Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 2, 2022 -- THREE
CREZ makes long-term commitment
Call to be His ministers to cities in Morrow County
Spiritually Speaking
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
This week’s readings deal with three different person-
alities called by God: the prophet Isaiah, Paul and Peter
and his coworkers. How did these people respond to the
call of God? They all felt unworthy. Isa-
iah said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am
a man of unclean lips, and I live among a
people of unclean lips!” (Isaiah 6:5). Paul
felt himself unfit to be called an apostle
because he persecuted the church of God.
(1 Corinthians 15:9). And Peter fell down
at Jesus’s feet and said, “Go away from Fr. Thankachan
me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke Joseph
15:8). Humility is said to be the first and
primary virtue in authentic spirituality.
Beyond the feeling of unworthiness, these three peo-
ple called to do God’s work have in common availability
and readiness to do God’s will and follow His directives.
As soon as Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord asking,
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” his imme-
diate response was, “Here am I; send me!” (v. 8). In the
case of Peter and his partners, “they left everything and
followed him” (v. 11) without looking back. And Paul
threw himself with so much zeal into God’s work that
he worked harder than all those who were called before
him, though as he is quick to point out, “it was not I,
but the grace of God that is with me” (v. 10). We must
be available and willing to go do as the Lord directs us.
In the first reading, the vision that the prophet de-
scribes (6: 1-2a, 3-8) is so awesome, the prophet believes
a curse has fallen on him: “Woe is me! For I am lost.”
His awareness of “being lost” comes from his sense
of unworthiness: “I am a man of unclean lips, living
among the people of unclean lips!” We understand that
the prophet had yet to learn that the vision of glory must
burn deep and cleanse him. So, he has to go through a
process of purification. Thus, the seraph flows to him
with a “burning coal.” Isaiah feels the intense burning in
his mouth, which must be cleansed first if he is to speak
the messages of God. And only after purification are the
prophet’s ears opened to hear the call of God. Only after
he is freed from his sins is he able to hear and comprehend
the word of God: “Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us?” The prophet is ready for his mission: “Here am
I! Send me” (v.8).
St. Paul’s letter to the First Corinthians (15:1-11)
describes the call of Paul. Even though Paul did not meet
Jesus face-to-face in his lifetime, his certitude that he was
passing on the authentic teaching of Christ is based not
on the many visions of Christ that he enjoyed but on the
teaching he received from the apostles before him. “For,
I handed on to you as of first importance, what I in turn
had received” (1 Cor. 15: 3). Paul understood his ministry
as essentially that of passing on the message. To succeed
in this, two things are most important: how one receives
the tradition, and how one passes it on.
The Gospel reading from St. Luke (5: 1-11) illustrates
the call of Peter and his co-workers, the first disciples.
It happens in the context of the miraculous catch of the
fish, which illustrates that when we follow the guidance
of the Lord in our lives, we achieve results that will
change our lives. He and his men toiled all night long and
caught nothing. Relying on their competence as seasoned
fishermen resulted in failure. But when they followed the
Lord’s guidance, which did not make much sense (fish-
ermen did not set the net in broad daylight), the result
was an astounding success. Jesus said to Peter, “Do not
be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (v.
10). We see that their qualification for the work of God
does not come from them but from God. It is not their
personal achievement; it is God’s grace. That is why
Paul could say, “But by the grace of God I am what I
am” (v. 10). The one who calls us for His mission will
surely provide us with necessary qualifications to do his
apostolate. Are you ready and willing to be a minister at
the service of Christ?
Morrow SWCD
to meet
Morrow SWCD will meet Tuesday, February 8 begin-
ning at 6 p.m. virtually via Zoom. If you wish to attend
the Zoom or join over conference call, please contact the
SWCD beforehand at 541-676-5452.
Meetings of the Morrow SWCD are open to the
public.
$200,000 annual infrastructure money for 10 years
By David Sykes
In a shift from prior
year’s funding decisions,
the Columbia River Enter-
prise Zone (CREZ) recently
decided to give $200,000
per year for 10 years to each
of four cities in the county,
Heppner, Ione, Lexington
and Irrigon. The money is
for use on big infrastructure
projects such as sewer and
water, the CREZ board said
in providing the money. “I
think this a good thing for
our county,” Boardman
Mayor Paul Keefer said
in urging a yes vote on the
multi-year expenditure.
“It says we are going to
commit to you so you can
build infrastructure in your
community, I think this says
a lot about our county,” he
added.
