Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2022)
Boardman pedestrian and bike path approved 50¢ VOL. 141 NO. 15 8 Pages Wednesday, April 13, 2022 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Amazon launches new $200,000 Morrow County grant program Will help locals with community projects Leah Caudell-Feagan, senior community and partnerships manager for Amazon’s new Morrow County grant fund, gives a presentation on the new program last week in Heppner. A “Pollinator Partnership” where people plant bee-friendly habitat in their yard, or a “Community Fridge” to share food, were two of the six suggested projects the new program might fund. A new grant program to help Morrow County people set up and fund worthwhile community projects has been launched by Amazon Web Services, the division of Amazon that operates the data centers located at Boardman. The company announced the program at a launch meet- ing last week in Heppner. Amazon has allocated $200,000 to give out and, as an example, could go to such projects as set- ting up a play day in the community, establishing a fruit orchard or starting a “community fridge” to share food that otherwise might go to waste, says Leah Caudell-Feagan, Se- nior Community Partner- ships Manager, who was in Heppner to put on the announcement luncheon at the Gilliam Bisbee building last week. The criteria for apply- ing for grants is as follows: The fund is open to exist- ing groups and individuals (once they form a team) to start new projects, or expand an existing project, in their community. The project must address at least one of the following themes: STEM/STEAM education, Environmental Sustainability, Economic Development, Community Prosperity and Well-being. Examples of eligible groups include schools, daycares, churches or other faith-based organizations, hospitals and hospital re- habilitation centers, mental health facilities, communi- ty gardens, neighborhood groups, senior citizen cen- ters, community centers, and recognized government entities. The project must take place in Morrow Coun- ty, Oregon. In order to apply for the funds a prospective group must complete a 30-day challenge which includes a 15-minute call with a ChangeX team member (ChangeX is the non-prof- it company handling the funding project for Am- azon). Then they need to recruit four people to join the team, host a kick-off virtual meeting and share a team photo and action plan. ChangeX will provide var- ious support tools to help people with their projects. To apply for the fund- ing or to learn more about the project go to their web- site https://www.changex. org/us/funds/awsincom- munities-morrow-coun- ty-fund. County contracts for finance assistance Following the resig- culty in finding qualified nation of County Finance applicants to replace Knop Director Kate Knop, com- for the specialized county missioners last week voted finance job. unanimously to a contract County Administra- with the Oregon City firm tor Darrell Green said he Wolfe Consulting, to pro- contacted four companies vide finance assistance about providing contract during the upcoming busy assistance. He said two budget period and beyond. responded, one said they The county approved a were too busy, and one contract for Christa Wolfe, did not respond. “I chose CPA to provide budgeting, Christa Wolfe as she brings new budget soft- the most value to this ware, accounting interim position,” and reporting and Green said in his re- other finance ser- port to the commis- vices as required, sioners. “She has past at a fee of $200 per experience as a depu- hour. The contract ty finance director for will run until Octo- Christa Clackamas County ber 21, 2022, unless Wolfe, CPA and experience with extended or it can be OpenGov.” Open- terminated with a 30 Gov is a government day notice. Wolfe would be technology company that working remotely on the offers cloud software for job. The commission had public sector accounting, earlier discussed the diffi- planning, budgeting, citizen services, and procurement. In other business at last week’s meeting commis- sioners heard from Board- man business owner Jon- athan Tallman, who said it appeared contractors doing work for Umatilla Electric Cooperative had created an access off Laurel Lane which he did not think had been legally permitted. Tallman owns Farmer’s Cup coffee shop on Laurel and said he recently tried for legal access. “I’m the little guy and I don’t get a fair shake when it comes to communicating, and the big corporations do what they want. It’s a little bit troubling,” Tallman told the commissioners. He said there was excavator equip- ment crossing a county road which was “ruining the road and creating an access point that is not a legal access.” Commissioner Jim Doherty said he had re- ceived a call before the meeting from Tallman and went and looked at what was going on. “I swung down there this morning and see where UEC (Uma- tilla Electric Coop) has built a road and approach off Laurel Lane,” Doherty said, adding he would have the county public works direc- tor “look into it.” Doherty said UEC contractors ap- parently also went off of Rippee Road, Root Lane and Olson Lane in addition to Laurel. “To my knowl- edge they would need a permit to do all of those things, so