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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2022)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 13, 2022 ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net. Sykes, the choice for county commissioner To the editor: My wife and I bought a ranch on Rhea Creek and moved there in the Spring of 2011. As a resident of Morrow County, I observed there wasn’t much trans- parency in the politics of county government. David Sykes was the realtor we dealt with when we bought the ranch. We discovered he was also the owner of the local news- paper. I had many discus- sions with him about county government. David began going to Morrow County Commissioner meetings and over the last 10 or so years he has learned a lot about how government works in Morrow County. I have moved from Morrow County, but we continue to own property there. We continue to sub- scribe to the newspaper, and I have read with great inter- est how the commissioners have handled the spending of monies from sources other than taxes. I was a county com- missioner in Idaho for 25 years. As a commission, we tried to budget based on the needs of the county, the employees and the taxpay- ers. My observation is these commissioners don’t seem to be very concerned about the taxpayers. David Sykes would be my choice for county com- missioner. He has learned the job of a commissioner as well as the workings of county government in general. I believe he would keep the taxpayer in mind. Sincerely, Jerry Nance Weston, OR No reason to support Ellis Project To the editor: The proposed “Ellis Integrated Vegetation Proj- ect” is in actual fact a five to 13 million board foot (depending on the plan cho- sen) timber sale on 110,000 acres in the heart of the Heppner unit of the Uma- tilla National Forest. Four years ago, the project was presented and ultimately put on hold because of mul- tiple concerns addressed by the public. The same timber sale has been rein- vented under the guise of “restoration” with a public comment deadline of April 18, 2022. Five to thirteen million board feet of timber is equivalent to three fully loaded log trucks a day for thirteen months and/or up to nine fully loaded log trucks a day for one year. There is no reason to support this project. 1) The Ellis Project timber sale would severely undermine the headwaters of Butter Creek, Johnson Creek, Potamas Creek, Five Mile Creek, Sugar Bowl Creek, Ellis Creek, Pole Creek and unlimited associ- ated springs that feed these mountain streams. The source of our well water, underground streams, are these aquifers that originate in the mountain reservoirs of the Blue Mountains. 2) The elk and deer are already leaving the nation- al forest because there is mankind activity virtually every month in the forest, as well as out of control cats and wolves, all due to mismanagement by the Forest Service and ODFW. This Ellis timber sale would remove existing wildlife thermal and security cover on 110,000 acres plus add significantly more unnec- essary human activity. 3) There were multiple timber sales in this area in the late 1990’s. This Ellis Project commercial timber sale allows 10 to 90 square feet of basal area per acre. That is a disguised defini- tion for clear cut logging (40 to 60 sq. ft. equals shelter wood clear cut) which will be the predomi- nate method of commercial logging on this project. The Ellis Project has an unde- fined acreage for clear cuts. 4) On 283 miles of road and trail corridors, com- mercial logging would take place 300 to 500 feet from either side, hiding logging impacts. Unlimited new logging road construction would further erode forest riparian areas, aquifers and wildlife habitat. The general public has until April 18, 2022, to respond to this timber sale. Only those that respond by April 18 will have standing to have a voice in the future of the Ellis Project on our local National Forest. You can write to the Forest Ser- vice in care of Doug McKay or Leslie Taylor, PO Box 7, Heppner, OR 97836 or by fax 541-676-2105. Elec- tronic comments can be made on Umatilla National Forest webpage on Ellis In- tegrated Vegetation Project. Our national forest is a gift from God. We have a responsibility to honor that heritage and pass it on to our posterity. Stuart Dick, Irrigon Beyeler has finished his Impressed with Lindsay chores in Boardman and Doherty To the editor; Barry Beyeler has fin- ished the chores he had in Boardman, OR. I was shocked and saddened to- day while visiting a neigh- bor who brought up his passing. I truly wished for several minutes that I could go back in time and flag him down for a chat. Conversations were fun with Barry because his love for this community was on the border of being comedic. He would get so excited about all the great things going on in Board- man that he could hardly maneuver a cigarette to his lips for a light. His excite- ment was understandable because he placed a bet on this town that it would be something special when he offered himself up to it so many decades ago. He was right