Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2012)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 24, 2012 C O U N TY CO URT NEW S -Continuedfrom PAGE ONE for the financing of Pub the follow ing business: 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 reviewed 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 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 CIFUS 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 l l lh amendment to the 2011-2013 intergovern mental agreement # 135573 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 of $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 PA ID A D V E R T IS E M E N T ON Stop Another Tax on Your Home O regon hom eowners have been targeted with a new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate, a new tax that some have made a legislative priority. A Y E S vote on Measure 79 will stop another tax on your home. 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 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. 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. Yes on 79 is endorsed by: • • • • • Boardman Chamber of Commerce Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Associated Oregon Industries Oregon Association of REALTORS* National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) • Oregonians in Action Oregon Small Business Association Taxpayer Association of Oregon Oregon Cattlemen's Association Oregon Farm Bureau VOTE YES ON MEASURE 79 TO STOP ANOTHER TAX ON YOUR HOME. For more information please visit: YesOnMeasure79.com Paid for by Y e s on 79 « PO Box 4 7 5 0 * Tualatin, O R 9 7 0 6 2 ( I same point last year. The projected General Fund expenses for the next week will leave a balance o f 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 Report: 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 oad. Hot mix will also e 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. Perm its: 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; Permit OJK with Bonneville Power for the installation of a fiber optic line in the area of Laurel Lane and N. Colum 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 pdate: 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 ission er Re 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 m ore 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 o f 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 RSVP no later than the Wednesday before to accommodate enough food. Socialism Hates Religion Keep R eligious^ Freedom Concerned Citizens i
