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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2021)
Celebrate the holidays with photos 50¢ VOL. 140 NO. 49 8 Pages Wednesday, December 8, 2021 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Residents are asked to submit photos of their homes that are lit up and decorated for the holidays. Please include the city where the home is located and the street it is on if you choose. The Heppner Gazette-Times will be pub- lishing the photos in the December 22 issue. Photos may be emailed to editor@rapidserve.net, uploaded to Heppner.net or texted to 541-980-6674 and must be received by 5 p.m. on Monday, December 20 to be included. For addi- tional information, contact the G-T at 541-676-9228. Think Big Space grand opening held at Sage Center Port of Morrow Chair Rick Stokoe cuts the ribbon to open the new Think Big Space. Last Thursday the Port of Morrow, Morrow County School District and Ama- zon Web Services (AWS) hosted the grand opening of the AWS Think Big Space at the Port of Morrow’s Sustainable Agriculture and Energy (SAGE) Center in Boardman. The new AWS Think Big Space is a dedicated space for students, edu- cators and communities to explore innovative and imaginative ideas through interactive hands-on tech- nical education and cloud computing training. This new educational space, funded by AWS and the Port of Morrow, is intended to inspire students to ex- Students interact with technology in Think Big Space. Think Big Space Classroom. -Photos by Erika Lasater plore and cultivate STEM (science, technology, engi- neering, and math) related interests with labs that uti- lize cloud computing and various AWS technologies. Many local officials attended the opening, in- cluding Morrow County Commissioners Don Rus- sell, Melissa Lindsay and Jim Doherty, Port Com- missioners Rick Stokoe, Jerry Healy and Joe Taylor, Erin Stocker and Marie Shimer from the Morrow County School District and Ryan Neal, CEO of Port of Morrow. Also in attendance were State Representative Greg Smith and State Sen- ator Bill Hansell. Grand opening activi- ties included a ribbon cut- ting ceremony, a private tour of the space led by Don Walker, lead instructor of the AWS Think Big Space and a showcase of student programmed robots and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings designed by students from Ione, Ir- rigon and Windy River Elementary Schools. At the event, Commis- sioner Stokoe shared, “This initiative wouldn’t be possi- ble without the partnerships and shared vision for our youth. STEM education plays a vital role in prepar- ing students for their future. We know the Think Big Space will cultivate these learning opportunities that inspire innovation”. AWS selected SAGE Center as the first location in Oregon to receive an AWS Think Big Space. Its curriculum will be overseen by the Morrow County School District and pro- gramming will be sup- ported by a robust set of regional collaborators that include early childhood ed- ucation and post-secondary schools. “AWS is committed to making a positive impact in the communities where our employees live and work,” said Cornelia Robinson, global leader of AWS in communities. “We were incredibly impressed by the vision of the AWS Think Big Space at the SAGE Center. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to invest in the students and residents of Morrow Coun- ty and provide the tools and connections they need to build, imagine and innovate their best future.” Shepherds Flat wind blades to be recycled into cement Will be trucked to Missouri for processing at the meeting. She added en tons recycled through there had been an “up- this process enables the ce- roar” in the Ione area with ment kiln to avoid consum- people thinking the used ing nearly five tons of coal, blades were going to a lo- 2.7 tons of silica, 1.9 tons of cal landfill. “The question limestone, and nearly a ton has been asked numerous of additional mineral-based times what is being done raw materials. with these blades? And the Cooley was asked if the answer was, we don’t know company’s recycling plans yet,” she told Cooley. She might change. “I commend added even EFSC you for your disposal Blades like this one coming off Shepherds Flat wind farm will wasn’t clear when but is your intent to re- not be buried in a landfill. issuing the permit cycle going to change?” “If they were going to bury agreement with Southern how the blades Lindsay asked. She was them, they would have to go California Edison for all would be dis- concerned after hear- to a licensed land fill. Just the electricity generated posed of. “I need ing land was already picking a spot and digging there. The power was so a clear answer,” purchased for the buri- a hole and burying them important at that time to she told Cooley. al. Cooley said nothing wouldn’t work in the state southern California’s green Cooley said Jared Cooley would change during the of Oregon,” Russell said. energy goals, that the mayor his company has D i re c t o r o f repower project. “This is Before selling out to of Long Beach California contracted for Construction a method that we have Brookfield in February of attended the wind farm ded- b l a d e d i s p o s - Brookfield confirmed with Gen- this year, Caithness Energy ication ceremony in Mor- al with General Renewable eral Electric, and they had built the Shepherds Flat row County. The current Electric, who have been contracted windfarm in Morrow and repowering project, includ- plan on hauling them to a to dispose of the blades,” Gilliam counties in 2012 ing blade replacement, is recycling plant owned by he reiterated. Commis- and at that time it was the the result of advancements a company named Veo- sioner Don Russell said it largest windmill project in in wind blade design and is lia North America located would be difficult to bury the world. When complet- expected to be completed 70 miles northwest of St. the blades anywhere be- ed Caithness had signed in 2022. Louis. The blades, mainly sides a licensed landfill. a 20-year power purchase composed of fiberglass, will be shredded and the resulting material then used in the kilns to replace the coal, sand and clay needed to make cement. More than E L E VAT E YO U R A DV E N T U R E 90 percent of the blades will be reused with 65 percent as raw material in the cement CALL plants, and 28 percent trans- formed into energy required for the chemical reaction in ext 204 the kiln. According to GE’s for more website, a single wind tur- bine blade that weighs sev- information 541-989-8221 Print & Mailing Services *Design *Print Sykes Publishing *Mail 541-676-9228 NEW 2022 FOR By David Sykes operation,” Cooley said. Over 1,000 fiberglass He explained that under windmill blades soon to be the process, the fiberglass coming off the Shepherds composite blades would Flat wind farm in Morrow be ground up and used as and Gilliam counties, are alternative fuel in an old headed to a Missouri recy- coal-fired plant used to run cling center where they will a cement making operation. be ground up and used to Waste from the burned manufacture cement, Mor- blades would then be taken row County commissioners from the furnaces and in- were told last week. corporated into the portland Concerned that the cement product, he added. used blades removed during Brookfield Renewable an up-coming repowering had been granted a license project might be buried by the Oregon Energy Facil- somewhere in the coun- ity Siting Council (EFSC) ty, Commissioner Melissa to put bigger, longer blades Lindsay asked Jared on the 338 turbines Cooley, a representa- at the wind farm, tive of Shepherds Flat resulting in higher owner Brookfield Re- energy output. But newable, point blank it also means 1014 what the company used blades are planned on doing with needing disposal. all those used blades. The EFSC license She said rumors circu- does not specify lating in Ione had the Commissioner how the blades blades ending up in a Melissa would be disposed landfill somewhere in Lindsay of, which along the county. Cooley as- with the burial ru- sured her that was not going mors, concerned Lindsay. to happen. Cooley was actually “The blades will be before the commissioners cut into eight-foot sec- on another matter, seeking tions, stacked on trucks and approval of a road agree- hauled to Missouri and used ment between Brookfield in a concrete cement kiln Renewable and the county to facilitate road access to 85 wind towers located in Morrow County, when Lindsay brought up the disposal plans. “This is our only opportunity to know what is going to happen to these blades,” Lindsay said in questioning Cooley 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). 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