Smith says coal shipping now
needs additional permitting
11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 )■ 1 11
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Scope o f environmental review also delaying project
By David Sykes
The A m bre Energy
c o a l-s h ip p in g p ro je c t
through the Port o f Mor
row now needs an air per
VOL. 131 N 0. 39 8 Pages
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Heppner native begins
medical career
By Andrea Di Salvo
Heppner High School
graduate Trisha Eckman,
30, launched into her medi
cal career this week when
she began work Monday at
St. Luke’s Eastern Oregon
Medical Associates Clinic
in Baker City, OR. Eck-
man’s specialty is family
practice, which she says
will include pediatrics and
obstetrics.
Eckman is the daughter
of Mike and Tonia Adams
of Heppner. She was bom in
Pendleton when the family
lived in Spray, OR. but they
moved to Heppner when
she was four years old.
She has a long history
of wanting tq be, and train
ing to be, a doctor.
“I have wanted to be
a doctor since I was about
eight years old, when my
family and I spent a lot
o f time interacting with
the health care com m u
nity while my aunt battled
leukemia, and I just never
changed my m ind,” she
says.
In fact, Eckman’s first
job was at Pioneer Memo abled children.
rial Hospital while she was
Eckman says she took
still in high school.
a “year o ff’ before
She w orked as a
launching into med
nursing assistant,
ical school, instead
mostly in the nurs
living in Bend, OR
ing home. Her work
and working as a
experience wasn’t
caregiver and med
limited to medicine,
ication aid at Bend
though. Like many Trisha Adams Villa Retirement in
local kids, during Eckman
the assisted living
high school and her
departm ent. She
first two years of
then entered medi
college, she worked sum cal school at Oregon Health
mers driving wheat truck and Science University in
and combine during har Portland; she earned her
vest, as well as other odd medical doctorate in 2009. i
jobs.
Eckman says she strug
She attended school in gled with her choice o f
Heppner through her gradu specialty at first.
ation in 2000, then went on
“I originally wanted to
to college at Albertson Col be a pediatrician, then an
lege of Idaho in Caldwell, obstetrician/gynecologist,”
ID (now called The Col says Eckman. “Then I re
lege of Idaho), majoring in alized I liked all of those
biology with a chemistry fields equally and could do
minor. During her last two them all as a family practice
college summers and part- doctor.”
time during the school year,
Deciding on a special
she worked at Gem State ty w asn’t the end of her
Developmental Center in medical training, though.
Nampa, ID at their summer She m arried Jared Eck-
and after-school program
-See ECKMAN STARTS
MED CAREER/PAGE SIX
for developmentally dis-
Local woman arrested on
theft charges
A local woman was
arrested by the Morrow
County Sheriff's Office on
Wednesday, Sept. 19, on
charges of Theft I.
Virginia Lynne Patton,
known as Ginger, was the
manager at the Shell gas
station in Lexington. The
43-year-old was arrested
after her employer termi
nated her for theft and then
called the sheriff’s office
to advise them of that. She
was lodged at U m atilla
County Jail after her arrest
but was released after a
court appearance the next
day, Sept. 20.
Under Oregon law, a
Theft I charge is a Class C
felony that may be com
mitted in a variety of ways,
including stealing prop
erty valued at more than
1 000 .
$ ,
A c c o r d in g to th e
MCSO and the Morrow
County District Attorney’s
office, Patton is still under
investigation for charges
of Theft I; no charges have
been filed against Patton
through the DA’s office.
Local man air-lifted in
critical condition
A local man was trans
ported by Life Flight to
Kadlec Regional Medical
Center in Richland, WA
last week after being pinned
between two vehicles.
Andre L. Kendrick, 54,
of lone was working Friday
afternoon with a vehicle
that was on a trailer towed
behind a second vehicle.
The vehicle that was on the
trailer apparently rolled for
ward and pinned Kendrick
against the tow unit.
A neighbor called 911
and units from the Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office,
lone Fire Department, Hep
pner Fire Department and
M orrow County Health
District responded to the
scene. Kendrick was extri
cated 10 minutes later by
the first responders. CPR
was started on scene, and
Kendrick was transported
to Pioneer Memorial Hospi
tal before being transferred
to Kadlec hospital by Life
Flight with “life-threaten
ing injuries.”
He was listed in critical
condition later that night.
Some sources say Kendrick
is now doing “better than
expected” but the Gazette-
Times was unable to con
firm his exact condition
before press time.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
mit from the Department
o f Environmental Quality
(DEQ), Greg Smith told
the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce Sept. 20. Smith
was giving an update on
the project at the chamber’s
regular meeting.
“When we started this
project, we were told we
would not need an air per
mit. The DEQ now says
we do need an air permit,
and there will probably be
litigation,” Smith said.
