EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Sheriff’s Report
...continued from page six
July 6 (cont.): Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office re-
ceived a report on Marshall
Loop, in Boardman. Male
fell off the roof
-MCSO received a re-
port at Heppner Market
Fresh on N Main St., in
Heppner. Caller advised
of a male running around
without a shirt on and yell-
ing. He believes he went
behind the supermarket
***MCSO responded, un-
able to locate subject
-MCSO received a re-
port on Rock Ave, in Irri-
gon. Caller advised there
are two dogs loose in his
yard, one is a rottweiler. He
is inside his chicken coop
and can’t get back to his
house. MCSO responded
and dog owner was located
and put dogs up.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Flynn Apartments
on Nw Gale St., in Heppner.
Caller advised her husband
was beaten up. Wants to
speak to a Deputy
July 7: Morrow Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Office received
a report on I 84 W, in
Boardman. Dog took off
from a female alongside the
freeway and is getting into
traffic. Referred to other
agency.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Willow Creek Park
District Fitness Park on Nw
Riverside Ave., in Heppner.
Coyote at the fit park that is
seriously injured.
-MCSO received a re-
port on S Willow St, in
lone. Subject is causing a
disturbance, yelling at his
mom and throwing things,
32 yoa male, Caller is in her
bedroom, male is outside
the house with a female
-MCSO received a re-
port on Highway 74, in
Heppner. Threw a cup out
the window - vehicle is
all over the road - 4 wind
motor home only going
40 mph - on his cell phone
when passed .. Disposition:
referred to other agency.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Park Ave Nw, in
Boardman. Vehicle is being
repossessed at this address.
July 8: Morrow Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Office received
a report on Wagon Wheel
Loop, in Irrigon. Pick up
without a license plate. Has
backed in a new fifth wheel
trailer into their neighbor’s
property. They are con-
cerned that it is stolen.
-MCSO received a
report on W Main St, in
Lexington. Caller advised
that the neighbor’s dogs are
barking again.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Columbia Ln, in
Irrigon. Caller advised that
his ex-girlfriend is at his
house refusing to leave and
is damaging his belongings.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Agri Northwest on
Paterson Ferry Rd., in Ir-
rigon. Caller reports that
someone backed into his
pickup in the parking lot
and dented his pickup.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Se Utah Ave, in
Irrigon. Bright Blue P/U
w/ a matching Canopy and
white sign on both doors.
Spun its tires on Eighth,
ran stop sign on Seventh
went at a high rate of speed
towards California to Tenth.
Caller advises vehicle is
heading back towards his
res. Unable to locate.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Sw Second St, in
Irrigon. Caller is advising
that his ex just left the
residence with all of his
belongings.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Depot Ln, in Ir-
rigon. Caller is advising
that there is 3 dogs tied to
chains with no shade and no
water. The house is yellow
in color.
PORT-COUNTY MEETING
not a dire situation saying
Amazon would self-regu-
late and not keep opening
server farms here if there
wasn’t enough employees.
Lisa Mittelsdorf, economic
development director, at
the port, said Amazon can
bring in employees from
other locations to regulate
the work force. It had been
mentioned earlier that some
jobs on the Amazon web
site had been there for sev-
eral years, perhaps showing
a lack of employees. She
disagreed, explaining those
jobs get filled and new ones
are put up when a new serv-
er farm is built.
Port chairman Rick
Stokoe said the job employ-
ment shortage is not as dire
as some people make out,
and that the community has
indicated it wants to grow.
“The turnover rate isn’t as
high as being discussed.
We have these issues but
if these businesses weren’t
coming here there wouldn’t
be any jobs,” Stokoe em-
phasized. “We wouldn’t be
making the wages in the
county that are being made.
So, the idea to quit creating
business is asinine,” he
said. “The community has
said we want to continue
to grow, and they want to
continue to have good pay-
ing jobs. And we want to
be able to take care of our
families and how do you
do that if you stop bringing
in business? The port is an
economic developer. That
is what we do. We bring
in business, we bring in
growth,” he emphasized.
“When I was growing up
there were 170 people here
with two potato processing
facilities with minimum
wage,” Mittelsdorf said.
“We are the fourth highest
for wages in the state of
Oregon now. We ought to
be proud of that. The way
to continue to grow our
community and citizens is
to continue to get better jobs
for them so they do want to
stay here.” Neal said more
plant managers are looking
to locate in the county and
that is a good thing. “We are
starting to get managers to
live here again,” Neal said.