I can guarantee Eric (Imes, Public Works Director) has told me he will look into it post haste,” Doherty told Tallman. The possible non-per- mitted action by the con- tractor promoted Doherty to suggest punitive action may be taken against them. “Frankly if they did all of that, a company that size understands the rules and they’ve got more attorneys than I have cows. If they did that knowingly I would suggest they remove all the poles they put in and be fined accordingly, because if we don’t stop these folks that are abusing the permit system in the county, they are going to continue to do so. But I will wait on that onerous action until I hear back from my public works director on whether they need to do those things that the other citizens in the county need to do,” Doherty said. Combe is currently princi- pal at Heppner Elementary and Heppner Jr./Sr. High School. -received the follow- ing enrollment report for April: A.C. Houghton Ele- mentary, Irrigon-215; Sam Boardman Elementary, Boardman-349; Heppner Elementary-180; Irrigon Elementary-188; Windy River Elementary, Board- man-252; Heppner Jr./Sr. High School-158; Irrigon Jr./Sr. High School-373; Riverside Jr./Sr. High School-488; Morrow Ed- ucation Center, Irrigon-71; Total-2,274. -received the follow- ing enrollment report by community: Boardman, plus 40, April 2021-1049, April 2022-1089; Heppner, plus 19, April 2021-319, April 2022-338; Irrigon, plus 11, April 2021-765, April 2022-776; Morrow Education Center, minus 80, April 2021-151, April 2022-71; District Totals, minus 10, April 2021-2284, April 2022-2274. -approved a request from Beth Dickenson con- cerning a travel request for the Heppner FFA group. -approved a resolution accepting and appropriating unanticipated revenues as follows: Sam Boardman El- ementary-$1,500 from the Sam Boardman Elementary Parent-Teacher Organiza- tion, $25 to SBE from Peg- gy Wallis and $100 from the Oregon Education Associa- tion Foundation; Riverside Jr./Sr. High School-$3,100 from the Riverside Booster Club. -adopted the follow- ing rescinded, new or re- vised policies: Loss cover- age-adopted; Personnel Re- cords-adopted; Disclosure of Information-rescinded, Talented and Gifted Pro- gram-rescinded; revised Talented and Gifted Pro- gram-adopted. -received information concerning the Oregon School Board Association summer board conference to be held July 8-10. -received the following announcements: STEAM Friday, April 29; Teacher Appreciation Week, May 2-6; special board meeting, Wednesday, April 13, at 6 p.m. at the North Dis- trict Office/Zoom; budget committee meeting, Tues- day, May 10, at 6 p.m. at the North District Office/ Morrow Education Center, Irrigon; next regular board meeting, Tuesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. at the North Dis- trict Office/Zoom. WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: -See COUNTY FINANCE/ PAGE TWO MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. 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 Oregon City firm to work remotely The Morrow County School Board, at their Mon- day night meeting in Irrigon and via teleconference, approved a 15 ft. wide per- manent access easement to the city of Boardman for a pedestrian and bike path for the city. The path is located at Main Street and Colum- bia Avenue in Boardman. Also at the meeting, Superintendent Dirk Dirk- sen reminded the board that the ballots for the Morrow County School District bond will be mailed out April 27. A town hall con- cerning the bond has been held in Heppner and is scheduled for Irrigon and Boardman. In other business the board: -learned the district “is continuing to receive property taxes and reve- nue in lieu of taxes more than originally budgeted.” “ODE (Oregon Department of Education) revised the State School Fund Esti- mate for 21-22 based on an updated ADM (student average daily membership/ attendance) and revenues which increased our antic- ipated total at year end,” stated a district release. “As the end of year approaches, we will continue to revise the anticipated revenues and expenditures.” -received the following report of 2021-22 antic- ipated revenues: MCSD revenues-$29,214,726; 2022 estimated expen- ditures-$28,405,017; revenues over expendi- tures-$809,709; beginning fund balance-$4,508,248; projected ending fund balance-$5,317,957; state school fund estimate as of June 24, 2021-$17,472,311; as of November 2, 2021- $17,992,079; as of March 24, 2022-$18,256,669. -heard a report from Dirksen on the fire at the district school building in Irrigon. He said five class- rooms were deemed being “in good enough shape to be used.” But he said four classrooms are still not in use, with one having “major work that needs to be done” before it can be occupied. -heard a presentation on the district’s swim class- es at the Boardman Pool and Rec center. -held an executive ses- sion “to consider the em- ployment of a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent.” The board officially hired Matt Combe as district superin- tendent, replacing Dirksen who is retiring at the end of the current school year. 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. Call 800-342-3764 for additional information. Check local laws before riding on trails. ©2021 Polaris Inc.
