Ione grand marshals put the
ireworks in the Fourth of July
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 25 8 Pages
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Members of the Ione Fourth of July ireworks crew set up for last year’s big ireworks show,
placing shells and boxes in pre-dug trenches and holes. -File photo by Jay Reid
Merkley hit with power line questions
Boardman to Hemingway questions asked at town hall
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley addresses a town hall meeting of more than 30 people at the Grange in Lexington Sunday. -Photo
by David Sykes
By David Sykes
U.S. Senator Jeff Merk-
ley held a town hall in
Lexington Sunday, and
was asked by several Mor-
row County land owners,
what’s going on with the
Boardman to Hemingway
power line project? Ques-
tions ranged from “Why
isn’t anyone talking to us?”
to statements that “nobody
wants it.”
PacifiCorp, Bonnev-
ille Power Administration
(BPA), and Idaho Power
propose to construct a new
500-kilovolt transmission
line from a proposed sub-
station near Boardman to
the Hemingway Substa-
tion near Melba, ID. It is
known as the Boardman to
Hemingway Transmission
Line Project, or B2H, and
would cut through Morrow
County—and most likely
across private property.
Morrow County farmer
Sam Meyer said he recently
received a letter stating
that a new route has been
planned for the power line
project and it “goes right
through our ields.” The
proposed line could inter-
rupt a number of things on
his farm, he said, including
aerial applications and in-
ternet reception. Meyer said
he has had little commu-
nication from the planners
of the project, a complaint
heard from other affected
landowners, and that the
route is constantly being
-See MERKLEY MEETING/
PAGE FOUR
MCSD to introduce preschool program
Morrow County School
District has announced
it will offer a Ready for
Kindergarten preschool
program designed to instill
all four-year-old Morrow
County children with the
skills and resources nec-
essary for “kindergarten
readiness.”
The goal is to provide
all four-year-olds in Hep-
pner, Irrigon and Boardman
with the opportunity to
receive a preschool educa-
tion.
Children will be taught
in four classes with up to 20
children each for two days
per week, 2.5 hours per
day, from approximately
Sept. 6, 2016 through May
18, 2017.
Two classrooms will
be located in Head Start’s
Irrigon Early Learning Cen-
ter. These classes are from
8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., one
class Monday and Wednes-
day mornings and another
class Tuesday and Thursday
mornings.
Two classrooms will be
located at Sam Boardman
Elementary. These classes
are from 1:30 to 4 p.m., one
class Monday and Wednes-
day afternoons and another
class Tuesday and Thursday
afternoons.
MCSD is also working
with Heppner Day Care to
Ione Fourth of July Celebration
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Golf Tournament, Willow Creek Country Club, Heppner, 9 a.m.
Volleyball Tournament, Ione City Park, 9 a.m.
Monday, July 4, 2016
Fireman’s Breakfast, Ione Fire Hall, 7-10 a.m.
Creative Care Preschool 5k Walk/Run, Ione City Park, 7 a.m. registration/
walk starts at 7:30 a.m.
Ken Turner Memorial Horseshoe Tournament, Horseshoe Pits, 9 a.m.
3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, 2 nd Street in front of Legion Hall, 10 a.m.
Blues Cruise Car Show, Main Street, 10:30 a.m.
Vendors & Booths, Ione City Park, 11 a.m.
Fish Pond, Frog Jump, Bike Rafle, Fire Hall/Park, 11:00 a.m.
Altar Society Pie Sale, Ione Fire Hall (or Church Basement), 11 a.m.
Parade, Main Street, 1 p.m.
Park Activities—Dunk Tank, Duck Races, Money Pile and More, 1 p.m.
Free Swimming, Ione Swimming Pool, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Blues Cruise Awards, Ione City Park, 3 p.m.
Corey Peterson Band, Amphitheater Stage, 3:30 p.m.
Talent Show, Amphitheatre Stage, 4 p.m. registration/show at 4:30 p.m.
Martin Gerschwitz, Amphitheater Stage, 6:30 p.m.
Boat Trip Auction, Amphitheatre Stage, 7:45 p.m.
Quarterlash, Amphitheater Stage, 8:30 p.m.
Fireworks Display, Visible throughout Ione, Dusk
All event times and locations are subject to change. Ione’s Fourth of July
Celebration is sponsored in part by Morrow County Uniied Recreation District.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
provide Preschool avail-
ability for all four-year-olds
in Heppner.
Call Umatilla-Morrow
Head Start at 1-800-559-
5878 or George Mendoza at
541-922-4016 to learn more
or to register your child, or
visit http://www.morrow.
k12.or.us/news.
