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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2021)
Small towns have rewards 50¢ VOL. 140 NO. 5 8 Pages Wednesday, February 3, 2021 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Dollar General looks to open Heppner store Several businesspeople seek to block By David Sykes Nation-wide store chain Dollar General is looking to locate a store in Heppner and some local businesspeople are organiz- ing to stop it. Dollar Gen- eral has 16,278 stores in 46 states across the country and wants to add Heppner to its list, but some local businesspeople have made it clear they don’t want them here, and they are looking for ways to keep it out. “I believe there will only be negative impacts on our already established businesses and the small community we all love so much,” said local business- man Drew Brannon who along with his wife Tayllor are spearheading the effort to stop the store. “The pred- atory practice that Dollar General establishes is to target failing communities and Heppner is not a failing community,” Brannon said on a Facebook post and letter to the editor in last week’s paper. Drew and Tayllor own the Breaking Grounds Coffee Shop and Breaking Bread distribu- torship in Heppner and both are adamantly opposed to the new store. The Bran- nons have enlisted other businesses in the effort and plan to attend a February 8 city council meeting and let their concerns be heard. They have also urged others to attend the 7 p.m. meeting and voice opposition to the new store, however because of COVID restrictions there will limited entrance to the night’s meeting. (see city manager letter to editor). The couple’s efforts have sparked a lively debate on Facebook with people on both sides weighing in on the positive and negative effects of a store like Dollar General. The Brannons say not only would the store be in competition with existing Heppner businesses, but would also provide prod- ucts already for sale here, offer limited employment, not support the local econ- omy, lack community sup- port for schools and public events, and “take away our small-town pride and char- acter on Main Street.” Businesses signing on to Brannon’s statement of opposition include Mur- ray’s Drugstore, Sage Clothing, Two Old Hags Pizza, Heppner Auto Parts, Brannon’s Auto Repair, Pe- terson’s Jewelry, Breaking Grounds Coffee and Break- ing Bread Distribution. The majority of comments from individuals on Facebook have also been negative and opposed to the locating of a Dollar General Store in Heppner. Some individuals, however, have weighed in saying Heppner needs the economic stimulus of a new business with new employ- ees and the spillover effect of more money being spent at all local businesses. Sup- porters also say the store would attract new shoppers A new Veterans memorial is on display at the cemetery thanks to a local citizen’s generosity. -Photo by Giselle Moses. Nationwide discount chain Dollar General is looking to establish a store in Heppner and is By Giselle Moses Gazette. currently negotiating to purchase the Cornerstone Gallery and RV Park property on Main She also said she has Living in a small town Street. -Photo by David Sykes. brings many challenges. It always had respect for the from the surrounding area that don’t currently buy in Heppner, and also offer local people lower pricing on food and other house- hold supplies. According to Dollar General’s website, their stores offer low prices on items including food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares, seasonal items, paper prod- ucts and necessities such as laundry detergent, toilet pa- per, soap, shampoo, socks and underwear. The options for ac- tually stopping the store seem limited however, as Heppner City Manager Kraig Cutsforth explains the store will be locating in a commercial zone under an allowed use, which means there shouldn’t be any need for the city to grant either a variance or conditional use. Cutsforth also pointed out that Heppner does not have business license require- ments and does not regulate what businesses operate within the city limits. (See Cutsforth’s letter to editor in this week’s paper). Cuts- forth also pointed out that the city follows all zoning codes and offers free advice as to their purpose when someone wants to find out if it is a permitted use in a particular zone. This is information he has given to Dollar General represen- tatives as they research the Heppner location. He says all the zoning information is also available on-line at the city’s website (cityof- heppner.org). “In regards of what information has been asked of the city, so far it has only been on permit- ted uses of a property and what utilities are available,” he says of his discussions with Dollar General. He also pointed out that any building licenses sought by the store would be obtained not at Heppner City Hall but from the building inspec- tor’s office in Boardman. Some people have sug- gested the city adopt an ordinance similar to one in Tulsa, OK that opponents say might be able to block the store from locating here. The Dollar General store will not be on the city coun- cil agenda next Monday as a separate discussion topic but will come up under the public comment and discussion section, which is part of each month’s city council meetings. The property being considered for the new store is currently owned by local businessman Alvin Liu, who in addition to owning the RV Park and Cornerstone location, also owns the Northwestern Motel across the street and the Gateway