OTPR arena dirt restoration
project completed
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 138
NO. 32 6 Pages
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Willows planted to stabilize
creek bank
Erosion a concern
Miller and Sons Excavating levels the new dirt in the arena. -Photo by David Sykes.
Thanks to the Howard
and Beth Bryant Founda-
tion and longtime Upper
Rhea Creek rancher, Melvin
Harnett, the Oregon Trail
Pro Rodeo Committee has
finally returned the arena
dirt to its award-winning
condition. The 2011 flood
of the Morrow County
Fairgrounds washed away
the top layer of dirt that
had been hauled into the
OTPR arena by the volun-
teer OTPR Committee and
supportive Morrow County
residents and businesses.
Replacing that lost dirt
began this time last year.
Above: Example of high water and erosion problems along Willow Creek
Dirt was trucked into the
Below: Jared Huddleston and Trent Gianella of SWCD plant willow stakes to stabilize the
fairgrounds to initiate the
creek bank. -Contributed photos.
restoration in both the Dick
and Virginia Wilkinson
indoor arena (which still
By David Sykes
The Morrow Soil and
Water Conservation District
(SWCD) recently planted
willow stakes along the
banks of Willow Creek near
the Morgan Street bridge,
in an effort to stabilize soil
erosion which is becoming
a concern for those living
along the creek.
Terry Denton lives on
the creek and has worried
for some time what she sees
happening to her back yard.
At a recent community
meeting featuring officials
from the Army Corp of
Engineers Denton raised
the problem of soil erosion
when the corps opens the
dam gates and lets wa-
ter rush down the creek.
She said the rush of water
is damaging not only the
property where she lives but
others along Willow Creek.
Following the Corps
meeting Denton met with
Kevin Payne, District Man-
ager and Natural Resource
Specialist with the SWCD
and talked about how to
begin fixing the problem.
Subsequently a crew was
needs to be completed) and
the OTPR outdoor arena.
It took seven years, but
Melvin Harnett’s dirt was
finally loaded into Miller
and Sons and Silver Creek
trucks to be hauled into
Heppner.
With the Howard and
Beth Bryant Foundation’s
support, the dirt was loaded,
trucked, spread and leveled.
All of the funds and hard
work to restore condition in
both of the arenas has been
donated by Morrow County
individuals and businesses
who support the equine
and livestock heritage that
runs deep in our county.
No county tax dollars were
used.
The arena is being
conditioned, worked and
watered to be ready for
the upcoming 4-H Horse
Show, OTPR open rodeo,
the one of a kind Morrow
County resident rodeo and
the OTPR 1 st Annual Jan-
ice Davis Healy Memorial
barrel race. “We are hopeful
that this facility will be used
in the future by individuals
or organizations that need
an arena of this caliber for
equine/livestock functions.
The OTPR Committee
encourages anyone who
loves horses and/or equine
sports to take advantage of
this wonderful facility all
year round,” said an OTPR
spokesperson.
The Morrow County
Fair and Rodeo will run
August 14-18.
Morrow County Fair starts
next week
"t reasure C hest oF
M orrow C ounty ' s B est "
at the M orrow C ounty F air
2019
sent into the area and wil-
low stakes planted in an
effort to stabilize the banks.
The crew planted between
150 and 200 stakes.
Denton says over the
past several years the ero-
sion has taken out railroad
ties and rip rap along the
creek bank and undermined
trees to the point they have
had to be taken out. She also
said the city of Heppner has
storage return drains along
the creek that could be
damaged if the stream flow
causes more erosion. Den-
ton is concerned enough
that she and others have
considered rafting down the
creek with video cameras to
document the extent of the The Morrow County Fair and Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo is scheduled for next week, Aug. 14-18,
damage in an effort to get with exhibits opening to the public Aug. 14. See more details on special events and attractions
in this week’s special fair insert in the G-T.
something done about it.
M orrow C ounty F air &
o regon t rail P ro r odeo
a ugust 14-18, 2019
Olaf visits the pool
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN ST
LEXINGTON, OR 97839, CONTACT: JUSTIN BAILEY
541-989-8221
Olaf visited the Willow Creek Waterpark on August 1. The
day proved to be the biggest attendance day the park has had.
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