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)