Theresa Crawford seeks
Justice of the Peace position
HEPPNER
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azette
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VOL. 139
NO. 12 6 Pages
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Congressional candidate Bentz
endorses conservative agenda
during Boardman visit
Theresa Crawford has
filed for the Morrow Coun-
ty Justice of the Peace po-
sition, which will be on
the primary ballot in May.
Theresa has lived in Mor-
row County for almost 30
years and has worked in the
Morrow County Clerk’s of-
fice as Chief Deputy Clerk
for the last 16 years. She is
also a certified recording
and elections administrator.
Crawford returned to
school and obtained her
associates of applied sci-
ence degree in criminal
justice. While attending
school, she made the dean’s
list and president’s list, all
while working full-time in
the clerk’s office. She also
has a legal secretary diplo-
ma and worked as a legal
assistant prior to working
for the county.
Theresa told the Ga-
zette she is running for
Justice of the Peace because
she has been interested in
the law most of her life.
Theresa Crawford
When she decided to go
back to school to get her de-
gree, she knew she wanted
to do something worthwhile
and important. “Continuing
to work with the residents
of Morrow County is very
important to me,” she said.
She feels her knowl-
edge of the day to day
operations and established
relationships are crucial to
the JP position. She said
she will strive for a com-
mon sense, case by case,
approach and is committed
to protecting the common
good while balancing the
fact that everyone is differ-
ent. She said she will make
sure that everyone is heard.
At the core, she believes
that justice is equal for
everyone.
Her mission statement
states, “I am excited and
consider it an honor to
continue to serve Morrow
County residents. I am in-
vested and committed to
our community and prom-
ise to treat everyone as an
individual with respect,
dignity and consistency.”
Crawford raised her
three children in Morrow
County, coached baseball
for 15 years and volun-
teered in the schools. She
was a powerlifter and won
a world, national and state
record in the deadlift. She
now enjoys spending time
with her family (especially
her granddaughters), run-
ning, hiking, fishing, shed
hunting and quilting.
Locals suffer consequences of
Coronavirus scare
Cliff Bentz (right), candidate for Congress, visits with Kip Krebs (center) and Morrow County
Sheriff Ken Matlack, at a ‘meet and greet’ Sunday in Boardman. -Photo by David Sykes
By David Sykes
US Congressional can-
didate Republican Cliff
Bentz, in a visit to Board-
man Sunday, made it clear
if elected he would sup-
port a conservative agenda
of lower taxes, land and
water rights and second
amendment protections.
He is running to fill the
seat of long-time congress-
man Greg Walden who
announced earlier he will
not seek reelection.
At a “meet and greet,”
organized by local farmer
Clint Carlson and held at
the Boardman Sage Center,
Bentz told a gathered crowd
he has many endorsements,
including Morrow County
Sheriff Ken Matlack, 16
other Oregon sheriffs, 60
county commissioners from
across the state, as well
as local Oregon Senator
Bill Hansell who was in
attendance at the event. “I
don’t normally endorse in
the primary,” Hansell said,
“but Cliff is the best person
for this job.”
Currently a senator
in the Oregon legislature,
Bentz led a walk out in the
most recent legislative ses-
sion in protest of a cap and
trade bill very unpopular in
rural Oregon. “Bentz stood
up to the Portland liberals,
helping lead the ‘Oregon
Eleven’s’ walk-out, killing
gun control and a multi-bil-
lion-dollar cap and trade
tax,” his web site says.
Bentz related a story of how
he and fellow senator Han-
sel went to Idaho and stayed
in a motel out of state to
avoid detection and keep
the walk-out going. “The
‘We know what’s best for
you’ elitist attitude of the
Democrat supermajority in
Salem has grown even more
prevalent since the 2019
session when I helped lead
the senate walkout over Cap
and Trade,” he says on his
web site.
Bentz says, although
not an early supporter of
President Trump, he com-
pletely supports the presi-
dent’s agenda of stopping
illegal immigration, reduc-
ing regulations and lower-
ing taxes, and, if elected to
congress, would support the
president in those efforts.
Bentz related how re-
cently on a trip he was
reading the preamble to the
Constitution which begins
with “We the people of the
United States in order to
form a more perfect union.”
He said he believes each
of us has a duty to make
this a better country, and in
running for Congress and
going to Washington that
is what he wants to do. “I
want to make this a better
country, a more perfect
union,” he said.
Lexington may take look at
animal zoning regulations
Complaint prompts possible review
By David Sykes
The Lexington Town
Council is considering a re-
view of its zoning ordinanc-
es for possible tightening
of animal regulations, the
council said last week. The
review was prompted by
a citizen’s complaint over
nine goats in a neighbor’s
yard.
