Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 3, 2016
DEVELOPMENT
St. Paddy’s Cruz-In ECONOMIC
the area.
encourage professionals to
“You
still
have
your
He
recommended
that
out of Heppner, Lex-
planned for March 19 keystone businesses and WCVEDG visit three other work
ington or Ione one or two
-Continued from PAGE ONE
Classic car enthusiasts take a look at entries in last year’s
Cruz-In. -File photo
On March 19, the 15 th
annual St. Paddy’s Cruz-In
will be held during the 34 rd
annual St. Patrick’s Cel-
ebration in Heppner.
The car show area
will be on Willow Street
(between Heppner Family
Foods and St. Patrick’s Se-
nior Center) from 9 a.m. – 3
p.m. For anyone who has a
classic vehicle and wants to
join the show, registration
will start at 9. The price is
$20 per vehicle.
Awards this year will
i n c l u d e L e p r e c h a u n ’s
Choice, Mustang’s Choice,
Best Convertible, Best
1910s – 1920s Car or Pick-
up, Best Street Rod, Best
Paint, Best Restomod Car,
Best of Show and more.
Also, there is a Partici-
pant’s Choice award to be
voted on by the car owners
themselves. Judging will
begin at 9 a.m. The awards
will be given out around
2:30 p.m. on Willow Street.
The event will include
a participant’s poker walk
through five downtown
businesses, with cash prize
for the irst and second-best
poker hand.
The public is invited to
come and walk through the
cars and reminisce as long
as they wish. Depending on
the weather, cars from all
over are expected to attend.
The following are spon-
soring the awards: Heppner
Auto Parts, Heppner High
School, Les Schwab Tires,
Lexington Auto Body, Pet-
tyjohn’s Supply, Morrow
County Grain Growers,
Lexington Machine, Lex-
ington Mini Market, Os-
min’s Century Welding and
Heppner Family Foods.
With questions, to have
obtain an entry form for the
Cruz-In or to volunteer to
help, please contact Hep-
pner Chamber of Com-
merce at 541-676-5536 or
Gary Jones at 541-676-
5456.
HIGH SPEED CHASE
-Continued from PAGE ONE and his two passengers.
pursuit crossed I-84 and
entered property belonging
to Green Wood Resources
(Boardman Tree Farm).
Deputies continued to pur-
sue the Nissan through the
tree farm access roads,
where Perrin again drove
at speeds of up to 95 mph.
The pursuit then went into
farm ground to the east of
the tree farm.
Thirty minutes into the
chase, around 8:49 a.m.,
Perrin tried navigate a left
turn on County Line Rd.
but lost control, sliding the
pickup into a dirt embank-
ment.
The accident caused
two lat tires on the right
side, effectively disabling
the vehicle, and deputies
were able to detain Perrin
The passengers were
identiied as Brian William
Barnes, 29, of Umatilla and
Cassandra Lynn Huling, 33,
of Irrigon.
After interviews where
completed, Barnes and Hul-
ing were released. Perrin
was arrested on two charges
of attempt to elude, a felo-
ny, as well as driving while
suspended, reckless driv-
ing, reckless endangerment
and criminal trespass II.
He was later charged
with contempt of court and
parole violation. Perrin was
lodged at Umatilla County
Jail with bail set at $49,284.
The Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office was as-
sisted by the Boardman
Police Department and the
Oregon State Police.
Justice Court Report
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace Ann Spicer
has released the following
Justice Court report:
-Christine Rae Rankin,
51, of Heppner was found
guilty of driving uninsured
and was ined $260.
-Michael Dixon, 36, of
Heppner was found guilty
of violating the basic rule
73/55 and was ined $160.
-Anthony Dale Looney,
31, of Heppner was found
guilty of Driving While
Suspended – Misdemeanor.
Sentence of 180 days jail
time was suspended and
the defendant sentenced to
18 months bench proba-
tion with 20 hours of com-
munity service. Fines, fees
and assessments totaled
$857, with the option for
the defendant to complete
additional community ser-
vice in lieu of a portion of
the ine.
