Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2017)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 30, 2017 Ione FFA performs well at fair lamb, Austin Morter (not in picture) earned third for advanced tractor driving, Jacob Heideman earned first in beginning livestock judging and third in begin- ning tractor driving, and Matthew Orem earned first in champion female cow and second in beginning tractor driving. The advanced tractor driving team consisting of Emily Taylor, Morgan Orem, Logan Burright and Morgan Orem earned sec- ond overall high point in- dividual. The beginning team, consisting of Jacob Heide- man, Matthew Orem, Grace Ogden, Larysa Burright, Colt Parker, Gary Walls, Eva Martin and Serenity Rodriguez, earned first. However, he said, neither utility found the approach to be acceptable. Overlaying the line dispute is the desire of stakeholders in the Umatilla Basin to reduce impacts to agricultural lands by avoiding the unorganized proliferation of transmis- sion lines. An advisory committee that Gov. Kate Brown established in 2015 to develop solutions to this potential problem issued its final report in February. Among the report’s rec- ommendations was a “key next step” involving a pilot project in Morrow County that would “use an open, public process to create a transmission corridor” that could further the state’s re- newables development, the report stated. The county is currently working with the state Department of Land Conservation and Develop- ment to establish the pilot “green energy corridor.” In addition to Wheat- ridge, projects such a cor- ridor could benefit include Idaho Power ’s 500-kV Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line, which will traverse the territories of both Columbia Basin and Umatilla on its way to a BPA substation at Board- man. Both CBEC and UEC view their proposed lines as consistent with the pilot project’s concept. “This transmission line as it’s built will serve not only [Wheatridge’s] needs, but potential future wind projects and renewable energy projects in the fore- seeable future,” Columbia Basin’s Wolff told Clearing Up, referring to the segment the utility has agreed to build for the wind project. But Umatilla’s Ech- enroad—who served on the transmission advisory committee along with 26 other representatives of landowners, farmers, utili- ties, project developers, and agencies ranging from the local to the federal levels— said dividing the ownership of transmission lines “is not consistent with the ‘green energy corridor’ that Mor- row County needs,” and that the solutions must be “acceptable to all” stake- holders. “We worked very hard over many years to remove the roadblocks that are often presented with trans- mission projects, assisting the developer, landowners, state and federal agencies, to identify a corridor that’s useful not only for a single project,” Echenroad said. “We hope the agreement reached between Columbia Basin and Wheatridge fits within that understanding that so many people have worked with over the past several years.” The Wheatridge devel- oper has recent urgency to resolve the transmission issues, because a “poten- tial buyer” of the project is “very concerned” about it, and “is starting to hesitate on the purchase,” former project co-owner Jerry Ri- etmann told the Morrow County Board of Commis- sioners at its June 7 meet- ing, which was recorded. “I think it’s an issue we’ve got to get resolved quickly.” Rietmann was before the board to introduce Me- lissa Hochmuth, NextEra’s project director in charge of wind development. Hoch- muth agreed that the trans- mission issue was “one of our number-one things we want to get resolved here in the short term.” Both Rietmann and Hochmuth supported the idea of a single transmis- sion corridor as a way to not only help Wheatridge, but to also encourage other transmission and generation projects, and to attract the development of businesses such as data centers. Rietmann said NextEra was brought into the pic- ture because “the potential buyer wanted someone of bigger stature” to take the project over the finish line. Find Clearing Up at www.newsdata.com/cu/. Pictured (L-R top): Serenity Rodriguez, Larysa Burright, Morgan Orem, Emily Taylor, Eva Martin, Grace Ogden, Erin Heideman. (L-R bottom): Austin Carter, Gary Walls, Colt Parker, Logan Burright, Jacob Heideman, Matthew Orem, Gage Heideman. -Contributed photo By Jake Heideman, Ione FFA Chapter Reporter Ione FFA members placed well at this year’s fair. Emily Taylor earned second in floral design, Eva Martin earned first for market hogs, Grace Og- den earned first for market PIRATE FOOTBALL CBEC -Continued from PAGE ONE Clearing Up. was a matter of interstate power sales, which it said falls under FERC’s fed- eral jurisdiction [UM 1823] (CU No. 1783 [21]; 1807 [11]). After several months with little headway, Colum- bia Basin, UEC and Wheat- ridge on June 29 asked OPUC for a limited stay of the procedural schedule to conduct settlement discus- sions. They set July 31 as a deadline for resolving mat- ters, if possible. On Aug. 1, when status reports were due from the two utilities, Umatilla said no settlement had been reached with Columbia Basin. However, Colum- bia Basin requested that the case be closed, say- ing it had reached a deal with Florida-based NextEra Energy, which acquired Wheatridge in April (CU No. 1801 [9.1]). Thomas Wolff, CEO and general manager of Co- lumbia Basin, told Clearing Up he wasn’t at liberty to discuss details of the settle- ment at the moment, but said it addressed the util- ity’s concerns. “We’re moving for- ward in the construction of a transmission line within our service territory,” Wolff said. “At the end of the day, Columbia Basin will own that transmission line and its underlying easement.” In an email, NextEra spokesman Steven Stenghel said, “We don’t really have anything to add at this time other than to say we are continuing to develop the project.” Robert Echenroad, Umatilla CEO and general manager, said the settle- ment