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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2020)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 7, 2020 Last private land in county now in a fire district 3,862 acres added to Boardman Rural Fire By David Sykes Calling it the last pri- vate land in “no-man’s land,” 3,862 acres between Boardman and Irrigon have now been included into a fire protection district. The addition became final following a public hearing Sept. 16 before the Morrow County Commission. “I think this is all the private land that is not cov- ered and is in no-man’s land,” Commissioner Don Russell said on the request to include three parcels into the Boardman Rural Fire Protection District. The action means fire protection on the property will now be the responsibility of the fire district. Previously no fire district was responsible. All other private property in the county is already covered by various rural fire districts. Russell, a 25-year member of the Boardman Fire District Board of Di- rectors and knowledgeable about fire districts in the county, said the only prop- erty in the county not now covered by fire protection is land owned by the Federal Government, and the Union Pacific Railroad rights-of- way in the north end of the county. Russell explained that to take care of fire cover- age the railroad has two options. “They can either pay property taxes on their rights-of-way or pay for fire services. They have fires occasionally on their right- of-way and they call the local fire department,” he said. “They are then billed for the service and they pay. That’s their option.” The new property add- ed to the fire district in- cludes 3,632 acres of farm land owned by the Stahl family eight miles east of Boardman, 10 aces of industrial land also in the same area owned by East- ern Oregon Processing, and 220 acres of farm land also in that area owned by Columbia Basin Real Es- tate, LLC. After discussion on the addition of the land to the district, the commissioners voted unanimously to ap- prove. The Boardman Rural Fire Protection District had earlier given its okay to the addition, but a public hear- ing and county approval was needed to finalize the action. County okays vehicle purchases In other action at the Sept. 16 meeting the com- mission authorized the pur- chase of two 2021 Polaris sportsman 4 wheelers for use by the Sheriff Office at the County’s Off High- way Vehicle Park located in the mountains south of Heppner. The ATVs will be used to patrol the 300 miles of trails on the 8,200-acre park. Cost of the two all-ter- rain vehicles is $9,300 with $7,440 of the cost being paid by Oregon State Parks. Morrow County will pick up the remainder at $1,860. Three bids were received for the ATVs with the Mor- row County Grain Growers in Lexington coming in the lowest. In other purchases the county authorized the pur- chase of a 2021 Dodge Ram Crew Cab 4X4 pickup for $28,886 for use by the Sheriff Office. As part of its agreement with the city of Heppner to provide police protection and services, Heppner will pay for the ve- hicle. It will be used by the Sheriff’s Office on patrols and then after three years, the city will take own- ership, without attached police equipment and at- tachments. “It’s a good system for the county and it has worked out well for the city,” Undersheriff John Bowles said in requesting the purchase authoriza- tion. The commission voted unanimously in favor. Wind farm to install alternate tower lights In other business the commission heard that an alternate aircraft lighting system for the new Wheat- Rystedt makes hole in one On Friday, October 2, local golfer Alex Rystedt made a hole-in-one on hole number three at Willow Creek Coun- try Club. This shot was made looking into a setting sun with a six iron. It was Alex’s first ace. The shot was witnessed by To- mas Elguezabal, Dan Sample and Brian Sweeney. G-T Trophy Corner said in a letter to the county. Awards janitorial contract In other action the com- mission awarded a con- tract for the amount of $98,935 to Patriot Building & Grounds Maintenance of Hermiston for janitorial ser- vices of the county’s nine buildings. The county put the contract out to bid and Patriot, who is the current contractor, was the only bidder. The county voted to accept the contract but noted that it is $8,935 over the amount budgeted for janitor services. Appoints fair board member The county appointed Braxton Adams to the Fair Board for a three-year term. It was noted that three board members have resigned and, after advertising the position, only Braxton ex- pressed an interest, leaving two other positions still empty. “I am interested in filling the vacant position on the fair board because I believe it is important role in our community,” Adams said in his letter to the county. “I moved here two years ago and have enjoyed becoming a part of this community. My wife and I have a 7-month-old baby that we plan to raise in Hep- pner. We both are invested in community service to help make our hometown the best that we can. I grew up on a dairy farm in Utah and I’ve worked with ani- mals my whole life. I have participated in fairs and rodeos since I was a kid. I have assisted with putting on fair rodeos throughout my adult life. I would like to be member of the fair board so that I can contrib- ute to our community and be an active role in making it the best that we can. I am hopeful that my back- ground working in fairs and rodeos will be an asset to the board,” Adams said. $100,000 to Board- man Food Pantry At its Sept 23 meeting the commission agreed to give $100,000 to the newly formed Boardman Food Pantry. The group plans on using the money to pur- chase the former Lutheran Church in Boardman and remodel the building into a commercial grade kitchen and food storage center. It is estimated the cost to purchase and remodel the former church building will be $350,000 to $400,000 to convert it for use as a food pantry and kitchen, and Doherty says some private companies have expressed an interest in helping fi- nancially. Organizers of ridge Windfarm towers recently constructed in the county will not be oper- ational until the first of the year. The lighting sys- tem, called the Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS), is installed on top of each tower for a warning to aircraft in the area. Other windfarms con- structed with the traditional aircraft warning lights are red and blink on and off continuously. Many peo- ple consider the always on blinking lights a visual nuisance. Morrow County, with the urging of Commis- sioner Russell, requested that NextEra Energy con- sider placing the ADLS on the new Wheatridge Wind- farm thus reducing “light pollution”. According to one company that sells the system “ADLS vastly re- duces the impact of aviation obstruction lights on local wildlife and communities while preserving the dark sky.” The lights will only come on and start blinking when an aircraft