Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2013)
Getting ready to celebrate the centennial Eugene, OR 97403 4-H Ambassador Stacee Halvorsen of lone puts some finishing touches on a display in the 4-H Annex on Monday in preparation for the Morrow County Fair in Heppner. Morrow County’s centennial fair takes place this week, Aug. 14-17. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo VOL, 132 N O . 33 10 Pages Wednesday, August 14, 2013 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon School district to grade based on proficiency, not behavior New food standards also set in place By April Sykes The Morrow County School Board, at its August 12 meeting in Heppner, voted to put policy in place that student grading will be on a proficiency basis, not taking into account student m isbehavior or absentees. In other words, if a student can pass the proficiency tests, regardless of his behavior or number of absences, then he will pass. Also at the meeting, S u p e r in te n d e n t D irk Dirksen swore in new board member Rhonda Hamby, -See MCSD SETS GRADING STANDARDS/PAGE SEVEN New Morrow County School Board member Rhonda Hamby (left) and returning members Thad Killingbeck (second from left) and Barney Lindsay (right) were sworn in at the last MCSD meeting in Heppner. Also on the board is Becky Kindle (second from right). -Photo by April Sykes OHV Peeping Tom pled on ‘attem pted’ invasion o f privacy Confession suppressed based on technicalities By Andrea Di Salvo It has been a little more than a year since the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office arrested Morrow/ G rant OHV Park host John Earl McBride, 55, on multiple counts of Invasion o f Privacy and Criminal Mischief II. What happened after that could be termed a legal tap-dance, with the lawyers maneuvering over McBride’s fate. For those unfamiliar with the case, early in July 2012, M CSO R eserve D eputy Todd Siex was contacted by individuals who were using the park showers; the men reported to Siex that they had located holes in the shower stalls. More investigation revealed that the holes were drilled so an observer standing on the other side of the wall, in the maintenance area of the though she was to remain bathroom/shower facilities, fully clothed. Meanwhile, could see into the shower D etec tiv e K aren D ike stalls. observed from a distance. In addition, a She saw McBride w om an o bserved entering the M cBride entering maintenance space; the m a in ten a n ce Dike then opened area after individuals the door and caught wen t into the McBride in the act showers and exiting o f peeping through a g a i n a f t e r t he J o h n E a r l one o f the drilled McBride people were finished holes. Dike arrested in the shower area. M cB rid e on the McBride, o f Pilot Rock, scene. was a contract vendor acting That was when things as the camp host at the got sticky. Morrow/Grant OHV Park. Dike cuffed McBride He had had that position and, according to court as a contract vendor for the records, escorted him to past two seasons. the office, not yet having Based on t h e advised him of his Miranda information gathered by rights. On the way, McBride Siex, Reserve Deputy Keri started to talk, confessing, Jarm er was assigned to police said, not only to his check into the park and -See OHV PEEPING TOM/ use the bathroom shower, PAGE FOUR Hermiston business owner the ‘ticket’ Electric rates to increase Oct. 1 to a night out for Morrow Ag youth By Andrea Di Salvo Morrow County 4-H and FFA m em bers will get a night at the rodeo this year, thanks to an area business owner. Lou Lyons—who gave his age as “just old”— is the owner of Elmer’s Irrigation & Supplies in Hermiston. He said he has purchased 200 tic k e ts to F riday ev en in g ’s perform ance o f the Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo in Heppner, to be handed out to 4-H and FFA m em bers who are showing or exhibiting in the Morrow County Fair this year. He said it doesn’t matter whether they show liv e sto c k or hom e ec projects; what matters is giving these hard-working kids a night off. “ I ’ve been involved with FFA and 4-H for years and they tie in together with the rodeo and them being at the fair,” said Lyons. “It just gives them a break, with them being there all week. Gives them an opportunity to do something.” It’s a project Lyons has undertaken for more than a decade in Umatilla County. He s a i d he w a s approached by the rodeo there in 2000; he began buying tick ets for the U m atilla County youth that year and has been doing so ever since, to