The coal shipping proj
ect will see millions of
tons o f coal shipped by
rail from the Powder River
area o f Wyoming to the
Port of Morrow at Board-
man, down the Columbia
by barge and then on to
South Korea, Taiwan and
Japan. Smith is an Oregon
legislator but is working
on this project as head of
his economic development
company, Greg Smith &
Company, LLC.
The scope of the envi
ronmental impact required
on the project is also an
Greg Smith gives update on the Ambre Energy coal shipping
project to Heppner Chamber of Commerce. - Photo by David
Sykes
issue at this time. Smith
said.
“Some people want an
environmental assessment
from Wyoming all the way
to Asia,” Smith says. “We
feel it should only be on the
dock area at Boardman.
“They will be covered
barges and absolutely no
dust will escape” during
shipping, he said. Smith
said the scope of the envi
ronmental review is in the
public comment period at
this time, and he urged peo
ple who support the project
to comment in favor of the
limited assessment.
“We are trying to do
this project co rrectly ,”
Smith said. He added that
there would most likely be
litigation either way over
the Corps o f Engineers’
decision on the scope of
the environmental review
required for the project. He
-See COAL DEPOT UP-
DATE/PAGE FIVE
Obama blocks Chinese-
owned wind farm
Company says action is unconstitutional
By David Sykes
C iting n atio n al se
curity, President Barack
Obama has barred a Chi
nese-owned wind-turbine
company from constructing
a 20-tower facility in North
Morrow County near the
Navy Bombing Range. It
is the first time in 22 years
a president has blocked a
transaction as a national
security risk.
Obama has told the
Ralls Corp. to remove all
of its property and installa
tions from the site, located
on property owned by Kent
Madison, within two weeks
and divest all of its interests
in the wind farm within 90
days. The Chinese company
Sany is a subsidiary of Ralls
and actually makes the
turbines.
Both Sany and Ralls
had said they were not af
filiated with the Chinese
government, and concerns
of possible espionage from
the wind-farm site were
“ not credible.” At least
one string of five towers
on the 20-tower wind farm
is located about five miles
from the restricted air space
of the bombing range. The
Navy tests electronic war
fare planes and equipment
at the range.
After the presidential
ruling, Ralls said it was
planning a lawsuit against
the federal government,
charging Obama’s action
was unconstitutional. The
company is seeking to have
the order overturned or be
paid compensation for its
losses. Earlier, the company
had said if it did not get the
wind farm operational by
Dec.31 it would lose out on
approximately $25 million
in federal production tax
credits.
M.C. schools announce
enrollment figures
By Andrea Di Salvo
With the school year
in full swing, current en
rollment figures are in for
South Morrow County.
The Morrow County
School District reports that
Heppner High School has a
current enrollment o f 178,
compared to 184 date-to-
date last year.
The concern for the
school district is Heppner
Elementary School, which
has a current enrollment
of 171, compared to 190
last year, a decrease of 19
students.
Morrow County School
Superintendent Dirk Dirk-
sen said the decline was due
to a couple of factors. One is
simply that if families with
small children move away,
as happened this year, HES
enrollment takes a hit.
Another, larger prob
lem is an ongoing pattern
the district is observing of
transferring about 30 stu
dents from the elementary
school to the high school
every year but receiving
fewer than that— usually
around 20— into kindergar
ten. This year, he said, the
high school has 37 seniors,
while only 21 students start
ed kindergarten. Djrksen
said that, if the decrease
continues at this rate, Hep
pner High also will see
an eventual decline in its
enrollment figures.
On a brighter note, the
lone School District reports
185 students enrolled in
grades K-12, down only
three from 188 at the end of
last year. School staff mem
bers say that, considering
last year's large graduating
class, that small drop in
enrollment is “pretty good.”
lone Community School
Principal Jerry Archer, at a
meeting of the lone School
District, said the school had
good new-student figures,
including incoming stu
dents from Lexington and
outside the county.
Lexington man killed in
crash near Ukiah
Lexington man Loren
Woodside, 82, was killed
Saturday when his pickup
rolled on Highway 244
about four miles east of
Ukiah.
On Sept. 29, about 2:40
p.m ., W oodside’s 1993
Dodge pickup was west
bound on Highway 244
near milepost 5 when, for
what Oregon State Police
say was an “unknown rea
son,” it traveled toward the
shoulder. Woodside appar
ently over-corrected and
lost control. OSP report that
the pickup rolled more than
once before coming to rest
on its top.
W oodside was pro
nounced dead at the scene.
He was wearing his seat-
belt.
OSP was assisted at
the scene by Ukiah Quick
Response and Pendleton
Ambulance. OSP is con
tinuing the investigation.
Sergeant Seth Cooney is the
lead investigator.
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