TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 7, 2021
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax
(541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site:
www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times,
P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25
senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student
subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor
Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to
100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.05 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi-
cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits
require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be
specified if required).
For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not
responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will
be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
CREZIII
say and Jim Doherty, and they operate in the state of will no longer be involved
from the Port of Morrow
Oregon.
with deci-
-Continued from PAGE ONE Rick Stokoe, Joe Taylor and
T h e s io n mak-
years Zone II has spread the Ryan Neal. Stokoe and Tay-
group dis- ing on both
money around the county in lor are port commissioners
cussed a business
four categories: education, and Ryan Neal is the port
fee sched- negotiations
housing, public safety and manager, making him the
u l e t h e y and spend-
community only non-elected person
will charge ing by the
e n h a n c e - on the CREZ III board. Melissa
businesses new CREZ.
m e n t , a n d Port Commissioner Jerry Lindsay
applying to It will, but
it recently Healy and Lisa Mittels-
t h e z o n e , only if a new Rick Stokoe
a d d e d i n - dorf, director of economic appointment of a fiscal business lo-
frastructure development at the Port, agent and legal counsel, and cates within a designated
s p e n d i n g were elected as alternates. business negotiating rules. “influence zone” around
to its list of The three county com-
It was announced the city. All other cities in
Ryan Neal
s p e n d i n g . missioners did not yet
there are already the county also have their
Money from name their alternates.
businesses wanting influence zones, and they
Zone II will con-
Last week’s
to begin applying too will have representa-
tinue to be allocat-
inaugural meet-
for zone ac-
tion on the board if
ed by its board of
ing of CREZ III
ceptance.
a business locates
directors, but how
was organiza-
As stipu-
inside their zone.
and where the new
tional and top- Jim Doherty lated by Or-
If included
Zone III will spend
ics covered, in
egon law, all
on the board, indi-
its anticipated funds
addition to new offi- Oregon enterprise
vidual cities will not
will be decided by
cers, included hiring zones will expire
only be involved
the new board of
Greg Sweek as zone in five years June Joe Taylor
with negotiations
directors.
with prospective
Don Russell manager. Sweek, the 30, 2025, however,
Elected at its
Zone II manager, is Sweek say he expects
businesses for the
first meeting March 31 were the retired tax assessor, and the legislature will extend terms of their tax breaks,
three county commissioners has extensive knowledge of the authorizations for the but also how the money will
Don Russell, Melissa Lind- enterprise zones and how popular state-wide zones. be spent. If a new business
One of the big differ- wants to locate in an area of
ences between Zones 2 and the county not within any of
3 is the city of Boardman the cities’ influence zones,
is no longer a permanent then the CREZ III board
member of the board, and will be made up of only
therefore not part of the first members from the county
organizational meeting. and the port.
That is not to say Boardman
Shepherds Flat wind farm sold to
Canadian firm
Caithness Energy, the
owner-operator of the Shep-
herds Flat wind farms in
north Morrow and Gilliam
counties, has sold to Brook-
field Renewable Partners
(BRP) of Toronto Canada,
it was announced. Caith-
ness built the 338-turbine
windfarms Shepherds Flat
North and South in 2012
and at the time was one of
the largest wind farms in the
world. The sale of the 845
MW complex is reportedly
for $700 million. Shepherds
Flat still produces about a
quarter of Oregon’s total
wind power capacity.
Caithness was granted
a permit by the Oregon
Facility Siting Council in
January of 2020 to repower
the facility with larger and
longer blades and new gear
boxes. Brookfield is expect-
ed to follow through with
the upgrade project, which
is expected to be completed
by the end of 2022. BRP
CEO Connor Teskey said
in an earnings call with an-
alysts earlier that it would
be “one of the largest in the
world and is expected to
increase total generation by
approximately 25 percent,”
boosting annual output by
approximately 400 GWh.
Apparently the repower-
ing permits are the main
Lexington Fire
displays new logo
Shepherds Flat wind farm, located in north Gilliam and Morrow counties, has been purchased
by Brookfield Renewable Partners of Toronto Canada.
reason BRP purchased the
facility from Caithness. The
repowering will involve
increasing turbine blade
lengths and upgrading gear
boxes and electronics to
increase generation, par-
ticularly at lower winds
speeds. Increased revenue
from the repowering is ex-
pected to pay the cost of the
upgrades, it was said.