to do so. Boardman is a real place where op- portunities abound. Where there is opportunity, there is success and happiness, but also failure and tragedy. Barry got up every morning and did his best to keep the positive things outnumber- ing the negative. If I were to describe Barry to someone unfamil- iar with Boardman; I would tell them to imagine Santa’s head elf at the North Pole whose job was making the village a wonderful place for the worker elves to live. He would be jolly and dear- ly love the community he was charged with maintain- ing but would need plenty of cough syrup in his cocoa at dinner time to deal with the stress of keeping things perfect. He would not get the recognition like an elf tooling the most beautiful toys, and sometimes he would have to take heat when a pothole bounced a box of candy canes out of Santa’s sleigh, but he would be proud knowing that he played a key role in making Christmas happen. Thank you, Barry for making Boardman happen. You did the best you could, and that was a gift to every one of us who’s chosen to follow you in making this our city. Thank you for your time, J. Fletcher Hobbs Boardman To the editor; After reading your ar- ticle in the Gazette Times dated March 23, 2022, en- titled, “Amazon drops 11.5 million surprise on county,” as well as the discussion on how to spend the gift pay- ment. I found myself filled with admiration for county commissioners Jim Doherty and Melissa Lindsay. I feel that they are truly the voice for those of us who are in the county, who ranch and farm, as well as those who own and run small busi- nesses. Big money businesses such as B2H and Amazon will continue to force their way through the opposition of small run operations to complete their agenda. It is nice to have elected officials standing up for those of us who are not always aware of what goes on at those levels. In my opinion that is the very reason we elect these types of people, peo- ple we can trust to have our best interest in mind. My wife and I were privileged to attend a com- missioner meeting in Hep- pner with three representa- tives of the B2H line who answered questions from farmers and ranchers. We have also met with local farmers and ranchers to measure over the past six hear their opinions on the years as commissioner. Her project and the EFSC’s lat- energy, vision and ability to est site proposal. I think we stand her ground to make tough and sound decisions for all of Morrow County is a real asset for us. We desperately need to reelect Melissa Lindsay as a strong voice to be heard for the north, middle and south areas of Morrow County. A vote for Missy on May 17 is in our county’s best interest. Susan and Paul Hisler Heppner Melissa Lindsay for county commissioner To the editor; We aren’t ones to seek the public limelight when it comes to politics. But due to great concern over the direction our state and local county government can take us all, we want to step up and endorse Melissa Lindsay for reelection as Morrow County commis- sioner. The old saying that “if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it” is how we feel. Missy has proven herself beyond are all in agreement on how the project would best serve our needs. Commissioners Doherty and Lindsay seem to have heard our concerns and are actively engaging within the system to make our voices heard and ac- complish the goals we are working towards. It is for this reason that I commend the actions of commissioners such as Doherty, who have voiced concerns so loudly, that they were removed from committees for their bois- terous outbursts. Some- times you must be loud to be noticed, especially when the needs of your communi- ty are being ignored. As longtime residents of the county, both com- missioners Doherty and Lindsay come from farming and ranching families, car- rying the responsibility of feeding our state as well as providing large revenue and tax money. The suggestion that this money be used to support many worthwhile projects in every taxing district of the county seems like the obvious choice. I salute Jim Doherty and Melissa Lindsay for doing the job we elected them to do. Sincerely, Mitchell Hays Morrow County landowner Happy 93 rd Birthday Shirley NEW LISTING! $480,000 There is plenty of room in this 3,680 sq. ft. 4 bedroom 4 bath home on 5.29 acres located on Dee Cox Rd near Heppner. Has family/game room, office space and a deck for summer barbe- cuing. Beautiful bamboo floors with an open kitchen and dining area. Top of the line induction cook top convection oven with air frying included. Daylight basement opens out to the backyard, where there is an outbuilding & chicken coop. These small acre- age homes are hard to come by, so come and have a look soon. 61476 DEE COX RD Heppner 188 W. Willow P.O. Box 337 Heppner, OR 97836 david@sykesrealestate.net Owner/Broker David Sykes 541-980-6674 Shirley Rugg’s birthday is April 22 nd . If you would like to extend your well wishes and greetings, send to: PO Box 157, Heppner That’ll Do WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription
