Getting ready for fair...
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 30 8 Pages
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Volunteers Teddy Orr, Ian Reid, and Opal Reid of Ukiah give a fresh coat of paint to small
animal stands at the 4-H fair clean-up day last Saturday. The Morrow County Fair is next
week, Aug. 17-21. -Contributed photo
Electric co-op installs car charging
stations
Celebrating the car charging station opening with a ribbon cutting last week were (L-R) CBEC
Staff Accountant Debbie Lankford, Ione City Council and CBEC board member Deacon Heide-
man, CBEC Assistant Manager of Operations Josh Coiner, Ione City Recorder Kim Carter,
and CBEC General Manager Tommy Wolff. -Photo by David Sykes
Residents of Ione and
Heppner may notice a new,
futuristic-looking addi-
tion along the towns’ main
streets this week. Columbia
Basin Electric Cooperative
and its board of directors
have elected to invest in
electric vehicle charging
stations in the towns of
Ione, Heppner, Condon and
Fossil, the co-op announced
last week.
All of the units except
for the one in Heppner have
been installed and are up
and running; a statement
by CBEC says they expect
the Heppner charger to be
activated within the week.
After the board voted
to proceed with the project,
CBEC Manager Tommy
Wolff brought the idea to
local community and gov-
ernment leaders, making
individual presentations to
the four communities.
The cooperative says
the response from the com-
munities was very posi-
tive, resulting in more than
$10,000 of donations in
cash and in-kind labor con-
tributions to help offset the
costs of the project. Colum-
bia Basin Electric Coopera-
tive was also able to acquire
pass-through tax credits
from the Department of
Energy in the amount of
$16,332.00, bringing down
the cost of each dual charg-
ing station to $7,410.00
each. This also includes
City scales back proposed
sewage dumping fee increase
By David Sykes
After “push back” from
the public, the City of Hep-
pner has decided to scale
back a proposed sewage
dumping fee increase, from
the current 10 cents per gal-
lon to 16 cents per gallon
instead of an earlier adopted
25-cent increase.
The fee is what the city
charges to take in septic
waste from septic disposal
services that pump busi-
nesses and residents in the
surrounding area not on the
city sewer system. The city
runs the septic through the
city sewer plant for treat-
ment. In addition to the
gallon charge the city also
charges a flat $50 fee and
$75 for after hours.
“We were at 10 cents
then went to 25 cents, now
we are at 16 cents,” City
Manager Kim Cutsforth
told the council. She said
the city “had some push
back” that 25 cents “was a
little steep.” She said part of
the reason to charge more is
having the city crew inter-
rupted from their work to go
down to the sewer plant and
take in the sewage dump-
ing. “It was really disrupt-
ing our day, that was a big
thing,” she said. Cutsforth
said she has worked with lo-
cal sewage haulers and they
will try and get their trucks
in during the morning so as
not to interrupt the city crew
at any hour during the day.
Ryan Miller of Miller
and Sons was in attendance
at the meeting and said he
understands the city needed
to increase their fees, but a
150 percent increase was
“a little hard to pass on”
to his customers. He also
said at the higher price it
would cause homeowners
with septic systems to stop
pumping “for maintenance”
and many would just get
their septic pumped when
there is a problem. He said
it is better for the prop-
erty owners to get systems
pumped on a regular basis
rather than wait too long.
In other business the
council heard that public
works is planning on do-
ing a rehab on well #4 lo-
cated on the Jack Meligan
property east of town on
Willow Creek. The city
plans on then capping the
well instead of spending
an estimated $50,000 to
completely bring it up to
standards. The well report-
edly pumps 25 gallons per
minute, but only for about
four hours, when it then
needs to be shut down to
recharge. Meligan has an
agreement with the city to
provide water to his prop-
erty, and that agreement
will continue to be honored.
In other business the
council approved a permit
process in which landlords
in Heppner can apply to be
relieved of paying water
and sewer bills on a rental
unit during the time they
are remodeling that unit
and it is not available to be
rented out.
Four Heppner council
positions, mayor up for election
Four Heppner council
positions and the mayor
spot are up for election in
November.
Three four-year council
positions currently held
by Teresa Bedortha, John
Bowles and Corey Swee-
ney, and a two-year coun-
cil position held by Dale
Bates, are up for election.
So is the two-year mayor’s
position now held by Skip
Matthews.
Those wanting to run
for any of these positions
can pick up an election
form at Heppner City Hall,
111 N. Main St, or use
the fillable online form at
sos.oregon.gov/elections/
Pages/electionforms.aspx.
After completing the
form, deliver it to Heppner
City Hall to receive a sig-
nature petition or to pay a
$10 fee.
All forms are due by
Aug. 30, 2016 for the No-
vember election. For more
information, call city hall at
541-676-9618.
a five-year maintenance
service agreement with
vendor, Charge Point, and
a five-year network service
agreement.
Each dual charging sta-
tion has the ability to charge
two vehicles at a time, with
an average total charge
time of four hours. The
stations have been located
near the downtown areas
in each city, close to lo-
cal businesses and public
restrooms. It is the co-op’s
hope that while customers
are charging their vehicles
they will spend some time
at local businesses in the
communities.
Travel Oregon and
Drive Oregon will also be
on board with promoting
these new charging sta-
tions, helping to encourage
electric car drivers to visit
the area.
“We feel that we have
much to offer in the way
of tourism in our area,”
said a CBEC statement.
“Heppner, for instance, is
the ‘Gateway to the Blues’
scenic byway offering a
great drive through the sce-
nic byway, Blue Mountains
and the Umatilla National
Special fair section
in this week’s paper
A special 28-page Fair and Rodeo section is included
in this week’s Heppner Gazette-Times. The section con-
tains articles, interviews, photos and other information
about the upcoming Morrow County Fair and Rodeo.
Long-time home
health, hospice nurse
to retire
Cheryl Tallman, long-time home health and hospice nurse and
accomplished quilter, stands next to a picture that represents
two things near and dear to her heart—quilting and hospice.
-Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
retires.
By Andrea Di Salvo
Tallman, 69, will retire
Pioneer Memorial
Sept.
8, 24 years to the day
Home Health and Hospice
after
her
hire date in 1992.
will say goodbye to a valu-
“I
got
hired in 1992 to
able member of its team
-See CHARGING next month when long-
-See CHERYL TALLMAN
STATIONS/PAGE TWO
RETIRES/PAGE THREE
time nurse Cheryl Tallman
New ambulances for
Heppner, Boardman
EMS Coordinator Rusty Estes sits in the Heppner ambulance newly acquired by the Morrow
County Health District. The ambulance arrived last week but is waiting for state licensing
before being put into service. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
By Andrea Di Salvo
Morrow County Health
District is the proud owner
of two new ambulances.
EMS Coordinator
Rusty Estes said the am-
bulances arrived last week
and are ready to go—one in
Heppner and one in Board-
man—but the health district
is waiting for state licensing
to put them into service.
MCHD traded in 1992
and 1996 ambulances, both
of which had more than
100,000 miles on them, for
the 2016 Chevrolet 3500
4x4s. While the vehicles
are new, Estes said the
district had the boxes from
the old ambulances refur-
bished, which saved almost
$40,000 on the cost.
MCHD CEO Bob
Houser said the district
-See NEW AMBULANCE/
PAGE FOUR
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ALL MONTANA
SILVER
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WRANGLER 13 mWz
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ALL OTHER WRANGLER CLOTHING 20% OFF
Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)