In past years the CREZ
has been reluctant to com-
mit multi-year funding for
any group or taxing district,
instead making only year-
to-year funding decisions.
However, with a stable
funding source apparent
over the next 16 years, the
board felt it could commit
to long term grants, espe-
cially to cities facing large
infrastructure projects and
expenses.
CREZ Chairman Don
Russell said he had talked
to city officials in three of
the county’s cities and they
all expressed a desire for
stable funding which could
then be used for the bigger
more expensive infrastruc-
ture projects. Last year the
CREZ gave each of the four
cities $200,000, but only for
a one-year commitment. “If
we are ever going to have
Ione or Lexington solve
their big utility problems
this is the way to help them
do it,” Russell said. Some
board members were con-
cerned about making the
multi-year commitment
fearing that CREZ could
lose some of its funding
and then be unable to pass
on the money. The enter-
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prise zone receives money
from businesses who have
located or expanded there
and pay money to the CREZ
instead of regular property
taxes. Most of the develop-
ment has been in the Board-
man area which has seen an
explosion of growth over
the past 10 years, providing
the CREZ with its money.
While most board
members felt future fund-
ing would be stable, others
were more cautious. Port
of Morrow board member
Jerry Healy, who is not a
CREZ board member but
was at the meeting, said
the cities should be notified
when given the multi-year
money, that in the event
of a “train wreck,” where
something unforeseen hap-
pens to the funding stream,
the grants would no longer
be available.
The money coming into
the CREZ over the next 16
years appears pretty secure,
however, with $191 million
scheduled to be collect-
ed and disbursed through
2037. Most of it will come
from the Amazon data cen-
ters located near Boardman,
who pay money into the
CREZ in exchange for a
lower property tax rate.
This year the CREZ
had about $10 million to
disburse and at this year’s
finance meeting decided to
stick pretty much to what
it has done in the past,
funding five categories of
activity around the county.
As in previous years the
CREZ has provided money
to education, public health
and safety, community de-
velopment, and housing
and infrastructure. See table
below for this year’s dis-
bursements.
This year also saw the
CREZ board hit with more
special funding requests or
“asks,” as appeals came in
from nine different groups
and organizations for fund-
ing outside the traditional
five category framework.
The board decided not to
fund these asks, however,
instead telling requesters to
either go to their umbrella
taxing districts, such as a
city or the county govern-
ment and go through the
normal budgeting process
for funding or make appli-
cation to one of the three
economic development
groups servicing the county.
These economic develop-
ment groups have, in the
past, given out cash grants
for housing, community
enhancement or business
development.
This year’s total disbursement of funds by CREZII
2021 CREZ II Disbursement by Entity
Name
Boardman Cemetery
Boardman Central Urban Renewal Agency
Irrigon Cemetery
CREZ II Zone Manager Expense
Irrigon Park
Umatilla Morrow Radio & Data District
Oregon Trail Library
North Morrow Vector Control
Morrow County Unified Recreation
Intermountain ESD
Blue Mountain Community College
Boardman Park
City of Heppner
City of Ione
Town of Lexington
Morrow County Health District
Boardman Fire & Rescue
Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group
Morrow Education Foundation
Boardman Community Development Association
City of Irrigon
Morrow County
Port of Morrow
City of Boardman
TOTAL
Amount
1,698.16
2,171.19
4,137.05
9,375.40
16,438.90
17,022.03
25,391.46
29,123.06
45,641.52
61,623.95
110,889.46
134,692.46
200,000.00
200,000.00
200,000.00
250,004.22
498,346.59
736,273.20
975,287.74
1,144,936.00
1,152,790.80
1,383,333.33
1,383,333.34
1,863,990.53
10,446,500.39
Valentine’s Day is Monday, February 14th
We have giftware
Hallmark cards
Chocolates
Wine
& more!
Come see Cynthia at the Country Rose
She has many new floral arrangements and gift baskets
sure to delight anyone!
217 North Main St.,
Heppner, OR
Phone 676-9158 Floral 676-9426
murraysdrug.com
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm • Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 9am-2pm
Pharmacy- Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
Heppner’s Wee Bit O’ Ireland St. Patrick’s Day
Celebration is back!
After a long two years, the celebration kicks off on
March 11!
The Heppner Gazette-Times will publish our special
St. Patrick’s Day pages in the March 9th issue.
Do not miss this opportunity to reach local and
visiting customers.
The deadline to be included is Monday, March 7 at 5:00 pm.
Contact Giselle- graphics@rapidserve.net • 541-676-9228
188 W Willow St, Heppner