details have not yet been shared with him. “I believe that Colum- bia Basin and the Wheat- ridge developer plan to divide up the ownership of the line according to the ter- ritory lines, so one doesn’t cross into the other, but I don’t have that formally or in writing,” Echenroad told “We believe the ques- tion of wholesale transmis- sion is addressed at the fed- eral level,” he continued, “and is not contingent on the retail service territory of a distribution utility; Co- lumbia Basin takes another view of that.” Umatilla raised this is- sue—that OPUC hadn’t set- tled the matter of whether state rules on service juris- diction had precedence—in the protest it filed Aug. 2 to Columbia Basin’s notice of dismissal. CBEC, in turn, noted on Aug. 3 that as the party initiating the complaint, it has a right under state rules to dismiss the case. Finally, on Aug. 11, OPUC granted CBEC’s request and closed the case, saying the utility had complied with state law. However, it also noted that Umatilla could “file its own complaint,” but would “have the burden of prov- ing that the relief requested should be granted.” Umatilla isn’t ruling out pursuing the matter sometime down the road, Echenroad said; but the utility is currently trying to work with the developer to “ensure a reasonable out- come” that, among other concerns, meets the needs of the utility’s employees, “particularly on the safety aspect.” Building a 230-kV transmission line that “is owned by two separate entities, and operated and maintained by two separate entities, poses a significant safety concern we’re at- tempting to address before we attempt to do anything to the contrary,” Echenroad said. He noted that prior to the OPUC filing, the two utilities had tried to de- velop terms that included compensation for having the line in their territory, but gave a single operator control of the line, the in- terconnection process, and operation and maintenance. -Continued from PAGE ONE playing time. Norton said at his school there are currently 11 to 15 boys out for football and 31 out for junior and varsity soccer. He added that with the low football numbers they didn’t know if the team would have enough players to finish the season. Ione Superintendent Rollie Marshall told the Gazette-Times Tuesday that Ione has had up to 10 boys out for football prac- tice, but that number had dropped to nine. He said they expected to get a maxi- mum of 11 boys out for the team, with four of them being freshmen. He said with those low numbers it could mean there might be a game scenario where eight players suit down, with a number of those being the younger freshmen players. This would require long playing times going both ways on offense, defense and special teams, which would increase the chance of injury to the boys when fatigue sets in from so much If approved the com- bined football team would play in the 3A league as the Riverside Pirates, and would play the Riverside schedule that was set up for this year. Dirksen said the Ione boys in grades third through sixth have in previous years already been playing with the Boardman kids. Ione would bus its players to Boardman for practices and games. The Morrow County School Board unanimous- ly approved the proposal, which now goes before the Ione board Tuesday night (after the Gazette-Times deadline) where it must be approved. It then goes before the Oregon Schools Athletic Association for final approval. “I think it sounds great,” Morrow County School Board Member Bar- ney Lindsay said. “I’m all about opening doors for kids. I would like to see more of that for kids,” he added. MASSAGE -Continued from PAGE ONE is, and she continues to and a chance to let go and heal if need be.” During her education in Portland, she spent three months in an internship with cancer patients who were receiving both chemo and radiation treatment. “Massaging feet and hands gave me an oppor- tunity to get a glimpse of reflexology and how it works,” she says. Her first “real” job was renting a room at a salon in Ontario, OR in May 2006; she spent two years there. In June 2008 she moved to La Grande. “I met and learned from some great therapists; I taught massage theory and practice, anatomy and physiology and ethics at a massage school for two years, and continued to grow a very special practice with amazing people,” says Patterson. In May 2013 and again in October 2015, her full- time job changed to be- ing a mom, as she and her husband Coy welcomed children Cooper and Col- bie. The family relocated to Heppner recently when Coy’s job with JS Cattle Company moved him here. Even though massage became a part-time pur- suit, she says it continued to be a big part of who she take classes and learn new skills. “Continued education has greatly helped me con- tinue to grow my under- standing and appreciation for the human body,” she says, adding that her skills now include hot stone, Thai, Ashiatsu, Reiki, and spa treatments; specifics for the neck and sciatica; and neuromuscular therapy for shoulder to hand, lum- bar and thoracic region of the back. She also says she looks forward to learning more about reflexology, esalen massage and acu- pressure. “I consider myself an eclectic therapist, mean- ing I take a little from ev- erything I learn to make a massage I enjoy giving as well as one that can be ap- preciated being received,” Patterson says. “I look for- ward to working with ev- eryone here in Heppner by sharing massage.” Patterson has Thurs- day hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and plans on add- ing Wednesday hours start- ing in October. She can be found at Dickenson Chi- ropractic Clinic on May St. in Heppner, and can be reached at 541-219-1662, 541-676-5292 or at kway- patterson@gmail.com. WEDDING TABLES Chris Sykes & Rachel Parm September 23, 2017 217 North Main St., Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426 MORROW COUNTY FAIR'S MASTER, GRAND CHAMPTION AND RESERVE CHAMPION SHOWMAN CONGRATULATIONS! WAY TO SHOW!!!! 124 N. MAIN STREET HEPPNER OR 541-676-9481