Heppner
police
commission
to meet
The Heppner city po-
lice commission will meet
July 5 at 11 a.m. at Hep-
pner City Hall. This regular
meeting is being held dur-
ing a time other than nor-
mal. The public is invited
to attend.
By Andrea Di Salvo
Parade-goers at this
year’s Fourth of July cel-
ebration in Ione can expect
the grand marshals to cause
some ireworks.
That’s because this
year’s collective grand mar-
shals are Wayne Rietmann
and the rest of the Ione
Fourth of July fireworks
crew. While there is no
guarantee exactly who will
be on that parade loat, the
crew generally consists of
Rietmann and son Ed Riet-
mann, John, Jerry and Joe
Rietmann, Gene Crow, Bob
Baker and Corey Baker.
Whoever is on that
loat, those men will repre-
sent a long and impressive
history of lighting up the
skies over Ione every July
4. The Ione Fourth of July
ireworks show has a histo-
ry dating back to the 1940s,
and Wayne Rietmann, 79,
has been involved in it
much of that time. In fact,
you could say setting off
ireworks is something of a
Rietmann family tradition.
Wayne Rietmann was
raised in the Ione area and
farmed all his life—“All
but the two years I was
supposed to be a soldier,”
he quips. He recounts that
his uncle had the hardware
store in town in the late
‘40s, and one day Wayne’s
father walked in and saw
a catalog sitting on the
counter with a selection of
ireworks in it.
“My dad said, ‘You
mean you can order these
things through the mail?’”
says Rietmann. “My uncle
said, ‘Yep.’ So my dad
ordered some and shot ‘em
off right up by the butte.”
Another Rietmann,
Bob, came home from the
serving in World War II
and took over the ireworks
show on behalf of the Ione
American Legion. By 1949,
the Ione fireworks show
was on its way to becom-
ing an area legend. It has
run continuously since then
except for three years ago,
when the show was shut
down due to high winds.
Bob Rietmann ran the
show for years. “He’d prob-
ably still be doing it if he
was still alive,” Wayne
Rietmann says. They start-
ed out on the Ione ball
ield and stayed there for
about four decades; Ed Ri-
etmann remembers getting
involved during that time.
“I remember help-
ing on the football field,
passing ‘em out,” says the
41-year-old. “Just over 20
years (ago), I guess.”
Then the laws changed
and they had to move to an
area with more clearance
from the crowd. They chose
to relocated near the Ione
Grange.
“Then we moved where
we are now because we
didn’t have enough clear-
ances down there,” Wayne
remembers.
Clearance required now
is 100 feet per inch of shell
size—so a four-inch shell,
the largest ired at Ione cur-
rently, requires 400 feet of
clearance from the specta-
tors. Wayne Rietmann ex-
plains that clearance could
be less if the fireworks
were angled away from the
crowd, but the Ione crew
doesn’t do that. “Straight
up,” he says. When asked
if there’s room to spare, he
says only, “Right now we’re
legal.”
In fact, clearance is
only the beginning of what
the Ione ireworks crew has
to deal with when putting
together the Fourth of July
show.
Wayne Rietmann and
Ed Rietmann are both cer-
tiied to put on ireworks
shows through the Ofice of
State Fire Marshal; at least
one person on any ireworks
crew must be certiied.
The work begins when
they first get word from
ICABO (Ione Community
Agri-Business Organiza-
tion) regarding their ire-
works budget for the year.
That usually happens some-
time in the spring. Then
they call their fireworks
supplier with their budget,
and the supplier makes up
a show to help them get the
most “bang” for their buck.
The ireworks come in
tubes that look like plastic
piping, “but it’s not,” says
Wayne Rietmann. Both
Wayne and Ed say the white
tubes are a step up from the
old metal mortars they used
to have to deal with.
“Before, we’d have six
different mortars and we’d
run the shells through those
constantly, and they’d get
hot,” Ed says. Now each
shell comes in its own tube,
which the company takes
back and reuses.
“There’s a lot to ‘em
when they go off, but
they’re only…” Wayne
gestures a span of a few
-See GRAND MARSHALS/
PAGE FIVE
G-T closed Independence Day
The Heppner Gazette-
News and advertis-
Times will be closed Mon- ing deadline for the July
day, July 4, in observance 6 newspaper will be this
of the Independence Day Friday, July 1, at 5 p.m.
Holiday.
Normal business hours
will resume Tuesday, July
5.
We wish everyone a
safe and happy Fourth of
July.
Big Nursery Sale! Save $$$
All Annuals 50% OFF
All Perennials Trees &Shrubs
20% OFF
We Will be closed Monday. Happy 4th July!
Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main ofice)