Heppner gazette-times., January 25, 2023, Page 6, Image 6

SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Community action group questions county commission
-Continued from PAGE ONE
Local community members gather to express their
concerns over the water nitrate issue. - Contributed
Photo
have been $200,000 allocat-
She said they have five
ed for payment of this fresh
wells on their property and
water, and that happened,
had tested two of them. One
and it was being done,” he
was over the limit, and they
said, and then asked if the
had small children in that
idea that water delivery
home. She said they had
would stop mid-February
put in a whole-house filter
was a falsehood.
costing them nearly $5,000.
“That is a falsehood,”
She said she has asked if
replied Gray.
any or all of that would be
Brant said he was told
reimbursed and had not re-
the whole $200,000 hadn’t
ceived an answer yet.
been used. “Where is the
“I understand that the
rest of that money?” he
emergency has not been
asked.
renewed by this board, and
“I don’t know what
thus I understand the emer-
$200,000 you’re talking
gency manager’s position
about,” Gray responded,
has changed, and I believe
adding that the original
that this is now focused on
request to the board of com-
human health,” she said,
missioners, which at that
“and I think our health
time included Jim Doherty,
department and that new
Melissa Lindsay and Don
position really needs to ad-
Russell, was for $100,000.
dress the water issue, since
The county had come close
that funding was directed
to spending that when Gray
toward that position.”
returned to the board and
She added that it was
requested another $60,000,
also her understanding
which was approved Nov.
that the free water delivery
2, bringing the total re-
would stop in February
quested to for the nitrate
or March. “We’re finding
emergency to $160,000.
out that the filters aren’t
“As of the end of
working. We’re nervous,”
last month, we were at
she said. “It seems like it’s
$139,000,” Gray added,
been nine months since we
“So we’re coming close to
started asking and we’ve
spending all of that money.”
received nothing, and we
“How did this figure
want to know that the coun-
of $200,000 pop up all of
ty is behind us and they will
a sudden?” asked Brant,
continue the funding for the
“And now you’re telling me
free water delivery.”
it never existed.”
Gray responded that
“We can address ru-
he had just had a meeting
mors,” Sykes interjected,
with the governor’s office
“and we want to, because
and the Oregon department
we want to straighten them
of health, and they told
out, but I think you’ve
him that, though the state
heard from him (Gray), and
contract ends in the spring,
he’s told you how much was
they had enough funding to
allocated.”
go all the way to the end of
“You folks are the ones
the fiscal year. The county
doing the bookkeeping on
would then have to request
that dollar amount, which-
another year’s worth of
ever amount that is, is that
deliveries, but the state told
correct?” asked Brant.
him they have the funds for
“It’s county money,
that, as well.
and we have accounts for
“So I have no idea
everything down at finance
where you’re getting the
showing how much we’ve
information that water de-
spent,” replied Gray.
livery’s going to stop,” said
Boardman man Luis
Gray, “and if there does
Monge expressed concerns
happen to be a lapse where
over the inclusion of the
the state says, ‘We can’t
Hispanic population in the
cover it,’ the business co-
process.
alition has put money into
“We have a lot of Span-
an account that will be used
ish people affected with
for water deliveries to help
this problem. What is the
the residents.” The busi-
plan to have a translator,
ness coalition is a group of
a legal translator, to make
Boardman businesses that
us understand what we’re
has organized to help with
doing?” he asked.
water testing and funding.
Gray responded that
“We need a strong mes-
one of his projects is to try
sage from the county,” said
to get funding from the state
Doherty. “We need a strong
to cover translation services
message from the county
and possibly bring in one or
to go to the state and to our
two more people to assist
governor and to our repre-
in translation for the water
sentatives.”
emergency. Right now, he
“I think we’re hearing
said, the county has access
from Paul, and we’re going
to Oregon Dept. of Human
to get that message,” said
Services translators.
Sykes. “That’s in progress.”
