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.