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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2019)
Council fires Heppner city manager HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 138 NO. 3 8 Pages Wednesday, January 16, 2019 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon New bread man takes over Drew Brannon takes over bread route from Tim Adams Tim Adams By Bobbi Gordon Tim Adams, affection- ately known as “Tim, the bread man” has passed the title to the new owner of the bread route business, Drew Brannon. Tim told the Gazette that the official transition happened at the first of the year although Drew has been running the route for a while now. Adams bought the bread route business 33 years ago when the op- portunity arose. He was working at the mill and got out just in time he said. He said it was his plan to stay in this area for the kids and it just worked out. For the first 11 years he made the trip to Arlington to pick up the bread, but later ended up going to The Dalles. The route also ran four days a week early on, later changing to three days: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. On the trip back there are stops in Arlington, Ione, Lexington and finally back to Heppner. Adams said he also delivered to Ruggs for a short time. He reported, “It’s been a wonderful job for the past 33 years. The people are great.” Tim lived in Kinzua and graduated high school in Fossil in 1975. His parents, the late OL and Jean Adams live at Blakes Ranch. Tim said, “They moved up Blakes when there were only four or five places up there.” Adams has been mar- ried to his wife Terra for 40 years and they have two children and four grand- kids. Tim and Terra met in Spray, but Terra grew up in the Scio area. Their daugh- ter Krista Rauch. 36, lives in McCall, ID. She has two children, Ryker and Kalia. Son Donald, 34, lives in Lebanon, OR and has two children also, Quinn and Henry. When asked what his plans were for his retire- ment he said they plan to travel some to see the grandkids. “We haven’t really figured it out yet,” he said. Terra’s family owns a cabin in the Wallowa area and they like to go there. Tim built a huge tree house and play area for the grandkids near the cabin. Tim enjoys building things in his shop too and when asked if he had other hob- bies he said, “I just have bad habits.” The new owner and now sporting the title “Drew, the bread man” is Drew Brannon. Drew, 24. the son of Merry (DeSpain) Chandler and Russ Bran- non, was raised in Hep- pner and graduated from Heppner High School. He is the grandson of Arletha Brannon and the late Bill Brannon and the late Bob and Aloha DeSpain. He married Tayllor (Gould) Brannon, daughter of Ashli and John Gould, in September 2013. They have two children, William August Paul Brannon who was born in July 2017, the sixth generation William in the family, and Wesley Elaine Brannon, born Au- gust 2018. Brannon studied diag- nostic imaging at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls in 2012-13 while Tayllor was studying small business at Mount Hood Community Col- lege. They were apart for a year. “It sucked being away from each other,” said Drew, so he asked her to marry him. He proposed at Elowah Falls, that is pronounced Aloha, like his grandmother’s name. Tayllor moved to Klam- ath Falls while Drew still at- tended OIT until 2014 when Drew decided to pursue a career in paramedicine in- stead. They then moved to Portland where he attended paramedic school. After graduation they stayed in the Portland area until 2017 when they found they were expecting their son. They decided it was time to move home, so Drew found a job working at Good Shepherd. He later became a dispatch- er for the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, which he said “was exciting.” At that time, Tayllor was looking for a job or an opportunity. Ann Murray contacted her and asked if she would be interested in operating the coffee shop inside Murray’s Drug. She jumped in and started the Breaking Grounds coffee shop. When she became pregnant with their second child, Drew decided to leave MCSO and help out at the coffee shop. Drew told the Gazette that Tim Adams approached him and asked if he was interested in taking over the route. Tim knew that Drew’s grandfather, Bob DeSpain, spent about eight years as the bread man 37 to 38 years ago. Drew Brannon “Tayllor and I believe that it was provided by God. It’s a blessing,” he said of the opportunities they have had, taking over the coffee shop and then the bread route. The route starts at 12- 12:30 a.m. and they get to The Dalles about 2:30. Drew says the pickup time can be flexible. “I like staying busy,” said Drew of his many jobs and activities. “One reason I like the bread route is there is a lot of freedom with it.” He still tries to volunteer on the ambulance as much as possible, but he adds, “It’s been chaotic!” In their spare time, Drew and Tayllor like to go on drives, especially to Kimberly. They also attend the Heppner Baptist Church. Also receives treasurer’s two-week notice By David Sykes Following a three-hour executive session Friday night, the Heppner city council voted 6-1 to ter- minate the employment of City Manager Edie Ball. She had recently been on a plan of assistance to address and rectify what the council saw as deficiencies in her job performance. Out-go- ing mayor Cody High said the main reason for Ball’s firing was her handling of the budget process. No irregularities or improper handling of funds was cited. Along with High, council members Adam Doherty, Joann Burleson, Corey Sweeney, Teresa Hughes and Dale Bates all voted in favor of termination, while John Bowles was the lone no vote. Ball came to work for the city in March of 2017 at a salary of $54,000. The termination took effect im- mediately and as per the city’s contract Ball will receive 30 days severance pay and any accumulated vacation and sick pay. She turned in her keys to city