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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2017)
Heppner sees surge of criminal mischief HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 136 NO. 19 10 Pages Wednesday, May 10, 2017 City, law enforcement seek public’s help to stop vandalism, juvenile mischief By Andrea Di Salvo The City of Heppner has experienced a rash of vandalism over the past couple of months, much of which law enforcement says can be traced to ju- venile mischief. Morrow County Undersheriff and Heppner City Councilmem- ber John Bowles says the sheriff’s office has received 16 juvenile complaints and six criminal mischief, or vandalism, complaints Heppner city workers replace the basketball hoops at Hager Park, which had to be taken down, rewelded and put back up -See VANDALISM/PAGE after they were damaged in a recent rash of vandalism at city FOUR parks. -Photo by David Sykes Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Rollie $22,327 Community Enhancement Marshall Grants awarded named new Ione school principal Former Heppner resi- dent Rollie Marshall will be returning to the community after several years away. He has accepted a position as principal of the Ione School and will begin his new job on July 1. M a r- shall and his wife Deb- Rollie b i e , b o t h Marshall graduates of Wallowa High School, raised their three children, Candis Smith, who now lives in La Grande, Brandi Sweeney and Kristen Mar- shall, both of Heppner, in Heppner. Marshall was in the banking industry for 29 years and was previously employed by the Bank of Eastern Oregon in Heppner. He has nine years of educa- tion administrative experi- ence at Weston-McEwen High School, Nyssa High School and Nyssa Middle School. Marshall said he was very excited to become part of the instructional team at the Ione School District and “is looking forward to con- tinuing the strong tradition of academic and athletic excellence in Ione.” The Willow Creek Val- ley Economic Development Group (WCVEDG) dis- bursed $22,327 in Commu- nity Enhancement Grants to eight local organizations last week. The grant funds came from the Columbia River Enterprise Zone’s commitment to provide money to better the local communities in the county. In South Morrow County, the following grants were distributed: City of Heppner, $1,000 for a 30-yard dumpster for resi- dents to use in a city-wide cleanup that coincides with Mustang Mop-Up; also, City of Heppner, $1,760 to provide for Main Street beautification with hanging baskets; Heppner Chamber of Commerce, $600 for a project spearheaded by John Edmundson to re- habilitate the Welcome to Heppner signs on Hwy. 74 and Hwy. 207/206; Little League, $10,541, which they will use to replace the sprinkler system, lay new sod in the outfield and -See COUNTY COURT/ PAGE TEN -See MCSO PROMOTIONS/ PAGE TWO “We are very pleased to be able to give out these grants for the betterment of our South County com- munities,” said WCVEDG President David Sykes. “We are able to help with a wide range of projects and we know the money is be- ing put to good use.” Irrigon, Boardman, buy or build By David Sykes The Morrow County Commission is moving closer to deciding on where to put new offices and ser- vices in the north end of the county. Commissioners and staff have been talking for the past six months about of human resources, will now become executive di- rector of HR; Jack Johns, who was a special educa- tion counsellor, will now become special ed director; Matt Combe will remain director of facilities; and a position for director of educational services has recently been posted. Dirksen also an- nounced the winners of the Crystal Apple awards among MCSD employees: Jessica Lynch, who is an ed assistant for Heppner Jr./Sr. High School; Janice Huddleston, who is the maintenance coordinator for the district office in Hep- pner; Curtis Johnston, head custodian at Sam Boardman -See SCHOOL DISTRICT/ PAGE TEN expansion and building plans for services and facili- ties, including the planning commission, VA, county clerk, parole and probation and sheriff’s department. They agree the county needs more and newer fa- cilities in Boardman and Irrigon, but so far, no agree- ment on where those offices should be located. At issue is whether to construct new in Irrigon and keep the services cur- rently located there, or to purchase an empty Blue Mountain Community Col- lege building in Boardman and move the offices there, or a combination of both. The frustration of continued talks on the issues, includ- ing several meetings with concerned Irrigon residents, came out last week. “We have spent six months talking about this. We need some clarity and get some numbers together, and move forward,” chair Mellissa Lindsay said at the May 3 meeting. Commissioner Don Russell also urged the com- mission to decide. He has been a proponent of taking a hard look at purchasing the BMCC building, which he says could be had a very Ballots due next week With a low turnout so far in this year’s Special Election, voters are urged to get their ballots in by next Tuesday. On the ballot this month are elections for lo- cal special districts. All bal- lots are due by 8 p.m. Elec- currently aren’t any; also to the Heppner library, $4,400 to upgrade internet capa- bilities; and to the Town of Lexington, $1,500 for beautification of both parks with flowers, brick retainer wall, bark dust for flower beds, native ground cover and blooming shrubs. County Commission