The plan is to keep the
original turbine founda-
tions and towers in place
while replacing the turbines
and machinery with more
technologically advanced
equipment that would in-
crease generation without
increasing the wind farm’s
footprint, or number of
turbines. The overall rotor
diameter would increase by
over 88 feet to a nearly 417
total feet, it was reported.
Shepherds Flat has a
20-year power purchase
agreement with Southern
California Edison Co. The
agreements expire in 2032
for Shepherds Flat North
and 2033 for Shepherd’s
Flat South.
BRP reportedly has
a renewables portfolio of
trict or a governmental
entity residing in the south
Morrow County service
area. The grant requires a
commitment of 50 percent
matching funds for the total
project.
Applications and grant
information are available
at the Heppner Chamber
office, Heppner, Lexington
and Ione city halls and the
Bank of Eastern Oregon.
It can also be downloaded
from the chamber website,
Heppner.com. Contact the
Heppner Chamber at 541-
676-5536 or email hep-
pnerchamber@gmail.com
for additional information,
Grant deadline approaches
Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
Group’s (WCVEDG)com-
munity and public enhance-
ment grant deadline is fast
approaching, with the ap-
plication period closing
on April 19. Applicants
must be a local organi-
zation, club, special dis-
AL
S
IL
R
P
A
E
5,318 generating facilities
in North America, South
America, Europe and Asia,
of which 64 percent is hy-
dro, and the rest is wind, so-
lar, distributed generation, The Lexington Fire Department recently purchased a “new to
and storage facilities.
them” truck which has been branded with a decal displaying
Marriage Groundbreaking
Licenses scheduled
the updated Maltese Cross jackrabbit logo. -Contributed photo.
The Morrow County
Clerk’s office has released
the following report of
marriage licenses:
March 9, 2021: - Mary
Victoria Rietmann, 26, Ar-
lington, and Herman Joseph
Rosenberg, Jr., 31, Arling-
ton.
March 19, 2021: - Ali-
cia Torres, 49, Hermiston,
and Samuel Eli Morrow, 48,
Hermiston.
March 25, 2021: -
Brandon Lee Howard, 25,
Irrigon, and Samantha Terri
Tompkins, 26, Irrigon.
March 30, 2021: -
Glenn P Lindsey, 49, Hep-
pner, and Denise Garcia,
27, Heppner.
Morrow County commissioners will hold a groundbreaking
ceremony for the new Sheriff’s Station 2 building at 4 p.m.
Wednesday, April 7. The property is located just south of the
Heppner Fire Hall on Riverside Ave. -Contributed photo.
Justice Court Report
Morrow County Justice of the Peace, Glen Diehl, has
released the following Justice Court report:
-Donald C. Rogers, 30, Yucca Valley, CA, was con-
victed of violation of basic rule, fine $165 and unsafe
passing, fine $265.
%
30 OFF
FRAMES & LENSES
MORTGAGE
541-676-9884
HEPPNER BRANCH
*
INCLUDES: ANTI-REFLECTIVE
TRANSITIONS • POLARIZED • MEN’S
WOMEN’S • CHILDREN’S • SUNGLASSES
541-676-9125
Teresa Hughes, Hailey Shultz, Mortgage Loan Officer Kaitlin Orcutt,
Desirae Ruth, and Mortgage Loan Officer Raymond Seastone.
*Excludes Maui Jim and Oakley, special order lenses, glass and safety eyewear.
LIKE AND SHARE OUR FACEBOOK POST AND YOU’LL BE
ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR A FRAME OF YOUR
CHOICE, UP TO $150 VALUE! DRAWING 4/30/21.
AFFORDABLE
FAMILY EYEWEAR
Our Team of Local, Experienced
Mortgage Specialists
takes the stress out of
BUILDING THE HOME
OF YOUR DREAMS.
Local in-house draw
process for your builder.
Local in-house
inspections.
Borrow money as
needed throughout
term of the loan.
Permanent financing
available.
TALK TO US ABOUT
PURCHASING A HOME
OR REMODELING.
IF YOU ARE USING INSURANCE, PLEASE ASK FOR DETAILS!
Most insurances accepted: MODA, Ameritas, Regence and Many More!
Se Habla Español • Same Day Service on Most Prescriptions • Dr. Anderson: Saturday Appointments Avail.
541-567-3790 • 298 E Gladys Ave, Hermiston, OR • www.affordablefamilyeyewear.com
Member FDIC
KAITLIN ORCUTT NMLS #1043345 / RAYMOND SEASTONE NMLS # 937744 / #414459 / RATES & TERMS MAY VARY. ALL LOANS SUBJECT TO CREDIT APPROVAL.