No answers for neighborhood
suffering on-going nuisances
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 16
10 Pages
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
City offers apologies, but no solutions to junk cars,
trash and disturbances
Neighbors came to city council Monday to complain about a worsening problem of junk cars,
accumulating trash and late night noise and activity on property at Water Street in Heppner.
-Photo by David Sykes
-See NEIGHBORHOOD NUISANCE/PAGE TEN
Getting to know your county candidates
Morrow County Judge
Father sentenced in
death of infant
Morrow County Commissioner
Position 1
Editor’s note: While the position of Morrow County Judge
remains on the ballot in name, a decision by the Morrow County
Jim Doherty
Leann A. Rea
Court last September has changed the function of the position
Age: 51
Age: 75
to that of a part-time commissioner without the traditional ju-
Where are you from? I
Where are you from?
venile judicial duties of the county judge. The position remains
While I was born in Port- was born and raised on Joe
a six-year term.
Greg Sweek
Age: 63
Where are you from? I
was born at Pioneer Memo-
rial Hospi-
tal. Heppner
has always
been my
home.
Educa-
tional back-
Greg Sweek
g ro u n d : I
graduated
from Oregon State Uni-
versity with a BS in agri-
culture.
Family: My son, Ian,
and my daughter, Talia and
her family, live in Boise.
Prior government ex-
perience: I was Morrow
County Assessor and Tax
Collector for a combination
of 34 years.
Why are you running
for judge? I decided to run
for Morrow County Judge,
Melissa J. (Turner) Lind-
say
Age: 48
Where are you from?
I am proud
I was born
and raised
in Morrow
County. My
children
are the ifth
Melissa
generation
Lindsay
to work on
the family
farm at Sandhollow/Base-
line, in the middle of Mor-
row County.
Educational back-
ground: Graduate of Hep-
pner High School; Associ-
ate Degree in social science
from Mt. Hood Community
College, Gresham, OR; and
Bachelor of Science Degree
in business administration,
San Diego State University,
San Diego, CA.
By Andrea Di Salvo
ground. Investigation began
Nearly a year after the after the child became unre-
death of his 10-month-old sponsive while in the care
daughter, Travis Michael of her mother, KaSandra
Martin, 22, of Irri-
Martin; the mother
gon was sentenced
took her daughter
to 10 years in prison
to St. Anthony Hos-
for his role in her
pital in Pendleton
death.
on May 28, 2015.
Martin ap-
Savannah was then
peared in Morrow
transported by Life
County Circuit
Flight to Providence
Court last Friday Travis Martin Sacred Heart Medi-
and pled guilty to
cal Center and Chil-
one count of first-degree dren’s Hospital in Spokane,
manslaughter, one count WA, where she died later
of third-degree assault, and that afternoon.
one count of first-degree
Investigators deter-
criminal mistreatment, all mined the mother had no
felony counts.
role in the child’s death,
In May of 2015, Mar- but Martin was arrested on
tin reportedly threw his multiple charges of man-
10-month-old daughter, -See MARTIN CONVICTED/
PAGE SIX
Savannah Martin, to the
P Doherty Sheep Ranch.
Our home was in Uma-
tilla County; however, our
range and wheat land lay
as much in
Morrow as
in Umatilla
County. My
family and I
for the past
18 years
have re-
Jim Doherty
sided along
the mighty
Columbia on the outskirts
of Boardman.
Educational back-
ground: I have a two-year
production agriculture de-
gree followed by a BA in
business and history.
Family: My wife of 30
years, Kelly, and my son
Bryce (who owns and oper-
ates O’Doherty Outitters)
A 15-year-old Irrigon
make up my immediate male is awaiting arraign-
family. Yet cast a stone any- ment in the alleged rape of an
18-year-old female in Irrigon
-See COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES/PAGE SIX last weekend, according to a
press release from Morrow
County Sheriff Ken Matlack.
On Sunday, April 10,
Morrow County Sheriff’s De-
tective Brian Snyder respond-
ed to a call from Good Shep-
herd Hospital in Hermiston,
where an 18-year-old female
had reported being sexually
assaulted by a 15-year-old ju-
venile.
The incident reportedly
occurred at the 15-year-old
male’s Irrigon residence,
where the victim and her boy-
friend said they were visiting
the 15-year-old. The victim
land, I grew up in Morrow
County. My husband and I
lived in Condon, OR for a
few years (1965-1969) be-
fore return-
ing to Mor-
row County
to farm
ground in
the area of
Finley Land
Leann A. Rea Fill.
E d u -
cational
background: I graduated
Valedictorian from Ione
High School. Following
graduation, I married my
husband of 54 years. Dur-
ing that time, I attended
Blue Mountain Community
College, with business law
and bookkeeping being my
major classes.
Family: My husband
of 54 years passed away
in September of 2013, and
-See JUDGE CANDIDATES/PAGE SEVEN
Juvenile arraigned on
rape, sex abuse charges
Heppner man creates a living
legacy with trees
By Andrea Di Salvo
Arbor Day is April 29,
but local man Gerald “Jer-
ry” Smith is a little ahead of
schedule with his tree plant-
ing—about 20 years ahead.
