Snowmobile club
playday a success
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VOL. 143
NO. 2 8 Pages
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
New commissioners Sweeney sworn in as
conduct first meeting Heppner mayor
50 years after Grandfather
of the year
A family play day in the snow at the 4-Corners Snow-
mobile Club annual play day. -Contributed photo
Board hears nitrate update,
appoints interim administrator
By Andrea Di Salvo
New Morrow Coun-
ty commissioners David
Sykes and Jeff Wenholz met
in their first official capacity
last Wednesday, Jan. 4. The
two men were each elected
to their positions last year
and began their terms Jan.
2.
Former commissioner
Don Russell, who’s term
ended Dec. 31, was present
in the audience. With the
recall of Jim Doherty, the
third commissioner position
remains vacant until filled
by appointment by Sykes
and Wenholz.
“We’re starting 2023,”
said Sykes, who is board
chair under rules previously
set down. “We’re looking
forward to working with
all of you, the county em-
ployees, the private sector
people, all our volunteers
in Morrow County.
“We have a lot of really
good people, really smart,
hard-working people, and
we look forward to accom-
plishing the tasks of county
government that will work
with you and make this a
great county to live in,”
he said.
Emergency manage-
ment update
The new commission-
ers heard an introduction
to emergency management
and an update on the coun-
ty nitrate emergency from
Morrow County Emer-
gency Manager Paul Gray.
Gray also asked that he, as
head of emergency manage-
ment, be put in charge of the
nitrate emergency and final-
izing recovery operations.
Gray said former com-
missioner Jim Doherty had
previously been in charge
of dealing with the nitrate
issue, and he wanted to
make sure he had the au-
thority to go ahead and
finalize the county’s part in
that work.
Morrow County Emer-
gency Manager Paul
Gray gives the new Mor-
row County Commission-
ers an update at their first
meeting of 2023.
-Contributed photo
Between last fiscal year
and this year, the county
has spent $130,359 out
of a budget of $160,000.
Gray said he had already
received some of the back
as reimbursement from the
Boardman business coali-
tion and hopes to get more.
Gray also said the
county has an agreement
with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Human Services
Office of Resiliency and
Emergency Management
to pay for water deliveries
from the beginning of July
to the end of March and
hopes to have access to that
funding soon.
Gray said the county is
now in the recovery phase,
and he’s looking to get a lot
of the burden pushed off the
county and onto the state.
“There’s not much
more we can do,” said Gray.
“The rest of this is going to
have to be dealt with by the
state, so I want to have the
authority to talk with the
state so we can get some of
this stuff pushed off onto
them, and then we no longer
have to deal with it.”
Sykes questioned ex-
actly what kind of authority
Gray was looking for, and
Gray said he just wanted
authority to talk with state
entities like the Department
of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) in phasing out of
the nitrate management, but
that he was not asking for
financial authority.
Sykes also asked if
Doherty had been desig-
nated to interact with the
state and if the state had
recognized him as a des-
ignated contact that they
would have to take official
action to replace. Gray said
that was not the case, and
said he wanted no authority
outside what he had under
the county’s emergency
operation plan.
“I just want to make
sure that you all want me
to be able to do what we’re
talking about doing, which
is to close out this nitrate
thing and pass some of this
stuff along to the state.”
“Again, commissioner
Doherty was the one han-
dling some of this stuff,
and I wasn’t privy to some
of the conversations he was
having with the state,” he
added.
Morrow County Plan-
ner Tamra Mabbott clarified
that the nitrates in drinking
water was a public health
issue that became an emer-
gency issue but was also an
environmental issue. She
said the planning depart-
ment worked with agencies
like the DEQ and Oregon
Health Authority to deal
with the environmental
aspects.
She suggested a work
session with county plan-
ning, emergency opera-
tions, public health and the
commissioners to discuss
roles and plans. Gray said
he is dealing with just the
Corey Sweeney was sworn in as the City of Heppner’s Poker Run third-place Poker Run winner Tenley
Taruscio. She won the
new mayor Monday, Jan. 9, replacing outgoing mayor winner Lucas Matheny.
Poker Run with four aces.
