Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2014)
I TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 1,2014 From the North Em Boardman ranked in the 30 safest cities in Oregon The SafeWise Report released its “30 Safest Cit ies in Oregon” report this week. Boardman came in at number 22 on the list. Baker City came in at num ber one while, more locally, Umatilla made the list at number 10. To compile this report, SafeWise used the most recent FBI crime data from 2012 to analyze and rank these cities, which all have a minimum population of 2,500 people. They looked at crim es from part one of the FBI Unified Crime Report (UCR) reported crime data, which focuses on violent crimes (aggra vated assault, forcible rape, murder and robbery) as well as property crimes (arson, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft). From there, they calculated the chances o f these crimes happening out of a thou sand in order to level the playing field for cities of varying populations. From all the cities in Oregon, they narrowed the list down to 30 and assigned rankings according to data provided by the FBI's UCR report. “These Oregon cities really exemplify what it means to be a close-knit community,” SafeWise se curity analyst Rebecca Ed wards said. “Half of the cit ies on our list had less than 10 violent crimes reported in 2012. Being a commu nity o f trustw orthy law enforcement and friendly neighbors who look out for each other really makes a difference.” To see the full list go to http://w w w .safew ise. com/blog/30-safest-cities- Oregon/. SafeW ise is a com munity-focused security organization that is the source for everything safety and security. They help residents compare security providers so they can best protect their homes the way they want to. The SafeWise Report provides resources to help make homes and communities a safer place, rhey provide home security tips and tools, as well as the most recent news in the safety industry. Visit http:// www.safewise.com/home- security/or for more helpful safety resources. Boardman high school to benefit from Oregon GEAR UP grant Riverside Jr./Sr. High School in Boardman will be one of more than 20 rural schools to benefit from an Oregon GEAR UP grant, the InterMountain ESD has announced. Oregon will receive $2.6 million a year for seven years for college readiness initiatives as part of the statewide GEAR UP program, the U.S. Department of Education announced last week. Oregon GEAR UP, which is an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is a federally-funded college access and success program that increases the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. As part of Oregon State University’s Office of Precollege Programs, Oregon GEAR UP works with cohorts of middle and high school students over a period of seven years to meet their specific educational needs. Services and activities include academic tutoring, financial literacy, FAFSA completion, college tours, and parent engagement programs, among others. GEAR UP serves students starting in seventh grade and follows them through the first year of college. The work is carried out by staff in school districts in rural communities around the state, with a variety of supports from the central GEAR UP office and the contributions of many community partners. “1 couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to continue the good work of GEAR UP in Oregon,” said Stephanie Carnahan, director of the Oregon GEAR UP program. “Our partnerships with rural communities across the state will make education beyond high school a reality for thousands of additional students.” Activities and services will be concentrated in 21 rural communities, which are expected to serve over 13,000 students over seven years. Other area schools to benefit include Stanfield Secondary School in Stanfield and Umatilla High School and Clara Brownell Middle School in Umatilla. BELL TOWER, GROUNDBREAKING O ’Brien’s road depart ment crew and staff also dedicated time and effort toward the reconstruction project. "There were a lot of obstacles to overcom e,” Wilson told the crowd. “To be honest, when they originally told me what they wanted to do, I thought they were a little crazy. Take the tower down and fix it? You do wonder how the original workmen did get it up there, though. “It was an awesome project to work on,” he said. Both county commis sioners, Leann Rea and Ken Grieb, who backed the restoration project from the beginning, praised all in volved and said their efforts were much appreciated. County Judge Terry Tallman was master of cer emonies at the dedication and he pointed out many visiting and local officials and dignitaries, some from other counties. Tallman said the origi nal estimate to fix the tower was estimated at $500.000 and he knew there was not enough money available, so he called on engineer Doug Ferguson, whose firm came up with some ideas to cut the cost and make the project feasible. “It was very gratify ing to work with so many people here in Morrow County for which this proj ect became both a labor of love and a huge challenge,” Heppner contractor Rod Wilson speaks to the crowd with the Ferguson said. restored clock tower behind him. Photo by David Sykes State Rep. Greg Smith was also on hand and told -Continuedfrom PA GE ONE “I don’t think we could the crowd that the