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Sewer fees to increase
$1; late paym ent to $5
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Libran
university o f Oregon
Eugene. OR 97403
By David Sykes
Heppner residents will
be paying more for their
sewer service, as well as
paying more if they pay
late, the city council said
last Monday.
At its regular monthly
meeting June 10, the coun
cil voted to raise sewer fees
from the current $28.10 per
month to $29.10 per month,
an increase that has been
planned for some time. At
the meeting the council also
wanted to raise the amount
it would charge if bills are
paid after the 10,h of the
month, from the current 1.5
percentage fee to a flat $5;
however, that was tabled
until next month on the
advice of the city attorney,
who said a city ordinance
would have to be changed.
The one dollar increase
in sewer fees, which the city
utility commission had also
recommended, goes into
effect July 1. Currently,
late fees are based on the
amount of the bill at a rate
of 1.5 percent per month,
and city m anager Kim
Cutsforth told the council
VOL. 132
N 0. 25 8 Pages
Wednesday, June 19,2013
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
W agenblast retires
after 18 years
By Andrea Di Salvo
Long-time lone teach
er’s aide Vicki Wagenblast
retired last week, finishing
up 18 years working with
kindergarten through sixth-
graders at lone Community
School.
Wagenblast, 62, was
bom in The Dalles, OR and
raised in nearby Sherman
County. Though people
in South Morrow County
consider this small-town
living, Wagenblast says life
in Sherman County took
small to a different level.
“Here 1 say, ‘I'm from
Lexington,”’ Wagenblast
shares. “People from Sher
man County don’t say, “I’m
from Moro’ or ‘I’m from
Kent.’ We say, ‘I’m from
Sherman County,’ because
it’s so tiny.”
In fact, she spent her
first- through eighth-grade
years going to school in
the town o f Kent, one of
a class o f four. She then
attended Sherman Coun
ty High School in Moro,
graduating in 1969. She
went on to attend a term at
Oregon State University in
Corvallis and two terms at
Blue Mountain Community
College in Pendleton, OR.
Retiring lone teacher’s aide Vicki Wagenblast was honored
with roses and remembrances at a school assembly at the end
of the school year. -Contributedphoto
She says she had plans to
become a secretary but,
looking back, should have
had a different goal.
“I should have gone for
teaching because I really
enjoy it,” she says.
Instead, in 1970, she
married high-school sweet
heart Steve Wagenblast,
whom she had met at a live
stock show in The Dalles
when she was 15. They had
three children, Amy, David
and Becky, and Wagenblast
settled down to work as a
mother and farm wife on
the family’s Lexington-area
ranch. It wasn’t until their
youngest child left for col
lege that she set her sights
on full-time work outside
the farm.
In September of 1995,
Wagenblast took the job as
instructional aide for lone
Community School, then
part of the Morrow County
School District. She also
helped out from time to
time at the high school,
where she often knew the
teens from their time at the
elementary level.
“I really enjoyed being
a teacher’s aide; it was lots
-See WAGENBLAST RE-
T1 RES/PAGE FOUR
Rattlesnakes on the rise?
By Andrea Di Salvo
This month, Heppner
will lose another beloved
elementary school teacher,
Karen Smith-Griffith. Her
last official day with Mor
row County School District
is June 30, but she said
farewell to her last class
on June 7. The 56-year-old
has been teaching in Mor
row County since 1987,
when she moved here from
Spray.
S m ith-G riffith was
born and raised in Hood
River, OR and graduated
from Hood River Valley
High School in 1975. She
went on to attend Oregon
College of Education, now
Western Oregon Univer
sity, in Monmouth, OR.
She obtained a Bachelor of
Science degree in elemen
tary education in 1979 and
started teaching in Spray
that same year. She also
started pursuing a graduate
degree in special education
at the University of Oregon.
She took classes during
the summers and eventu
-See CITY COUNCIL
RAISES SEWER RATES/
PAGE FIVE
ally obtained her Master of students.
Education degree.
