TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing, LLC and entered as periodical matter at the
Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage
paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-
9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.
net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner
Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $30 in Morrow
County; $24 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $36 elsewhere;
$30 student subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $5.75 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for pub-
lication must be specified. Affidavits must be required at the time of submission. Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not
responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will
be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
~ Letters to the Editor ~
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following
criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name
of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you
provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The
address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be
printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the
right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in
letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under
“Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
Not supporting
Walden in 2018
To the editor:
Last week supporters of
Rep. Greg Walden received a
fundraising appeal asking for
help to fight against “the most
liberal agitators in Oregon”
who supposedly drive from
Portland to pack his town halls
and “scream, chant and shout”
at him. I find his whining sense
of persecution unjustified.
When I have attended
Walden’s town halls, every
speaker identified themselves
by town and profession, and
they were all from Congressio-
nal District 2. Far from being
Portland radicals supporting
“the Hollywood elite,” we are
constituents from Walden’s
own district who need access
to affordable health care and
were seriously disappointed
by his unwavering support
of a plan that would have
been disastrous for many of
us. We care deeply about our
rural schools and have serious
concerns about the voucher
system supported by the Re-
publican party. We respect our
neighbors who have recently
immigrated and we would
rather see a just and simpli-
fied path to citizenship than
mindless deportation and the
wall dividing North America
that Walden supports. Health
care, education and immigra-
tion are not mentioned in his
fundraising appeal.
Walden is either lying to
get money or has become out
of touch with the concerns of
his own constituents after liv-
ing in DC for 20 years. I have
voted for him repeatedly in the
past, but I will not be doing so
in 2018 and I will certainly not
send him money to drown out
my neighbors and friends who
are his critics.
(s) Lea Mathieu, Ione and
Redmond
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
Areas to be aware of this summer
Paver patching Ione-Gooseberry
Ella Road, Ione
Baseline Road
and some overlay projects
West Maint (Ione) and Ella
Road.
North end of the County
Division Rd., Fourth
St/.Nevada St., Third St.,
Wyoming St., W.8th Road
and Patterson Ferry Rd.
Including...YOU WILL NEED TO BE
AWARE OF WET PAINT AND STAY WITHIN YOUR
LANE OF TRAVEL... Travelers should use caution when
encountering a road striping operation and should not drive
across the stripes when the paint is still wet. The paint used
to stripe roads is a water-borne, nontoxic paint containing
reflective glass beads. Motorists who accidentally get road
paint on their vehicles should remove it immediately, before
the paint sets up, with a pressure washer.
Again be prepared and be safe.
Questions or concerns may be
addressed to 541-989-9500
Morrow County Road Department.
FOREST
-Continued from PAGE ONE
material, or; when fully con-
tained within a pickup truck
bed that is empty of all flam-
mable material, or; when fac-
tory installed in a recreational
vehicle and the generator
exhaust discharge is located in
the center of an area at least 10
feet in diameter that is barren
or cleared of all flammable
material.
No off-road/off-trail ve-
hicle travel or travel on roads
not cleared of standing grass
or other flammable material.
Vehicle travel is never permit-
ted on currently closed forest
service roads where access has
been impeded or blocked by
earthen berms, logs, boulders,
barriers, barricades or gates,
or as otherwise identified in a
closure order.
Smoking is allowed only
in enclosed vehicles and build-
ings, developed recreation
sites, or in cleared areas.
Chamber
lunch
meeting
The next lunch meeting
of the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce will be an all en-
tities report Thursday, Sept.
7, in Heppner City Hall
conference room. There
will be no chamber meet-
ing Aug. 17 due to fair and
rodeo week. Cost of lunch
is $10.
The meeting location is
accessible to persons with
disabilities. A request for an
interpreter for the hearing
impaired or for other ac-
commodations for persons
with disabilities should be
made at least 48 hours be-
fore the meeting to Sheryll
Bates at 541-676-5536.
-Continued from PAGE ONE
continue funding even if the
new base is formed. At an
early meeting of the Morrow
County Court when the group
was asked by Extension to
support the new district, now
mention was made of discon-
tinuing county funding if the
new district were formed.
