FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 31, 2017
AMAZON TAXES
-Continued from PAGE ONE local workforce for the jobs have no desire to staff this
at the Amazon server farms
also was addressed.
“We have a shortage
of engineers and we need
to put dollars and effort
behind this,” Grella said.
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College recently
opened a work force train-
ing center at the Port of
Morrow, and is also offer-
ing classes for potential
data engineers. He said
Amazon wants to help with
this training where it can
either in curriculum, pro-
fessors or internships. He
said he believed there were
already three local interns
that had gone to work at
Amazon.
Commissioner Don
Russell said he knew some
local people working at
Amazon and he thinks the
company will find a good
work force and work ethic
here.
“ We w a n t h o m e -
grown,” Grella said. “We
included knowing how
much Amazon would pay
in taxes.
Grella also gave kudos
to Boardman as a good
place for Amazon to con-
tinue building.
“This is one of the best
places to expand. You have
sustainability with renew-
able and cheap power,” he
told the commission. He
was referring to the avail-
ability of the hydroelectric
energy from the Bonneville
Power Administration’s
(BPA) Columbia River
dams. Amazon buys their
electricity from Umatilla
Electric, which in turns
buys through the BPA grid.
He also said the business
climate in Morrow County
was favorable with the
availability of good work-
ers and good cooperation
with government. “We see
a very bright future in this
area.”
Efforts to educate the
NOTICE
Highview Cemetery in Ione is having irrigation water issues.
We are currently working to get a new system in place. Until
then our ability to water may be severely limited. Please bear
with us as we work thru our water issues. We will have
Highview Cemetery green again as soon as possible.
If you have questions or comments, you can contact us via email at
ionelexcemdist@gmail.com or call and leave a message on 541‐379‐0608
Thank you!
The Ione Lexington Cemetery Maintenance Board
Morrow County Road Dept. would like to
remind all motorists that with any road
maintenance project to be aware of the
workers, they are very important to us.
Watch for signs, flags and work-zone employees
and equipment. Morrow County’s goal is to provide
a safe roadway. However, it is always up to the
motorist to drive according to conditions. Be patient
and plan ahead. Leave early if you know you will
be driving through work zones. Please use extreme
caution and common sense. They will do their best
and would appreciate your patience
Temporary closers with
grinding and reclaimation will
be taking place with in the next
few weeks. Some areas to be
aware of with some delays and
partial closers are...
Laurel/Wilson
Intersection in
Boardman.
Ione/Boardman Rd.
(Juniper to Ella)
Blackhorse east of Piper
Canyon.
Again be prepared and be safe.
Questions or concerns may be
addressed to 541-989-9500
Morrow County Road Department.
all with people from Se-
attle.”
He said with each new
building they put up, it
means 125 to 150 full-time
jobs for one year and then
about 100 jobs after that. He
said between the employees
and the vendors they use for
operations, they now have
more than 1,200 people
connected with the Board-
man operations.
In deciding which tax
plan to use, Grella said
he would not play the two
entities off against each
other and planned on being
“completely transparent”
with the process. He said
they are currently filling
out the paperwork for both
a CREZ and SIP agreement
and could go either way.
“We don’t want to ne-
gotiate two separate agree-
ments (between the county
and CREZ) and then take
the best one. But if you put
us in a position to choose,
we will choose,” he added.
Russell asked the com-
mission to consider putting
Port of Morrow General
Manager Gary Neal on
the county SIP negotiating
team, since he has exten-
sive experience negotiat-
ing CREZ agreements and
other contracts while at
the Port. The commission
agreed and later voted to
appoint Neal, commission
chair Melissa Lindsay and
county administrator Jerry
Sorte to a negotiating team
to work with Amazon on
a potential SIP agreement.
Sheriff’s
Report
March 2: -RP in Ir-
rigon reported to Morrow
County Sheriff ’s office
a lost mutt, dog named
“Trigger,” and can’t find
him—golden color, long
hair, white spot on fore-
head, white toes, white
underbelly.
-MCSO was advised
that one of the employees
at the Irrigon Shell did three
Western
Union transactions for
two different people; they
came from the same person
and they turned out to be
fraudulent. Total amount
was $1,525.03. Western
Union told RP to call police
to report this.
-MCSO advised an of-
fice was out delivering a
code letter for the city in
Heppner.
-RP in Lexington ad-
vised a subject was working
on two of the RP’s cars and
they had not heard anything
from him in two months.
