FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
CO UN TY CO URT NEW S
-Continuedfrom PACE ONE
economic growth, provid
ing water and irrigable land
was to be made available.
Planning Dept. Re
port: Carla McLane, Plan
ning Director, reported that
she had received a call
from a Heppner resident
regarding a potential code
enforcement issue. McLane
stated that the area in ques
tion is in the Heppner UGB
so it would be a city issue
not a county issue, adding
that she had checked the
site and did not see anything
that violated code. McLane
then reported that the Presi
dential Order regarding the
Cl FUS action regarding the
wind project in the Butter
Creek area had been issued
and the foundations are now
being removed.
Contracts: The court
reviewed and approved
the IIth amendment to the
2011-2013 intergovern
mental agreement #135573
for the financing o f Pub
lic Health Services. The
amendment increased the
amount for Family Planning
by $1,253, increasing the
award amount to $28,804
and with the total award
amount as of this amend
ment being $425,805 The
amendment also changed
the reporting forms. The
court review ed and ap
proved a Participating Pro
vider Agreement with ODS
to bring the county into
compliance for the Coor
dinated Care Organization
(CCO ). The CCO serv
ing Morrow and Umatilla
County is Eastern Oregon
Coordinated Care Organi
zation (EOCCO), which
represents a partnership be
tween Greater Oregon Be
havioral Health (GOBHI)
and ODS health insurance.
The plan is for EOCCO to
be in place and functioning
by Nov. 1,2012.
The court-conducted
the following business:
Reviewed the Personnel
Policy regarding Hardship
Leave, and clarified the
language regarding periods
of qualification. The court
heard the first reading of
an ordinance to amend the
county’s Comprehensive
Plan and Map to include
the 2012 Kilkenny Aggre
gate Site.
C o m m issio n e r R e
ports: Commissioner Rea
reported on the wrap-up
meeting for the fair board,
reporting that there were
discussions regarding park
ing issues for both cars and
RVs, condition of the rodeo
arena, the cancellation of
the Rocket Clubs event, and
plans for next year's 100th
celebration. Judge Tallman
reported on the LPSC meet
ing where the main topic of
discussion was about drug
trafficking in and around
the county.
Various correspondenc
es and upcoming meeting
notices were reviewed and
discussed.
The Morrow County
Court met in Boardman on
Oct. 17 with Judge Tallman
and Commissioners Grieb
and Rea in attendance.
The City and Citizen
Comment period for Board-
man was opened; Sean Fer
guson, a senior at Riverside
High School, introduced
himself and stated why he
had chosen the county court
for his “Job Shadow” day.
The court reviewed and
approved the minutes for
Oct. 3 and 10. The court
also reviewed and approved
the account payables in the
amount o f $107,176.08.
The court then reviewed
the p ro jec ted G eneral
Fund cash balance activ
ity for the week of Oct. 15
through Oct. 21, 2012. The
rem aining cash balance
was $148,720.53, which is
$122,978.47 ahead of the
PAID A D VE R TIS EM EN T
Stop Another Tax on Your Home
O re g o n h o m e o w n e rs have been ta rg e te d w ith a new
ta x on th e sale o r tra n s fe r o f real estate, a new ta x
th a t som e have m ade a le g is la tiv e p rio rity .
A YES v o te on M easure 79 w ill s to p
a n o th e r ta x on y o u r hom e.
STOP THE DOUBLE
TAX ON YOUR HOME
Oregonians already pay
property taxes to fund schools
and local government. A new
tax on the same property is
nothing more than a double tax
on your home.
PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT
Families are struggling and home
loans are tougher to get. A double
tax on homes is especially hard on
homeowners selling their home for
less than they owe. This will hurt
the housing market and drive your
property values down further.
HOMEOWNERS ALREADY
PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE
WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE
HOME OWNERSHIP
ê
Oregonians pay an average
property tax of $2,200 per year.
A new transfer tax would place a
big burden on homeowners, many
of whom are already struggling.
It’s a double tax.
Yes on 79 is
endorsed by:
A new transfer tax would
put home ownership out of
reach for many, especially
first-time homebuyers who
are so important to a healthy
housing market.
• Boardman Chamber of Commerce
Oregonians in Action
• Hermiston Chamber of Commerce
Oregon Small Business Association
• Associated Oregon Industries
Taxpayer Association of Oregon
• Oregon Association of REALTORS*
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
• National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB)
Oregon Farm Bureau
V O T E Y E S O N M EA S U R E 79
same point last year. The
projected G eneral Fund
expenses for the next week
will leave a balance of ap
proximately $43,720. The
court reviewed and signed a
resolution allowing a short
term inter-fund loan from
Finley Buttes License Fee
Fund to the General Fund
in the amount of $200,000.
This will allow the county
to meet current operating
needs until property taxes
are received. The loan is to
be repaid on or before Dec.
1 , 2012 .