Extension officials are
proposing a tax base of .33
per thousand dollars of valu-
ation. Under the new district,
annual tax funds would still be
funneled through the county
budget process, but allocated
and controlled by a special
Extension board.
The city council asked
Corp several questions about
the proposed tax base. Under
Oregon law certain cities
in Morrow County, such as
Heppner, are currently under
what is called compression,
City Council
-Continued from PAGE ONE
or a cap on how high property
tax rates may go. Heppner’s
cap is $10 total per thousand
dollars of valuation. If another
district, such as Extension
is formed, this would lower
the annual tax money the city
would receive. Tax assessor
Mike Gorman has said earlier
there are so many changing
factors yearly, he is unable to
calculate what would be the
net effect on the city of Hep-
pner, however Heppner Mayor
Cody High said Monday he
understood the city may lose
around $15,000 annually.
What if Heppner votes
to opt out, and not be part of
the new tax district, was also
asked? “If Heppner opts out,
then we will figure out what
the fee is for kids (who live in
Heppner) who want to be part
of 4-H and would have to pay,”
Corp said. She said the Hep-
pner kids would be required
to pay the fee to participate
because “we would have to
be fair,” she said. Kuhn said
if the city opts out extension
would have to break out all the
different services to determine
the extra charges. “This would
be difficult,” he said.
Council member Dale
Bates asked if the new district
was just changing the way
Extension is funded. “Is this
just another way of funding?
I don’t see a difference in
actual dollars,” Bates said.
Corp said it would result in
more dollars for Extension.
“It is more money. More fund-
Community
lunch menu
Heppner United Meth-
odist Church volunteers
will serve lunch on Wednes-
day, Aug. 23, at St. Patrick’s
Senior Center. Lunch will
include parmesan crusted
fish, rice pilaf, green beans,
seven-layer salad, rolls and
strawberry ice cream for
dessert.
Milk is served at each
meal. Suggested donation
is $3.50 per meal. Menu is
subject to change.
Justice
Court
Report
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace Ann Spicer
has released the following
Justice Court report:
-Jay A. Coil, 56,
Heppner, was convicted
of failure to obey a traffic
control device, $260 fine.
-James Healy Jr, 67,
Heppner, was convicted
of violation of basic rule,
93/55 mph, $260 fine.
Murray’s 21st Annual
Beer & Wine Tasting
Thursday, August 17, 2017
6:00–10:30 PM Morrow County
PRE
Fairgrounds Fair a dmission required
Price$10.00 S tarter Pack 2 drink tickets &
take home g lass . Additional tickets
$5.00each
Live Entertainment:
Joe Lindsay Family/Friends :
6:00 PM
PARTY
Award Winning Wines From
all over the NorthWest!
Enter to win a bottle of your
favorite wine
Nate Botsford:
8:00 PM
Kids drinks provided by
Dinner offered by Heppner Chamber, Breaking Grounds Coffee
prepared by Alvin Liu
Be sure to bring
of Gateway Cafe.
Meat Lasagna
Green Salad
Roll
Cookie
Bottled Water
$10 adults
$5 kids 11 and under
lawn chairs!
QUESTIONS: Murray's 541-676-9158 Check out our facebook page
MURRAY’S OPEN THIS
SUNDAY 8am-6pm
ing than what commissions
give extension. And it would
be stable funding,’ she said.
Currently the counties could
reduce funding to Extension
if chose to.
It was also asked what
if one county passes the new
base and the other does not?
Corp said the county com-
missioners in the county that
rejected the tax base would
decide if they wanted to con-
tinue funding Extension under
the current method.
After the discussion, the
council decided to put the is-
sue on next month’s agenda for
further discussion, and action
at that time.
In other business at Mon-
day’s meeting the council
heard a report from County
Undersheriff and councilmem-
ber John Bowles about the on-
going vandalism problems in
Heppner. Bowles said he has
seen a decrease in the amount
of vandalism as a result of
more public awareness of
the problem. “Vandalism has
come down with the publics
paying attention and the in-
creased patrols,” he said. He
urged the public to continue to
report suspicious activity. “If
citizens see something, report
it. It’s important to report it,”
he urged.
