Doherty seeks re-election
HEPPNER
G T
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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
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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.