HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 138
NO. 33 6 Pages
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
2019 Morrow County Fair
begins today
Governor Brown announces
Morrow County Justice Court
vacancy
Governor Kate Brown
has announced that she
is accepting applications
for a judicial vacancy on
the Morrow County Jus-
tice Court created by the
planned retirement of Judge
Annetta Spicer. According
a press release, “The Gov-
ernor thanked Judge Spicer
for her dedicated judicial
service and announced that
she will fill the position
by appointment. Judge
Spicer’s retirement takes
effect December 31, 2019.”
Interested applicants
should mail or deliver their
merit. She encourages ap-
plications from individuals
with a wide variety of back-
grounds and experiences.”
It says ORS 51.240 sets
forth the qualifications for
office. The ORS stipulates
residency requirements as
well as training and back-
ground requirements.
To receive answers to
questions about the ap-
pointment process, or to
request an interest form,
contact Shevaun Gutridge
at 503-378-6246 or she-
vaun.gutridge@oregon.
gov.
Several cleanup issues on way
to resolution
A small pile of debris is all that is left of the burned-out house on Linden Way. -Photo by David
Sykes.
By David Sykes
Two property cleanups
the city of Heppner has
been wrestling with the
past several months appear
on the way to resolution,
the Heppner City Council
was told Monday night. A
burned-out house on Lin-
den Way and an auto repair
business downtown are in
the process of cleaning up.
The house on Linden
Way burned down April
2, however the burned-out
shell was up until recently
and not being removed by
Above: Firefighter Terry Johnsen sets up the Umatilla Naitonal Forest display at the Mor-
the property owner. The
row County Fair.
city had considered clean-
Below: Exhibitors wait to check in their fair entries. -Photos by Giselle Moses.
ing up the property and
then placing a legal lien on
the property for the cost of
the cleanup. However, at
an early council meeting,
neighbor Jay Keithley, who
had complained several
times about the smell and
danger of the next-door
burned-out structure, of-
fered to take care of the
cleanup in exchange for
ownership of the property.
That deal between him
and property owner Me-
gan Futter was apparently
made and Keithley imme-
diately began cleaning up.
By Tuesday it was nearly
done. Monday night City
Manager Kraig Cutsforth
told the council that things
worked out pretty well and
the only cost to the city was
some minimal attorney’s
fees. He said an asbestos
study that might have been
required was waived by
the Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality, which
helped reduce the cleanup
cost.
The city has also been
contending
with a cleanup
The fire camp at the OHV Park includes tents and other facilities for the personnel fighting
at a local auto repair busi-
the HK Complex fire.
ness. The city had notified
Brannon Auto Repair that
it needed to clean up its
property on 126 E. May
Firefighters make progress on
HK Complex fire
By Bobbi Gordon
Firefighters are making
progress on the HK Com-
plex fire, 15 miles north of
Monument on the Heppner
Ranger District, due to
rainfall and cooler tempera-
tures over the weekend. The
fire, started by lightning, is
2,707 acres in size and is
about 78 percent contained.
Nine fires in the complex
are 100 percent contained.
A fire camp has been set
up at the Morrow County
OHV Park and many agen-
completed application
forms to Misha Isaak, Gen-
eral Counsel, Office of the
Governor, 900 Court Street
NE, Suite 254, Salem, OR
97301-4047. Forms must
be received by 5 p.m. on
Wednesday, August 28,
2019. Forms emailed by
5 p.m. on the closing date
will be considered timely
so long as original signed
forms postmarked by the
closing date are later re-
ceived.
The release says, “Gov-
ernor Kate Brown fills ju-
dicial vacancies based on
cies are working together to
get the fires contained. The
press release for August
13 states approximately
200 personnel have been
removed from the incident
and Northwest Incident
Management Team Six will
be transferring command of
the HK Complex to a local
Type Four team August 14.
There has been mini-
mal fire behavior and tem-
peratures are forecasted
to be in the 70s to low
80s. Public use restrictions
pertaining to recreational
chainsaw use, smoking
and off-road travel have
been lifted on the Umatilla
National Forest.
A portion of the 21
Road remains closed to
allow for fire traffic. With
many resources leaving the
fire camp, many vehicles
and equipment are expected
to be on the roads. Drivers
are asked to use caution and
obey posted speed limits.
