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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2019)
Doherty seeks re-election HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 138 NO. 48 8 Pages Wednesday, November 27, 2019 in 2020, with a start date in January 2021. Several other county positions will be on the primary election ballot in May 2020. Doherty told the Ga- zette, “As I throw my hat back in the ring, I resist the urge to expound at length on the challenges and suc- cesses of the past four years, however, a few are worth mentioning. For example, ‘up to the minute’ mod- Jim Doherty ernization of county health Morrow County Com- care and our increasing missioner Jim Doherty has influence statewide through filed for re-election to po- sition one on the county board of commissioners. His commissioner position is the only one to be filled Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Mustangs head to state championships Will play the Kennedy Trojans Saturday in Hermiston at 2:30 p.m. Many Heppner fans traveled to Hillsboro on Saturday to cheer for the Mustangs. -Photo by Kirsti Cason. The Heppner Mustang football team has won the right to play for the OSAA 2A Football State Cham- pionship. The Mustangs defeated the Knappa Log- gers in a state semi-final game by the score of 55- 18 at Hillsboro Stadium last Saturday afternoon. A large and loud crowd of Mustang fans made the trip to the Portland area to cheer on the Mustangs and the team did not let them down. It was a dominate performance by the team from Heppner as they took control early and did not let up for the entire game. Heppner kicked off to start the game and the teams traded possessions. Jackson Lehman then intercepted a Logger pass that gave the Mustangs great field posi- tion at the Knappa 41-yard line. After a 38-yard pass completion from Jayden Wilson to Jace Coe, the Mustangs scored their first touchdown of the game when Blake Wolters ran the ball in from three yards out. Wilson then passed to Coe for the 2-pt. conversion to give Heppner the lead 8-0. Knappa answered right back as their high-powered pass offense was able to score from 36 yards out to make the score 8-6. The Mustangs would then score on their next five possessions of the game. A five-play drive that covered 65 yards and included a 40- yard pass completion from Wilson to Coe, ended in a score when Wolters bullied his way in from three yards out for the touchdown. Wil- son then threw to Wolters for the 2-pt. conversion to make the score 16-6. The next Knappa pos- session was short as Wilson intercepted a Logger pass at the Mustang 38-yard line. A six-play drive that included a 21-yard pass reception by Mason Lehman and runs by Wolters that totaled 41 yards ended in a score. Wolters took a handoff from Wilson from four yards out and blasted his way toward the end zone but fumbled the ball just before he scored. The ball bounced forward into the end zone and several Mustang play- ers had their hands on it before Jason Rea pounced on the ball for a Heppner touchdown. Wilson passed to Jackson Lehman for the 2-pt. conversion to make the score 24-6 as the first quarter ended. Early in the second quarter, the Mustang de- fense forced a Knappa punt that was blocked by Wolt- ers. He recovered the ball at the Logger 20-yard line. Heppner took advantage of the great field position and scored again when Wolters ran the ball in from one yard out for the touchdown. That made the score 30-6. Knappa went on an eight play, 80-yard drive to get their second touchdown of the game on a 28-yard pass completion that made the score 30-12 with five minutes left in the first half. The Loggers then at- tempted an onside kick that Kellen Grant recovered at mid-field. The Mustangs needed only four plays to score again when Wolters took the handoff and scam- pered 33 yards for another touchdown. The score was now 36-12. Knappa was driving on their next possession but a big sack of their quarter- back by Matt Orem forced the Loggers to punt. Hep- pner took possession at their own 26-yard line and were looking to score again before the half ended. A 39-yard run by Wolters and a six-yard pass completion to Coe got the ball to the Knappa 29-yard line with only nine seconds left in the half. Quarterback Wilson found Mason Lehman open on a crossing route and got him the ball around the 15-yard line. Lehman then outran the Knappa defense down the left sideline for a touchdown as the clock expired. Wilson passed the ball to Jackson Lehman for the 2-pt. conversion to make the score 44-12 at halftime. The teams traded pos- sessions to start the second half. The Mustangs then held the Loggers on downs and got the ball back. On the very next play, Wolters exploded trough a big hole created by the offensive line and ran 45 yards for another touchdown. Wilson then passed to Mason Lehman for the 2-pt. conversion to make the score 52-12. The Loggers went on a 13 play, 80-yard drive to get their final score of the game on a nine-yard pass play that made it 52-18 at the end of the third quarter. Both teams battled hard in the fourth quarter and traded several possessions. The final Heppner score Gazette closed for holiday The Heppner Gazette-Times will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29. Normal business hours will resume Monday, Dec. 2. We wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. of the game came when Kannon Wilkins kicked a 37-yard field goal to give -See MUSTANGS/PAGE TWO Below: Jace Coe scored the first 2-pt. conversion in Sat- urday’s game, taking the score to 8-0. -Photo by Kirsti Cason. my election as president of the Association of Oregon Counties.” He continued by saying that reaching these plateaus, along with those in public transit and school arts pro- gram funding, are never really victories but remain ongoing challenges. “I would prefer, as we enter the holiday season, just to express my thanks to the folks of Morrow County for allowing me to serve,” Doherty stated. Wenberg sentenced to federal prison for tax evasion Kenneth Wenberg, 73, a medical doctor from Hep- pner, was sentenced Friday, Nov. 22 to 12 months and one day in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for failing to re- port income resulting in a tax loss of approximately $128,000. “Tax evasion is a crime of greed and arrogance that hurts every citizen who lawfully pays their taxes,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “The U.S. Attor- ney’s Office will continue working closely with our partners at IRS-CI to bring criminal tax evaders to justice.” “For twenty years, Dr. Wenberg took steps to evade his tax obliga- tion and today’s sentence demonstrates the conse- quences of those actions,” said IRS-Criminal Inves- tigation Special Agent in Charge Justin Campbell. “Tax evasion is IRS-Crim- inal Investigation’s number one priority and we will continue to prosecute those who fail to pay their fair share of taxes.” According to court documents, Dr. Wenberg created nominee entities to hide assets and income he personally earned while serving as a physician at the Morrow County Health District (MCHD) and Ur- gent Health Care Center (UHCC) in Heppner. Dr. Wenberg instructed MCHD and UHCC to make pay- ments for services he per- formed directly to sham entities to avoid income tax liabilities. Dr. Wenberg opened numerous bank accounts and purchased real property in the names of his nominee entities. He also paid for his and his family’s person- al living expenses out of the nominee accounts. Dr. Wenberg failed to report his income to the IRS, despite knowing he owed taxes. During sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Marco A. Hernandez or- dered Wenberg to pay $128,964 in restitution to the IRS. On February 12, 2019, Wenberg pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. This case was inves- tigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and is being prosecuted by Clemon D. Ashley and Seth D. Uram, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.