A great weekend for a great event
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
Heppner hosts the fourth annual Blue
Mountain Century Scenic Bikeway ride
azette
imes
VOL. 134 NO. 36 10 Pages
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Bicyclists from all over the Northwest came to town for the fourth annual Blue Mountain
Century Scenic Bikeway ride last weekend. -Contributed photo
-See story PAGE TWO
Sen. Hansell holds
town hall
Oregon Senator Bill Hansell (R-Athena) stopped by Heppner
to discuss “The good, the bad and the ugly” from the 2015 Or-
egon legislative session. Hansell answered questions and gave
attendees a recap of bills that were passed—or defeated—in the
Oregon Senate this year. He covered topics that ranged from a
water funding package he helped pass to his frustration over a
growing urban-rural divide in the state. Hansell was in Hep-
pner as part of a series of town halls across the district. Above:
Hansell talks with a gathering of locals at Heppner City Hall.
Below R-L: Hansell stands with locals Gerry Arnson and Bob
Jepsen. –Contributed photos
Mustang Diner opens its doors Second
round of
local grant
funds
available
Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
Group (WCVEDG) has
announced it has funds
remaining from the first
round of requests for grant
funds and will be offering
a second round of funding.
These funds are to be
used for community and
public enhancement for
South Morrow County.
Applicant organizations
must have a current 501(c)
(3) public charity status
from the IRS and be a local
organization, club, special
Jim Rice (left) and son David Rice stand in the newly-renovated dining room of the Mustang
Diner in Heppner, located at the site of the old bowling alley. The family-owned business is
now open; the Rices plan to maintain regular hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. The
menu features breakfast items, burgers, sandwiches and steaks, as well as a nightly special of
the chef’s choice. Along with food, the restaurant has a collection of old-time Heppner memo-
rabilia, as well as other antiques for diners to peruse. –Photo by David Sykes
-See SECOND ROUND FOR
GRANTS/PAGE TWO
Ag science award honors a history of
hard work and community connection
More West Nile found
in Morrow County
Low levels of West
Nile virus still persist in
Morrow County with two
more mosquito pools test-
ing positive for the virus.
West Nile virus, a mild
flu-like disease spread by
mosquitoes, has been re-
ported to have been found
in two testing sites in Mor-
row County Oregon, ac-
cording to Oregon Public
Health officials. The mos-
quitoes were collected on
the nights of Sept. 8 and 9
near Irrigon and Boardman.
These are the fifth mosquito
pools to test positive for
West Nile virus in the area,
with the first being detected
on Aug. 10 on the Umatilla
National Wildlife Refuge.
Health officials are ad-
vising people in Morrow
County to take precautions
against mosquitoes in order
to avoid the risk of infec-
tion.
“The risk of contract-
ing West Nile virus may be
low, but we do encourage
people to take appropriate
precautions to protect them-
selves against mosquito
bites,” said Greg Barron,
Manager of North Morrow
Vector Control District.
“We will continue our mos-
quito control operations by
larvaciding, utilizing our
Ultra Low Volume (ULV)
truck mounted sprayers and
possibly some spraying by
helicopter to reduce adult
mosquito populations,”
Barron said.
By Andrea Di Salvo
for the award. Heppner
“There’s a lot of differ- background.”
A local program re- Ag Science Instructor and ent things kids compete in,
“This was an oppor-
ceived long-overdue rec- FFA (Future Farmers of a lot of different things they tunity for the whole pro-
ognition this year.
America) Advisor Beth learn,” said Dickenson, gram—whether they gradu-
The Heppner agricul- Dickenson did just that, “but I thought it was a neat ated five years ago or just
tural science program re- hoping to gain recognition opportunity for the whole earned their first degree—
ceived the OVATA Program for the hard work put in by chapter to get recognized, for the whole program to
of the Year (Secondary/ both the students and the because some of the hard- be recognized,” she added.
Middle) Award from the community over the years. est workers are often in the
The chapter was judged
Oregon Vo-
for the in-
cational
s t r u c t o r ’s
Agriculture
teaching phi-
Te a c h e r ’s
losophy and
Association
instruction,
at the as-
how involved
s o c i a t i o n ’s
students are
summer con-
in experien-
ference at the
tial learning,
end of June in
and involve-
Yamhill, OR.
ment in stu-
The award is
dent organi-
the highest
zations like
honor the as-
FFA. Chap-
sociation can
ters that ap-
give to a pro-
plied for the
gram.
award were
T h e
also evalu-
award is dif-
ated on how
ferent from
effective they
many in that,
were at form-
rather than
ing partner-
-See AG
being nomi-
AWARD
nated, Ag sci-
PAGE
FIVE
ence teachers Heppner Agricultural Science students proudly display their OVATA award for Outstanding
must apply Secondary/Middle School Program. –Contributed photo
Skinny Bull Ag Museum keeps the past alive through one
couple’s passion for history
Reprinted with permis-
sion from the North Morrow
Times.
If you’ve driven
through Irrigon lately and
looked at the location of
the former grocery store,
(behind the Bank of Eastern
Oregon) you can’t help but
notice a collection of old
farm equipment...balers,
tractors, plows, etc. Next
time, stop in and visit with
Wayne and Wanda Schnell
who have opened the Skin-
ny Bull Ag Museum with an
assortment of their personal
collection. The museum
opened March 21, and is
open Monday, Tuesday,
Friday and Saturday from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sun-
day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They
are closed Wednesday and
Thursday.
The museum got its
name from Wayne’s long-
time friend, Ray Fox (who
has passed away). Wayne
used to farm and raise hay,
and sold his hay to Fox’s
feedlot. The two friends
joked and teased each other
all the time. Wayne would
kid Fox about how skinny
his bulls were at the feedlot,
and Fox would respond
that it was Wayne’s fault
because of the weedy hay
he sold to Fox. Before Ray
Fox passed away, Wayne
shared his dream of having
the museum, and promised
to name it “The Skinny
Bull Museum” in Ray Fox’s
honor.
Wanda and Wayne have
been married for 12 years.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Wanda used to belong to a
car club in Umatilla. One
day Wayne came to the
club and they met. Wanda
was a process mechanic for
25 years at Lamb Weston.
Wayne laughs, “I started
having Wanda come out to
my place to work on my
equipment. After a while,
I couldn’t afford her any-
more, so I had to marry
her!”
Wayne was raised in
Camas, WA and worked as
a machinist until they went
out on strike and he decided
to go do something else.
A friend told him about a
farm for sale in Irrigon,
and that’s how he ended up
raising alfalfa and orchard
-See SKINNY BULL
MUSEUM/PAGE SIX
FALL COLORS
MUMS • CABBAGE • KALE • ASTERS • PANSIES
IN STOCK NOW
BOOT SALE! ALL DANNER &
GEORGIA BRAND BOOTS 10% OFF
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net