Heppner declines to participate
in county government reform
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Librar)
University o f Oregon
Eugene, O R 97403
By David Sykes
The Heppner City
Council was less than en
thusiastic Monday to be
part o f an effort by the
mayors and city manag
ers’ group to rewrite the
5(K
VOL. 130
NO. 40 8 Pages
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Morrow County Charter,
changing how many elected
commissioners the county
has.
The mayors and
city managers group meets
monthly to discuss common
problems and solutions. At
last month’s meeting, the
group decided, because of
increased frustration with
the decisions of county gov
ernment, to try to change
the charter to what is com
monly called a “home rule”
form of government. Home
rule usually consists of five
elected officials, a paid ad
ministrator and appointed
positions such as assessor,
clerk, and treasurer, instead
o f those positions being
elected. The mayors and
managers say they feel the
cities would be treated more
favorably under this form of
government.
The group said the
current charter was es
tablished in 1859 and is
outdated.
“With the growth
of the county population,
budget, and the complex
ity of the situations that the
county deals with, the May
ors/Managers believed that
it was time for a change,”
a news release said last
month.
The latest squabble
between the cities and the
county involves state high
way fluids. The county has
traditionally given money
received from the state for
use by the cities in their
road funds. The county
budget committee learned,
however, that it was not
required to give that money
and at first decided to cut the
distribution of those funds
in half this year and maybe
eliminate it altogether next
year. The county later re
lented and reinstated some
funds, but not before the
city managers and mayors
became upset.
The friction be
tween the two dates even
farther back, to 2008 when
the cities banded together
to place an initiative on the
ballot that would change the
way some $ 1 million in tip-
page fees (money received
from dumping fees at the
large Finley Buttes Landfill
in Morrow County) is dis
tributed. The cities felt they
should receive 75 percent
of the funds. The initiative
was defeated by voters at
the polls.
In the current char
ter reform effort, the may
ors and managers say they
are going to form a charter
committee made up of two
members each from the
communities o f Heppner,
Boardman and Irrigon and
one member from each of
the communities o f Lex
ington and lone. This com
mittee would be tasked with
drafting a charter that would
eventually be submitted for
a vote by the citizens of
Morrow County.
The plan hit a bump
Monday, however, when
the Heppner City Council
said it wanted no part of the
reform effort.
“Why are we ap
pointing someone to this?”
councilmember Cody High
asked.
C o u n c ilm e m
ber Cindi Doherty cited a
county ordinance that said
any committee to change
the charter must be ap-
-See COUNTY GOVERN-
MENT/PAGE EIGHT
C hanging H eppner street route School board learns of teaching
model to improve student learning
saves taxpayers $135,000
By April Sykes
“PLCs create con to attend a safety sum
Sam B oardm an sistency,” said Assistant mit scheduled for Friday,
City comes
up with alternate Elementary
route teacher
to Pam Superintendent George October 28, at the Port of
Files presented a report on Mendoza. “A lot of these Morrow. Mary Apple from
avoid expensive bridge replacement
a teaching model for el collaborative practices in the InterMountain ESD said
By David Sykes
A suggestion to
the Oregon Department of
Transportation to reroute a
Sperry St. access and avoid
a costly bridge replacement
could save taxpayers an
estim ated $135,000, the
Heppner City Council was
told Monday night.
At a meeting with
ODOT in September, city
Public Works Director Bri
an Harmon suggested not
replacing the Sperry St.
Bridge but instead estab
lishing accesses and build
ing a connector between
Morgan and the back side
of Sperry.
The revised plan
was looked on favorably
by ODOT, who wrote in
a recent letter to the city:
“In summary a new bridge
would cost approximately
$655,000 including pre
liminary engineering and
right o f way acquisition.
A new street connection
would cost approximately
$520,000.
“This is a favorable
alternative to a new bridge
that could lessen construc
tion costs and eliminate a
bridge that the city would
have to maintain the fu
The Sperry Street Bridge will probably be removed but not
replaced. An alternate route to access Sperry St. has been
chosen off Morgan St. -Photo by David Sykes
ture,” ODOT said.
In other business
at Monday’s meeting, the
council participated in a
conference call with Jeff
Wright of Artifx Media, a
Pendleton-based advertis
ing agency, about a pro
posed county-wide adver
tising campaign the city
is considering purchasing.
The council had met with
Wright and his partner, Ka
tie Oblisk, at last month’s
meeting to discuss the cam
paign.
