Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 25, 2019 -- THREE
~ Letters to the Editor ~
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Vote no on Beard recall
To the editor:
Ballots have gone out
to Lexington residents to
vote for or against the recall
against Lexington town
councilmember Bill Beard.
I would like to encourage
everyone to return their
ballots with a no vote.
I have been a member
of the town council with
Mr. Beard for a couple
years now and he has al-
ways done his job for the
town in a professional and
fair manner. Prior to the be-
ginning of 2019 the council
members would come to
the meetings, handle their
business, pay the bills and
try to do what is best for
the town. They were able
to come to agreement on
most issues to come be-
fore the council and if not,
could have a discussion that
would allow them to come
to an agreement or a com-
promise. They were very
careful with town funds and
made sure everyone on the
council was aware of all
financial issues, including
having access to billing and
accounting software and
banking information.
A new mayor was vot-
ed in as a write-in on the
ballot in the last election
and things have been in an
uproar since then. It appears
her agenda is to divide the
council and do what she
wants to do, with or without
their approval. Before she
joined the council law en-
forcement was not needed
during the meetings and
most of the audience voiced
their opinions in a civil
manner.
She has changed locks
on the town hall twice (that
we are aware of) and refuses
to allow any councilmem-
ber access to the office or
information. In previous
years, a councilmember
was allowed to meet with
town employees and go
over any information they
deemed necessary to have
a full understanding of the
town and its finances. A few
months ago when the town
purchased new billing soft-
ware, I asked to be trained
on it just in case our town
recorder was unable to per-
form the job for any reason.
(Previously a councilmem-
ber was trained to fill in if it
became necessary.) Being a
small town it is difficult to
have anyone cross-trained
to handle office functions
if it is needed. She refused
the request.
Now the town recorder
quit with no notice and
there is no one trained to
handle any of the busi-
ness functions. A temporary
person was hired to fill in
for two hours a day but is
also not trained. The town
recorder is also the only
person that can be the town
election official, so there is
now not one of those either.
A recall petition has been
filed against the mayor and
signatures have been ver-
ified but she has not been
officially notified since the
town recorder is the only
person that can perform that
function. In my opinion,
the temp should be able to
perform any function the
town recorder could and
the first order of business
should be the notification
letter being sent.
In closing, I would just
like to stress that the prob-
lems that have been hap-
pening in Lexington can
not be all dropped at Bill
Beard’s door. Why was he
able to handle business with
no issues prior to Mayor
Kemp joining the council?
Maybe the problem is not
Mr. Beard.
Please remember to
mark your ballot and return
it to the county clerk before
October 1. Postmarks do
not count; ballots must be
delivered before 8 p.m. on
election day.
Sincerely,
Bobbi Gordon
Lexington
Heppner Homecoming October 4th
Pre-Order your
Corsages & Boutonnieres
Call Merry at The Country Rose
541-676-9426
Wedding Registry Table
Makenzie Correa
&
Brandon Landwehr
October 26th
217 North Main St.,
Heppner, OR
Phone 676-9158
Floral 676-9426
Response to lies printed
To the editor:
My name is Eddie
Dickenson and this is in
response to Bill Beard’s let-
ter to the editor. I don’t nor-
mally respond to newspaper
articles but when someone
prints lies about you then
you need to tell the truth
about all that has happened.
Mr. Beard said I printed he
shut the town down single
handed. No Bill, that is
not what was said. What
was said was because you
failed to show up to a bud-
get meeting there were not
enough council members to
have a legal meeting. Since
no meeting could be held
the State of Oregon froze
all the towns assets until a
budget was passed. So, the
town was shut down. You
have been told this several
times but you want to point
the finger at the mayor. I
believe your words were,
the Mayor did not call me
to remind me. Once more,
it’s someone else to blame. I
was taught as a child to own
up to my mistakes. I guess
you were not.
You said you want to
know what you ordered me
to do that was illegal and
unethical. You asked for it
so I will let everyone know.
1. Ordering me to turn
water back on for a cus-
tomer that at the time of
shut off was 75 days late
on his bill. According to
the lawyers and three of the
council members you have
no authority to give such an
order. Since the customer is
your friend that makes it an
ethics issue.
2. Telling me you set
up a payment plan for this
person. They paid the turn
on fee and that is all. We
have received no payment
or payment plan. Where is
it Bill?
3. Once again, you have
no authority to set up a
payment plan for anyone.
If you think you can then
show me.
You stated that the
mayor told me I don’t need
a supervisor. That is another
lie. The mayor has always
said from day one that all
the council is my boss. You
really need to get your facts
straight.
As to the corruption
of your recall who are you
calling corrupt? Bobbi
Childers, the State of Or-
egon Elections Division or
me. Anyone of these could
land you in a lawsuit. Both
parties were involved every
step of the way to ensure
accuracy. Also, the recall
for the mayor was turned in
on the same day but had to
be finished before it could
be accepted. Is that corrupt
also?
You are right about one
thing. The fighting in the
meetings can also be laid at
your doorstep. I remember
when the mayor was elected
you told me you would fight
her every step of the way.
Congratulations for doing
what you said you would.
But fighting someone no
matter what they want to
do is not looking out for
the people of Lexington,
just looking out for your
own self interests. Since
you got the mayor not to
vote (which the lawyers
say is not legal. ) and then
voted she can’t sign checks
(also not legal) you act as if
you are the only person on
the council and can vote
anything you want with
no regard for the people of
Lexington. Voting Curtis
Thompson on the council
was perfect for you because
anything brought before the
council you can vote down.
Does the mayor scare you
that badly or is it because
it’s a woman?
