EIGHT- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 31,2012
lone recognizes
perfect attendance
lo n e C o m m u n ity
School has announced that
the following students re
ceived awards for perfect
attendance for the month of
October, 2012:
Chloe Burke, Liam
Heideman. Martin Men
doza. Mason Orem. Corey
Rice. Katie Spivey, Dy
lan C hristian , K arensa
Jones, Cameron Proud-
foot, Lewkus Burright. Car-
son Eynetich, Alexandria
Gurinko, Madison Orem,
Bryce Rollins, Daralynn
Teeman, Morgan Alldritt,
Blake Carter. Emily Eh-
rmantraut, Hailey Heide
man. Mazie Hill. Faviola
Juarez Alvarez, Haylie Pe
terson, Kayla Rodriguez,
Tom Rudolf, Julianna Tee-
man, Katelyn Thompson,
Anthony Villegas, Mancar
meli Aguilar, Larysa Bur-
right, Cameron Crum, Eva
Martin, Abigayle Pringle,
Ola Rietmann, Jordan Rol-
lis, Wyatt Aleksa. Madison
Alldritt, Shaun Epperson,
Jake Heideman. Matt Orem,
Jill Rudolf, Paul lay lor. Ty
ler Carter. Payton Miller,
Renee Peterson, Syd Ste
fani and Susanna Teeman.
Attendance awards for
grades seven through 12
were also given to the fol-
lowing students, each of
which had two absences or
less for the first quarter:
JD A leksa, Andrew
Ames, Maggie Flynn, Wy
att McNary, Austin Morter,
Nicole N avarrete, Day-
shawn Neal, Morgan Orem,
Roman Sheena Rodriguez,
Emily Taylor. Hector Agui
lar, Pedro Bolanos, Tatum
Clark, Dan Doherty, Karsen
Dumler, Tristan Estabrook.
Iiannah Flynn, Yaniva Gar
cia, Colton Hollis, Ashley
Medina, Hannah Padberg,
Babali Peterson, Breawna
Teeman, Jorge Aguilar, Jes
sie Flynn, Rachel Holland,
Jason Juarez, Tre Neal. Ann
Rietmann, Joshua Stillman,
Brendan Thompson, Cassi
dy Braun. Joe Doherty, Lau
ren Garrett, Adara Hasbell,
Dan Holtz, Brandon Peck,
Oskar Peterson, Miranda
Taylor. Bailey Haguewood,
, Jaqueline Juarez, Larissa
Steinlicht. Tyrell Barnett,
Julianne Carlson, Tim Em-
mel, , Francisco Ramirez
and Alisha Taylor.
lone students show
responsibility
County Court news
The Morrow County
Court met in Heppner on
Oct. 24 with Judge Tallman
and Commissioners Grieb
and Rea in attendance.
The City and Citizen
Comment period for lone/
Lexington was opened;
Dee Birch from the town of
Lexington provided photos
for the court's review of the
town’s new city hall and fire
station. She also reported
that the old city hall/fire sta
tion has been tom down and
the site is being cleaned up
so a park with picnic tables
and restrooms can be pro
vided for the citizens. Lex
ington now has a website;
it is www.lexingtonoregon.
com. The council minutes
and meeting calendar are
some of the items that will
be posted.
The court review ed
and approved the minutes
for Oct. 17. The court also
reviewed and approved 4-H
and FFA premiums, payroll
payables, S'11 quarter SUTA,
Nov. 6 election postage,
garnishm ent refund and
the account payables in the
amount of $76,200.09. This
was after pulling a $64,260
invoice for jail beds and
$44,998 for a marine patrol
vehicle. The court then re
viewed the projected Gen
eral Fund cash balance
activity for the week of Oct.
22 thru Oct. 28, 2012. The
remaining cash balance was
$ 114,046.52. The projected
G eneral Fund expenses
for the next week and the
projected tax turnover will
leave a balance of approxi
mately $22,046.52.
Emergency M anage
m ent M onthly U pdate:
UndersherifT Steve Myren
stated that the com m u
nities are all working on
their Emergency O pera
tions Plans (EOP) and that
he is continuing to refine
the county's EOP. The court
then went out and viewed
the replacement Marine
Patrol boat.
Assessor/Taxation Re
port: Assessor Greg Sweek
informed the court that the
City of Irrigon’s property
tax bills are up about 20
percent due to a sewer sys
tem bond that was passed
in 2004. but this w ill be the
first year the city requested
the amount be included
on the property tax state
ments. Sweek informed
the court that the estimated
assessed value o f $1.413
billion provided in April
2012 was a little low and
the actual value came in
at $1.572 billion. One of
the larger companies that
was eligible for Enterprise
Zone status failed to file for
their exemption, so that ac
counted for a large portion
of the difference.
