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.