HEPPNER G T 50¢ Call in program will help small businesses with funds during these tough times This Thursday listen in and learn about forgivable loans for payroll, and disaster loans for operation There is help out there for Morrow County small businesses suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. Call in this Thursday eve- ning at 6 p.m. and learn how you can access both the payroll protection pro- gram, which does not have to be paid back, and the Economic Injury loan for those impacted by the virus. The call-in program will begin at 6 p.m. this Wednesday, April 8, 2020 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Thursday, March 9 and is being sponsored by Greg Smith and the Morrow Development Corporation, Eastern Oregon University, US Small Business Admin- tracting COVID-19. “There are unavailable use hand istration, SBDC Oregon, is strong evidence that “so- sanitizer. Business Oregon, Umatilla cial distance” currently -Stay home and don’t Electric Co-op and The in place can lessen trans- travel if your reason for Heppner Gazette-Times. mission,” The most recent travel can be delayed. data suggest that current -Cough or sneeze into social distancing measures a tissue, or your elbow could cut transmission rates sleeve, and avoid touching between 50 and 70 percent your face. if residents maintain these -Stay home if you are limitations on virus-spread- sick or have a temp at or ing interactions. above 100.F The following are pro- Those considered cedures recommended to highest risk for getting lessen the chance of trans- COVID-19 include; adults mitting the virus: 60 and older, or anyone -Keep six feet distance with a serious health condi- from others when out in tion, including lung or heart public getting basic needs problems, kidney disease, and restrict outings. or diabetes, or anyone who -Hand washing before has a suppressed immune and after eating, coughing, system. They should stay According to prelim- sneezing and touching sur- home as much as possible inary data received by faces out in public. and avoid gatherings. NOAA’s National Weather -When soap and water Stay Home, Save Lives. Service in Pendleton, tem- azette imes VOL. 139 NO. 15 10 Pages Morrow County confirms second case of COVID19 In press release from the Morrow County Emer- gency Management, two cases of COVID19 have been reported in north and south Morrow County. Morrow County Public Health’s highest priority is the safety of the public and protecting the life and the identity of the COVID-19 victims. The press release stated, “We are required to follow the Center for Dis- ease Control, and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) guidelines. We are bound by confidentiality laws. Most information obtained by OHA or a local public health in the course of an investigation of a disease outbreak is confidential.” There is action that every resident can take to decrease the chance of con- ber.org. If submitting ques- tions via email, please input “Candidates Forum” in the subject line. Candidates included in the forum will be Joseph B Armato, Jim Doherty, Joel R Peterson and Michael Sweek for Morrow County Commissioner, position one; Theresa Crawford, Glen Diehl and Kelly L Doherty for Justice of the Peace; and Sabrina L Bailey Cave, Cody High, Jaylene Papineau and Eric Patton for Treasurer. Immediately follow- ing the candidate forum there will be a presentation for the city of Boardman GO Bond, Ballot Measure #25-81. Members of the pub- lic who are interested in participating electronical- ly should sign into Zoom prior to 6 p.m. at https:// zoom.us/j/287416202. The meeting ID is 287416202. For those who do not have a microphone, call one of the phone numbers listed: 346-248-7799 US, 669- 900-6833 US, 312-626- 6799 US, 929-436-2866 US, 253-215-8782 US, 301-715-8592 US. Anyone unable to use Zoom should dial the meet- ing center phone conference number, 541-676-5692, ac- cess code 13038# for audio only. Please use this number only if Zoom video or audio is not available. Lexington meeting attendees restricted The town of Lexington will hold their first budget meeting on April 13 and the regular town council meeting on April 14. Both meetings are limited to 10 people due to restrictions related to the coronavirus. Those members of the pub- lic who wished to attend were instructed in the town newsletter to phone the town hall to get on the list. The maximum number of attendees for both meet- ings has been reached. The town council is researching the possibility of virtual or conference call options for others who will not be allowed inside. Check the Town of Lexington Face- book page for updates. According to the League of Oregon Cities, there is a statute which states passing a budget for a municipality must be completed by the end of the fiscal year. The governor’s executive order does not have the authority to extend the date; it must be done by the state legislature. Morrow County teacher receives recognition In March, Eastern Ore- gon University (EOU) an- nounced recipients of their 2020 Inspirational Teacher Awards. According to the EOU press release, freshmen at EOU who maintained dean’s list standing during fall term 2019 recommend- ed a high school teacher who influenced them on the road to higher education and academic excellence. EOU, which has a lega- 900-6833. The meeting ID is 956-208-292 and the password is 000746 (see advertisement this issue). Economic Injury Di- saster Loans Also discussed on the call will be the