Large crowd hears
wind farm info
II.I..I...I.I..III.... IU...II
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Blakes Ranch residents not happy with project
5(K
Heppner wind farm developer Thomas Metzger talks to crowd at Heppner information meet
ing on the proposed new farm east of Heppner. -Photo by David Sykes
imes
VOL. 131
N O . 28
8 Pages
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Heppner diner goes
vegetarian
Owners say they offer vegan-friendly
alternatives for those seeking a healthy lifestyle
“
”
By Andrea Di Salvo
W illow Creek Diner,
which has been a fixture on
Heppner’s Main Street for
decades, isn’t going any
where. Regulars will, how
ever, see a radical change to
the menu.
The long-time burger
joint and bakery is adopt
ing a v e g e ta ria n m enu,
w hich ow ners John and
Kathy Marick call “vegan-
friendly.” Vegetarian refers
to a m eatless diet, while
vegan is en tirely plant-
based, without even dairy
products such as eggs and
cheese.
Many are questioning
the wisdom o f what seems
like an odd m ove in the
m iddle o f cattle country.
Many of the popular bakery selections at the Willow Creek
Diner will remain, hut .lohn and Kathy Marick (pictured)
say they will also be adding desserts that diabetics can safely
eat, such as these pies made without refined sugar. -Photo by
Andrea Di Salvo
The M arick s ad m it the
change has upset a few
people.
“ We k n e w th a t by
-See VEGETARIAN DINER/
PAGE FOUR
Park host arraigned on
invasion of privacy charges
The M orrow County
S h eriff’s O ffice recently
arrested John Earl McBride,
the park host at the Mor
row/Grant OHV Park, on
allegations o f Invasion o f
Personal Privacy.
D uring the w eekend
o f Ju ly 7-8, M CSO r e
ceived in fo rm atio n that
there might be a person at
one o f the Morrow County
parks who was spying on
persons as they used the
restroom facilities.
Information was gath
ered and a female reserve
deputy, along with a female
detective from MCSO, were
sent into the park to rent a
cabin on Monday. July 9.
On the morning o f July 10,
the female reserve entered
one o f the restroom facili
ties while the detective ob
served from a distance. The
suspect was seen entering a
maintenance space between
the restrooms. The detective
opened the door and found
the suspect peeking through
a small hole in the wall.
chief in the Second Degree.
M cB ride, 54, o f P i Judge S picer set bail at
lot Rock was arrested at $5.000. M orrow County
the scene. McBride
D istrict A ttorney
w a s a c o n tr a c t
J u stin N e lso n is
v en d o r actin g as
p r o s e c u tin g the
the cam p host at
case. The court ap
the M orrow/Grant
pointed Heidi Van
OHV Park. He has
Kirk to represent
had that position as
the defen d an t on
a contract vendor J o h n E a r l the ch a rg e s. The
for the past two sea McBride
court set a pre-trial
sons. McBride was
conference for Au
not an employee o f Morrow gust 8 at 1 p.m. at the Ir-
County.
rigon Justice Court.
M cB ride w as in te r
The M CSO continues
viewed and subsequently to look for victims in this
lodged at Umatilla County case. Anyone who believes
Jail on multiple counts o f they have been M cBride’s
C rim inal M ischief-I and victim during a stay at the
Invasion o f Personal Pri M o rro w /G ra n t C o u n ty
vacy.
OHV Park should contact
On July 11, McBride the M C SO at 5 4 1 -6 7 6 -
was arraigned on the In 5317.
formation o f Misdemeanor
The case is being in
by Morrow County Justice vestigated by the MCSO.
Court Judge Anne Spicer; Anyone with any informa
he was arraigned on three tion should call the police
counts o f Invasion o f Per dep artm en t at 541-676-
sonal Privacy and eight 5317.
counts o f C rim inal M is
Fair edition deadline
July 31
The Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo are coming up. That means
the yearly fair edition o f the Gazette-Times is also upon us.
The G-T would like to remind everyone that the article and advertising deadline
for the annual fair edition is July 31 at 5 p.m.
By David Sykes
A large crowd filled
H ep p n e r C ity H all last
week to hear information
about the new 310-tower
proposed wind farm on
61,000 acres east o f Hepp
ner. Also part of the project
is construction o f a new
transmission line to a new
proposed substation to be
built at Stanfield.
