Bessie Wetzel I Newspaper Library
University o f Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Nelson holds Heppner town
hall meeting
Senator says more water from Columbia
River his number one priority
By David Sykes
Eastern Oregon get back on
its eet is to get more water
out of the Columbia River.
“My bill, SB 190,
would have authorized 30
million more acre feet of
water be drawn out of the
Columbia River,” Nelson
told a crowd of around 30.
“ We need to get Eastern
Oregon’s natural resource
base back on its feet, and
this would help do this.”
Nelson lamented,
however the political grip
Multnomah County, and
the environmentalists that
live there, has on the state
legislature and political
agenda.
“ It is very hard
to get our agenda passed
without the support of the
cities,” Nelson said.
He went on to say
that environmental groups
control a large section of
the legislature.
“If we don’t have
fam ily farm s, we d on’t
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon have kids in schools,” he
said of the need to support
the agriculture industry.
He also said we need to get
back in our forests and start
harvesting trees again to get
the wood products industry
moving but, once again, he
said that all those efforts are
blocked by legislators from
the metro area.
On other issues,
Nelson, who lives in Pend
leton and grew up on a
farm, said he was “not a big
supporter of wind farms.”
“When we get done
there will be a billion dollars
in subsidies from the state
to the wind farms. I know it
will be good for individual
farmers, but I am not so
sure it will be good for the
state,” he added, especially
regarding education, which
needs the tax revenue.
N elson did say,
however, that in the begin
ning he voted in favor of
O regon S enator
David Nelson told attend
ees at a Heppner town hall
meeting last week that his
number one priority to help
HEPPNER
VOL. 130
NO. 45 8 Pages
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
“Starting to look a lot like
Christmas” in Heppner
The Heppner Chamber of Commerce got some much-needed assistance as it prepared the
downtown area for Christmas last week. CenturyLink employees offered their services and
a company boom truck to help remove old lights from the tree by the post office and put up
new colored lights. The tree will come alive with the lights on Thursday, December 1, when it
will also display homemade ornaments made and hung by the Heppner Day Care and some
Heppner Elementary students. - Photo by Megan Futter
Cause of plane crash
remains uncertain
By Andrea Di Salvo
In v estig atio n is
ongoing in the case of the
plane that crashed near the
Lexington airport on Octo
ber 26.
According to the
Nov. 9 preliminary report by
the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB), the
pilot, identified as 65-year-
old Stephen Lunceford of
Driggs, ID, had flown from
Lexington to Pasco to pick
up his son-in-law, 37-year-
old Jeffrey Smock of San
Francisco. The pair de
parted Pasco for Lexington
around 5 p.m. the evening
o f October 26. No flight
plan had been filed.
After leaving Pas
co, the NTSB report states
that Smock tilted his seat
back to rest and then sat
up again when Lunceford
announced they were ap
proaching the airport and
were on a five-mile base
for landing at Lexington.
Smock said they could see
the runway lights; he felt a
violent reaction as the plane
hit the ground. The time of
the crash was approximate
ly 5:30 p.m. Smock heard
no warning comments from
Lunceford.
L u n c e fo rd s u s
tained fatal injuries in the
crash, and died before help
reached the site. Smock had
several serious injuries, in
cluding injuries to his feet.
He began crawling, and
reached the home of Bill
and Cindy Greenup— two
miles away—nearly four
hours later.
A friend of the pilot
reported that the plane was
two hours overdue. Officers
verified that Lunceford’s
car was still at the airport
and began a search. When
the emergency call came
in after Smock reached
the G reenup residence,
searchers were able to use
his description to locate
the crash site. The NTSB
investigator-in-charge, a
Federal Aviation Adminis
tration (FAA) inspector and
accident investigators from
the airframe and engine
(L-R) Andrew Bara, Bryce Fowler and Wayne Rollis talk to
Oregon Senator David Nelson about state issues following a
town hall meeting last Tuesday in Heppner. -Photo by David
Sykes
the Business Energy Tax
Credit, or BETC as it is
commonly called, which
granted Oregon state tax
credits to the wind farms
and other renewable en
ergy businesses in the first
place.
“There is no
reason the coal plant (in
Boardman) should be shut
down,” Nelson said. “You
never hear complaints from
Eastern Oregon [only from
those in Portland]. Oregon
is at $1 billion in tax breaks
to alternative energy and
that is a huge w aste o f
money.”