is detected in the area. The system is safe as it maintains contin- uous, reliable 360-degree monitoring of the airspace surrounding a wind farm, allowing aviation obstruc- tion lights to remain off until an aircraft is detected nearby. Once the aircraft enters the designated wind farm safety zone the sys- tem automatically activates the necessary obstruction lights and then turns them off once the aircraft safely exits the area. The majority of the time when the lights are not needed, they will remain off. Commissioner Russell, himself a pilot, has been pushing for the system since it was announced that the new windfarm would be built in Morrow County. During discussion of the lights, David Lawlor, director of development for NextEra Energy Resources, owner of the Wheatridge Windfarm, said although the windfarm is scheduled to go online this month, the company did not expect the ADLS system to be activated until the first of next year. “We have not yet received FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approval of the ADLS and the manufacturer is back- logged for delivery of these types of systems. Neverthe- less, we have installed the ADLS compatible lighting in each tower and have completed system design. Additionally, we will be in- stalling all foundations and conduit to facilitate the final installation and commis- sioning of the ADLS,” he Windows and Patio Doors! BUY ONE GET ONE % 40 AN D OFF 1 Down $0 Interest $0 Monthly Payments for 12 months 1 4.7 out of 5 BASED ON 95,000+ REVIEWS eligibility to even receive the funding. “I have a ques- tion about the eligibility of paying $100,000 to a Boardman non-profit (the Food Pantry). I don’t know how that is directly related to COVID,” she told the commissioners. “I have ad- ditional questions on that.” Expected state reve- nue loss At the afternoon work session the commissioners discussed an expected cut in revenue from the state because of the Coronavirus lockdown. It is estimated the county will receive $ 321,370 less in road funds, $ 26,583 reduction in fair funding, a 50 percent drop in lottery money, and $ 50,921reduction in parks funding expected in state money this year. Interviewing for new county surveyor job On October 19 the county will begin inter- viewing to hire a county surveyor. The position used to be elected but county governments in Oregon now have the option to make the position a hired staff member, which Mor- row County did. The county has been advertising for the position since Sept. 28, however, and so far, no applicants. Commis- sioner Russell said there is apparently a shortage of surveyors “out there.” The commission voted to ap- point newly hired planning director Tamra Mabbott to be part of the interviewing team for the new surveyor. The salary will be $64,445 per year with $47,141 in benefits. The current elect- ed surveyor Stephen Had- dock provided his own equipment on the job and now the county will need to purchase survey equipment. Commissioners received an estimate of $90,000 for survey equipment they will need to purchase, and an additional $12,800 for materials and services for the position. Purchased portable sawmill In other business the county authorized public works parks department to purchase a portable sawmill for use at the county parks. Parks manager Greg Close said the $55,067 sawmill will be used for building such things as signs and picnic tables. He said the parks have over 200 tables and there would be a lot of other use for the mill. The county asked for bids and received three. The model is a Timber King and all but $3,423 of the costs will be covered by a state park grant to the county. 150 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE $0 Money Minimum purchase of 4. Interest accrues from the date of purchase but is waived if paid in full within 12 months. Harley Anderson (16) of Hep- pner shot her 3x4 buck early opening day in the Fossil Unit. the new group said they are planning on having large coolers installed so they can receive bulk delivery of foodstuffs to save cost and distribute to those in need in the community. The center would also teach kids and families to have good nutrition. Commissioners plan to use of Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) money funneled down from the state for the donation, how- ever, the county does not have the CARES money yet to pay the Pantry so they authorized an expenditure from the general fund to make the payment. Com- missioner then plan on re- imbursing the general fund once the COVID money becomes available. Before approving the funding, commissioner Russell want to know if it was sure the Pantry funding would qual- ify for CARES funding. “I want to make sure this qualifies for reimbursement from CARES,” he asked Commissioner Jim Doherty who had earlier advocated for funding the Pantry re- quest. “There is no question on that. I am comfortable this will qualify,” Doherty responded. He had pushed for the expenditure, saying he has been in consultation with the operators and they are fulfilling a need in the community that is becom- ing more acute since the coronavirus epidemic. The commission voted unan- imously to approve the expenditure and give the Pantry the money from the general fund. At a work session later that same day, however, it was revealed there is not enough money coming in from CARES this year to reimburse the general fund for the Pantry donation. In addition, the eligibility of the Pantry to even re- ceive COVID money was called into question. “We have $132,000 left (of the CARES money) and that is to last through December. Is that correct?” Russell asked Finance Director Kate Knop. Knop replied yes and Russell responded that with other commit- ments from the CARES funding there didn’t seem to be enough money left to give to the Pantry. “Isn’t this the bucket of money that we promised $100,000 to the Boardman Food Bank out of? How do we do that when there’s not enough money in there?” he want- ed to know. “I don’t have an answer for that,” Knop said. “The dollars just don’t go that far.” She then also questioned the Pantry’s ENJOYING A NEW SHOWER IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK W ESIGN N OW E ER D SH “ My overall experience was great. I love the window, and from sales to scheduling, the experience was very good. The installers are highly skilled professionals and I would recommend Renewal by Andersen to all my contacts.” LYNN F. | RENEWAL BY ANDERSEN CUSTOMER Kegan Steagall with his 4-point buck taken in the Heppner unit. 70 % MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT IN SUMMER 2 KEEP THE HEAT OUT AND THE COOL IN! Solving your window problems and having a comfortable home is easy and enjoyable when you choose Renewal by Andersen. With this great offer, you save money on your window project – and you’ll also save on high energy bills for years to come! SmartSun glass Helps keep the heat out and the cool in. 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