Looking back at 2015... HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes 2016 VOL. 134 2016 NO. 50 6 Pages 2016 2016 Wednesday, December 30, 2015 2016 2016 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon The B2H transmission line had locals up in arms this year. Find more memories from 2015 on PAGE SIX -Contributed photo Dreaming of a white...new year While much of South Morrow County celebrated a green Christmas this year, snow flurries earlier this week turned the area into a temporary winter wonderland just in time to celebrate the new year. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo G-T Trophy Corner Oregon vital records fees increasing in January New cost to cover existing services required by law Fees for Oregon vital records, including birth, death and marriage certifi- cates, will increase by $5 in January to cover increasing administrative costs, the Oregon Health Authority’s Center for Health Statistics is announcing. The basic fee for a cer- tificate will be $25 starting Jan. 1, 2016, according to the Center for Health Statis- tics, also known as Oregon Vital Records and based at the OHA Public Health Division. Fees for other services also will increase. A complete list of fees can be found on the Vital Re- cords website at http://1. usa.gov/1kCMRfo. An- swers to frequently asked questions about the increase also are available at http://1. usa.gov/1NNoBh9. Public officials say the fee increases are necessary to cover costs for support- ing the state’s vital records system that have gone up over time as revenue from fees has gone down. The increase will help maintain Vital Records’ current ser- vice level, as required by law. The last vital records fee increase was in 2003. Vital records are the legal registration of a vital event. A vital event is a birth, marriage, domes- tic partnership, divorce or death. Every vital event that occurs in Oregon must be recorded and permanently stored with Oregon Vital Records. Certified copies of the record are printed on special paper and are known as certificates—birth certifi- cates, death certificates or marriage certificates. Fees for vital records support services provided by state and county vital records offices. These ser- vices include: -Registering and stor- ing vital records. Each vital event in Oregon is regis- tered and stored with the state vital records office. The state vital records of- fice must make sure each vital record has complete information to create a legal record, and is numbered and indexed so each one can be easily found. Currently, the state vital records office has more than 6 million vital records and adds about 128,000 each year. Many of the vital records are now registered and stored elec- tronically. -Screening and pro- cessing orders for certifi- cates. More than 170,000 orders for certificates are completed by Oregon Vital Records each year. County vital records offices can issue death and birth certifi- cates for the first six months after the event. Vital records are confidential and access is limited to specific people for 100 years for birth re- cords and 50 years for the other records. -Analyzing data from vital records. Some of the most important facts about the health of Oregonians come from vital records. Death rates, life expectancy measures and information on leading causes of death come from death certifi- cates. For more information, go to the Vital Records website at http://1.usa. gov/1NNoBh9 or call 971- 673-1190. Gazette closed New Year’s NEW SELECTION OF SNOWMOBILE APPAREL Day CHECK US OUT! The Gazette-Times will be closed Friday, Jan. 1, for New Year’s Day. Normal business hours will resume Andrew Zellars, 12, of Boardman had a successful first year Monday, Jan. 4. We wish everyone a hunting big game. Pictured are his takes this season: a doe and safe and happy New Year. an elk, both harvested in Morrow County. –Contributed photo WE HAVE BIBS, BOOTS, HELMETS AND GOGGLES NEW! Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net