SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 13, 2016
COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES Navy announces decision on
-Continued from PAGE ONE
-LEANN REA County; and The Loop –
-JIM DOHERTY
where in this region and you
are—like as not—to strike
a member of my extended
family.
Prior government ex-
perience: I was both a board
member and chair of Jeffer-
son County SWCD, chair of
the Trout Creek Watershed
Council and past board
member of the Morrow
County SWCD.
Why are you running
for commissioner? What
began as a love for the
people and places of Mor-
row County has grown
over the years, becoming
an irrepressible desire to
go to work for the same. I
feel a synergy building that
will move Morrow County
to the forefront in both liv-
ability and commerce. To
do this, is going to require
someone who is approach-
able, open and has some
vision or foresight, coupled
with an abundance of com-
mon sense.
What do you feel is the
biggest challenge facing
Morrow County? First and
foremost, I believe that
brighter days and better
tomorrows far outweigh
the difficulties that face
us. That said, if you ask
10 different people this
question, you are likely to
get 10 different answers.
The reason behind this is
that the biggest challenge
is the real and/or perceived
geographic and municipal
inequities in the county. For
those who feel disenfran-
chised, be it north, south,
urban or rural they need a
chance to be heard. Not just
heard, but listened to.
How would you ad-
dress it as a member of the
Morrow County Court?
My wife, son and I have
built a livestock business
that fits more easily into
the outskirts of our county.
We have done so amidst the
hum and rush of Oregon’s
most successful enterprise
zone. Born and raised as
far from civilization as one
can get in this county, I
understand and sympathize
with the challenges of our
most rural sector. From the
farmer who feels threat-
ened with the inevitable ad-
vance of renewable conduit
to those who feel fortune
about to blow their way, I
will lend an ear. Only with
reasoned, balanced input
will I govern.
my mother passed in June
of 2015 at the age of 94.
I have one son, Rick Rea,
living in the county, and the
other three children reside
outside of the area. Other
county family members in-
clude my brother and sister-
in-law, Marv and Tanna
Padberg and their children.
I also have a brother-in-law
and sister-in-law, Keith and
Judy Rea, and two of their
children residing in the Ione
area, and a sister-in-law,
Katherine Martin, living in
the Lexington area.
Prior government ex-
perience: Prior to being
elected County Commis-
sioner in 2008, I served on
the Morrow County Budget
Committee for 10 years.
I also sat on the Morrow
County Planning Commis-
sion for 13-plus years, serv-
ing as the chair for several
years. I served on the Mor-
row County Health District
Board before my election
to the County Court and
continue to serve in that
position. While I resided in
Boardman, I was a mem-
ber of the Umatilla Basin
Watershed Council, but
when I moved to Heppner
I was no longer eligible
to serve in that position. I
currently serve or represent
the county court on the fol-
lowing boards and commit-
tees: chair of the CAPECO
Board; Association of Or-
egon Counties Committees
on Water Policy, Forestry,
and Economic Develop-
ment; Columbia River En-
terprise Zone II Board;
Governor’s Advisory Board
on Energy & Agriculture;
Oregon Consortium Board;
Morrow County Economic
Task Force Committee;
Work Force Investment
Board; Morrow County
Fair Board; Neighborhood
Center of South Morrow
MARTIN CONVICTED
-Continued from PAGE ONE ever, the prison terms are
slaughter, assault and crimi-
nal mistreatment on June 1,
2015. He originally pled not
guilty to the counts but later
changed his plea to guilty.
Circuit Court Judge
Cristopher Brauer sen-
tenced Martin to ten years
in prison for first-degree
manslaughter. He also sen-
tenced Martin to 14 months
in prison for third-degree
assault and 30 months pris-
on time for the criminal
mistreatment count. How-
G erbera D aisies
S pring
B ouquet
S pecialS
S tarting at
$21.95!
l otS
of colorS to
chooSe from
i t ' S almoSt
p rom t ime !!
OrDer
earLY!
♥
Morrow County Transpor-
tation.
Why are you running
for commissioner? With
Judge Terry Tallman re-
tiring and Commissioner
Don Russell having only a
year and a half of experi-
ence, I feel that my seven
and a half years of expe-
rience is very important
for a smooth transition as
the county changes from
a judge and two part-time
commissioners, to three
part-time commissioners
and a county administrator
form of government. I be-
lieve I still have many new
ideas on how the county can
continue to move forward
and grow.
What do you feel is
the biggest challenge fac-
ing Morrow County? The
largest challenge for the
county at this time is the
development of a strong
and secure source of fund-
ing for the road department.
Since property taxes can no
longer be used to fund the
building and maintenance
of our bridges and approxi-
mately 900 miles of county
roads, a large problem has
been created.
