Comment deadline for 300-
acre solar farm approaches
HEPPNER
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50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 137 NO. 13 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Heppner man dies in single
vehicle accident
April 6 last day for input on Boardman facility
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels likes these convert energy from the sun in to electricity which
can be fed into the electrical grid. Portland General Electric plans installing them on 300 acres
near Boardman in Morrow County.
By David Sykes
April 6 is the deadline
for anyone wishing to have
input on the siting of a new
300-acre Portland General
Electric (PGE) solar farm
at the Carty Reservoir near
Boardman. The facility
will produce 50 megawatts
of electricity. And while
conventional wisdom is
undecided on how many
homes that will service, the
general rule says one MW
will power between 650 to
1000 typical homes with
electricity.
The facility will be lo-
cated about 13 miles south-
west of Boardman adjacent
to the Boardman Coal Plant
and south of the Carty reser-
voir. Also at the Carty site is
an existing 450 MW natural
gas-fueled electric generat-
ing power plant which went
into service in July of 2016.
There had been a second
plant in planning at the
same site, but PGE dropped
that one and decided to go
with the solar facility. An
18-mile transmission line
to the Slatt Substation in
Gilliam County was also
part of the original plan,
but was also terminated
when the gas plant wasn’t
constructed.
Comments on the facil-
ity can be emailed to max-
well.woods@oregon.gov
prior to 5 p.m. on April 6.
Ione FFA member to represent
Oregon at FFA Nationals
A Heppner man died in a single-vehicle accident just north of Lexington Wednesday evening.
(Photo: OSP)
According to reports,
Joshua Kenneth Herrig, 35,
from Heppner was ejected
from the vehicle involved
in a single vehicle roll-
over crash on Highway
74 near MP 31 between
Lexington and Ione on
Wednesday, Mar. 21. He
was pronounced deceased
at the scene. The driver
was identified as Anthony
Enriquez, 42, from Ukiah.
Oregon State Police
reports that the 1999 Dodge
Ram 2500 pickup was trav-
eling northbound on High-
way 74 when the driver lost
control of the vehicle, caus-
ing it to roll several times.
Enriquez was transported to
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
for non-life threatening in-
juries. Alcohol, speed and
safety restraints are being
considered as factors in the
crash.
Highway 74 was closed
for nearly three hours while
the investigation was com-
pleted. Oregon State Police
was assisted by Morrow
County Sherriff’s Office,
the Heppner and Ione Fire
departments and the Or-
egon Department of Trans-
portation.
Grace Ogden, an
eighth-grader at Ione Com-
munity School, will repre-
sent Oregon this fall at the
National FFA Convention
in creed speaking.
Creed speaking is the
first level of competitive
public speaking in FFA and
it’s estimated that nearly
500 first year FFA members
in Oregon recite the creed
each year. The FFA Creed
was written by E. M. Tif-
fany in the early 1900’s as
a declaration of belief of
agricultural education.
“Think of it as a basket-
ball bracket. Grace moved
on from districts, made
it through the semi-final
round into the elite 8 and
then won the whole thing,”
said FFA advisor, Erin
Heideman.
“There are two big dif-
ferences however,” said
Heideman. “One, you’re
public speaking, the num-
ber one fear of most peo-
ple and two, there are no
school size classifications.
Big school or small school
doesn’t matter and Grace
Grace Ogden to represent
rose above it all.”
Oregon in National FFA Con-
vention.
Friends Helping Friends
Groundbreaking takes place at presents check to senior center
Irrigon Medical Clinic
Morrow County Health
District hosted a ground-
breaking ceremony recently
in Irrigon to celebrate the
addition and remodel of the
Irrigon Medical Clinic.
The new addition and
remodel of the existing
clinic encompasses 3,100
square feet, which will
double the size of the exist-
ing clinic, says Bob Houser,
MCHD CEO. The proj-
ect will include additional
exam rooms, provider of-
fices, a waiting room, a con-
ference room, staff offices
and work spaces. It will also
create space for additional
services at the clinic in the
future.
Pinnacle Architecture
is the architect for the proj-
ect and Wellens Farwell
is the general contractor.
Completion is estimated
for late October or early
November. The project is
A check in the amount of $7,500 collected from donations for the 2018 Remembrance Walk/
Run was presented to the St. Patrick’s Senior Center.
Pictured are Nancy Gochnauer, Judi Hall, Kathie McGowan, Kirsten Harrison and Janelle
Ellis. -Photo by Bobbi Gordon.
