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
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