Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Healthy Youth
A key strategy for injury prevention--driving
and teens
Editor’s note: This is
part of a series of messages
brought to you by your
Morrow County health care
providers.
Parents often have
many concerns and fear
for their teen’s safety on
the road. Few teens and
preteens ever think about
the rules of the road or how
to drive safely until they’re
just about to start driving.
For something as important
as driving, we want your
kids to get a head start.
According to the Amer-
ican Automobile Associa-
tion (AAA), teenage drivers
are four times more likely to
be involved in a car crash
than adult drivers. Motor
vehicle accidents are the
number one cause of death
and injury for people ages
8-24. Problems which con-
tribute to the high crash rate
of young drivers include:
driving inexperience, lack
of adequate driving skills,
risk taking, poor driving
judgment and decision
making, distraction, alcohol
consumption and excessive
driving during high-risk
hours (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.).
Parents should be com-
fortable with their teen’s
level of driving skill, and
experience is important
before allowing him or
her to drive independently.
Talk candidly with your
teen about your expecta-
tions for driving, demon-
strate the importance of
controlling emotions while
driving (e.g. “road rage,”
drag racing, etc.) and teach
the importance of defen-
sive driving. Supervised
behind-the-wheel driving
experience is the key to
developing necessary habits
and skills for safe driving.
Parents who work with their
teens will help them gain
the needed experience and
judgment.
Even though the driv-
er’s license allows the teen
to drive independently, it
is important that parents
establish clear rules for safe
and responsible driving and
rules for the use of the car.
Rules for parents to
consider:
-Parents should not al-
low young drivers unre-
stricted driving privileges
until they have gained suf-
ficient experience.
-Parents should limit
their teen’s driving alone
in adverse weather condi-
tions (rain, snow, ice, fog,
etc.) and at night until the
teen has sufficient skills and
experience.
-Driving under the in-
fluence of alcohol or drugs
is illegal and dangerous
and should be strictly pro-
hibited.
-Parents should work
out when and where the
teen is allowed to drive
the car.
-Everyone in the car
must wear seat belts at all
times.
-Parents should deter-
mine whether and when
their teen can drive pas-
sengers.
-Parents should deter-
mine what behavior or cir-
cumstances will result in
loss of the teen’s driving
privileges.
-Teens should not drive
when fatigued or tired.
-Headphones should
never be worn while driv-
ing.
-Teens should not text,
talk on the phone or be
distracted by any activity
while driving. Kids are al-
ways watching, even when
- FIVE
Ruckus raises the roof at
fairgrounds
The third annual Ruckus in the Boonies took place at the Morrow County Fairgrounds this
past weekend. The music festival boasted more than 30 bands and pulled in a large out-of-town
crowd. -Contributed photo
you think they’re not. So be
a good example.
L a s t l y, m a k e s u r e
that the vehicle your teen
drives is in safe condi-
tion (brakes, tires, etc.)
and working properly. The
vehicle should have essen-
tial emergency equipment
(flares, flashlight, jumper
cables, etc.) and the teen
should know how to use it.
Information is avail-
able to provide teens and
preteens with the tools and
support they need to make
responsible choices before
they are ready to drive or
ride with other young, new
drivers. Countdown2Drive
(http://countdown2drive.
org) is a unique program,
aimed at creating a con-
versation between parent
and teens with the goal of
creating safer passengers
today, hopefully resulting
in better drivers tomorrow.
FARM HOUSING
-Continued from PAGE ONE ity; however, most likely the country. She also asked people say, ‘They are doing lems. He said there would Wenholz wrote.
Myers said under the
H2A Visa program they
would be using, the workers
would come mainly from
Mexico and Central Amer-
ica, could work for three
seasons and then would
have to take one year off.
He said there would be
no family members so there
would be little impact on
the schools and family-type
issues.
He said the workers
would be here a maximum
of 18 months before return-
ing to their home country,
and that they would be
screened before being al-
lowed to come here.
Concerning treatment
of the workers Myers said
there are certain rules the
company has to follow,
including transportation to
various services.
“We don’t have all the
answers today but we are
starting small and will in-
crease.”
He said they were ask-
ing for an 800-person facil-
would start much smaller
“and may not even get to
800 people.”
He said there is no fed-
eral funding of the visa
program, and that the com-
pany would pay the workers
$12.67 per hour, plus health
insurance, and housing
and meals would all be
included.
“People will be treated
with respect. I want people
to drive by and say ‘Wow!’”
He said in Washington,
where the programs has
been used in the orchards,
that “if you treat people
right they will work hard
and come back. They are
here for one reason—to
make money.”
Out of the 20 people in
the audience at the public
hearing, several people
testified against the project.
Ellen Walter of Boardman
said she “can’t imagine”
800 men in Boardman. She
asked what would keep the
workers from walking away
from the facility and staying
Morrow County Road Department would
like to remind all motorists that with any
road maintenance project to be aware of the
workers, they are very important to us.
Watch for signs, flags and work-zone employees
and equipment. Morrow County’s goal is to provide
a safe roadway. However, it is always up to the
motorist to drive according to conditions. Be patient
and plan ahead. Leave early if you know you will be
driving through work zones. Please use extreme
caution and common sense. They will do their
best and would appreciate your patience.