The council also heard
a report that there would a
telephone conference call
Tuesday morning to discuss
the on-going issue of waste
water treatment options for the
city. The Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality, DEQ, has
given the city a fast approach-
ing deadline to come up with
a plan to change the way it
handles its sewage treatment.
Currently the city releases
treated waste into the Willow
Creek, however the DEQ has
said because of ammonia con-
tent in the effluent, this method
will have to be discontinued.
The city has been exploring
several options, including us-
ing settling lagoons or sharing
a new treatment plant with the
town of Lexington and City
of Ione, both of which are on
septic systems and have no
central treatment plant.
City Manager Edie Ball
said she recently attended a
workshop on waste treatment
financing at which representa-
tives of both Ione and Lex-
ington were also present. Ball
said all parties would expected
to be on the conference call
to discuss the joint treatment
plan, which would call for
piping to carry Heppner’s
effluent down to Lexington
to a shared treatment plant.
High said because of DEQ
deadlines it was coming to
the time that Heppner needed
to make a decision on how to
revamp its treatment system,
and the conference call Tues-
day would be the final meeting
before a decision needed to be
made. He said if Lexington
and Ione wanted to do a fea-
sibility study on the proposal,
Heppner would participate,
but pointed out Heppner had
already paid for a study from
its engineering firm which
mainly addressed setting up
a lagoon system closer to the
city limits.
In other business, the
council voted to replace the
tree that was removed from
the mini park next to the Post
Office on Main Street, with a
gazebo. The tree was removed
after it grew big and the roots
caused disruption in the area.
In further action, the
council voted to move for-
ward with a payroll audit to
be conducted by the city audi-
tors Barnett & Moro, P.C. The
audit will cover seven city em-
ployees for a five-year period.
The cost of the audit will be
between $2,500 and $3,000.
The city voted to explore an
audit after reaching agreement
in July with former city man-
ager Kim Cutsforth resolving a
dispute about vacation pay she
claims was owed during her
four years of employment with
the city. Cutsforth had filed
a claim with the Oregon Bu-
reau of Labor and Industries
(BOLI), after she had resigned
the city manager job. The final
settlement was for a total of
$2,820.65, which included
$1,764 in penalties for late
payment, and $1,056.65 for 35
hours of vacation pay. In the
audit proposal Barnett & Moro
said their “engagement is not
designed to detect instances of
fraud or noncompliance with
laws or regulations; however,
we will communicate to you
any known and suspected
fraud and noncompliance with
laws or regulations affecting
the payroll accruals listed…”
Obituaries
ALLAN J. BASFORD
Allan J. Basford, of Ione,
passed away at the age of 79
on August 4, 2017 in Spokane,
Washington. Born in Idaho
in 1937 to Archie and Wilma
Basford, Allan was raised in
Colorado along with 6 sisters
and 5 brothers. He joined
the Navy in 1959 where he
proudly served his country
until 1963. After his military
service, Allan was a miner in
Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.
He began to raise a family in
Utah and eventually relocated
to Oregon, having moved to
Ione in 1976. In Eastern Or-
egon, he was employed at the
Kinzua Saw Mill in Heppner
as a machinist. He also worked
at the mill in Pilot Rock until
his retirement in 2013 at the
age of 75.
Allan is survived by six
sisters and one brother along
with his wife, Verna of Ione,
and children: Bill Smith of
Wyoming, Ron Smith of
Utah, Twilla Meadows of
New Jersey, Tonya Smith of
Washington, Richard Basford
of Alaska, Bryan Basford
of Oregon, Leslie Blais of
Oregon, and Barbara Ball of
Oregon. He was blessed with
27 grandchildren and nearly
20 great grandchildren. In
lieu of flowers, donations in
his name can be made to the
Wounded Warriors Family
Support Fund.
Ione Music in the Park
Saturday, July 22nd
6pm Music by
Corey Peterson & Band
FREE ENTERTAINMENT IN
THE IONE CITY PARK
Everyone invited
Bring chair & cooler and
come enjoy this
Music in
the park
Performances
through
September
Sponsored by Morrow
County Unified
Recreation District &
Ione Library District