Wolff gives Chamber update
Co-op manger talks wind farms and pipelines
HEPPNER
G T
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azette
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VOL. 137 NO. 10 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
County extends building lease to
Community Counseling Solutions
CCS will stay in Gilliam Bisbee until Sperry offices ready
Columbia Basin Electric General Manager Tommy Wolff gave an update to the Hep-
pner Chamber of Commerce last week -Photo by David Sykes
By David Sykes
Columbia Basin Elec-
tric Cooperative (CBEC)
General Manager Tommy
Wolff was the featured
speaker at the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce
monthly meeting last week
and, among other subjects,
he talked about the new
irrigation pipeline down
Willow Creek, the new
windfarm planned for the
county and some of the
other projects going on
within the co-op.
“The new Wheatridge
windfarm going in north of
Lexington is going to pro-
vide extra tax dollars for the
districts in the project area,”
Wolff told a full house lun-
cheon of the chamber. He
said the windfarm had ne-
gotiated a Strategic Invest-
ment Program (SIP) with
the county and recently a
meeting was held to deter-
mine which special district
will receive portions of
that agreement, which the
facility will pay the county
instead of property taxes.
The schools and the county
will also receive funding
from the SIP agreement.
The windfarm has also
reportedly sold off a portion
of the project to another
operator, with Wolff say-
ing the portion in Umatilla
County near Buttercreek
has been sold. He also ad-
dressed the power line cor-
ridor to be established to
“wheel” or move generated
power out to the Bonneville
power grid near Board-
man, saying it will be large
enough to accommodate
other wind and solar proj-
ects planned in the county.
The single easement cor-
ridor has been pushed by
many county leaders as a
way to reduce the number
of outbound power lines
crisscrossing the county.
“The Wheatridge corridor
will be able to handle eight
times the capacity of this
particular project,” Wolff
said. “This will cut down on
the number of power lines
-Continued on PAGE
THREE
School district plans April 13
emergency drill in Boardman
Community Counseling Solutions new offices on Sperry Street are nearing completion.
CCS plans on moving here in June. -Photo by David Sykes
By David Sykes
The Morrow County
Commission last week
voted to extend the current
lease on the upper floor of
the Gilliam Bisbee build-
ing in downtown Heppner
until the end of June for
Community Counseling
Solutions (CCS). CCS ex-
pects to have its new office
buildings, currently un-
der construction on Sperry
Street in Heppner, com-
pleted and moved into by
then. CCS leases out the
entire upper floor of the
building at a cost of $1,900
per month, an amount that
will not change during the
lease extension period.
CCS contracts mental
health services with Mor-
row County and also offers
a wide variety of behavioral
health services to three oth-
er counties, including indi-
vidual, family, and group
therapy, gambling counsel-
ing, alcohol and drug treat-
ment, 24/7 crisis interven-
tion services, psychiatric
consultation, and medica-
tion management.
In other business at its
February 28 meeting the
commission voted to pay
the State of Oregon $15,788
to satisfy a senior defer-
ral lien on a house at 640
Elder St in Heppner, which
the county had previously
taken possession of for
non-payment of property
taxes. The house, which
was previously owned by
Sally Marlatt, will now
belong to county with a
clear title. Marlatt passed
away several years ago.
In other action the Com-
mission voted to approve
a rock pit agreement with
the new owners of the Britt
Pit in the Big Buttercreek
area. The pit had been sold
by Sid Britt to Arcus LLC.
The county still has rock
stockpiled at the site and
needed an agreement with the
new owners to keep it there,
and be able to crush additional
-Continued on PAGE SIX
2018 St. Patrick’s Day Schedule
Thursday, March 15, 2018
9:30 AM-5:30 PM: Vendors Square at the Neighborhood Center on Main Street across from
City Park.
7:00 PM: "Searching for Meaning" Play performance at St. Patrick's Catholic Parish Hall.
Free Admission
Friday, March 16, 2018
9:00 AM-5:00 PM: Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale: at City Hall
9:00 AM-5:00 PM: Vendors on Display located in the old Mustang Diner at 180 N Chase St.
9:30 AM-5:30 PM: Vendors Square at the Neighborhood Center across from City Park.
