HEPPNER
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Progress continues on new
ire hall
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 22 10 Pages
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
With the foundation laid, the new ire hall in Heppner is going up by leaps and bounds. The
hall is estimated to be complete in late August. -Photo by David Sykes
Warm weather
expected to continue
through June
Heppner seniors turn their tassels
The 25 members of the Heppner High School Class of 2016 held their commencement exercises on Saturday, June 4, in the
Heppner High School gymnasium. -Photo by Sandra Putman
Despite some cold and
breezy days and near-freez-
ing night, weather in the
month of May averaged
warmer than normal in the
Heppner area, a trend that
is expected to continue
through June, according
to the National Weather
service.
According to prelimi-
nary data received by the
NWS in Pendleton, the
average temperature in May
was 57.9 degrees, which
was 1.8 degrees above nor-
mal. High temperatures av-
precipitation of at least .01
inch was received on seven
days with the heaviest, 0.74
inches, reported on the 15 th .
Precipitation this year
has reached 5.93 inches,
which is 1.35 inches below
normal. Since October, the
water-year precipitation
at Heppner has been 9.77
inches, which is 1.57 inches
below normal.
The highest wind gust
was 35 mph, which oc-
curred on the both the
fourth and eighth.
The outlook for June
Smith has plan to deal with PERS bubble
By David Sykes
Oregon Representative
Greg Smith says he did
not create the PERS (Pub-
lic Employee Retirement)
funding crisis, but he has a
plan on how to deal with it.
And as an inluential mem-
ber of the legislature and
the Co-Vice Chair on the
Ways and Means, he’s in a
pretty good place to push
for those changes.
The State of Oregon
has a $22 billion unfunded
liability in the PERS fund,
Smith said at a recent meet-
ing of the Heppner Cham-
ber of Commerce.
“I did not create the
PERS crisis,” he is quick
to point out, explaining
how in the 1980s the public
employee unions wanted a
pay raise but was instead
given a generous guaran-
teed retirement fund, one
the state now has no money
to pay for.
Smith says this gener-
ous funding arrangement
has been challenged several
times in court and each time
it has been ruled a contrac-
tual agreement which the
legislature cannot change.
“The Supreme Court
says we have to pay it
Temperatures are expected to remain above normal with
near-normal moisture for the month of June.
Oregon District 57 Representative Greg Smith recently addressed the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce. Smith is in a good position to wield considerable inluence, as he is Co-Vice Chair
of the Ways and Means Committee in this year’s legislative session. -Photo by David Sykes
and the State of Oregon
must honor it, and as vice
co-chair of the Ways and
Means I see a tidal wave
coming at us,” Smith says
of the large amount of un-
funded payments the state
and tax payers are obligated
to pay. “We have to handle
it,” he adds, saying there
are 25 more years of the
payments in the pipeline.
To “fix” the problem
Smith says his plan is for
the state to take out bonds
for the next 25 years, pay
the PERS with the bonds
and effectively “get the is-
sue off the table.”
“This will stagger the
payments out of the general
fund. You are going to have
to pay the bill and I feel this
is the best way to do it,”
Smith told the Chamber of
Commerce. He says the al-
ternative is to “keep rolling
along” and dealing with the
payments in each budget
cycle with the uncertainty
that brings to the budgeting
system.
Smith says small tax-
ing districts will have the
most dificulty dealing with
the large PERS liability, but
Energy Siting Council to discuss
Wheatridge Wind Facility
The Wheatridge Wind
Energy Facility is on the
agenda when the Oregon
Energy Facility Siting
Council holds its meeting
June 17 in Boardman. The
meeting will be held at city
hall and starts at 8 a.m. No
public comment will be
taken at the meeting, and
the Wheatridge Wind Farm
is only one of seven items
on the council’s agenda.
The council will re-
ceive a presentation and
review the Draft Proposed
Order for the Wheatridge
Wind Energy Facility, ac-
cording to the agenda. “The
Council will not permit
comments on any issue that
may be the basis for a con-
tested case,” it states. The
council had taken public
comment on the facility at
an earlier meeting.
The new facility will
consist of 292 towers and
stretch from the Bombing
Range to the outskirts of
Heppner, and will also be
located partly in Umatilla
County.
Marijuana edibles now legal
OHA provides information to help keep children safe
On June 2 edible mari-
juana products containing
up to 15 mg of THC be-
came available for retail
sale in registered medi-
cal marijuana dispensaries
across the state to adults 21
or over. Although zoning
laws regulating marijuana
dispensaries may vary from
city to city, the accessibility
of marijuana edibles still
creates a safety concern for
children.
Smoking marijuana has
the added risk of harmful
smoke exposure, but eating
or drinking marijuana still
exposes you to THC, the
chemical that makes you
high. While you quickly
feel the effects of smoked
-See MARIJUANA EDIBLES/
PAGE TEN
that the local school district
has done a good job with its
PERS. It was pointed out
that Morrow County chose
not to participate in PERS at
the time, and therefore has
a lower retirement liability
than most public bodies.
In other comments to
the chamber Smith said
the proposed corporate tax
increase coming to voters
for approval is a bad deal
for Oregon and he urged a
no vote.
“That tax comes right
off the top of gross sales,”
he points out. He said it
would be a bad deal for
our local businesses like
MCGG and Columbia Ba-
sin Electric. “Keep in mind
what it is going to do to
business. Corporations will
not want to expand here in
Oregon,” he said.
He said there is a $1.4
billion shortfall in the state
budget this biennium and
voters will hear a lot of talk
to pass the new corporate
tax. “It is sales tax on ste-
roids,” he told the chamber.
“IP28 (the corporate tax
bill) is not in the best inter-
ests of this community or
this state,” he said.
eraged 70.3 degrees, which
was 1.6 degrees above nor-
mal. The highest was 83
degrees on the fourth. Low
temperatures averaged 45.6
degrees, which was two
degrees above normal. The
lowest was 34 degrees on
the 20 th .
Precipitation totaled
2.22 inches during May,
which was 0.56 inches
above normal. Measurable
from NOAA’s Climate Pre-
diction Center calls for
above-normal temperatures
and near-normal precipita-
tion. Normal highs for Hep-
pner rise from 73 degrees
at the start of June to 81
degrees at the end of June.
Normal lows rise from 47
degrees to 51 degrees. The
30-year normal precipita-
tion is 1.38 inches.
Final report of 2016
snow season predicts
low summer streamlow
The last of the winter’s snow at McKenzie Pass. -Photo courtesy
of Bill Overman (Oregon NRCS)
PORTLAND, OR—
Oregon’s snow season was
shortened by early snow-
melt, even after most of the
state’s mountains achieved
near-normal to above-nor-
mal seasonal snowpack.
Warm temperatures and
rapid snowmelt during
April resulted in an unusual
amount of snowpack loss,
even breaking records in
-See SNOW REPORT/PAGE
TEN
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242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main ofice)