Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 13, 2019 -- THREE
Business enhancement grant
funds available
Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
Group (WCVEDG) has
funds available for local
businesses in south Morrow
County to use for outside/
exterior improvements.
The requestor must provide
at least 50 percent of the
funding of the total project
budget, which can include
in-kind and cash contribu-
tions from local and region-
al sources. The grant payout
will be up to $7,500 with at
least 50 percent match.
Although the business
enhancement grant is open
all year if funds are avail-
able, completed grant re-
quests received March 15
through April 15 will be
reviewed and awarded at
the end of April. Grant
applications, as well as el-
igibility and exclusions in-
formation, are available by
contacting Sheryll Bates at
541-676-5536 or by email-
ing heppnerchamber@cen-
turytel.net.
Forms are also avail-
able at Heppner, Ione and
Lexington city hall offices
or printed from the Eco-
nomic Development tab
on the Heppner Chamber
website at www.heppner-
chamber.com. Grant appli-
cations must be received
at the chamber office by
April 15 to be considered
for April funding.
Power outage scheduled
for Ione area substation
Columbia Basin Elec-
tric Cooperative, Inc. has
announced a planned power
outage in the Ione area on
March 22 beginning at 9
p.m. with re-energization
scheduled for 7 a.m. March
23. The Bonneville Power
Administration has sched-
uled the 10-hour outage
to replace some damaged
equipment that aids in the
protection of CBEC’s dis-
tribution lines outside of the
Ione substation.
The outing was origi-
nally scheduled in Decem-
ber but had to be postponed.
This outage will only affect
CBEC members served out
of the Ione BPA substation.
Those areas include: Town
of Ione, Ella Rd., Low-
er Rhea Creek, Brenner
Radon gas second
leading cause of
lung cancer
Morrow County eligible for free
home test kits
Radon is the second
leading cause of lung can-
cer in the U.S. after ciga-
rette smoking, and the lead-
ing cause of lung cancer
among non-smokers. The
U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency estimates
that radon is responsible
for more than 20,000 lung
cancer deaths per year in the
United States.
Radon is odorless,
tasteless and invisible. It
is a naturally occurring
radioactive gas that comes
up from the ground and is
drawn into buildings, where
it can build up to dangerous
levels.
“Every homeowner
should test their home for
radon every two to five
years,” recommends Kari
Christensen, Radon Pro-
gram coordinator at the
Oregon Health Authority,
Public Health Division. The
best time to test for radon is
during the heating season,
when the windows and
doors are closed tight. This
is when you would expect
to find the highest radon
levels in your home.
Many regions of the
state are at moderate risk
of having high radon lev-
els, with several pockets of
high-risk areas in the north-
west, around the Willamette
Valley and in eastern and
southern Oregon, according
to 2018 data published on
the Oregon Radon Program.
The Radon Program
collects radon test data from
test kit manufacturers in an
effort to understand which
areas of the state have the
potential for high radon
levels, and to identify areas
where educational outreach
efforts need to be focused.
The program is offering a
free radon test kit to resi-
dents whose homes are in
Morrow County with fewer
than 20 radon test results.
Residents can send an email
to radon.program@state.
or.us to receive instructions
on how to get a free test
kit, which will be provided
while supplies last.
For more information
on radon testing and miti-
gation, radon-resistant new
construction, or to order
a test kit online, call the
Oregon Radon Program at
971-673-0440, TYY: 711
or www.healthoregon.org/
radon.
Death Notices
Kenneth M. Gates
Kenneth M. Gates, 73, of Lexington died Monday,
March 11 at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner. He
was born Nov. 13, 1945 at Prairie City, OR. A memorial
service will be held on Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m. at the
Lexington Bible Church.
Sweeney Mortuary of Heppner is in care of arrange-
ments.
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
Canyon, Ione Gooseberry
Rd., Dry Fork, Lower Wil-
low Creek, North Lex and
the surrounding areas. The
communities of Heppner
and Lexington will not be
affected by this outage.
Members who are un-
sure if they will be affected
by this outage should call
Columbia Basin Electric at
541-676-9146.
Students to test engineering
skills
KidWind, the interna-
tional leader of clean ener-
gy education, is hosting a
KidWind Challenge Event
at Riverside Junior/Senior
High School on Thursday,
March 14 starting at 9 a.m.
