Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 30, 2019 -- TWO The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ Published weekly by Sykes Publishing, LLC and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676- 9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve. net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student subscriptions. David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 per column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to 100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.05 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for pub- lication must be specified. Affidavits must be required at the time of submission. Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required). For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space for the obituary. For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Death Notices Judith Cochell Shannon Judith Cochell Shannon, 76, former Heppner resident died Saturday, Jan. 26 at Everett, WA. She was born July 14, 1942 at Norfolk, VA. A memorial service will be held later this spring. A complete obituary will follow in next week’s Ga- zette-Times. Sweeney Mortuary of Heppner is in care of arrangements. Community lunch menu Nazarene/Christian volunteers will serve lunch on Wednesday, February 6 at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Lunch will be navy beans and ham, broccoli salad, sliced tomatoes, corn muffins and chocolate mousse for dessert. Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is $3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change. Valentine’s dinner to be held The Hopeful Saints Mission Trippers will be hosting an Italian dinner fundraiser on Feb. 14 at the All Saints Parish Hall beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person. The meal, served at 5 and 7 p.m., will include salad, soup, homemade pasta (lasagna, spaghetti or seafood fettuccini), dessert and a beverage. The All Saints Parish Hall will be transformed into a candlelit restaurant with intimate seating and roving musi- cians. Tickets must be pur- chased by Feb. 10 to reserve a table and choose an en- trée. Contact George Nairns at 541-571-6519 or Diana Sharp at 541-676-8262 for additional information or to purchase tickets. The fundraiser will help support this fall’s trip to El Salvador for the third well-drilling mission trip through Living Water In- ternational. The trip will be Nov. 3 – 9 and community members are encouraged to consider joining the ad- venture. Team members give the gift of clean water and good hygiene and in return, get to experience a very different way of life. For additional information on becoming a Mission Tripper, contact the church office at 541-676-9970. Planning commission holds work sessions Morrow County Plan- ning Commissioners and staff have held three work sessions over the past four months, gathering informa- tion about how renewable energy facilities are sited. At the Jan. 22 work session acoustical engineer Kerrie Standlee was the guest speaker, sharing informa- tion about wind energy facilities and sound. Now that these work sessions have concluded, planning staff will be com- piling information for the planning commission to begin consideration of po- tential regulations to be applicable to renewable energy facilities. It is antic- ipated that proposed regula- tions will be considered by the planning commission in the next couple of months. During the second half of December and through January 23, Morrow Coun- ty Planning Department staff issued approvals for a new dwelling, three ac- cessory structures, an au- thorization for temporary use of an RV, an industrial change of use with building improvements and an agri- cultural drying facility. At the Feb. 26 public hearing, to be held at the Port of Morrow Riverfront Center in Boardman, three actions are scheduled for consideration: a reconfig- uration of farm land, tem- porary use of a recreation- al vehicle for a medical hardship and a proposed aggregate mining opera- tion. Information on these items is available by con- tacting the Morrow County Planning Department at 541-922-4624. Election of officers for the planning commission will also take place. The Morrow Coun- ty Planning Department encourages everyone to visit their website for in- formation on the planning commission, code enforce- ment, transportation and much more. The website is available at https://www. co.morrow.or.us/planning. Local students named to EOU fall term dean’s list Rylee Kollman, Hep- pner and Amanda Rea, Ione have been named to the Eastern Oregon University dean’s list for the 2018 fall term. EOU named 526 stu- dents to the dean’s list for fall term. To qualify for the dean’s list, students must achieve and maintain a 3.5 grade point average or higher while completing a minimum of 12 hours of graded coursework. Chamber Chatter Thursday, Jan. 31 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., Hep- pner Chamber’s Annual luncheon at the Senior Cen- ter dining room. Lunch of French dip, salad and dessert will be catered by Heppner Fresh Market for $10 per person. RSVPs are required. A tour of the Gil- liam-Bisbee building will follow the meeting. Saturday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m., Bank of Eastern Or- egon’s Eleventh Annual Invitational Wrestling Tour- nament at Heppner High School. Tickets may be purchased at the door; con- cessions will be available. Thursday, Feb. 7, Hep- pner Chamber’s Annual Town and Country Com- munity Awards event to be held at the Morrow County Fairgrounds beginning at 6 p.m. The theme for the event will be “An Evening With the Stars.” Gateway Café will serve prime rib with au jus, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, green beans in garlic sauce, gar- den fresh salad, dessert and a beverage at 6:30 p.m. A no host bar will be offered by Bucknum’s beginning at 6 p.m. Contact the chamber at 541-676-5536 for tickets. Thursday, Feb. 28 from noon to 1 p.m.. Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group hosted Annual Luncheon in the Senior Center dining room. There will be an update on the projects that Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group has been working on along with plans for the future. Alvin Liu of Gateway Café will cater the lunch of home- made BBQ ribs, baked beans, potato salad and dessert. RSVP is required. Contact the chamber office at 541-676-5536 or hep- pnerchamber@centurytel. net. School district’s graduation rate improves According to the Ore- gon Department of Educa- tion, the Morrow County School District improved its overall graduation rate by more than five percent- age points over last year, from 77.84 percent in 2016- 17 to 82.86 percent in 2017- 18. Graduation rates for school districts in Ore- gon were released on Jan. 24. The rates are based on the four-year cohort rate, which includes students who earned their regular diplomas within four years of high school. The 2017-18 four-year cohort consists of students who first entered high school in 2014-15. ODE also reported the four-year cohort completer rate, which includes stu- dents who earned a stan- dard high school diploma, as well as those who were awarded an extended high school diploma, adult high school diploma, or GED NRCS seeks input The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be hosting a meeting at the USDA Service Center on Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. to gather input regarding the natural resource opportunities and priorities across Morrow County. The goal is to bring together individuals with a variety of expertise and The Wranglers club will hold a meeting on Friday, knowledge allowing NRCS Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the USDA conference room in and others to build on the collective successes. Heppner at 430 Linden Way. NRCS seeks help in identifying where the best investments can be made to address natural resource Wranglers schedule meeting Catholic men to hold first Friday meeting The men of St. Pat- rick’s Catholic Church of Heppner and St. William’s Catholic Church of Ione will hold their First Friday of the month meeting on Friday, Feb. 1 at the par- ish office in Heppner. The meeting will start at 6:45 a.m. and will be followed by First Friday Mass at 7:30 a.m. (General Education Diplo- ma), within the four years being measured. Morrow County’s four-year com- pleter rate is 89.14 percent. Dirk Dirksen, district super- intendent, said the district had 10 students who earned their GEDs, who are includ- ed in that rate. The four-year cohort rates were Irrigon Jr/Sr High School, 80.52 percent; Heppner Jr/Sr High School, 76.19 percent; Riverside High School, 92.86 percent. The four-year completer rate was Irrigon, 87.01; Heppner, 85.71 and River- side, 95.71. Dirksen said the district continues to focus on strate- gies to improve graduation. “Everyone in our school buildings, including admin- istration, teachers and sup- port staff, are working on ways to help more and more students reach the goal of graduation,” Dirksen said. problems, sharing the work that has already been done in the county and sharing visions for what the county would look like when the natural resource concerns have been solved. Infor- mation provided will be used in future conservation implementation strategies for the county. Those wishing addi- tional information or to provide input can contact NRCS at 541-676-5021 ext. 113 or email kacee. lathrop@or.usda.gov. The meeting is open to the pub- lic. First Friday Friends of Jesus to be held The February session of First Friday Friends of Jesus will be held this Fri- day, Feb. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the All Saints Parish Hall. Kids ages four to 12 are invited for a morning full of Bible stories, crafts, games and songs, concluding with a free lunch. Additional information is available by calling the Hopeful Saints Ministry office at 541-676- 9970. Tax assistance to be offered SWCD to meet The AARP Founda- tion’s Tax-Aide program will provide free tax as- sistance and preparation beginning in February and running through early April. This year there will be as- sistance available in Hep- pner as well as Boardman, Hermiston and Pendleton. Assistance will be of- fered in Pendleton on Mon- days, Hermiston on Tues- days and Thursdays and Wednesdays in Boardman. Dates and the location for Heppner will be announced later, but are tentatively scheduled for some Fridays in February and March. The assistance provid- ed through Tax-Aide is available to those with low or moderate incomes, not just adults over 50. AARP membership is not required. Volunteers are trained and IRS-certified each year to ensure they are aware of the latest changes to the U.S. Tax Code. People are encouraged to check the website for current infor- mation and what to bring when going to a Tax-Aide site. There are no scheduled appointments; people are encouraged to arrive early to get on the list. For more information, visit www.aarpfoundation. org/taxhelp. Morrow SWCD will meet Tuesday, Feb. 5 at the Ag Service Center in Heppner, beginning at 6 p.m. Items on the agenda will include minutes of the January meeting, financial, partner and staff reports. Meetings of Morrow SWCD are open to the public. For questions or additional information, contact Kevin Payne at 541-676-5452 ext. 111. Prayer team schedules meeting The Heppner prayer team will meet at the SDA Church on Minor Street in Heppner on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. The subject of the meeting will be “What is prayer?” For additional information contact Wendy Bleth at 509- 540-8800. FOR SALE 235 SKYLINE DRIVE, HEPPNER Enjoy a great view of Heppner from this well- kept 3 bedroom 1700 square foot home with large double garage on a .7 acre lot. Also available, .7 acre adjacent lot with easy access to Chase Street and all utilities. Accepting purchase offers until March 1. Call Bill Jepsen- 541-667-7498 ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.