“We lost that for a long
time and that is integral to
making the whole county
better because they are in-
vested in the county. It has
taken a lot of hard work and
coordination, but we feel
that we have some positive
momentum going on a lot of
these fronts,” he said.
Doherty wanted to
know how much industrial
property the port needs. “I
am compelled to add an
additional 2,000 acres to the
largest port in Oregon (Port
of Morrow) with already
the most available indus-
trial property in the state.
These are just honest ques-
tions that I have to go to my
constituents and answer,”
he said. Neal answered that
the port is planning ahead
and looking at its property
needs 30 years down the
road. “What happens when
you do run out of industrial
property?” Neal asked. He
said with the additional
depot land the port would
be adding industrial land
without “taking out any
farmland.” He said the port
is trying for grown without
having an impact on agri-
culture. “Our vision isn’t
just today it is into the fu-
ture and how do you we do
that?” Neal says right now
the port has 10-15 custom-
ers at any time that could
potentially site here at the
port. “If they all sited, we
are out of land. Our job is to
make sure the port is pros-
perous and has perspective
into the future not just to-
day,” he emphasized. “We
are to the point now we are
running out of property. Its
industrial property, and that
is what it is for, to develop,
to prosper, to add value to
the county for the benefit of
the citizens. That’s what it
is for,” added Mittelsdorf.
Speaking of past meet-
ings with the port, Coun-
ty Commissioner Melissa
Lindsay had good words
about this joint meeting
saying, “This was the first
time I have been at the
table when there has been
spoken dialog and not just
canned discussion, where
we were then told what to
do. I appreciate that a lot
and we need to continue
these discussions,” she add-
ed. “I want open dialog and
not 100 percent preplanned
conversation, and then you
tell us what to do.” She
said the relationship be-
tween the port and county
is a partnership. “This is us
now, and if this is how we
operate I think we get along
nicely,” she said about the
meeting. Lindsay added,
“Amazing things have been
done here (at the port). We
want to work together, but
it has got to be in the public
eye, and not somewhere
else,” she emphasized. “We
want to all be grownups in
the room when important
things happen. We want a
partnership with all of us
working together.”
Lindsay said this joint
meeting was the first time
she have heard both per-
spectives on growth and “it
is all very interesting. It can
be a very good thing, but the
days of not working togeth-
er are gone,” she said. She
said both groups represent
Morrow County citizens
and that “we are not two
separate entities. We are
all county-wide entities and
representatives. It is one
county, and our mission is
county-wide, and we have
not been doing that,” she
stressed. “This is the first
time I have felt included in
the analysis and I appreci-
ate it.”
Stokoe said one rea-
son the port had taken a
strong lead on acquiring
the industrial zoned army
depot property alone, was
because of an agreement
made between former coun-
ty commissioners that the
port could have the land for
development. “We thought
there was an agreement
with the county moving
forward. We understood
we had an agreement and
that is why we were taking
the approach we did. The
port is not trying to stick
it to anybody. There was
an agreement and that is
how they were moving
forward,” he said. That
agreement, however, was
only a verbal commitment
-Continued from PAGE ONE
from two previous county
commissioners, current
commissioners point out.
Lindsay also pointed
out that the county in a
sense already is a partner
with the port, saying when
the port sites new business-
es and the enterprise zone
gives the business large
property tax breaks that
is money not coming into
the county coffers. “Over a
third of the dollars you ne-
gotiate with are the county’s
or the school district’s so
you can’t ignore that there
is already a partnership tak-
ing place,” she argued. “We
are all a county-wide entity.
It’s the county’s money, the
citizens of this county’s
money. This is not a unicorn
that five people (port com-
missioners) have made hap-
pen. This is about everyone
in this county sacrificing
something,” she said of the
new development coming
to the port.
Russell noted that the
army depot property has
been here a long time and
never contributed any prop-
erty taxes to the county,
so any new development
would be better. “This prop-
erty has been in federal
ownership and not con-
tributed a dime in county
tax revenue,” he said. “If
we got a dime out of it
tomorrow that would be a
dime more than we have
gotten before. Whatever
entity goes in there, if they
get a 50 percent tax break
in money, that is still more
than we have gotten over
the last 80 years,” Russell
said.
Following the two-hour
discussion on the future
growth of Morrow County,
most of the participants
agreed talking together was
a good thing and should
continue. “We want to make
sure that we can work with
the county and are on the
same page,” Neal said.
“We want to be lock and
step when we go to recruit
(new business). We don’t
want angst between the two
entities. We have some of
the best assets in the world
right here, and we want to
make sure this is one of the
greatest places to live, raise
a family and do business,”
he concluded.
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