Country roots run deep at Morrow
County Fair
HEPPNER
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VOL. 136
NO. 32 8 Pages
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Young rabbit growers listen to the judge during livestock showing at the Morrow County Fair
last week. See more fair and rodeo photos PAGE EIGHT. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Sun gazers clog roadways, slow traffic Cutsforth named
interim county
in Morrow County
administrator
The Morrow County the board of commissioners
Commission has appoint- the ability to concentrate
ed Kim Cutsforth
our efforts in much-
the interim county
needed projects and
administrator until
policies. With a
a new permanent
plethora of these on
administrator can
the docket ranging
be found. Current
from energy, health
administrator Jerry
care, transporta-
Sorte recently re-
tion, cash handling,
signed.
federal forest plans
Cutsforth was
and infrastructure, it
most recently ad- Kim
was a must that we
ministrator for the Cutsforth
not lose momentum.
City of Heppner and
“As a stopgap,
is currently the adminis- it is good to have a local
trator of the Howard and professional lend her ser-
Beth Bryant Community vice. This will allow myself
Foundation. She will start and my fellow commission-
on the job Aug. 28.
ers the ability forge ahead,”
“The advent of a Mor- commission Jim Doherty
row County Administrator said after the appointment.
has in many ways allowed
Ryan Neal joins
IMESD board
A line of cars snakes into Heppner after the solar eclipse Monday. The heavy traffic clogged highways north to the Columbia,
Pendleton – The In- Ione, Ukiah, Pilot Rock and
requiring extra patrols and a deputy directing traffic at the edge of Heppner. -Photo by Megan Futter
terMountain Education Umatilla school districts.
Conservation corps partners youth and
nature for a winning combination
By Andrea Di Salvo
A few local youth got a
chance to spend some time
in the great outdoors this
summer while developing
crucial work skills thanks
to a program developed by
the Oregon Youth Conser-
vation Corps (OYCC). As
part of the OYCC Summer
Conservation Corps (SCC),
South Morrow teens Syd-
ney Qualls, Charles Cason,
and Leo and Reiah Waite
and OYCC Crew Leader
Curtis Harper of Heppner
worked with Forest Service
staff to complete mainte-
nance and conservation
projects throughout the
Umatilla National Forest.
The OYCC was created
by the Oregon Legislature
in 1987 “to emulate the Ci-
vilian Conservation Corps
of the 1930s” according
to the program’s annual
report. The original goal of
the OYCC was to “establish
a disadvantaged and at-risk
youth work program in
order to perform conserva-
tion work of public value
in the most cost-effective
manner....”
The paid positions are
open to youth ages 16 to
21. The summer jobs are
posted and students need
to fill out an application to
be included in the program.
“It’s aimed for at-risk
youth. The point is to get
kids out working in the
woods, get them some job
skills, hopefully steer them
in a more positive direc-
tion,” said Harper, adding
that the definition of “at-
risk” was pretty broad,
meaning “at risk for not
Auction surprise provides school
supplies for needy kids
meeting the expectations
of their community.” He
also said that if no spe-
cifically at-risk students
applied, other youth could
be accepted if they met the
requirements of age and
Oregon residency. There
are no other requirements.
“That’s kind of the
point, to develop skills,”
he said. “I got the best kids
I could have gotten,” he
added.
According to OYCC
documents, 75 percent of
participants statewide must
meet the disadvantaged and
at-risk requirement.
The SCC is the largest
of the OYCC’s state-funded
programs, and is funded
primarily through the Or-
egon Lottery. Its stated goal
is to run an SCC in each of
Oregon’s 36 counties. To
that end it provides grants to
local providers who facili-
tate the program—the local
partner in Morrow County
is the Community Action
Program of East Central
Oregon (CAPECO), which
Service District (IMESD)
appointed a new member to
its board of directors in July
2017. New board member
Ryan Neal will fulfill the
remainder of the board term
of former member Kathy
Neal. Kathy served on the
board for 17 years and re-
signed in June.
Ryan will represent
IMESD’s Zone 1, which
consists of Morrow County,
Ryan lives in Board-
man and is the general
manager of Port of Mor-
row warehousing. He and
his family moved back to
eastern Oregon in 2015, and
Ryan is an active volunteer
in his community. He serves
on the boards of the Kiwan-
is Club of Boardman and
the Boardman Chamber of
-See NEAL JOINS IMESD/
PAGE THREE
Court reviews DHS,
other documents in
Baker case
The sex-crimes case
of Corey Scott Baker, 40,
of Ione will take another
step on the road toward
trial Thursday as the Mor-
row County Circuit Court
reviews sensitive records
relating to the case. Baker
earlier this year pleaded not
guilty to charges of first-de-
gree rape and sexual abuse
of a girl younger than 14.
The records under re-
view in the hearing include
documents from the Oregon
Department of Human Ser-
vices in Boardman and the
Mount Emily Safe Center
-See CONSERVATION in La Grande, a nonprofit
CORPS/PAGE THREE that conducts forensic in-
terviews of abuse victims.
Baker’s attorney Nick
Patterson filed motions with
the circuit court requesting
a judge review in chambers
the records related to Baker
and others, including the
alleged victim, according
to court records.
Circuit Judge Eva
Temple signed orders in
mid-July to produce the
records. Temple may can-
cel Thursday’s hearing if
she completes the review
before then.
Baker is currently
scheduled for a trial by
jury on Jan. 22.
Pictured L-R: Kevin Gray (MCGG General Manager), Emily Taylor (Ione FFA), Ashley Price
and Brooke Tolar (Irrigon FFA), Jeff Wendler, (Threemile Canyon Farms), John and Jana
VandenBrink (JVB Dairy), Sam Bellamy (Lexington Pump/Heppner Christian Church), Lou
Lyons (Elmer’s Irrigation), Marie Linnell (Lamb Weston), Morgan Orem (Ione FFA), Jacee
Currin, Tyler Carter and Kolby Currin (Heppner FFA). -Contributed Photo
The Morrow County
Fair Youth Livestock Auc-
tion received a surprise item
last week.
Jacee Currin, a member
of the Heppner FFA chapter,
donated her extra market
hog to be auctioned off with
the proceeds to go to the
Morrow County elementary
schools. With the coopera-
tion of the three FFA chap-
ters in the county (Heppner,
Ione and Irrigon) “ready for
school” backpacks will be
purchased and distributed
to less fortunate kids in the
Boardman, Irrigon, Ione
and Heppner elementary
-See SURPRISE PIG/PAGE
TWO
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net