Clock tower removed
for renovation
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Libraiy
University of Oregon
Eugene. OR l)7403
HEPPNER
VOL. 132
N 0. 30
8 Pages
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
TREO branches out to
bike tours
By David Sykes
Known m ainly as a
b ird -h u n tin g b u sin ess,
Tours and Recreation of
Eastern Oregon (TREO)
has now branched out to
offer bicycle tours on the
roads o f South Morrow
County, company owner
and founder Phil Carlson
told the Heppner Chamber
of Commerce last week.
For the past 25 years
Carlson and his wife Kathy
have offered visitors to
his hunting lodge top-
quality bird hunting and
accommodations. However,
with the fee-hunting bird
season lasting only six
months o f the year, the
business went looking for
ways to expand, and they
hit upon the idea of offering
guided and supported bike
riding tours around the
roads of Eastern Oregon.
But first Phil had to
find some customers. So,
he did what worked when
building his bird hunting
business; he went to where
G-T receives investigative
journalism award
Phil Carlson speaks to the Chamber of Commerce about his
latest venture, hosting bike riding tours. He is holding a picture
of a group of bicyclists at his lodge near Heppner. - Photo by
David Sykes
the customers are.
“In June and July of
2012 we went to Portland
and, in one day, went to
eight different companies,
bike stores and bike pubs,”
he says in promoting his
new business.
C arlso n ad m its he
didn't know much about the
bird-hunting business when
he got into that, nor much
about bike tours when he
launched his new venture.
“ 1 d id n ’t even hunt
when 1 started TREO, and
there was a steep learning
curve,” he explains.
In p re p a ra tio n for
the bike riders, he took a
class in bike repair, a bit
of a switch from the diesel
-See BICYCLE TOURS/
PAGE FIVE
Driver dies in crash
attempting to elude police
A crumpled car and crumpled newspapers were all that
remained of Byron Kincade’s deadly attempt to elude police
last week. Kincade, of Ephrata, WA, died when the vehicle
he had stolen rolled off Hwy. 207 in Morrow County. -Photo
byOSP
A 3 7 - y e a r o ld
W ashingto n man died
early Thursday morning
when he crashed a stolen
vehicle as he attempted to
elude a Stanfield Police
Officer along Highway 207
southbound near Pine City
in Morrow County. The
victim had stolen the car
about an hour earlier when
it was temporarily parked
at the Pilot Truck Stop in
Stanfield while the driver
was delivering newspapers.
O re g o n S ta te P o lic e
(OSP) is investigating the
fatal traffic crash at the
request of Stanfield Police
Department and Morrow
County SherifTs Office.
A cc o rd in g to OSP
Sergeant Sterling Hall, on
July 18 around 4:13 a.m., a
newspaper delivery person
stopped at the Pilot Truck
Stop in Stanfield, leaving
the car unlocked with keys
inside as he dropped off
USA Today newspapers.
While he was away from
the vehicle, someone stole
it and drove away.
A S ta n fie ld p o lice
officer was called out from
his residence to take a
report. Shortly after arriving
at the truck stop and while
taking the report, the stolen
vehicle was spotted driving
past the truck stop. Officer
Mike Elwood got into his
patrol car and attempted
to stop the stolen vehicle.
The driver failed to yield
and attempted to elude the
-SEE CAR CHASE ENDS IN
FATAL CRASH/PAGE FOUR
Fair edition deadline July 31
The Morrow County tion of the Gazette-Times the article and advertising
Fair and Oregon Trail Pro is also upon us.
deadline for the annual fair
Rodeo are coming up. That
The G-T would like edition is July 31 at 5 p.m.
means the yearly fair edi to remind everyone that
I
(
Top: A large crane pulls the
clock tower off the historic
Morrow County Courthouse
Tuesday morning. Earlier in
the morning, despite upward
pressure of 4,200 lbs. by the
large crane, the clock refused
to break free. C o n tracto rs
worked to free it up, however,
and it later came off. The clock
will be taken to the form er
Kinzua Mill site near Heppner,
where it will be rehabilitated
and then put back onto the
courthouse. Right: Spectators
got up early Tuesday morning,
some bringing lawn chairs, to
watch the clock tower on the courthouse being removed for renovation. -Photos by David Sykes
The Heppner Gazette-
Times won first-place for
investigative journalism
at the Oregon Newspaper
P ublishers A ssociation
(ONPA) awards convention
held last week at Gleneden
Beach.
The s ta t e - w i d e
aw ard was given for a
series of articles run last
September about the federal
government’s construction
shut down of a Buttercreek
wind farm. The articles
were written by publisher
David Sykes, and detailed organization and our peers
the actions o f a little- in the journalism business.”
known government agency S ykes said fo llo w in g
called The Committee on announcement of the award.
Foreign Investment in the
Founded in 1887, the
United States (CFIUS), ONPA is a professional
which stopped
a s s o c i a t i o n of
construction of the
the s ta te ’s dai l y
wind farm following
and n o n d a i l y
its purchase by a
paid-circulation
Chinese company.
n ew spapers. The
“ It is v e r y
Gazette-Times,
satisfy in g to see David Svkes which was founded
the w ork o f our
in 1883, was judged
newspaper recognized by among other newspapers of
the sta te ’s professional its circulation size.
Heppner church reaches
out with helping hand
By Andrea Di Salvo
He p p n e r r e s i de nt s
wi l l have no t r oubl e
rem em bering the storm
that blew through the area
last Decem ber, rippi ng
apart roofs and felling trees,
including the trees in front
of Sue Mecham's home on
Court Street. Most won’t
know what Paul Harvey
would have called, “ ...the
rest of the story.”
Last Friday, volunteers
from the Heppner Church
of the Nazarene showed up
with tools in hand to clear
away what was left of the
w reckage at 260 Court
Street. Two of Mecham’s
trees had blown down in
the December storm, taking
out part of Mecham 's fence
and her neighbor's; the
trees also felled phone lines
and blocked part of Court
Street. Century Tel and the
City of Heppner showed up
almost immediately to clear
Sue Mccham (center) with Pastor Norman Lee and Wanda
Lee of the Nazarene church. -Contributedphoto
the street and fix broken
phone lines, but that still
left wreckage in Mecham’s
yard. That problem was
partly solved when two
local men, both members of
the Wenberg family, offered
to cut up the trees and
remove them for firewood,
“ They t o o k the
beginning o f the mess. I
couldn't even get out of my
driveway until they took
it away,” Mecham says,
-See CHURCH LENDS A
HAND/PAGE FIVE
H arvest H ours -
M onday - F riday - 7 a m - 6
S aturday - 7 am- 5 pm
CLOSED SUNDAY
M o r r o w C o u n ty G r a in G r o w e r s
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