Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
310-tower wind farm proposed
on 60,000 acres near Heppner
acres six miles east o f flepp-
By David Sykes
A 3 10 - to w e r w in d ner in the Freeze Out Ridge
farm capable o f producing area, lnvenergy. a Chicago-
502 megawatts o f power, based energy development
enough to power 125,000 company has announced.
No tim eline for con
homes, has been proposed
struction
was announced;
to be constructed on 60,000
however, the company is
going straight to the State
o f Oregon Energy Facility
Siting Council( EFSC) and
not seeking approval from
the county planning com
mission.
Todd Cornett, division
adm inistrator with EFSC.
told the G azette Tuesday
that the process usually
takes a little over a year
to approve the permit al
lowing lnvenergy to move
forward with construction.
C o rn e tt said that could
change if there are signifi
cant appeals to the project,
which could stretch the time
before construction two to
three years.
Cornett said there would
be a public inform ation
m eeting scheduled in the
area within four weeks.
lnvenergy already has
one wind project in the area
near lone, and people from
the
company have been in
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
5<K
VOL. 131 NO. 19 8 Pages
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
OACA honors
lone coach
lone High School vol
It’s m ore about the
leyball coach Dawn Eynet-
than about me. You
ich has been named
have to have the
the Oregon Athletic
right girls in the
Coaches A ssocia
right place in order
tion (OACA)Coach
to have a winning
o f the Year for 1A
team,” says Eynet
volleyball. Coaches
ich. “ They w ere
are chosen for each
v e ry m o tiv a te d ,
sport and classifica Dawn
and that m akes it
Eynetich
tion, according to
easy to coach.”
Rob Younger of the
E ynetich and
OACA.
more than 200 other coach
Eynetich, 32, was bom es and fam ily m em bers
and raised in lone, graduat will be recognized at this
ing from lone High School year's OACA Coach of the
in 1997. She and her hus Year banquet on May 26
band, Jeff, own 1RT, a local in Autzen Stadium at the
trucking company. They University o f Oregon. She
have two sons, ages four says she’s not nervous, but
and seven.
doesn't really know what to
She is in her fourth expect, other than that she
year coaching high school will receive a plaque.
volleyball in lone but in
“Everyone has made it
her seventh year coaching a bigger deal than 1 have. I
overall, having started out never even knew that they
coaching middle school vol did this, so it was a surprise
leyball. This is the first time to get (the letter) in the
she has been recognized in mail,” Eynetich says. “As
this way, but she’s not let long as I don’t have to talk.
ting it go to her head.
I’ll be good.”
Heppner, lone track
teams head to state
(seniors Luke Emmel and Steven Holland, juniors Evan
Rietmann and Justin Estabrook, and sophomore alternates
Francisco Ramirez and Bailey Haguewood) w ith silver medals;
the relay team are among the lone athletes advancing to state
-Photo by Paula Emmel
-See more on PAGE FOUR
state proficiency standards,
how well they prepare stu
dents for college, and other
factors.
T he s ta te ra n k in g s
methodology is based on
whether a high school is
nationally ranked gold or
silver. All high schools
nationally ranked as gold
and silver are numerically
ranked in their state based
on their position in the na
tional rankings.
“Our district is proud
o f Heppner and Riverside
highs’ accom plishm ents,”
said Superintendent Dirk
Dirksen. “ It is a testament
to their K.-12 learning sys
tems, and whenever a school
moves into an elite status of
schools, this is great cause
for celebration. Learning
is a lifelong endeavor. The
work that is done prior to
high school often leads to
high school success. Our
district is proud o f all K.-12
students, staff, community
members and families that
make this all possible.”
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
the Heppner area recently release was issued by In
m eeting with H ep p n er's venergy to the G azette-
m ayor and city m anager I imes:
and attending Chamber o f
" I he Heppner Wind
Commerce meetings.
-See HEPPNER H IND
The fo llow ing new s
FARM/PAGE EIGHT
MCSD approves
sex ed policy
Bv A pril Svkes
The M orrow County
School Board, at their Mon
day night meeting at Irrigon
High School, adopted a new
policy for health education
and hum an sexuality in
struction. In order to arrive
at the policy, the district
underw ent a lengthy ex
ploratory process w hich
included meetings with par
ents, teachers, administra
tors, community members
and health professionals.
According to the poli
cy, the plan of instruction,
which aligns with Oregon
health education standards
and benchmarks, includes
information that promotes
abstinence for school-age
Both the Mustang and Cardinal track teams have members youth, but not to the ex
on their way to state finals in Monmouth this weekend. Top: clusion o f other methods
The Heppner Mustang track members going to state finals in for preventing unintended
Monmouth are (Back L-R) Carrie Haguewood, Coach Lora pregnancy, and provides in
Winters, Emma Osmin (Front L-R), Conner Pappas, Andrew formation on HIV infection,
Bara, Bryce Fowler, Jacob Moses, Seth Palmer and Jeff Mc
hepatitis and other sexually
Connell. -Contributedphoto Bottom: lone’s 4x100 relay team
Two county schools
among best in state City may remove pit
Riverside, Heppner named in
bulls from dangerous
U.S. News Best High Schools
animal list
For the third year in
a row, both Riverside and
H eppner high schools in
the Morrow County School
District were named to the
U.S. News & World Re
port’s Best High Schools
list for 2012.
