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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2022)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 27, 2022 -- FIVE Good News Only By Doris Brosnan Jacob Lindsay returned to our area a few months ago, to the delight of his parents, Todd and Missy Lindsay. “Jake,” another returning HHS graduate, graduated from OSU with a degree in agri-business. He has returned to the ranch on which he grew up, where he is now using what he learned from his dad and granddad and his university education to work side-by- side with his dad, the fifth farming generation for this family. HHS graduate, junior at OSU, Carson Brosnan has been awarded an ROTC Scholarship for Excellence. The scholarship comes from the Lt. Col. Nelson M. Olf Endowed Schol- arship Fund established “to assist young men and women who are enrolled in the Marine option ROTC program at Oregon State University.” Olf “attributes his success almost totally to the lessons he learned and his experiences both at Oregon State College and in the Marine Corps,” states the press release. Olf has said, “A life not dedicated to service is not a full life.” Carson is the son of Damon and Carie, the grandson of Dan and Doris. David and April Sykes traveled to Cary, North Car- olina, recently to visit their daughter Allison Hayes and her family, husband Matt and sons August and Sebastian. While there, they celebrated both David’s birthday and Easter Sunday. Allison, April and Matt prepared a great Easter din- ner that everyone enjoyed outside at the picnic table, as the weather was a beau- tiful 82 degrees. Besides catching up on the family news and visiting with the grandsons, they all went out and celebrated David’s birthday with a delicious Mexican dinner. On Easter morning there was an ex- citing egg hunt around the house, with the boys finding lots of eggs that Grandma had helped them color the day before, as well as gifts and candy left by the Easter Bunny. Lastly, on Monday morning before leaving for the airport, David got to tag along with Matt when he dropped the boys off at Cary Elementary, so he was able to see where they go to school. Pat Edmundson shares an anecdote about Ray and Norma French that she thinks will bring smiles to readers’ faces as it does to hers: “Ray and Norma really enjoyed socializing. An- nual Super Bowl Sunday gatherings were one of their favorites, as various couples came for food, visiting and watching the game on TV. There was always a game board, but a very low-budget board with each of the 100 squares only requiring a dime payment. The big winners would win $4 at the most. One of the Super Bowl Sunday events was held at Dick and Lynnea Sargent’s home with the Jepsens, Carlsons, Edmundsons, Piersons, and Frenches attending. At that time, Norma was somewhat disabled and walked with a cane. Also, on the day before, John Edmundson had injured his right leg cross-country skiing and was also limping around with the aid of a cane. To add to the fun, John chal- lenged Norma to a ‘cane race’ the length of an eight- foot rug in the living room, with appropriate teasing and conjecturing about the probable winner. The con- testants prepared to give their all to the competition. Being a former Condon High School cheerleader and a keen competitor, it was no surprise to all when Norma won the race by half a limp.” This Sunday, May 1, Bill Mahon and Neva De- Mayo plan to be married in the Hopeful Saints Church in Heppner. The newlyweds will be living in Bill’s house on Frank Gilliam Drive. Another week of smiles brought to us by contribu- tors willing to take a few minutes to share their smiles at dbrosnan123@gmail. com or by calling 541-223- 1490. Many thanks. Here’s hoping that some good news comes to everyone reading this. Boardman Rural Fire Rescue holds new station groundbreaking Has facilities for fulltime 24-hour staffing Above: A large group of fire fighters, board members and construction crew were on hand last week for the ground breaking of the new fire hall in Boardman Below: Artist design of new fire hall which is expected to take 10 months to complete The Boardman Rural Fire Rescue held a ground- breaking last week to start construction of its new fire hall. The new facility will be built to accommodate a full-time staffed depart- ment, says Fire Chief Mi- chael Hughes. “The current fifty-year-old building was built for volunteers only and we are now a fulltime paid and volunteer depart- ment. This new fire station will enhance our deploy- ment model and bring better health and wellness to our firefighters as they perform their duties 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. Hughes said he was very appreciative of the