HEPPNER
G T
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azette
imes
VOL. 138
NO. 31 6 Pages
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Hedman remains in jail on
murder charge
Colby James Hedman
Colby James Hedman,
23, of Heppner, remains in
the Baker County Jail and
is being held on $1.1 mil-
lion bail, $1 million on the
Washington murder charges
and $100,000 for a variety
of charges in Baker County.
Both are full bail, meaning
Hedman would have to
post the full amount to be
released.
Hedman was arrested
in Baker City on July 8 and
is accused of killing and
dismembering Whitman
College employee, Kyle J.
Martz, 35. Court documents
state Hedman admitted to
police that he struck Martz
with an ax multiple times
before stealing his car and
fleeing to Oregon, where he
was arrested. No motive for
the killing was included in
the report.
Walla Walla police say
they responded to Martz’
home at 331 S. Fourth Ave.
on July 8 at about 6 p.m.
after his roommate reported
that he was missing. Their
home was in disarray with
blood on various surfaces
and a strong smell of bleach
in the air. There was also a
lock on the detached garage
that had not been there
before.
Officers found a shovel,
a hammer and an axe cov-
ered with apparent blood
lying in the yard between
the house and the garage.
They cut the lock and found
an open cooler covered with
a blanket. Inside the cooler,
they found “what appeared
to be dismembered human
remains. ”
Neighbors told police
they had seen Martz on
Sunday evening, then saw
an unknown man, later
identified as 23-year-old
Colby Hedman, on Mon-
day. They said the man
borrowed a shovel and an
axe and told them he need-
ed tools to do some work,
court documents say.
The neighbors reported
smoking marijuana with
Hedman around 1:30 p.m.
Monday, then saw him driv-
ing away in Martz’ truck
about an hour later.
Walla Walla detectives
pinged Hedman’s phone,
which placed him in eastern
Oregon. Martz’ truck was
discovered in Baker City,
court documents say.
Hedman allegedly stole
two other cars in the Baker
City area while attempting
to escape from Oregon au-
thorities. He was booked at
the Baker County Jail for
attempting to elude, reck-
less driving, hit-and-run,
criminal trespassing and
unlawful use of a motor
vehicle.
Walla Walla County
District Attorney’s Office
has started the process to
extradite Hedman to face
first-degree murder charges.
Walla Walla Prosecuting
Attorney Jim Nagel said the
City of Walla Walla won’t
be able to take custody of
Hedman until his case in
Oregon is finished.
Martz was a Whitman
graduate and international
student and scholar adviser
at the college. Police sus-
pect the two didn’t know
each other. Martz worked
at Whitman for seven years
and graduated with a gender
and German studies degree
in 2007.
Kyle J. Martz
Wolf pair and pups in Morrow
County
Four pups in the litter
This male and female pair are living between Ditch Creek and Tupper. The picture was taken
with a trail camera several weeks ago.
By David Sykes
A pair of breeding
wolves have taken up res-
idence in Morrow County,
the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
has confirmed. The pair
have four pups and accord-
ing to ODFW’s Heppner
District Biologist Steve
Cherry are located some-
where between Ditch Creek
and Tupper.
Cherry said both
wolves have collars howev-
er the male’s does not work.
ODFW was able to trap and
collar the female a couple
of weeks ago. He said the
wolves moved into the area
sometime this past winter.
They are the first official
wolf pair that ODFW has
documented reproduction
in Morrow County.
Mark Pratt announces
candidacy for Morrow County
Sheriff
Mark Pratt has an-
nounced he will be filing as
a candidate for the position
of Morrow County Sheriff
in the 2020 election. The
election will be held No-
vember 3, 2020.
Pratt said, “I am run-
ning for sheriff to provide a
new vision and direction for
the sheriff’s office, which
will provide improved ser-
vices. I will work on build-
ing partnerships in order
to be more effective, as I
firmly believe working in a
collaborative environment
is vital in order to provide
quality service. I also plan
on restructuring the current
staff, which would allow
24-hour patrol service and
improved customer ser-
vice.”
Pratt’s commitment to
public safety began when
he joined the Washing-
ton State Patrol Explorer
Program as a teen. This
program fostered his desire
to pursue a career in law en-
forcement. Pratt served as a
volunteer firefighter/EMT,
reserve police officer, dis-
patcher and deputy sheriff
in Washington state before
moving to Morrow County.
In 2000, Pratt began
working as a deputy sheriff
with the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office. In 2007,
he was promoted to the
rank of Sergeant. In 2016,
he accepted a Sergeant’s
position with the Boardman
Police Department, where
he continues to serve today.
Pratt currently possess-
es an executive level law
enforcement certification
from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Public Safety Stan-
dard and Training, which
is the highest certification
issued by DPSST.
