, but was only
able to build a one-score
lead.
The turn in the
game came with three West
interceptions in the sec
ond half. Brycen Stutzman
scored off-left tackle for a
7-6 West lead 1:32 into the
third quarter. Kenna Cum
berland then intercepted an
East pass and returned it 14
yards for a touchdown and
a 13-6 West lead.
The E a st’s next
drive reached the West 35,
but used up two o f their
second-half timeouts in the
process. East then turned
the ball over on downs.
In the fourth quar
ter, West’s Brock Ingram
co n n e c te d w ith B ren t
Whipple on a lob pass over
the middle for a 35-yard
touchdown and a 20-6 West
victory.
It was the West’s
second win in a row. The
East still leads the overall
series 29-27-3.
Even Plane to compete in
Battle of the Bands
By Regi Seitz
Even Plane fans
enjoyed a rocking night
o f music on Saturday as
the band introduced their
newest members at the first
annual Hanger-Fest. The
performance also gave the
band a chance to rehearse
for their upcoming gigs,
including Murray’s Wine
and Beer tasting on August
18 and the Battle o f the
Bands in H erm iston on
August 11.
“We were excited
just to be selected to play
at Battle of the Bands,” said
Wayne Seitz, Even Plane’s
lead singer and guitarist.
“We can’t wait to compete
with some other really tal
ented bands.”
The newest mem
bers, vocalist Taranna Pat
ton and drummer Justin
Even Plane rocks out at the recent Hanger-Fest, a prelude to
upcoming performances that include the Battle of the Bands
at the Hermiston Fair. -Contributedphoto
Henderson will join the
band in playing both new
songs and tunes off their
album, A Level o f Con
sciousness.
“We hope our fans
will be able to come out and
cheer us on,” said Dustin
Padberg, vocalist and bass
player.
Even Plane will
play at the Hermiston Fair
on the main stage at a time
to be determined. For more
inform ation, follow the
band on Facebook.
Puncturevine problematic in
south Morrow County
Puncturevine, or
goathead, is a weed that
requires constant control
efforts. Whether landown
ers pull, spray or bum it, it
will re-emerge after rain
fall because of seed in the
ground. Once the yellow
flowers show, seed will set
in two weeks, beginning the
control process over again.
Persistence is the name of
the game.
Many people in the
Heppner area are puncture
vine police, pulling plants
they see—even on other’s
properties—trying to con
trol the spread. In order
to control this weed, the
community needs all land-
owners to control this pest.
Everyone should watch
where they park; seeds stick
to tires and spread from
place to place.
This year’s cool,
wet spring delayed the ar
rival of puncturevine, catch
ing most off guard. Anyone
who has an area where
this weed has been before
should check again; it’s
probably already flowered
and gone to seed. Control at
this stage is impossible, but
residents are encouraged to
pull and bag anyway, get
ting as much of the seed as
possible.
M orrow County
Weed Control transplanted
puncturevine weevils from
Irrigon to several sites in
the Heppner area to help
with control efforts. The
county also sprays roads
for puncturevine. With only
one staff person, all county
roads can’t be monitored,
so phone calls with location
information are appreciated.
Weed staff can be contacted
at 541-989-9502.
If everyone works
together, south Morrow can
have an effect on this pain
ful intruder. Every person
is encouraged to pull, bag,
bum and spray each punc
turevine plant they see and
to encourage their neigh
bors to do the same. Those
who choose to spray should
use the correct chemical
and follow the label.
WIND FARMS Public works, DEQ say burning house
-Continuedfrom PAGE property will be passed
ONE on to the next generation.
newly installed wind tur
bines will stabilize the fam
ily farm, and that all farm
ing activity will remain
the same. According to the
North Dakota Extension
website, reports indicate
most companies are paying
$4,000 to $6,000 annually
per megawatt of power ca
pacity for fixed-compensa
tion packages. For royalty-
com pensation packages,
three percent to five percent
o f gross revenue from elec
tricity sales is common. The
new Shepherds Flat wind
project, located near lone
and stretching into Gilliam
County, is putting up 303
towers at three megawatts
from each tower.
Sorte was asked
if this wind income might
change the farming prac
tices o f the family farm,
and possibly how that farm
He said he was currently
working on a new study that
would try to address some
of those questions.
In the 2006 study,
Sorte mostly talked about
jobs created in Umatilla
County communities from
wind projects. He came to
the conclusion at that time
that each 50-megawatt proj
ect would produce 77 to 120
jobs during construction
and 14 to 21 permanent jobs
after construction during
operations.
