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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2021)
MCHD Board responds to recent changes and events New interim CEO announced 50¢ VOL. 140 NO. 26 8 Pages Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Curbs and sidewalks going in Emily Roberts Workers began installing curbs and sidewalks Tuesday on the north end of Gale Street. The crews will be starting at 5 a.m. to beat the heat. Where were you in 1941? Heppner City Manager Kraig Cutsforth (inset) holds a 1941 automobile license plate uncovered during the street renovation project now going on in Heppner. Cutsforth says nothing too “unusual” has been unearthed during the renovation project. -Photos by David Sykes Heppner saw the sec- ond phase of its big street project get underway Tues- day, when workmen began laying curbs and sidewalks on the north end of Gale Street. City Manager Kraig Cutsforth says there are three different crews that will come into Heppner to do the total street project. The first crew who has been working here for some time already, tears out the streets and sidewalks and lays the new sewer pipelines. Another crew is now in to do the sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and a third compa- ny and group will come in last to do the asphalt work. He says the work tear- ing out old asphalt on Chase is going pretty smoothly except when the crew found a large fiber line in the road they did not know about, Residents seek relief as record breaking heat wave expected to last through Sunday which caused some delay. Cutsforth also said they ran into a lot of underground water on Chase Street, but not a lot of rock like what was found on Gale Street earlier. He says overall the entire project is going well, and it may be a little bit ahead of schedule. The curbs and side- walk crew uses a machine (above) to pour and form the gutters. The concrete is coming from local contrac- tor Miller and Sons. In a recent press re- lease, the Morrow County Health District (MCHD) Board of Directors an- nounced that Victor Van- derDoes, who served for a brief time as Interim CEO, resigned from his position effective Friday, June 18, 2021. Mr. VanderDoes’ de- parture was a direct result of his unauthorized pre- sentation to the Boardman Chamber of Commerce. In a statement to all staff following the event, the board shared the following, “We must convey that his [VanderDoes’] conduct and the context of his words and actions in no way reflect the board’s sentiments. We deeply regret the harm his comments may have caused to those present during that session, those participating in the event on social me- dia, and to all the valued community partners he mentioned during his pre- sentation.” Board members John Murray, Chairman, Carri Grieb, Diane Kilken- ny, Aaron Palmquist and Marie Shimer emphasized that neither they nor mem- bers of the executive team had prior knowledge of Mr. VanderDoes’ intent or the content he presented. They also stated that under no circumstances would VanderDoes be permitted to continue in his role had he not resigned. Immediately after the events of last week, the MCHD Board began work- ing on a plan to address the vacancy in the CEO position while also ensuring the district’s stability. In the letter from the board to staff on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the following was included, “I want to share what we as a board believe to be the most positive news and outcome we could have imagined emerging from this situation. We are pleased to share that Emily Roberts, MCHD’s current compliance officer, had expressed an interest in pursuing an opportunity to become our newest Chief Executive Officer.” On June 23, Roberts accepted the position as Interim CEO and immediately began working with staff. According to the press release, in her first dis- trict-wide communication as interim CEO, Roberts shared, “I am honored to be writing to you as the dis- trict’s interim CEO, a role that I take very seriously. As the interim CEO, I will give my best every day to regain your trust and to restore community confidence in our organization.” In addition, Roberts, a health care compliance professional, has a back- ground in behavioral health and acknowledged the dis- trict’s current challenges. She pledged the following, “Here is who I aspire to be for you: an authentic, re- silient and energetic leader that puts the needs of the district first.” She went on to say that she is “as enthu- siastic and committed to -See MCHD CEO/PAGE THREE Ione schedules events for 4 th of July celebration S atu rd ay , J u ly 3, 2021 When the thermometer hits 110 it’s time to head for the pool, which a lot of people did this week to cool off from this record heat wave that has this past week covered the Pacific Northwest including Mor- row County. The National Weather Service says the heat wave is expected to be with us until Sunday and to expect temperatures between 105 and 115. The NWS also says the extreme heat will “signifi- cantly increase the potential for heat related illness- es, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.” It said there is “the possibility that all-time record high tem- peratures will be reached or exceeded during this heat wave.” Wind towers red blinking light system changed The steadily blinking red light system on the top of the towers of the new wind project in Morrow County, has been changed. The warning system that sees the red lights blink on and off simultaneously all night long, warning night airplane pilots away from the towers has been replaced with a new system where lights only come on when an aircraft is detect- ed in the area. The steady blinking lights were con- sidered an eyesore. Morrow County offi- cials were informed the new lighting system had been installed in a June 16 letter from Wheatridge Wind II, LLC a division of NextEra which owns and operates the project. Commissioner Don Russell, himself a pilot, has been pushing for installation of the new on-demand light warning system for some time. Replacing the always blinking red light warning system with the “Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS)” was required by Morrow County in order for Wheatridge to receive its Strategic Investment Program (SIP) tax abate- ment deal approved earlier. “If the ADLS system is not operational by July 1, 2021, then the SIP exemption would be null and void,” the company letter to Morrow County Assessor Mike Gor- man read. “As the projects have installed the ADLS we have met this requirement and look forward to utiliz- ing the SIP exemption as agreed.” WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription G o lf T o u rn am en t W illow C reek C ountry C lub, H eppner Mo v ie in th e P ark (T he P rincess B ride) Ione C ity P ark J u ly 3 rd , 9 am J u ly 3 rd , S u n d o w n S u n d ay , J u ly 4, 2021 F irem an 's B reak fas t Ione F ire H all 7:00 -10:00 am C reativ e C are P reS c h o o l 5k W alk /R u n ($10 R eg is tratio n ) Ione C ity P ark 7 am R eg is tratio n /W alk s tarts at 7:30 am K en T u rn er Mem o rial H o rs es h o e T o u rn am en t H orseshoe P its 9:00 am C h u rc h S erv ic e Ione C ity P ark 10:00 am C ru z -in C ar S h o w Ione C ity P ark 10:00 am V en d o rs & B o o th s Ione C ity P ark 11:00 am 11:00 am F is h P o n d , B ik e R affle F ire H all/P ark P arad e G ran d Mars h al: L o y al & B etty B u rn s Main S treet 1:00 p m D u c k R ac es Main S treet A fter P arad e F ree S w im m in g Ione S wimming P ool 1:00-5:00 p m L u k e B as ile & J am ie N as ario A mphitheater S tage 2:00-3:00 p m C o ry P eters o n B an d A mphitheater S tage 3:30-4:30 p m T alen t S h o w A mphitheatre S tage 4:00 p m R eg is tratio n /S h o w at 4:30 p m A mphitheater S tage 6:30 p m F eatu red E n tertain m en t C o lo rb lin d (6:30 p m ) F irew o rk s D is p lay Stompin’ Ground (8:30 p m ) V isible throughout Ione Dusk A ll event, times and locations are subject to change. Ione’s 4 th O f J u ly C elebratio n Is S p o n s o red In P art B y Mo rrow C o u n ty U n ified R ecreatio n D istrict