HAVE YOU SHOPPED OUR
NEW INFANT & TODDLER
DEPARTMENT?
agencies with very capable
folks, such as inance, post
ofice, Forest Service, city
and county government
and health care,” he told
a crowd of 50 community
leaders attending the lunch
meeting held at Heppner’s
new Gateway Café. Sorte
said most businesses are
doing a great job of captur-
ing the local market and that
although there was money
leaving town “it was not
as much leakage as I had
expected.”
On the negative side
Sorte said some of the local
businesses need upgraded
or expanded facilities, and
that our population is stag-
nant or declining. He said
the main surge of tourists
bringing dollars into the
community continues to
come from hunting, but that
overall hunting in Oregon is
on the decline, saying there
are approximately four mil-
lion people in Oregon with
fewer than 250,000 hunting
licenses issued last year.
During his fact find-
ing, which was part of a
Business Retention and
Recruitment study commis-
sioned by WCVEDG, Sorte
did 26 formal interviews
across the county covering
businesses, tourism, health
care, faith, Port of Morrow,
government, schools and
residents.
One of Sorte’s recom-
mendations on how to re-
tain businesses in South
County was by forming a
team of government entre-
preneurs that would meet
regularly with local busi-
ness managers and ind a
way to provide incentives
to local businesses—in-
centives such as tax relief,
infrastructure, transitional
housing for new employees,
and an expanded volunteer
base—asking government
agencies in South County
to chart their purchases for
a year and visit with them
about any purchases outside
rural communities with
populations greater than
2,000 and walk though their
businesses similar to those
in Heppner, Lexington and
Ione. WCVEDG would
meet with mayors and city
managers to discuss busi-
ness incentives and market-
ing, looking for ideas to use
in South Morrow County.
Sorte’s ideas on ex-
panding local businesses
touched on ways to in-
crease visitors’ purchases
in our cities, with electronic
signs when entering each
town, and advertising script
that could be used dur-
ing high tourist trafic for
use throughout the Willow
Creek valley. He said each
town should also have a
sign that names one busi-
ness offering free Wi-Fi for
visitors to access.
He also named as pos-
sible business boosts fund-
ing an elevator to create
two short-term-stay studio
apartments/hotel rooms in
the upstairs of a downtown
building in Heppner. Sorte
said customers, suppli-
ers, candidates, new em-
ployees and visitors need
more choices in temporary
housing when they visit
here. Expanding the vaca-
tion rental opportunities in
South County was also a
suggestion.
To recruit new business
to the area, Sorte recom-
mended a marketing cam-
paign with a test year of ad-
vertising in the magazines
“1859” or “Sunset” promot-
ing the area; promoting es-
tablishment of a 3D printing
summer institute for high
school students; setting
up a “community kitchen”
approach to small manufac-
turing; visiting with busi-
nesses and developing a
list of their largest suppliers
and customers, for possible
satellite ofices, free in the
city or county buildings;
and establishing free space
for high-value services to
days a week.
On the tourism side of
business in South County,
Sorte recommended im-
provements to Ione and
Heppner RV parks neces-
sary to be listed in Wood-
all’s Travel Guide and
Campground Directory, a
widely used resource for
people who travel and visit
campgrounds.
Woodall’s Travel Guide
and Campground Directory
Sorte also suggested
developing a mailing list
from community events so
visitors from outside the
region can be mailed semi-
annual newsletters.
Sorte’s report also cov-
ered ways to retain and
recruit new residents to
South Morrow County. He
recommends upgrading the
Ione sewer system; keeping
the housing grant program
going with an emphasis on
existing stock; considering
returning to a ive or four/
ive day school week, an
August start date and seek-
ing out synchronous online
classes for Eastern promise;
considering investor inanc-
ing for a new Heppner
K-12 facility; developing
a long-term business plan
for the Ione pre-K; sub-
sidizing itness centers at
the schools; and mayors
interviewing new residents
and in-commuters and de-
brieing people who leave.
After receiving the en-
tire report, the WCVEDG
plans on prioritizing the
- FIVE
recommendations for fur-
ther possible action.