help the fire district re- ceived from the city, Port of Morrow, taxpayers and the community. “We couldn’t be here today without you,” he said. Construction on the new facility will take about 10 months and will include six dormitories with showers, baths and bedrooms as well as a day room area for on-duty staff to relax and cook meals. The paid fire fighters are on 48 hour shifts at the fire hall. Hughes said the community room will be designed for training and hopefully for use to host community events. County supports grant requests for Heppner subdivision, Irrigon and Port projects AWANA Club ends Proposed 14-lot development above Rock St needs water infrastructure year with Grand Prix AWANA Grand Prix winners (L-R): Zethan Humphreys, third in both speed and design; Abby Luttrell, first in both speed and design; Kleo Childers, second place in speed; and Caleb Hum- phreys, second place in car design. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo Heppner AWANA Club concluded its 2021-22 club year with its traditional awards and pinewood derby Grand Prix for members and their families last Sun- day in Heppner. Eighteen club members, along with leaders, family and friends, packed the house for the event at Heppner’s Chris- tian Life Center. Leaders John and Barb Collin handed out awards to the Sparks members, ages kindergarten through third grade. Jaxson Nelson, Mat- thew Bailey, Julius Bailey, Kleo Childers, Germain Ra- mos, Josiah Humphreys and Caleb Humphreys all re- ceived attendance awards. Anna Jepsen, Caleb Humphreys, Germain Ra- mos, Hannah Sumner, Jax- son Nelson, Josiah Hum- phreys, Julius Bailey, Kleo Childers, Matthew Bailey and Ian Macias were rec- ognized for completing the first book in the Sparks program. Laurelee Jepsen re- ceived a plaque for com- pleting the third Sparks book. Awards for the fourth- through sixth-grade Truth and Training members were handed out by leaders Dick and Karen Temple. Aaron Humphreys, Abby Sumner, Abby Luttrell, Aidden Ra- mos, Bryson Bailey, Frank Di Salvo, Hailey Proctor, Jayden Macias, Kinasyn Rietmann, Sofia Di Salvo, Sophia Serrano and Zethan Humphreys received rec- ognition for their partici- pation. In addition, Aidden Ra- mos, Bryson Bailey, Frank Di Salvo, Sofia Di Salvo and Sophia Serrano all received awards for good attendance. Frank Di Salvo, So- fia Di Salvo and Zethan Humphreys were awarded medals for verse memori- zation, and Abby Sumner was awarded a prize for memorizing the names of all 66 books of the Bible. Heppner AWANA Club also gave certificates of appreciation to teen vol- unteers Aubrey Blakley, Brionna Serrano, Fernando Serrano, Jolene Serrano, Keltie Rietmann, Moira Di Salvo and Nelly Blakley. In the Grand Prix event, Abby Luttrell swept the field, taking first for both speed and car design. Kleo Childers took second for speed, while Caleb Hum- phreys received second place for car design. Zethan Humphreys wrapped up the rest of the trophies, taking third in both speed and design. The Heppner AWANA program is the combined effort of local churches to teach children what the Bible is all about. AWANA stands for “Approved Work- men Are Not Ashamed,” based on II Timothy 2:15. Games, songs and a Bible lesson are included during a typical club meeting. By David Sykes Morrow County has gone on record in support of a planned 14-lot subdi- vision to be built on the hill above Rock Street over- looking Heppner. County commissioners voted unan- imously March 23 to send a letter to the U.S. Economic Development Administra- tion (EDA) in support of a grant application from the city of Heppner for money to upgrade the city’s water system needed to handle the new subdivision. The Willow Creek Val- ley Economic Development Group (WCVEDG) has purchased the land in an- ticipation of developing it, but no work can be started until the water system has been upgraded, placing the subdivision on hold until the money is found. WCVEDG also submitted a federal funding request to Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to earmark $800,000 for the project. The letter is asking for water system funds needed because Heppner’s “aging infrastructure has needed major upgrades for well over two decades,” the let- ter says. “There are valid concerns that the water sup- ply to the city may be cut off if the 12-mile single pipe from the well to the distri- bution system is damaged,” the letter stated. “There are also pressure issues, par- ticularly on the east side of the community. Combine these together, and the need is substantial for a new well and reservoir.” The amount of the grant request was not included in the letter however, City Manager Kraig Cutsforth, who wrote the requests, said the city is asking for $673,386 from the EDA and an additional $4 million in congressional earmark funds to complete the es- timated $5 million project. Cutsforth says the en- tire water upgrade project will be for more than just the proposed new subdivi- sion, however the subdivi- sion will require a new well, telemetry system and water tank in order to service the additional new 14 lots. Port of Morrow 25-mil- lion-gallon digester In other grant requests the county signed off on a letter to Senators Ron A candidate’s forum, hosted by the Republican Party, will be held at the Bellamy House (old Lex- ington school) from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 7 during the Lexington May Day celebration. Candi- dates for Morrow County commissioner, positions two and three will be avail- able to speak and answer questions during that time. The Bellamy House will be open after the pa- rade, from noon to 4 p.m. that day for anyone inter- ested in viewing the build- ing. The Heppner Christian Church will also be holding a bake sale and coffee as a fundraiser for their church camp and women’s retreat. Candidate’s forum, open house planned in Lexington For more information on the Heppner AWANA Club, contact AWANA Heppner secretary Andrea Di Salvo at awana.hep- pner@gmail.com, 757- 285-5792, or via Facebook Messenger. DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM Wyden and Jeff Merkley asking for funding for a 25 million gallon “digester bag” that would tie into the Port’s existing treatment system. The letter says the wastewater improvements are needed to “reduce dis- charge contamination to protect groundwater sup- plies and implement long- term sustainable waste- water solutions that will benefit the entire region.” The $1.5 million in federal funding is being requested through what is called “Congressionally Di- rected Spending Requests” more commonly called “earmarks”, or discretional funds awarded by congress. On Wyden’s senate website, the Port digester is said to be needed “to procure and install an additional twenty five million gallon digester bag with tie-in to infra- structure from the existing system. Improvements will help the Port process waste- water and control odors generated from particulate in the waste stream, while also producing renewable methane gas for energy use in place of waste and emissions that would oth- erwise be leaked into the atmosphere.” Total cost of the project is $3.5 million. Irrigon business incuba- tor building The commissioners also wrote letters to Wyden and Merkley in support of building a new business incubator building in Irri- gon. The building will be for small to medium sized businesses with a focus on enhancing opportunities for minority business en- terprises and low-income populations. “The proposed building will accommodate multiple use types, including com- mercial, distribution, man- ufacturing and warehousing to meet the needs of the region. Equipped with dock doors and ample lot space for truck and trailer move- ment and storage, the space will provide 10,000 square feet in available space for a variety of businesses with flexibility to accommodate specific client needs within the interior, including office space and restrooms,” the letter stated. Total cost of the build- ing was not given, but the federal grant request was for $1 million. Roundabout at Port of Morrow Also requested from the federal earmark funds was money for improve- ments to the Port of Morrow interchange. “This project would provide improve- ments from Interstate 84 to the Port of Morrow In- dustrial Park to facilitate the safe flow of trucks and local traffic between the interstate and the Port. The project would construct a new roundabout at exit 165, interstate on-ramp improve- ments to help with traffic control and a sidewalk for pedestrian access,” the re- quest states. The request is for $2.53 million. Culture and Training Center - Workforce De- velopment The Port is also seeking funding for a workforce development and training program that will equip job seekers in underserved populations to fill open po- sitions with area employers. This program will focus on helping limited English proficiency and other dis- advantaged individuals by providing job search, ap- plication assistance, and interview support at the Port’s Culture and Train- ing Center, the application states. Programs would con- sist of classes for career readiness including Mic- rosoft Office and Outlook training, pre-employment orientations. In addition, the project will provide AV equipment and support- ing technology for hosting workforce training con- ferences and other larger events centered around em- ployment opportunity and professional development. Total cost is $7 million.
