Heppner gazette-times., March 28, 2012, Page FIVE, Image 5

Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 28,2012 -F IV E
Irrigon seeks to terminate joint
management agreement
KOFFLER RETIRES
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE The company has a total of Group. He
“ I like m aking
credit available in small
communities that may not
have had it and then watch-
ing businesses grow be­
cause of that,” Koffler said
of his work with smaller
community banks. Things
have changed, however,
since he started in the busi­
ness.
“When I came on,
there were 10 community
banks in Eastern Oregon,”
he says. “Now every com­
munity bank is gone, and
we are the only community
bank still headquartered in
Eastern Oregon.
When he started
at BEO, there were nine
employees at the Heppner
branch; now there are 40.
100 employees across all its
branches.
Koffler also gives
credit for the solid growth
and perform ance o f the
bank to a “loyal group of
stock holders” and a great
board of directors to work
with.
“Three quarters of
our stockholders live in the
two counties we operate
in,” Koffler says.
In addition to his
position with the bank, Kof­
fler was also inducted into
the Oregon Bankers Hall of
Fame, was named Morrow
County’s Man of the Year,
and served as chairman of
the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce and the Willow
Creek Valley Economic
Koffler retirement
reception planned
A reception will
be held to honor Koffler
this Thursday, March 29
from 2 to 4p.m. at the Hep­
pner BEO lobby. There
will be cake, coffee and
punch, and everyone is
invited to stop by and wish
George good luck in his
retirement.
h a s a ls o
been presi­
dent of the
H eppner
Lions Club,
and served
on the Mor­
row County
D e v e lo p ­
ment Cor­
p o r a tio n ,
the Oregon
Econom ic
C o rp o ra ­
tio n an d
Morrow
G e o r g e K of ­
fler has guided
bank's growth
from th ree
b r a n c h e s to
the present
12 b r a n c h e s
and two loan
o f f i c e s . He
will retire this
month.
Equity Fund, and on the
Heppner City Council.
Koffler didn’t say
much about his and Deb­
bie’s plans after retirement,
saying only that they were
going to travel, relax, and
“slow down.”
A reception will be
held to honor Koffler this
Thursday, March 29 from
2 to 4p.m. at the Heppner
BEO lobby. There will be
cake, coffee and punch, and
everyone is invited to stop
by and wish George good
luck in his retirement.
Community invited to Holden
Evening Prayer
The community is
invited to participate in
Holden Evening Prayer at
4 p.m. on Sunday, April 1,
at Hope Lutheran Church
on the corner of Alfalfa and
Cowins in Heppner.
The service is part
o f a synchronized sing-
along involving churches
all across the country to cel­
ebrate the 50th anniversary
of Holden Village, a remote
Lutheran retreat center in
the rugged north Cascade
Mountains of Washington.
H olden Evening
Prayer was written by Mar­
ty Haugen while he was
composer in residence at
Holden Village in 1985-86.
Since then, the service has
gained wide popularity with
churches of all denomina­
tions in many countries of
the world. It continues to
be sung regularly at Holden
Village, and has often been
used locally for midweek
Advent and Lenten services
held by the Shared Ministry
o f All Saints Episcopal
Church and Hope Lutheran
Church, and also at Valby
Lutheran Church.
Everyone who has
ever experienced Holden
Evening Prayer or Holden
Village, or would like to, is
encouraged to participate in
this special service.
On April 1, Palm/
Passion Sunday, the shared
ministry of Hope Lutheran
Church and All Saints Epis­
copal Church will worship
at Hope. The service will
begin at 10 a.m. with a pro­
cession from the entryway
with palm branches, and
will conclude with a read­
ing of the passion story and
stripping of the altar.
Check next week's
paper for a full Holy Week
schedule.
Children’s theater revisits
classic tale
and $1 for youth. Tickets
A u d ie n c e s o f
all ages will get a fresh
look at an old favorite on
Saturday, March 31.
M isso u la C h il­
dren’s Theater, with lo­
cal Irrigon and Boardman
students, will present “The
Tortoise Versus the Hare.”
The classic tale of the com­
petition between the speedy
rabbit and the steady turtle
will be presented in the
Windy River Elementary
School gymnasium.
This lively format
will feature the tortoise, a
conceited hare, a sweet bun­
ny, rascally weasels, singing
ferrets and scaly reptiles at
the annual Animal-Reptile
Competition.
There will be two
perform ances: a 2 p.m.
matinee and a 5 p.m. early
evening performance. Each
performance is approxi­
mately one hour long.
Windy River El­
ementary School is located
at 500 Tatone St. south of
Wilson Road, in Board-
man. Tickets are$2 for adults
Marriage Licenses
-Justin Parris, Sr.,
The Morrow Coun­
ty Clerk has issued the fol­ 26, of Heppner and Surany
Cegueda, 30, of Heppner.
lowing marriage licenses:
Easter is Approaching 1
Sunday April 8th
Floral Department taking
orders for Easter centerpieces.
S j L b ‘Z'1 -676-9456
s
-Easter lilies
* Mr
♦
-Custom made
* **
Easter baskets
-Lots of candy to
choose from!
You’ve gO 1*3 YOCREAM
SHAMROCK*
uy- J » SHAKE $4.00" *
E spresso S pe c ia ls
C aramel M acchiato
Chamber
lunch
meeting
D ue to S p rin g
Break, there will be no
chamber lunch meeting on
Thursday, March 29.
The next chamber
lunch meeting will be an
all entities report on April 5.
It will be held at All Saints
Episcopal Church from
noon to 1 p.m.
P articip an ts are
asked to RSVP for chamber
lunch meetings the Wednes­
day before.
-
in# this!
$4.00
B lueberry S pritzer $2.25
MuMoy'j
217 North Main S t, Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426
Serving Morrow, Wheeler & Gilliam counties Since 1959
f
are available at the door
for general seating. Doors
close five minutes before
show time.
“The Tortoise Vers­
es the Hare: The Greatest
Race” is presented by North
Morrow Community Foun­
dation, with support from
com m unity donors and
Morrow County Cultural
Trust. For more informa­
tion, call 541-481-4761.
The Irrigon City
Council met in front o f
an overflow crowd at the
Irrigon City Hall Tuesday
night, March 20.
The presence of so
many people was a bonus
for the three presenters on
the agenda. Mayor David
Bums welcomed everyone
to the meeting and stated
his pleasure at seeing so
many people attending a
city council meeting. He
then moved into agenda
items.
G reg S m ith o f
Greg Smith and Company
LLC had asked to be on
the agenda to explain the
Morrow Pacific Project, a
project to provide a trans­
load facility to transfer coal
from rail cars to barges at
the Port o f Morrow. The
coal would then be shipped
downriver. The coal would
be in completely enclosed
facilities, and the conveyors
to load the barges would
have vacuum filters that
would prevent any coal
dust from leaving the struc­
tures. Smith was quick to
point out that the coal has
to be shipped from some­
where, and this is a chance
to create local economic
benefit without negative
environmental consequenc­
es. Twenty five jobs and
around $300,000 per year
for the local schools would
result from the project. The
Irrigon City Council voted
unanimously to support the
Morrow Pacific Project.
Next on the agenda
was Morrow County School
Superintendent, Dirk Dirk-
sen. Dirksen gave a summa­
ry of school funding issues
and explained the proposed
operating tax levy. The levy
would continue the existing
operating levy that will ex­
pire unless voters approve
extending the tax. Voting
for the tax levy would not
increase anyone’s existing
tax bill, as it would be the
same as it has been.
Larry Bums, Irrig­
on Rural Fire District Chief,
was next, with a proposal to
exchange real estate owned
by the city for a fairly new
water truck that the fire
district had appraised at
$35,000. The city lot lies
adjacent and to the north of
the fire hall and was the site
of the city’s wells, reser­
voir and pump house prior
to the new water system.
Right now, it is being used
as a storage yard. Larry
Burns agreed to clean up
the grounds and remove the
pumps, motors and valves
from the pump house. The
removed water parts would
be delivered to the city for
reuse or sale. The city lot
has an appraised value of
approximately $35,000. Af­
ter discussion, the council
voted unanimously to direct
staff to draw up the neces­
sary documents to complete
the transaction to convey
the real estate to the fire dis­
trict and to accept the water
truck as compensation.
After the presenta­
tions, Mayor Bums opened
the public hearing to con­
sider terminating the Joint
Management Agreement
with Morrow County for
management of the lands
within the Irrigon urban
growth area. The city had
previously instructed City
Due to the M orrow County Fee schedule order No. O R -20-2011 as of
lanuary 1,2012 the Morrow County transfer stations will increase their
fees 2 0 % for removal of waste. Due to inflation of annual operating cost
and other expenses beyond our control.
M orrow County would like to encourage and
remind you the free disposal of latex and
enamel paints, computers, computer towers and
televisions free of charge. Remember residence
are still allowed to dump the large appliances
and household items such as refrigerators,
stoves, dishwashers, washer/dryers, water
heaters, mattresses, sofa, loveseats and lounge
chairs free of charge. Thank you. North end
Transfer Station, 69900 Frontage Lane, Boardman, OR. 97818. South
end Transfer Station 57185 Hw y 74, Lexington, OR. 97839. Both hours
of operation 9:00 - 4:00 Saturday and Sunday. Any questions or con­
cerns may be addressed to (54 1) 989-9500.
Attorney Bill Kuhn to send
a letter to Morrow County
Planner Carla McLane ad­
vising the county that the
city was not pleased with
the present contract and
wanted to negotiate a new
contract. The letter was
dated January 27, 2012.
