Cody High seeks county
treasurer position
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 139
NO. 17 8 Pages
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
City grants PrineTIME
Internet a franchise agreement
‘Our goal is to saturate the town’
By David Sykes
The Heppner City
Council last week voted to
give PrineTIME Internet
the right to construct fiber
optic equipment and string
cables in the city in order
to provide internet service
to local residents.
PrineTIME has been
operating in Heppner for
several years, however the
franchise agreement will
now allow the company
to string cable and install
equipment in the city’s right
of ways, such as on utility
poles in the city limits. “We
will be offering faster ser-
vice in the future for exist-
ing PrineTIME customers,”
said Ed Howard of Prine-
TIME. He said his company
will also be installing addi-
tional equipment on the hill
outside town to give better
wireless service to custom-
ers. “Our goal is to saturate
the town,” he said.
In compensation for
the franchise agreement
PrineTIME will provide
free internet service to city
hall, public works build-
ings, the city park on Main
St, the city water reservoirs,
the fire hall, Hager Park and
the sewer plant. City Man-
ager Kraig Cutsforth said
he had originally wanted
the company to provide
wireless access on all of
Main Street, but that did not
prove feasible.
PrineTIME is head-
quartered in Prineville and
provides wireless internet
connections to tower lo-
cations around Oregon,
including Prineville, Red-
mond, Bend, Terrebonne,
Powell Butte, Tumalo, Sis-
ters, Heppner, Lexington
and Ione.
In other business at
last Monday’s meeting,
the council granted the
following animal permits:
Tylynn Cimmiyotti for five
to 10 chickens. They will be
cooped up she said. JoAnna
Lamb an increase for her
chickens from four current
birds to 10. She did not in-
tend to use it as a business
but to supply her family and
neighbors and friends with
fresh eggs. Zabrena Mas-
terson for two sheep for her
4-H project for fair. She will
keep the sheep from May to
the middle of August. The
Worden family for chickens
and sheep. The sheep are
for 4-H fair. The chickens
will be shown at fair but
also for collecting eggs for
the family, they said.
In other business, the
city purchased a prebuilt
restroom to be placed in the
lot next to the Post Office.
It will give restroom facili-
ties for people who use the
vendors that sell food on a
regular basis at the lot.
The city also purchased
a new camera and sound
system for use during coun-
cil meetings in order to
better use the Zoom remote
meeting platform. The new
system will make a better
experience for people who
are part of the meeting
remotely during the Coro-
navirus distancing rules
which discourage citizens
from attending meetings in
person. The Howard and
Beth Bryant Foundation
paid for $500 of the $1,000
cost of the system.
Cutsforth told the coun-
cil the windmill construc-
tion company is buying
about 250,000 – 300,000
gallons of water a month
from the city for their proj-
ect. He said it was double
what was originally antici-
pated, but it was a good deal
since the city has the water
and is able to make some
income off the sale.
In other recent business
the city planning commis-
sion on April 6 approved
a variance to allow Teresa
Jones to place a 27 X 48-
foot manufactured home on
a lot at 220 Willow Street.
The reason a variance was
needed is because the lot
is zoned commercial. The
structure will meet all the
required setback and other
conditions the planning
commission ruled.
The commission also
approved an application
from John and Shelley
Wight of Heppner for a
variance to construct a ga-
rage with a restroom on
a lot 480 S Main St. The
structure will meet the set-
back requirements. The
Wights plan on merging
the tax lot with the one next
to it. Approving the vari-
ance allowed the Wights to
utilize a vacant lot that is
adjacent to their home.
In other business the
council received a report
from Fire Chief Steve Rhea
who said the department
had received 120 N-95
masks, 24 aprons and nine
sets of face shields from
the State Fire Marshal’s
office. He said he put in
another request for latex
gloves in various sizes.
He also said during March
the department responded
to one motor vehicle acci-
dent, one vegetation fire in
Ione, secured the helicop-
ter landing zone 12 times,
had one chimney fire, one
propane leak at the St Pat-
rick’s Apartments, a motor
home fire in Lexington and
responded to one hay fire.
Rhea said the department
also installed 10 smoke
detectors in two homes
in the district prior to the
Covid-19 distancing policy
going into effect. There are
still four homes requesting
smoke detectors, but they
have postponed installation
under the current situation.
Goats discussed at Lexington
council meeting
At last week’s town
council meeting the Lex-
ington council members
heard a complaint from a
resident regarding a neigh-
bor who has goats on their
property. According to the
letter received from Kev-
in and Lori McCabe, the
resident at 145 E East St
is keeping nine goats in a
space approximately 500
square feet in size. Accord-
ing to McCabe’s letter,
he estimates the space is
44,500 square feet short
for the required livestock
densities.
Kevin McCabe, who
attended the meeting, told
the council that the Lexing-
ton ordinance 03-08, Article
3.22(1)(b) states goats are
considered livestock and if
over the age of six months,
there should not exceed one
for each 5,000 square feet
of lot area. The ordinance
mentioned references lim-
itations on use in the farm
residential zones. The lot in
question is in a residential
zone and livestock is not
mentioned in the develop-
ment code.
Members of the council
attempted to address his
concerns and Mayor Juli
Kennedy agreed to talk with
the owner of the goats but
pointed out to McCabe that
without police coverage for
the town there is no way to
enforce ordinance viola-
tions. Although the owner
of the goats was invited
to attend the meeting, she
did not.
In other business, the
council discussed the up-
coming budget for the next
fiscal year. Council member
Bobbi Gordon reported that
the budget committee met
on Monday, April 13 and
plans to meet again May
11 to finalize the budget.
