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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 23, 2015 IF YOU HAVE-- been on a trip spotted Santa celebrated a birthday married your secretary caught a big fish moved had a baby sold your cows had an operation bought a sleigh painted your house fed a hummingbird been married cut a new tooth died sold out been robbed been shot Or done anything Telephone or drop a postcard, or come in, or in any convenient way inform the Heppner Gazette-Times 188 W Willow Heppner OR 541-676-9228 F: 541-676-9211 david@rapidserve.ne t Now all they need are the cookies… Forest Service publishes region’s travel analysis reports Agency says analyses will guide national forests toward sustainable road system The Sew Fantastic 4-H Club members are almost ready for Santa after sewing Christmas stockings at a fun Dec. 20 meeting. Now all they need are some cookies to encourage Santa's generous spirit. Pictured (L-R) are Harley Anderson, Aubri Rodriguez, Kylie Boor, Madison Orem, Serenity Rodriguez and Hannah Palmer. –Contributed photo Final EIS for Boardman Naval facility available for public review S I LV E R D A L E , Wash.—The U.S. Navy, in cooperation with the National Guard Bureau, the Oregon National Guard, and the Federal Aviation Administration, has pre- pared the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility (NWSTF) Boardman Fi- nal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is available for public review from December 18, 2015, to January 19, 2016. The completion of the final EIS follows several years of research, analysis and public involvement. The Navy held two public scoping meetings in Oc- tober 2010 and two pub- lic meetings in September 2012 to provide informa- tion on the project and receive public comments on the draft EIS. In the final EIS, the Navy and Oregon National Guard evaluated the poten- tial environmental effects related to ongoing and pro- posed military readiness activities associated with NWSTF Boardman. Regulations provide for a 30-day public review and wait period after the inal EIS is published before the Navy and Oregon National Guard may make a deci- sion and take action on the proposal. During this time, the public has the opportu- nity to review the inal EIS online or in various loca- tions to see how the Navy and Oregon National Guard have adjusted the document from the draft EIS. Com- ments may be submitted by U.S. postal mail by January 19, 2016, to: Naval Facili- ties Engineering Command Northwest, Attn: NWSTF Boardman EIS Project Manager, 1101 Tautog Cir- cle, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98315-1101. The Final EIS is avail- able online at www.NW- STFBoardmanEIS.com and regionally at Oregon Trail Library District, Heppner Branch, Oregon Trail Li- brary District, Boardman Branch, and Stafford Han- sell Government Center, Hermiston. The inal EIS includes public comments received during the 90-day draft EIS review period and Navy and Oregon National Guard re- sponses to those comments. The final EIS is also being reviewed by National Guard and Navy leader- ship, including the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, who will be the decision maker to de- cide which alternative will be selected to accomplish the Proposed Action. Proposed Action NWSTF Boardman and its associated airspace cur- rently play a vital part in the execution of readiness mandates for the Navy and Oregon National Guard. It serves as a regional train- ing range for a variety of military units located in the northwest for a variety of training activities. These include naval aviation units stationed at Naval Air Sta- tion (NAS) Whidbey Island and Oregon National Guard units located throughout the state of Oregon. The Navy and Oregon National Guard propose to increase the types of train- ing and testing activities, increase the number of training events conducted, accommodate force struc- ture changes, and provide enhancements to training facilities and operations at NWSTF Boardman and its associated special use airspace. The purpose of the Pro- posed Action is to achieve and maintain military readi- ness by using a training and testing facility within ac- ceptable travel distance for Navy and Oregon National Guard personnel that has appropriate air to ground ranges, land range impact areas, and special use air- space to support current, emerging, and future mili- tary readiness activities, while enhancing training resources through invest- ments and development of necessary infrastructure on the range. Visit www.NWSTF- BoardmanEIS.com to view the inal EIS and learn more. For other information about the Navy in the Northwest, visit www.cnic.navy.mil/ regions/cnrnw. Portland, Ore—The U.S. Forest Service Paciic Northwest Region released 17 travel analysis reports last week that outline ex- isting road systems and identify opportunities to achieve “a more sustainable system of roads” for each national forest in the Paciic Northwest. These travel analysis reports are part of nationwide requirement involving national forests across the country. These reports are not decision documents—in- stead, they provide an anal- ysis of where the existing road system is today. The Forest Service says all fu- ture proposed actions and decisions will involve fur- ther opportunities for public input and engagement at the project level under national environmental policy act processes, according to guidance issued by Re- gional Forester Jim Peña to all national forests. “The release of these travel analysis reports is a critical step to ensure our future road system invest- ments promote the greatest good for the great num- ber in the long run,” said Peña. “Given the long-term funding expectations, these reports will help the For- est Service strike the right balance between meeting a diversity of access needs while ensuring the health of your forests and streams.” The reports will inform future decisions on where and how to invest limited resources on building new roads, managing current roads, or decommissioning old roads. Travel analy- sis reports identify roads “likely needed” and “likely not needed” in the future, as well as opportunities to change road operation and maintenance strategies, decommission, convert to other use, or add to the system. As part of a national travel management pro- cess, the Forest Service is working to achieve a “i- nancially and ecologically sustainable road system” that meets access needs, minimizes adverse environ- mental impacts, and relects long-term funding expecta- tions. The Forest Service manages approximately 90,000 miles of roads in Oregon and Washington that must be maintained to provide safe public and administrative access for a variety of uses, including recreation, fire suppres- sion, commercial activi- ties, forest restoration, and other management pur- poses. Many roads, built between 1950 and 1990, have exceeded their de- signed lifespan and require costly repairs. Backlog maintenance projects top $1.2 billion, and the Forest Service says funds avail- able for road maintenance each year are only about 15 percent of what is needed to fully maintain the current road system. Of the 90,000 miles of Forest Service roads in Oregon and Washing- ton, about two-thirds of those are currently open and maintained for both public and administrative purposes. The other third of the current road system is managed for specific project uses. These roads are opened during proj- ect activities, and closed and put in storage between uses. The travel analysis reports indicate that about 12 percent of the overall road system is “likely not needed” for resource man- agement purposes in the future. However, the major- ity of roads in this category are part of the closed and stored road system. Only about 20 percent (approxi- mately 2,000 miles) of the roads shown as “likely not needed” in the travel analysis reports come from the group of roads that are currently open to the public. Travel analysis reports for individual national for- ests in Oregon and Wash- ington can be found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/ detail/r6/landmanagement/ under the Travel Manage- ment link. To learn more about the U.S. Forest Service in the Paciic Northwest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/r6. PRINT E W Bridal Table Registry ! Chelsea Britt & Michael McCabe December 31st 217 North Main St., Heppner Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426 Serving Morrow, Wheeler & Gilliam counties Since 1959 VINYL LETTERING INESS CAR S U TTERHEAD LE OCHURES R B FL Y E R S DS B PUBLIC NOTICE LEXINGTON PUBLIC MEETING THE LEXINGTON TOWN COUNCIL will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 7:00 p.m at the Lexington Town Hall in Lexington, Oregon. Development Code Amendment: to implement text changes incorporating use zone criteria for the Public Use Zone. Criteria for approval include Lexington Development Code Article 8. Opportunity to voice support or opposition to the above action or to ask questions will be provided. Failure to raise an issue in person or by letter or failure to provide sufficient specificity to afford the decision maker an opportunity to respond to the issue precludes appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals based on those issues. Copies of the staff report and all relevant documents will be available after January 5, 2016. For more information, please contact the Lexington Town Hall at 541-989-8515. DATED this 23rd day of December, 2015 TOWN OF LEXINGTON Published: December 23, 2015 Afidavit AND MORE! Ready-to-apply graphics and letter- ing can be applied to a variety of surfaces and offer flexibility while serving a wide range of uses. Vinyl is ready for application. Great for windows, registration numbers, company’s logo, etc. Heppner Gazette-Times 188 West Willow • 676-9228 The Heppner Gazette-Times 188 W. Willow Call Dave Today (541) 676-9228