SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Wights earn Yard of the Month for May
DA’s Report
Gary and Jeri Wight’s
neat and tidy property at
515 S. Chase has earned
them May’s Yard of the
Month recognition, much
to their surprise.
The Wights’ lives and
lifestyles have influenced
their gardening style, keep-
ing it simple without a lot of
flowers. When assured that
a neat and well-kept yard
is always appreciated, Jeri
was relieved because she
“is good at growing grass
and murdering dandelions”
but “is just not much into
flowers.”
Both Wights are origi-
nally from Spray, where
Gary retired from the Or-
egon Department of Trans-
portation. Jeri began work
at the Spray post office,
then transferred to Heppner,
where she retired in 2002.
In Spray, the couple lived
in the Templeton house,
owned previously by Jeri’s
parents, where they kept a
nice, large yard. Her father
had established more than
50 trees around the prop-
erty, watering them from
a 50-gallon barrel since
regular irrigation wasn’t
Morrow County Dis-
trict Attorney Justin Nelson
has released the following
report:
-Ace Jeremy Huff,
40, was convicted of one
count of Driving Under the
Influence of Intoxicants
(DUII), a Class A Misde-
meanor, and sentenced to
three years’ driver’s license
suspension and 180 days
jail time. However, execu-
tion of 140 days jail time
was suspended and the
defendant sentenced to 36
months bench probation,
to include 40 days jail time
with credit for time served,
Antabuse if medically able,
160 hours of community
service, alcohol evaluation
and victim impact panel.
The defendant was further
convicted of one count of
Reckless Driving, a Class
Jeri Wight (pictured above) and her husband Gary won lo-
cal recognition with May’s Yard of the Month. –Photo by Kay
Proctor
possible at that time.
Since purchasing their
home in 1996, the Wights
have built a shop, put on
siding and a metal roof,
and added a back deck from
where they can enjoy views
of town and the Willow
Creek Valley. An adjacent
lot had a home burnt by fire,
but still standing, so they
purchased that property for
extra parking on their steep
hillside.
The open lawn stays
green with an underground
sprinkler system they put
in. A high priority is to keep
weeds under control so
they won’t be a fire hazard.
Last summer, Jeri says she
watched the hillside to the
northwest of their home
burn rapidly, then later that
summer saw smoke from a
hillside fire to the southeast.
Both wildfires reinforced
their belief in keeping the
yard green and the weeds
down.
Son John Wight with
wife, Shelley, live close
by, sharing a property line.
When John and Shelley’s
original house burnt, ex-
tensive leveling was done
in building the replacement
home. Gary was able to use
Gary and Jeri Wight’s “neat and tidy” yard earned them the that excavated rock to build
title of May’s Yard of the Month from the Heppner Volunteers.
a road connecting the two
–Photo by Kay Proctor
properties. He keeps weeds
on the hillside under control
by spraying, and Jeri uses
a lightweight weed eater
where possible.
Like many yards in
town and country, deer
are frequent visitors. Last
summer, they annihilated
a lilac shrub, wiped out
a bed of strawberries and
even ate moss roses down
to stubs. To keep the bor-
der beds easy to maintain,
Jeri has filled them in with
river rock and other larger
collectible rocks from here
and there. Gary jokes about
how she hauls rock home to
their already rocky hillside.
Jeri enjoys their hillside
neighborhood and speaks
fondly of neighbors, past
and present. While the
Wights do not have a pet
right now, the neighbor-
hood cat stops by often for
snacks and a visit.
During winter snow-
falls, Gary can be seen
downtown on his ATV,
snowplowing sidewalks
and parking lots. He also
has a lawn mower attach-
ment for his ATV. The en-
tire family, including grand-
children, Adam and Riley,
and great-grandchildren,
Cooper, Jaxson and Remi,
enjoy getting together to
camp and ride ATVs and
side by sides.
Yard of the Month rec-
ognition is sponsored by
the Heppner Volunteers,
MCGG-Green Feed and the
City of Heppner. Contact
Kay Proctor if you would
like to be a part of the Hep-
pner Volunteers.