Road R eport: The
crew has finished rocking
Sunflower Flat Road and
Tupper Lane with the grad
ers continuing to work these
roads. With the recent rains,
graders have started in the
areas o f the North Fork
Willow Creek, Hardman
Ridge, Buttermilk Canyon,
and Brenner Canyon Roads
and Morter Lane. The crew
hauled rock to blowout
areas on Buttermilk Road
and over culverts on Ridge
Road to cover the exposed
pipe. Currently, the crew is
cleaning culvert inlets and
outlets along Tupper Lane,
Sunflower Flat Road and
the 21 Road. Soon the crew
will be preparing Sandhol-
low and Spur Loop Roads,
so when the asphalt hot mix
is available they will be able
to patch the intersection of
Spur Loop and Sandhol-
low where water has dam
aged the road surface and
cover the new pipe that was
installed on Sandhollow
.Road. Hot mix will also
be applied to the bridge
deck on Snider’s Bridge. A
sign crew has been replac
ing finger signs on Turner
and N ichols Lanes and
Piper Canyon, Cutsforth,
Lovgren and Dolven Roads.
Some additional sign work
was done on Valby and
Liberty School Roads and
Bergstrom Lane.
Permits: On the rec
ommendation of the Road
Dept., the following per
mits were reviewed and ap
proved: Permit OIM with
CenturyLink to replace an
underground line that had
been damaged by gophers
in the area of Melville Road
and Lower Sand Hollow
Road; Perm it OJK with
Bonneville Power for the
installation of a fiber optic
line in the area of Laurel
Lane and N. C olum bia
River Highway.
OHV P ark Youth
Hunting Tag Drawing:
The following names were
drawn for the Nov. 3 thru
Nov. 11 spike only youth
hunt at the OHV Park: Tyler
Mills from Irrigon; Joseph
Zellars from Boardman,
Railey Namitz from John
Day; and Saul Erickson,
Charles Cason, Jacob Wal
lace and Aidan Wright, all
from Heppner.
Veteran’s Quarterly
Update: Veteran’s Officer
Linda Skendzel provided
the court with an update
showing that she completed
72 in-office interviews and
three out-of-office inter
views, with recoveries for
veterans in the amount of
$32,445. Skendzel reported
that last week she attended
a three-day training session
in Portland and picked up a
lot o f good information.
Juvenile Dept. Quar
terly Update: Juvenile Di
rector Tom Meier provided
the first-quarter report for
July 1-Sept. 30, 2012. The
report indicated that in the
first quarter there were four
new detention admissions,
22 total youth referrals,
six new dependency cases
and 10 cases closed. In the
Juvenile Crime Prevention-
Wrap Around Services there
were three new cases, with
two completed and 14 cases
open at any one time. In the
Youth Investment (High
Risk Non LE referred) there
were three new cases with
one completed for a total of
10 open at any one time. In
the first quarter there were
four criminal mischief cas
es, three thefts, one harass
ment and two substance/
alcohol cases.
P la n n in g U pd ate:
M cLane stated that the
ODE has requested com
ment to the Coyote Springs
Generating Site Certificate
Amendment. The court di
rected McLane to prepare a
comment letter stating that
we have no comment.
C om m issioner R e
port: Judge Tallman shared
inform ation recently re
ceived that stated Phase
30 Funding will be cut by
approxim ately $12,000.
The funding is based on a
complicated formula that
considers unemployment
rates and poverty rates, and
the county must have 300
or more on unemployed
to receive the full funding.
This cut will impact the Irri-
gon/Boardman Emergency
Center in Irrigon and the
Neighborhood Center in
Heppner.
The court conducted
the follow ing business:
The court heard the second
reading of an ordinance to
amend the County’s Com
prehensive Plan and Map to
include the 2012 Kilkenny
Aggregate Site. The court
then adopted and signed
the ordinance. The court
reviewed and adopted the
holiday schedule for 2013.
Ms. W olff informed the
court that the SAIF divi
dend payment was about
$15,500 more than had
been anticipated.
Various correspondenc
es and upcoming meeting
notices were reviewed and
discussed.
This information is be
ing provided by Commis
sioner Leann Rea; anyone
who would like to receive
County Court minutes, con
tact Karen Wolff at 541 -
676-5620.
Chamber lunch meeting
The next Heppner Chamber o f Commerce lunch
meeting will be this Thursday, Oct. 25, at noon in the St.
Patrick’s Senior Center dining room.
Guest speakers will be Karen Pettigrew and Diane
Wolfe, who will be giving an update on what is going
on in Boardman.
Bill Kuhn of Kuhn Law Offices will also spend a few
minutes giving an explanation of the ballot measures and
what a “yes” or “no” vote will mean.
Cost of lunch is $9; Murray’s Drug will cater.
Chamber lunch attendees are asked to RS VP no later
than the Wednesday before to accommodate enough
food.
TO STOP ANOTHER TAX ON YOUR HOME.
Socialism Mates Religion
For more information please visit:
Keep
Religious
Freedom
YesOnMeasure79.com
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