Matt Combe
selected Morrow
County School
District
superintendent
“After an exhaustive
search, the Morrow Coun-
ty School District Board
of Directors is pleased to
VOL. 141 NO. 12 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
announce that Mr. Mathew
Combe will become the
district’s next superinten-
dent,” said a news release
from the MCSD Board of
Directors.
According to the re-
lease, Combe, Heppner,
was one of 13 applicants
for the position. He then
became one of three final-
ists who spent time in the
district meeting with staff,
community members and
high school students from
each of the three high
schools. Board members
conducted extensive ref-
erence checks and final
interviews before offering
Combe the position, said
the release.
MCSD Board Chair
Becky Kindle reported
Dalton Davis’s winning ride with 89.5 on Cure ALS Staff and bullfighters worked hard to ensure a safe and entertaining event that the board is current-
of Crozier Bucking Bulls
ly in contract negotiations
with Combe and intends to
take final action approving
the contract at the April 11
board meeting.
“Combe is currently
the principal of Heppner
Junior-Senior High School
and serving the school
district as the director of
maintenance and facilities.
Combe has been employed
by the district since Janu-
ary 2005. Other roles in
the district include elemen-
tary principal and director
of alternative education,”
said the release. Combe
has a master’s degree from
50¢
Fans braved the weather for an evening
of bullriding
The Challenge of Champions Tour made its third stop of 2022 in
Heppner
Matt Combe
Eastern Oregon University
at LaGrande.
“Mr. Combe has been
actively involved in the
entire bond process and
looks forward to utilizing
his knowledge as the dis-
trict moves forward with
hopes of passing their
bond,” continued the news
release.
Based on board ap-
proval, Combe would offi-
cially begin his position as
school district superinten-
dent on July 1 2022, con-
cluded the release.
The two other final
candidates for the position
were Jose Silva, principal
at the Kermit R. Booker
Sr. Innovative Elementary
School in Las Vegas, Ne-
vada, with master’s and
doctorate degrees in edu-
cation, and Chester Brad-
shaw, superintendent of
the Sugar Salem School
District in Sugar City, Ida-
ho, with an education spe-
cialist degree from Idaho
State University.
Junior bullriders, Tanner Griffith on JimBob of SB Ranch & Rodeo and Wyatt Davis on Checkers of SB Ranch & Rodeo, tied
for first with 80 points. -Photos by Rodney Evans of ZYYE Images
Amazon drops $11.5 million
1947 Ford Coupe takes best of
surprise on county
show at St. Paddy’s Cruz-In
Company volunteers to pay off corrected tax bill
Best 1910's & 1920's
Car or Pickup: Damon &
Roberta Hulit from the
Dalles in their 1924 one-
ton Model T Flatbed Truck
Best 1930's & 1940's
Car or Pickup: Jack Her-
rick from Kennewick in a
1939 Chevy
Master Deluxe
Best 1950's & 1960's
Pickup: Ted Hoffman from
The Dalles driving a 1959
Ford F-100
Best 1970's & New-
er Pickup: Jack Bell from
Stanfield with his 1972
Chev Pickup
Best 1950's & 1960's
Car: Dick Allen from lone
in his 1967 Chevelle
Best 1970’s & 1980’s
Car: Rick Carr of The
Dalles with his Pontiac
Firebird Trans Am
Best 2005’s & Newer
Car: Aaron & Tina Mad-
den of Kennewick with
their 2019 Dodge Chal-
lenger Hellcat Redeye
Best Resto mod Car:
Phil Lemley of Richland
bringing his 1973 V28 Ca-
maro
Best Foreign Car or
Pickup: Melody Hudson
from The Dalles with her
1973 Datsun 240Z
Best Paint: Chris Rob-
erts of The Dalles and his
1955 Chev
Best Engine: Kenneth
Nelson of Ione in a 1929
Ford Model A Hot Rod
Best Fat Fender: Larry
Stephenson of W. Richland
in a 1937 Buick special
Best Muscle Car: Gary
Carr of The Dalles in a
1967 Dodge Camaro
Best Street Rod: Tad
Johnson of Prineville with
a 1936 Ford Roadster.
By David Sykes
Morrow County got a
big surprise recently when
Amazon with its many
server facilities here, paid
off a past tax bill of over
$11.5 million, and by law
didn’t even have to. Coun-
ty officials were caught
off guard by the large,
unexpected check, which
resulted from an error by
the Oregon Department of
Revenue.
How the windfall
came about dates back
to 2020-21 when Ama-
zon filed their state taxes.
County Assessor Mike
Gorman said new replace-
ment equipment the com-
pany installed in one of its
facilities was incorrectly
exempted from taxation,
resulting in the $11.5 mil-
lion underpayment. After
the error was discovered,
according to state tax law
Amazon was not obligated
to pay it. But Gorman said:
“Amazon said they want-
ed to go ahead and pay it,
so they paid $11 million
Imes appointed MC
Public Works
Director
Eric Imes has been ap-
pointed Morrow County
Public Works Director. He
had been working since
January 5 as Interim Road
Master following the res-
ignation of Matthew Scriv-
ner. Imes was promoted to
the top job February 3.
which would have been
part of their tax bill,” he
explained.
After getting the mon-
ey, which came with no
restrictions on how the
county could spend it,
commissioners were at
odds on what to do with
the windfall. At the March
9 meeting Commissioner
Don Russell brought in a
spread sheet detailing a
plan to give the funds to
the 18 county taxing dis-
tricts he said would have
gotten the monies if the
payment had been made
correctly. That idea did
not get traction with the
other two commissioners
however, as Jim Doherty
and Melissa Lindsay said
the money should be dis-
tributed on a wider basis
across the county, even
with those who would not
have received any of the
property tax money. “This
money should have been
on the tax rolls,” Russell
said. “Amazon intended it
be on the tax rolls. I think
the money should go out
to the taxing districts that
would have gotten it had
it been on the tax rolls.”
A motion to distribute the
funds to the 18 districts
proposed by Russell died
for lack of a second.
Receiving the large
amount of Amazon money
prompted a wider discus-
sion among commissioners
about how money received
in tax abatement programs,
such as through both the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone (CREZ) and the Stra-
tegic Investment Program,
is being spent.
A common practice for
both programs when giving
money intended for educa-
tion, is to funnel the money
through an education foun-
dation, or through other
entities such as the Ione
Community Agri-Business
Organization (ICABO). If
the money is given straight
to the school districts then
the state of Oregon will re-
-See AMAZON/PAGE SIX
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
Fifty-three
cars attended the
20th St. Paddy's
Cruz-In held on
March 12, 2022,
in Heppner. Ve-
hicles and their
owners
hailed
from
Heppner,
Hermiston,
Umatilla,
Summerville, The Dalles,
Prineville, Stanfield, lone,
Pendleton, Athena, Lex-
ington, Irrigon, LaGrande,
Boardman, Echo, Ken-
newick, Richland, West
Richland, Pasco and Walla
Walla.
Award winners of the
20th St. Paddy's Cruz-In
are the following:
Best Of Show: Wil-
liam Stark of Hermiston in
his 1947 Ford Coupe
Mustang's
Choice:
Patricia Swisher of Uma-
tilla with a 1966 Mustang
Coupe
Leprechaun's Choice:
Steve Oliver of Summer-
ville in a 1966 Dodge
Charger
Best Convertible: Will
Felt from The Dalles in a
2013 Corvette
Participant's Choice:
Chris Roberts of The
Dalles in his 1955 Chev-
rolet
Eric Imes
for more
information
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