Gutierrez to run for re-election
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 138
NO. 40 6 Pages
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Was a ‘good year’, says county
agronomy agent
Wheat averaged 55 bushels per acre
Morrow County OSU Extension Agent Larry Lutcher demonstrates with a sponge how im-
portant it is for water to be absorbed into the soil for a good wheat crop. Lutcher was giving
a presentation about this year’s crop to the county commissioners last week.
By David Sykes
Morrow County Exten-
sion Agent Larry Lutcher
says this year’s wheat crop
was above average and
he attributed it to the ex-
tra moisture we received.
Luther said he knows last
year’s late snow made it
more difficult for livestock
operators, but it was a
“great thing” for the wheat
growers.
Lutcher says a rough
average for the county is
35 to 40 bushels per acre
and this year they produced
55. “The quality was good;
protein targets were good.
It was just a good year,”
he told the commissioners
during a presentation at
their meeting last week. He
also said that disease and
pest problems were minor
or “non-existent”. Now if
we just get a decent price,”
he added. Wheat prices are
currently down about a dol-
lar a bushel to $4.90 from
this same period last year.
Lutcher explained that
when the county gets above
average snow on its wheat
ground like it did this past
year, the melting water
Gayle Gutierrez, Mor-
row County Treasurer, has
announced she will run
for re-election in the 2020
election.
Gutierrez has worked
for Morrow County for
nearly 30 years. She be-
gan working in the public
works office in Lexington
in 1989. She also worked
in the tax, assessment and
finance departments prior to
being elected to the office of
treasurer in 1996.
“I have enjoyed my
work in county government
immensely and would like
to continue to do so. It is an
honor and privilege to serve
the citizens of this county,”
she told the Gazette-Times. Gayle Gutierrez
Heppner Community Bank
scheduled to close
Based on current eco-
nomic factors and shifting
banking landscape, Com-
munity Bank has decided to
consolidate the operations
of its Heppner branch with
the bank’s Hermiston loca-
tion. Effective January 10,
2020, the Heppner branch
of Community Bank at
127 N. Main Street, will
be closed permanently
and consolidated with the
Hermiston branch at 50 E.
Theater Lane.
“We appreciate the
trust and confidence the
Heppner community has
placed in us by utilizing
our banking services for
the past 10 years,” says
Community Bank pres-
ident Tom Moran. Bank
customers will not have to
perform any action during
this transition, unless they
have a safe deposit box
held at the Heppner branch
location. All other services
will continue uninterrupted.
Customers’ account num-
ber(s) will not change and
they may continue to use
debit/credit cards, online
banking, the mobile app,
mobile check deposit and to
write checks as usual.
Local Heppner branch
manager, Judi Hall, will
continue working at the
bank in Heppner, through
the closing date, where she
and her staff will be assist-
ing all current customers
with questions, safe depos-
it box closures/transfers
or account type changes
during the transition.
The official closing
will be at the end of regular
banking hours on Friday,
January 10, 2020, at 5 p.m.
seeps into the ground and,
along with rains, contrib-
utes to increased soil mois-
ture and a better crop. He
said the soil can store water
at two inches per foot and
for every inch of water add-
ed to the soil there is a yield
of five to seven bushels of
wheat. He also said wheat
plants can send their roots
down over six feet in search
of water. “The soil is like
a sponge, but some hold
more water that others,” he
added.
Lutcher also pointed
out that the “good stuff”
when it comes to soils,
“is on the top,” and he re-
minded people when doing
excavation work on any
type of crop land to always
remember to put the top
soil back on top when they
replace the soils. “The good
soil is the top five inches,”
he explained.
On other crops being
looked at or grown in the
county, Lutcher said yellow
pea is being considered as
an alternative. He said it
doesn’t need fertilizer, is
planted in the fall, harvest-
ed in the early summer and
is a new and exciting edible
crop.
Lutcher also talked
about the rush to produce
hemp. “People are jump-
ing in,” he said. “They
think they can make a lot
of money.” He said it’s the
Cannabidiol or CBD that
has people’s interest and the
reason growers are looking
at the hemp plant. CBD is
one of the active ingredients
of the marijuana plant and
the essential component
of medical marijuana. It is
derived directly from the
hemp plant which is a cous-
in of the marijuana plant. It
does not cause a “high” but
is reported to offer some
health benefits.
Luther says there are
some reports that expect
CBD to be a $22 billion
business in three years. It
is about $600 million now,
he says. He explained that
regular hemp has about .3
percent THC (the active
ingredient in marijuana)
and that it is hard to get the
THC out of hemp. Indus-
trial hemp plants have the
THC bred out of them.
Because of the high
interest in hemp and CBD
Lutcher says there are a lot
of unscrupulous dealers out
there right now and warns
people to “be conservative”
if they plan on getting into
the market. He said people
at Oregon State University
are working on promoting
CBD and want Oregon to
be the global market for the
product. “This is an infant
market right now and it is
going to be interesting to
watch,” he said.
Commissioner Jim
Doherty said he heard of
people that live downwind
from hemp crops report-
ing an overpowering smell
from the plants.
Large crowd attends Ione Education Foundation Dinner
A large crowd attended the annual Ione Education Foundation Dinner Saturday night enjoying prime rib and salmon dinner and then an auction. Over 118 items were auctioned off to raise
money for the foundation including an autographed photo of former University of Oregon Heisman quarterback Marcus Mariota (now with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans) proudly displayed
here by purchaser Jeri McElligott. The framed photo, along with some Oregon Ducks tickets and a gift card to the Duck Store, were donated by Art and Deniece Derbyshire of Hermiston,
longtime supporters of the Ione Foundation. -Photo by David Sykes.
Lexington mayor recall ballots
go to voters
By David Sykes
An effort to recall
Mayor Marcia Kemp of
Lexington will go to the
voters soon. County Clerk
Bobbi Childers told the
Gazette-Times Monday
that the ballots should be
printed and ready in a few
days and then will go out in
the mail and are due back
October 22.
Another vote to recall
Lexington Councilmem-
ber Bill Beard will have
been completed Tuesday of
this week after the Gazette
publication date, so results
were not available at press
time.
The recall against May-
or Marcia Kemp was in-
stigated with charges that
Kemp failed her oath of of-
fice, exceeded her authority
as mayor and violated the
town charter. One-hundred-
ninety-one ballots were
mailed out in Lexington
for Beard’s recall, so it is
expected a similar amount
will be mailed for Kemp’s.
The entire text of the
recall reads: “Kemp has
failed her oath of office
regularly exceeding the au-
thority of the Mayor. Kemp
refuses to work with nor
even communicatee with
3 of our 4 councilmembers
circumventing the authority
of the council in absolutely
clear violation of the town
charter. She has publicly
slandered their character
and by her own admission
based solely on hearsay.
She has created an us vs.
them atmosphere. Kemp
continues to put her own
personal feelings, issues
and agenda above the whole
electorate of the town of
Lexington. We deserve
better!”
When the Ga-
zette-Times contacted
Kemp Tuesday she had
“no comment.”
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