M onday, certain
co u n cil m em bers once
again asked Wright what
ementary school students at
the Morrow County School
Board’s regular meeting at
SBE Monday night.
Files stressed the
importance of PLCs (pro
fessional learning com
munities) through which
teachers collaborate not
only on teaching methods,
but on assessment and then
interventions if the students
do not respond.
Board Chair Thad
Killingbeck, a former edu
cator, commented that he
appreciated that Files went
from speaking about “my
students to our students.”
“We can walk into
each school and they’re all
doing the same thing,” he
said.
“The reality is that
teachers getting together
helps students learn,” said
MCSD Superintendent Dirk
Dirksen. “We try to maxi
mize the district's PLCs.”
crease student learning.”
Mendoza also pre
sented a program before
the board on the district's
“ Response to Interven
tion” model, which stresses
assessm ent and a tiered
intervention response to
children’s learning based
on that assessment data.
He said that the majority of
students, around 80 percent,
fall into the Tier I level, not
requiring additional inter
vention. Approximately 15
percent fall into Tier II, he
said, requiring intermediate
intervention with teacher-
lead small groups, and ap
proximately five percent
require individual one-on-
one instruction. He said
that some students simply
require more learning op
portunities and more time
to achieve.
In other business,
the board:
-has been invited
that, in addition to school
board members and admin
istrators, law enforcement
personnel, city mayors and
city managers, and fire
safety personnel have also
been invited to attend as
an integral part of school
safety.
-le a rn e d th a t a
meeting on the district’s
“sexuality curriculum” has
been scheduled on Tues
day, November 1 at the
lone School. This meeting
will include adm inistra
tors, sixth-grade teachers
and grade seven-12 health
teachers. Dirksen said the
meeting will include lone
educators as well as those
with MCSD in order to
coordinate a “county direc
tion.”
-heard from board
member Barney Lindsay,
who indicated that he would
-See SCHOOL BOARD/
PAGE SIX
exactly the city could ex
pect to receive from the
campaign, and once again
was given the same answer
as last rrlonth. Wright told
the council once he is given
a budgeted amount the city
is ready to spend, then he
could tell them what they
would receive.
The plan right now
is to band together with
Boardman and Irrigon, with
each city kicking in an as
yet unspecified amount
to fund the cam paign. By Andrea Di Salvo
H eppner n ativ e
The money would then be
Ann Murray was recently
-See CITY COUNCIL/
named Pharmacist of the
PAGE FIVE
Year by the Oregon State
Pharmacists Association.
This isn’t the first
time
Murray
has received
Top: Diana Healy, age 11, shot
the
award;
she
and husband,
her buck last Tuesday in the
Columbia Basin as part of the John, received it jointly
Mentored Youth Hunter Pro in 2002. Still, 47-year-old
gram. Healy dropped the buck Murray, who runs Murray’s
with the very first shot from Drug with her husband, said
Ann Murray, the OSPA pharmacist of the year, stands sur
her new shotgun. Bottom:
she was shocked to receive rounded by her supportive team, Shannon Wicklund (L) and
Ten-year-old Trevor Wilson of
Jennifer Palmer (R). -Photo by Megan Futter
Hermiston shot his first buck the award this year.
“I’m honored.” she
Saturday in the Heppner Unit.
He bagged his four-pointer said. “I have no idea why I Memorial hospital’s drug pharm acists, M urray is
while hunting with his dad, was chosen.”
room, which she directs. also an advocate for rural
Stacy Wilson, under the Men
That sentiment is More than one customer has pharmacies. She keeps state
tored Youth Hunter Program. part of a patient-focused stories of Murray’s “above legislators updated on the
-Contributed photos
humility that makes Murray and beyond” ethic, which issues facing small-town
popular with both custom includes coming in on days pharmacies and serves on
ers and staff. Pharmacy off, opening on weekends the Oregon State Pharmacy
The Heppner Gazette-
technician Jennifer Palmer and delivering prescriptions Association board of direc
Times wants to see
tors. Ann also plays the
says Murray goes out of her to home-bound patients.
pictures o f your trophy
Aside from being
way to help patients both at
-See PHARMACIST OF
animals from this
the drug store and at Pioneer one of Heppner’s favorite THE YEAR/PAGE EIGHT
hunting season. Stop
by to have your picture
taken, drop offphotos,
email them to editoFa)
rapidserve.net.
iper lades
ntifreeze
or send cell phone
photos to 541-980-
asher luid
6674
C heck your veh icle ' s light i
Ann Murray named pharmacist
of the year
G azette-T im es Trophy C orner
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