Pratt has served or is
serving on Boardman City
Council (elected-past),
Morrow County School
Board (elected-past), Port
of Morrow budget commit-
Mark Pratt
tee (appointed-current) and
Umatilla Morrow Radio
and Data District (elect-
ed-current).
More information
about Mark Pratt and his
campaign can be found
on his website, https://
PrattForSheriff.com. The
site includes biographical
information about Pratt
and a calendar of upcom-
ing events, as well as his
positions on many of the
important issues affecting
Morrow County.
Enterprise Zone sees
increasing revenue
Will reach $10 million by 2028
By David Sykes
The Columbia River
Enterprise Zone (CREZ)
continues to be a success
story in Morrow County
and board members were
told last week that achieve-
ment is going to continue
into the future. A report on
expected future revenue
was presented by Manager
Greg Sweek, and it showed
income increasing from the
current year $3.5 million to
a peak of over $10 million
in 2028.
The CREZ’s money
comes from businesses who
have located or expanded
into the zone, located main-
ly at the Port of Morrow
near Boardman and are
payments made in lieu of
property taxes.
Although there are
many enterprise zones
located around the state,
CREZ is one of the most
successful. Over the years
a variety of business have
expanded or located in the
zone including a sawmill,
Lamb Weston and Tilla-
mook Cheese, however the
biggest success story has to
be VA Data. VA Data is a
subsidiary of Amazon and
handles the giant online
retailers’ construction and
operation of its data facil-
ities. The second biggest
contributor to CREZ is
Lamb Weston which has
greatly expanded its food
processing facility at the
Port of Morrow. However,
the projected $10 million
income for 2028 comes
overwhelmingly from Am-
azon and does not include
any additional data facili-
ties the company may build
here in the future.
Since its establishment
six years ago the CREZ has
taken in a total of almost
$11.7 million. That money
has been distributed around
the county in four catego-
Some of the large data facilities built by Amazon near Board-
man. The data facilities are the major financial contributors to
the Columbia River Enterprise Zone’s coffers now and going
into the future.
ries. Almost $6 million has
gone into communities to
stimulate housing develop-
ment, $2 million has gone
into education, $2.1 million
to public safety and over
$1.5 million for community
enhancement. At its July 19
meeting the CREZ board
held a long discussion on
how it may spend its money
in the future.
CREZ board chairman
Don Russell pointed out
that money taken in so far
has not gone directly to any
of the entities which make
up the enterprise zone. The
CREZ was established as an
intergovernmental agree-
ment between the Port of
Morrow, City of Boardman
and Morrow County. Each
entity has two representa-
tives and two alternative
board members who then
negotiate with businesses,
make policy decisions and
decide where the money
will be spent. There is also
a paid administrator who
takes care of the day to
day operations. Currently
the board is made up of
Commissioner Jerry Healy
and Executive Director
Ryan Neal from the Port
of Morrow, Mayor Sandy
Toms and City Manager
Karen Pettigrew from the
city of Boardman and Com-
missioners Melissa Lindsay
and Don Russell from Mor-
row County.
“ We h a v e u s u a l l y
looked at the pot (of mon-
ey) and divided it up loose-
ly based on population,
education, public safety,
economic development and
housing,” Russell said. He
said none of the entities,
(Boardman, Port and coun-
ty) has taken any money
directly. Russell said these
entities are directly impact-
ed by the new businesses lo-
cating in the enterprise zone
and need improvements
to their infrastructure. He
pointed to Olsen Road near
Boardman where VA Data
is locating its latest server
facility. “It is probably time
for sponsoring entities to
start taking some dollars
out because of the impact,”
Russell told the board. Rus-
sell also suggested that
perhaps the CREZ might
want to consider “stabiliz-
ing the revenue stream” to
three of the groups which
have received funds in the
past. The Willow Creek
Valley Economic Develop-
ment Group (WCVEDG),
the Boardman Economic
Development Group and
the city of Irrigon have re-
ceived funds in the past for
housing development and
distribution of community
enhancement grants.
Irrigon City Manager
Aaron Palmquist, who at-
tended the meeting, said
he would like to see more
money going into infra-
-See ENTERPRISE ZONE/
PAGE THREE
District announces school
registration dates
The Morrow County
School District has an-
nounced the dates and times
for student registration for
the 2019-20 school year.
Heppner Elementary
registration will take place
August 12 and 13 from 8:30
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Heppner
Jr/Sr High School will hold
student registration August
12, 13, 20 and 21 from 9
a.m. to 2 p.m.
Irrigon school’s regis-
tration dates are August 12,
13 and 14. Boardman will
hold registrations August 7,
8, 12, 13 and 14. For more
information, please contact
your student’s school.
This information is also
available on the district
website: https://morrow.
k12.or.us/. The first day
of school for all MCSD
schools is Monday, August
26, 2019.
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN ST
LEXINGTON, OR 97839, CONTACT: JUSTIN BAILEY
541-989-8221
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