Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2016)
HEPPNER 50¢ Ione, Heppner enrollment down slightly Ione Community School numbers have dropped slightly school- wide for the second year in a row, with a total en- rollment of 198 this year compared to 204 in 2015 and 213 in 2014. The lower numbers are seen in the elementary and high school levels. Kinder- garten through fifth grade has an enrollment of 72, down by only three students from last year’s 75. High school has dropped slightly, as well, from 79 students in 2015 to 74 students enrolled this year. Meanwhile, mid- Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon G T azette imes VOL. 135 NO. 35 8 Pages Wednesday, September 7, 2016 dle school numbers, sixth through eighth grade, have gone up, from 48 students to 52. Heppner school en- rollment figures are hold- ing steady in general this year. Heppner Elementary School has an enrollment of 170 for the 2016-17 school year, a decrease of only three students from last year. Meanwhile, Hep- pner Jr./Sr. High School has gained one student overall, with total enrollment of 162 over 161 last year. That brings the Heppner school total to 332—a difference Race is CREZ to hold boundary expansion on for meeting Heppner council positions Candidate filing has closed for Heppner’s open mayor and city council positions, leaving two posi- tions—including Heppner City Mayor—contested in the November election. Current Heppner may- or Ronald “Skip” Matthews is running for reelection. Running against him is Cody High. The mayoral position is a two-year term. Teresa Bedortha is running for reelection for City Councilor Position One, a four-year term. Run- ning against her is Thomas Gonty. Running unopposed in the race are incumbents John Bowles, City Coun- cilor Position 2, four-year term; Corey Sweeney, City Councilor Position 3, four- year term; and Dale Bates, City Councilor Position 4, two-year term. The 2016 General Elec- tion will take place Nov. 8. Ballot measure numbers assigned for 2016 General Election SALEM—Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins announced recently that signature verification for the 2016 petition cycle has been completed and the following measure numbers have been assigned to the three legislative referrals from the 78 th Legislative Assembly and those peti- tions qualified to the Nov. 8, 2016, General Election ballot. They are: Measure 94 / Refer- ral 401 (SJR 4) - Amends Constitution: Eliminates mandatory retirement age for state judges. Measure 95 / Referral 403 (HJR 203) - Amends Constitution: Allows in- vestments in equities by public universities to re- duce financial risk and in- crease investments to ben- efit students. Measure 96 / Referral 404 (HJR 202) - Amends Constitution: Dedicates 1.5 percent of state lottery net proceeds to funding sup- port services for Oregon veterans. Measure 97 / Initiative 28; determined to contain 95,272 valid signatures - In- By David Sykes The Columbia River Enterprise Zone Board of Directors will hold a public meeting Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. in the River- front Room at the Port of Morrow in Boardman to consider expansion of its current boundary borders. The meeting will cover a proposed boundary ex- pansion that would increase CREZ’s size from the cur- rent 11 square miles to 15. The zone is located at the Port of Morrow industrial on Front St. in Boardman. They are asking that the boundary of the Enter- prise Zone be expanded to include the new hotel so they may take advantage of the three-year property tax exemption that would be offered inside the CREZ boundary. “This facility will have approximately 66-72 rooms. This hotel will pro- vide a much needed state of the art Lodging Facil- ity for Boardman and its surrounding area. We will be creating 20-25 new em- ployment opportunities and a steady flow of customers for the existing restaurants in the area,” their letter to the CREZ stated. In order to expand the boundary, representatives from all three entities of the CREZ, Port of Morrow, Morrow County and City of Boardman, must approve the decision. The meeting next Wednesday is being held to make that decision. Fall weather to even out after hot August Despite temperatures that averaged slightly warmer than normal dur- ing August, the outlook for September calls for near- normal temperatures and precipitation, according to the National Weather Ser- vice in Pendleton. Heppner ’s average temperature in August was 69.9 degrees, which was 0.4 degrees above normal. High temperatures aver- aged 85.4 degrees, which was 0.1 degrees below nor- mal. The highest was 94 degrees on the 14. Low temperatures averaged 54.4 degrees, which was one degree above normal. The lowest was 47 degrees, on the 10 th . On nine days, the tem- perature exceeded 90 de- grees. Park district to meet Willow Creek Park District will hold a regu- larly scheduled board meet- ing Sept. 13 at Heppner City Hall, 111 N. Main St., Heppner. The meeting will begin at 5:15 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. Precipitation totaled 0.08 inches during