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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2019)
Cutsforth back as interim city manager HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 138 NO. 5 8 Pages Wednesday, January 30, 2019 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Has 3-month agreement during search By David Sykes Former Heppner city manager Kim Cutsforth has been hired to serve as in- terim manager. Mayor Jim Kindle appointed Cutsforth last week to fill the position while the council takes ap- plications for a permanent manager. Cutsforth previously served in the position from Sept. 2012 to March 2017. Her contract is for three months. “I am grateful that I am able to help the city out during this transition. I enjoyed my previous time there. I appreciate the city workers and I understand the importance of keeping our current projects on track,” Cutsforth told the Gazette-Times. Under the agreement, Cutsforth will work a max- imum of 20 hours per week Monday through Thursday for a salary of $25.96 per hour. Additional hours may be added with the approval of the mayor. The agree- ment terminates March 15, 2019. On January 11 the council fired former man- ager Edie Ball with a 6-1 vote, citing her mishandling of the city’s budget process. Ball had worked less than two years for the city. In other staffing issues the city is in the process of hiring a new treasurer. The Kim Cutsforth back as city manager. Neighborhood Watch program divides the town 11 th annual Remembrance Walk will be held again this St. Patrick’s Day A Neighborhood Watch program has been start- ed in Heppner, with the town divided into two sec- tions. Center Street is the line dividing the north and south districts. Residents are urged to first call the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office at 541-767-5317 if there is suspicious activity on their street There are neighborhood watch captains assigned to each district who should be called after calling MCSO. Captains and their phone numbers in the north district are Ron Brisbois, 541-561- 6831; Kay Proctor, 541- 676-9827; Janet Greenup, 541-561-6768; Doris Bros- nan, 541-676-5382 and Glo Lesperance, 541-676-9810. South district captains are Ray DeLoe, 831-578-6451; Jason Patterson, 541-429- 0580; Dana Wilson, 970- 620-6588; John Edmund- son, 541-676-5177 and Alan Scott, 541-676-5151. Calling one of the captains will let others know what to look for. Neighborhood watch will be working closely with the sheriff’s office and the city hall. They are looking into getting funding to install security cameras throughout the town to help curb vandalism and other North District Participants of the 2016 St. Patrick’s Day Remembrance Walk gather in front of the Methodist Church. South District crimes. The goal is to get citizens involved to help keep the town a safe place to live. Residents who have a security camera that faces a street are asked to contact Glo Lesperance at 541-676- 9810 or email heratglore- newright@hotmail.com. Information will remain anonymous and will only be shared with the sheriff’s office. Anyone interested in joining the group should also contact Lesperance. Men stuck in snow rescued Phillip Mullins and Kim Martz, Heppner, con- tacted the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office about 8 p.m. on Jan. 24 to report they were stuck in the snow approximately six or seven miles up Shaw Grade Rd and were unable to free the vehicle or walk to safety. Due to limited cell phone coverage, dispatch received very little information from Mullins. Dispatch contact- ed family members and found they might have been going to the lookout at Chicken Springs. current treasurer has turned in her two-week notice. Morrow County Emer- gency Management was activated and MCSO per- sonnel started organizing a search and rescue mission. Sergeant Nathan Braun and Sergeant Todd Siex began searching on snow machines. According to the press release, Mullins was able to get through to dispatch again around 10:30 p.m. reporting it was bad all the way. Their rear differential was plowing snow and they didn’t realize it. They ad- vised they didn’t have any food and ran out of water, but were able to stay warm in the pickup. Near midnight, Braun and Siex located the pickup and the two men, but were unable to bring them out on the snow machines due to waist deep snow and road conditions making it unsafe. Heppner resident Thomas Wolff respond- ed with his tracked snow UTV to assist in the rescue, bringing Mullins and Martz to safety around 3 a.m. Heppner man arrested on multiple charges JD Easley, 35, of Heppner, was arrested Jan. 24 by the Mor- row County Sheriff’s Office and lodged at the Umatilla County JD Easley Jail on charges of un- lawful