Smith-Griffith says she
While living in Spray, looks back and sees value
she married husband John in the variety of teaching
Griffith; they have been experience she’s had.
married for nearly
“Because I’ve
31 years and have
taught from kin
one son, Aaron.
dergarten through
After moving
12lh grade, the posi
•to Heppner 26 years
tive aspects of all
ago, Smith-Griffith
the different levels
started out teaching
have been enlight
Karen Smith-
special education C Griffith
ening,” she says.
at the high school
“ I ’ve p ro b a b ly
level in Heppner
learned as much
and lone. She taught special from kids as, hopefully,
education for the next 10 they learned from me.”
years before transferring
With free time ahead
to elementary education in of her, Smith-Griffith says
Heppner.
she has plans for a lot of
She’s been at Hepp home projects.
ner Elementary ever since,
“I plan to refinish some
teaching a variety of grades. furniture, do some painting
While most of her time was and stripping of wallpaper,”
spent teaching fifth and she says.
sixth grades, she also spent
She also hopes to see
a couple of years teaching her family in Hood River
third and fourth grades, and a little more, and do a little
finished her career this year traveling. That includes a
teaching third and sixth, as trip to New York later this
well as Title I, which con month.
sisted mostly of kindergar -See SMITH-GRIFFITH RE-
TIREMENT/PAGE TWO
ten through second-grade
Sandford wins 2013-14
OHSR title
L illian S andford, a
senior at Heppner High
School, has won the title of
Miss Oregon High School
Rodeo 2013-2014 at the
state high school finals
held in Prineville last week.
Sandford is the daughter of
Rick and Sylvia Sandford,
and older sister to Ivy, all
of lone.
Sandford was the reign
ing 2012-13 Miss Oregon
High School Rodeo and
competed with two other
young ladies to retain her
crown. She competed in
impromptu questions, per
sonal interview, written
test, speech, modeling and
horsemanship. Only three
categories were awarded,
and Sandford won all o f
them: interview, horseman
ship and speech.
T his year, O regon
named a first attendant, who
will represent Oregon at the
Silver State International
Rodeo held in Nevada June
30-Juiy 6. Sam Wymer, a
junior from Canby, OR will
be attending that pageant
and rodeo. She also won
the Spirit Award for the
pageant. Natalie Scotto
was awarded the People’s
Choice award for the most
votes on her picture on
the association’s Facebook
page.
“Now we have to start
packing and preparing for
the trip to Rock Springs,
WY, where I will be com
peting for the title of Miss
National High School Ro
deo Association. We leave
Miss Oregon High School
Rodeo 2013-14, Lillian Sand
ford
July 10 to be there by July
12 for check-in with my
horse and to pick up our
contestant packet,” said
Sandford. “ I am selling
-See SANDFORD MISS
OHSR/PAGE THREE
KID MACHINE!
Polaris 2013 RZR 170
You can own it fo r $85/month
$0 down 6.99% 60 months O.A.C.
Age 12+ approved
ALL NEW S AND ADV ER TISEM ENT DEADLINE:
L
on park usage and let the
city manager handle the
requests.
“Is it necessary for peo
ple to come to the council to
ask for park usage?” Mayor
Joe Perry asked.
The council heard a
report from Judy Buschke
o f the Heppner Housing
Authority, who said the
St. Patrick’s Senior Cen
ter would be starting on
its heating and cooling
overhaul. She said Hep
pner H eating w ould be
doing the work. She said
a crane would pick up the
old unit off the roof and
place the new one. Total
cost of the project is going
to be $22,840. Buschke also
said there are currently two
vacancies at the apartments
with “no prospects.”
In a report from city
Public Works Director Chad
Doherty, he told the council
that, during the school’s
recent Mustang Mop-Up,
with the help of students the
city was able to rehab seven
Heppner teacher to
retire after 26 years
Residents in South Morrow have reported teeing what many believe is an unusual number of
rattlesnakes this spring, though Steve C herry of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
says he can’t verify if that’s the case. “ It’s not something we keep track of as an agency,” says
Cherry. “ I have heard people talk about them, mentioning seeing a few more than normal this
year. We haven't received any complaints.” Above: Bull snakes like this one are often mistaken
for rattlers at first glance, hut distinctive markings— most obviously the telltale rattles— can
be used to distinguish the two. -Contributedphoto
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
this is not even enough to
cover the cost of rebilling.
She said the average late
fee is between $1.18 and
$2 now.
In other action, the
council agreed to close city
hall on the day after July 4
and give the employees an
unpaid day oft'. Employees
who wished could use that
day as a paid vacation day,
however.
In other action, the
council approved an ani
mal permit for Elfred and
Pamela Williams at 195
S. Main in Heppner, al
lowing them to have 15
chickens, three turkeys
and two ducks. Cutsforth
said the Williams would be
given two weeks to get rid
of their roosters, however,
since there had been noise
complaints. The birds are
all kept in cages.
The council approved
usage of the city park on
July 28 and August 25 from
5-7 p.m. for use o f Mu
sic in the Parks program.
The council also discussed
discontinuing the require
ment for city council action
Morrow
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