HEPPNER
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azette
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VOL. 136
NO. 13 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Commissioners vote
themselves full time, then
decide against pay increases
$12,802 pay raise shelved after citizen concerns
By David Sykes
Saying their jobs are
full time on a part-time
salary, two members of the
Morrow County Court last
month voted to rename their
positions full time, and then
at a meeting last week, after
hearing citizen concerns,
decided not to raise their
salaries.
At the Feb. 8 meeting
new commissioner Jim
Doherty said he has real-
ized after being elected and
coming on the board, that
the job is not part time as
“currently listed,” and he
made a motion to change
any reference to the com-
missioner position to full
time.
Commissioner Russell
seconded saying he agreed
the position is “much more”
than a part-time job. He said
it is important that commis-
sioners “attend meetings
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Ione man Health district discusses feasibility of
arrested
facility remodels, expansions
By April Sykes
tioning the sagacity of re- admitted to the hospital earlier presentation to the
on rape,
The Morrow County modeling the hospital or over the last month, Parker board put on by architect
District Board, at building a new one, asked was surprised at the low Scott Combs of the Clark/
sex abuse Health
its Monday night meeting MCHD Chief Financial number and remarked that Kjos architect firm.
at the Port of Morrow in Officer Nicole Mahoney she believed that they (the
Administration had
Boardman, discussed the for information on hospi- board) were just talking earlier emphasized that the
charges
feasibility of remodeling or tal usage that Parker said about remodeling the en- hospital must continue to
Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Office arrested Ione
man Corey Scott Baker
last Wednesday, according
to a statement by Mor-
row County Sheriff Ken
Matlack. Baker, 40, was
arrested on one count each
of rape I and sexual abuse
I, both felonies.
Both crimes were al-
leged to have happened be-
tween July and September
of 2016 with a girl under
the age of 12.
The arrest was made
on a circuit court warrant
issued based on a secret
indictment March 13 by
the Morrow County Grand
Jury.
Baker was released
on his own recognizance
March 22 and is scheduled
for arraignment April 20.
Matlack says the inves-
tigation is ongoing.
building Pioneer Memorial
Hospital and remodeling
the Irrigon Clinic.
Board member Jill
Parker, Boardman, ques-
she could not extract from
monthly statistics provided
by Mahoney.
When Mahoney told
her that five people were
trance to the hospital and offer cutting-edge medical
not remodeling or rebuild- services for their patients,
ing the facility. The two using updated equipment,
options, remodel or rebuild,
-See HEALTH DISTRICT/
were earlier discussed in an
PAGE THREE
Estes retires after 31 years with county
By Andrea Di Salvo
After 31 years working
for Morrow County, most of
that time in the assessor’s
office, lead appraiser Cyde
Estes will retire this week.
Her last day is March 31.
Estes, who will be 61
in May, was born “Here.
In the hospital when they
could still deliver babies,”
she says. She was raised
in Heppner and, during
high school, went to work
gaining valuable skills that
would serve her later in life.
She worked summers in the
forests of Eastern Oregon,
first for the Oregon Dept.
of Forestry out of Fossil,
working lookout towers.
She then worked for the
U.S. Forest Service, both
manning lookout towers
and fighting fires on a heli-
Troy Mor-
gan, are
among 18
educators
from Idaho,
Nevada,
Oregon and
Dale Holland
Wa s h i n g -
ton to re-
ceive Inspirational Teacher
Awards from Eastern Or-
egon University. First-year
honor students at EOU
nominated the teachers for
-See BROKEN GAS LINE/ the honor.
Students who main-
PAGE TWO
tunity to
nominate a
high school
teacher who
influenced
them on
their road to
higher edu- Troy Morgan
cation and
academic excellence. EOU
presents the Inspirational
Teacher Awards annually in
recognition of outstanding
high school teachers who
encourage and represent
the importance of higher
Cyde Estes retires this week
after more than 31 years with
the county. -Photo by Andrea
Di Salvo
tack crew.
“It gave me skills read-
ing maps and things, which
I use today, very much,”
she says.
During the school year,
she also worked for at-
torney Bob Abrams—later
Judge Abrams—during his
time in private practice.
Between school and sports,
she did office secretarial
work while Abrams’ secre-
tary, Mary Bryant, taught
her about legal documents
and about being a legal
secretary. Estes says that
experience not only helped
her get a job in the district
attorney’s office later in
life, but has helped her to
this day in her role as an
appraiser.
“(It’s) been very help-
ful in my job, because we
handle tax appeals,” ex-
plains Estes. “I had some
very good training early
on from some very good
people.”