St. or would be subject to
fines. The city had, how-
ever, at the same time sent
Brannon a letter saying the
business was in violation
of a city zoning ordinance.
That violation could subject
the business to an additional
fine of $435 per day.
Owner Marty Brannon
said he knew the property
needed to be cleaned up
and he immediately started
that effort, however he took
exception the zoning viola-
tion threat, pointing out that
his business has been used
for many years by various
auto repair businesses and
should therefore be grand-
fathered in.
Monday night Heppner
resident Katherine Melby
Turner told the council she
had researched the forma-
tion of what is called the
“Downtown Zone” that
prohibits auto repair busi-
nesses. She read a three-
page statement to the coun-
cil which in part said she
found in the minutes of an
August 4, 2003 planning
commission meeting when
the stricter Downtown De-
velopment code was adopt-
ed, that all the current busi-
nesses are grandfathered in
and therefore allowed in the
new zone. Across the street
from Brannon’s business is
a tire store which also does
front end alignments and
brake work. That business,
however, was not sent a
letter from the city for zone
violations.
Turner told the council
the way the city handled
the zoning violation and the
threat of fines “got many of
us pretty riled up.” Turner
also asked some questions
she said many in the com-
munity were talking about:
“It actually makes some of
our citizens wonder about
collusion between Kraig
Cutsforth, city manager,
and his sister Kim Cuts-
forth, Chairperson of the
Howard and Beth Bryant
trust which is contributing
to the renovation of the Gil-
liam and Bisbee Building.
I have heard the following
questions come up in con-
versation:
1. Are they trying to
put Marty out of business
because they need more
parking or a truck delivery
point for the new hotel?
2. Are they afraid it
won’t look good to have
an auto repair facility right
outside the new hotel?
3. If they needed park-
ing, they should have had
a plan before they started
development.
4. Do they want that
land to expand the entrance
or area of the new hotel?
5. Does the city man-
ager go to the council to
discuss potential code vio-
lations or does he send the
certified letters out without
the Council knowing about
anything this serious which
could put people out of
business?
All this speculation and
guessing hopefully would
never have occurred if this
situation had been handled
in a more professional and
unemotional way,” she told
the council in her statement.
Following the council
meeting Kraig Cutsforth
told the Gazette-Times the
clean up enforcement had
nothing to do with his sis-
ter and the Howard Bryant
Trust. He pointed out that
the new hotel project next
door to the auto repair busi-
ness is owned by a separate
entity, not the trust. A sep-
arate legal entity has been
set up to take ownership of
-See CLEANUP/PAGE
THREE
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN ST
LEXINGTON, OR 97839, CONTACT: JUSTIN BAILEY
541-989-8221
Offers vary by model. *Rebate offers valid on select 2015-2019 new and unregistered Polaris ® RZR ® , RANGER ® ,
Sportsman ® , GENERAL ® , and ACE ® models purchased between 7/24/19 and 9/30/19 and financing offers valid on select
2015-2020 new and unregistered models purchased between 7/24/2019 and 9/30/2019. **Rates as low as 3.99% APR
for 36 months. Examples of monthly payments required over a 36-month term at a 3.99% APR rate: $29.52 per $1,000
financed; and with a 60-month term at a 6.99% APR rate: $19.80 per $1,000 financed. An example of a monthly
payment with $0 down, no rebate, an APR of 3.99% APR for 36 months at an MSRP of $12,699 is $374.87/mo. total cost
of borrowing of $796.27 with a total obligation of $13,495.27. Down payment may be required. Other financing offers
may be available. See your local dealer for details. Minimum Amount Financed $1,500; Maximum Amount Financed
$50,000. Other qualifications and restrictions may apply. Financing promotions void where prohibited. Tax, title, license,
and registration are separate and may not be financed. Promotion may be modified or discontinued without notice at
any time in Polaris' sole discretion. WARNING: Polaris ® off-road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not
intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver's license to operate. Passengers, if
permitted, must be at least 12 years old. All riders should always wear helmets, eye protection, and protective clothing.
Always use seat belts and cab nets or doors (as equipped). Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds
and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don't mix. All riders should take a safety training course. Call 800-342-3764
for additional information. Check local laws before riding on trails. © 2019 Polaris Industries Inc.