Santa Comes to Heppner
II.U ...I.U II
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Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
HEPPNER
5 0
Santa visited the Celebrate Heppner Christmas event at the fairgrounds last Thursday to
hear Christmas wishes and take photos with the kids. Back (L-R): Evan Kollman, Morgan
Birch and Madison Comber. Front (L-R): Kaden Combe, Caige Futter, Pastor Dean “Kris
Kringle” Antonucci, Faith Futter and Sabashtian Futter. -Photo by David Sykes
City hears good news on
St. Patrick’s apartments
Completely rented out for only 2nd time in 5 years
VOL. 130
NO. 48 10 Pages
Wednesday, December 21,2011
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Crum sentenced to life in
prison
F orm er M orrow
County Sheriff’s reserve
deputy Steven Montie Crum
was sentenced to life in
prison after pleading guilty
to murdering a pregnant
woman in 2010.
Thirty-
y e a r - o ld C ru m
pleaded guilty to the
murder o f Jessica
Rae Killian, whose
body was discov
ered on Oct. 4,2010
on a farm near lone.
Crum must serve
a minimum of 30 years in
prison before he is eligible
for parole.
The Oregon De
partment of Justice prose
cuted the case at the request
of Morrow County District
Attorney Justin W. Nelson
to ensure the integrity of
the process due to
the defendant’s con
nection to local law
enforcement.
“I extend
my deepest sympa
thy to the Jessica’s
family. While noth
ing we do can bring
back Jessica, I hope
that this prison sentence
can bring a bit of closure to
Jessica’s friends and fam
ily. The prosecution of Mr.
Crum would not have been
possible without the tireless
efforts of the Morrow/Uma-
tilla County Major Crime
Team and the Oregon De
partment o f Justice,” said
Morrow County District
Attorney Justin Nelson.
Assistant Attorney
General Andrew Campbell
prosecuted the case for
the O regon D epartm ent
o f Justice. The case was
investigated by the Oregon
State Police with assistance
from the U m atilla/M or-
row County Major Crime
Team.
Two more wind farms
receive approval
52 turbines near lone, 8 at Sand Hollow
The Morrow Coun
ty Planning Commission
earlier this month approved
two new wind farms, one
near lone and one near Sand
Hollow, which will add 60
more turbines to the grow
ing wind energy business in
the county.
The biggest of the
two projects will be located
north of lone on Ella Butte,
and consists of 52 turbines.
2M orrow Energy, LLC,
w hich already operates
wind farms in the area, is
the developer.
The project will be
constructed on land owned
by Ruby Rohde of Kenne
wick, Reitmann Trust and
Betty Reitmann o f lone,
and Crum Enterprises Lim
ited Partnership o f lone.
C o n stru ctio n o f
the Ella Butte facility is
proposed to take about 18
months. The entire proj
ect boundary covers 9,247
acres, in which will be
located the turbines, access
roads, a substation and
maintenance facility.
The second project
approved by the planning
commission is called Ma-
riah Wind, and will consist
of eight towers located on
property owned by Bert
Mason of Milwaukie, OR,
Janet Switzer o f Beulah,
CO and Eric and Brandi
Orem o f lone. That proj
ect is expected to take six
Im m igrant Lana
By David Sykes
The St. Patrick’s
Senior Center apartments
in downtown Heppner are
completely rented out, for
only the second time in five
years, the Heppner City
Council was told Monday
night.
Having all 16 units
rented was good news to the
council and the Heppner
Housing Authority, which
owns the apartments. The
Housing Authority has been
working to get the rooms
rented to improve the fi
nances o f the apartment
complex.
P re v io u sly , the
Housing Authority, in con
junction with the company
that manages the complex,
had been working to change
some o f the rooms from
strictly reserved for lower
income to available to all
renters. The complex had
renters ready to move into
three of the previously emp
ty rooms, but they were un
able to because their income
was above the government-
mandated limit. The Hous
ing Authority had accepted
the low-income limits in or
der to obtain a low-interest
government refinance loan
several years ago.
In other St. Patrick
apartment developments,
the council heard from coun-
cilmember Judy Buschke,
who said the building needs
a new heating and-cooling
unit; she had received a bid
of $22,380 to do the work.
The center actually has two
heating and cooling units.
However, only one of them
is in need of replacement.
Buschke said the unit only
heats some of the common
areas and not the individual
rooms.
Buschke also said
that the Housing Author
ity has the money in its
reserve fund to get the job
done, but spending it would
completely deplete the fund
and leave them with noth
ing in case of an emergency.
The council has in the past
discussed using some of the
$18,000 the city received
from the sale of a Housing
and Urban Development
Home in Heppner to do the
heating project. No decision
has yet been made.
In other business,
the council heard from Pub
lic Works Director Brian
Harmon about upgrades
that may need to be done to
the sewer plant to mitigate
the release o f ammonia
from the sewer plant.
The city will have
to come up with $15,000
to further study the prob
lem. Earlier it had spent
$25,000 with engineering
firm Anderson and Perry
on a sew er-plant study.
The study, however, did not
address the possible am
monia problem, and the city
received notice that the De
partment of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) would in the
future be clamping down on
ammonia releases.
Harmon said, how
ever, that the DEQ did not
set specific limits to the
amount of ammonia that
is going to be allowed, and
that was making it difficult
for the engineering firm to
come up with a solution.
Harmon did say that the
DEQ’s new, stricter ammo
nia-release standards were
an effort to protect “fresh
water mussels.” The city's
waste water is released into
Willow Creek after treat-
-See SENIOR APART-
MENTS/PAGE SIX
Decorated soldier returns
home following injuries
sustained in Afghanistan
Location of the new 52-tower Ella Butte Wind Farm north of
lone. -Contributed graphic
months for construction.
A lengthy discus
sion was held by the plan
ning commission on the
issue of possible noise from
the facilities, and the im
pact o f that noise on sur
rounding residents. The
planning commission was
particularly concerned with
noise, as earlier in the year
it spent considerable time
review ing a request by
four county homeowners
to cancel a permit held by
wind developer Invenergy,
LLC of Chicago, which had
constructed a wind facility
northwest of lone.
The landow ners
-See WIND FARMS/PAGL'
TEN
G-T closed for Christmas
The Gazette-Times will be closed Monday, December 26 for the Christmas
holiday. The news and ad deadline for the December 28 edition will be Friday, December
23 at five O ’clock. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, December 27.
D avid M cC urry
returned to H eppner on
December 10 after months
in the Fort Hood, TX, mil
itary hospital w here he
was recuperating from a
traumatic brain injury and
other injuries sustained
while serving as a sergeant
with the com pany B 1SI
Battalion, 168,h Aviation
Regiment, a National Guard
unit from Oregon attached
to Task Force Tigershark, in
Afghanistan.
McCurry was hit
by a rocket in Salerno,
A fghanistan, w hich, he
says, had been nicknamed
“Rocket City.” He received
a Purple Heart medal from
Major General John Camp
bell, Combined Joint Task
Force-101 commander, on
March 8 at Bagram Airfield
for injuries sustained from
an indirect fire attack at
Forward Operating base in
David McCurry (L) with Major General John Campbell (R).
- Photo by Staff Sgt Todd Pouliot, TF Falcon
Salerno on February 15.
short-term memory have
McCurry said that been affected,
both his long-term and
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