The study also es
timated the impact on local
property tax base and the
money generated for local
governm ents. However,
Morrow County has opted
to negotiate payments in
lieu of taxes from existing
wind farms instead of the
standard assessed property
taxes.
hold waste is unhealthy
Burning household
waste is unhealthy, accord
ing to Morrow County Pub
lic Works and the Oregon
Departm ent o f Environ
mental Quality (DEQ).
A DEQ fact sheet
states that bum barrels are
inefficient and pollute be
cause they create low tem
perature fires, receive little
oxygen and produce a lot
of smoke.
“Smoke from burn
ing household w aste is
unhealthy to breathe, par
ticularly for small ch il
dren, pregnant w om en,
older adults and people with
asthma or other respiratory
ailments,” states the DEQ.
Many household
products contain chlorine,
which creates dioxin when
burned. Exposure to dioxin
is associated with cancer
and birth defects. Other
products may release heavy
metals, also associated with
cancer and birth defects.
Finally, many household
products contain chemicals
that are known to irritate the
skin and eyes. The prob
lems are magnified by the
fact that most of the pollut
ants are released close to
ground level, where they
are easily inhaled. Health
effects after exposure to
these pollutants can include
cancer, deformed offspring,
and reproductive and im
mune system failure, says
the department.
The sam e DEQ
fact sheet also states that
the burning of household
w aste— such as in burn
barrels— is an environmen
tal pollutant.
“ P o llu ta n ts r e
leased when household
waste is burned eventually
end up back on the ground
and in the water and can
build up to dangerously*
high levels in plants, ani
mals, and people,” the DEQ
sheet states.
The DEQ recom
mends the three environ
mental Rs as alternatives...
reduce disposable items,
reuse items when possible
and recycle appropriate
items. The department also
recommends having house-
hold waste picked up by
a licensed waste removal
company or taking it to a
licensed waste dump when
available.
State o f Oregon
regulations do prohibit the
open burning of any mate
rial that creates noxious
odors, including Styro
foam-like plastics, garbage
and food waste. In addition,
burning household waste
is prohibited altogether in
certain areas by DEQ rules
or local city and county
ordinances.
For more informa
tion on Oregon state laws
and open burning rules in
Morrow County, call 541 -
633-2016.
NOAA issues monthly climate summary
for
Heppner
Wheat League prepares
Farm Bill draft position
statement
The Oregon Wheat
Growers League (OWGL)
has prepared a draft position
statement on the 2012 Farm
Bill for review and com
ment by members. Accord
ing to an OWGL release,
the statement “reflects the
comments received at the
June 12,h meeting o f the
Farm Policy and Transpor
tation Committee and the
June 16th Board of Directors
meeting.”
The statement rec
ognizes the current eco
nomic climate, saying in its
body, “Although the current
costs of farm programs in
the federal budget are run
ning well below historic
highs, we recognize that
agriculture may be asked to
contribute its fair share to
the essential effort to reduce
federal spending and get
our deficits and debt under
I
control.”
With that in mind,
OWGL made policy recom
mendations for the 2012
Farm Bill that included
crop insurance, MAP/FMD,
commodity loans/counter-
cyclical payments, conser
vation, and balance with
other programs and among
states.
OW GL’s plan is
to collect comments from
members and prepare a final
draft for consideration by
the board in late August so
the organization can begin
active discussions with its
delegation, other Oregon
farm groups, other states
and NAWG.
A nyone looking
for more information, or
with comments or sugges
tions, should email Blake at
browe@oregonwheat.org.
According to pre
liminary data received by
NOAA’s National Weather
Service in Pendleton, tem
peratures in Heppner aver
aged colder than normal
during the month of July.
The average tem
perature was 66.2 degrees,
which was 3.2 degrees be
low normal. High tempera
tures averaged 81.0 degrees,
which was 4.7 degrees be
low normal. The highest
was 93 degrees on July 7.
Low temperatures averaged
51.5 degrees, which was 1.6
degrees below normal. The
lowest was 43 degrees, on
July 8.
On two days, the
temperature exceeded 90
degrees.
Precipitation to
taled 0.24 inches during
July, which was 0.11 inches
below normal. Measurable
precipitation of at least .01
inch was received on two
days, with the heaviest,
0.22 inches, reported on
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July 17.
Precipitation this
year has reached 12.07
inches, which is 3.49 inches
above normal. Since Octo
ber, the water year precipi
tation in Heppner has been
17.99 inches, which is 5.62
inches above normal.
The outlook for
August from NOAA's cli
mate prediction center calls
for near normal tempera
tures and near normal pre
cipitation. Normal highs for
Heppner during August are
85.2 degrees and normal
lows are 52.9 degrees. The
30-year normal precipita
tion is 0.54 inches.
The N a t i o n a l
Weather Service is an office
of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administra
tion, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 RM.