Locals who drive down
Cannon St. in Heppner may
think nothing of the stand of
evergreens by the site of the
previous swimming pool,
but those trees represent
decades of care by Smith
and his family.
Smith, 75, was born
in southern Colorado and
worked in the oil fields
during his early adulthood.
In 1962, his wife, Sonja, an
Oregon native, persuaded
him to move to Heppner,
where her father worked at
the local mill. Smith also
took a job at the mill, and
the family put down roots
in Morrow County.
Daughter Vicki Ray-
burn says her parents al-
ways loved the outdoors.
“When the weather
started getting nice, they
were always out there
working in the yard,” she
recalls.
And out there working
in his yard was where the
Gazette-Times found Smith
on a sunny day in April—
though he works there alone
since his wife’s passing a
couple of years ago.
The stand of trees tow-
ers over the intersection be-
tween Cannon and Chase,
looking slightly out of place
in the midst of their more
deciduous neighbors. Smith
says he has four varieties in
the row of trees he planted
along the creek, including
With his health failing, Heppner’s Jerry Smith still cares for
a yard full of roses. –Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Sequoia, Douglas ir, and
a couple each of pine and
blue spruce.
Several of the trees
come with memories at-
tached. Smith says his
personal favorite is the
Lane County, one of the
event organizers, bicyclists
will set out this Sunday
from the Eugene, Cascades
& Coast Adventure Center
in Springield, OR and then
pedal through Central and
Eastern Oregon, climbing
more than 22,000 feet in
elevation, before the trip
culminates at the Oregon
Governor’s Conference on
Tourism at Wildhorse Re-
sort & Casino in Pendleton.
“Bicycle tourism is a
signiicant part of economic
growth in Oregon,” said
Kari Westlund, President
and CEO of Travel Lane
County. “Routes and trails
provide connectivity be-
tween communities like
Information sought on local
poaching case
The Oregon State Po-
lice is seeking information
regarding a deer poaching
in which three mule deer
does were shot and left to
waste.
The incident occurred
on Dick Snider’s property
on Brenner Canyon Road,
approximately two miles
off lower Rhea Creek Road.
Police suspect the deer were
shot Monday, March 21.
Information leading to
an arrest could qualify for
a TIP (Turn-In-Poachers)
reward. Anyone who has
information regarding the
incident should call Senior
Trooper Brian Jewett at
541-980-6081.
-See RAPE INVESTIGA-
TION/PAGE TEN
Serious injury North
Morrow accident
under investigation
Sequoia, which he brought
Morrow County Sher-
home from Crescent City,
CA. The larger of the pine iff’s Office is investigat-
trees stands as a memorial ing a serious-injury motor
vehicle accident involving
to his son.
-See LIVING LEGACY/ a pickup and a semi-truck
PAGE TEN last Friday.
According to Morrow
County Undersheriff John
Bowles, MCSO was alerted
to the accident on Tower
Road, Boardman around
9:40 a.m. last Friday. The
McKenzie River and the caller advised that the ac-
Oakridge/Westir area, and cident, which involved a
continue to be a massive Dodge pickup and a Milky
attraction to visitors from Way semi-truck, occurred
across the nation. In fact, south of 1-84 on Tower
bicycle tourism earned the Road near Loves Truck
state nearly $400 million Stop. The driver of the
Dodge was reported to be
in 2012.”
Throughout the ride, trapped inside the vehicle.
The first emergency
-See BIKE TOUR/PAGE responders arrived on the
Bicycle enthusiasts to stop in Heppner
during 360-mile bike tour
Wheels will be roll-
ing through Heppner next
week—bicycle wheels, that
is.
Bicycling enthusiasts
will be rolling into town
next Thursday, April 21, as
part of a six-day, 360-mile
bike tour of the state’s sce-
nic bikeways.
According to Travel
reported that she was sexu-
ally assaulted by the juvenile
around 1 a.m. that night; she
informed her boyfriend the
next morning that the 15-year-
old had done something to her
during the night but did not
disclose the details.
The victim said she was
“upset, confused and didn’t
know what to do,” accord-
ing to Matlack. She said she
called a friend, who advised
her to tell her parents. She
said she followed her friend’s
advice, and her parents took
her to the hospital.
Detective Snyder initi-
ated a sexual assault investi-
gation and received suficient
TWO
scene about ive minutes af-
ter the call. Crews removed
the pickup’s driver from the
wreckage and the driver
was air-lifted by Life Flight
to Kadlec Regional Medi-
cal Center in Richland,
WA. MCSO stated that, at
last report, the patient was
receiving medical attention
and the family was being
notiied.
MCSO is currently in-
vestigating the accident,
and Oregon State Police
is assisting with accident
reconstruction. MCSO also
was assisted by Boardman
Police Department, Board-
man fire, Boardman am-
bulance, Morrow County
Public Works, Discount
Towing and J&J Towing.
UP TO $2000 REBATES
CALL JASON FOR MORE INFORMATION BEFORE APRIL 30TH
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net