50¢
VOL. 139
NO. 44
10 Pages
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Prizes for best Halloween decorations
Lexington and Heppner
are both holding Halloween
decorating contests this
year, with cash prizes being
donated by Morrow County
Unified Recreation District.
For houses to be eligible,
they must be within the city
limits of each town.
The official Facebook
page for the contest in Lex-
ington is Lexington Haunt-
ed Town and all entries
should be posted there. Pic-
tures of your house and the
location must be posted to
the page by Friday, October
30. Once all of the pictures
are posted, people are asked
to Like their favorite. The
post with the most likes by
November 7 will win. Any-
one can vote, so be sure to
share the page with friends.
People who decorate
their houses in Heppner
must email their photos
with their street address
and phone number to hep-
saints@centurytel.net by
Thursday, October 29.
Judging will take place
between 7 and 8 p.m. that
evening. For additional
information contact the
Hopeful Saints office at
541-676-9970.
Spiders, Ghosts and a Dead Body can be found at this house
in Lexington. And on Halloween, be careful of the guy walking
around with a chainsaw. But the full candy bars from the Dead
Witch and the Creek Lady will be worth it if you come and
knock on the door. Happy Halloween.
Houses have been decorated all over town in Lexington and
Heppner.
Ballot count up from previous elections
Of the 6,760 registered
voters in Morrow County,
2,983 had already returned
their ballot by Oct. 26,
reported Morrow County
Clerk Bobbi Childers. The
number of returned ballots
is ahead of the same date
in the four previous elec-
tions. In 2008, 1,425 were
returned; 2012 had 997 and
2016 had 996 on October 26
of each year.
According to reports
from the clerk’s office,
voter registration is also
up for 2020. 2008 showed
4,888, 2012 was 4,934 and
2016 was 5,540. Regis-
tered voters by party in the
county for 2020 are 1,210
registered as Democrat,
2,456 as Republican, 2,657
are non-affiliated and 437
are registered as all other
parties.
Final percentages of
counted votes were 84.21
percent in 2008, 79.91 in
2012 and 76.7 percent in
2016. Of those votes, 2008
showed 1,359 Democrat
and 1,776 Republican. 2012
had 1,121 Democrat and
1,798 Republican and 2016
showed 1,045 Democrat
and 1,897 Republican. So
far this year, Republican
voters have returned 1,229
ballots and Democrats have
returned about half as many
with 611. The percentage of
ballots returned so far this
year is 44.18 percent.
October 29 is the last
day to safely return ballots
by mail. After that date,
voters must use an official
drop site.
For voter convenience,
24-hour drop boxes are lo-
cated throughout the coun-
ty. All drop boxes close at 8
p.m. on election day. Drop
sites are available at:
Heppner: Behind the
Bartholomew Building, in
the parking lot. Open 24
hours. Ballots may also
be dropped at the Morrow
County Clerk’s office inside
the courthouse. The clerk’s
office will be open from 8
a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m.,
M-F and election day (Nov.
3) from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Lexington: 365 West
Hwy 74 (Morrow County
Public Works parking lot).
Ione: Spring St. (in
front of the turn to 3 rd
Street).
CDA rescinds previous depot
land vote
By Andrew Sykes
The Morrow County
Board of Commissioners
sent a letter October 20
urging the board of the
Columbia Development
Authority (CDA) to rescind
its October 8 motion to
“Memorialize the collective
intent to deed the industri-
al property to the Port of
Morrow and the Port of
Umatilla after the transfer
of the depot is completed.”
Commissioner Don
Russell, who is also chair
of the CDA, confirmed his
intent to vote yes to rescind
the motion, for which he
had originally voted in
favor.
In asking for the re-
vote, the letter cites legal
codes for Inter-Governmen-
tal Agreements, specifically
that all board members
be provided with “written
notice of the meeting and
proposed action.” The letter
goes on to state that notice
be “reasonably calculated
to provide actual notice
to the persons and news
media that have stated in
writing than they wish to
be notified of every meet-
ing.” The letter, in closing
said, “The outcry from the
public and some members
of Columbia Development
Authorities make clear that
this topic could not have
been brought-up during a
‘any additional business’
section of an agenda.”
Melissa Lindsay, Chair
of the Morrow County
Commissioners, expressed
her intent of sending the
letter. “I would like to see
the letter go forward, just
to be clear the stance of
this body, and to assure our
partners in Umatilla Coun-
ty that that is the stance of
this body.” Commissioner
Jim Doherty added, “It
(the letter) kind of mirrors
-See DEPOT VOTE/PAGE
FOUR
Boardman: NW Board-
man Ave.
Irrigon: 205 NE 3 rd St.
(Irrigon Annex).
CBEC cancels annual meeting
Columbia Basin Elec-
tric Cooperative (CBEC)
Board of Directors decided
to cancel the annual meet-
ing of the members this year
because of the threat that
the COVID-19 pandemic
poses to the health of its
members and the proba-
bility that the State of Or-
egon current public health
directives which severely
restrict gatherings such
as the annual meeting of
the cooperative’s members
would still be in effect.
“The annual meeting of
the members is an event that
is important to the Cooper-
ative and our members,”
stated Gerald Arnson, Pres-
ident of the CBEC Board of
Directors. “But the risk to
the health of our members
and the expense of get-
ting the event planned was
too great given the unique
circumstances we are all
facing this year.”
The annual meeting
of the members is the time
when the Cooperative holds
its elections for those who
serve on the Board of Direc-
tors. Zone No. 3 and Zone
No.4 were to be decided
at the meeting this year
because the terms of Todd
Lindsay (representing Zone
No. 3) and Stacie Ekstrom
(representing Zone No.
4) expire this year. In that
the Annual Meeting of the
Members was cancelled,
Todd Lindsay and Stacie
Ekstrom will continue to
serve on the Cooperative’s
Board representing their
respective districts, in ac-
cordance with the Cooper-
ative’s Bylaws. Both will
serve until the next meeting
of the members.
MORROW COUNTY GRAIN GROWERS
350 MAIN STREET LEXINGTON OR 97839
CONTACT JUSTIN BAILEY 541-256-0229, 541-989-8221 EXT.
204
POLARIS.COM/SNOWMOBILES
R E B AT E S U P T O
$2000 ON
SELECT MODELS
Offers valid on select new 2018-2021 Polaris snowmobiles purchased between August 1st, 2020 – August 31st, 2020.
Minimum payments required. Offer may not be combined with certain other offers, is subject to change and may be
extended or terminated without further notice. Model specifications subject to change. All rebates are paid to the dealer.
The Promotional Limited Warranty consists of the standard 12-month y warranty plus an additional 12 or 24 months of
additional promotional limited warranty coverage for a total of 24 or 36 months of warranty coverage. See dealer for
details. Any additional warranty coverage after the initial 12 month factory warranty is subject to a $50.00 deductible
per visit. Valid at participating Polaris Snowmobile dealers only. Model & year exclusions apply. See your local dealer for
details.
Polaris recommends that all riders take a safety training course. Do not attempt maneuvers beyond your capability.
Always wear a helmet and other safety apparel. Never drink and ride.