coun to their authentic condition. have hired a better person ty ’s nam esake, Jackson R eceiv in g a lot o f Lee Morrow, if here today, praise for the tower res “would be proud of what toration was contractor you have done. This is a Rod Wilson o f Heppner, magnificent moment be who worked many hours cause we are preserving restoring the structure at its Morrow County history.” temporary home at the old Kinzua Mill site. Commissioner Ken Grieb Student exchange program looking for community area representatives ASSE International Student Exchange Pro grams is seeking volun teers to serve as local area representatives. ASSE provides academic year and semester exchange programs in the United States for high school students from around the world. Area representatives recruit and screen pro spective host families, in terview students to study abroad and su p erv ise the exchange students in their community. Area representatives are com pensated based on the number o f students they Commissioner Leann Rea are supervising. There is also a great bonus op portunity. Friday, October 3, 5:30 For more info, call p.m. - HHS Football Tail 1-800-733-2773 or email gate dinner hosted by Colt asseusawest@asse.com. Football team and families: The meal will include soup, warm breadsticks, dessert and a drink for $5. Come out and support a great cause and get a great meal. They will serve dinner until game time or until the food is gone, whichever comes first. Saturday, Friday, Octo ber 4,9 a.m. - 5 p.m. - Mor row County Harvest Festi val - SAGE Center: This event will take place at the SAGE Center in Boardman and will include local pro duce, local handmade arts Go to it Game! Hear a Concert! See a play! and craft vendors. There will be activities for kids; O n e o f th e best tickets in tow n will alw ays be activities at free horse buggy rides, free o n e lo cal schools. F ootball S basketball gam es, con certs Sc admission to the festival plays. You can alw ays c o u n t on an enjoyable time. O ur and SAGE Center all day and adults will be given an ch ild ren are o u r fu tu r e . L e t's g ive th em all the e n co u ra g e m e n t th a t we c a n ! A t h a n k o f E a stern O regon, we 're a p r o u d su p p o rter o f sc h o o l activities S we 're p r o u d o f o u r ru ra l c o m m u n ity sch o o ls! Supporting Morrow County - the place we call home. C o m e see u s today f o r a ll y o u r fin a n c ia l b a n k in g needs. Bank of Eastern Oregon Heppner Branch • 541-676-9125 / lone Branch • 541-422-7466 www.beobank.com M em ber FD1C to do this job.” said Pub lic Works Director Burke O ’Brien, who originally noticed how decrepit the structure had become and brought it to the attention State Rep. Greg Smith: “You of the county commission. are preserving history.” Chamber Chatter opportunity to taste local beer, wine and cider. Ques tions - Contact the SAGE Center at 541-481-7678 or visit http://visitsage.com. Saturday, October 4, 6:30 p.m. - HHS Booster Club Dinner and Auction - Heppner Elks Club: Plan now to attend the annual HHS Booster Club Dinner and Auction. The steak feed dinner will start at 6:30 p.m., with the auction to follow. Dinner is $15 per person or $65 for a family. The dinner and auction will take place downstairs in the dining room this year. Thursday, October 16, 11:45 a.m. -1 p.m. - Can didates’ forum held during Heppner Chamber regular lunch meeting: A candi dates' forum will be hosted by the Heppner Chamber, with candidates for the Heppner Mayor and City Councilor positions. The lunch will be served start ing at 11:45 a.m. so we can have the majority o f the hour for the forum. RSVPs for lunch will be required. October 7 - October 23, 2014 - Domestic Violence Services Volunteer Training - Stanfield Public Library: Domestic Violence Servic es will be offering volunteer training for answering calls on their 24 hour crisis line. If you are interested in tak ing an active role against domestic violence in your community and would like the opportunity to advocate for victims o f domestic/ sexual violence, please contact 541-276-3322 to reserve your spot. There are eight different training classes offered. PERs eased on Umatilla forest As o f last Saturday, public use restrictions pertaining to chainsaw use, sm oking and off road travel were lifted on the Umatilla and Wal lowa-Whitman National Forests. This allows fire wood cutting to resume all day. S easonal cam pfire restrictions will remain in place until Oct. 31; however, these campfire restrictions do not apply to designated wilderness areas and specified ex empted developed rec- reation sites (see Forest w ebsites for exempted sites or areas). “The intent is to al low campfire use, while promoting safe campfire building techniques that, in the long run, will pro tect lives, property, and our natural landscapes,” said Brian Goff, Uma tilla Fire M anagem ent Officer. As a reminder, there are a lso site -sp e c ific year-round public use regulations still in effect (see the Forest websites for further information). F orest v isito rs are u rg ed to use c au tio n when building and tend ing campfires, cooking fires, and fires in wood stoves. For more inform a tion, visit www.fs.usda. g o v /u m atilla, call the Umatilla National Forest at 541 -278-3716, or con tact the Heppner Ranger District at 541 -676-9187. Deadline: Monday at 5 p.m.