possession of meth, DUII-alco- hol, reckless driv- ing and harassment following an inves- tigation. According to information provided by the sheriff’s office, all charges against Easley were consid- ered misdemeanor charges and total bail was set at $20,000. Arbuckle club draws skiers Seven skiers participat- ed in the Arbuckle Nordic Club’s trip Saturday, Jan. 26. The group parked at the junction of Highway 207 and Colvin Creek Road and skied west across the head- waters of the Porter Creek drainage. They returned by way of FS Road 099. The group plans to con- tinue skiing on Saturdays through the first Saturday Pictured (L-R): Steve and Luanne Brownfield, Dan VanLiew, Tripp and Jacob Finch and Dave and Bryce Fowler. in March. By David Sykes The Friends Helping Friends Remembrance Walk and Run will once again be held during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration March 16 in Heppner. Started in 2009 to hon- or Donna Schonbachler who died of cancer in 2008, the run has grown every year. Proceeds from the event are given back to the community and again this year the event will take spe- cial notice of Asher Schon- bachler, Donna’s grandson who has come down with a life-threatening disease. As part of the walk and run over 350 shamrocks will be adorned with the names of loved ones who participants have lost over the years. The shamrocks are placed around town on the walk route and a large number of them on the wall of Two Old Hags Pizza on Court Street. One of the main orga- nizers and the driver behind the walk is Susie Hisler, whose family has felt loss themselves when their 15-year-old son was killed in a ranching accident. But Hisler has many others helping her. Original com- mittee members were His- ler, Patty Matheny, Peggy Fishburn, Kathi Dickenson and Janelle Ellis. Ellis, an active runner herself, han- dles the 5K run part of the event. Additional commit- tee members now include Sandy Matthews, Shelly McCabe, Mary Haguewood and Kirsten Harrison. Others who have helped with the walk over the years include Barb Watkins, Kel- ly Boyer, Mary Ann El- guezabal and Jan Stroeber. Petra Payne organizes Hep- pner High School student leaders to assist at the walk. Many individuals help put up and take down the 350 memorial shamrocks along the walking route. The tradition is that participants walk or run in the name of a loved one who has died, honoring them with a personalized brightly decorated shamrock created by Hisler and Haguewood. The shamrocks have the names, photos and an an- ecdote line of the loved one being honored. Cost to be a participant is $5 for adults with accompanied children free. Dogs are welcome on a leash. Additional money donations are also accepted. In the past Pioneer Memorial Hospital Home Health and Hospice, where Donna worked, has received funds from the walk. The local St. Patrick’s Senior center received funds for a new roof. Willow Creek Terrace assisted living, St Patrick’s Day Celebration Committee, Heppner Day Care, Heppner Lady Elks and South Morrow County Fire and Ambulance have all been helped with pro- ceeds from the event. Participants are en- couraged to preregister so shamrocks can be made for their loved ones. To reg- ister for the walk, contact Susan Hisler at 541-676- 5878 or Kathi Dickenson at kathidickenson@hotmail. com. For the 5k run contact Janelle Ellis at origanelle@ hotmail.com. Make checks payable to Friends Helping Friends (FHF) and mail them to Friends Helping Friends, c/o Kathi Dicken- son, PO Box 566 Heppner, OR 97836. Participants are encouraged to wear pink or green on the day of the walk. The walk begins Saturday, March 16 at 9:30 a.m. at the Methodist Church. Friends Helping Friends will gather at 8:30 a.m. at the church for a remembrance social hour and also registration for the walk can be done at that time. This year’s sponsors are: Community Bank, Community Counseling Solutions, Windwave and Bucknums. For those who would just like to make donations, those checks can be mailed to Friends Helping Friends “Our Pot of Gold” c/o Kathi Dicken- son, PO Box 566, Heppner, OR 97836. Seniors to be auctioned A fundraiser for Project Graduation for 2019, the drug and alcohol free grad- uation party, will be held at the BEO wrestling tourna- ment on Saturday, Feb. 2 which begins at 10 a.m. Two senior wrestlers who are participating in the “Watch me Work” auction will be auctioned off to the highest bidders in between matches at the tournament. Bidders will have the option to place bids and help sup- port the drug and alcohol free night for the class of 2019. The senior athletes have chosen to participate in this fundraiser in hopes of drawing more support for the wrestling program, honoring senior wrestlers and also raise funds for their class.
