Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2013)
Coffee Hour host chosen St. Pat’s grand marshal Bessie wetzeii Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 j om Melton to lead r parade J for 31st Wee Bit O ' Ireland By A ndrea Di Salvo The grand marshal o f this y e a r ’s G reat G reen Parade is n ’t a native o f Heppner, but his face— and the 31s1 Wee Bit O 'Ireland his voice and ready wit— weekend. will be well-known to most "It’s embarrassing, but along the parade route. it's an honor,” says Melton, raised in the city. He gradu- ated from Pendleton High School in 1971 and then left for T reasure Valley A Coffee Hour all-star lineup featuring (L-R) Father Gerry Condon, Dominic Monahan, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden and Toni Melton. Melton has a long history of involvement with Heppner’s Wee Bit O’ Ireland celebration as yearly host of the KUM.A Coffee Hour. - Photo by Sandy Matthews VOL. 132 NO. 9 8 Pages Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Tom M elton, host o f the K.UMA Coffee Hour that broadcasts live from the Elk’s every year during the St. Patrick’s celebra tion, has been chosen as the parade grand marshal for Planner wants to see county benefit from energy projects Bv David Sykes Morrow County ner Carla McLane would like to see the people of Morrow County “reap the economic benefit” o f the many energy projects scheduled to be constructed here, she told the Willow Creek Val ley Economic De velopm ent Group (W CVEDG) at its annual meeting last week. M cL ane w as the featured speak er at the meeting, which also saw the group elect N an cy Snider as this y e a r ’s p resid en t. M o r r o w County Plan W CVEDG serves n e r C a r l a the South Morrow McLane, fea County area pro tured speaker. m oting econom ic development. Plan- McLane said there are up to 14 separate energy and other business devel opment projects coming to Morrow County over the next several years; we will be seeing an influx of, first, tem p o rary c o n stru c tio n workers, and then, hope fully, more permanent jobs as the projects are com pleted. She cited the Cas cade Crossing transmission. Coyote Springs substation. ficial chaps; OTPR Board, Q u e e n ’s o ffic ia l m ount bridle set and custom breast collar; and Willow Creek Storage, Q ueen’s official crown. “ It is sure to be a great evening o f good food, great people and great auction items,” says Court director Sylvia Sandford. “ Please come out and support our new queen.” For more information or tickets, call Sandford at 541-571-5930. Mustangs advance to quarterfinals Queen Krysten Powell The Mustang girls' basketball team huddles to formulate strat egy during the first-round battle against Vernonia last week. The Mustangs had a plan, and it showed, with a 62-33 victory catapulting them into the state quarterfinals in Pendleton. -Contributed photo The Heppner Mustangs traveled to Vernonia to play the NW League number- one team last Saturday. The outcome of the game was just what they needed to ad vance in the OSAA 2A state championship playoffs. In the first quarter, the erations and Rural Devel opment Support (CORDS) program. In 1968, after surviving an all-night siege during the TET offensive, Benge radioed for an air evacua tion o f American civilians in the area. He was captured by enemy forces while en route to notify four Ameri can teachers and several missionaries o f the planned evacuation. Benge spent the follow ing five years as a prisoner o f war in numerous camps in North and South Viet nam, Cambodia and Laos. During this time, he spent over two years in solitary confinement, one year in a black box and one year in a cage. Although a civilian, Benge served for a period o f tim e as the deputy to the senior ranking officer during their captivity at the “ Plantation G ardens” in Hanoi. After his release as part o f a prisoner exchange in 1973, Benge resumed his By A pril Sykes The Morrow County Health District Board, at their Feb. 25 m eeting in lone, pondered the prospect o f putting a tax levy before the voters once again. While the district has currently been doing well financially, board members voiced concern over numer ous looming issues, which could once again put the district at risk and necessi tate a supplemental levy. Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney expressed concern over a possible elimination o f the district’s current status o f cost-based reim bursem ent for c riti cal access hospitals. This means that now the district lone native Michael “Butch” Benge (far left) was recently is reimbursed for Medicare awarded POW and Purple Heart medals for his service in patient services at a rate Vietnam. -Contributedphoto » career w ith U SA ID . He served another 33 years before retiring in 2006. B 0 I ' Ml P '• The medals Benge received earlier this month. -Contrib uted photo Mustangs jumped out to a 15-9 lead. Things cooled off for the Mustangs as the Loggers fought back into the contest to pull ahead 23- 21 with two minutes to go in the second quarter. Bas- -See MUSTANG BASKET BALL/PAGE THREE Health district board contemplates supplemental levy USAID honors lone native lone native M ichael “Butch” Benge was hon ored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (U SA ID ) on Wednesday, Feb. 13, in W ashington, DC. Benge, a retired For eign Service Officer, re ceived the Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medals for his sacrifice in the line o f duty. Benge is the son o f the late Terrel and Mary Benge. He grew up in the Heppner/ lone area and graduated from lone High School. His niece, Teresa Hughes Bedortha, still lives in the area and his nephew, Terry Hughes, lives in La Grande, OR. Benge now resides in Falls church, VA. Benge joined USAID in 1965 and was posted to Vietnam as a Provincial Development Officer based in the central highlands o f South Vietnam. He served simultaneously as a senior civilian advisor on the joint civilian-military Civil Op -See GRAND M ARSHAL/ PAGE FIVE -See ENERGY PROJEt 7 S PAGE SIX Morrow County Fair and OTPR Queen coronation to be held royalty’s 9151 year. Queen Krysten Powell anticipates a great year, with many ap pearances, parades, rodeos and fairs. She has been at tending several neighboring counties’ royalty corona tions already this winter. She says she is excited to get started with her local appearances, as well. M ajo r sp o n so rs for the queen are: C om m u n ity B ank, Q u e e n ’s o f ficial belt buckle; MCGG/ Green Feed, Q ueen's of Community College in On tario, OR to study business a d m in istratio n , the only three years o f his life that he would live away from his Carty gas-generating plant, UEC wind farm, and Ella Butte and Heppner Wind wind farms, as well as vari ous data farms, substations and other projects at the Port of Morrow, as to what is coming to the county. McLane said last year w hen w orking w ith the various project develop ers, each one said they had Harvesting 100 years of memories from the MoCo Fair The annual M orrow County Fair and Oregon T rail Pro R odeo Q ueen Coronation dinner and auc tion w ill take place this Saturday, M arch 2. Fes tivities will begin at 6 p.m. and will include a prime rib and chicken dinner, dessert dash, open bar, silent and live auction, entertainment and more at the Morrow county Fairgrounds. This year, the county is celebrating the fair’s 100,h year, and the rodeos and " It’s a wonderful experi ence to be part of (the St. Patrick’s celebration) even if I’m not the grand mar shal.” Melton is a true Pend leton, OR native, born and w hich ap p ro x im ates the costs the district expends to provide these services. Pri or to receiving the critical access hospital cost-based reimbursement designation, the district faced dissolu tion and imminent closure. Mahoney said she fears this could happen again. “ If c o st-b a se d reim bursement goes away, we’ll be in serious, serious trou ble,” she added. A n o th er u n c e rta in ty is concerning Obamacare. At this juncture, no one re ally knows how a national health plan will affect pa tients' insurance plans and M edicare and M edicaid reimbursements to clinics and small hospitals. -See HEALTH D ISTRICT/ PAGE SEVEN GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER: ALL WINTER CLOTHING IN STOCK MUST GO 20% off • Insulated Coveralls r< • Coats • Pac Boots & More M orrow County Grain Growers Green F eed & S eed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGO main office)