Funding available to help Oregon
landowners mitigate effects of drought
The USDA Natural
Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) in Oregon
announces up to $2.5 mil-
lion in funding available to
farmers, ranchers and for-
est landowners to mitigate
the effects of drought in
counties that have secured
drought declarations from
the governor’s office.
At this time those coun-
ties are: Morrow, Umatilla,
Wasco, Wheeler, Baker,
Crook, Deschutes, Grant,
Harney, Jackson, Jose-
phine, Klamath, Lake, Lane
and Malheur. If additional
counties receive a drought
declaration they will also
have the opportunity to ap-
ply for this funding.
Landowners in these
counties should submit
applications to their local
USDA Service Center by
June 26 to be considered
for funding.
“This funding will help
Oregonians in the most
drought-stricken areas of
the state to mitigate the
impacts of drought on crop-
land, rangeland and forest-
land,” said Ron Alvarado,
state conservationist. “This
funding amplifies the work
NRCS continues to do ev-
ery day to support water
conservation, soil health
and productivity on Or-
egon’s working agricultural
lands and forest lands.”
NRCS will give higher
priority to applications in
counties with the highest
drought status according to
conservation practices. For
cropland practices, NRCS
will assist producers with
planting and managing
cover crops and implement-
A Misdemeanor; execution
of the 180-day sentence
was suspended and the
defendant sentenced to 36
months bench probation,
to include 40 hours of com-
munity service, Antabuse
if medically able, alcohol
evaluation and victim im-
pact panel. Fines, fees and
assessments totaled $3,200.
-Robert Lee Carneal,
74, was convicted of Con-
tempt of Court. Sentence
was 180 days jail time;
however, sentence was sus-
pended and the defendant
sentenced to 12 months
bench probation, to include
compliance with a Morrow
County restraining order
and no contact with listed
individuals. A second count
of Contempt of Court was
dismissed. Fines, fees and
assessments totaled $100.
FBLA to hold bake
sale June 12
The FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)
will hold a baked goods fundraiser at the farmer’s market
next Friday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the three
girls traveling to FBLA National Competition in Chicago
June 26-July 3.
Available that day will be homemade yeast breads,
Caitlynn Bailey’s sweet breads, cookies, brownies, cakes
and more.
Sheriff’s Report
October 18: -A caller
in Boardman advised 911
dispatch that when she was
driving by a location she
saw a subject kicking at a
door; subject was wearing
a black hooded sweatshirt.
Boardman Police Dept. and
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office responded. The sub-
ject had locked himself out.
-Someone at Sub Zero
Restaurant in Irrigon re-
ported that five to six peo-
ple, mostly women, were
fighting in front of the lo-
cation.
-MCSO was advised
that Benton County ar-
rested Cesar Junior Munoz
Gutierrez, 20, on a Morrow
County warrant for Fail-
ure to Appear on Criminal
Mischief II and Reckless
Endangering.
-MCSO was advised of
a motor vehicle accident on
I-84 E near Boardman, un-
known injury. BPD, MCSO,
Boardman Fire, Boardman
Ambulance and Oregon
State Police responded.
OSP arrested Brittany Ni-
cole Ward, 21, for DUII.
-MCSO was advised a
white Chevy Blazer with
music blaring was driving
on the sidewalk by Hep-
pner Elementary School,
weaving around the pil-
lars. MCSO responded and
checked the area but was
unable to locate.
to livestock.
For forestry practices,
NRCS will help landown-
ers with wildfire prevention
measures, such as creating
fuel breaks, multi-purpose
water impoundments and
other fuel reduction activi-
ties. These actions reduce
excess vegetation in a for-
est so that wildfire has less
fuel to spread higher into
the canopy, where it causes
the most damage. NRCS is
partnering with the Oregon
Department of Forestry to
focus the funding on areas
with a higher risk for cata-
strophic forest fire.
