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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2016)
City, county cooperate on property clean-up HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 135 NO. 48 8 Pages Wednesday, November 30, 2016 Chamber gets SAGE Center update By David Sykes SAGE Center Man- ager Kalie Davis was a re- cent visitor to the Heppner Chamber of Commerce, where she gave an update on the changes and activi- ties going on at the center. Davis said the center is considering making chang- es in its business displays as the businesses at the Port of Morrow go through chang- es. As an example, she said since the poplar tree farms have been sold, and the port added a 20,000-square-foot freezer warehouse, the cen- ter will be making additions and changes to its displays. “It’s a work in prog- ress,” she told the chamber. Davis also said the ac- tivity at the center includes student field trips, holiday parties, community events, educational functions and Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon -See HEPPNER CHAMBER/ PAGE TWO G-T Trophy Corner By David Sykes The city of Heppner and Morrow County have reached a tentative agree- ment to allow the city to convert unpaid clean-up citations into property liens, which ultimately could be used to foreclose on and sell the properties that are fined. City Manager Kim Cutsforth and City Attor- ney Bill Kuhn attended the Nov. 23 county court meeting and asked for an intergovernmental agree- ment, or IGA, to allow for the transfer of unpaid nuisance tickets to the own- ership of the city. The city does not have a municipal court, and the county-level Justice of the Peace handles all of its ticketing and fines. However, an investiga- tion by Kuhn found that although the agreement has been long-standing, the city and county have no written IGA. All three cities in the county are under the same arrangement. The Justice of MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWER 350 MAIN STREET LEXINGTON, OR -See COUNTY COURT/ PAGE FIVE to pursue the idea again. “Since this is a small community and I can travel almost everywhere on foot, I thought, why not get it now?” He submitted an ap- plication to Guide Dogs for the Blind, which be- gan his long road toward teaming up with Earl. For Earl, the process was even longer—starting even be- fore he was born. Long- Drew explains that guide dogs, mostly Labradors and golden retrievers, are Pastor Tony Long-Drew and his new guide dog, Earl. -Photo bred to be guide dogs. They by Andrea Di Salvo then go to puppy raisers, tire life, considered getting cently, because of changing where they spend a year -See GUIDE DOG/PAGE a guide dog back in 1994, vision and problems getting FIVE but decided against it. Re- around at night, he decided Endoscopies on hold at PMH due to government requirements By April Sykes Morrow County Health District CEO Bob Houser told the MCHD Board, at its meeting in Heppner Mon- day night, that he expects that the district’s proposed procedure room will not be ready for use for six to nine months. Dr. Russ Nichols had been performing upper and lower endoscopies (colo- noscopies) at Pioneer Me- morial Hospital in Heppner until Sept. 27, when state inspectors ruled the pro- cedure room too small and not well-enough ventilated. Only minor changes have been made to a new procedure room, not major remodeling, but still gov- ernment inspectors advise of delays for submission of plans, approval of the plans and subsequent inspections. “We received final no- tice of project approval from the facilities planning and safety with the Oregon Health Authority for the lab overflow and storage room on Nov. 17,” said Houser. “Licensure and the county building inspector could inspect as well, but may not since the project consisted of one room that is not used for patient services. I have now had to re-submit all the documentation to the county building inspector in Boardman to review and approve as he was not made aware of the project prior to it being done.” Board member Aaron Palmquist said he believes paperwork could be expe- dited to hasten the opening of the procedure room so that the valuable service could once again be avail- B2H final Environmental Impact Statement released Top: Alexis Cutsforth, 13, took this 3x4 with a 6.5 300 rifle. She has been hunting for five years, with success each year. Bottom: Morgan Cutsforth, 10, shot this three-point with a 6.5 300. This is her second year hunting, also with a successful take each year. -Contributed photos the Peace office handles all the tickets, fines and penal- ties, and keeps the money from those fines as payment for its services. “We are grappling with what to do with people who don’t maintain their yards,” Kuhn told the court. “Not a large problem, but we have some that just don’t go away and we want to take Justice Court judgements and turn them into liens,” Seeing the world through the eyes of a dog By Andrea Di Salvo You may spot a new member of the community as he’s out and about on the job—and may be tempted to say hello—but don’t be offended if he doesn’t speak back. Earl is the new guide dog for Christian Life Cen- ter Pastor Tony Long-Drew of Heppner. Long-Drew says he has been back in town only a week since going through training with Earl at Guide Dogs for the Blind in Boring, OR. “I’m so excited to have him in my life,” says Long- SAGE Center Manager Kalie Drew. Davis recently visited the Hep- Long-Drew, who has pner Chamber of Commerce. been vision impaired his en- -Photo by David Sykes musical and movie events. Another example is the Harvest Festival, which brought in 600 people in Agreement will empower city to lien trashy homes The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released the Final Environ- mental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Trans- mission Line Project. Idaho Power, Pacifi- Corp and Bonneville Power Administration propose to design, construct, oper- ate and maintain a new 500-kilovolt, single-circuit electric transmission line from a proposed substa- tion near Boardman to the Hemingway Substation in Owyhee County near Melba, ID—known as the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project or B2H Project. Utility officials say the new line is needed to provide ad- ditional power capacity in the Pacific Northwest and western states. Development of the able locally. Also at the meeting, the board approved a proposal from Clark/KJOS Archi- tects, LLC, Portland, to pro- vide architectural planning services for remodeling, ex- pansions and possible con- struction for the health care facilities in Heppner and Irrigon for $31,000. Two other bids, one for $51,100 and one for $67,500, were also received. In other business, the board: -See HEALTH DISTRICT/ PAGE THREE On the Inside: Births .................... ........ PAGE TWO Deaths ................... ........ PAGE TWO Extension agent receives OSU award .................... ........ PAGE TWO Ione Sports ........... ... PAGE THREE Light parade Thursday ...... ...... PAGE FOUR Hardman news ..... ...... PAGE FOUR Mustang Sports .... ...... PAGE FOUR Men recognized for clock tower work ...................... ........ PAGE FIVE MCSO investigates OSP robbery .................. .... PAGE SEVEN The Agency Preferred Alternative is identified by the light blue line on the map. More detailed maps as well as an interactive parcel search map are available online at boardmantoheming- way.com/maps.aspx. -Map courtesy of B2H Project B2H line was initiated in across 24 alternative routes 2007. The Final EIS con- -See B2H UPDATE/PAGE FOUR siders resource impacts Justice Court ........ .... PAGE SEVEN DA’s Report .......... .... PAGE SEVEN Sheriff’s Report ... .... PAGE SEVEN CALL JASON FOR MORE INFORMATION! LEXINGTON 541-989-8221 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWER 350 MAIN STREET LEXINGTON, OR