hall immediately after the meeting. Her attorney Keith Mobley of Dufur was with her. “My tenure at the City of Heppner was reward- ing and challenging. Staff turnover and a 5-month finance officer vacant po- sition along with old com- puters and an inadequate accounting program was problematic,” Ball told the Gazette Monday. “I am greatly appreciative of having talented city staff that face daily challenges in providing quality city ser- vices. And all the dedicated citizens serving on various committees including our volunteer fire department and the deputies and staff at the Morrow County Sher- iff’s Department. It was my pleasure to serve the City Council and especially the citizens of Heppner, a great community with a brilliant future,” she said. The city will now begin its search for a new city manager, but in the mean- time expects to appoint an interim to the job. Also add- Edie Ball ing to the staffing issues, the city treasurer this week turned in her two-week notice. The resignation was for family reasons and not related the city manager firing, the Gazette-Times was told. The treasurer performs accounting and financial duties including monthly financials, accounts payable and receivable, payroll and other duties. Recently there has been a high turnover in that position, with the cur- rent employee having not been on the job very long. The previous treasurer was also employed only a short time. Deputy Siex promoted to Patrol Sergeant Deputy Todd Siex was promoted to Patrol Sergeant for the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 1, where he will be replacing Kyle Pearcy. Siex has been a member of the sheriff’s office for five years, hold- ing positions as patrol depu- ty and school resource offi- cer prior to this promotion. Todd has lived in Mor- row County for more than 12 years and has been mar- ried to his wife, Deona, for ten of those years. He pre- viously lived in Baker City and has two adult children, Aubri and Dayne. Aubri is married and lives in Bend, OR. Dayne resides in Tu- alatin, OR, is married and has a two-year-old named Deputy Todd Siex (right) was sworn-in as Patrol Sergeant by Sheriff Matlack. Brayden. Todd also has two step children, Lindsey and Tayler Hodges. According to a source, Todd is considered a dedi- cated employee who gives 110 percent of himself to whatever job he does. “Todd has strived to build relationships in Morrow County communities with families, the kids and indi- viduals he encounters. He is a great guy, fair and will go out of his way to help find a resolution to a situation.” Lexington mayor, councilors sworn-in By Bobbi Gordon Mayor Marcia Kemp and councilors Marcia Stic- ka and Bobbi Gordon were sworn in at the town council meeting held in Lexing- ton on Jan. 8. Sticka and Kemp, elected as write-in candidates in the November election, will each serve four year terms. Gordon, re-elected in November, will serve two years. One council position is still open and the town is currently accepting letters of interest from residents who would like to serve on the council. Morrow County Plan- ning Director Carla Mc- Lane attended the meeting to discuss the buildable inventory project. Accord- ing to McLane, several meetings have been held and they are waiting for buildable lands inventory Schools to be closed Jan. 21 Morrow County School District schools will be closed on Monday, Jan. 21 in observance of Martin Lu- ther King, Jr. Day. School will be in session on Friday, Jan. 25. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Marcia Kemp, Marcia Sticka and Bobbi Gordon were sworn in at the Lexington council meeting. and housing analysis infor- mation from a consultant. Research is being done re- garding development code, comprehensive plan and land available for devel- opment in all five Morrow County communities. McLane answered questions from the council and members of the com- munity regarding zoning in Lexington. Does the town have the correct zoning as a whole, correct zoning in the right places? She indicated the comprehensive plan was adopted in the late 70s and is very out of date, but is also difficult to maintain. She suggested the creation of a technical advisory committee that could be appointed by the council to research current zoning ordinances, setbacks, where to build and water. The committee could possibly be made up of interested residents, an employee and a council member, with the employee and council member to not have voting rights. Residents interested in serving on a committee should contact the town recorder Dawn Griesen Monday through Thursday at the town hall. In other business, Char- lie Sumner reported that everything is running all right in the fire department, but still need more people to volunteer. A vacant house that could be considered a fire hazard was also dis- cussed. The lack of a dog or- dinance was brought up again. A copy of a draft dog ordinance that was never adopted was shared with the council. It was noted that the town does not have an adopted ordinance, so fol- lows the county ordinance, which is available on the county website. A sugges- tion was made to take a look at that ordinance to determine if it is sufficient for the town and to contact the sheriff’s office regard- ing enforcement of the ordinance within the town. There was an item on the agenda regarding set- ting a flat rate hookup fee for new water customers where there is no existing service. After much discus- sion, it was decided that a $500 hookup fee would be charged for new service. The next meeting will be held at the Lexington Town Hall on Feb. 12. The public is invited to attend. Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington, OR AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT SALES, PARTS & SERVICE GRAIN, TRUCKING, ENERGY & ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENTS ● POLARIS SALES & SERVICE HOURS 800-452-7396 OR Mon -Fri 7am to 5 pm 541-989-8221 Saturday 8am to Noon FAX 541-989-8229
