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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2021)
Lexington street gets new pavement 50¢ VOL. 140 NO. 41 8 Pages Wednesday, October 13, 2021 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Candidate for governor visits Heppner Republican candidate for governor, Kerry McQuisten, visited Heppner Friday. Republican candidate for governor, Kerry Mc- Quisten, visited Heppner on the campaign trail last Friday. The stop was part of a two-day “pop-up” tour of Morrow and Gilliam counties. “It’s personally im- portant to me to visit every county in Oregon as many times as I can during this race,” says McQuisten. “Rural Oregon counties get left out of the equation all too often, and that attitude among elected officials and candidates has helped drive a wedge between eastern and western Oregon. I want people to know they would be represented if I’m elect- ed Governor.” McQuisten is a seventh generation Oregonian who currently serves as mayor of Baker City. She started her own publishing company in 2007, and has owned and operated it ever since, though she was raised on a cattle ranch. This is her first time running for a ma- jor office. “We don’t need another politician in the Governor’s seat,” she says. “Too many people want to be governor for reasons of ego. Those are exactly the candidates who should not be in that office. I simply want Oregon back, and know I have the ability to reverse the damage done to our state, particularly over the last two years. We can’t stand four or eight more years of overreach.” McQuisten first hit the public stage when she au- thored Baker City’s Reso- lution 3881, dubbed “The Common Sense Sanctuary” by media, earlier this year. In reality, the resolution was a declaration of mental health, economic and crime crisis not due to COVID, but to Kate Brown’s re- sponse to it. That stand rolled across Oregon as other counties and cities adopted similar resolutions. After multiple appearances on FOX and several Port- land-based news shows, she received a groundswell of encouragement to run for governor. “I’m hearing from vot- ers in all political parties, including lifelong Demo- crats. Oregonians are done watching their state be de- stroyed.” She points out that when people say their voic- es don’t count in rural areas, it simply isn’t true. “If vot- ers get genuinely excited about a conservative can- didate from eastern Oregon, and turn in their ballots, the numbers are there for us to win this.” If elected, McQuisten would be the first Repub- lican to hold the office in nearly 40 years, the first fe- male Republican governor ever, and the first governor Arcade Street in Lexington recently received new pavement. from eastern Oregon since Morrow County Public Works Road Department spent several the 1950s. days completing the work last week. The Town of Lexington repaves streets every year with the use of grant funds. -Contributed photos. McQuisten (center) visited with JoAnna Lamb (left) and Kim Pictured (L-R): Cherrie Clark, Sheena Shank, McQuisten and Cutsforth (right). Darlene Klock. Council hears plan to tackle south county housing shortage ‘Major barrier to new housing is a lack of infrastructure,’ says county planner Mabbott Tamra Mabbott, county planner vate sector funding. Many of the new housing devel- opments over the past 20 years has been the result of a public-private partnership between the Willow Creek Valley Economic Develop- ment Group (WCVEDG) and the lone Community Agri-Business Organiza- tion (ICABO). While that formula has produced some new housing, the parties re- alize that the major barrier to new housing is a lack of infrastructure. Collectively these private and public groups have accomplished a lot, however, the design and construction of infra- structure has resulted in an impasse for new housing development,” Mabbott said. “Even these very re- markable efforts with bright and resourceful people, cannot overcome the fi- nancial burden of building and expanding new infra- structure.” She explained the new effort she’s working on seeks to retain a planning and financial consulting firm to find money for in- frastructure and give the cities places where new homes can be built. She said the program also wants local people to help with the effort to find funds for infrastructure in the cities. In addition to city manager Kraig Cutsforth who will serve on the committee, Mabbott said she is looking for individuals willing to put in some volunteer time on the effort. She said peo- ple are needed who would be helpful on a technical advisory committee, and she was especially encour- aging “extra outreach to communities that might not be historically represented. So, persons of color, low income and very low-in- come folks especially,” she told the council. “It is sometimes a lot more difficult to get them to the table to help us talk about housing. All income levels are needed,” she said, “but if you think about persons who traditionally might be involved with this, we need them, but we also need folks that might not traditionally be at the table to be part of this project,” Mabbott said of the volun- teers needed. She said the volunteer work would be for a one-year commitment, and the group would hold an informational meeting in the next couple of weeks. Heppner city coun- cilmember and local Chamber of Commerce and WCVEDG Executive Director JoAnna Lamb told the council she has already been working on housing issues. Lamb said she is involved with four different groups working on infrastructure. “We can’t do anything until that is ad- McQuisten stopped off at Peterson’s Jewelry for a visit with Randall Peterson. -Contributed photos. dressed,” Lamb said, add- ing she thought Heppner was behind in those efforts and needs to catch up to where other cities are in ob- taining studies and funding. As an example, WCVEDG recently purchased land above Rock Street for use as a new subdivision. The area has been laid out with 13 lots for development, however the project is wait- ing for money to develop the infrastructure. There has already been heavy public interest in any new build- ing lots that may become available there once water, sewer and streets are put in, however nothing can move forward until infrastructure funding is found. In other business at Monday’s meeting the council awarded a contract to Granite construction for ~ G-T Trophy Corner ~ The Heppner Gazette Times would like to see pictures of your trophy animals from this hunting season. Please send a photo along with your name, age, town you live in, location of the hunt and a description of the animal to editor@rapidserve.net, upload to Heppner.net or text to 541-980-6674. Jim Kirkpatrick, 66, Heppner, harvested this ram in the Big- horn Mountains of Alberta on September 18, 2021. $33,000 for work on Thom- son Square. The new food court is being developed on Main Street next to the post office, and already has a new information booth, re- stroom and drinking foun- tains, as well as a concrete pad poured near the front. It will soon get asphalt poured on the remainder of the property farther back from the street. DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM E L E VAT E YO U R A DV E N T U R E CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 NEW 2022 FOR By David Sykes A housing shortage af- fecting all south Morrow County could be getting some help soon, county planner Tamra Mabbott told the Heppner city council Monday night. Anyone who has looked for a rental or tried to buy a home in Heppner, Lexington or Ione recently, already knows of the per- sistent shortage, and the problem doesn’t seem to be going away. Mabbott told the council, however, that help is on the way. Mabbott said it’s com- mon knowledge to those already working on the housing problem, that the number one obstacle to developing new housing is infrastructure. Streets, sidewalks, gutters, water and sewer lines as well as water sources and sewer facilities are needed before homes can be built in the communities. “The cities have worked creatively and collaboratively over the past 20 plus years to increase housing choices,” she said. “A portion of the new housing has been pri- for more information CHECK OUT THE ALL-NEW 2 0 2 2 P O L A R I S L I N E U P. WE’LL HELP YOU LOCK I N W H AT Y O U W A N T. WARNING: Polaris ® off‑road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not intended for on‑road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license to operate. Passengers, if permitted, must be at least 12 years old. All riders should always wear helmets, eye protection, and protective clothing. Always use seat belts and cab nets or doors (as equipped). Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. All riders should take a safety training course. 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