Heppner High School
received a silv er m edal
ranking for 2012, and was
ranked as the 24,h best high
school in Oregon. In 2010
and 2011, Heppner High
was awarded a Bronze med
al ranking.
Riverside High School
received a bronze medal
ranking for 2012, as it did
in 2010 and 2011.
T here are 335 high
sch o o ls in O regon, and
76 o f those were ranked
among the U.S. News &
World Report’s Best High
S chools for 2012. Each
year, U.S. News & World
R eport evaluates nearly
22,000 public high schools
in 49 states and the District
o f Columbia. Schools are
aw arded gold, silv er or
bronze m edals based on
310 wind towers like this one will stand oil the Heppner Wind
project if it goes through.
By David Sykes
T h e H e p p n e r C ity
Council Monday discussed
rem oving pit bulls from
the city’s list o f dangerous
animals.
Owning the dogs on the
list requires owners to post
a $100 fee and prove they
have at least $100,000 in
liability insurance in order
to keep the dogs. Normal
dog fees are $7 for each
neutered pet and $ 15 for un
neutered, with no insurance
requirement.
The council discussed
the perception by the pub
lic that pit bulls are in
herently m ore dangerous
that other dog breeds. City
M anager Dave D eM ayo
said he spoke to Dr. Dick
Temple, a veterinarian in
Lexington, who said it was
his opinion that “if treated
humanely and trained, (pit
bulls) are no different than
any other breed o f dog.”
DeMayo cited former Hep
pner City Manger and cur
rent Irrigon City Manager
Jerry Breazeale as saying
that the problem with the
breed is that they continue
!
transmitted diseases.
The policy includes a
provision that allows par
ents to have their student
opt out o f the instruction.
The board also ratified
contract adjustments to the
M orrow C ounty E d u ca
tion Association (licensed
teachers) collective bar
gaining agreement.
The “adjustments” in
clude an $80 increase per
month in the amount the
district will pay for teach
ers' health insurance premi
ums from $ 1.060 to $ 1,140
per month for the 2012-13
school year. Eligible em
ployees who opt out o f the
district's health insurance
coverage may receive half
o f the am ount ($570) as
a c o n trib u tio n tow ard a
district-sponsored health
reim b u rsem en t arrange-
-See SCHOOL BOARD
PAGE EIGHT
Graduations
approaching
The Gazette-Times se
nior congratulation page,
featuring Heppner and lone
seniors' photos, will be pub
lished in the May 23 edi
tion o f the paper. Anyone
wishing to have his name
included on the page should
contact Megan at the G-T
by Monday. June 21. at 5
p.m.. phone 541 -676-9228.
fax 541-676-9211 or email
her at meganifi rapidserve.
net. The cost is $10.
Irrigon High School
graduation will be Friday,
June 1, at 7 p.m. at the
sch o o l. R iv e rsid e High
School graduation will be
Saturday, June 2. at 1 p.m.
at the school.
T he H e p p n e r H igh
S c h o o l B a c c a la u r e a te
serv ice w ill be held on
Wednesday, May 30, at 6
p.m. at St. Patrick’s Catho
lic Church, 525 N. Gale
St. in Heppner. The HHS
graduation ceremony will
be on Saturday, June 2. at
2 p.m. at the high school
gym.
The lone High School
Baccalaureate is planned
for Tuesday, June 5, at 7
p.m . at Valby L utheran
Church. 60492 Valby Rd.,
lone. The lone High School
graduation will be held on
Friday, June 8, at 7 p.m.
at the lone High School
gym.
to attack their victims and
won't withdraw until forced
to do so. DeM ayo asked
the council to “reconsider”
having the pit bull listed on
the dangerous animal list.
Several members o f the
public in the audience at the
council m eeting Monday
night spoke on the subject.
Sheryll Bates, who lives on
Cannon St. in Heppner, said
she watched a neighbor's
(who no longer lives in the
area) pit bull chase a young
person down the street until
the person had to jum p her
fence to keep from getting
bitten. Joe Perry o f Hep
pner asked if was worth the
Hie 1 leppner Gazette-Times office w ill be closet
chance if it put one child in Memorial Day. May 28 for the holiday. All news and at
danger o f being hurt by a leadlines will be the prev ious Friday. May 25, by 5 p.m
-See P IT BULLS/PAGE FIVE The newspaper office will reopen on Tuesday, May 29.
G-T closed Memorial
Day
i