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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 2019)
Volunteers replace flooring on schoolhouse HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 138 NO. 39 6 Pages Wednesday, September 25, 2019 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Annual bike ride takes place The 8 th annual Blue Mountain Century Sce- nic Bikeway ride started last Saturday in Ukiah and ended in Heppner with a barbecue dinner. On Sun- day morning the riders rode back to Ukiah. The difficult ride covers 108 miles. The riders reported great weather, great food and great people. Rain was anticipated Sunday but was warm and sunny on the ride back to Ukiah where they ended the day with ice cream at Rhodes Supply. The ride is organized by the Heppner Chamber and is held the third week- end of September each year. The chamber is responsible for transporting riders back Butch Laughlin (left) and Archie Ball, both Heppner, worked to replace the flooring on the to where they started when porch of the Democrat Gulch Schoolhouse in the Heppner City Park on Thursday. (Not pic- they head home. tured is Ron Bowman, who also helped with the project.) Many donations and contributions were made to the original restoration project by area residents. Watch out for wildlife this fall New license plate raises funds to help wildlife migration Riders stopped for a photo in Heppner. -Photo by David Sykes. Lexington recall ballots go out Mayor’s recall effort stalls over employee job title By David Sykes Ballots have gone out in the recall against Lexing- ton town councilmember Bill Beard. County Clerk Bobbi Childers says she mailed out 191 ballots with- in the Lexington town lim- its, and they are due back by Oct. 1. Childers said as of Tuesday there were 13 ballots returned. To gauge possible turnout, about 68 percent of Lexington voters returned their ballots in last year’s November general election. The recall was initiated by town maintenance man Eddie Dickenson who says Beard, among other things, failed to come to a budget meeting, causing the town to shut down, and also has caused a “hostile work place by threatening em- ployees if they argue with him.” Beard has denied these accusations; however, he was not able to have his response included on the ballot. Mayor recall stalled Another recall effort, this one against Mayor Marcia Kemp, has appar- ently stalled over a techni- cality on a title Kemp has assigned to a new town employee. According to state law the county clerk must first validate signatures on a recall petition (which has been done). From there notification is sent to the town’s election official, who in this case and accord- ing to the Lexington town charter, is also the town recorder. The recorder/elec- tion official then in turn notifies Kemp she is being recalled. After notification Kemp has five days to re- spond to the recall and tell the clerk whether she is go- ing to resign or for the clerk to schedule an election. Kemp has told the Heppner Gazette-Times she has no intention of resigning. The problem has arisen because the Lexington town recorder resigned several weeks ago, leaving the town not only without a recorder, but also without an election clerk. There- fore, there is no one at the city to receive the notice from the county clerk, and in turn deliver it to Kemp. Beard’s recall notice was Morrow County Sheriff’s Office Sergeants graduate Morrow County Sher- iff’s Office Communica- tions Sergeant Sarah Smith and Patrol Sergeant Todd Siex graduated from the Or- egon State Sheriffs’ Associ- ation Executive Command College in Bend on Sept. 13. The college consisted of a week long, 52-hour exec- utive level law enforcement training and networking. The class included 42 executive level sheriff’s of- fice employees from across the state representing 30 counties. The training cov- ered a wide range of topics including history of the office of sheriff, servant leadership, public relations, employee and personnel process, immigration, bud- geting and legal responsi- bilities. The office of sheriff is directly accountable to the citizens who elect him or her. The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office strives to have a well-trained staff of professionals to serve the public. delivered to him prior to the recorder’s resignation so his election was able to move forward. Kemp has pub- licly stated that she has not received notice of a recall. The problem was fur- ther complicated when a new employee was hired at the city to do book work. Kemp told the Ga- zette-Times that the new employee, Kevin McCabe, was hired as a town billing clerk, but not as a recorder. Therefore, she contends, the town still has no elec- tion officer and no one to deliver the recall notice to her. McCabe was hired on a temporary basis for 10 hours per week. However, an email correspondence sent by Kemp and obtained by the Gazette-Times seems to contradict McCabe’s job title as town clerk. He was hired by an email vote that was sent out by Kemp Sept. 12. The subject of the email clearly says: Temporary town recorder (see below). From: Marcia Kemp Date: Thu, Sep 12, 2019, 5:15 PM Subject: Temporary The Heppner Ga- zette-Times wants to see pictures of your trophy animals from this hunting season. Stop by to have your picture taken, drop off photos, mail them to PO Box 337 in Heppner, email them to editor@rapidserve.net or text cell phone photos to 541-980-6674. DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM Town Recorder The entire email reads: “Express services cannot meet our requirements at this time, I contacted Kevin McCabe and he does Quick Books, Payroll, already bonded and is available 10 hours a week to help us. At this point, everyone else I have contacted is not interested. If you would like me to offer Kevin this part time position, please let me know as soon as possible.” The council subsequently voted two in favor and two opposed to hiring McCabe. Kemp voted yes breaking the tie. County Clerk Childers says at this point she has done everything required of her under state law, and if she receives notice from Kemp will then schedule another special recall elec- tion. Kemp’s recall was in- stigated by Lexington resi- dent Will Lemmon who had turned in 40 valid signa- tures on a petition. Contact- ed Tuesday Lemmon said, “This is another example of how the mayor doesn’t follow the rules. This is why I went to the trouble of having a recall, because this is how she operates full time.” Late September marks the beginning of the mi- gration period for deer and elk, which must cross ma- jor highways as they head towards wintering grounds. Between 2007-2017, ODOT documented 12,540 animal-vehicle collisions, including deer and elk. The actual number of collisions is higher, as many are not reported if there is mini- mal damage or no human injuries. Collisions with deer and elk tend to peak in Oc- tober and November, when migration and breeding (the “rut”) puts wildlife on the move, making them more likely to cross roads. ODFW is asking Or- egonians to Watch out for Wildlife by being aware of the following: -The deer breeding sea- son typically lasts from late October to late November, increasing deer activity and the potential for deer to cross roads. -During the next few months there will be fewer daylight hours and visibility will be challenged by dark- ness and winter weather conditions. -Be attentive at all times, especially sunset to sunrise for any potential hazard on or near the high- way. -When driving in areas that have special signs indi- cating the possible presence of wildlife, please use extra caution. These signs are posted for a reason. -Be cautious in areas with dense vegetation along the road or while going around curves. Wildlife near the road may not be visible. -If you see one animal, stay alert for others nearby. -When wildlife are near or on the roadway, reduce your speed and stay in your lane. Many serious crashes are the result of drivers los- ing control as they swerve to avoid wildlife. -The same advice ap- plies for smaller wildlife like raccoons; try to stay in your lane and do not swerve for these animals. They are less dangerous to vehicles than big game animals; losing control of the vehicle is a larger concern. -Always wear your seat belt, even the slightest colli- sion could result in serious injuries. Highway 97 south of Bend is a hot spot for wild- life vehicle collisions as it runs through a histori- cal deer migration route. ODOT has worked with ODFW, the Rocky Moun- tain Elk Foundation, Ore- gon Hunters Association and others to build wildlife crossings that allow wild- life to safely cross over or under this busy highway. Currently there are two un- dercrossings near Sunriver that have reduced wildlife vehicle collisions by 90 percent since 2012. To the south, a third undercrossing is under construction north of Gilchrist and more are planned in central Oregon. Dedicated funds are critical for implementing projects to support safe wildlife migration. The non-profit Oregon Wild- life Foundation (OWF) is currently selling vouchers for a Watch for Wildlife -See WILDLIFE/PAGE SIX 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. 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