August, which was 0.31 inches be- low normal. Measurable precipitation of at least .01 inch was received on one day. Precipitation this year has reached 7.36 inches, which is 2.02 inches below normal. Since October, the Historical society plans day trip to The Dalles The Morrow County Historical Society is plan- ning an all-day trip to The Dalles, OR on Friday, Oct. 7. The trip will include the Fort Dalles military post, Anderson homestead and Old St. Peter’s Landmark Catholic church. Fourteen spaces are available. The bus will de- part from the Heppner St. Patrick’s Senior Center at 8 a.m. Oct. 7, and should ar- rive in The Dalles about 10 a.m. The group will spend its first few hours at the Fort Dalles Muse- um and Anderson House. Admission is $5. A lunch break will follow. The group is invited to pack a lunch or eat at one of the nearby fast food restaurants. Af- terward the group will proceed by bus to a tour of Old See BALLOT MEASURES/ St. Peter’s Land- PAGE ?? land near Boardman, but recently received a request to accommodate a new hotel that plans to build in Boardman and wants to be included in the zone to take advantage of the property tax exemptions for busi- nesses located in the CREZ. Rjiv Malhan and Nakul Butta of RNB Hospitality from Richland said in an earlier letter to the CREZ board that they are planning on building a Choice Hotel (Comfort Inn & Suites) of two students compared to last year’s 334. In the rest of Morrow County, enrollment is up overall, with some schools seeing losses while others see significant growth. To- tal enrollment for Morrow County School District for this school year is 2,192, a gain of 31 students dis- trict-wide over the 2015-16 school year. A.C. Houghton Ele- mentary in Irrigon (kinder- garten through third grade) has an enrollment of 272, up from 266 last year, while Irrigon Elementary (fourth through sixth grade) is up to 204 from last year’s enroll- ment of 192. Irrigon Jr./Sr. High School, however, has dropped significantly, down to 365 from 387. Irrigon schools’ total enrollment is 884. In Boardman, enroll- ment at Sam Boardman Elementary (kindergarten through third grade) has dropped, down to 331 from 344, while Windy River Elementary (fourth through sixth grade) has gained 10 students with an enrollment of 224. Riverside Jr./Sr. High School has grown sig- nificantly, with 421 students compared to 395 last year. Boardman schools’ total enrollment is 976. The Morrow Education Center in Irrigon also has seen significant growth, with 43 students compared to last year’s 29. mark. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. The bus will then de- part for return to Heppner, arriving around 4 p.m. Transportation is free; however, a suggested $10 donation would be appreci- ated. A sign-up sheet will be available in the office at the Heppner St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Questions, call 541- 676-8017. Old St. Peter’s Landmark. water-year precipitation at Heppner has been 11.2 inches, which is 2.24 inches below normal. The highest wind gust was 35 mph, which oc- curred on the second. Normal highs for Hep- pner fall from 82 degrees at the start of September to 71 degrees at the end of September. Normal lows fall from 50 degrees to 43 degrees. The 30-year nor- mal precipitation is 0.56 inches. The National Weather Service is an office of the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Com- merce Department. Irrigon senior center changes address The City of Irrigon last week announced that the address of the Stokes Landing Senior Center will change—but not the loca- tion. According to a release from the city, the change is part of an ongoing state effort to clarify addresses for emergency responders. “For the past two years the State of Oregon has been working to create a system wide E911 address database,” stated the city. “This database will greatly assist emergency and first responders.” Occasionally, locations create conflicts for the new system; that was the case with Opal Place and Tum- bleweed Blvd. in Irrigon. “These two streets are in essence one in the same for traversing,” stated the city’s release. “Opal Place only consists of approxi- mately 160 feet with one addressed structure while Tumbleweed Blvd. has multiple addressed struc- tures.” So, for safety and con- sistency purposes, Opal Place will be removed from mapping and street naming systems. Effective Oct. 1, Opal Place will be renamed as Tumbleweed Blvd. The address of 195 NW Opal Place (Stokes Land- ing) will change to 150 Columbia Lane. On the Inside.... Obituaries .... ....PAGE TWO Yard of the Month .... .... PAGE TWO Music in the Park .... ..... PAGE THREE Justice Court Report .... ..... PAGE THREE DA’s Report .... ..... PAGE THREE Mustang Football .... ..... PAGE FOUR Cardinal Football .... ..... PAGE FIVE Big Game Preview .... ..... PAGE FIVE Classified Ads .... .... PAGES SEVEN & EIGHT Sheriff’s Report .... ..... PAGES FIVE & EIGHT Sports Schedules .... ..... PAGE EIGHT 50 lb bag Purina Strategy GX R eg $18.95 ON SALE $15.95! Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)