Housing grants re-funded
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 134
NO. 24
10 Pages
Community
Counseling
Solutions
to purchase
land for
building
Community Counsel-
ing Solutions has begun
the process of purchasing
property for a new building
in Heppner, a representative
has announced.
CCS, which currently
leases space in the Gilliam-
Bisbee Building on Hep-
pner’s Main Street, is in
the process of signing an
earnest money agreement
for property adjacent to the
Christian Life Center off
Morgan Street in Heppner.
CCS Executive Director
Kimberly Lindsay said the
property has some “zoning
issues,” which Community
Counseling Solutions will
have to work through with
the city.
She also said CCS has
engaged the services of We-
naha Group; if everything
stays on track, she said,
construction will begin in
the summer of 2016.
Boardman
teen drowns
in Columbia
The cause of a Board-
man teen’s drowning death
last week is still under in-
vestigation according to
local law enforcement. This
was Morrow County’s sec-
ond drowning death in the
river this summer.
Friday at 3:53 a.m.,
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office received a 911 call
reporting that Gavin Ryce
Roberts, 18, of Boardman
drowned
in the Co-
l u m b i a
River. The
incident oc-
curred near
the Umatil-
la National Gavin
W i l d l i f e Roberts
Refuge in
the McCormick slough.
Roberts was a 2015
graduate of Riverside High
School in Boardman.
MCSO, Irrigon Ru-
ral Fire Protection Dis-
trict, Irrigon EMS, fish and
wildlife, Umatilla fire, and
Skamania County (WA)
Sheriff’s Office Dive Res-
cue all responded to the
scene, and MCSO, fish and
wildlife, and Umatilla fire
department launched boats
into the water.
The dive rescue team
recovered Roberts’ body
around 11:13 a.m. that
morning.
The incident remains
under investigation.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
CREZ injects $40,000 into south county housing
program
By David Sykes
The Columbia River
Enterprise Zone (CREZ)
gave an additional $40,000
to the Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
Group (WCVEDG) last
week, to enable the group
to continue with its success-
ful grant program for home
purchases.
Previously WCVEDG
had been given $195,000
for the program, which sees
grants of up to $5,000 made
to people buying homes in
the Heppner, Lexington and
Ione areas. Boardman and
Irrigon both have similar
programs funded by CREZ.
In making the request
for additional funding, WC-
VEDG thanked CREZ and
told of the success of the
housing program.
“We have received a
total of $195,000 and have
exhausted all of these funds
for residential home pur-
chases in South Morrow
County,” WCVEDG said in
its letter. “We funded a total
of 39 grants, 7 rentals, 5 are
building new residences
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
City moves forward with bond for
new fire hall
An artist’s sketch of the new proposed fire hall was passed out at city council Monday night.
By David Sykes
The city council voted
unanimously Monday to
move forward with a bond
issue to build a new fire
hall near the city limits of
Heppner.
The exact amount of
the bond is not known at
this time, but the fire hall is
expected to cost $930,000
and the cost will be split
40/60 between the city and
the rural fire district, with
the city responsible for 60
percent of the cost.
The city administration
knows it will be a push,
but wants to try and get the
bond request on the ballot
for this November’s elec-
tion.
“Also, we are still
working with the rural fire
hall to join with us for this
project; they have not voted
to support a bond measure
on the ballot yet, so that is
still pending. This project
will depend on the support
of the rural fire district,”
Heppner City Manager Kim
Cutsforth told the Gazette-
Times Tuesday.
If approved by voters
the hall would be located
at the intersection of Riv-
erside, Fuller Canyon and
Hwy. 74 just outside the
city limits of Heppner. Land
for the hall will be donated
by the Morrow County
Grain Growers. The pres-
ent fire hall is located on
Willow Street in down-
town Heppner. Because of
the congestion and limited
space, the area is not con-
sidered a good location for
a new, larger facility.
Health District asks
for parks smoking ban
In other business the
council heard from Mor-
row County Health District
Smoking/Tobacco Cessa-
tion coordinator Shelley
Wight, who asked the coun-
cil to consider a smoking
ban in all city parks.
Wight said second-
hand smoke at the parks is a
health hazard for other peo-
ple in the park, especially
children, and also cigarette
butts cause littering and
are a threat to children and
wildlife. Wight passed out
a pamphlet that listed what
she said are 40 communities
and park districts in Oregon
that already ban smoking.
She also said the ban would
discourage certain people
from gathering in the parks
after dark.
“Twelve percent of
Morrow County citizens
smoke. You need to look at
the 88 percent that don’t.
They are the ones you want
down there,” she said about
park usage.
One year ago city man-
ager Kim Cutsforth had
proposed a similar smoking
ban that would have out-
lawed smoking on all city
streets and parks; however,
the city dropped that idea
after a backlash from the
public.
“When we tried it on
the streets of Heppner we
got tremendous backlash
against that proposal,” said
Mayor Skip Matthews.
At Monday’s meet-
ing the council did not
discuss or pass any motion
on Wight’s proposed park
smoking ban, but agreed to
further discuss the proposal
at its January goal setting
session.
In other action the
-See CITY COUNCIL/PAGE
FOUR
New law to implement legal pot includes
broad sentencing changes
Oregon rewrites marijuana criminal code to reduce most felonies to
misdemeanors and to make prior convictions eligible to be cleared
July 1 Governor Kate
Brown signed H.B. 3400,
an omnibus bill to imple-
ment Measure 91, the mari-
juana legalization initia-
tive adopted by voters last
November. The bill was
approved by the Senate and
the House of Representa-
tives prior to receiving the
governor’s signature.