After graduating from
Heppner High School in
1974, she attended Blue
Mountain Community Col-
lege for a year, majoring
mostly in biology, before
getting married and mov-
ing to Montana. During her
-See ESTES RETIRES/PAGE
EIGHT
all over the state in order
to be involved with deci-
sions that impact the county
financially and otherwise.”
Commission chair Me-
lissa Lindsay also agreed,
saying the hours are not
part-time, but said she
wanted to “take a slower ap-
proach,” wanting to educate
the public on the realities
of the position and obtain
feedback before renaming
the position full time. She
voted no on the motion.
Russell said he was not
seeking additional compen-
sation, but instead wanted
anyone who might contem-
plate becoming a commis-
sioner to “understand it’s
not a part-time commit-
ment,” and he along with
Doherty voted in favor.
Meanwhile, on March
16 the county compensa-
tion board, a citizen group
making recommendations
to the court on elected of-
ficials salaries, met and
discussed the commission-
ers’ salaries. All the board
members agreed that “a
person doing full-time work
should be compensated at a
full-time rate.” Recogniz-
ing that the county com-
mission had earlier voted to
rename their positions full
time, some board members
were still “uncomfortable”
recommending increasing
commission wages to the
full-time county designa-
tion of 1.0 FTE (full time
equivalent) “at this time.”
The compensation
board did, however, agree
unanimously to increase
the commission’s salaries
by $12,802 per year. The
commissioner currently
make $38,407 and the
pay increase would have
brought them to $51,209.
The board arrived at the
-See COUNTY COURT/
PAGE FOUR
Emergency
personnel
respond to Holland, Morgan receive Inspirational Teacher
from EOU
broken gas Awards
LA GRANDE, OR— tained dean’s list standing education to their students. Morgan is a member of the Holland to receive an In-
Two local teachers, Dale during fall term were given
Patrick Collins, a 2016 mathematics staff at Hep- spirational Teacher Award.
line
Holland and the oppor-
graduate of Heppner High pner High School.
Holland is a member of the
Morrow County emer-
gency responders turned
out in force last week to
manage what could have
been an explosive situation,
according to a statement by
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office.
At 10:46 a.m. March
20, MCSO dispatch re-
ceived report of a dam-
aged natural gas line near
Morrow Cold Storage in
the Port of Morrow area of
Get Ready to ‘Walk MS’
School, nominated Troy
Jason Juarez, a 2016 mathematics and chemistry
Morgan to receive an In- graduate of Ione Communi- staff at Ione Community
spirational Teacher Award. ty School, nominated Dale School.
Heppner native recognized by
Forbes as top wealth advisor
Heppner native Kelly
Kilkenny Hale was recently
named one of America’s
top women wealth advi-
sors by Forbes magazine.
Hale, daughter of the late
Bob Kilkenny, is a financial
advisor and senior portfolio
manager with RBC Wealth
Management in Portland,
OR.
“It’s an honor to have
a teammate nationally rec-
ognized as one of the best
in the industry—because it
means we are serving our
Hale has more than
clients well,” said the com- 35 years of investment in-
pany in a statement.
dustry experience.
Hale fell at
After she graduated
#137 on the Forbes
from Heppner High
list (which can be
School, she then
viewed at forbes.
obtained a Bachelor
com/top-women-
of Science in busi-
advisors/); accord-
ness administration
ing to the maga- Kelly
from the University
zine, Hale manages Kilkenny Hale of Oregon. She also
a typical account
serves as an FCAC
size of $2.5 million and has advisory member for RBC
a total of $2 billion under
-See WEALTH ADVISOR/
her management.
PAGE TWO
Participants in a past Walk MS Eastern Oregon in Heppner. -Contributed photo
Heppner is ready for
the 19 th year of sponsoring
the Eastern Oregon Walk
MS. All towns in Eastern
Oregon are invited to join
the event on Saturday, April
22.
Pre-registration is ap-
preciated. Pre-register on
the web at www.walkms.
org or by phone at 1-855-
372-1331. Walk-ins also are
welcome to register the day
of the event.
Those unable to attend
the day of the scheduled
walk can still help the cause
by registering as virtual
walkers.
There is no registra-
tion fee for the Walk MS.
Donations of any amount
are welcome, as those funds
will help support the con-
tinuing fight against MS
(multiple sclerosis). Partici-
pants raising $100 per per-
son or more can earn prizes
for outstanding fundraising,
starting with a T-shirt prize
at the $100 level while sup-
plies last.
The registration/check-
in begins at 9 a.m. at All
-See WALK MS 2017/PAGE
TWO
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net