At the event, approximately
50 students from Riverside
Junior/Senior High School
and Heppner Junior/Senior
High School will showcase
and test the performance
of their handcrafted wind
turbines and present their
design process to a panel
of judges. EDP Renewables
North America, which owns
the Rattlesnake Road and
Wheat Field Wind Farms
outside of Arlington, is
sponsoring the event.
The judges will evalu-
ate each team’s wind turbine
energy output and design,
the documentation of their
design process and their
knowledge of wind and
renewable energy. Teams
placing first and second in
the middle and high school
divisions automatically
qualify for the 2019 Na-
tional KidWind Challenge
hosted at the American
Wind Energy Association
(AWEA) WINDPOWER
2019 conference in Hous-
ton, TX on May 20-23.
A team from Riverside
Junior/Senior High School
has attended the National
KidWind Challenge the
past two years thanks to
generous support from the
local community, including
travel scholarships from
EDP Renewables North
America.
“As more communities
recognize that wind energy
is a worthwhile alternative
to other non-renewable
energy sources, companies
developing wind farms
such as EDP Renewables
North America will need
more skilled workers,” said
Michael Arquin, founder of
KidWind. “Giving students
the knowledge, tools, and
time to create a functioning
wind turbine brings real-life
science to the classroom,
helps develop students’
problem-solving and en-
gineering skills and gen-
erates excitement – which
could encourage students
to pursue a career in the
renewable energy industry.”
The KidWind Chal-
lenge is a nationwide ini-
tiative to help students learn
about renewable energy
and hone their engineering
skills through the spirit
of competition. Since the
first event in 2009, the
KidWind Challenge and its
partners have hosted more
than 220 events in 26 states,
impacting roughly 35,000
students.
The National KidWind
Challenge and the local
KidWind Challenge events
are made possible through
contributions from gen-
erous sponsors. For more
information about the Kid-
Wind Challenge, visit kid-
windchallenge.org.
Chamber Chatter
Willow Creek Ag
Water Quality LAC
to meet
The Willow Creek Ag Water Quality Local Advisory
Committee will conduct its biennial review of the Wil-
low Creek Ag Water Quality Management Area Plan on
Wednesday March 20 from 6-8 p.m. at the Ag Service
Center in Heppner.
For additional information, contact Kevin Payne with
the Morrow SWCD at 541-676-5452. Meetings of the
Morrow SWCD are open to the public.
Community and
public enhancement
grants offered
Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
Group (WCVEDG) has
funds available to be used
for community and pub-
lic enhancement for south
Morrow County communi-
ties. Organizations must be
a local organization, club,
special district or govern-
mental entity in the south
Morrow County service
area as defined on the WC-
VEDG service area map.
Those requesting funds
must have at least 50 per-
cent of their own funding
for the total project budget,
which may include in-kind
and cash contributions.
Completed grant requests
will be accepted between
March 15 and April 15.
Forms may be obtained
by contacting Sheryll Bates
at 541-676-5536, emailing
heppnerchamber@century-
tel.net, picked up at Hep-
pner, Lexington and Ione
city halls or may be found
under the Economic Devel-
opment tab on the Heppner
chamber website, www.
heppnerchamber.com.
Grant applications may
be emailed, mailed, hand
delivered or faxed to 541-
676-5656 and received no
later than April 15 to be
reviewed and considered by
the WCVEDG board.
Fridays, March 22 and
29 from 9:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. at the Heppner City
Hall, Free In-Person Tax
Preparation Service. AARP
Foundation Tax-Aide offers
free tax preparation to any-
one of any age, especially
for those 50 or older or can’t
afford paid tax preparation.
March 14-17, 37 th An-
nual Heppner’s Wee Bit
O’ Ireland St. Patrick’s
celebration. The event will
begin with Father Con-
don’s play on Thursday,
March 14 at 7 p.m. at the
St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish
Hall. Admission is free and
refreshments will be served.
Contact the Heppner Cham-
ber for information on en-
tering or registering for the
Team Bed Races, O’Planky
Races, Road Bowling and
Welly Toss.