Measure 91 legalized
possession, use, and cul-
tivation of marijuana by
adults 21 and older and
regulated commercial pro-
duction, manufacturing and
retail sales of marijuana.
Legalization for personal
use took effect July 1, 2015.
As of that date adults 21
and older can legally pos-
sess up to eight ounces of
marijuana at home and up
to one ounce of marijuana
outside the home. They
may also grow up to four
plants at home, as long as
they are out of public view.
The regulatory structure for
commercial retail sales will
not be up and running until
next year.
In addition to address-
ing the implementation of
Measure 91, H.B. 3400
contains broad sentenc-
ing provisions that extend
beyond the elimination of
criminal penalties for pos-
session of marijuana and
cultivation of up to four
plants. The new law reduces
most marijuana felonies
to misdemeanors or lesser
felonies with significantly
reduced sentences. These
changes allow eligible per-
sons with prior marijuana
convictions to have their
convictions set aside, sen-
tences reduced, and records
sealed.
“A felony drug convic-
tion carries significant col-
lateral consequences that
can mean the loss of public
assistance, educational op-
portunities, employment,
and housing,” says Tamar
Todd, Director of Mari-
juana Law and Policy at
the Drug Policy Alliance.
“With this new law, Oregon
is not only taking a bold
step forward to end the war
on drugs, but is actively
addressing and reversing
the terrible consequences
of that war.”
However, while the
changes are cause for cel-
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
ebration among marijuana
proponents—not to men-
tion those who now have
the chance to have their
convictions set aside—it
raises concerns for state
and local officials who have
been responsible for seeing
that laws are followed and
lawbreakers prosecuted.
One of those, Morrow
County District Attorney
Justin Nelson, said that set-
ting aside prior convictions
is a concern for him.
“Prior to the passage
of these new laws, Oregon
had a system in place for
setting aside convictions,”
says Nelson. “It required a
defendant to wait a specific
period of time, then apply to
the court for setting aside
the conviction and/or ar-
rest. I wish the legislature
would have let that part stay
in place, and not allow a
separate path for expunging
a conviction.”
The changes made by
H.B 3400 will apply to
thousands of Oregonians
who were previously con-
victed of marijuana-related
felonies. According to the
Drug Policy Alliance, there
are approximately 78,319
marijuana convictions in-
cluded in the Oregon Com-
puterized Criminal History
file that have the potential
to become eligible for the
set-aside process. In 2012,
more than 12,000 people
were cited or arrested for
the possession of mari-
juana.
“These defendants
knowingly committed a
crime at the time of their
conviction. The laws were
on the books, and it was
very clear what the laws
was. These defendants then
decided to break the law,
and they were held account-
able for that,” Nelson says.
“The defendants are being
held accountable for the
law they broke at the time,
-See LAW CHANGES POT
SENTENCING/PAGE FIVE
and the rest were owner
occupied.”
The letter was signed by
WCVEDG board members
Jeff Bailey, Kim Cutsforth,
Marcia Kemp, Nancy Snid-
er and David Sykes. WC-
VEDG executive director
Sheryll Bates administers
the grant program and was
at the CREZ meeting last
Friday with Cutsforth to
make the request.
The way the program
works is that anyone who
has a written agreement to
purchase a home can take
the agreement to Bates
at her office next to city
hall, and be put on the list
to receive up to $5,000 in
grant money. The money
is put into escrow and goes
toward the purchase at clos-
ing. Farmers Home Admin-
istration (FHA) loans are
not eligible for the grants.
The main stipulation in
the program is if the home
is sold within three years
the buyers agree to pay
WCVEDG back the grant
money.
On Friday the CREZ
also added another stipula-
tion: the grant money can-
not go toward the purchase
of a rental by an investor.
“We always wanted
this program to benefit the
individual home owner,”
CREZ chairman Don Rus-
sell said in asking the group
to make the change.
Also receiving funding
was the city of Irrigon for
its similar grant program.
Aaron Palmquist, Irrigon
City Manager, was on hand
to ask CREZ for additional
funding and was grant-
ed $42,000. The city had
previously been awarded
$50,000, which it had ex-
hausted.
Boardman
to open new
splash pad
Boardman will soon
open its new splash pad.
The grand opening is set
for 10 a.m., July 17, with
a ribbon-cutting ceremony
and free snow cones at the
new splash pad located on
NE Front Street.
City leaders decided to
add a splash pad to an exist-
ing park area after former
councilors, Mark Pratt and
Neil Livingston, pitched
the idea in 2011. A com-
mittee was formed, made
up of council members.
Councilor Brenda Profitt
was successful in obtaining
a grant from the Wildhorse
Foundation. That grant,
along with city funds, made
the splash pad a reality.
The 3,500-square foot,
bubble-shaped pad features
multiple jets of streaming
water and over three dozen
water features.
The splash pad is part
of a park area that includes
a soccer field and skate
park. Like these other park
areas, there is no admission
to use the splash pad. This
park area will get new pic-
nic tables and benches later
this summer.
The splash pad will be
open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
through Labor Day. It may
stay open through the fall,
depending on the weather.
This will be the first pub-
lic splash pad in Morrow
County.
NURSERY CLEARANCE
SALE!
ALL SHRUBS, PERENNIALS &TREES
NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY!
SAVE BIG - 30% OFF
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net