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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2022)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 26 , 2022 County seeks water consultant 4-H holds awards night Will address water quality and quantity Mitch and Tag Ashbeck received this year’s Friends of 4-H Award. -Contributed photo Torrie Griggs representing the SAGE Center, another Friends of 4-H Award recipi- ent. -Contributed photo The Morrow County 4-H program presented several prestigious awards during its annual awards program held Oct. 16, at the SAGE Center in Board- man. More than 160 people attended. The county 4-H Association collected do- nations from area citizens and businesses, allowing them to present more than $7,200 in awards. Eric Orem from The Farm Kids 4-H club in Ione was recognized as the Mor- row County 4-H Leader of the Year for 2022. Leaders are nominated and then voted on by the 4-H Association. As a 4-H leader he has helped 4-H members learn skills in a supportive and hands- on environment. Eric has shown the importance of teaching 4-H members how to think through the devel- opment of critical thinking and decision making skills. The All-Around Achievement Award junior recipient was Mikalie Dun- can of the Heppner Grow Em’ and Show Em’ club. The intermediate recipient was Ellie Sak of Board- man’s Boots n’ Buttons. The senior recipient was Isabella Orr of the Ukiah Community Club. The All-Around Achievement Award is de- signed to recognize a 4-H member who is involved in all aspects of 4-H. Re- quirements for applying for this award include the following four catego- ries: participation in public speaking and demonstra- tions at the county contest held before fair, exhibiting projects at fair, completing and turning in their record book, and participating in an exit interview at the conclusion of the 4-H year. The award is broken down into the three age groups: junior, intermediate and senior. This award is a great accomplishment in a 4-Her’s career and is one that should receive special recognition for the hard work that the members put forth, not only in order to apply for, but also to receive. This year’s Friends of 4-H Award was presented to Mitch and Tag Ashbeck by their grandchildren. Mitch and Tag Ashbeck are lifelong 4-H supporters. Through the years they have provide and assisted youth in and outside Mor- row County. They truly embody the 4 Hes of 4-H and strive to make youth Morrow County Justice of the Peace Glen Diehl has released the following report: Donita E. Counsell, 47, of Heppner, was cited for Violating the Basic Rule (VBR) and was fined $265. Donald A. McElligott 24, of Ione, was cited for Failure to register Vehicle and was fined $115. Joshua L. Brown, 36, of Gresham, OR was cited for VBR and was fined $1150. David M. Padilla, 60, of Hermiston, OR was cit- ed for VBR and was fined $165. Eneida Jamie Navar- rete, 28, of Umatilla, OR was cited for VBR and was fined $265. Saul N. Lopez, 18, of Heppner, was cited for VBR and was fined $165. Ubaldo Davila Alegria, 42, of Portland, OR was cited for VBR and was fined $165. U STAN HHS OO STE R Every auction, our amazing community comes together and generously supports our Mustangs at the Booster Club Dinner and Auction! Thank you to the donors for their cash contributions and items! Thank you to the bidders for joining us and purchasing raffle tickets, dinner and bidding on silent and live items! Thank you to Bucknum’s Benefit Dinner and Event for Sharon Miller Come and enjoy a pasta bar dinner and watch a cornhole tournament with a calcutta auction of the teams and bid on slient auction items on Friday November 4th at the Elks Lodge. Dinner will be at 6pm Calcutta Auction at 6:30pm with tournament to follow. Please join us as we show our support for Sharon and her family as she continues her battle! If you cannot make it or would just like to leave a donation, you can do so at the Bank of Eastern Oregon. Whole home WiFi for the whole family! included with your Gorge Networks service Seamlessly blankets your home with fast, reliable WiFi Filter online content and set time limits Ability to block devices and receive new device alerts No dead or slow spots! 300 Mbps Symmetrical Speed >> $59.95/month * 1 Gig Symmetrical Speed >> 74.95/month * Visit gorge.net or call (541) 436-0223 to learn more! *Price reflects residential rates only. M Justice Court S there are still two open positions at planning. State COVID transpor- tation grant In other business, the county approved a $158,529 state COVID grant to sup- port county public transpor- tation services through The Loop. The funding does not require any matching mon- ey from the county and will be available Oct. 1, 2022 through Sept. 30, 2024. The Loop operates various buses and vans to provide needed transportation for all of Morrow County in- cluding veterans, seniors, person with disabilities, and those with limited or no transportation. The county transpor- tation department also re- ceived a grant of $45,000 with no county match from the state Department of Vet- eran Affairs for use in pur- chasing services or equip- ment to provide rides to vet- erans going to VA-approved medical appointments. Amazon data center road agreement In other business, com- missioners approved a road agreement with Amazon Data Services for road con- struction at a new data