Nelson said his
district is very dependent
on government services for
jobs, citing the Umatilla In
dian Tribes and the prisons
as two examples.
“Government jobs
are paying good wages and
benefits,” he said, but added
that government spending
is going to have to be cut
back because the state just
doesn't have the money. He
said that the number one
job o f the next legislature
will be dealing with the
budget.
“Don’t expect any
big laws coming out of the
next session,” he said.
On the issue of
giving in-state college tu
ition to illegal immigrants,
Nelson defended his “yes”
vote on the bill that allowed
this, commenting that it
would not be used as much
as we think.
“Illegals are ille
gals, and you were support
ing illegal activity when
you voted for this,” Sam
Hombeck of Heppner told
Nelson. “ We are paying
for those schools through
our taxes.”
Nelson said that
the Oregon universities’
business model relies on
out-of-state and out-of
country tuition to survive,
and that only five percent
o f the money to operate
comes from taxes; the rest
comes from tuition. Nelson
also said that illegal aliens
going to state universities
will have to have attended
the same high school for
three years in a row and
graduated from that high
school.
“Very few students
will qualify for this,” Nel
son said as he explained
why, in the last legislative
session, he voted in favor
of the in-state tuition for
illegals.
Boardman hires new
police chief
During the Novem
ber 15 city council meeting,
Boardman City Manager
Karen Pettigrew announced
she had hired Richard Sto-
koe o f Nyssa, OR to be
Boardman’s new chief of
police. C hief Stokoe has
more than 21 years of law
enforcem ent experience
and is currently the police
chief for the city of Nyssa.
He moved to Nyssa in 2009
from the Caribou County,
ID, Sheriff’s Office, where
he served as undersheriff
for three years and deputy
sheriff for 12 years. Early
in his career. Chief Stokoe
was also with the city of
Wendell, ID, police depart
ment; the city of Council,
ID, police department and
the Adams County, ID,
sheriff’s office.
In April, the city
of Boardman retained Pro-
thman, a consulting firm
from Seattle, to recruit
candidates for the chief of
police position. Prothman to prepare for the transition.
received 26 applications Stokoe said he feels Board-
and, in October, the city man is moving forward and
interviewed four of those he is excited to be part of
applicants. The interview the Boardman team.
“ We as a police
panels were made up of
community members and department are not going to
solve any one prob
others who work in
lem by ourselves,”
law enforcement, as
he said. “We have to
well as the city man
have, as a philoso
ager and the city’s
phy, the community
consultants.
as our partner as we
The Board-
attempt to serve and
man community had Richard
solve crime.”
an opportunity to Stokoe
Stokoe
meet the four candi
said he is looking
dates for the chief’s
position at a reception held forward to working with
in October. Many from the the entire community to
community attended and address any problems or
they were asked to fill out concerns.
“I will be open to
comment cards for the city
the community. I want to
manager to review.
Lieutenant Loren find out from the com
Dieter has been serving as munity how we can better
Interim Police Chief since serve them,” said Stokoe.
Stokoe will begin
March of this year. He will
be working closely with his duties in Boardman on
Stokoe in the coming weeks December 1.
manufacturer examined the
wreckage on site.
“The accident site
was high on a ridge in the
middle o f a wheat field,”
states the NTSB report.
“The First Identified Point
o f C ontact (FIPC ) was
a ground scar. The main
wreckage consisted of the
fuselage, empennage [tail
assembly], and wings; the
wings had folded onto each
other, and the airplane had
rolled about 135 degrees
onto its left side. The cab
in area sustained upward
crush damage on the bot
tom , and inboard crush
damage on the left side.
The main wreckage came to
rest about 236 feet from the
FIPC; the engine separated,
and was about 386 feet from
the FIPC.”
The NTSB w ill
The Heppner Gazette-Times will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving
publish a final report on
Day
holiday
Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25. Normal business hours
the conclusion of the inves
will
resume
Monday,
November 28.
tigation.
The Gazette-Times
was unable to get an update
on Smock's condition.
Closed for Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!
MCGG C losed
N ovember 24 , 25,26 and 27
• A
ll l o c a t io n s
Morrow County Grain Growers
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