County Counsel Re
p o rt: Mr. Swinburnson
stated that he is continuing
to work on the resolution
regarding the ownership of
Cain Lane.
C o m m issio n er R e
port: Judge Tallman stated
that he had attended a meet
ing at the OSU Experiment
Station regarding the giant
cane (Arundo Donax) that
PGE is experimenting with
to burn at the Coal Fired
Plant. It appears the state is
proposing some rules that
would make it impossible
to grow enough stock to
serve the plant. There will
be additional meetings re
garding the newly-proposed
rules, and Judge Tallman
will plan on attending these
meetings. Commissioner
Rea reported on the latest
meeting for the Umatilla
Governor declares
rural health day
lone Community School recognized students in kindergarten
through sixth grade who did an outstanding job showing re
sponsibility during the month of October. Students awarded
were Martin Mendoza-kindergarten, Karensa Jones-first
grade, Bryce Rollins-second grade, Gary Walls-third grade,
Eva Martin-fourth grade, Elaina Ehrmantraut-fifth grade and
Susanna Teeman-sixth grade. -Contributedphoto
HES shows Colt
pride
On Thursday, Nov. 1, students and staff at Heppner Elementary
donned their Colt shirts to show their Colt pride. Once again,
HES has received an outstanding rating on the Oregon state
report card. The students are holding signs that boast: “ HES
is outstanding again...and again...and again." That is surely
the case, as HES has received the highest ranking seven times.
-Contributed photo
G overnor John Kit-
zhaber has declared Thurs
day, Nov. 15, Rural Health
Day.
His declaration is part
of a national movement to
celebrate the role of health
care services in rural areas.
The National Organization
of State Offices of Rural
Health (NOSORH) created
National Rural Health Day
as a way to showcase rural
America; increase aware
ness of rural health-related
issues; and promote the
efforts of NOSORH, State
Offices of Rural Health and
others in addressing those
issues.
Approximately 62 mil
lion people—nearly one in
five Americans— live in
rural and frontier communi
ties throughout the United
States.
“These small towns,
farming villages and fron
tier areas are fueled by the
creative energy of ordinary
citizens who historically
have been willing to step
forward and take risks in
order to provide a wealth of
products and resources for
the rest of the country. They
also continue to be places
where everyone know s
each other, listens to/re-
spects each other and works
together for the greater
good,” notes NOSORH
Director Teryl Eisinger.
Unfortunately, these
communities face unique
healthcare concerns: a lack
o f healthcare providers;
accessibility issues, particu
larly in terms of transporta
tion and technology; and
affordability issues as the
result of larger percentages
of un-/underinsured citizens
and greater out-of-pocket
health costs. Meanwhile,
rural hospitals and health
systems face declining re
imbursement rates and dis
proportionate funding lev
els that make it challenging
to meet the physical, social
and economic needs of their
communities.
The Morrow County
Health District works di
rectly with the Oregon State
Office of Rural Health to
address the challenges it
face and to receive support
in our mission of providing
excellence in healthcare,”
says a MCHD represen
tative. “ We’re proud to
provide a wide variety of
services and we sincerely
appreciate the support we
receive from the residents
o f Morrow County. Please
join us in celebrating Rural
Health Day.”
BEO shows spooky
spirit
Free Facebook
workshop planned
Bank of EO's Heppner employees gathered for their annual
group photo in celebration of Halloween. Orange and black
was the dress code for the day for most, and tellers dolled up in
their finest witch costumes. The loan processors took the liberty
of dressing like their supervisor. Senior VP/Senior Loan Officer
John Qualls, while the real John Qualls surprised everyone
with his bright green money costume, dubbing himself “Big
Money Daddy.” -Contributedphoto
Hie lone Public Library
will host a free workshop on
“Facebook Basics—Getting
Started” on Wednesday,
Nov. 28, from 6-7:30 p.m.
at the library.
Heidi Nelson will lead
the class. Class members
should bring a laptop, iPad
or tablet device if they have
one. The class is intended
for beginning, reluctant
or non-users of Facebook
with the aim of increasing
their comfort level with this
trend in social media.
Topics covered in the
f
session include: signing up,
logging in, finding friends,
how to post and share,
commenting and sharing
photos, messaging, control
ling what appears in your
news feed and terminology.
There will also be time for
questions and answers.
Space is limited; inter
ested patrons must RSVP
by either contacting Anne
Morter at amorter@hughes.
net or 541-422-7429, or
getting their name on the
list at the lone Library.
