WCVEDG holds annual meeting
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 5 8 Pages
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Economic group hears ideas on
business recruitment, retention
By David Sykes
The Willow Creek Val-
ley Economic Develop-
ment Group (WCVEDG)
held its annual meeting
last Wednesday and heard
a report from Oregon
State University Econo-
mist Bruce Sorte on the
health of businesses and the
economy of South Morrow
County.
Sorte had some good
news, and some not so good
news, about what he dis-
covered about the economy
and future of Heppner, Lex- Featured WCVEDG speaker, OSU economist Bruce Sorte.
ington and Ione.
-See ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/PAGE FIVE
Groundbreaking marks beginning of a False alarm leads to
high-speed chase, arrest
building, completion of a dream
By Andrea Di Salvo
Shovels sliced into the
topsoil along Riverside
Ave. in Heppner Monday
during the groundbreaking
ceremony for a new fire
hall. However, according
to those who know, the few
moments of ceremony and
celebration gave no clue as
to the long, dificult road
that led to the groundbreak-
ing.
“It took a lot of things
all happening together to
make it happen,” said Hep-
pner City Manager Kim
Cutsforth. “We’ve been
working on this shovel day
since September of 2014.”
And it all started with
a woman named Ida Farra.
Farra, a long-time sup-
porter of the Heppner Fire
Department, started the
ball rolling in July of 2014
with what Cutsforth and
Heppner Fire Chief Rusty
Estes referred to as a “sub-
stantial” donation. While
Cutsforth and Estes weren’t
at liberty to name amounts,
A large group gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new ire hall in Heppner Monday.
Back L-R: Salvador Cortes, Tony Weich and Mark Patton of Port of Morrow, Jim Kindle, Don
Bennett, Ryan Jundt, Dan Sharp, Jay Keithley, Skip Matthews, and Jim McElligott. Front
L-R: Stacey Lauritsen, John Ripple, Dean Robinson, Ida Farra, Steve Rhea, Rusty Estes, Kim
Cutsforth, Janet Greenup and Chad Doherty. -Photo by David Sykes
“It was extremely gener-
ous. Extremely generous,”
Estes said.
“(Without her) this
would still be just a dream,”
he added. “She made it
happen.”
Remembrance walk/run
to beneit local EMS
To put it in perspective,
Cutsforth explained that,
to date, $76,000 has been
spent on the project—mi-
nus any cost for the land
and without so much as a
nail having gone into the
building.
“There’s no way the
city had $76,000 in the
bank,” said Cutsforth. “And
I don’t know how many
See GROUNDBREAKING/
PAGE SIX
A false alarm at a bank stop on the vehicle. The
in Irrigon last week led to driver of the pickup, later
a high-speed chase across identiied as Lawrence Al-
North Morrow County, len Perrin, 39, of Irrigon,
eventually resulting in an failed to acknowledge the
police emergency lights and
arrest.
refused to stop.
Last Wednes-
The high-speed
day around 8:18
chase continued
a.m., the Morrow
eastbound on SE
County Sheriff ’s
Wyoming, where
Ofice responded to
Perrin again failed
a bank alarm call at
to stop at the inter-
the Bank of Eastern
section of SE Wyo-
Oregon in Irrigon, Lawrence
according to a state- Allen Perrin ming and Division.
Neubert followed
ment released by
Senior Deputy Ryan Jundt. the pickup south on Divi-
As deputies arrived, sion and called dispatch to
Deputy Colleen Neubert advise she was in a pursuit.
MCSO deputies were
noticed a black four-door
Nissan pickup speeding able to maintain a visual
away from the area. While on the vehicle throughout a
Deputy Todd Siex spoke pursuit that covered several
with bank employees and county roads south of Ir-
determined the bank call rigon and at times reached
to be a false alarm, Neu- speeds of 95 mph. The
bert followed the speeding pickup at times left public
pickup south on S. First St. roads and cut across farm
The Nissan pickup roads and farm ields.