-Contributed
photo
Jim Kindle. -Contributed photo
-Contributed photo
Not only is Sweeney’s
mayoral election a mile-
stone in his own life, but
he is taking on the same
role his grandfather Jerry
Sweeney took on exactly
50 years ago. -Contributed Jerry Sweeney elected
photo
mayor Nov. 9, 1972
ODE Releases new school
guidance for ‘gender
expansive’ students
SALEM—Last week,
the Oregon Department of
Education (ODE) published
“Supporting Gender Expan-
sive Students: Guidance
for Schools.” This update
replaces the previously re-
leased “Guidance to School
Districts: Creating a Safe
and Supportive School En-
vironment for Transgender
Students” from 2016.
According to Nation-
al Public Radio, the term
gender expansive is an
adjective “that can describe
someone with a more flex-
ible gender identity than
might be associated with a
typical gender binary.”
ODE says the new
guidance is grounded in
the “recognition, respect,
affirmation, friendship, joy,
belonging, and safety every
human deserves—includ-
ing the students, staff, and
families that make-up our
school communities,” ac-
cording to a statement sent
out by the agency.
“Gender expansive stu-
dents are protected under
federal and Oregon civil
rights laws. School districts
have a responsibility to
provide a safe and affirming
educational environment
for all students, including
gender expansive students,”
Oregon Department of Ed-
ucation Director Colt Gill
said. “Affirming and sup-
portive educators, schools,
families, friends, and com-
munities are shown to in-
crease academic success,
feelings of belonging, and
reduce negative mental
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN health outcomes.”
Key points in this up-
dated guidance included,
among other things, “ex-
panded and clarified sup-
port for all gender expan-
sive students, including but
not limited to transgender,
nonbinary, two spirit, inter-
sex, agender, genderqueer
and genderfluid identities”
and “recommendations for
merging legal requirements
with best practice in the
classroom, in school activ-
ities, in school policies and
procedures, and more.”
Club secretary Mike Gorman and member Curtis
Cutsforth serve up a hearty lunch. -Contributed photo
President Cliff Dough-
The 4-Corners Snow-
erty
and wife Dawna or-
mobile Club recently held
chestrated
the trail ride
its annual play day on Kelly
and
Poker
Run
fundraiser.
Prairie.
Almost
all
in
attendance
While the weather was
snowing and blustery at participated in the Poker
the beginning of the day, it Run, with the winner being
settled into a calm and com- young rider Tenley Tarus-
fortable afternoon around cio, with a poker hand of
the bright and warm camp- four aces. Second place
fire attended to by the mem- was Kylie Gaines, and third
bers. At one point, 52 snow- place was Lucas Matheny.
Prize sponsors were
mobiles and 13 tracked
Morrow
County Grain
side-by-side machines were
Growers,
Heppner Auto
counted in attendance.
Parts
and
Les
Schwab Tire.
The club also held a
Snow
grooming
volunteer
special fundraiser, collect-
Ron
Carlson
and
wife
Kim
ing donations to give to sev-
had
the
trails
in
tip-top
en-year old Jaxson Nelsen,
who recently lost his moth- shape for very comfortable
er in a tragic accident that riding.
The 4-Corners club is a
took the lives of three local
local
nonprofit group dedi-
Heppner residents. Due
cated
to winter sports and is
to the generosity of those
associated
with the Oregon
in attendance, donations
State
Snowmobile
Associ-
from various other indi-
ation.
The
state
association
viduals and funds from the
4-Corners Club, $3,000 was provides the snow groom-
ing cat and implements that
raised for the cause.
Club secretary Mike groom and maintain area
Gorman prepared a hearty riding trails.
For information on the
hot dog and chili meal,
club
and to join, contact
with hot chocolate for the
club
secretary
Mike Gor-
children.
man at 541-980-3396.
Ione to discuss sewer plans Jan. 24
The City of Ione will
hold a public meeting at
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24,
to discuss a possible public
sewer system in Ione. The
meeting will be held at Ione
City Hall.
The City of Ione is ap-
plying to the USDA Rural
Development, Water and
Environmental Program
for funding of a waste-
water system to provide
sewer services to Ione. The
estimated cost is around
$5.5 million. The Ione City
Council of Ione is inviting
the public to attend and
participate in the discussion
of the application and pro-
vide input on the proposed
system and application. A
representative of the con-
tracted engineering firm of
Anderson Perry & Associ-
ates will be present to ad-
dress any technical issues.
For more information
on the USDA Rural Devel-
opment application, please
contact Ione City Hall at
541-422-7414.