Basin Water Commission,
stating that the original test
project has now been com
pleted and the commission
needs to make a decision
as to who should operate
the system. There was also
a lengthy discussion as to
whether the commission
should contribute $20,000
to the Oregon Solutions that
has been working on water
issues in the basin. It was
decided to not contribute
until the commission knew
how the funds were going
to be spent. Rea also stated
that the U m atilla Com
missioners would like to
invite the Morrow County
Commissioners to attend
a m eeting with Yakima
County Commissioners to
discuss water usage from
the Columbia River.
Various correspondenc
es and upcoming meeting
notices were reviewed and
discussed.
The Morrow County
Court met in Heppner on
Oct. 31 with Judge Tallman
and Commissioners Grieb
and Rea in attendance.
The C ity and C iti
zen Comment period was
opened, with no one in at
tendance.
The court reviewed and
approved the minutes for
Oct. 24.
Planning Department
Update: Planning Director
Carla McLane informed the
court that more research
will need to be conducted
regarding the code enforce
ment issue in the Heppner
area. McLane then pro
vided information on the
Administrative Draft for the
Environmental Assessment
(EA) that is being prepared
for the Carty Lateral proj
ect. The court learned that
they have been appointed as
a Special Advisory Group
(SAG) for several energy
projects (power generation
and transmission projects)
that are being processed
through the Oregon Dept,
o f Energy. McLane will
provide the court with the
entire list of projects at the
next court meeting.
The draft Environmen
tal Impact Statement for
the navy bombing range,
which will allow the use
of the range by the Oregon
National Guard, was dis
cussed. Public Works Di
rector Burke O’Brien pro
vided a letter regarding the
potential impacts to county
roads, which he would like
to see incorporated into
the county’s comments. A
lengthy discussion ensued
regarding some of the other
negative impacts that could
affect future development
both on and off the Bomb
ing Range property.
The court conducted
the follow ing business:
Reviewed and signed a let
ter of support for the Ambre
Energy (Coyote Island Ter
minal Application #49123),
a letter requesting Oregon
State University to fund the
4-H Program in Morrow
County and a letter to the
Navy requesting an exten
sion o f 30 days to com
ment on the Naval Weapons
Systems Training Facility
Boardman Draft Environ
mental Impact Statement.
Various correspondenc
es and upcoming meeting
notices were reviewed and
discussed.
rhis information is pro-
vided by Com m issioner
Leann Rea; anyone who
would like to receive Coun
ty Court minutes, contact
Karen Wolff at 541-676-
5620.
CITY
WASTEWATER
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
amount does not in
clude maintenance or moni
toring costs. It was also
determined that, because
the irrigation program is as
heavily monitored by the
DEQ as any other waste-
water program, this irriga
tion program could require
modifications or even be
disallowed after some time
and major investment.
“For these reasons, the
city will not be pursuing
this option and will be re
focusing on an ammonia-
reduction plant,” said a
city spokesperson. “It is a
disappointment that there
were so many obstacles,
and the city appreciates the
effort put forth from our
local farmers.”
SWCD to meet
SWCD closed Monday for holiday
The Morrow SWCD
will hold a regular board
meeting on Tuesday, Nov.
13, at 6 p.m. in the Ag
Service Center conference
room.
Agenda items include
m inutes o f the O ctober
2012 meeting, treasurer’s
report, staff reports, grants
update, partnership reports,
Accounts Receivable status.
director elections update, a
2013 puncturevine proposal
and a USDA lease discus
sion. There will be time for
public comments.
All meetings o f Mor
row SWCD are open to the
public.
O ur offices w ill be
closed Monday, Nov. 12,
in observance of Veteran's
Day.
Financial aid info
night planned
A financial aid night will be held in the Heppner
High School library on Nov. 14 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for
parents of students wanting to learn about financial aid
for their students.
A representative of Blue Mountain Community Col
lege will be there to cover the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA). All senior and junior parents along
with their students are encouraged to attend.
Irrigon, DEQ to
discuss groundwater
On Nov. 8 at 6 p.m.,
the Oregon D epartm ent
of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) will host a meeting
to talk about groundwater
in the Irrigon area.
The meeting on Nov.
8 will focus on providing
information on groundwa
ter and how it responds to
local land uses. DEQ rep
resentatives will be talking
about how groundw ater
gets in the ground, how it
moves, and how it can get
contaminated.
This meeting is likely
to be of interest to anyone
who has a well they use
for household use, crops,
maintaining livestock and
septic systems for waste-
water disposal.
The meeting will be
held at Stokes Landing
C om m unity and Senior
Center, 195 NW Opal Place,
Irrigon, OR. Call Sheree
Stuart at 503-229-5413 for
more information.
I