moves toward facilities decision MCSD announces resignation of Mendoza By April Sykes At Monday night’s board meeting, Morrow County School Superin- tendent Dirk Dirksen an- nounced the departure of assistant superintendent George Mendoza, who is accepting a job as superin- tendent of the La Grande school district. Dirksen commended Mendoza and wished him luck in his new endeavor. “This is by far the best job I’ve ever had in my life,” commented Mendoza of his stint with MCSD, adding thanks to Morrow County educators and Dirk- sen. With Mendoza’s depar- ture, Dirksen has announced some staff changes. He said that Erin Stocker, director on what the cost will be to prepare it for the county of- fices. He said if the BMCC building were bought, the county could move out of the Docken building where some offices are currently located in Boardman. Lindsay said she is thinking of a combination of purchasing the BMCC building to house the ser- vices currently located in Boardman, and building new for those services cur- rently in Irrigon. “I don’t want to move out of Irrigon. I am committed to not hurt- ing Irrigon and their econo- my,” she said. “But we need to make a decision.” Several members of the Irrigon community came to the last commission meet- ing and urged the county to leave the current offices in Irrigon, which they say helps an economy that does not have a lot going for it. In other discussions, the commission talked about how to divide up a proposed $200,000 grant program amongst the five cities in the county. They seem to be settling on giv- ing a basic amount to all Morrow County Sher- iff’s Office has announced it has restructured the com- mand staff. Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack says the driving force behind the move is “to be more fiscally responsible and decrease the overtime budget, while operating as efficiently as possible.” In view of those goals, Matlack has announced the following promotions: Terry Harper, Opera- tions Lieutenant. Harper has been with the sheriff’s office since 1989 and has been in law enforcement since 1985. He has served as a patrol deputy, detective and detective sergeant. As operations lieutenant, he will supervise the criminal and patrol divisions, as well as the Court Security Unit, OHV Park Unit and the Search & Rescue Unit. Dan Robbins, Correc- tions Lieutenant. Robbins has been with the sheriff’s office since 2010 and in law enforcement since 1993. He will supervise the com- munity corrections division deputies, including commu- nity service supervisor. The corrections division staff is currently supervising 115 offenders. Kristen Bowles, Com- munications Lieutenant. Bowles has spent her whole law enforcement career with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, beginning in 2004. She worked as a dispatcher and was later promoted to communica- tions division sergeant, then communications division director. She will supervise the communications/911 division, consisting of a communications sergeant and eight communications deputies. Melissa Ross, Admin- istrative Lieutenant/P.I.O. Ross also has spent her law enforcement career with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office. She started in 1999 with about a year in dispatch, then took a hiatus before returning in 2005. She has worked in the communications division, records unit, civil unit and the management assistant position for the sheriff. She will supervise the adminis- trative division including Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group Director Sheryll Bates presents a grant check to Jason Hanna of the Heppner Little League. Also accepting the check are Little League board members Jeromy and Jennifer Wilson. -Photo by David Sykes install fence adjacent to highway; Neighborhood Center, $1,487 to replace aging water supply pipes and plumbing and relocate a water line and meter; Or- egon Trail Library District Heppner branch, $1,039 to replace existing blinds and add blinds where there tion Day, Tuesday, May 16. Ballots must be received, not simply postmarked, on that day. Morrow County Clerk Bobbi Childers says election results for Mor- row County races will be available online that night at http://www.co.morrow. or.us/clerk. For voter convenience, 24-hour ballot drop boxes are located in each commu- nity throughout the county. good price. “This basically comes down to new in Irrigon or a combination of build- ing in Irrigon and/or buy the BMCC building in Boardman,” Russell said. “BMCC is not going to sit there forever,” he warned. He said another unnamed government entity is in- terested in the facility but BMCC has agreed to hold off at least for a while for the county to make up its mind. Russell said the BMCC building is 3,5000 square feet and could be purchased for $250,000 for a “mini- mum $1/2 million savings.” He says new construction is going to cost the county between $300 and $380 per foot. “It’s hard to look people in the face who have pot holes in front of their homes, and we are going to spend a half million more than we need too.” Russell said. Commissioner Jim Doherty said the commis- sion still does not have all the information it needs to decide. “We still need figures and analysis on the value of the BMCC facility,” and MCSO announces new structure, promotions MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL -Hanging Baskets Planters 20% F -Color Bowls OF -Montana Silver Jewelry Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)
