Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2013)
I I Harvest yields improving, still below average Bessie Wetzell Newspaper l ibran University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 HEPPNER Pictured: Morrow County Crain (¡rowers employee Taylor Disque oversees the dumping of a load of v» heat at an MCGG grain elevator as harvest gets underway in Morrow County. Duane Disque of MCGG says harvest has moved to the Lexington area but that it may be as much as another week before it moves up around Heppner. He also says yields are improving as they get further into the season. “They’re still down below the county average but yields are a little better as they're coming in, better than (he eight to 20 (bushels) we were seeing last week,” says Disque. “It’s hard saying if we go further south toward Heppner if they'll get better." Disque said the yields were about what he expected but that he didn't know if they matched others’ expectations. “I don't know what everyone else was expecting—with no rain, and then frost damage—I don’t know if they were expecting in the 20s.” Photo by David Sykes VOL. 132 N 0 . 29 8 Pages Wednesday, July 17, 2013 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Courthouse crane lift to cause road closures The date for the crane to lift the clock tower and the bell off o f the Mor row County Courthouse in Heppner will be July 23. This date may be subject to change if weather condi- tions or other variables are not favorable. Northwest Crane Ser vice will bring in their 225- ton crane around 6 a m. and begin their set-up. If all goes well, the work should Speed limit changed on 207 south SPEED be completed well before noon. The courthouse will be closed all day on July 23 for the safety of the employees, the public and the contrac tor. There will be additional work to be completed after the clock tower has been removed; this work can be best completed while the courthouse is closed. Safety zones will be -See COURTHOUSE ROAD CLOSURES/PAGE FOUR Retired lineman recalls 40 years with Columbia Basin By David Sykes If you'd rather sit be hind a desk than work out side, then don't go near the job retiring Columbia Basin Electric lineman Bill M cDowell has held for the past 40 years. Whether rain or shine, snow or fog, McDowell has rolled out of bed each morning venturing out with his crew to make sure the rest of us have the electricity so important to our daily lives. And making sure we do have that electricity has always been the most sat- Retired lineman Bill McDowell in his earlier days with the co-op. isfy ing part of the job for -See MCDOW ELL RETIRES/ McDowell. PAGE SIX Boardman fire department not keeping up with Port construction Chief says more equipment and manpower needed ¿im . : - r For those who haven't noticed, the speed limit has changed on Highway 207 south out of Heppner, also known as the Condon Highw ay. A 45 mph speed zone now extends outside of the city limits, to just the other side of Willow Creek Rd. Local streets, sidewalk closed for construction Workers use heavy machinery to tear out sidewalks on Quaid street in Heppner. The street, currently closed to through traffic, is one of three current projects taking place in Heppner. -Contributedphoto Construction has begun on Quaid and Elder streets in Heppner. These streets are now closed to through traffic. Also, demolition has begun on the Baltimore walkway (the sidewalk be- tween Northwest RV park and library, leading to the elementary school). Residents are asked to note that the sidewalk is now closed. By David Sykes With all the econom ic activity at the Port of Morrow and new projects com ing down the road, the Boardman Rural Fire Protection District is go ing to need new equipment and people to meet the fire protection needs of the fu ture, Rural Fire Chief Marc Rogelstad told the Colum bia River Enterprise Zone (CREZ) Board of Directors at its meeting Monday. Rogelstad said the con struction of new facilities by ConAgra and, especially, VA Data, which is building new data centers at the Port of Morrow, is straining the fire department to its limit. In the future, he said, it will not have the equipm ent or personnel necessary to fight fires effectively at the Port. Rogelstad was at the CREZ meeting asking the board for a clear picture of the financial assistance the fire district may receive from CREZ now and into the future. He was asking the board because the zone was formed as an economic tool to entice new busi nesses and jobs to the Port of Morrow. It offers deals to businesses locating at the Port with lower “fees” Fair edition deadline July 31 The Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo are coming up. That means the yearly fair edi- tion of the Gazette-Times is also upon us. The G-T would like to remind everyone that the article and advertising deadline for the annual fair edition is July 31 at 5 p.m. Fair articles may be emailed to: editor@rapid serve.net. Fair advertise ments can be emailed to megan@rapidserve.net or sent to P.O. Box 337, Hep pner. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: M O NDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. instead of property taxes. The fees are paid directly to CREZ, which will in turn give the money to special taxing districts— such as the fire district—directly impacted by new construc tion, employees and activi ties at the Port. The Enterprise Zone has been very successful so far lining up. among others, new data centers and a large expansion of the ConAgra food processing facility. As fire chief, Rogelstad said he has kept an eye on construction to make sure his department can handle the expanded fire-fighting needs of the new facilities. “Right now I have only five volunteers 1 can rely on in this community (to respond and fight fires),” Rogelstad told the CREZ board. “ I have four paid staff but they were funded with grant money which has dried up.” He also said the new, taller buildings at the Port are beyond the reach of his current fire trucks and he needs a new $1 million- plus, 100-foot aerial fire -See BOARDMAN FIRE SEEKS CREZ FUNDS/PAGE SIX Workers ‘dig into’ fair preparation Heppner man Dale Bate* captured this picture of workers finalizing work on the Morrow County Fairgrounds water system to get it ready for the centennial fair Aug. 14-17. They were “really getting into it!” Bates said. 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