City Manager Jerry
Breazeale explained that the
hearing was part of a legal
process outlined in the Joint
Management Agreement
to terminate the existing
agreement. He pointed out
that the contract requires
that, during the time be­
tween the notice to termi­
nate and the public hearing,
the two parties must seek
resolution of differences.
He stated that, to that date,
Morrow County had not
responded with any attempt
to negotiate with the city
regarding the agreement.
The hearing was to receive
public testimony regarding
the agreement.
Most of in the audi­
ence were not city residents,
nor did they reside within
the county-recognized Irri­
gon Urban Growth Bound­
ary. Rather, they were from
the area removed by Mor­
row County from the Irri­
gon urban growth boundary
(UGB).
Also present at the
m eeting were M cLane,
Morrow County Judge Ter­
ry Tallman, Morrow County
Commissioner Leann Rea,
and Morrow County Execu­
tive Secretary Karen Wolff.
The Morrow County Court
had directed that notices
be sent to all landowners
with in the UGB letting
them know that the city
of Irrigon was planning to
terminate the Joint Man­
agement Agreement, and
encouraging them to attend
the public hearing.
Most o f the tes­
timony at the hearing in­
dicated that the property
owners were fine with the
current agreement and did
not wish the city to termi­
nate the agreement. One
person, Deanna Fountain,
asked Rea why the county
was not willing to negotiate
with the city to forge a new
or amended contract. Rea
at first refused to answer
but, after the second time
she was asked the ques­
tion, Rea stated that when
the letter comes from the
attorney, they do not re­
spond except through their
attorney. Kuhn then pointed
out that the Morrow County
attorney had not contacted
the city of Irrigon.
Specific items list­
ed by the city of Irrigon as
reasons to terminate were:
disputed removal o f the
urban growth boundary
from Irrigon’s inventory
by Morrow County; insuf­
ficient recognition o f city
concerns in Urban Growth
Area planning decisions;
insufficient cooperation
between the county and the
city in Urban Growth Area
planning decisions; and
inadequate application of
city planning standards in
Urban Growth Area plan­
ning decisions.
Another pu b ­
lic hearing item was the
amendment of the city ordi­
nance regulating the grow­
ing of medical marijuana.
The city is attempting to
manage health and safety
concerns raised by the new
state statute that allows the
growing of medical mari­
juana. The amendment to
the ordinance would allow
more than one registered
card holder legally resid­
ing at the same residence
to grow marijuana if all
the other conditions are
met. The conditions that
must be met under the or­
dinance are: the growing
must be done indoors or in
a greenhouse; it must not
be closer than 1,000 feet
from a school; the grow site
must have an Irrigon zon­
ing permit to be reviewed
annually; and the site must
be inspected twice per year,
one of which may be unan­
nounced. Growing for more
than one person not legally
residing at the same resi­
dence must be done from a
commercial zone. No one
from the audience testified
regarding the amendment
of the ordinance.
Mayor Burns
closed the public hear­
ings after giving everyone
an opportunity to testify.
Councilor Ken M atlack
moved to send M orrow
County a notice of the city’s
intent to terminate the Joint
Management Agreement
and get them to negotiate
as required in the agreement
termination clause.
“There is no move­
ment on their side,” he
stated, “and this is a means
to get them off the dime.”
The motion carried
unanimously.
Mayor Bums then
called for a vote on the ordi­
nance. The amendment was
unanimously approved.
In other business,
the city heard from John
Garlitz of JUB Engineer­
ing that progress was being
made on the Septic Conver­
sion Project and that plans
were nearly complete and
ready for agency review
and approval. Once they
are approved by the De­
partment of Environmental
Quality, the city can go out
to bid on the project.
A date of April 10,
2012 was set for the city of
Irrigon goal-setting. Mayor
Bums stated that the meet­
ing was open to the public
and city citizens were wel­
come to participate in the
discussions.
A proposal to pur­
chase an 8,500 square foot
city lot in a newer subdivi­
sion to obtain the w ater
rights from an exempt well
on that site also was consid­
ered. It was determined that
the asking price of $ 15,000
for the property on a paved
and lit city street was a good
investment for the city. The
city council unanimously
approved the purchase.
Garden club plans
guest speaker
The next meeting of the Heppner Garden Club
will take place April 2 at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Senior
Center. A representative from Monrovia will be the guest
speaker. The meeting is open to the public.
Also, community members are reminded to
mark their calendars for the annual plant exchange on
May 12.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem,
help is available and that help Is FREE of charge.
If Y O U have a family member who suffers from
gambling addiction, Y O U can also receive F R E E treat­
ment even if the gambler is not receiving treatment.
If you are a resident of Morrow County and you wish
to take advantage of the services above or desire m ore
Information, Please call any of the following numbers
to set up a L O C A L appointment or just to talk:
Bobby Harris @ 541-676-9925 or 541-256-0175
Community Counseling Solutions (C C S ) ® 541-676-9161
O R 1-877-695-4648 (1 -8 8 8 -M Y L IM IT)
I