Doctor’s application approved
Irrigon city manager and Morrow County Health District
board member Aaron Palmquist (right), Bob Houser, MCHD
CEO, FACHE (center) and Dan Doherty, PA-C at Irrigon
Medical Clinic get set to break ground on Morrow County
Health District’s new addition and remodel to the Irrigon
Medical Clinic. -Contributed photo.
being funded from grants, operating revenue and loans
from local institutions.
Cruz-In hosts 31 cars
Thirty-one classic and
custom cars from Heppner,
Hermiston, The Dalles,
Pendleton, Lexington, Ione,
Umatilla, Boardman, Ir-
rigon, Pilot Rock, Pasco,
College Place and Kenne-
wick cruised in for the 17 th
Annual St. Paddy’s Cruz-In
on Mar. 17.
Award winners were:
-Best Of Show: Casey
Horn, Umatilla, in a 1974
Chevy Nova.
-Mustang’s Choice:
Robert Schilling, Pendle-
ton, in a 1968 Ford Mus-
tang.
-Leprechaun’s Choice:
Rick Ball from Pasco, WA,
with a 1972 Chevrolet K-5
Blazer.
-Best Convertible: Jose
Munoz, Kennewick, WA, in
a 1992 Chrysler LeBaron.
-Participant’s Choice:
Rick Ball, Pasco, WA,
with a 1972 Chevrolet K-5
Blazer.
-Best 1910s/1920s Car
or Pickup: Robert Harrison,
Lexington, in a 1928 Ford
Truck.
-Best 1930s/1940s Car
or Pickup: Kip Krebs, Ione,
with a 1930 Chevy Dump
Truck.
-Best 1950s/1960s
Pickup: Ted Hoffman, The
Dalles driving a 1959 Ford
4x4 Pickup.
-Best 1970 and Newer
Pickup: Loyal Burns, Ione,
in a 1981 Chevrolet C10
Pickup.
-Best 1950s/1960s
Car: Larry and Debbie Re-
nard, The Dalles, with their
Chevrolet.
-Best 1970s/1980s Car:
John Crompton, The Dalles,
in a 1975 Chevrolet Cor-
vette.
-Best 1990s to 2004s
Car: Lawrence Harrison,
Boardman, driving a 1997
Ford Mustang.
-Best 2005s and Newer
Car: Eric Coyce, Heppner,
in a 2015 Dodge Challenger
Super Bee.
-Best Restomod Car:
Casey Horn, Umatilla, in a
1974 Chevy Nova.
-Best Foreign Car or
Pickup: Chris Roop, Pend-
leton, in a 1973 Triumph
TR6.
-Best Engine: John Kis-
er, The Dalles, in a 1962
Chevrolet Pickup.
-Best Fat Fender: Vern
Marking, Kennewick, WA,
in a 1939 Ford Coupe.
-Best Muscle Car: Gary
Carr, The Dalles, with a
1967 Chevrolet Camaro.
Morrow County Health
District CEO Bob Houser
told the board the district
has received good news
concerning Dr. Richard
Aballay’s state licensure.
Houser said the application
has been approved after
a lengthy period of time,
despite his placement on a
“fast track.”
Houser said Dr. Ab-
allay is currently training at
the Irrigon Medical Clinic
and in Heppner with the
EMR system and the voice
recognition system. Houser
earlier reported Dr. Aballay
had been looking at homes
in the Tri-Cities area prior
to his employment with the
district.
Houser also noted the
district has received one
resume from an RN for
the position of director of
Home Health and Hospice
and had a “very positive
telephone interview” with
her. “I was really encour-
aged by the interview,” said
Director of Nursing Of-
ficer Terri Brandt-Correa.
Brandt-Correa said the can-
didate, who currently lives
in urban southern Califor-
nia, has already planned a
visit to Heppner.
Administration and
board members also dis-
cussed financing to fund
the Irrigon Medical Clinic
remodel. Chief Financial
Officer Nicole Mahoney
said the district had origi-
nally planned to borrow
$425,000 for the remodel,
but suggested waiting until
the district finds out how
much they will receive in
grant monies. The district
has applied to the Ford
Foundation and has re-
ceived loan quotes from
the Bank of Eastern Or-
egon, Community Bank and
Umatilla Electric. “As soon
as we hear from Ford, we
will move,” she said.
In other business, the
board:
-See APPLICATION/PAGE
FIVE
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWER
350 MAIN STREET
LEXINGTON, OR
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