Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2012)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 22,2012 WIND JOBS -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE "$1 million lab” to do the training, so have not offered anything to students. “ I am g o ing to try and create more jobs,” O'Connell told the crowd. Patricia Pilz says the Shepherds Flat project will put up 338 towers when completed and is a project she has been working on for almost 10 years. It is the biggest wind farm in the world and spans both Mor row and Gilliam counties. She said the entire project should be com pleted in August o f 2012 and will actually be operated by General Electric. Pilz says in the be ginning GE is going to have to bring people in to operate the towers because “you just don’t have the trained people here now. And we have a wind farm to operate.” There will be 37 full-time technician-type jobs available when the wind farm is completed, which will consist of people who are able to climb the 200-plus foot towers and have the skills to fix the towers when they break down. Pilz said the repair work will be somewhat like an auto mechanic, as parts are not repaired on site but are diagnosed and then swapped out and sent back to the factory for repair. “It is heavy diag nostic, heavy computer, and you have to be able to climb a tower and be agile,” she said in describing the work. However, Pilz also brought up some o f the other jobs required to put in a wind project. “There is a biology side of this.” She said there are environ mental-type jobs like bird counting and identification, environmental impact state ment and other types of jobs that do not require a person to climb towers. Pilz reiterated that on Shepherd Flats all the 37 jobs will through GE. “You will be an em ployee o f General Electric, and they are the ones you need to see about employment.” Also at the meeting were representatives of the Morrow County School District, who said the dis trict is gearing up to prepare students for careers in the wind business. “I want to build a program that will try and bring people back to this area. We are working on options now,” said Heppner High School Principal Daye Stone. He said he is w ork ing with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on some program funding opportunities, and is also coordinating with technology teacher Dave Fowler about setting up a preparatory program to give students the required math and science skills. “We have devoted a half-time teaching posi tion to develop a renewable energy program ,” Stone said. “Our population [in the community] is get ting older and we need to give kids an opportunity to come back here. It breaks my heart that a lot of kids want to come back here but can't,” Stone added. School Superinten dent Dirk Dirksen said the jobs should also provide a boost to the schools. “As we get 37 people moving in here they will have kids that w ill be going to school,” he pointed out. There were also four members of the IBEW (International Brotherhood o f Electrical Workers) at tending the meeting, who said they are preparing training help for the wind farm jobs. “We have every thing in place but we have not had the job yet. We have it ready to go,” said Eric Hayes with the IBEW. Joint county & city planning hearing scheduled on Heppner land partition The Morrow Coun ty and City o f Heppner planning commissions will hold a combined meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 28, to hear a land partition re quest on a 109-acre parcel located near Rock Street in Heppner. Kyle Robinson of Heppner is asking to divide the parcel into three parcels. A portion of the property is located within the city lim its of Heppner and a portion is located within the urban growth boundary. Some of the property is also located outside the urban growth boundary, which requires action by both the city and county planning commis- siohs. Also on the agenda is a request by Wade Smith to site a dwelling at Penland Lake subdivision. Marriage Chamber Chatter Heppner Every em ployer should Friday, February go or send someone; your Licenses 24: Guest speaker Patrick company will benefit. Con The Morrow Coun ty Clerk has issued the fol lowing marriage licenses: F e b r u a r y 14: -Eric Jam es H ausinger, 25, of Boardman and Ash ley Paige Crowell, 28, of Boardman. IF YOU HAVE- Been on a trip Entertained guests Celebrated a birthday Married your secretary Caught a big fish Moved Had a baby Sold your cows Had an operation Bought a car Painted your house Had company Been married Cut a new tooth Died Sold out Been robbed Been shot H. M cGaughey, will be speaking on “Excellence in the W orkplace” from 1:30-4:30 p.m. at the Port o f Morrow R iver Front Center. Some o f the top ics he will address will be “Celebrating our best employees and inspiring the future; New attitudes to ward work and customers; Build new chemistry within your team; Coping with difficult customers; How service can increase sales (and lower thefts).” The cost is $35 per person but well worth the investment. He has a wealth of informa tion and demonstrates it us ing humor and enthusiasm. tact the Boardman Chamber of Commerce to RSVP at 541 -481 -3014. You can also pay at the door. Please take a mo m ent to check out the C om m unity Health Im provement Partnership of Morrow County Website at http://ww w .ohsu.edu/ MCCHP. There are some good health information resources, details about the Biggest Winner Weight Loss and Healthy Lifestyle Program and a county-wide calendar listing physical fit ness opportunities. “Like” or “share” them on Face- book at “M.C.CHIP” Valentine dinner, hypnosis show success On February 6, a “Popcorn Extravaganza” was held at Heppner El ementary School. Pam Norton and Mary Ann Elguézabal held the event to explain their Title I and ELL programs to more than 50 students and parents. Norton gave some details about the Title I Funds at HES and how they pay for a half time Title I teacher, Bringing Up Grades (BUG) Friday School Program, Bench mark Boost Friday Pro gram , and the Summer School Program. Elguézabal shared Morrow County School District’s goal for students to develop English com petence for effective par ticipation not only in school but also in