Kevin and Lori Mc-
Cabe of 170 E. Main St.
came to the council last
Tuesday and said their
neighbor, Ashley Zimmer-
man, has nine goats in a
yard abutting their property
and the smell is making en-
joyment of their backyard
impossible. Zimmerman,
also in attendance at the
council meeting, disagreed
saying her goats do not
smell. After reviewing city
zoning ordinances, most ev-
eryone agreed on one thing,
there wasn’t much in the
town ordinances governing
animals. “I don’t see any-
thing,” said councilmember
Will Lemmon.
McCabe said the nine
goats are kept in a 500
square foot space and he’d
done research asking var-
ious agencies the recom-
mended space for goats. He
said the Extension office
told him they recommend
250 square feet per goat
while the NRCS said two
goats per acre is the rec-
ommended space. McCabe
said the county told him
six goats per acre. Zimmer-
man disagreed and said the
sheriff deputy who came
to her property recently
told her everything is okay.
“The sheriff’s deputy told
me there is nothing wrong
with the way I keep or my
feed my goats,” she told
the council. She also said
there was nothing in the
town ordinances restricting
animals.
Arising from the dis-
pute, however, is that even
if the town wanted to reg-
ulate animals, there appar-
ently aren’t any ordinances
covering it. “We have to be
mindful of the ordinances
and see if it can be cleaned
up,” said Mayor Juli Ken-
nedy. “As a council, we
need to look at what we
have. I’m not committing to
anything,” she told McCabe
and Zimmerman, “I’m just
saying, we, as a council,
need to sit down and look
at what we have.” The oth-
er councilmembers agreed
and discussed setting aside
time to go through the city
ordinances for possible
changes. “We have to come
together and talk about it,”
said Kennedy.
The council also dis-
cussed the enforcement of
ordinances if they do make
changes. The town does
not have a police force and
because of budget con-
straints does not contract
with the sheriff’s office
like Heppner to provide
code enforcement in town.
“We have to be thoughtful
on how we will enforce
this (city codes),” Kennedy
said, adding it would cost
the city over $100,000 to
contract with the county
for one deputy, which is
-See ZONING/PAGE TWO
The Two Old Hags Pizza parking lot is empty, but they are encouraging customers to call for
takeout orders. -Contributed photo.
By Bobbi Gordon
Many businesses are
suffering losses of busi-
ness due to the shutdowns
caused by the Coronavirus
pandemic. Along with the
loss of business, employees
of the businesses required
to shut down are suffering
as well. No work means no
income for many.
Dawn Brosnan, owner
of Two Old Hags Pizza, told
the Gazette they are taking
the epidemic very serious-
ly. They have closed their
dining room and are asking
customers to call ahead
with their orders to limit
face-to-face contact with
staff and other customers.
Brosnan said, “I am
scared to death of what the
future holds, not only for
me but every small business
owner, all our hard-working
employees and the future
of this country.” She con-
tinued, “I don’t know what
the future holds for us all. I
just want everyone to come
together, we are not alone in
this. This is what Heppner
does.”
According to Gary
Propheter at the Bank of
Eastern Oregon, they are
doing all of the prudent
things recommended like
limiting the number of peo-
ple together in one place,
sanitizing, disinfecting and
encouraging everyone to
use their online services if
possible. He said they hav-
en’t noticed fewer custom-
ers as many people already
use their online services.
He told the Gazette, “We
always encourage everyone
to shop locally.”
The driver of the local
Schwan’s delivery truck
stated that his business has
increased. As more and
more items are unavailable
on the store shelves and
more people are search-
ing for delivery options,
Schwan’s is available to fill
that void.
The local Les Schwab
Tire Center has eliminated
the coffee, water and pop-
corn for customers as well
as removing magazines and
newspapers from tables
in the waiting area. Dale
Thompson, Chief Market-
ing Officer for the company,
stated they are following all
of the recommended guide-
lines, wiping surfaces and
disinfecting everything. He
also said since their busi-
ness falls under essential
services and they realize
people still need to travel
and use their vehicles, they
will remain open.
The Gazette received a
call from the Neighborhood
Center stating they would
remain open but would
not be accepting donations
between now and May 31.
They will continue to fill
food boxes and keep the
store open as long as sup-
plies last.
When a Murray’s Drug
employee was asked if they
had noticed any drop in
business, they said many
people are still coming in to
pick up prescriptions from
the pharmacy, but due to the
cancellation of funeral ser-
vices in the area the flower
orders have been cancelled
as well.
Breaking Grounds Cof-
fee, located inside Murray’s
Drug, announced on their
Facebook page that they are
still open for takeout orders.
Customers are encouraged
to call ahead to order all of
their favorites to keep con-
tact time low. “We are so
thankful to own a business
in Heppner. The community
support is unlike any other,”
they said on Facebook.
While nothing can be
done locally to change what
has been happening to busi-
nesses, customers appear to
be trying to stay upbeat and
continue to shop locally.
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