I
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Libran
University o f Oregon
Eugene. OR 97403
Lightning strike ends in
friendship, not tears
imes
VOL. 133
NO. 266
8 Pages
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Heppner raises a ruckus
PH?""--------
By Andrea Di Salvo
An lone couple had a
close call from a lightning
strike last week, but their
greatest memory is of the
kindness of their neighbors.
Gerald Wilson, 85, of
lone says he and his wife
Linda were at home last
Tuesday, July 22, when
the storm moved in around
7 p.m. The first thing he
recalls is the sound.
“There was a great big
boom, a hell of a lightning
strike and a thunderclap,
and it sounded like it was This teardrop-shaped black spot on the earth is the only sign
that remains of the fire that threatened the homes of Gerald
-See LIGHTNING STRIKE/
and Linda Wilson and their neighbor Bob Perry. The Wilsons’
PAGE TWO home sits down and to the left of the burn, while Perry’s home
is down and to the right. Wilson said the fire was only about
an eighth of a mile from their house. -Photo by David Sykes
Electric co-op
announces
retirement, promotion
The Board of Directors cooperatives in The Dalles.
of Columbia Basin
Wolff and his wife
Electric Cooperative
K aren re s id e in
has a n n o u n ce d
Heppner.
that Thomas Wolff
C u r r e n t
has been selected
M an ag er Jerry
to succeed Jerry
H ealy is retirin g
Healy as the utility’s
after 33 years with
general m anager, Thomas Wolff th e u ti lit y . He
follow ing a five-
started his career
month national search and with CBEC as an Assistant
recruitment process. The Office Manager in February
appointment is effective 1981, working his way up
Sept. 1.
the administrative ranks.
Wolff has been
He was promoted
employed with the
to manager on Sept.
co-op for 15 years
1, 1998. Healy has
as the M an ag er
served on several
o f F in a n c e and
in d u s try -re la te d
A d m in is tra tio n .
state and regional
W olff, who was
organizations and
raised in Heppner,
forums.
is a n O r e g o n Jerry Healy
Healy and his
S tate U n iv ersity
wife Carmen look
graduate and earned his forward to some travel,
CPA (C e rtifie d P u b lic , w a rm e r w in te rs , and
Accountant) license while enjoying the upcoming birth
au d itin g rural e lectric of their first grandchild.
Chip-sealing planned
on Hager
The City of Heppner will begin chip-sealing on Hager
Street Thursday, July 31. The project is scheduled for
completion Monday, Aug. 4. Hager Street will be closed
to all through traffic, but the contractor will be able to
accommodate local residents. This will be the final phase
of the city’s beautification project.
Locals and visitors alike gathered for the chance to raise a
ruckus at the first Ruckus in the Boonies music festival in
Heppner last Saturday (top). The featured performers
weren’t the only highlights of the event. Above, an enthusias
tic Megan Futter (center) was the winner of the white trash
costume contest, while at right, Rita Glover (center) tries to
keep a tally of the wieners being consumed during the hot dog
eating contest. -Photos by Tylynn Cimmiyotti
New SAGE Center
manager visits
chamber o f commerce
Federal Appeals Court finds Obama’s
wind farm decision unconstitutional
Editor snote: Thefollowing
article was published
on the North American
Windpower website (http://
w w w ’. nawindpower. com/)
July 24, 2014 The article
refers to a wind project
on Buttercreek in Morrow
County.
The
Obama
Administration
stopped
construction o f the wind
farm following its purchase
by a Chinese company. The
Gazette-Times printed a
series o f articles about the
shut-down.
By CJ.Voss
In a surprise ruling
issued last week, a U.S.
appeals court held that
President Barack Obama
had
unconstitutionally
deprived
a
Chinese-
controlled buyer, Ralls
Corp., of its property rights
in four wind farm projects
by forcing it to divest
that property for national
security reasons.
This
case
arises
from Ralls’ March 2012
acquisition of four project
companies
that
were
formed to develop wind
farms in north central
Oregon (on Buttercreek
in
Morrow
County).
The project companies’
assets included easements
permitting the construction
of
wind
turbines,
power
purchase and
generator interconnection
agreements
with the
local utility, transmission
interconnection
agreements with nearby
wind farms, and the
permits and approvals
necessary to construct the
turbines.
Ralls had challenged
the presidential order
that had been issued in
connection with a review
of foreign investment
by the Committee on
Foreign Investment in the
United States (CFIUS),
an
interagency
U.S.
government body charged
with assessing the potential
national security effects
of foreign acquisitions of
U.S. businesses.
The appeals court
explained that, in the
Ralls Corp.'s right to build wind turbines like this along
CFIUS
context,
due
Buttercreek is still in contention. File photo
By David Sykes
New SAGE C enter
Manager
K alie D avis
paid a visit to
the H eppner
C h am b er o f
Commerce
recen tly and
told members
a b o u t
upcoming
e v e n t s a nd
c u r r e n t
activities
g oi ng on at
the interactive
visitor center
l o c a t e d on
Interstate 84
in Boardman.
Davis said
the center has
b e e n b u s y SAGE Center Manager Kalie Davis visited
preparing for the Heppner Chamber o f Commerce
a c o u p l e o f luncheon recently to talk about what’s going
events for the on at the center. -Photo by David Sykes
p u b l i c . On
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
-See SAGE AT CHAMBER/
-See WIND FARM APPEAL/ Aug. 22 and 23 there will
PAGE THREE
PAGE FIVE be Tillamook Cheese Days
process requires that the
investor be informed of
the official action, be given
access to the unclassified
evidence on which the
president relied in making
his decision, and be
granted an opportunity to
rebut that evidence.
Although the ruling
did not challenge the
president’s
substantive
determination that the Ralls
transaction threatened U.S.
national security or his
decision to block Ralls’
operation and ownership
of the wind farms as a
means to mitigate the
threat, it likely will result
in a more transparent and
fairer national security
review process of foreign
investment in the U.S.
Appeals C ourt Decision
The
wind
farm
projects acquired by Ralls
were located adjacent to
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