How would you ad-
dress it as a member of the
Morrow County Court? As
a commissioner I would
continue working with oth-
ers to change the state gas
funding formula to create
a more equitable way to
calculate distributions to
the rural counties that have
a large number of road
miles to maintain while
having a lower population
and vehicle registration.
I would also continue to
explore other options, such
as additional dollars from
the tippage fees, Strategic
Investment Program (SIP)
agreements, or funding
from the Enterprise Zone.
♥ ♥
!
BRACELETS NOW IN STOCK
W e H ave F irst
C ommunion and
C onFirmation
G iFts & C ards
217 North Main St., Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426
Serving Morrow, Wheeler & Gilliam counties Since 1959
to run concurrently, and
Martin will receive credit
for time served. Martin
will also be subject to three
years of post-prison super-
vision; conditions will in-
clude an anger management
and parenting program. The
felony charges are Measure
11 offenses and subject to a
mandatory minimum sen-
tence, which means Martin
will not receive any reduc-
tion in sentencing such as
time off for good behavior.
Martin will also have to pay
$600 in ines.
In his closing state-
ment, Justice Brauer echoed
the sentiments of the vic-
tim’s family when he said
no amount of rehabilitation
could correct the results of
Martin’s choices and no
court decision could make
sense of the child’s death.
Boardman facility
SILVERDALE, WA—
The U.S. Navy, in coop-
eration with the National
Guard Bureau and Oregon
National Guard, has an-
nounced its decision to
implement its Preferred Al-
ternative, Alternative 2, to
support and conduct ongo-
ing and proposed military
readiness activities within
Naval Weapons Systems
Training Facility (NWSTF)
Boardman and associated
airspace.
According to a press
release, the Navy made its
decision after “carefully
considering the potential
impacts that training and
testing activities may have
on the human, natural and
cultural environment as
well as considering com-
ments on the proposal and
environmental analysis re-
ceived from government
agencies, American Indian
tribes and nations, and the
public.”
Implementation of the
Preferred Alternative, as
described in the Final En-
vironmental Impact State-
ment (EIS), is intended to
directly support military
readiness and promote the
continued vitality of NW-
STF Boardman as an es-
sential training resource.
The Proposed Action
includes measures to ensure
The U.S. Navy is moving forward with new plans for its Board-
man training facility. -Contributed photo
critical military readiness
requirements are met. The
Navy and Oregon National
Guard proposed to increase
the types and the number
of certain training activi-
ties conducted at NWSTF
Boardman; develop and
enhance training facilities
at NWSTF Boardman; and
create additional special use
airspace.
The Navy says the
proposed action is needed
to enhance the training
environment at NWSTF
Boardman—including
ranges, training areas and
instrumentation—to better
support current and future
unit and personnel training
requirements.
The Record of Decision
and completion of the Final
EIS follow several years
of research, analysis and
public involvement. The
Navy held two public scop-
ing meetings in October
2010 and two public meet-
ings in September 2012 to
provide information and
receive comments. The Fi-
nal EIS includes responses
from the Navy and the
Oregon National Guard to
the comments received on
the Draft EIS. In the Record
of Decision, the Navy also
considered and responded
to comments received after
publishing the Final EIS on
December 18, 2015.
The Record of Deci-
sion, Final EIS and support-
ing documents can be found
online at www.NWSTF-
BoardmanEIS.com, and at
several local public librar-
ies, including Oregon Trail
Library District’s Heppner
and Boardman branches.
BMCC, AARP offer driver safety
courses
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College and AARP
(American Association
of Retired Persons) have
teamed up to offer two
driver safety courses in
Morrow County in the next
couple of months.
The irst session will be
on Monday, March 14, at
the Boardman BMCC loca-
tion, 300 NE Front Street.
The next session will
be on Friday, April 22, in
Ione at the Ione Community
Church.
Both classes begin at
8:45 a.m. and wrap up at
approximately 4 p.m. Cost
is $20 for non-members of
AARP and $15 for AARP
members.
The AARP Driver Safe-
ty Program is the nation’s
irst and largest course for
drivers age 50 and older.
The course teaches attend-
ees defensive driving skills
and offers a refresher of
the rules of the road. Once
the course is completed,
participants may be eligible
for a discount on their auto
insurance.
Those interested in at-
tending are asked to reserve
a space in the class. Contact
BMCC Morrow County
at 541-481-2099 or email
at amorter@bluecc.edu, enrollment must be met
or contact the instructor to hold this class so pre-
directly—Lou Bisson at registration is required.
541-989-8141. Minimum
New FFA member
takes second with
‘riveting’ exhibit
Daniel Eubanks, a new member of Ione FFA Chapter, earned
second place at the State FFA Convention for his art exhibit
depicting “Rosy the Riveter.” Daniel also participated in the
FFA job interview career development event this year. -Photo
by Erin Heideman