Large crowd turns
out to celebrate
Independence Day
in Ione
50¢
VOL. 140
NO. 27
8 Pages
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
New director takes charge of chamber
By Bobbi Gordon
JoAnna Lamb has tak-
en the reins as executive
director of the Heppner
Chamber of Commerce.
Sheryll Bates, interim di-
rector, will be stepping back
into retirement again after
Lamb gets up to speed with
her new duties. Bates will
be helping JoAnna become
familiar with Willow Creek
Valley Economic Develop-
ment Group (WCVEDG)
also as she will be taking
over Sheryll’s duties there
as well.
Lamb, her husband,
Scott, and daughter, Sa-
mantha live in Heppner,
having moved here from
Irrigon two years ago. Sa-
mantha is 11 and will be
a sixth-grader at Heppner
Elementary this fall. They
also have a son, Cody, who
lives in Melba, ID with his
wife, Cassie and their six-
month-old son, Ace.
JoAnna grew up in
Scholls, OR, a rural area
just outside of Hillsboro
and graduated from HilHi
in 1989, where she let-
tered as a Thespian. After
high school, she went to
art school in Seattle, then
moved to Idaho in 1996
where she worked in animal
control as a Canyon County
Sheriff’s Deputy. She was
also a certified veterinary
JoAnna Lamb, Heppner
Chamber Executive Director
technician for 13 years.
Scott and JoAnna met
at the Jordan Valley rodeo
in May 2008 and married
in September 2009. She
continued to travel to work
from Drewsey, OR to Cald-
well, ID every week after
they were married. After
the birth of Samantha, she
became a stay-at-home
mom but kept herself busy
writing a novel. She says
she loves to crochet and
read historical fiction and
describes herself as a “total
yarn snob.”
She told the Gazette she
has had a “very diversified
portfolio” prior to hiring on
at the chamber including
being a volunteer for BLM
(Bureau of Land Manage-
ment) where she trained and
gentled horses and found
adopters for them. She cre-
ated a dog walk and animal
fair in Idaho to raise money
for animal charities and
created the current farm-
er’s market in Irrigon. She
worked as an educational
assistant at AC Houghton
in Irrigon and then at the
Ione Community School.
She was on the city council
in Irrigon and is currently a
city councilor in Heppner.
Lamb said, “I have always
believed that I could do just
about anything if I really
wanted to. Sometimes the
answer I get is no at first and
I am okay with that. Some-
times I have to rework and
adapt the plan, but if I want
it enough, it will be created
in some form.”
When asked what her
goals are as the chamber
director, she indicated she
would like to visit some
old ideas as well as creat-
ing some new collabora-
tive ideas going forward.
She said, “Coming into a
position like this after a
global pandemic and the
subsequent impact that has
had on absolutely every-
thing we do now, I have
an all-new way of viewing
things.” She noted she is
looking forward to work-
ing with the board and the
community to get a revital-
ized chamber with greater
community unification. “I
also believe in the unlimited
capabilities of a community
if they will collaborate and
work together for a com-
mon goal. Amazing things
can happen, and I believe
this is the perfect place for
that kind of partnership,”
she continued.
As for new ideas and
events for the chamber,
she said, “Currently I am
learning all the events and
projects as they were in
their original form for the
first year with no changes or
only minor changes as they
become necessary. After
each event, I plan to meet
with a committee and the
board to recommend chang-
es (if any). Later on, we will
see how I can incorporate
some new 21 st century flair
into things.”
Lamb continued to say,
“I have rediscovered some
events and programs that
have been done in the past
and we’re looking at the
possibility of bringing a
select few back with some
adaptations. Some things
we will never be able to
bring back though because
the times have changed just
too much. That’s unfortu-
nate, but in time I hope to
make new ideas come to
life.”
People celebrating the 4 th of July stand for the singing of the
National Anthem and display of the flag by these Harley Da-
vidson flag bearers before start of the parade Sunday in Ione.
More Ione 4 th of July photos on page 8. -Photo by David Sykes.
Power outage
caused by downed
pole
Therapy Services to hold open house at
new facility
The new Pioneer Memorial Therapy Services office building on Alfalfa St.
Pioneer Memorial
Therapy Services has an-
nounced that they have
moved to their new ex-
panded location at 695
Alfalfa Street, Heppner OR.
“Rocky Mountain Therapy
Services, Krystal Seitz, OT,
Regi Lazinka, SLP, Shelley
McCabe, PT and Savannah
Poorman, office manager,
wish to thank the com-
munity, our families and
contractors for supporting
the purchase and creation
of this exciting new space,”
said Shelley McCabe.
Pioneer Memorial
Therapy Services is owned
by Rocky Mountain Ther-
apy Services and is made
up of a local therapy team.
They offer physical, occu-
pational and speech ther-
apy in a private outpatient
setting. They also contract
with Pioneer Memorial
Hospital and Home Health,
Intermountain ESD, and
Hermiston School District
to provide therapy in these
additional settings.
“We are looking for-
ward to our continued and
now expanded service and
support of the Physical/Oc-
cupational/Speech Therapy
needs of Heppner and Mor-
row County,” continued
McCabe. There will be an
open house Friday, July 9,
2021, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to
come and see the remodeled
space, enjoy refreshments
and a chance to win prizes.
For additional infor-
mation call 541-676-1123.
The team looks forward to
seeing everyone on Friday.
The G-T reported in
an article last week that
the Morrow County Health
District (MCHD) purchased
the Lutheran Church for
Physical Therapy. Actually,
Rocky Mountain Therapy
Services purchased the
Hope Lutheran Church for
Physical, Occupational
and Speech Therapy and
MCHD purchased the Naz-
arene church.
Neighborhood Center hires
assistant coordinator
Kelly Fritz
The Neighborhood
Center recently announced
that they have hired Kelly
Fritz as the new assistant
coordinator. Kelly will be
providing operation support
to the head coordinator,
Lisa Patton, in the running
of the thrift store and food
pantry.
Fritz was previously
employed at the North-
western Motel in Heppner
and has volunteered at the
Neighborhood Center for
the last six years. “Kelly is
one of the hardest working
individuals I know. We
are confident that she will
maintain our mission of
providing food, emergency
resources and hope to our
neighbors in need,” said
coordinator Lisa Patton.
A power outage that began around 2 a.m. on July 5 and lasted
until approximately 10 a.m. was reportedly caused when a
white Ford pickup ran off the road, through a fence and took
down a power pole on Hwy 74 near MP 40. Tracks in the grass
show the route the pickup took from the road to the pole, which
has now been replaced. Power was interrupted in Lexington
and Heppner. -Photo by Wayne Gordon.
Double rainbow
photographed over
Heppner
Petra Payne took this photo of a double rainbow over Hep-
pner on June 30.