HEPPNER
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azette
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VOL. 137 NO. 7 10 Pages
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Budget committee appoint-
ment sparks debate over
county representation
Zip code or qualifications?
By David Sykes
A routine appointment
to fill a vacant county bud-
get committee position last
week sparked a lively and
lengthy debate amongst
commissioners and the pub-
lic, about what is more im-
portant in an appointment:
where a candidate lives,
or what are their qualifica-
tions?
The issue came up after
Jill Parker of Boardman
resigned from the bud-
get committee. Parker had
moved out of the county,
which opened up a vacancy
to be filled. The county
commission put out the
word for replacements and
received six applicants, all
from various parts of the
county.
This prompted a debate
about what is more impor-
tant in a candidate, their
qualifications for a position,
or trying to ensure equal
representation to all areas of
the coun-
ty. After
Parker ’s
resigna-
tion, that Jeff Wenholz
left Larry
Mills of Heppner and Lin-
da LaRue of Ione as the
other “citizen” members of
the committee. The three
county commissioners also
serve, rounding out the six-
member budget committee.
-See ZIP CODE/PAGE FIVE
Heppner has ‘an evening with the stars’ at Town and
Country event
Locals recognized for achievement, contributions to the community
Dr. Ken Wenberg
Bill Gentry
Virginia “George” Nairns
Sophie Grant
Sarah Matheny
The Heppner Cham-
ber of Commerce’s Town
and Country Awards took
place last Thursday, Feb.
8, at the Morrow County
Fairgrounds.
During the event,
themed “An Evening with
the Stars,” several locals
were recognized for long-
standing contributions to
Heppner and the surround-
ing area. Winners of the
prestigious yearly awards
were Virginia “George”
Nairns, Woman of the Year;
Dr. Ken Wenberg, Man of
the Year; Sarah Matheny,
Citizen-Educator of the
Year; Sophie Grant, Youth
Achievement Award; Dick
Temple, DVM and Karen
Temple, Business of the
Year; and Bill Gentry, Life-
time Achievement Award.
Attendees at the gala
event were treated to a
presentation of “Your Com-
munity on the Big Screen”
and a dinner prepared by
Chef Alvin Liu of Gateway
Café consisting of prime
rib, creamy garlic mashed
potatoes, green beans, fresh
garden salad, bread and but-
ter, dessert and a beverage.
The no-host bar was pro-
vided by Bucknum’s, serv-
ers were the HHS senior
class and special music was
provided by Joe Lindsay.
Jeff Bailey welcomed
everyone to the event. Ran-
dall Peterson of Peterson’s
Jewelers donated jewelry
for a prize drawing, and
the event was sponsored
by Willow Creek Energy,
Community Counseling
Services, Northwest Farm
Credit Services and Port-
land General Electric.
The Woman of the
Year, Virginia “George”
Nairns, was described as
compassionate, energetic,
passionate, caring, enthusi-
astic and always has a huge
smile and cheery outlook.
She is called a “wonderful
wife, loving mother, fun
grandmother and friend
to those in her life and an
angel by everyone touched
by her caring ways.”
Man of the Year, Dr.
Ken Wenberg, was selected
for being an invaluable as-
set to south Morrow Coun-
ty. He has touched people’s
lives here for over 30 years,
has been called “consis-
tently compassionate, kind
and humble, very dedicated
to his work, family and his
faith. He goes above and
beyond what is expected
and in doing so embodies
the true sense of small town
and community.”
This year’s Citizen-
Educator of the Year award
was presented to Heppner
Elementary School teacher
Sarah Matheny. She was
described as full of dedi-
cation and determination,
contagious energy, with big
ideas and pours her heart
and soul into teaching.
Mrs. Matheny spends
endless hours in the sum-
mer preparing her class-
room and transforming it
into a magical place for
learning. She is credited
with making each and every
day exciting and fun for her
students. Students insist
that she makes learning fun
and memorable.
