FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Heppner Library to host
events
The Heppner Library
will host “Mary Poppins
Returns” as the featured
movie in the park on July 11
beginning at 8 p.m. There
is no admission charge and
snacks will be provided by
Heppner Market Fresh.
Teen Week will be held
at the library July 16, 17
and 18 beginning at 6 p.m.
each night. Teens going into
seventh to twelfth grades
are invited to attend.
Summer reading 2019
will be held July 12 and 19
from 11 a.m. to noon at the
Heppner Library, with the
summer reading celebration
at 11 a.m. on July 25.
Crafty Night will be
held at the library on July
10 at 6:30 p.m. Contact the
library at 541-676-9964 for
additional information on
any of the events.
Sheriff’s Report
The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office has released the following information:
April 9: Morrow Coun-
April 10: Morrow and is out roaming around.
ty Sheriff’s Office received County Sheriff’s Office re- Dogs are back in their yard.
a report on Crooked Rd, ceived a report on W Main
-MCSO received a
Irrigon of an animal neglect St, Lexington that the dog report that Amber Dan-
issue. Under investigation. on C St jumped the fence ielle Gomez was arrested
-MCSO received a re- again. This is an ongoing is- by Umatilla Tribal PD on
port at Columbia Ln/Cedar sue and has attacked his dog MCSO warrant. Lodged at
Rd, Irrigon that bus driver before. Deputy responded. UCJ with bail of $6,000.
had two cars run his stop RP will take a photo of the
-MCSO received a re-
sign.
violation next time to doc- port at Hwy 207 Echo, Lex-
-MCSO received a re- ument it.
ington of a disabled vehicle
port at Port of Morrow
-MCSO received a re- with flashers on.
Maintenance shop on Co- port on Hwy 207 Echo,
-MCSO received a re-
lumbia Ave NE, Boardman Echo that she had a dog port at Mill Zone on Hwy
that 47-year-old male fell show up at her house yester- 74, Heppner that he is hav-
off truck and hit his head, day. RP wanted MCSO to ing diesel stolen from this
doesn’t recall what hap- be aware because she thinks location. Also stating that
pened. Patient was trans- it may have jumped out of someone stole a cord of
ported to GSH.
a vehicle when traffic was firewood.
-MCSO received a re- stopped near county line for
-MCSO received a re-
port at Pioneer Memorial road construction.
port on Hwy 730, Irrigon
Clinic on Thompson Ave,
-MCSO received a re- that a white Nissan pickup
Heppner that subject who port on E East St, Lexington with possible intoxicated
has a suspended license and regarding a nuisance/aban- driver slipped the side of a
has dementia drove him- doned residence. RP would building in Umatilla, pos-
self to the clinic. Deputy like options about how the sibly being towed by a red
responded. Subjects wife city can deal with it. Under pickup. Unable to locate.
was driving.
investigation.
-MCSO received a re-
-MCSO received a re-
-MCSO received a re- port at St. Patrick’s Senior
port on SW Nevada Ave, port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- Center on N Main St, Hep-
Irrigon that neighbor’s dog gon that a two door Chevy pner of a yellow flashing
and calves got out. The dog Astro sped through towards light on the 3 rd floor from
attacked one of the calves Tenth.
the S window.
and the rest are still roaming
-MCSO received a re-
-MCSO received a re-
around the area.
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- port at Irrigon Fish Hatch-
-MCSO received a re- gon that a two-tone beige ery on Riverview Ln, Ir-
port at Mill Zone n Hwy 74, Ford pickup went speeding rigon that there is a lot of
Heppner that a vehicle was by about 5 minutes ago.
vehicles that appear to be
damaged from a pheasant
-MCSO received a congregating and is con-
strike.
report on SE Utah Ave, cerning the RP that there
-MCSO received a re- Irrigon that a gold Chevy may be racing in the area.
port on Willow Creek Rd, Corsica flew through to- Unable to locate.
Heppner that male is on wards Tenth.