cen- ter being built on Bombing Range Road one mile south of I-84. As part of the agree- ment Amazon has agreed to pay for construction of a turn lane into their property. Total cost of the project to Amazon is $430,000. The project will include construction of a right- hand turn lane on Bombing Range to minimize traffic hazards. Signage will be installed including flashing signals during poor visibil- ity conditions. Lights will also be installed. All costs of the project will be paid by Amazon. G (OHV). The hunt is not a spe- cial hunt organized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), but only provides permission to hunt on the land within the park. This hunt only gives permission to hunt for Mor- row or Grant County youth. “The hunt was established as a way to give back to the communities that help make the park possible and provide an outdoor expe- rience to local youth,” the county said. Awarded for this year are: Riley Gregg of John Day, Darby Spivey of Ione, Rassadie Griffin of Irrigon, Katie Spivey of Ione, Mem- phis Jones of Irrigon and Preslie Bowes of Irrigon. The hunt will be held Nov. 5-13 and the park trail area will be closed starting on Nov. 1 in preparation. Loop promotion In other action, Trans- portation Director Katie Imes announced Heidi Tur- rell has been promoted at the Loop from dispatcher, a job she has held for the past two years, to operations supervisor. “Her new job will be to supervise and train new drivers and to assist with implementing policy and procedures,” Imes said. Buried gas tanks in Ione Commissioner Don Russell reported the coun- ty recently foreclosed for back taxes on a former gas station property in Ione, and it has underground storage tanks. Russell said there is a grant program available for local governments to find out if there has been leakage and contamination from underground tanks. “Hopefully we can get it done sometime next year, and then that property can be put back into service as a productive property for someone,” Russell said. New planning dept em- ployee At the Oct. 12 com- mission meeting it was announced that Michaela Ramirez joined the plan- ning department staff in Irrigon Sept. 19 as the new office manager. “Michaela has years of experience and we are very excited to have her on the team,” Planner Tamra Mabbott said. Mabbott also reported she has a student intern, Caren Cardenas, a senior at Irrigon High, working also. Cardenas’ position is paid for by the Port of Morrow/Education Service District internship program. Mabbott said B Morrow County is seeking to contract with a water consultant to provide “technical information” for understanding and manag- ing county water issues, it was announced. The desire to hire a new professional, or a firm, to provide water consulting was prompted by the recent heightened awareness of ni- trate contamination in north county water wells, and the job description posted by commissioners is heavily weighted towards studying this particular problem. The description, or re- quest for proposals as it’s called, specifies that a big part of the job will be about water quality and quantity, mainly in the Lower Uma- tilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUB- GWMA) in north county. It says the goal of the studies will be to “provide tech- nical information to better understand water quality and quantity issues,” and “foster a sustainable supply of water for county resi- dents and industries.” County Planner Tamra Mabbott is handling the job posting and taking in the proposals, which are due by Nov. 7. They will then be evaluated, ranked and taken to commissioners for interviews and the contract awarded by Nov. 23 with a start date of Dec. 5. The cost of the con- sultant was not mentioned in the job posting, but the amount will be determined later, and the money will come from the county gen- eral fund. In a question-and-an- swer area of the county website about the contract it was asked if the county would consider it a conflict of interest for a prospective consultant to “be working directly with the Port of Morrow or similar agricul- tural entity of stakeholder?” The answer was “The legal basis is not apparent and the county is not aware of any potential conflicts. How- ever, county reserves the right to address potential conflicts in the contract.” At the Oct. 19 com- missioner meeting Mabbott was told to review team to screen incoming proposals for the water coordinator contract. Youth Elk Hunt In other county busi- ness at the meeting com- missioners approved six applicants for the annu- al second season Special Youth Spike Elk Hunt at the Morrow/Grant County Off-Highway Vehicle Park better. The second recipient of the Friends of 4-H award was the SAGE Center. The SAGE Center is a constant supporter of Morrow Coun- ty 4-H, giving members a unique opportunity to learn about local industries and the technology used at the Port of Morrow and surrounding area, and pro- viding our youth with great learning opportunities and working together to truly make the best better. Rep- resenting the SAGE Center was Torrie Griggs. for providing drinks and the Heppner Community Foundation for the use of their facility. Finally, thank you to all the volunteers for their hard work, time and talents! Our Mustangs are loved. Heppner Jr Sr High Booster Club Auction Committee Thank you for Supporting the Mustangs!