Friday, March 29 at 5
p.m., Community-Wide
Salute to Veterans Dinner
at Stokes Landing (Irrigon
Senior Center) to show your
appreciation to those who
have served in the military.
Tickets may be purchased at
City of Boardman, City of
Irrigon and local branches
of Bank of Eastern Oregon.
The tickets for this event,
hosted by the Irrigon Senior
Center, Morrow County
Veterans Services and Ore-
gon Department of Veterans
Affairs, are $10 per person.
Births
Lauren Deborah
Lindsay – Dan and
Ashley Lindsay of
Lexington announce
the birth of a daughter
born Feb. 22 at 12:56
p.m. at St. Anthony
Hospital in Pendleton.
Lauren weighed 8
pounds and measured
19.5 inches long. She
joins brothers Paul,
14, John, 12, Max,
7 and Kenny, 2. Her
sisters are Claire, 10
Lauren Deborah Lindsay
and Lucy, 5.
Grandparents are Vilas and Deb Ropp and Larry and
Corrine Lindsay, all of Lexington.
School board approves property transfer
The Morrow County
School Board, in a regular
meeting at Irrigon Jr./Sr.
High School Monday night,
gave the okay on a minor
partition involving transfer
of property from Morrow
County Grain Growers to
the school district.
The property will be
used to erect a softball bat-
ting practice facility with an
easement for access from
Riverside Street in Hep-
pner. The petition was re-
quested by Kim Cutsforth,
director of the Howard and
Beth Bryant Foundation,
on behalf of Heppner High
School.
The board also ap-
Family Hunt Club Looking for Big Game Land
Wildlife Development Association (WDA), a hunting club which is over
40 years old, is seeking to expand its leased big game hunting areas by
10,000+/- acres. WDA is known for promoting the highest standard of
hunting ethics, hunter safety and family hunting.
Using club volunteers we hold annual work parties on leased proper-
ties working on projects directed by the property owner (fence and gate
repair, road improvement, vegetation removal, etc.). We do projects to
improve hunting, such as “No Trespassing” signage, and Predator Con-
trol program. References are available upon request.
If you have land to lease please contact:
Wildlife Development Association
Jason Slangan, President(503) 927-5643
proved a resolution ac-
cepting and appropriating
unanticipated revenues of
$70,000 for Heppner Ju-
nior/Senior High School
from the Howard and Beth
Bryant Foundation; and
an additional $2,000 and
$3,310 from the foundation
for Heppner Elementary
School.
The board approved
sending two calendar op-
tions to district staff for
their input.
-Option 1 is a pre-La-
bor Day start with stu-
dents beginning August 26,
2019; school ending June
4, 2020; winter break from
December 20-January 5;
spring break from March
23-27; school on Friday
when there is a holiday on
Monday.
-Option 2 is a post-La-
bor Day start with students
beginning September 3,
2019; school ending June
11, 2020; winter break
December 20-January 5;
spring break from March
23-27; school on Friday
when there is a holiday on
Monday.
Superintendent Dirk
Dirksen informed the board
that the six snow days to
be made up for Heppner
schools and the five snow
days to be made up for
Boardman and Irrigon
schools will be April 5 and
12 and May 3. He noted
that for each two snow
days, students are required
to make up one school day.
“It’s strange that we’re
having snow this time of
year,” Dirksen noted.
In a report concerning
four-year graduation rates
with a GED or diploma
Dirksen said that River-
side Jr./Sr. High School in
Boardman had a 92 per-
cent rate with Irrigon Jr./
Sr. High School having an
80 percent rate and Hep-
pner High School bucking
tradition with a 76 per-
cent rate. HJSHS Principal
Matt Combe told the Ga-
zette-Times that the un-
characteristically low rate
was due in part to students
leaving the district that
they were unable to track,
low student numbers that
skewed the percentages and
other factors.
In other business, the
board:
-heard recaps from dis-
trict principals on sports
successes from the vari-
ous schools, including the
-See SCHOOL BOARD/
PAGE EIGHT
Valby Lutheran Church
Valby Road
Ione Oregon. 97843
Church Services 1st &
3rd Sundays
Available for:
Weddings ♦ Funerals
Family Events
Old Coun-
try Church
All are
Welcome