-MCSO received a re-
property, violation of RO,
-MCSO received a re- port on NW Esther Ct,
Michael R Meligan was port on S First St, Irrigon Irrigon that a 79-year-old
arrested for violation of that a cold assault occurred female has a headache and
restraining order.
this morning. Jasmine Fay is lightheaded. Transported.
-MCSO received a re- Manning was arrested and
-MCSO received a re-
port on Hwy 74, Lexing- lodged at UCJ with bail of port at Pioneer Memorial
ton that multiple callers $25,000.
Hospital on NE Pioneer
report cows out and in the
-MCSO received a re- Dr, Heppner that there is a
road about a mile out of port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- male subject at the ER that
Lexington towards Ione. gon that a gold Yukon sped is intoxicated, not making
Several citizens assisted in through towards Tenth.
any sense.
putting the cows back in the
-MCSO received a re-
pasture.
port at Hwy 207 Echo/Sand
April 12: Morrow
-MCSO received a re- Hollow Rd, Lexington that County Sheriff ’s Office
port on SE Utah Ave, Ir- a semi high centered entire received a report on NE
rigon that a GMC Envoy highway.
Main Ave, Irrigon that a
went through the area with
-MCSO received a re- 72-year-old female has
the music cranked up.
port at Columbia Forest fallen. Transported.
-MCSO received a re- Products on Pole Line Rd,
-MCSO received a
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- Boardman that a male fell report on W Eighth Rd,
gon that a Toyota Celica off off a catwalk into a pit, Irrigon that subject stole
Tenth Street sped by again. about 10 feet, possible bro- $4,000 in cash that was in
-MCSO received a re- ken hand. Have not moved the RP’s bedroom.
port at Loves Travel Stop on him hit his head, possible
-MCSO received a re-
Tower Rd, Boardman that neck injury.
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri-
one semi just hit another.
-MCSO received a re- gon that a white Volkswa-
-MCSO received a re- port on I 84 W, Boardman gen went towards Tenth,
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- of a driving complaint WB could hear the music from
gon that a green Jeep Cher- from 151. Not sure if med- Division.
okee is speeding through ical issue, almost wrecked
-MCSO received a re-
the area and flying down a couple times. Referred to port on I 84 E, Boardman
the road quite often.
other agency.
that a silver BMW and
-MCSO received a re-
-MCSO received a re- black Dodge Charger were
port at Northwestern Motel port on SE Utah Ave, Ir- racing on I 84 at a high
on N Main St, Heppner rigon that a blue Durango rate of speed, both had WA
that subjects are cleaning went past his res at a high plates.
sturgeon that doesn’t ap- rate of speed towards Tenth.
-MCSO received a re-
pear to be legal length and Unable to locate.
port that Patrick Alan Greer
the season has been closed
-MCSO received a re- was arrested and lodged on
for two weeks. Referred to port on W 2 nd St, Ione that an Oregon Parole Warrant
other agency.
she is having an issue with in Montana. Subject was
-MCSO received a re- a child and adult that threat- transported to UCJ by way
port at 11-13 Hwy 207 ened her.
of CCCF.
Spray, Heppner that a tree
-MCSO received a re-
is down across the road. Her
April 11: Morrow port on Mountain View
husband is headed down County Sheriff ’s Office Ln, Boardman that he has
with a power saw. Referred received a report at Bella two large Dobermans in his
to other agency.
Vista Estates on Paul Smith yard. Unable to locate.
-MCSO received a re- Rd, Boardman that there is
-MCSO received a re-
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- a young man screaming.
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri-
gon that a white Nissan flew
-MCSO received a re- gon that a red Ford Ranger
by towards Tenth.
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri- went down towards Tenth
-MCSO received a re- gon that there is a brown slowly and then sped to-
port at SE Ninth St/SE cattle dog and long-haired wards Second St and turned
Idaho Ave, Irrigon that a ve- hunting dog running around right.
hicle is playing loud music. in the area. Deputy re-
-MCSO received a re-
-MCSO received a re- sponded. Dogs went back port at Heppner Main Street
port on Depot Ln, Irrigon to their residence.
Park on N Main St, Hep-
tat a 62-year-old female has
-MCSO received a re- pner that there was a male
chest pain. Unable to stand port on Washington Ln, tying rope to the trees in the
up. Assisted.