society. After that, partici pants decided it was enough of the “boring stuff.” Those taking part in the grand event tasted six different kinds o f popcorn, voted on their favorite popcorn, read a book about popcorn, took an AR quiz, did some popcorn math problems, and heard some popcorn jokes. The participants were This group of helpers stayed lat to clean up and put tables and chairs away after the popcorn extravaganza. Back (L-R): Madison Combe, Jordan Sweeney, Isabel Cegueda and Kaden Combe. Front (L-R): Manuel Cegueda and Mariah Combe. -Contributed photo given a popcorn recipe book, including some secret popcorn recipes. “One and all en joyed munching and learn ing about popcorn,” said Elguezabal. “A memorable time was had by all, and we decided that only corny people didn’t attend.” IMESD offers trauma training InterMountain Ed ucation Service District will offer two upcoming courses on dealing emotions and trauma. The first, sched uled for Thursdays Feb. 23 through March 22, offers training for those who live and work with traumatized children. Each training will take place from 5-7 p.m. at the IMESD at 2001 SW Nye Ave. in Pendleton. The trainings will include a video from Dr. Bruce Perry of the Child Trauma Academy on the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, as well as ac companying materials, and then there will be a group discussion. Additional train ing dates could be offered following these scheduled sessions, depending on de- mand. Online registration is encouraged by going to the IMESD's Web site at www.imesd.kl2.or.us and clicking on Professional Development. This train in g is open to school person nel, social service agency personnel, foster parents, parents of traumatized chil dren, and anyone interested in using trauma-informed practices with the children in their lives who have ex perienced trauma. The second, an “emotional first aid” course from the Trauma Interven tion Program of Portland/ Vancouver, Inc., seeks to provide people with the specific skills necessary to come to the aid of friends, neighbors, coworkers, cli ents, family members and strangers immediately fol lowing a tragedy. The seminar will be held March 2 froçi 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tu- cannon/Palouse Room at Wildhorse Resort. This training is in tended for people who work in education, social ser vices, faith-based helping community, public agencies and public safety person nel. The training semi nar is free, but lunch is not provided. To register, please visit the IMESD web site, www.imesd.kl2.or.us, and click on the “Professional Development” tab. For more informa tion, please contact Ruth Clark at 541-966-3127 or e-mail ruth.clark@imesd. kl2.or.us. Three arrested on drug related charges M orrow C ounty Sheriff’s Office deputies were involved in the drug- related arrests of three sus pects in the Hermiston area last week. Rolando Estrada- Guadarrama, Jessica Gray and Daniel Walchli were all arrested as part o f an investigation the MCSO conducted jointly with Blue M ountain Enforcem ent Narcotics Team (BENT) on Gun Club Lane in Hermis ton. BENT detectives and Morrow County deputies also seized methamphet- amine from the property and recovered a stolen trailer. Estrada-G uadar- rama, 37, was arrested on drug-related charges, war rants, identity theft, resist ing arrest and frequenting a place where drugs are kept or sold. Walchli, 37, and Gray, 24, were arrested for frequenting a place where drugs are kept or sold. All three were transported by MCSO deputies and lodged at Umatilla County Jail. The investigation is ongoing. Snowpack remains below average for Oregon NRCS February water supply outlook released Or done anything Telephone, email, come in, or in any convenient way inform the Heppner Gazette- Times 541 - 676-9228 editor@rapidserve. net Popcorn extravaganza held at Heppner Elementary Top: Michelle Stone, Joe Lindsay and Zech Hintz provide en- tertaiment during a break in the evening's program during the Valentine's Day dinner and comedy hypnosis show held as a fund raster for Sober Grad Night 2012. Bottom: Love-for lasagna—was in the air as atendees dug into dinner before the show. -Photos by Megan Futter O regon’s meager snowpack has significantly , improved as a result of the mid-January storms, but still remains below normal. The latest information on O regon’s snowpack and streamflow forecasts can be found in the Water Supply Outlook Report released by the USDA Natural Re sources and Conservation Service (NRCS). Snowpack condi tions have rebounded as a result of heavy mountain snowfall. In fact, the state wide snowpack increased from 38 to 71 percent of normal in less than a week. In addition to mountain snow, precipitation across most of the state was well above normal for Janu ary. However, despite this boost, most of Oregon re mains below average for both snowpack and water year precipitation. “Though January storms brought much need ed moisture across the state, we still have room for im provement,” said Jon Lea, the NRCS Oregon Snow Survey team supervisor. “It is still relatively early in the season and a lot can change between now and April 1, when peak snowpack accumulation typically oc curs.” According to the February 1 NRCS Water Supply report, snowpack conditions ranged from 52 percent of average in the Lake County area to 87 percent o f average in the Mt. Hood area. In Oregon, snow measurements were collected from 80 auto mated snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) sites, 33 manu ally measured snow courses and 25 aerial markers. Statewide, the wa ter year precipitation in creased from 62 percent of average to 83 percent of average. Despite this boost, all basins remain below normal for water year pre cipitation as of February 1. As a result, streamflows are still expected to be below normal for the summer of 2012. Summer streamflow forecasts in the southern and eastern basins remain significantly lower than the basins in the northern and western parts of the state. “State meteorolo gists are calling for contin ued weak to moderate La Niña conditions this spring, which often bring below normal temperatures to Or egon,” said Lea. “If model • predictions are correct, cool mountain temperatures -See SNOWPACKJPAGE TEN