10:00 AM-5:00 PM: Morrow County Creative Arts & Crafts Show at Senior Center
1:00-5:00 PM: Morrow County Heritage and Agricultural Museums
4:00-8:00 PM: Irish Dinner: at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall,
5:00 PM and 7:00 PM: Heppner Dance Troupe presents “Wee Lil Toes” Irish Dance Perfor-
mance at Sweet Productions Restaurant. Admission $3.00
6:00 PM: 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament at Heppner High School Gym.
8:00 PM-12:00 AM: Murray’s Irish Beer and Wine Fest, featuring Dan Burns 3D Productions
at Morrow County Fairgrounds. Free Admission, Food Available
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Daylight to Dark: Sheep Dog Trials will be held at Thompson's Ranch, 3 miles NW of Heppner
8:00 AM-1:00 PM: Saturday O'Brunch at St. Patrick’s Senior Center Dining Room.
8:30 AM-4:00 PM: Morrow County Creative Arts & Crafts at Senior Center
9:00 AM-3:00 PM: Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale: at City Hall
9:00 AM-4:00 PM: Black Acre Farm homemade items in front of the food court
9:00 AM-5:00 PM: Vendors on Display located in the old Mustang Diner at 180 N Chase St.
9:30 AM-12:00 PM: Bake Sale in front of Elks Lodge fund-raiser for “Critters with Attitude”
9:30 AM-5:30 PM: Vendors Square at the Neighborhood Center across from City Park.
9:30 AM: Remembrance Walk and 5K Run: Meet at United Methodist Church
10:00-11:30 AM: Irish Coffee Hour upstairs at the Elks ClubIrish Brogue Contest- win prizes.
10:00 AM-12:30 PM: Welly Toss Held on Willow Street;
10:00 AM-3:00 PM: Cruz-in vehicles will be parked and displayed on Willow Street
10:00-3:00 PM: Top O’The Hour Children’s Themed Activities at Breaking Grounds Coffee
inside Murray’s Drug.
10:00 AM-5:00 PM: Morrow County Heritage and Agricultural Museums
11:00 AM: Bed Race Teams meet at the Shamrock on Main St. Free Entry
11:15 AM: Leprechaun Run for grades K-6; meet at 11:00 AM in front of the library/museum.
Free Entry
11:30-12:55 PM: O’Planky Team Relay Race Teams meet at the Shamrock on Main Street
immediately following the Leprechaun Run. Free Entry
12:00-4:00 PM: Bag Sale at the Neighborhood Center clothes, shoes, & books $15 a bag.
Proceeds help fund the food pantry.
1:00 PM: THE GREAT GREEN PARADE! DOWNTOWN MAIN STREET! DON’T FOR-
GET TO WEAR GREEN!!
1:30-5:30 PM: Bouncin' Leprechauns Fun Zone at HES Gym
2:00-4:00 PM: CEILI Irish entertainment, upstairs at the Elks Club. $100 Pot O'Gold Drawing
2:00 PM: Ewe-Do-Bingo Live sheep activity between BEO/AmeriTitle.
2:30 PM: Alumni Volleyball Game at the Heppner High School Gym;
3:00 PM: Road Bowling at Balm Fork Road. meet at 1:00 PM for sign up.
3:00 PM: O'Ducky Race Starts at the bridge in front of the Morrow County Courthouse.
4:00 PM: 4 on 4 Youth Volleyball Tournament for 7th-12th grade,
6:00-7:20 PM: Local Children's Talent Show St. Patrick's Parish Hall, Free Admission
6:00-9:00 PM: Elks Irish Buffet Dinner at the Elks Club. Corned Beef & Cabbage
6:30 PM: "Old Time Fiddlers" Show at the Fairgrounds Dance Hall. Free Admission,
7:30-9:30 PM: "CrossStrung" and dancers at St. Pat's Parish Hall. $100 Pot O'Gold Drawing
9:00 PM-3:00 AM: Wee Hours O’Benefit Breakfast served at the Old Fire Hall on Willow
Street. $7 for all you can eat
Sunday, March 18, 2018
All Day: Sheep Dog Trials at Thompson's Ranch
7:30-9:30 AM: Heppner Christian Church Breakfast
8:00 AM-12:00 PM: Vendors Square at the Neighborhood Center across from City Park.