Irrigon that the neighbor’s park and walking on it. She
dog was in her pasture thought it was odd.
WATER BILLING
-Continued from PAGE ONE
if the city was trying to put
him out of business.
“My goal is not to put
you out of business,” said
City Manager Kraig Cuts-
forth pointing out that in
addition to the inoperable
vehicles on the property,
there are also vehicles re-
lated to Brannon’s repair
business parked on the
street for months in viola-
tion of city codes. “I did not
make this code,” Cutsforth
said, emphasizing he was
simply doing his job in
enforcing the ordinances.
Cutsforth said there is actu-
ally a city code prohibiting
the parking of vehicles on
downtown city streets for
longer than two hours, but
that ordinance is not being
enforced.
Brannon believed the
whole thing could have
been handled better, telling
the council the city manager
could have come and talked
to him first before sending
out the threatening letter.
He also pointed out that the
city itself may be in viola-
tion of its own ordinance.
The city has shops on both
Gale and Willow streets
where he thought vehicles
were being worked on, and
those shops are located
within the downtown zone
supposedly not allowing re-
pair businesses. “That may
be,” Cutsforth responded.
“I just think this could have
been handled better,” Bran-
non said.
The zoning law cit-
ed by the city in its letter
to Brannon applies to the
“Downtown District” of
Heppner on the west side
of Willow Creek. Permit-
ted businesses in this zone
include eating and drinking
establishments, entertain-
ment, hotel, motel, meeting
halls, offices and profes-
sional services, nursery
and repair and maintenance
establishments, (except for
auto, truck, tractor and farm
implement repair business-
es). The fine for operating a
prohibited business is $425
per day.
Neighbor offers to
clean up burned out house
In other business the
council discussed the
burned-out house on Lin-
den Way. The city is having
difficulty with the owner
of the house being able to
clean up the burned wreck-
age and may have to go
in and do the cleanup at
taxpayer expense. If the
city does the cleanup, es-
timated to be a minimum
of $18,000, it would then
bill the landowner. If the
landowner does not pay
the bill the city could place
a legal lien for the cleanup
amount on the property. If
still not paid the city could
foreclose take the property
and sell the bare lot. With
lot prices in Heppner it is
unlikely the city would be
able to recover both the
cleanup costs and the legal
fees of the lien, foreclosure
and sale.
Neighbor Jay Keithley
said he is interested in the
property and would consid-
er doing the cleanup work
in exchange for ownership
of the lot. He said however
that because of the large
expense of the cleanup he
would not pay “one dime”
for the property. He wanted
to know at what point the
city would place a lien on
the property. City Attorney
Bill Kuhn told Keithley to
contact the property owner
about trading cleanup for
ownership at this time.
The city gave the property
owner until July 25 to clean
up the burned-up debris or
the city would move in and
do it.
Council talks ‘jake
brakes’
In other business the
council discussed citizen
complaints about the use of
jake brakes by trucks in the
city. Jake brakes are used by
trucks but can, if unmuffled,
make a loud disturbing
noise. The city has a class
A violation on the books
with a maximum of $1,000
fine for use of unmuffled
jake brakes in the city lim-
its, and there is also a state
law against usage. City
Attorney Kuhn said the city
should first ask Oregon De-
partment of Transportation
to put up signs at the edge
of town prohibiting the use
of the brakes, and then if the
problem persists have the
sheriff start issuing tickets.
WILLOW CREEK DAM
-Continued from PAGE ONE
from the dam are, of course,
not regulated. When high
flows occur, the Corp is able
to cut back on the outflow
from Willow Creek to al-
low the large flow from the
unregulated Hinton Creek
take up more capacity. Of-
ficials said at two occasions
this spring outflow from
the dam was completely
stopped to accommodate
the increased water down-
stream. Officials reminded
the crowd of 31 people in
attendance that the main
purpose of the dam is flood
control with the secondary
purposes being recreation
and irrigation.
