Russell wins, Extension loses Low voter turnout for the state and the county HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 137 NO. 21 8 Pages Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon According to unofficial reports of the May 15 elec- tion, Don Russell won the race for Morrow County Commissioner with 69.42 percent of the votes. His opponent, Raymond Akers, received 30.07 percent. It was a close race for the Extension Service dis- trict, with the no votes com- ing in at 1,009 of the 1,883 ballots, for 53.58 percent no and 46.42 percent yes. The unofficial results show the Extension district lost in every precinct except Ione, where it received 102 yes votes to 99 no votes. Other unofficial precinct results show Lexington voting 85 yes and 95 no and Heppner voting 275 yes and 278 no. Irrigon had 230 yes and 315 no and Boardman shows 182 yes and 222 no. The measure was also defeated in Umatilla County. Statewide voter turnout was a low 33.45 percent. Gilliam, Grant and Wallowa counties were in the highest percentile for voter turnout in the 60 to 66 percent range while Morrow County was in the lowest range between 28 to 35 percent, at 34.68 percent. According to unofficial precinct statistics, Board- man had 445 total ballots, Irrigon had 616, Lexington 197, Ione 217 and Heppner had 597 total ballots cast. There are 5,978 eligible voters in the county and only 2,096 ballots were received. Morrow County Commissioner Don Russell Mustang golfers bring home trophies from state Boys with fourth place trophy. LR: Coach Matt Scrivner, Cason Mitchell, Gavin Hanna Robinson, Casey Fletcher, Logan Burright, Kellen Grant, Reno Ferguson and Coach Greg Grant. -Contributed photo. Both Heppner Mustang golf teams brought home trophies from the OSAA State Championships last week. The Heppner boys’ team finished in fourth place and the girls’ team took second place honors. The state championships were held at the Quail Val- ley Golf Course in Banks. The Mustang boys’ team shot a team total of 363 on day one of the OSAA 3A/2A/1A Tourna- ment. They then came out on fire and improved that to a 349 on the final day of the tournament. Their two day total of 712 put them in a solid fourth place finish 30 strokes ahead of fifth place Burns at 742. Winning the tournament was Bandon with a total of 610. They were followed by Oregon Episcopal (638) and Blan- chet Catholic (687) for second and third place. After Heppner and Burns and finishing in sixth place was St. Mary’s (755). It was then Portland Adventist (773) and La Pine (773) tied for seventh place. Then it was Taft (791), Echo/Stan- field (811), Rogue River, Grant Union and Columbia Christian. Leading the way for the Mustangs was Kellen Grant who shot a 90-81 (171) to finish in 18 th place overall out of the 73 golfers who competed. Logan Burright 91-88 and Reno Ferguson 89-90 finished tied for 24 th place as they both shot a 179. Cason Mitchell was 33 rd as he finished 94-90 (184). Also playing for the Mustangs was the split pair- ing of Casey Fletcher and Gavin Hanna Robinson. They combined to shoot a total of 192 for the tourna- ment and tie for 34 th overall. Winning the boys tour- nament was Scotty Kennon, a freshman from Bandon who shot a two day total of 136. Second place went to Kyle Humphreys (139) from Regis and placing third was local favorite Riley Lankford (142) from Pilot Rock. The Heppner girls’ team won their fifth OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A State Tour- nament trophy in a row this year. They finished second in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. In 2016 the Mustangs brought home the fourth place state trophy. At this year ’s state championships, the Mus- tang girls’ team was in a Girls with second place trophy and second place medals. LR: Caitlyn Scrivner, Madison Combe, Claire Grieb, Sophie Grant, Nicole Propheter and Sasha Keown. -Contributed photo. solid second place after day one when they shot a team total of 366. That put them 30 strokes ahead of the third place team after the first day. On day two, the Hep- pner girls (371) stayed in second place and stretched the margin to 40 strokes over the third place team. St. Mary’s won the state championship by shooting a 651. Heppner finished in second place with a 737. Other team scores were Val- ley Catholic (777), Salem Academy/Blanchet Catho- lic (785), La Grande (791), Taft (820), Scappoose (821), Cascade Christian (842), Baker (847), Oregon Episcopal (853), Waldport (870) and Phoenix (881). Individually for the Mustangs, Nicole Propheter shot a 86-87 (173) to fin- ish in 11 th place out of the 71 girls who participated. Sasha Keown 90-85 (175) finished in 12 th place over- all and Sophie Grant 87-91 (178) was 15 th . Claire Grieb 103-108 (211) finished in 41 st place and Madison Combe 107-109 (216) was 44 th . Winning the champion- ship was St. Mary’s fresh- man Baylee Hammericksen who shot a 142. Tori Suto, a friend and competitor of the Heppner girls, from Wallowa/Joseph, finished second with a score of 147. “Overall it was an outstanding OSAA State Championship for the Mus- tangs. History was made by bringing home trophies from both the girls’ and boys’ tournaments in the same year. It is quite an accomplishment because both teams have to play against schools that are much larger than Heppner High School,” stated a spokesperson. For the season, both the Heppner girls’ and boys’ teams were undefeated in tournaments around the region. According to a spokesperson, both teams put in hard work each and every day in practice and got better as the year went on. “They were also lucky to be led by the outstanding and hardworking coaching staff of Greg Grant and Matt Scrivner.” 2018 Morrow County Crystal Apple winners announced The InterMountain Education Service Dis- trict (IMESD) announced the Morrow and Umatilla County winners of the 2018 Crystal Apple “Excellence in Education” awards at a banquet held May 14 in Pendleton. Union County winners were honored on May 7 at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. A total of 44 individ- uals were honored from the IMESD’s component school districts in eastern Oregon. The 2018 events mark the 19 th annual Crystal Apple Awards for Umatilla and Morrow counties and the 7 th annual for Union County. Winners from Morrow County were Ione School District superintendent, Jon Peterson; Ione Commu- nity School custodian, Tom Gates; Ione Community School third grade teacher, Chelsea Matheny; Morrow County School District su- perintendent, Dirk Dirksen; Heppner Jr/Sr High School department secretary, Tra- cie Bunch; Sam Boardman Elementary School first Students build picnic cover 2018 Crystal Apple winners from Morrow County School District (L-R) Tracie Bunch, Sarah Christy, Erin Stocker, MCSD,, Betsy Shane and Amy Stringer. -Contributed photo. grade teacher, Sarah Chris- ty; Riverside Jr/Sr High School math teacher, Betsy Shane and A.C Houghton/ Irrigon Elementary Schools counselor, Amy Stringer. Each year, the IMESD partners with its school dis- tricts to recognize outstand- ing administrators, teach- ers, educational assistants and office and building staff for their dedication and commitment to students and for their willingness to go above and beyond their regular duties. Nomina- tions are submitted over a two-month period by administrators, coworkers, parents, students and com- munity members. Winners are selected from these nominations by school dis- trict administration. “We congratulate each of this year’s Crystal Apple winners and are honored to celebrate these wonderful educators who are making a difference every day for students,” said Michele Madril, IMESD director of communication and print solutions. The deadline for all advertisements and news for the May 30 edition will be Friday, May 25 at 5 p.m. Morrow County Grain Growers Charles Cason, Hannah Palmer, Roen Waite, Carson Brosnan, Gibson McCurry, Zach Bred- field and Caitlyn Scrivner in back. -Contributed photo. Heppner High School students in the woods manufacturing class designed and built a picnic cover for the city of Heppner. TSA students assembled the structure during the Mustang Mop Up service day. Students will continue to work on the project, which will include building picnic tables. Lexington