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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2015)
HEPPNER 50¢ County hires new administrator Morrow County ended its search for a new county administrator last Wednes- day with the hiring of Ger- ald “Jerry” Sorte. Sorte’s official start date is cur- rently set for Dec. 1. The Morrow County Court recently voted to hire an administrator to take over some of the current duties of Morrow County Judge Terry Tallman. Upon Tallman’s retirement at the end of 2016, the county court plans to eliminate the judge position and operate with a full-time adminis- trator and three part-time Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon commissioners. G T azette imes VOL. 134 NO. 42 10 Pages Wednesday, November 4, 2015 Heppner, Ione send teams to state tournaments As a stipulation of his He is the son of Bruce employment, Sorte, 35, will Sorte, the OSU Extension live within Morrow County. Community Economist for Sorte brings with Eastern Oregon who him wife, Misty, has worked several and their two young times with local children, who plan organizations like to arrive just before Willow Creek Val- Christmas. ley Economic De- Sorte was raised velopment Group. in Corvallis, OR and Jerry Sorte Jerry Sorte also has attended Corvallis a strong planning schools. He gradu- background, includ- ated from Oregon State ing previous work experi- University with a degree ence as a planner in Polk in political science and County, OR for about eight minor in economics and years and his current posi- then obtained a master’s in tion as assistant director of -See COUNTY ADMINIS- public administration from TRATOR/PAGE THREE the University of Missouri. Teen contracts bubonic plague after hunting trip near Heppner Mustang football enters irst round of playoffs, Lady Cards aim for volleyball quarterinals Public health oficials say the disease remains rare in Oregon A case of the “black death” is likely linked to a hunting trip in the Heppner area, state and local oficials report. The Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division and the Crook County Public Health De- partment are conirming a case of bubonic plague in a teenage Crook County Above left: Weston Putman keeps an eye on the TigerScots as he runs the ball, but Weston-McEwen didn’t even come close to shutting down the Mustang powerhouse team last Friday in its inal regular season game. Heppner enters the irst round girl. It is one of eight human of playoffs at home this Saturday at 3 p.m. –Photo by Sandra Putman Above right: It’s the last set of the game, and the Cardinal girls are down and ready, with Tristan Estabrook (left) and Maggie Flynn (standing) in front. The girls won the second-round game to advance to quarterinals this week. –Photo by Sylvia Sandford -See more sports pages THREE and FOUR New Infant Day Care Center opens in Heppner A new Heppner Day Care Infant Center has opened in Heppner. The center will take infants from six weeks to three years old.The center is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and will have a staff of three. As of last week the center had already proven popu- lar, with seven of its eight slots taken. People can stop and get an application and sign up on the waiting list, however. It is located at 278 Main St. in Heppner. To take care of the in- fants the center has a kitch- en and will serve breakfast, lunch and a snack. Food is The new Infant Day Care Center is open and not taking “customers.” Pictured (L-R) are provided except for formu- Manager Lynan Scott, Lindsay Roy, Grady Henderson having fun on the rocker, and Grady’s la.The three-person staff is dad Austin looking on. –Photo by David Sykes “We are ready and ex- cited to get started,” says manager Lynan Scott. trained in CPR and irst aid. Nominations for Hep- pner Chamber of Com- merce’s Town and Country Community Awards will be accepted starting this Friday, Nov. 6, and running through Friday, Dec. 11. The theme for the event will be “An Evening with the Stars.” The event will be held on Thursday, Jan. 14, at the Morrow County Fairgrounds. The month- long nomination period is intended to give community members time to get nomi- nation forms in for commu- nity members for “Woman ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. of the Year,” “Man of the Year,” “Business of the Year,” “Citizen-Educator of the Year,” “Lifetime Achievement” and “Youth Award.” Nomination forms will be available at the cham- ber ofice, Bank of Eastern Oregon, Kuhn Law Ofice, Community Bank and the post ofice. The completed nomination forms need to turned in the chamber ofice or Kuhn Law Offices no later than Friday, Dec. 11, to be considered for the 2016 community awards event. Warm October still low on rainfall According to the Na- tional Weather Service in Pendleton, temperatures at Heppner averaged warmer than normal during Octo- ber, but rainfall was still below normal. The average tempera- ture for October was 55.8 degrees, which was 4.5 degrees above normal. High temperatures averaged 67.9 degrees, which was 3.7 over the years.” degrees above normal. The After 10 years, though, highest was 81 degrees on he says it’s time for some- the 11 th . Low temperatures thing different. Other com- mitments like Ione City Council had started to con- lict with the board, and “I thought it would be a better deal to let younger people come in and start trying to do it,” he said. Willow Creek Valley Gorham, 44, has served Economic Development on the board for six years, Group (WCVEDG) has most recently as chairper- announced the recipients son, but also in two stints as vice chairperson and some of the second round of time as member at large. Community and Public En- She now lives with her fam- hancement Grants awarded ily in Boardman, but was to local groups last month. In July, WCVEDG an- raised from second grade in nounced that it had received -See FAIR BOARD OPEN- funds from the Colum- INGS/PAGE TEN Two vacancies remain Aaron Smythe of Hardman went on a walk across the road recently and spotted some turkeys, so he went home and got his shotgun, and then went back, snuck up and shot the clos- est one to him—a hen—for his irst turkey. Cross that off the bucket list. Then, since his dad wasn’t home to help him, he called John Wight at Pettyjohn’s to ask him how to properly take care of it. Happy Thanksgiving! –Contributed photo -See BUBONIC PLAGUE/ PAGE FIVE Nominations open this week for Town & County G-T Trophy Corner Taylor, Gorham resign from fair board The Morrow County Fair Board has two empty slots with the retirement of long-time members Rod Taylor and Nancy Gor- ham, both of whom stepped down at the end of the fair this year. Remaining members are Angie Hanson, Pat To- lar (chairperson), Zachary Lantis and Rhonda Hamby. Taylor, 48, had been on the board for 10 years, serv- ing as chairman for seven years, as well as a member at large for several years. While not a native of Mor- row County, he has lived here since the age of ive. He now lives in Ione and owns Double T Farming in partnership with his brother. When asked why he joined the fair board a de- cade ago, he joked, “My wife came home one night and said, ‘You’re on the fair board.’ But,” he added, “I’ve enjoyed every bit of it cases diagnosed in Oregon since 1995. The girl is believed to have acquired the disease from a flea bite during a family elk-hunting hunting trip near Heppner that start- ed on Oct. 16. The family was hunting in the Heppner Unit, but no more precise location was availabe ac- averaged 43.7 degrees, which was 5.3 degrees above normal. The lowest was 33 degrees, on the 25 th . Precipitation totaled 0.53 inches during Octo- ber, which was 0.61 inches below normal. Measurable precipitation of at least .01 inch was received on 10 days with the heaviest, 0.15 inches, reported on the 29 th . Precipitation this year has reached 5.42 inches, -See OCTOBER WEATHER/ PAGE FIVE WCVEDG announces second-round grant recipients bia River Enterprise Zone Board (CREZ) to be used for community and public enhancement for South Morrow County. Earlier this fall the group awarded a total of $34,141.49 in fund- ing to local organizations. It has now announced at addi- -See WCVEDG GRANTS/ PAGE SIX Up to $3,000 OFF Polaris Snowmobiles Be ready for winter On all non-current Polaris Snowmobiles Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net
