Lexington has a full council
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 139
NO. 8 8 Pages
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Compensation committee
recommends no change
to treasurer’s salary
By David Sykes
The Morrow County
compensation committee
voted to recommend no
major changes to the coun-
ty treasurer’s salary at a
meeting last week. The
committee was holding its
annual meeting to discuss
all the county’s elected
official’s salaries, but par-
ticular attention was being
given to the treasurer since
the county commissioners
had requested a review
with possible cuts up to 75
percent.
Commissioners earlier
said they asked for the
salary review because the
position may have been
part-time and drawing a
full-time salary for many
years. Commissioners said
twenty-five years ago tax
collection was taken out of
the treasurer’s office and
done elsewhere, and at that
time the position may have
become only a part-time
job. Commissioners also
said they thought now was
a good time to make any
salary changes prior to the
election, and that they had
“heard” long-time treasurer
Gayle Gutierrrez was going
to retire and not run for
reelection. The commis-
sioners had first asked the
budget committee to con-
sider cutting the treasurer
salary, but they voted not to
make any changes and sent
it on to the compensation
committee for review.
After the commission-
er’s decided to start a re-
view of her salary Gutierrez
announced she was with-
drawing from the upcom-
ing race. She said after 23
years and six elections her
disputes with the commis-
sioners over the past three
years have made her no
longer want to be treasur-
er. “I have really enjoyed
working in the treasurer’s
position until the last three
years. In those three years, I
feel I have been subjected to
passive/aggressive behav-
ior and bullying. My mental
and physical health is more
important than any job,”
she said in a statement.
Gutierrez did not know why
the commission thought
she was retiring, as she had
never officially informed
them she would not run for
re-election. Also because
of the proposed salary cut,
a second person who had
filed to run for treasurer also
pulled out of the race, citing
uncertainty about what the
salary would be. Since then,
Sabrina L Bailey Cave has
filed to run.
In other action at the
meeting the compensation
committee voted to rec-
ommend a three percent
cost of living increase to
all elected officials except
for the assessor, who they
recommended receive a
total 10 percent pay in-
crease for the coming year.
The committee thought the
increased workload and
complexity of taxing all the
new businesses and indus-
try coming into the county
warranted a raise.
The current annual sal-
aries without any potential
raises applied are commis-
sioners $51,000, assessor
$83,052, treasurer $72,648,
clerk $72,648, justice of the
peace $75,000 and sheriff
$104,112. This does not
include any benefits, which
as an example in the case
of the treasurer, brings that
total compensation package
to $127,152 for the current
year.
The compensation
committee, which is made
up of five citizens appoint-
ed mostly from the private
sector, does not set salaries
for elected officials but only
makes recommendations.
Their recommendations
then go on to the budget
committee for consider-
ation, and then finally on to
the county commissioners
who have final say over sal-
aries and the entire budget.
Lexington Mayor Juli Kennedy congratulates Will Lemmon after administering him the oath
of office to fill the last remaining empty council seat. -Photo by David Sykes.
By David Sykes
The Town of Lexington
now has a full council of
four council members and
a mayor. Will Lemmon was
sworn in last Tuesday to fill
the last remaining empty
seat. It has been over a year
since the council seats were
all full. Mayor Juli Kenne-
dy swore Lemmon in and
he immediately took his
seat for the night’s business.
In other business it
was announced that town
recorder Denis Lien has
resigned to take another
job. The council has begun
searching for his replace-
ment. “He will be missed,”
said Mayor Kennedy.
The council heard a
report from Kennedy who
said among other things
she has updated the town
web site with current in-
formation and also created
a Facebook page for the
town. She also said she talk-
ed to Sheriff Ken Matlack
about a police coverage
contract for the town sim-
ilar to what other cities in
the county have. She said
it was very expensive and
probably not an option for
Lexington. The town will
continue to have coverage
from the Sheriff’s Office
just not on a contractual
basis. Kennedy said she had
been hearing good feedback
on what is going on in the
town. “I have had a lot of
good positive feedback on
Lexington and that we have
a positive path to the future.
People from Heppner and
Ione have commented on
what is happening in Lex-
ington,” she told the council
and the audience.
Maintenance man Scott
Lamb reported that the fire
department had made a re-
pair to the town fire truck,
replacing a hose at a cost
of $1,000. He also said
he is still researching the
feasibility of getting a new
fire alarm for the town. He
said the new chlorination
system is installed and op-
erating and he is testing it
every day.
The council also dis-
cussed that they were ap-
plying to Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation for
a small city allotment grant
for road maintenance this
year. The town applied last
year but did not get one.
It was also mentioned
that an earlier request from
Blattner Energy to rehab
and use the old town well
located at the Lexington
Airport had been dropped.
Blattner needed the water
during construction on the
new windmill project in
Morrow County but the
well was not able to be reha-
bilitated. Blattner is instead
reportedly purchasing water
from several area farmers.
It was discussed that the
town should probably look
at filling it with concrete to
decommission it.
In other business the
council set the date for
the first budget committee
meeting to be March 9 at
6:30 p.m. Jay Papineau,
Sheila Miller and Myrna
Sieler were appointed as
the public representatives
on the committee. Three
members of the council,
Juli Kennedy, Bill Beard
and Curtis Thompson, will
also serve on the budget
committee.