Café on Main. Liu also runs a catering business which has a food trailer called Happy Pap- py’s Catering Service. Liu told the Ga- zette-Times Monday that he is currently in negotiations also comes with rewards. A local townswoman saw a vacancy that needed to be filled. The Veteran’s memorial at the Heppner Masonic Cemetery was missing something. The trees that once graced the spot had died and been -See DOLLAR GENERAL/ removed. It “needed some- PAGE SEVEN thing,” the woman told the through a real estate agent with an agent of Dollar General for sale of his prop- erty, but nothing has been finalized. “They came to us,” Liu says of his contact with Dollar General. “They said this property is the most suitable in Heppner.” military. The only veteran she can recall in her family was her great-grandfather. She continued saying she always liked the “Wounded Soldier,” so she commis- sioned Steve Marlatt to cre- ate what is now on display at the Heppner cemetery. The donor asked to remain anonymous. $65 million in Port bonds to finance Lakeview wood waste biorefinery Court to determine legality of funding project outside Morrow County By David Sykes The Port of Morrow is in court to determine the legality of issuing $65 million in revenue bonds to fund a jet and diesel fuel biorefinery under con- struction in Lake County Oregon. The petition, filed in circuit court January 22, is required to determine if the Port can legally issue bonds for a project con- structed outside its juris- dictional boundaries. The Port’s boundaries are the same as Morrow County. If approved the bond proceeds would then be loaned to Red Rock Bio- fuels for help financing the company’s new biore- finery nearing completion at Lakeview, Oregon. The plant will convert wood waste into jet and diesel fuels and the company re- portedly already has a con- tract with Shell Aviation to distribute the low-carbon product. The Port decided to issue the bonds for the benefit of Red Rock after a $10 million tax exempt bond opportunity to finance a local Morrow County solid waste disposal facility became unneeded. Con- gress only allows a limit- ed amount of tax-exempt bonds issued each year, and rather than let the special tax-exempt funding oppor- tunity it possesses expire, the Port decided to combine the $10 million tax-exempt with another $55 million in regular revenue bonds to help the Oregon project. The Port will also reported- ly realize “a small monetary gain” from the deal. Tax exempt bonds are coveted by investors as the interest income is federally non- DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM Bonds from the Port of Morrow could help fund this biorefin- ery in Lakeview, OR. taxable. The tax-exempt bond opportunity had originally been allocated by the state to the Port for use in fi- nancing a local solid waste project called Three Mile Canyon Project. Three Mile ended up not needing the money, so rather than lose the special bonding oppor- tunity which expires at the end of 2021, Port commis- sioners voted to issue the bonds and then loan the money to Red Rock. The Port did not have another project in Morrow County that qualified for the bonds so they would have gone unused. “Helping a fel- low, small eastern Oregon community, Lakeview in this case, realize a sizable economic gain appeals to me as we may need their help in the future, whatever that might be,” Port Com- missioner John Murray told the Gazette-Times about his decision to support the deal. “Not using them also sends a signal to the grantor that we didn’t really want to send. To my way of think- ing, they should be used to help someone,” Murray added. The Port’s liability in the bond issue will be limited as the bonds are revenue and not general obligation or full faith and credit, which means they are backed only by the revenue from the Red Rock project. Also, the bonds will not be a charge on any other revenue or property of the Port. However, before the bond sale can move forward the court is being asked to weigh in and de- termine if it’s legal. Oregon law allows for such court proceedings to determine the legality of a governing body’s proposed actions, such as a bond sale. According to the Fort Collins, CO based Red Rock company the biore- finery is scheduled for com- pletion in spring of this year. Once operational, it will be the world’s first commercial scale plant to utilize waste woody bio- mass from forests to create sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and cellulosic re- newable diesel. “This has been one of the most devastating wild- fire seasons on record,” said Red Rock CEO Terry Kule- sa. “We have seen wildfires grow in intensity, acreage, and damage to public health and the environment.” He said a benefit of the new fa- cility is to reduce the wood waste on the forest floor and help mitigate the spread of these wildfires. He said the new facility producing fuel from wood waste will also support the “decarboniza- tion of aviation and heavy transport” and protect the environment. Red Rock says SAF and wood waste renewable diesel are expected to be up to 80 percent lower in carbon emissions than con- ventional jet fuel. The SAF will be supplied to airports through the Shell Aviation distribution chain using ex- isting airport infrastructure and can be used blended by airlines without requiring technical modification to their current fleet, the com- pany says. Going On Now! 20% off all In Stock Apparel 30% off Select UTV/ATV Winches Contact Lexington Parts Department 350 Main Street Lexington, Oregon 97839 541-989-8221 mcgg.net