the tune of around 400 tickets per year. He said he provides this for the FFA and 4-H kids specifically because he believes in the programs. “ The p rogram s are great. It gives the kids the opportunity to do something positive,” said Lyons. In U m atilla County, the Farm City Pro Rodeo holds a “ Youth and Ag Night” every year. Not only are tickets given for 4-H and FFA youth to attend the rodeo, but E lm er’s Irrigation sponsors a “calf dressing” contest in which calves are turned loose in the arena and the youth have to chase them down, put t-shirts on them and bring them back to the circle. “ I t ’s a fun event . Basically we’re trying to acknowledge the children who are doing the FFA and 4-H,” said Lyons. Just this year, Lyons said, he started to wonder Buchholz leaving ranger district for Coos Bay T o d d B u c h h o l z , day to be Sept. 5, though Umatilla National Forest he says putting out fires Heppner District in the di s t r i ct — Ranger , will be literally—will keep leaving his post next him working until * the very end. month. B uchholz h as a c c e p t e d a He and his wife, position with the Jean, are moving to Bur eau o f Land Todd Buchholz Coos Bay mainly to M a n a g e m e n t in be closer to family, Coos Bay as Umpqua Area Buhholz said, though he Field Manager, effective looks forw ard to being Sept. 9. closer to “the w et.” He Buccholz, 57, moved added that another incentive to Heppner in his role as is that Jean may be able to district ranger in May of return to teaching college- 2010. He expects his last level math at the local » community college there. She, like her husband, is active in the community, starting and leading a local yoga group, volunteering time working with gifted and talented math students at Heppner High School, and playing saxophone in the pep band. “Heppner was my first ranger gig, and it’s been wonderful,” Buchholz said. “People in town have been very welcoming, friendly -See RANGER LEAVING/ PAGE TWO why he had never done s o me t h i n g s i mi l a r in Morrow County. I come down there and buy animals at the animal sale. I thought maybe it was time we did it down there,” he said. With that in mind, he approached FFA advisor Beth D ick en so n , even inviting Dickenson and a few others to Hermiston to see the Youth and Ag Night in action. “I wasn’t sure what to expect; it was hilarious,” said Dickenson, who said she attended the Hermiston Rodeo event with a 4-H advisor. “ It was great entertainm ent. The kids were really enthusiastic; -See AG YOUTH NIGHT/ PAGE THREE B o n n e v i l l e P o w er A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ha s announced a 9 percent who l e s a l e po we r rate increase and an 11 percent transmission rate increase effective Oct. 1,2013. BPA says it needs the rate increase to support improvements to the federal hydropower and transmission systems. “I recognize the rate increase will be challenging for customers,” said Elliot Mai nzer , BPA Ac t i ng A dm inistrator, “ but the increases are necessary so that we can preserve the long-term value of the federal hydro-generation system and the high voltage transmission lines that serve the Pacific Northwest.” The power rate increase stems from higher cost to operate and maintain the hydro system, higher long term fish and wildlife costs, and reduced revenues from surplus power sales due to lower surplus market prices. For transmission customers, the rate increase stem s from a grow ing c o n s t r u c t i o n pr o g r a m driven by the need to repair and replace aging transmission facilities and increased spending on government and security requirements. Jerry Healy. Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative Manager, said, “The Board of Directors will carefully r e v i e w the i nc r e as ed power and transm ission cost from BPA and allocate these costs based on a -See ELECTRIC RATE IN- CREASE/PAGE THREE Heppner announces upcoming construction schedule The city o f Heppner has a n n o u n c e d th at construction will be halted on Elder and Quaid streets in Heppner Thursday, Aug. 15, and Friday, Aug. 16, to allow for through traffic on these streets during fair and rodeo. T h e s i d e w a l k at Ba l t i mo r e from Main Street to the grade school will continue to be closed in preparation for new sidewalks and retaining walls, -See HEPPNER CON- STRUCTION/PAGE SEVEN M o n ta n a Silver OflOyC ABE 4 MONTANA’ / n l l l i p .UJsiLVF.RSMITHS Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed A Seed 242 W. Linden Why, Heppner • «76-9422 • 989-8221 (MCOQ main ofltca)