Some areas to be aware of and use
caution this summer/fall around are
July 11-21 Ione-Gooseberry / Dry—
Fork chip seal project. On or around
July 25 – Aug. 12. Bombing Range
Road Overlay Project. July 25— 28
Big Butter Creek Chip seal
project. August 1–4 Basey
Canyon / Upper Rhea Creek
chip seal Project. August
8—11 Jordan Grade Overlay
Project. August 15—18 Dee
Cox Overlay Project. As the
time and equipment allows
Laurel/Wilson Intersection.
Keene bridge and Snider Bridge on Rhea creek and some
overlay projects on the North end. Kunze and Tower road
overlay along with Paterson Ferry road included with some
smaller overlay projects. 3rd street and others.
Again be prepared and be safe.
Questions or concerns may be
addressed to 541-989-9500
Morrow County Road Department.
about their free time and
what they would be doing.
Raymond Akers of
Boardman told the county
commissioners they should
vote against the zone change
and worker facility because
there was not adequate no-
tice given to the public and
conflict of interest on the
planning commission. He
did not specify what that
conflict was.
Akers said he was also
against the facility because
it would be disruptive to
the community and that he
feared for his family. He
said he is the father of two
girls and did not like the
idea of the increased traffic
on nearby Kunze Road.
Akers also said he
didn’t think there would be
a problem filling the jobs lo-
cally if Threemile tried. He
said he wanted to see more
transparency in the decision
process and more meetings
the public could attend.
Also testifying against
the facility was Boardman
resident Kelly Doherty,
wife of county commis-
sioner-elect Jim Doherty.
Doherty said she thought
there was not enough
community input into the
decision making. “I have
what?’”
She said she hired a
professional planner to
study the proposal, who
submitted a lengthy written
report against the facility to
the commissioners.
Doherty said county
department heads had quite
a bit of concern over the
project, which had not been
taken into consideration.
She had asked that the de-
cision be sent back to the
planning commission for
further review.
Bruce Kirkendall of
Boardman also testified
against the facility. Say-
ing he has spent most of
his life in real estate busi-
ness, Kirkendall said the
worker facility would have
a large impact on surround-
ing landowners.
“I question if any of you
have experience with a la-
bor camp. I have spent time
in labor camps. There was
booze, drugs and hookers,”
he said. “If they have 800
workers you are drastically
increasing our population.
It will impact property in
that area,” he emphasized.
He wanted to know
if it was going to be all
male workers and said, if
so, that would create prob-
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crime, sexual assaults and
more. He asked that there
be more input from Board-
man people.
“If you talk to 100 peo-
ple you won’t find five in
favor of this,” he said.
Also speaking against
the project with letters were
Bobbi Childers and former
county commissioner John
Wenholz. “As a former
commissioner for Morrow
County and a longtime resi-
dent, this is not something
to make people want to live
in the Boardman Commu-
nity or Morrow County,”
Wenholz wrote. “The costs
to the City of Boardman and
the County of Morrow will
be significant if this goes
through. What about medi-
cal, schools and resourc-
es to serve these people?
When you bring people
into a community with
the idea that they can be
bused to town once a week
that is more like a prison
camp. Who will police
these people? Why consider
putting them out on prop-
erty that is in the middle
of other citizens farms in
Morrow County, and not the
petitioner’s farm property
where it is zoned EFU?”
Childers, who is Mor-
row County Clerk but was
writing as a private citizen,
said in part, “Having a farm
worker housing in the mid-
dle of the other farm prop-
erty makes no sense to me
at all (put it on Threemile
Farm property). If you want
the people to work for this
farm, they should be willing
to put this on their property
and still take care of the
people as they say they will.
I understand that this farm
does not allow law enforce-
ment on the property. That
makes me wonder why. I
see this as bringing people
into our county, dependent
on a company that will keep
track of them and take care
of all the needs? Who will
track them when they walk
off or get into trouble?”
Childers wrote in part of
her letter.
After hearing all the
testimony, along with oth-
ers against, Myers and his
land-use attorney returned
from a recess at the hear-
ing and announced that
they were withdrawing the
application for the zone
change, which would have
facilitated construction of
the migrant housing facility.
FATAL CRASH
-Continued from PAGE ONE
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A Condon teen was killed last week when her vehicle collided
MASHED BABY RED with a grain truck. -Photo courtesy of Oregon State Police
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The driver of the Ca-
price, a 17-year-old female
from Condon, was extri-
cated from her vehicle and
taken by air ambulance to
Mid-Columbia Medical
Center in The Dalles where
she died from her injuries.
Police did not release the
teen’s name.
The truck driver, Ben-
jamin McElligott, 35, of
Ione was not injured.
OSP was assisted by
the Gilliam County Sher-
Sherman County Sheriff’s
Office, and the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation. The investigation
into the crash is still under-
way. More information will
be released as it becomes
available.
Community members
who need mental health
assistance or counseling
regarding the accident are
asked to contact Commu-
nity Counseling Services at
541-384-2666.