County considers
action against
advancing Mormon
Crickets
50¢
VOL. 140
NO. 20
10 Pages
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Crystal Apple award winners announced
Heppner winner, Teresa
Parret, was not present at
the ceremony.
JoAnna Lamb (left) and Mary Rosenberg, Ione community School, received Crystal Apple
Awards from Superintendent Rollie Marshall. (right) -Contributed photo.
A total of 44 Crystal
Apples were presented to
eastern Oregon education
staff last week at the 2021
Crystal Apple “Excellence
in Education” Awards, with
three apples being present-
ed to local education staff
members. Mary Rosenberg,
third-grade teacher, and
JoAnna Lamb, instructional
aide at Ione Community
School, and Teresa Par-
ret, assistant custodian at
Heppner Jr/Sr High School
were the winners at the
ceremony held in Echo on
Monday, May 10.
Each year, the IMESD
partners with its school
districts to recognize out-
standing administrators,
teachers, educational assis-
tants and office and building
staff for their dedication and
commitment to students
and for their willingness
to go above and beyond
their regular duties. Nomi-
nations are submitted over
a two-month period by
administrators, coworkers,
parents, students and com-
munity members. Winners
are selected from these
nominations by school dis-
trict administration.
“In the past year, the
COVID-19 pandemic has
been one of the greatest
challenges to K-12 edu-
cation, but many educa-
tors have stepped up and
worked even harder to serve
eastern Oregon’s students.
Due to these challenges,
celebrating this year’s Crys-
tal Apple Award winners
has been even more import-
ant and more special,” said
Michele Madril, IMESD
director of communication.
Additional Morrow
County School District
employees receiving crys-
tal apples were Charlene
Baker, special education
teacher, Riverside Jr/Sr
High School; Amber Benet-
ti, 6 th grade teacher, Irrigon
Elementary School and
Darlene Jacobsen, 1 st grade
teacher, Sam Boardman
Elementary School.
Click It or Ticket
Safe Routes to
Campaign reminds School Plan being
drivers to buckle up identified in Ione
The Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office is remind-
ing drivers about the life-
saving benefits of wearing a
seat belt this spring, during
the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration’s (NHTSA)
national Click It or Ticket
high-visibility enforcement
effort. The national seat belt
campaign, which coincides
with the Memorial Day
holiday, runs from May 24
to June 6, 2021.
“We want the act of
buckling up to become
automatic to all drivers
and passengers,” said Un-
dersheriff John A. Bowles.
“It’s not just a safe thing to
do – it’s the law. During the
Click It or Ticket campaign,
we’ll be working with our
fellow law enforcement
officers across local and
state lines to ensure the
message gets out to drivers
and passengers. Buckling
up is the simplest thing
you can do to limit injury
or save your life during a
crash. We see the results of
not wearing a seat belt all
the time. We see the loss of
life. So often, it could have
been prevented.”
According to NHTSA,
in 2019, there were 9,466
unbuckled passenger ve-
hicle occupants killed in
crashes in the United States.
In that same year, 55 per-
cent of passenger vehicle
occupants killed at night (6
p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not
wearing their seat belts.
That’s why one focus of the
Click It or Ticket campaign
is nighttime enforcement.
Participating law enforce-
ment agencies will be tak-
ing a no-excuses approach
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
to seat belt law enforce-
ment, writing citations day
and night. In Oregon, the
maximum penalty for a seat
belt violation is $115.00.
“You may think you’re
safe in a certain vehicle, or
on a certain road, but the
truth is, you’re safest when
you buckle up, no matter
what,” said Bowles. Al-
most twice as many males
were killed in crashes as
compared to females, with
lower belt use rates, too. Of
the males killed in crashes
in 2019, more than half (51
percent) were unrestrained.
For females killed in crash-
es, 40 percent were not
buckled up.
“If the enforcement
effort wakes people up to
the dangers of unrestrained
driving, we’ll consider our
mission to be a success,”
continued Bowles. “If you
know a friend or a fami-
ly member who does not
buckle up when they drive,
please ask them to consider
changing their habits. Help
us spread this lifesaving
message before one more
friend or family member
is killed as a result of this
senseless inaction. Seat
belts save lives, and every-
one — front seat and back,
child and adult — needs to
remember to buckle up.”
In March 2021, Ione
was awarded Safe Routes to
School planning assistance
from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation.
Through this program, Ione
School District, Ione city
staff, and ODOT Region
5 are working together to
create a Safe Routes to
School (SRTS) Plan that
identifies street improve-
ments near Ione Charter
School to support students
and families in getting to
school safely. The SRTS
Plan will also recommend
opportunities for education
and engagement to pro-
mote walking and rolling
to school. Planners from
Alta Planning + Design, an
active transportation con-
sulting firm, are guiding the
planning process.
During spring 2021, the
project team has been col-
laborating remotely to get
feedback from the commu-
nity using virtual methods
and to identify and priori-
tize safety needs within a
mile of the schools. On May
20, the team will also host
an in-person walk audit to
observe student arrival and
meet with school communi-
ty members. The team and
community members will
document the walking and
biking conditions around
WCVEDG plans
annual luncheon
Willow Creek Valley
Economic Development
Group (WCVEDG) will
host its annual luncheon on
Wednesday, May 26 from
noon to 1 p.m. at the Gil-
liam and Bisbee Building.
