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
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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)