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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2016)
HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 135 NO. 20 8 Pages Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Lindsay, Doherty elected to county court The 2016 Primary percent in Boardman, 65 out the county, with narrow Election is over, and Mor- percent in Irrigon, 65 per- margins in every precinct row County voters have cent in Lexington, 65 per- and Rea beating Doherty in both Ione and Hep- spoken. Here’s a closer cent in Ione and 64 percent in pner. Results by pre- look at the unoficial Heppner. cinct are: Board- results of some of Incum- man—Doherty 60 the contested races: b e n t M o r- percent, Rea 39 Elected as new row County percent; Irrigon— county judge/com- Commis- Doherty 56 percent, missioner with 65 sioner Leann Rea 44 percent; Lex- percent of the vote Melissa R e a w a s Jim Doherty ington—Doherty 53 is Melissa Lindsay. Lindsay ousted by percent, Rea 47 per- Lindsay’s victory over opponent Greg Sweek Jim Doherty by a narrow cent; Ione—Rea 51 percent, seems decisive, as she re- margin of 51 percent to 48 Doherty 49 percent; and ceived more than 63 percent percent county-wide. The Heppner—Rea 58 percent, of the votes in each of the contest between Doherty -See ELECTION RESULTS/ county’s ive precincts--68 and Rea was tense through- PAGE THREE Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Cougar sighting Overlow crowd hears mostly positive reported in Heppner comments on proposed new wind farm The Morrow County Sheriff’s Ofice has issued a community safety bulletin regarding a reported cou- gar sighting early Sunday morning. According to the MCSO bulletin, a cougar sighting was reported in the early morning hours of May 22 on Water Street in Heppner. Though the report was not verified by any other parties, law enforce- ment said it came from “a reliable source.” MCSO asked that area residents continue to be vigilant and keep a close eye on children and pets. If a cougar is spotted, please contact MCSO at 541-676-5317 or, in case of an emergency, dial 9-1-1. HHS baccalaureate planned for next week Heppner High School’s baccalaureate celebration will take place next Wednesday, June 1, at 6:30 p.m. at St Patrick’s Catholic Church. Rep. Smith helps bring transportation committee to District 57 Public hearing scheduled on June 29 in Hermiston HEPPNER—Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner) recently announced he was successful in working with Oregon House leadership to have District 57 listed as one of the nine locations where the Joint Committee on Transportation Preser- vation and Modernization will visit and hold public hearings. The committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on June 29 at 2 p.m. in the Hermiston High School auditorium. All are invited to attend. The Joint Committee on Transportation Preser- vation and Modernization was announced last month and tasked to develop a signiicant comprehensive and strategic transportation package for the Legislature to consider during the 2017 Legislative Session. Smith, a member of the committee, worked with House leader- ship to determine locations for public hearings outside of Salem. The hearings will allow local oficials and the public to testify on vari- ous transportation projects and policies they believe should be included in the anticipated transportation package. The committee will also tour local transporta- tion hubs and projects, and visit with regional ODOT officials and members of various Area Commissions on Transportation. After their hearing in Hermiston, the committee will visit the Port of Morrow to gain a irst-hand understanding of transportation needs in the area and how targeted in- vestments might strengthen economic growth for the region and state. “I want to thank House leadership for allowing the committee to travel to East- ern Oregon and hear from our local communities, counties and ports,” said Smith. “Our region relies on the transportation system to connect communities and export our commodities. I believe having the commit- tee travel outside of Salem is the right decision. This will help develop a more robust and comprehensive package that will beneit all of Oregon.” G-T closed Memorial Day The Heppner Gazette-Times of- fice will be closed Memorial Day, May 30, for the holiday. All news and ad deadlines will be this Friday, May 27, by 5 p.m. The newspaper office will reopen on Tuesday, May 31. By David driving your Sykes pickup down A large the road,” he crowd of said of the about 75 that noise. overflowed Not ev- into the hall- eryone was way at the city in favor of council room the project, last week in h o w e v e r. Boardman Irene Gilbert heard mostly spoke against positive com- the project. ments about a Gilbert is a new 292-tow- member of er Wheatridge the Friends wind farm of the Grande proposed for Ronde Val- 13,097 acres ley, a group in Morrow formed to and Umatilla actively stop