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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2014)
I Mustangs dominate Jags in season opener Bessie Wct/ell Newspaper l.ibrar> UimcrsitN of Oregon Eugene. Ò R 97403 VOL. 133 NO. 30 8 Pages Wednesday, September 10, 2014 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon MCSD to buy Boardman property for possible expansion District to sell or demolish Lexington School By April Sykes The Morrow County School Board, at its regu lar meeting Monday, ap proved the purchase o f a plot of land next to Windy River Elementary School in Boardman. MCSD Superintendent Dirk Dirksen said that the district is in the process of purchasing 7.75 acres of land for $196,000 from A1 Phillips. Dirksen said that in the event that a new school is needed in the future, the district thought it advisable that the property be near a current school rather than in a separate location. “We don’t want to have to locate another school som ew here else,” com mented Dirksen. who added that they don’t have a cur rent plan for possible ex pansion. MCSD Business Man ager Andy Fletcher said that they hope to have the deal done by the end of September. Also at the meeting, Fletcher told the board that the district is planning to advertise the old Lexington School building for sale. He said that the district has spoken with the Lexington Town Council concerning the matter. Fletcher said that if the district cannot find a buyer, they plan to “take the build ing down.” He said that one concern is to find the right buyer, so that the new owner would have the abil ity to maintain the building and not let it become even more dilapidated. “If we can't find a buy er,” said Fletcher, “we will work with the city (town of Lexington) to turn it into a recreation area for the kids. The kids in Lexington don’t have a park.” He said that because the building is 100 percent asbestos free, it probably could be demolished for around $60,000. , In related business, be cause the district will be losing storage space when the Lexington school build ing is sold or demolished, it has had to find alternate storage for records that have been housed there. Subsequently Fletcher has spoken with the Oregon State A rchiving D epart ment, which has agreed to take the records, which are books of pre-1940s atten dance records. Fletcher said he thought the district could transport the books to the archiving department in a pickup. The board also heard good news in terms of stu dent population. Dirksen said that the district has around 100 more students Mustang Tommy Bredfield (#42) makes a run with the ball while teammate C. J. Kindle (#24) fends off a Tri-Cities Prep Jaguar during last Friday's game in Hermiston. The Mustangs dominated the game from the beginning to a crushing 47-7 finish. -Photo by Sandra Putman -See fu ll story and more sports news, PAGE FOUR enrolled this September, compared to last year. He said that the increase has come “across the board”, so it will not create problems with space or staffing. In other business, the board: -learned from Dirksen that the district has hired Peggy Doherty of lone to fill the district's new posi tion of care coordinator. -heard from Dirksen that at least two MCSD high school students could earn associate’s degrees through the Eastern Promise Pro gram by the time they grad uate from high school in the spring. Through the program, students can earn college credits by passing certain approved classes. -heard from Assistant S uperintendent G eorge Mendoza about early learn ing programs that would as sist pre-school children and their parents. He said that grant monies are starting to flow to fund parent training and child safety programs, among others. Governor John Kitzhaber had earlier announced an expanded emphasis on education for children from birth, perhaps even prenatally, to college age. -h eard from board member Becky Kindle that Janet Dezellem has agreed to be appointed to a three- -See MCSD/PAGE FIVE Cutsforth Corner fire causes Housing grant program major property damage receives additional CREZ funding Willow Creek Economic Development Group to continue successful real estate purchasing program By David Sykes The Willow Creek Valley Economic Develop ment Group (WCVEDG) last week received ad ditional funding for its successful real-estate grant program. In April WCVEDG had received $50,000 from the Colum bia River Enterprise Zone (CREZ) for the “Residen tial Real Estate Revocable Grant Program” for South Morrow County. “The interest in par ticipating by individuals purchasing real estate has been outstanding and those funds have been exhaust ed.” WCVEDG president Ed Rollins said. He said WCVEDG was able to fund 10 grants for homes in the South Morrow County boundaries, resulting in six new residences and four rental homes. The economic devel opment group decided to go back to CREZ to ask for more money for the program, and last Friday was given the additional funding. “WCVEDG will now be able to continue to ac commodate buyers and investors who would like to take advantage of this grant opportunity,” Rollins said. “One of the biggest barriers to business devel opment in Morrow County is the lack of quality rental housing.” he added. The Residential Hous ing Program was devel- -See CREZ FUNDING/PAGE EIGHT A burned and twisted pile of metal is all that remains in the wake of last week's (ire, which came dangerously close to doing even more damage. -Photo by David Sykes A fire near Cutsforth Comer last week destroyed property but caused no injuries, reports Morrow County Sheriff’s Office. The fire started Tues day, Sept. 2, around 4:45 p.m. near the edge of Mar- quardt Rd., approximately a quarter mile north of Hwy 207. The cause of the fire is unknown. Landowner Jeff Cutsforth stated that he heard his dog bark and, when he looked out the window o f his home, he saw the fire. With w inds gusting to 25 mph, the fire was quickly driven to the west to consume a single-wide mo bile home, two sheds, five G-T motor vehicles and various pieces of farm equipment before fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze. In addition to the destruction of property, several acres of stubble also burned. All o f the property, with the exception o f two vehicles and the contents o f the single-wide trailer, is owned by the Cutsforth family. MCSO reports that the occupant of the mobile home was out o f state at the time, and has been con tacted. No estimate was avail able o f the value o f the damaged property. Fire units from Hep pner, lone, L exington, Boardm an and Irrigon, along with multiple neigh boring ranchers, responded to the scene. The sheriff s office said in a statement that a small white car described generi- cally as an “older hatchback or wagon” was seen leav ing the area northbound on Marquardt Rd. It is unclear if the vehicle was involved or not, but authorities say they would be interested in speaking to the occupants. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Mor Columbia River Enterprise Zone Chairman Don Russell (left) presents Willow Creek Valle} row County Sheriff’s Of Economic Development Group Director Sheryll Bates and President Ed Rollins a S45.000 check last week for renewed funding of the successful housing grant program. fice. The incident is still E3MD O F S E A S O N P L A N T SALE under investigation. to close early this Friday ■marro, gumne The H eppner G azette- will close at 11 a.m. that 15. We apologize for any Times will close early this day. Normal business hours inconvenience. Friday, Sept. 12. The office will resume Monday, Sept. A L L N E W S A N D A D V E R T ISE M E N T D EAD LIN E: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. BEREMNI im s M o rro w C o u n ty G rain G ro w ers G reen F eed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 jMCGG main ofnc«| I 1 t 1 f