The one thing that real-
ly shows Mr. Beard’s true
self was when employee
compensation was brought
up. Bill’s response was, “I
have to say no on that and I
am firm on that.” When ask
why he replied, “because
the mayor did not tell us
she was shutting the town
down.” Now what that has
to do with the issue at hand
no one knows.
I want to thank the peo-
ple of Lexington for the
time you took to read this
response to stupidity. Mr.
Beard’s letter is an attempt
to look innocent and that I
am a disgruntled employ-
ee. Anyone going to the
meetings and listening for
any time at all will see Mr.
Beard for who he really is,
a bully with a God complex
who now is concerned his
kingdom may end. I have
video of the meetings show-
ing Mr. Beard threatening
me and the former town
recorder as well as others if
you don’t believe it.
Thanks for your time.
Recall Bill Beard.
Eddie Dickenson
Lexington
Heppner schedules
homecoming
Heppner High School
homecoming will be held
Friday, Oct. 4. The dance
is scheduled from 9 p.m.
to midnight at the HJSHS
Café/Stage, beginning im-
mediately following the
football game.
Homecoming week
activities include hallway
decorating Friday, Sept. 27,
Noise Para on Wednesday,
Oct. 2 and the bonfire on
Thursday, Oct. 3.
HEPPNER ELKS 358
"WHERE FRIENDS MEET"
Contact Morrow County Sheriff's Office for
Information on Open Burning.
Working together
helps ensure success
By Greg Smith
All entrepreneurs and
business owners need to
have a solid team in place
working toward the same
goal.
There are many hands
which can help a business
be successful. This may
include a spouse or partner,
suppliers, a lender, accoun-
tant, attorney, employees
or even a webmaster. Lo-
cal government, econom-
ic development, business
advisers or other agencies
are often behind the scenes
team members and can play
vital roles.
Like any other type
of relationship there is an
inner circle which has the
most direct influence.
Carefully deciding ex-
actly who to include in your
inner circle and making
sure those closest to you are
on the same page are critical
first steps. This may seem
obvious, but there are many
married couples or partners
who find out one of them
is not supportive of the
decision to start a business
or are hesitant to expand,
pursue financing, resent the
unforeseen commitment of
time or the fact regular pay
checks can no longer be
counted on. Managers may
not fully understand what
is expected and employees
are sent mixed messages.
Not only does this cause
strife, but creative energy
and effectiveness are com-
promised and may lead to
the ultimate demise of a
business.
An effective team re-
quires good leadership. The
person at the helm must
demonstrate first and fore-
most honest and integrity.
Being a clear communi-
cator and excellent listen-
er who inspires others by
demonstrating commitment
and passion is key. Delegat-
ing and empowering others
helps ignite passion in those
around them and encourag-
es creativity and innovation.
After receiving information
and input from others, the
leader should have sound
decision-making abilities
and there must be account-
Greg Smith
ability when things do not
go as planned. Identifying
strengths and weaknesses
or even making the tough
decision to replace an in-
effective or uncooperative
team member who causes
discord is essential.
Working with a team
is sometimes difficult for
those with an entrepre-
neurial mindset. Entrepre-
neurs are often willing to
take risks others do not
feel comfortable with and
make decisions quickly.
Consulting others with dif-
ferent areas of expertise and
experience often slows the
process down but allows for
brainstorming and collabo-
ration. Having more than
one person to solve prob-
lems and complete complex
tasks increases productivi-
ty, creativity and chances
for continued success.
In addition to account-
ability, the willingness
to “share the win” is an
important part of being a
strong team leader. People
who feel appreciated and
see their ideas implemented
are apt to continue making
positive and meaningful
contributions.
The common acronym,
“T.E.A.M.” (Together ev-
eryone achieves more) is
very accurate.
Greg Smith is the di-
rector of the EOU Small
Business Development
Center and can be reached
by calling 541-962-1532.
The office is located at 1607
Gekeler Lane in La Grande
with office hours from 8:30
a.m. – 5 p.m. You may also
email eousbdc@gmail.com
to schedule a one-on-one,
free, confidential business
advising session.
A View from the Green
Over the Tee Cup
Eleven Willow Creek
Country Club ladies played
in their weekly playday on
September 17 in the windy
and cold weather.
Low gross of the field
went to Nancy Propheter.
Low net winner was Sharon
Harrison. Least putts of the
field went to Tiffany Clem-
ent and Pat Dougherty.
Flight A low gross was
Karen Thompson. Nancy
Propheter had the longest
drive.
Flight B low gross win-
ner was Judy Harris and
Betty Burns got low net.
Karen Haguewood got the
least putts as well as the
long drive.
Kathy Martin took low
gross on flight C. Low net
went to Bunnie Lindsay.
Least putts and long drive
both went to Lorrene Mont-
gomery.
Longest putt winner
was Tiffany Clement.
541-676-9181 142 N MAIN ST
Reversing
Diabetes
Seminar
HUNTER'S
NIGHT
Thursday,
September 26th
THE BURNING BAN
HAS BEEN LIFTED
FOR THE CITY OF
LEXINGTON
Guest Editorial
Boneless Beef Ribs
Cheesy Potatoes
Cole Slaw
Garlic Bread
$450 in Raffle Prizes
Drawing for Browning X-bolt
.280 rifle sponsored by Pet tyjohn’s
Dinner at 6:30pm
Lodge at 8:00pm
Members Only
6 Week Workshop
October 2 - November 6
Wednesday Evenings 6:00 pm
Heppner SDA Church
Workbooks are $45 per person/$60 couple
Call to register (541) 561-9132
1/2 OFF
WORKBOOKS WITH
THIS COUPON