This is a hosted event with
RSVPs required no later
than Monday, May 24.
An update on WC-
VEDG programs will be
presented as well as a bar-
becue lunch of homemade
ribs, baked beans, potato
salad and dessert, catered
by Alvin Liu, Gateway
Café.
RSVPs may be made
by contacting the Heppner
Chamber at 541-676-5536
or via email to heppner-
chamber@gmail.com.
the school area to inform
planning recommendations.
These observations will
happen in a physically-dis-
tanced manner, group sizes
will be limited, and masks
will be required per state
health guidance. Anyone
interested in participating
in the walk audit, should
RSVP at https://bit.ly/SRT-
SIone
During the summer,
the team will continue to
identify SRTS construction,
education, and engagement
recommendations and com-
plete the final SRTS Plan.
The city of Ione and
Ione Charter School ask
families to share feedback
and experiences getting to
school using this interactive
online map: http://odots-
rtsprojectid.com. Those
sharing feedback will be
entered to win a walking
or rolling safety pack ($50
value).
For additional informa-
tion, please contact Eliz-
abeth Peterson, Ione City
Clerk at 541-422-7414 or
email to cityofioneor@
gmail.com. More informa-
tion is available at www.
oregon.gov/ODOT/Pro-
grams/Pages/SRTS.aspx.
that with the COVID-19
By David Sykes
Morrow County has a slowdown in the supply
pest knocking at its door, chain there are reports the
and county officials last spray chemical is hard to
week discussed what should obtain, but
be done to keep the unwant- Lutcher says
he talked
ed guest out.
Oregon State Univer- to the Mor-
sity Extension Agent Larry row Coun-
Lutcher gave county com- t y G r a i n
missioners a report about G r o w e r s
OSU Exten-
the Mormon Cricket infes- and it seems s i o n A g e n t
tation in Gilliam County to be readily Larry Lutcher
which he thinks is probably available at gives report on
heading here. Lutcher says this time. “I infestation.
the crickets, which destroy think we can
range land vegetation and get significant product here
crops, have been a problem now, but if we delay the
in Gilliam County for sev- decision for a year we might
eral years and are now right not be able to,” Lutcher
at the Morrow County line. said. “The question is: is it
“It is a serious situation,” better to be proactive and
said Lutcher, who told the squash this thing now, be-
commissioners he has been fore it becomes a terrible
studying up on the insects in issue and a long-term on-
preparation. “I hope they ar- going problem we have to
en’t in Morrow County, but deal with?” he asked.
In the spring of 2018
we don’t know for sure.”
Arlington
had a bad in-
He said Gilliam County has
festation
of
the cricket,
been spraying the crickets
which
did
considerable
the past three or four years
to the tune of $100,000 for damage, not only to crops,
each 10,000 acres. “You can but gardens and vegetation
drive out to the intersection in town. Commissioner
of four mile and eight mile Melissa Lindsay recalls
(at the county line) and see being in Arlington when
the crickets,” said Lutcher the insects were there. “I
saw these in Arlington,
who told the commis-
and you can’t
sioners the insects do
get rid of them.
not fly so are coming
They decimated
to Morrow County by
The
Mormon
their yards, trees
“walking or hopping.”
C r i c k e t h a s and bushes,” she
He said they are big, 1.5
been a prob-
to 2-inches long, and lem in Gilliam related. “You
can move a mile to 1.5 C o u n t y f o r couldn’t even
walk across the
miles per day. “Are they some time.
sidewalk. It was
going to keep advancing
disgusting.
It was a pretty
(toward Morrow County)?
big
deal
and
if we can help
I think they will but at what
stop
them
we
need to talk
rate? I don’t want to get
about
it,”
she
said.
caught flat footed,” he told
Despite their name and
the commissioners.
characteristic
male chirp-
Lutcher says in order
ing,
Mormon
crickets are
to kill the insects, juveniles
not
true
crickets,
but rather
need to be sprayed with
shield-backed
katydids.
a product called Dimilin,
which doesn’t kill the adults They got their name by
who can only be killed by endangering the livelihood
baiting with Sevin. He said of Mormon pioneers in the
the cost to spray a field is mid-1800s. The crickets
about nine dollars per acre. usually have one generation
“My biggest concern is do per year with adults mating
we spray, and if so do we in the early summer, after
wait for it to get into the which the females lay eggs
county, or do we help the in the ground. Each female
Gilliam folks out and spray can lay over 100 eggs.
just to the west of us and Eggs hatch the following
prevent them from coming spring (March-May) when
here?” he asked. He said the soil temperatures reach 40
Gilliam county landowners F. Nymphs pass through
have either started spraying seven instars (60-90 days)
before reaching maturity
now or will shortly.
Lutcher says the crick- and 10-14 days later mating
et populations peak and occurs. Nymphs resemble
decline, but when they get adults in appearance but
going will “eat everything are smaller and lack wings.
in their path.” He says Adults feed throughout the
they will come into the growing season.
The county commis-
range land and then start
sioners
took no action on
destroying around the edges
the
cricket
problem but will
of the wheat ground. He
discuss
it
further at their
says where used, the spray
May
26
meeting
where
program has been “very
Lutcher
will
be
joined
by
effective.” They will eat
Gilliam
County
Extension
anything irrigated, range
agent Jordan Maley to talk
and wheat ground.
There has been reports more.
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