In other business at
the annual
meeting
the group,
which has
about 35
members,
elected Da-
vid Sykes
as chairman 2016
for the com- WCVEDG
ing year. He Chairman
will replace David Sykes
Ed Rollins,
who was presented with a
gift certiicate for his ser-
vice to the group.
Two new board mem-
bers were also voted in,
Dan Houser, new CEO of
the Morrow County Health
District, and Jerry Sorte,
new Morrow County Ad-
ministrator. They will join
other board members Ed
Rollins, Jeff Bailey, Nancy
Snider, Kim Cutsforth and
Marcia Kemp. Kemp was
also named secretary again
for the coming year, and
Sykes named treasurer for
another year. Sheryll Bates
is the administrator for the
WCVEDG.
The group also received
a report on the success of the
housing grant program ad-
ministered by WCVEDG,
which has given out more
than $235,000 in grants to
home buyers. The program
has been re-funded by the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone (CREZ) and will be
continued in 2016 as long
as funds are available. WC-
VEDG also administered a
Community Enhancement
program in which $75,000,
also funded by CREZ, was
given out to various local
groups for community proj-
ects. WCVEDG’s operating
budget is funded through
Morrow County, and that
funding was also renewed
for 2015-2016 iscal year.
Anyone wishing to be a
member of WCVEDG can
call Bates at 541-676-5536
or Sykes at 541-676-9228.
Cost is $25 and the group
will invoice new members.
Heppner classes offer family caregivers
powerful tools for self help
Are you feeling
stretched while caring for
a loved one in declining
health? Do you know some-
one who is?
Far too often family
caregivers don’t take good
care of themselves when
they become primary care-
givers for a loved one. The
results can be detrimental to
both them and the persons
receiving care.
“When it comes to
caregiving, the situation
is similar to putting on an
oxygen mask while travel-
ing by plane—put on your
own mask before assisting
someone else,” said Helena
Wolfe, Health Promotion
Coordinator for the Area
Agency on Aging at CAPE-
CO. “Caregivers who take
good care of themselves are
better equipped to help their
loved ones.”
To help reduce care-
giver stress, CAPECO is
offering a short-term edu-
cational program called
D
A
W
E
T
N
Powerful Tools for Care-
givers. This free six-week
series is designed to help
family caregivers take care
of themselves while caring
for a relative or friend with
a chronic health condition.
All participants will receive
The Caregiver Helpbook, a
book developed speciically
for the class.
“Sometimes people are
confused about whether
they would be considered
a family caregiver,” Wolfe
continued. “For our pur-
poses, a family caregiver
is anyone involved in sup-
port and decision-making
for a chronically ill or el-
derly loved one. The par-
ent, spouse, child, or friend
receiving care could live in
their own home, your home,
a nursing or assisted living
facility, or even across the
country.
The role of family care-
giver is quite broad and
varied. What they have in
common is that all too often
individuals in a caregiving
situation find themselves
depleted, anxious and even
depressed.”
Wolfe said research
shows that those who attend
the class series and imple-
ment the tools increase their
self-care and confidence,
and by doing so, begin to
thrive in a caregiving situ-
ation.
“Our class participants
build a toolkit of self-help
and communication skills
to assist them with the care-
giving process,” she said.
“The tools focus on reduc-
ing stress, improving self-
conidence, communicating
feelings better, balancing
one’s life, increasing the
ability to make tough deci-
sions, and locating helpful
resources. We are fortunate
to have Powerful Tools for
Caregivers available in the
community because this
class has the power to saves
lives.”
The series of six week-
ly one-and-a-half-hour ses-
sions begins Thursday, Feb.
18, and continues through
March 24. Each session
will meet from 2:30-4 p.m.
in the dining room at St.
Patrick’s Senior Center, 190
N Main St., Heppner. Pre-
registration and attendance
at the irst class is required.
For more informa-
tion or to register, contact
Wolfe at 541-561-5443 or
hwolfe@capeco-works.org.
If you are interested
in this program but cannot
attend at this time, contact
Wolfe to be added to a wait-
ing list for future classes.
Have a news story or photo for
the Gazette?
e-mail editor@rapidserve.net
call 541-676-9228
or stop by the office on Willow
St., Heppner Today
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