In other business, the
council voted to combine
two tax lots owned by Shei-
la and Reid Miller into one.
They plan on putting a
manufactured home on the
property.
Hay truck burns near
Lexington
Navy says no to predator
control, grazing
Bombing range is prime habitat for coyotes
By David Sykes
The United States Navy
says it will not allow pred-
ator control or livestock
grazing on its 47,000-acre
bombing range property
located in northern Mor-
row County, the county
commission announced
at its February 12 meet-
ing. The Commissioners
had earlier met with Navy
representatives Sept. 17 to
discuss several long-sim-
mering issues concerning
the Navy’s management of
its large track of land inside
the county. “They listened
to us, but said no to our
requests,” Commissioner
Don Russell said. Three
main areas of concern were
discussed including coyote
control and weed and fire
control.
About the coyotes, the
bombing range is prime
habitat and they have been
crossing over onto private
ranches and killing and
harassing livestock. It is a
large unoccupied tract of
land and predators use the
land to escape humans. It is
also used as a denning area
for coyotes raising pups.
The pups will disperse to
adjacent properties once
they come of age and then
travel long distances to
hunt and cross over to ad-
jacent properties. Wildlife
Services said last winter
on properties close to the
Bombing Range there were
13 calves killed by coyotes
on four different ranches.
Most of the losses were re-
ported north of the range on
the outskirts of Boardman.
Wildlife Services says it
took out 32 coyotes at that
time.
The county has a con-
tract with Wildlife Ser-
vices for predator control
at $60,000 per year and last
year in a letter to the Navy
had asked to let hunters
onto the Bombing Range
to reduce the coyote popu-
lation. The commissioners
asked again at the Sept. 17
meeting with the Navy in
Boardman. The response
was no. “…we will not
provide access at this time
to personnel for mitigation
measures,” the Navy wrote
in a letter to the Commis-
sioners. “We do not see a
way at this time to provide
access for predator control
on NWSTF Boardman (the
bombing range) given the
uncertainty of the effects
of predator management
activities on the range.
On weed control the
Navy says it spends be-
tween ten and fifty thousand
dollars a year on weed man-
agement, but Russell says
they don’t have anything
in this year’s budget. The
county wanted to have Mor-
row County Weed Control
man Dave Pranger kept in
the loop on any efforts at
the range, but that wasn’t
even possible.
The commissioners
also asked if the Navy
would allow grazing on
the range to reduce vegeta-
tion and fire risk. The Navy
said no to that also saying
it would “adversely affect
the Washington Ground
Squirrel populations and
habitat”, and “likely lead
to the Endangered Species
Act listing of the ground
squirrel which would se-
verely affect the Navy’s
mission.” They also said
that while grazing “can be
an effective tool for short-
term fuels management, it
would promote increased
frequency and intensity of
fires over the long-term.
Long-term grazing converts
rangelands from bunch
grass vegetation communi-
ties, with low-intensity fires
and relatively infrequent
return intervals, to annual
grasslands that promote in-
creased frequency of higher
-See NAVY/PAGE FOUR
A truck hauling hay caught on fire and burned on Highway 207 last week. -Contributed photos.
A truck and trailer load-
ed with hay was reported
to be on fire near milepost
6B on Highway 207 near
Lexington last Thursday,
February 13 at approxi-
mately 2 p.m. The highway
was closed for several hours
while the hay burned and
crews waited to remove the
truck and trailer.
Heppner Fire Depart-
ment, Ione Fire Depart-
ment, Fire Station 7, Ore-
gon Department of Trans-
portation, Oregon State
Police and Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office responded
to the fire. The crews were
also assisted by several lo-
cal citizens who responded
with equipment.
The fire department
remained on the scene until
6:30 p.m. and ODOT con-
tinued to stay on the scene
throughout the night.
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN STREET, LEXINGTON, OR 97839
CONTACT: JUSTIN BAILEY 541-256-0229, 541-989-8221 EXT
204
*Offers vary by model. Rebate and financing offers valid on select 2016-2020 new and unregistered Polaris ® RZR ® ,
RANGER ® , Sportsman ® , GENERAL ® , and ACE ® models purchased between 1/1/20-2/29/20. **Rates as low as
3.99% APR for 36 months. Examples of monthly payments required over a 36-month term at a 3.99% APR rate:
$29.52 per $1,000 financed; and with a 60-month term at a 6.99% APR rate: $19.80 per $1,000 financed. An
example of a monthly payment with $0 down, no rebate, an APR of 3.99% APR for 36 months at an MSRP of
$12,699 is $374.87/mo. total cost of borrowing of $796.27 with a total obligation of $13,495.27. Down payment
may be required. Other financing offers may be available. See your local dealer for details. Minimum Amount
Financed $1,500; Maximum Amount Financed $50,000. Other qualifications and restrictions may apply. Financing
promotions void where prohibited. Tax, title, license, and registration are separate and may not be financed.
Promotion may be modified or discontinued without notice at any time in Polaris' sole discretion. WARNING: Polaris ®
off-road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16
years old with a valid driver's license to operate. Passengers, if permitted, must be at least 12 years old. All riders
should always wear helmets, eye protection, and protective clothing. Always use seat belts and cab nets or doors
(as equipped). Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and
alcohol/drugs don't mix. All riders should take a safety training course. Call 800-342-3764 for additional
information. Check local laws before riding on trails. © 2020 Inc.