The small city allotment,
Morrow County grant and
WCVEDG grant were some
of the grants they are hop-
ing to receive. The council
also discussed a tax levy
that will expire at the end
of 2020 and getting another
on the ballot in November.
Fire Chief Charlie
Sumner reported that the fire
hydrants were all flushed on
Saturday with the assis-
tance of Scott Lamb, Reid
Miller and Wayne Gordon.
They plan to implement a
schedule for flushing the
system twice a year.
Due to the limits on
gathering of more than 10
people, the meeting atten-
dance was limited.
Cody High is seeking
the position of Morrow
County Treasurer in the
upcoming election. High
lives in Heppner with his
wife and three daughters
and is currently the assistant
manager of Bucknum’s.
He encourages residents to
vote for him with his tag-
line, Honesty-Integrity-In-
dependent. He describes the
treasurer as the custodian
of the citizens of Morrow
County’s tax dollars.
During a discussion
with current treasurer, Gay-
le Gutierrez, regarding her
withdrawal from the elec-
tion, the conflicts with the
Board of Commissioners
and the salary for the po-
sition being reduced by up
to 75 percent, he decided
to seek the position. He
said there is a need for the
next county treasurer to be
someone willing to work
with the commissioners and
other department heads but
who would continue to con-
duct the duties as an inde-
pendent elected officer and
not be afraid to fight back
when requested to perform
actions which might violate
an ORS.
High estimates the trea-
Cody High
surer will be responsible for
over 100 different funds
with revenue surpassing
90 million dollars in the
coming year. The current
treasurer also volunteers to
be the custodian of funds
for many of the taxing dis-
tricts in the county to limit
administrative costs and
allow those tax dollars to be
spent on the work of each
district. He told the Gazette
that he will continue to do
so if he is elected as Mor-
row County Treasurer.
High noted, “As the
current chair of the Morrow
County Fair Board and as
a past mayor, city coun-
cilor, and budget member
of the City of Heppner I
understand the importance
of, and I’m skilled in, ac-
curate and timely financial
tracking. In my current
profession as assistant man-
ager of Bucknum’s, I am
responsible for helping
track and record employee
time sheets and schedules
and the revenues and ex-
penditures of the business.
I am also responsible for
keeping track of rising costs
to keep our products both
affordable and profitable.”
Cody continued,
“Our County is growing,
thanks in large part to the
amazing work the Port of
Morrow is doing. During
the COVID-19 crisis our
communities are banding
together and showing why
there is no better place to
live than Morrow County.
This current pandemic may
result in a slight decrease
in state funding this year
but our community spirit
and the hard work done at
the port will undoubtedly
bring more businesses and
revenue to our county in the
near future. If I am elected,
I will continue to serve the
people of Morrow County
with the same degree of
integrity and professional-
ism that has been set by our
current County Treasurer.”
County hires new Community
Development Director
By David Sykes
Morrow County recent-
ly hired a new Communi-
ty Development Director
whose job will be to super-
vise economic development
programs throughout the
county.
Gregg Zody comes
to Morrow County from
Bedford County, Virginia
where he was most recently
director of Community De-
velopment there from 2014
to present. Zody’s other job
experiences include work-
ing as director of planning
in Orange County Virginia
from 2011 to 2014 and
working as a senior planner
in Southern Indiana from
1999-2010. Zody says he
has quite a bit of experi-
ence in rural areas, having
worked as a regional plan-
ner in two of the most rural
regions in Virginia.
Zody’s education in-
cludes an undergraduate
degree from Virginia Com-
monwealth University in
1989 with a B.S. in Urban
Studies and Planning and
a graduate degree from
Virginia Tech in 1991; a
Master of Urban and Re-
gional Planning with fo-
cus on public policy. “My
professional focus will be
primarily ensuring rural ar-
eas are able to prosper with
minimal government regu-
lation and red tape,” Zody
told the Gazette-Times.
His other duties may
include organizational
work in grant writing, code
enforcement and website
administration. He will
perform a variety of com-
plex, technical and strategic
functions including input
for business and strategic
planning, setting goals for
individuals and department
managers as well as col-
laborating with colleagues
to implement policies and
develop improvements. The
position calls for him to
provide direct supervision
for the economic develop-
ment programs through-
out the county including
the Planning Department,
Public Transportation (The
Loop), and the Morrow
County Fair.
Gregg Zody
On a personal level
Zody earned his Master
Gardener certificate from
the Virginia Extension Mas-
ter Gardening Program
in 2018. He is single and
has two dogs, Baby and
PeeWee. “I absolutely love
rural Oregon, especially
the great folks in Mor-
row County and Heppner
who have made me feel so
welcome and part of the
community,” Zody said.
He is making his home in
Heppner.
No new COVID-19 cases
reported in county
According to Morrow
County Emergency Man-
agement, Morrow County
had no new COVID-19
cases reported last week. As
of Monday, April 20, public
health has reported there are
still only five positive cases
in Morrow County. All five
previously reported patients
are at home and recovering.
The report also stated that
75 persons in the county
have been tested.
The State of Oregon
currently reports that Uma-
tilla County has 27 posi-
tive cases with no deaths.
Benton/Franklin Counties
in Washington (Tri-Cities)
have reported 669 cas-
es of COVID-19 with 37
deaths. In Oregon, there are
1,910 positive cases and 74
deaths.
Morrow County Public
Health reminds everyone
that the best way to protect
yourself and your loved
ones is to wash your hands
frequently, stay home and
reduce travel. Stay Home,
Save Lives.
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