Visit Local Churches: Attend the church of your choice all Visitors Welcome.
The Morrow County
School District has an-
nounced that it will con-
duct an emergency drill on
Friday, April 13, from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. at Boardman
schools. All three schools,
Sam Boardman Elementa-
ry, Windy River Elementary
and Riverside Jr/Sr. High
School, will be used during
the drill.
The emergency drill is
being conducted in partner-
ship with local law enforce-
ment and emergency re-
sponders, including Board-
man Police Department,
Boardman Fire, Board-
man Ambulance, Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office and
Oregon State Police.
Local residents are ad-
vised that during the drill,
it will seem like a real
emergency is happening
at the schools and law en-
forcement and emergency
personnel will be traveling
to and from the schools and
be on site performing the
work they would do in a
true emergency.
The purpose of the drill
is to practice what would
be done if an emergency
situation occurs at a school
building, such as a natural
disaster, a fire or gas leak or
violent incident. The drill
will include school staff,
volunteer students, vol-
unteers to portray parents
and emergency personnel
acting as if this is a real
emergency.
After the incident at the
schools, staff and students
will be bussed to a separate
location, where the reunifi-
cation portion of the drill
will take place. According
to the district, reunifica-
tion means when students
are evacuated from their
school building and bused
to another location; parents
are then asked to travel to
the reunification location
to be “reunified” with their
children.
According to Super-
intendent Dirk Dirksen,
performing this type of drill
is essential to prepare staff
and students in following
established procedures for
various incidents that can
occur. “We can have all the
safety protocols we need
in place in our schools, but
if we don’t practice them,
they will simply not be as
effective as they could be,”
Dirksen said.
Friday, April 13, is a
no school/in-service day in
the Morrow County School
District, offering an ideal
time to conduct the drill,
said Dirksen..
For more information
about the emergency drill,
contact the Morrow County
School District office in
Heppner at 541-676-9128.
Heppner’s 36th St. Patrick’s Wee
Bit O’ Ireland Weekend coming
March 15-18
“Put on your green
hats, jewelry and clothing
and get ready to have
some good old “Wee Bit
O’ Ireland” fun, starting
on Thursday, March 15,
with Father Condon’s
“Searching for Meaning”
play performance which
will be performed at St.
Patrick’s Catholic Church
Parish Hall, 560 NW
Jones, starting at 7 p.m.,”
says Heppner Chamber
of Commerce’s executive
director Sheryll Bates.
Friday will start the
weekend event with lots of
Arts and Crafts, the Annual
Book Sale and Food galore,
an Irish Dinner served
by the St. Patrick’s Altar
Society at the St. Patrick’s
Parish Hall from 4-8
p.m.; a 3 on 3 Basketball
Competition starting at 6
p.m. at the Heppner High
School Gym and from 8
p.m. - 12 p.m. - Murray’s
Irish Beer and Wine Fest,
featuring “Dan Burns 3D
Productions” at Morrow
County Fairgrounds, free
admission and
food will be
available for
purchase.
Saturday
is truly a full
day, starting
at
daylight
with the Sheep
Dog
Trials,
a
Saturday
O’Brunch
served
by
the Heppner
HHS Track &
Cross Country
Teams from
8 a.m. – 1
p.m. at the
St. Patrick’s
Senior Center
Dining Room
and lots of
places to shop, Shawn Rule of Heppner poses for a pic
eat and sit. during the 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Cel-
Don’t forget to ebration
check out all
“Cruz-In” vehicles on
of the Vendors, the annual display and an opportunity
book sale, arts and crafts to take part in the “Welly
around town. If you are up Toss”;
Irish Coffee
for a Remembrance Walk Hour from 10-11:30 a.m.
and 5K Run, you will find
that too! There will be -Continued on PAGE TWO
WINTER CLOTHING SALE
KEY BRAND
ALL
INSULATED
COVERALLS
INSULATED
COATS AND
GLOVES
JACKETS
Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed
20 %
OFF
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)