Nearly 15 minutes lat-
failed to stop at the inter-
section of S First St. and er, around 8:30 a.m., the
SE Wyoming Ave., and
See HIGH SPEED CHASE/
PAGE FIVE
Neubert attempted a trafic
MCGG employee hangs up keys after
more than 30 years on the road
the video input that will
of miles of roads, he’s seen man,” often having to go partner waded into the pond
guide emergency medical By Andrea Di Salvo
After nearly four de- a few things.
repossess machinery for the with chains to hook up the
responders as they insert
“Some of the things Grain Growers.
drills, he recalls, but they
the breathing tube, allowing cades with Morrow County
Grain Growers, Hal Berg- I’ve seen behind the wind-
strom hung up his hat—or shield,” he recalls. “If they
his keys—this week. And, had a video camera up
he says, retirement has been there, some of the close
a long time coming.
calls you have when
“We could start
you’re packing
working at seven or
65,000 pounds of
eight years of age,
dead weight.”
pulling rye or pick-
He remembers,
ing rocks, so it’s
for instance, driving
been a long road
through cities like
Pioneer Memorial Hospi- here,” he says. “I Hal
Seattle and Spokane
Bergstrom
tal would like to purchase a
figure,
38
years,
when the teamsters
glidescope similar to this one
I’ve
put
my
time
were on strike, and
with funds donated by Friends
in.
It’s
time
to
let
someone
wondering
if it was safe
Helping Friends. -Contributed
younger take over, someone to stop for gas because
photo
who needs a job.”
they might think he was
Bergstrom, 65, was “scabbing,” or breaking Hal Bergstrom in days past.
them to more quickly and
easily secure an airway in born in Pendleton but raised the strike.
in the Eightmile area; his
“It got pretty interest-
“One time I went to couldn’t pull them out of
an emergency situation.
“The intubation will dad and mom lived on the ing,” he adds with a bit of Burns to repo a set of drills. the pond with their equip-
When we found them, they ment. “I had to actually
deinitely have the ability Frank Anderson ranch at understatement.
Bergstrom says he was were sitting in the middle See BERGSTROM RETIRES/
to save lives,” said Rhea, Ruggs. During his teen-
PAGE EIGHT
noting that many of the dis- age years, he says he spent also known as “the repo of a pond,” he says. His
trict’s ambulance transports some time working for Eric
See FRIENDS HELPING Anderson and Shirley Rugg
FRIENDS/PAGE EIGHT before graduating from
Heppner High School in
Local artist Andrew of the Arts, Seattle. He is
1970.
Sykes will have an open- also employed as a graphic
After high school, he ing exhibit of his works at designer and digital printer
enlisted in the U.S. Navy the Pendleton Center of the at Sykes Brothers Printing,
for four years, stationed in Arts, 214 N. Main St., Pend- LLC, Pendleton, which he
San Diego on the U.S.S. leton, beginning this Thurs- operates with his brother,
Kitty Hawk. After the Navy, day, Feb. 4, from 5:30-7 Chris Sykes.
he returned to the Heppner p.m. Hors d’oeuvres and
The show will run Feb.
area, working again for a beverages will be served. 4-29 and is open to the pub-
few years for locals like
S y k e s , a H e p p n e r lic Tuesday through Friday
Anderson and Rugg, as well High School alumnus, has from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and
as Art Warren. Then, in the a Bachelor of Fine Arts de- Saturday from noon to 4
late ‘70s, he took a job with gree from Cornish College p.m.
Andrew Sykes
MCGG in Lexington.
Bergstrom says he
spent his irst three years
in the shop working as a
mechanic. He started driv-
ing truck for MCGG 35
years ago, and that’s when
things got interesting. He
Sage Ferguson, daughter of Charlie and Jodi Ferguson of says he’s driven everything
Lexington, harvested her irst elk last Sunday from about 400 from lowboys hauling ma-
yards (about the distance to the vehicle in the background) chinery to trucks hauling
with one shot. She took the elk around the Gurdane area. Sage grain, fertilizer or fuel.
Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed
was a recipient of an elk damage program tag through Oregon
And, over those thousands
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main ofice)
Department of Fish and Wildlife. -Contributed photo
Coordinators of the
annual Friends Helping
Friends Remembrance
Walk/5K Run have an-
nounced that this year’s
proceeds will go to Morrow
County Health District for
use in Pioneer Memorial
Hospital and emergency
services.
“Friends Helping
Friends has helped us for
several years,” said Molly
Rhea, Director of Nursing
at PMH. “Doing so, they’ve
emphasized home health
and emergency services.”
With that in mind,
planned purchases by the
district include a glidescope
for the ambulance and a
blood warmer for use in the
emergency room and for
elective procedures.
Rhea said the glides-
cope is a portable device
used for intubation, or
opening an airway for a
patient who has dificulty
breathing. The special fea-
ture on this glidescope is
Local artist to hold exhibit
G-T Trophy Corner
All Montana Silversmith Jewelry