Sophie Grant was
named as the recipient of
the annual Youth Recogni-
tion award. Sophie was de-
Up-grade would renovate historic
downtown building for public use
Bryant foundation - county plan joint effort on Gilliam Bisbee
By David Sykes
A combined effort be-
tween Morrow County and
the Howard and Beth Bry-
ant Foundation could see
the historic Gilliam Bisbee
building in downtown Hep-
pner restored and turned
into a center open to the
public for small and larger
events such as weddings.
The 14,000 square foot
building, which was built
in 1919 and is current-
ly owned by the county,
houses offices upstairs, but
is vacant downstairs. The
ground floor was formerly
the home of the Coast to
Coast Hardware store, but
the space has been empty
for some time.
Bryant Foundation Ad-
ministrator Kim Cutsforth
said she
earlier ap-
proached
the coun-
ty about
doing the
renova-
tion to
Bryant
preserve
Foundation
the histor-
administrator,
Kim Cutsforth ic build-
ing and
provide
more space in town to hold
large events. She said there
is currently a need for space
to hold larger events like
weddings up to 400 people.
Under the proposal the
renovation would redo the
building to include a main
floor 4,000 square-foot
events center with a com-
mercial kitchen, public
restrooms, a lobby and a
1,000 square foot “personal
area” that could be used
Dick Temple, DVM and
Karen Temple
scribed as “the little engine
that could” by her nomi-
nees. “She has overcome
many obstacles through
hard work, optimism, posi-
tive attitude, resilience,
enthusiasm, energy and
warmth that motivates oth-
ers,” stated a nominee.
It was also said that
Grant understands the im-
portance of learning and
that education is the key
that will unlock doors to
the future. In this quest, she
is enrolled in college level
classes, is a scholar, has re-
ceived many academic and
athletic awards and held
-See TOWN AND
COUNTRY/PAGE FIVE
Ground broken for
new fit park
Pictured (L-R): Sheryll Bates, Heppner of Commerce director;
Kim Cutsforth, Howard and Beth Bryant Foundation director;
Don Russell, Morrow County commissioner; Skip Matthews,
Willow Creek Park District president and Jake Cain, Port of
Morrow. -Contributed photo
An older picture of the historic Gilliam Bisbee building in downtown Heppner
for activities such as exer-
cise classes for the public.
Cutsforth said the second
floor would be turned into a
short stay hostel that could
be rented out in blocks of
four rooms. “The inten-
tion is to have space for
up to fifty guests (in the
rental rooms),” she wrote
in a proposal presented to
the county commission
at its February 7 meeting.
“This overnight area will be
rented to groups for special
events that are being held
in our community,” she
said. Cutsforth said special
rates and preference will
be given to County Fair at-
tendees (4-Hers and judges,
etc.) during fair.
As part of the reno-
vations, which Cutsforth
estimated will cost the Bry-
ant Foundation $1,120,000
million and the county
$235,000, there would be
a fire suppression sprinkler
system installed through-
out as well as an elevator.
Under the proposal the
building would be donated
by the county, which would
then be relieved of any
future upkeep or mainte-
nance costs. Currently the
county rents out the upper
floor mainly to Commu-
nity Counseling Solutions
(CCS), which is planning
on moving out soon, into its
new offices currently under
construction in Heppner.
Cutsforth said the exterior
of the building would be
returned to its original his-
toric condition, including
all the windows and doors
restored. The inside will
be completely modernized
she said.
The county commis-
sioners were in favor of
the joint project. “There
is a cost to the county to
maintain the building now,”
Commissioner Melissa
Lindsay said, pointing out
that rents do not cover the
expenses. “What do we do
with the Gilliam Bisbee
building?” said Commis-
-See GILLIAM BISBEE/
PAGE SEVEN
The Port of Morrow
began the grade work for
the fit park on Riverside
Ave., next to the water
park, on Friday, Feb. 9. This
park will include exercise
equipment, sports courts,
restrooms, a stage area and
a large, level grassy area for
multi-sport use.
The fit park has been a
collaboration of the Willow
Creek Park District, Hep-
pner High School, Morrow
County, the Port of Morrow
and the Howard and Beth
Bryant Foundation. Addi-
tional support and funding
for this project is from the
Wild Horse Foundation,
-See FIT PARK/PAGE TWO
Morrow County
Grain Growers
Lexington
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net