The funding will be
made available to eligible
landowners through the
the USDA Drought Moni- ing emergency soil erosion NRCS’ Environmental
tor; however, producers in measures. These practices Quality Incentives Program
all counties declared by the will help farmers protect (EQIP). Read more about
governor will be eligible the soil from erosion, pro- EQIP eligibility, selection
to apply for funding. The mote more organic matter and payments on the Or-
USDA drought monitor in the soil, and aid in better egon EQIP webpage.
is updated weekly every water infiltration.
Applications will be
Thursday and classifies
For rangeland prac- ranked and prioritized
counties under five drought tices, NRCS will assist for funding based on the
categories: D0 – Abnor- ranchers in developing drought level, resource
mally Dry; D1 – Moder- grazing management plans concern, conservation ben-
ate Drought; D2 – Severe and installing emergency efit, and if applicable, the
Drought; D3 – Extreme livestock watering facili- wildfire risk factor.
Drought; and D4 – Ex- ties and multi-purpose wa-
Landowners should
ceptional Drought. All of ter impoundments. These submit applications by con-
Eastern Oregon is in a D2 practices help reduce pres- tacting their local USDA
or D3 drought status.
sure on stressed vegetation, Service Center.
In Oregon, NRCS will allow the soil to retain
Learn more about
focus the funding on crop- more moisture, and deliver NRCS programs in Oregon
There are 100 days of
land, rangeland and forestry emergency water supplies at www.or.nrcs.usda.gov.
summer, and the American
Red Cross urges eligible
donors to choose their day
to give blood and help en-
sure a sufficient blood sup-
ply.
Two of those opportu-
nities will come in Morrow
County June 16 and June 23
in Boardman. June 16 from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., donors
can give blood at Portland
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
General Electric/Boardman
and Morrow County Parks
Coal Plant, 73334 Tower
Road, while the site will be
are sponsoring a
Columbia River Commu-
nity Health Services, 450
Tatone St., on June 23 from
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Red Cross reports
Where: Cutsforth Park
Start Time: 8:30 am
that summer is a difficult
time to collect enough
When: Saturday, June 6, 2015
End Time: 11:00 am
blood to meet patient needs.
For children 14 years old and younger
Nearly 90 percent of donors
Address: 58430 Willow Creek Rd., Heppner, Oregon
surveyed this past spring
said they planned to take
For more information contact Kirsti Cason or Betty Gray at the
Morrow County Public Works Office (541) 989-9500
a vacation this summer,
October 19: -MCSO
was advised that female was
in Bucknum’s in Heppner
for about two hours playing
the poker machines; she left
for 15 minutes but her car
stayed outside. She then
went back in and then went
back outside to smoke, and
two small children got out
of her car and were talking
to her. They were in paja-
mas with no shoes on.
-A woman in Irrigon
advised a Border Collie had
dug into her yard and she
would like to sign a citation.
MCSO issued a citation to
James Edward Anderson,
54, for Maintain Dog as a
Public Nuisance.
-A caller in Boardman
advised MCSO of a loud
party near his residence. He
believed it might be at Our
Lady Guadalupe Catholic
Church.
-An MCSO deputy ad-
vised of a male subject
lying in the road in Irrigon
with a head wound. MCSO
and Irrigon Ambulance
responded. Jose Ramirez
Fernandez, 35, was issued
citations for two warrants
and released to appear at
Irrigon Justice Court.
October 20: -MCSO
was advised that Lincoln
County arrested Jacob Earl
Busch, 31, on an IJC war-
rant for FTA on Giving
False Information.
American Red Cross
encourages adding
blood donation to
vacation to-do lists
FREE
YOUTH FISHING DERBY
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potentially making them
less available to give. In
addition, many schools that
host blood drives are out of
session during the summer.
But the need for blood do-
nations is constant. Every
two seconds someone in the
U.S. needs blood.
Donors of all blood
types—especially those
with types O negative, A
negative and B negative—
are needed. The Red Cross
must collect 15,000 blood
donations every day to meet
the needs of patients at ap-
proximately 2,600 hospitals
and transfusion centers
nationwide.
To make an appoint-
ment to give blood, down-
load the Red Cross Blood
Donor App, visit redcross-
blood.org or call 1-800-
RED CROSS (1-800-733-
2767).