Previous subject had given
RP many stories. RP stated
that he gave the subject over
$7000 in cash. RP was
calling from Arizona
and wanted to find out if
the vehicles were still at the
location and what MCSO
Good times at the Cardinal
Diner
Ione music teacher Bryan Bates and the Ione choir wowed audiences with a music dinner the-
ater this past week. Peggy Doherty, Yvonne Morter, Lisa Rietmann, Erin Heideman and Lea
Mathieu also stepped up to put the “dinner” in dinner theater. -Contributed photo
Ione library plans summer
reading program kick-off event
The Ione Public Library
will kick off its summer
reading program Tuesday,
June 6, with a free presenta-
tion of “The Ribbles Build
a Residence,” presented by
the Traveling Lantern The-
atre Company. This free
performance will take place
at 4 p.m. at the Ione Com-
munity School cafeteria and
is suitable for all ages.
Registration for the
Ione summer reading pro-
gram will follow the pre-
sentation. This year’s sum-
mer reading program theme
is Build a Better World
and will include weekly
events and special guest
presentations throughout
the summer.
For more information,
contact the Ione Public
Library at 541-561-9828
or http://www.ionepublicli-
brary.com/.
Families reminded of need for
adolescent check-ups
For students ages 11-
21, Morrow County and
Ione school districts en-
courage families to sched-
ule an adolescent well care
(AWC) exam appointment
this summer. Exams can be
scheduled beginning June 1
and throughout the summer
months, and help students
be prepared for the upcom-
ing school year and fall
sport season. For student
athletes, the exam includes
the OSAA evaluation for
sport/activity participation.
Morrow County Health
District and Columbia
River Community Health
Services will be providing
exams by appointment only.
If the patient has insurance,
the insurance will be billed
for the AWC exam, and
the balance, if any, will not
be charged to the patient.
There will be no out-of-
pocket cost for an AWC
exam.
To schedule an AWC
exam locally, contact Pio-
neer Memorial Clinic, 541-
676-5504, or Ione Commu-
nity Clinic, 541-422-7128.
Patients in North Morrow
can contact Columbia River
Community Health Ser-
vices, Boardman, 541-481-
7212, or Irrigon Medical
Clinic, 541-922-5880.
Local students to graduate from
OSU
CORVALLIS, OR—
Several local students will
graduate during Oregon
State University’s 148 th
commencement on Sat-
urday, June 17, at Reser
Stadium on the Corvallis
campus, the university an-
nounced.
Graduates from Hep-
pner are Maggie K. Col-
lins, Bachelor of Science,
Cum Laude, agricultural
sciences; Bryan P. Holland,
Bachelor of Science, fisher-
ies and wildlife sciences;
Justin J. Pranger, Bachelor
of Science, rangeland sci-
ences; and Garrett K. Rob-
inson, Bachelor of Science,
agricultural sciences.
Graduates from Ione
are Emily A. Rea, Bachelor
of Science, crop and soil
science, and Evan J. Riet-
mann, Bachelor of Science,
agricultural sciences.
From Lexington is
graduate Kyle C. Harrison,
Bachelor of Science, agri-
cultural sciences.
Graduates from
Boardman include Em-
ily A. Doherty, Bachelor
of Science, digital com-
munication arts; Matthew
B. Hyder, Master of Sci-
ence, mechanical engineer-
ing; Christina T. Quintero,
Bachelor of Science, soci-
can do about this.
-MCSO reported of-
ficer initiated activity at
Irrigon High School for a
fight at this location.
- James David Town,
25, was arrested by MCSO
on a Parole and Probation
detainer.
-MCSO reported serv-
ing a restraining order at
Columbia River Ranch.
-Continued on PAGE TEN
ology; and Mayra L. San-
chez-Barrera, Bachelor of
Science, biohealth sciences.
From Irrigon are gradu-
ates Sean G. Barron, Bach-
elor of Science, manage-
ment, and Adriana Sanchez,
Bachelor of Science, Mag-
na Cum Laude, finance,
and Bachelor of Science,
Magna Cum Laude, ac-
countancy.
The commencement
speaker is Hüsnü M.
Özyeğin, who headed to
Oregon State University in
1963 with only $100 in his
pocket and graduated to be-
come a business leader and
philanthropist in Turkey
and throughout Europe.
Commencement is free
and open to the public; no
tickets are necessary. More
information about OSU’s
graduation is available on-
line at: http://commence-
ment.oregonstate.edu/.
HEPPNER LES SCHWAB WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE
MUSTANG BASEBALL ON A GREAT SEASON
124 N. MAIN STREET HEPPNER OR 541-676-9481