Disaster Loan Program through the Small Business Adminis- tration. The loan provides vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is for any small business with less than 500 employees includ- ing sole proprietorships, independent contractors and self-employed persons. March colder than normal Candidates forum to be held via Zoom The candidate’s forum for open Morrow County positions will be held via a Zoom video conference and the Boardman Chamber Facebook Live on Monday, April 20 at 6 p.m. The forum, organized by the Heppner and Boardman Chambers, will give resi- dents an opportunity to hear from each candidate. Questions for the can- didates should be submitted by Sunday, April 19 by con- tacting the Heppner Cham- ber at 541-676-5536, text 503-970-7226 or email to heppnerchamber@century- tel.com and the Boardman Chamber at 541-481-3014, text 541-571-2394 or email to torrie@boardmancham- Small Business Pay- check Program Thursday evening you will learn how your busi- ness can receive money to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs including benefits. The money can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent and util- ities. These fully forgiven funds are provided in the form of loans that do not have to be paid back when used for payroll costs, in- terest on mortgages, rent and utilities. More details will be disclosed during the call Thursday. You will also be able to ask questions at that time. To access the call-in program at 6 p.m. Thurs- day evening call 1-669- cy of teacher education, presents the Inspirational Teacher Awards annually in recognition of outstanding high school teachers who encourage and represent the importance of higher education to their students. For the Morrow Coun- ty School District, EOU student Joseph O’Brien recommended Madison Hynes, who teaches agri- culture and math at River- side Jr/Sr High School in Boardman. Dirk Dirksen, Morrow County SD superintendent, said the district will present a certificate to Hynes at a future date. “We encourage our teachers to make strong connections with students and help them identify their future paths, so are pleased to celebrate such a positive outcome for a student,” Dirksen said. peratures at Heppner av- eraged colder than normal during the month of March. The average tempera- ture was 41.4 degrees which was 2.8 degrees below nor- mal. High temperatures averaged 52.0 degrees, which was 2.9 degrees be- low normal. The highest was 63 degrees on the 23 rd . Low temperatures averaged 30.9 degrees, which was 2.6 degrees below normal. The lowest was 21 degrees, on the 15 th . There were 18 days with the low temperature below 32 degrees. There were two days when the high temperature stayed below 32 degrees. Precipitation totaled 0.90 inches during March, which was 0.62 inches be- low normal. Measurable precipitation, at least .01 inch, was received on eight days with the heaviest, 0.25 inches reported on the 7 th . Precipitation this year has reached 2.90 inches, which is 1.21 inches below normal. Since October, the water year precipitation at Heppner has been 4.28 inches, which is 3.89 inches below normal. Snowfall totaled 4.5 inches with at least one inch of snow reported on two days. The heaviest snowfall was 2.5 inches reported on the 15 th . The greatest depth of snow on the ground was five inches on the 15 th . The outlook for April from NOAA’s Climate Pre- diction Center calls for below normal temperatures and above normal precipita- tion. Normal highs for Hep- pner rise from 59.0 degrees at the start of April to 64.0 degrees at the end of April. Normal lows rise from 36.0 degrees to 40.0 degrees. The 30-year normal precip- itation is 1.51 inches. Morrow County students make winter term honor roll Several Morrow Coun- ty full-time students have been named to the Blue Mountain Community Col- lege winter term 2019-2020 honor roll. The President’s list includes students with a 3.75 to 4.0 GPA and the Vice President’s list in- cludes students with a 3.5 to 3.74 GPA. President’s list students are Nickolaus Armstrong, Bianca Avalos, Angela Barragan, Sherry Bishop, Jessica Calvillo, Vanessa Calvillo, Olivia Castel- lanos, Makenna Collins, Myka Davis, Elizabeth Goforth, Riley Gorham, Belinda Lomas, Sandra Ma- comber, Jason Rea, Johana Sepulveda, Samuel Strong, Cooper Szasz, Brett Trout- man and Haley White. Vice President’s list students are Marisol Al- varez, Castaneda Monica Castellanos, Hannah Chap- pell, Morgan Correa, Taylor Davis, Katia Garay Rojo, Ethan Holiday, Kimberly Homer, Gibson McCur- ry, Nancy Mejia, Lainey Rogers, Sean Shimer and Hayden White. Howl to show gratitude By Bobbi Gordon Cities and towns across the country are cheering and howling in the evening to remind people they are not alone or to show ap- preciation to health care workers and those on the front lines of the coronavi- rus pandemic. Heppner has joined the new craze, with residents stepping outside and howling every night at 8 p.m. Videos are showing up on social media showing people howling like wolves or coyotes out their front doors. In some cities peo- ple have chosen to cheer as loud as they can, clap or whistle. The point is to simply make some noise to show appreciation, while also letting out some isola- tion frustration. You don’t have to be a member of a Facebook group or any social media to participate. Just step outside at 8 p.m. and howl. 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. 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