The wind farm will be
built close to the m oun
tain community of Blakes
Ranch, so a large contingent
o f people concerned about
the effects o f the project
came to the meeting. Four
people even stood outside
w ith signs to protest the
project prior to the meet
ing. It was estimated later
that towers may be as close
as one mile to the Blakes
Ranch community.
P r o je c t d e v e lo p e r
Thomas Metzger o f Inve-
nergy told the crow d o f
about 55 people that this
is the first Oregon project
that has gone before the
State Energy Facility Siting
Council instead o f to county
planning commissions. If a
wind project is over a cer
tain size, state law says it
will bypass the county and
go straight to the state.
Metzger said Invenergy
-See WIND FARM MEET-
ING/PAGE FIVE
Local woman celebrates
100 years
By A ndrea Di Salvo
The infant girl born
on Rhea Creek on July 12,
1912 couldn’t have fore
seen w hat the follow ing
century would bring.
“1 can’t think o f very
much all that interesting,”
A lice (R hea) B u c k le y ’s
says o f her life. “ We just
lived a simple life. I was
born a fter that H eppner
flood, thank goodness.”
Most people who get to
speak with the centenarian,
though, will find themselves
gifted with a glimpse o f his
tory long forgotten by most
people alive today.
Buckley is the daughter
o f Curtis and Cecil Alice
(R ankin) Rhea; she was
bom in a large, two-story
white house on Rhea Creek,
the same house where her
father was bom.
“The place where I was
bom don’t look like it did
when I was bom,” she says,
adding that m ost o f the
buildings are now gone.
“You wouldn’t even know
it had been a place people
lived.”
She says the canyon
took its nam e from her
grandfather, who was said
to be the first white man to
settle along the creek. O f her
four sisters and two broth
ers, only she and brother,
Robert Rhea, remain.
Life was different on
Rhea Creek in the early 20th
century.
“ We still were using
horses and buggies, what
we called a ‘hack,’” says
B uckley, d escrib in g the
horse-draw n buggy with
tw o row s o f seats. “ We
went to a country school.
My father had an old mare
and a cart; we could hook
this mare up and take her
to school. We had to take
along a bag o f hay and feed
the hay to the mare during
Alice Buckley (center) got the chance to celebrate her 100,h
birthday last week surrounded by friends and family, including
daughters Margaret and Donna. -Contributedphoto
lunch time.”
She re c a lls days o f
play in g on stick horses
aro u n d th e ir farm as a
young child.
“ We gave them fancy
nam es like ‘P rin c e ’ and
‘King.’At least, we thought
they were fancy,” Buckley
says. “ We would pretend
we were driving cattle and
all kinds o f things.”
She also rem em bers
a time when a waterspout
formed and her grandpar
ents took the children on top
o f the root cellar to watch
the small flood go by.
“ We had a finger ring
som eone said had been
made from a 10-cent piece,
and we used to wear it all
the tim e,” she says. She
added that he ring had been
lost, but “ When the flood
was over, there was that
ring, lying there on the
ground.”
Buckley says her fam
ily wasn’t rich, but they had
enough.
“We had enough to feed
us and clothe us, but we
didn't always have a lot o f
money,” she says.
Buckley says she was
in seventh grade when her
father moved them closer to
lone, where she continued
school, g raduating from
lone High School in 1931.
While Buckley’s mind
rem ains sharp, tim e has
worn the edges off memo
ries, eroding the details.
A lo n g the w ay, she
married Carroll Eric Buck-
ley, though the date o f their
marriage escapes her now.
He was five years older
than she, half Irish and h alf
Norwegian. They had two
daughters, M argaret and
Donna. M argaret lives in
Wisconsin with her family,
while Donna and her family
reside in Washington.
Late in life, Buckley’s
husband had a stroke, and
she remembers caring for
him during that time. Every
day, she says, she got him
out o f bed, dressed him,
fed him and took him for a
drive in the car. Then, she
said, the doctor would come
for his weekly visit and be
amazed that her supposedly
bed-bound husband had no
bed sores.
“ I never did explain it
to him,” says Buckley.
She didn't work outside
the home while Carroll was
alive. A fter her husband
died— nearly 30 years ago
-See BUCKLEY CENTEN-
NIAL/PAGE FIVE
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