counties. windmills A f t e r This map shows the location of the new wind farm, part of which is located in Morrow County from coming several years and part in Umatilla County. In Morrow County the towers will be built from the Bombing into Union Range to the outskirts of Heppner. of develop- County. Gil- ment, the project is moving ranging from the jobs that in North Morrow County. bert testiied that all public “It has been three years health and safety issues toward inal approval by the will be provided to the ad- Oregon Department of En- ditional income lowing to since we have been on this about windmills have not ergy. Part of the process is farm families who have the project and has been noth- been addressed, and that holding public hearings on towers on their property. It ing but good. I am in favor noise is not being properly the project. A second hear- was also pointed out that of this.” Heideman said he monitored at windmill sites. ing is scheduled for June 6, the county’s new $4 million also had property in the She also told the Facility also at Boardman City Hall. dollar Bartholomew build- Wheatridge project. “This Siting Council that the ap- At last Thursday’s ing was built with funds is good for the economy, in- plication was improperly hearing, which was held from wind tower taxes in comes and the land owners. put together and that the We have things we hadn’t Wheatridge project is actu- in front of members of the Morrow County. As an example Dana had before,” he said. Heide- ally two separate projects, State of Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council, Heideman of Ione said his man also said the towers and that the towers in Uma- most of the public was posi- family had 58 towers in the do not have a noise prob- -See WIND FARM HEAR- ING/PAGE THREE tive, with public comments Shepherds Flat wind farm lem. “Not any more than Gentry retires from teaching after 30-plus years By Andrea Di Salvo Heppner schools will be losing a long-time teach- er at the end of this school year, but she won’t be go- ing far. In fact, Terri Gentry, who teaches kindergarten through 12 th -grade health and physical itness in Hep- pner, implies that she may be using the term “retire- ment” rather loosely. Technically, her last day on the job is June 10, but “I don’t really plan on leaving,” says Gentry. Al- though she will no longer teach full time, she says she intends to continue her involvement with Heppner Elementary and Heppner High. That means she will continue to do things like coach volleyball, substitute teach, and serve as adviser to the class of 2020. Gentry has a long his- tory with Heppner schools but she isn’t native to Hep- pner. She was raised in Bend, where she graduated from Bend High School in 1976. She then attended Oregon State University, obtaining a teaching certii- cate in health and physical education in 1981. She irst came to Hep- pner during college because her boyfriend—now hus- band—Jerry Gentry’s fam- ily is here. She started on ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. summer breaks during col- lege, inding seasonal jobs like driving wheat truck, before moving here with her husband after gradu- ation. She started substi- tute teaching in Heppner schools right away, sub- bing for three or four years before a full-time position opened up. She stepped in when a teacher left in the middle of the school year and spent the next 30-1/2 years working with Hep- pner students. Most of that time has been spent teaching health and PE, but “There’s times off and on that I taught math and science, or sometimes daily living. Whatever they needed,” she says. Over the years, she certainly kept busy. “In the summer I still, for a while, drove wheat truck. Now we have a small hobby ranch that I help work,” she says. And, of course, there was school— not only teaching, but a whole community that went along with it. Terri Gentry will retire from teaching after more than 30 years in Heppner schools, but she says she’ll still be involved in many aspects of school life. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo “I grew up in a huge school. A small school is nice because you know ev- erybody,” she says, adding that that includes knowing when people need help with things like decorat- ing for prom or when an extracurricular event like a dodgeball tournament is happening. “There are all these other aspects of life in the Heppner school system. I just enjoy helping them with everything.” And, while the Gentrys’ two boys, Willie and Tate, are grown and out in the lo- cal workforce, she says she still has nieces and nephews in school to help out and cheer on in their activities. When asked why she’s retiring now, she jokes, “Because I can.” She admits she won’t really miss grading papers, but “I’ll miss teaching. I’ve done it for so long, and I really like the kids.” -See GENTRY RETIRES/ PAGE TWO HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY WEEKEND! Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main ofice)