With the strong flows
downstream, some resi-
dents were at the meeting
to complain about bank ero-
sion along the creek when
more water is released from
the dam. One resident said
her property experiences
lots of erosion and she has
tried different solutions
to no avail. “I don’t have
huge rip rap rocks or the
equipment to put it in to
save my banks,” she said
in asking if there was help
available. “I lose two inches
every time there is a water
incident,” she said of the
bank erosion. She said it
has gotten so bad she has
had to remove trees whose
roots were undermined that
used to hold the dirt on the
bank. Another person says
the garage in her backyard
is falling into the creek be-
cause of the erosion. Corps
officials said it was not part
of their mission to monitor
or regulate erosion in Wil-
low Creek below the dam.
Dam Safety and main-
tenance
Overall safety of the
dam structure was also
discussed, and officials said
there are no problems with
the safety of the dam. There
are periodic inspections and
there are no problems. In
February and March of this
year a drilling crew came in
and drilled into the struc-
ture taking core samples
for study. Concrete experts
then examined the samples
to see the condition of the
cement. The dam is a roller
compacted concrete struc-
ture constructed in 1983
and was the first of its kind
built in the United States.
When asked if acidic
water was having an effect
on the concrete, experts said
there has been some loss of
calcification of the concrete
but there has actually been a
“tightening” of the concrete
over the years making the
structure more watertight.
There is less water seeping
through now, “which is a
good thing,” they said.
Vegetation growing on
the face of the dam has al-
ways been a problem. In the
past the Corps hired people
to rappel down the face
and remove the vegetation.
Recently, however, a herd
of goats has been brought
in which do a good job of
climbing the face of the
dam eating the vegetation.
Corps officials say they
expect to bring back the
goats for another cleaning
in the future.
-MCSO received a re-
port that RP’s fiancé went
hiking/scouting the area
and she has not heard from
him Advises it would be
within a 50-mile radius of
Heppner. Last heard from
him at 1530 when he was
supposed to be on his way
back to Kennewick and had
confirmed dinner plans.
Does have his phone with
him however it is going
straight to voicemail.
-MCSO received a re-
port at I 82/I 84, Hermiston
that a semi flipped over, not
blocking.
-MCSO received a
report that Jaden Wayne
Orr was lodged at UCJ on
MCSO P&P detainer. No
bail.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Heppner Shell Sta-
tion, N Main St, Heppner
that there is a vehicle with
the trunk open at the station.
the end of RP’s driveway,
on the street with park lights
on.
-MCSO received a re-
port on I 84 W, Boardman
that a white International
truck has a flat tire and not
pulling over, about 70-75
mph. Referred to other
agency.
-MCSO received a re-
port on NE Main Ave, Ir-
rigon that she had a young
adult black lab follow from
the area of post office and
then home. Dog is in her
back yard. MCSO took the
dog to pet rescue.
-MCSO received a re-
port on NE Center St, Hep-
pner that subject grabbed
his daughter by the arm
at the park and then was
walking by the house later
and told her to shut up. Jon
David Hanna was arrested
by MCSO for harassment
and sex abuse, lodged at
UCJ on bail of $7,500.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Loves Travel Stop
on Tower Rd, Boardman
that a green Kenworth with
a trailer backed into another
vehicle.
-MCSO received a re-
port on NE Seventh St,
Irrigon that there is a lot
of yelling across the street,
throwing of items. RP
couldn’t hear what they
were yelling about but they
have gone inside now.
-MCSO received a
report at Heppner High
School on NW Morgan St,
Heppner that a male subject
is locked out of his vehicle
at the Heppner baseball
fields.
-MCSO received a re-
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri-
gon that a red Ford Focus
was playing music loudly.
Deputy responded and lo-
cated vehicle. Observed no
music playing at this time.
-MCSO received a re-
port of assault at Irrigon
Shell Station on E Hwy
730, Irrigon. RP advises her
ex-boyfriend.
-MCSO received a re-
port on SE Utah Ave, Ir-
rigon that a gold Cadillac
has speeding up and down
SE Utah. Unable to locate.
April 13: Morrow
County Sheriff ’s Office
received a report on SE
Thomas Ave, Irrigon that a
white vehicle is parked at
-Continued on PAGE SEVEN