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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
Two men attempt car theft HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 138 NO. 50 8 Pages Wednesday, December 11, 2019 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Steve Rhea named new Heppner Fire Chief Zachary Richard James Holte, 29, and Justin Cam- eron Christian Brown, 23, were arrested and lodged at Umatil- la County Jail after attempting to steal a car near the Cor- nerstone Zachary Gallery on Richard James Holte M o n d a y morning. The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office received the report at 9:35 a.m. from a Heppner citizen. With- in three minutes, Deputy Dalton Garcia was on the The Heppner Ga- zette-Times will publish Christmas messages from area pastors on Wednesday, December 18. The deadline to submit messages will be Monday, December 16, at 5 p.m. Those planning to sub- mit Christmas messages may email them to edi- tor@rapidserve.net, send via mail to Heppner Ga- zette-Times, PO Box 337, Heppner, OR 97836 or drop them by the office at 188 West Willow, Heppner, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pastors are also invited to submit separate news ar- ticles for Christmas church services or activities. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Items. Total bail is set at $271,000. He was also lodged on a Washington State Department of Cor- rections Na- tionwide Wa r r a n t , with no bail for Escape Community Custody. B r o w n Justin f a c e s Cameron Christian charges of Brown Robbery II, Attempted Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Unauthorized Entry into a Motor Vehicle. Total bail for Brown is $266,000. Heppner Elementary shows academic growth and commitment to students The Oregon Depart- ment of Education (ODE) recently released report cards for every school in the state, reporting test scores from the 2018-19 school year. When Dieter Waite, principal at Heppner Elementary School, shared results with school staff, he had some good news to report. The ELA (En- glish Language Arts) score showed that 63 percent of Heppner Elementary students were meeting the standard, an increase of 13 percent from the year before, and well above the Oregon state average of 51 percent. Math scores also increased by five percent to 43 percent, just above the state average of 42 percent. In addition, the school went from average to high Retiring Fire Chief Rusty Estes (left) presents new Chief Steve Rhea with the white command in Individual Student Prog- hat at the Heppner City Council meeting Monday night. ress, which measure year- By David Sykes and the council agreed to it. the increase. “In the preced- Steve Rhea has been “I don’t have a problem ing years we have incurred was told the camera is still named the new fire chief for with it as long as it doesn’t annual wage increases, in operation. the city of Heppner; it was cost the city anything,” increased fuel costs, in- In other action the announced at Monday’s council member Teresa surance costs and disposal council reviewed a list of city council meeting. He Hughes said when hearing dump fees. With the growth 29 people who were owed will replace retiring chief the proposal. At the past of our much-appreciated money by the city but never Rusty Estes. couple of meetings Hughes customers, both locally and cashed the checks mailed Rhea has been with the had been against the city county wide, also brings to them. Cutsforth asked fire department 32 years, entering into a credit/debit increased mileage on our if he could have the coun- most recently serving as card charging contract, say- fleet, and the replacement of cil’s permission to void the assistant chief. He has also ing she didn’t think enough many carts and dumpsters,” checks and send the money been the department’s long- people would use it to justi- they said. to the state of Oregon as time training officer. “I fy the annual and monthly In other action the required by law. There is hope I’m half as good as costs to the city. council heard from Kelsey a total of $1,820.87 in out- Rusty was,” he told the city Under the proposed Greenup who said she was standing checks that have council. Rhea said he would plan approved Monday purchasing a home on Mat- need to get used to his new night, people who pay their lock and wanted to know role of giving directions water and sewer bill with who was responsible for instead of “going in there credit card will be charged the old cement water flume with the guys.” 2.65 percent with a $1 min- that runs along the hill in Estes served a total of imum. Cutsforth said the the back of the home. She 45 years with the depart- cost would work out to was concerned because ment before his retirement. about $1.85 per transaction. chunks of concrete were In other business at Using a card for administra- coming down the hill and the meeting the council tive and civil payments will she was afraid kids would instructed City Manager cost a little bit more at four get up there and cause more Kraig Cutsforth to move percent. problems. She wanted to forward with a credit and In other business the know who she should talk debit charge service for council voted unanimously to about it. City officials people to pay their water to approve a rate increase indicated that the old water bills. to Miller & Sons Disposal flume is on private property There has been much Services for garbage pickup and they did not know who discussion the past cou- in the city. The new cost should be contacted. ple of months about add- will be $22.5 per month to In other business Coun- ing the service with some pick up a can inside the city cilmember Hughes wanted councilmembers opposed limits, $25 outside the city to know if the surveillance because it would require limits, $80 for local busi- camera at the city park payment by the city to add ness and rural dumpsters. was still operational. She the bill pay option. Monday The new rates will take had information that there Cutsforth presented a new effect February 1, 2020. was “lots of activity” after company he had found that “We have not had a rate hours at the park and maybe does not charge the city an increase since 2011,” Ryan young people were jumping annual or monthly fee for and Sharon Miller said in a on the playground equip- the credit payment system letter to the city requesting ment trying to tear it up. She Pastors invited to submit Christmas messages scene and Lt. Terry Harper located the suspects within nine minutes of the call. The two suspects had attempted to steal the car and one was already in the driver’s seat when two Hep- pner residents confronted them, saying they did not recognize them as locals. The suspects fled, with the residents giving chase. A description of the suspects allowed MCSO to locate them quickly. Holte was charged with Robbery II, Attempted Un- authorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Unauthorized En- try into a Motor Vehicle and Theft of Loss/Mislaid to-year progress in ELA and math. “I told my staff to keep up the good work. I am excited about our changing school culture and academ- ic growth,” Waite said. Although Waite was pleased with the steady ac- ademic growth of students, he was concerned about the slight drop in regular attenders, students who attended more than 90 per- cent of their enrolled school days. Heppner Elementary 2018-19 average was 81 percent, down one percent from the previous year. However, Waite already has many strategies in place to combat this. Using the “Every Day Matters” program, which focuses on the importance of steady attendance at school, Waite said staff have increased commu- nication with families of never been cashed dating back as far as 2005. They range in amounts from .28 cents $150.92. The city wants to clear the uncashed checks off its books. Councilmembers were reluctant to send the money off to the state as some of the people were local and still living here. If contacted the checks could be reis- sued the city says. Below is a list of the uncashed checks. -See NEW FIRE CHIEF/ PAGE TWO struggling students, mod- ifying past processes and scheduling regular team meetings to discuss the needs and support in place for these students. Waite sends a monthly letter to parents whose children are at or below 90 percent attendance. He includes in the letter that a student with 90 percent attendance misses an entire school year by the time they complete ninth grade. Waite understands that a crucial aspect of steady attendance is ensuring chil- dren and their families have appropriate support ser- vices. Heppner Elementary administrators and staff are strengthening communi- ty partnerships in wrap- around services, working with CARE coordinators to increase access to medi- cal, dental and community social services for students and families. Eliminating some roadblocks that cause students to miss school, Waite said, can make a difference. Further implementation of conscious discipline has also improved the school climate, Waite said, plus the school is going to get a stu- dent success coach/school counselor shared half time with Heppner Jr/Sr High. But more than strate- gies and numbers, Waite knows that forming con- nections with students is the most important thing staff can do. “The bottom line is that students need to feel safe and supported by the adults in the building every day to achieve success.” Recently, an educa- tional assistant, Darcee Mitchell, had a great idea to emphasize school family, having students give input for a word poster encom- passing student ideas. The poster hangs prominently in the school, a reminder they are all in this together.