“But I do want to see
“Yes,” said Gray, add-
about getting someone lo-
ing that the county is work-
cal,” he added, “which, I
ing with other organizations
thought we were in part-
including Oregon Health
nership with Oregon Ru-
Authority (OHA) and other
ral Action, who has been
community-based organi-
having the meetings with
zations (CBOs) to get more
translators.
coverage. “We’re looking
“What I’m getting from
at trying to get more stuff
this is, is Oregon Rural Ac-
out. No matter what, we’re
tion asking not to be part
looking at managing this.”
of this any more?” Gray
“If the filters haven’t
asked.
been working, I can’t give
“No,” replied Sanchez.
you an answer as to why
“These are questions that
that’s happening,” he ad-
the community raises be-
dressed Doherty. “I just
cause we see the need for
heard as of yesterday from
consistency, specifically in
people that talked with your
this meeting, right? We are
husband, Jim, that said that
actively creating a space to
the filters are now not work-
make it inclusive for Span-
ing. I don’t know why that
ish speakers to participate.”
information wasn’t passed
She added that there
down to emergency man-
was no online option to
agement or to public health.
switch to interpretation
I’m at a loss.”
mode as could be seen in
Boardman resident
other Zoom spaces posted
Mike Brant said he was
with other organizations
“just a citizen here with a
and agencies.
bad well.”
“So you’re specifically
“There was supposed to
requesting about Zoom
meetings,” said Gray.
“Yes, so that we’re able
to stay informed on the
issues, because sometimes
it could be addressed, and
it’s important that our com-
munity has access to that as
well,” said Sanchez.
Gray responded that
he did not have an answer
to that at the moment and
would have to look into
what they could do as far
as translating services for
Zoom.
Monge also asked what
they could do to find a
permanent solution to the
problem. Gray said county
agencies would be working
to determine the answer to
that question, and that it
might not be the same an-
swer for every home. Solu-
tions might range from new
septic systems and wells to
water treatment centers for
some communities,
“There is a path for-
ward,” added Sykes. “The
money that was allocated
by Sen. Merkley is a good
start on that.”
Another resident, Gary
Klinger, said he had been
there 16 years and his ni-
trate levels are in the high
30s.
“I would like to know if
all three of you are on board
with us and trying to help us
here,” he said.
“Our role is a part of
this solution, not the whole
solution, but this is a com-
plex issue,” replied Sykes.
“It’s not simplistic. I think
anyone who says it is, they
don’t know. They haven’t
delved into it.”
“We do care,” said
Sykes. “We are moving
forward.”
“And the problem’s not
just the Port,” said Gray,
adding that people want
to blame the Port of Mor-
row, but that a look at the
numbers showed it was
responsible for a fraction of
the nitrate problem. “Where
is the rest of the contami-
nation coming? If we don’t
look at where all of this
contamination is coming,
and we don’t fix everything,
then we’re still going to
have this problem decades
from now.”
“I understand this is not
one person’s fault. This had
been going on for many a
year. I’m probably as guilty
as anybody,” Klinger said,
adding that he had farmed
more than 8,000 acres of
wheat land and had put a lot
of chemicals on the ground
over the years. “A lot of it
comes from the farmers, it
comes from a lot of differ-
ent sources. I realize that.
“Right now, they’re
still putting nitrates out on
the ground, junk, that they
shouldn’t be doing,” he
said. “It’s not helping the
situation, and we need help
from you guys to put a stop
to that.”
“We’re going to do
the county’s part,” replied
Sykes, “but we’re not the
only ones involved. There’s
a lot of different entities
involved.”
Ana Maria Rodriguez,
also an ORA community
organizer, approached the
board and asked her ques-
tion in Spanish.
“Do you understand
me?” she asked. When told
they didn’t, she repeated in
English, “Do you commis-
sioners get your water from
a city, or from a well?”
Morrow County Com-
missioner Jeff Wenholz,
who is from Irrigon, replied
that he got his from a well.
Sykes, who lives in Hep-
pner, said he gets his from
the city.
“But that really has
no bearing on how we ap-
proach this problem. We’re
going to approach this prob-
lem just as aggressively
whether we’re on a well
or on a city,” he told Ro-
driguez. “That is not the
deciding factor.”
Rodriguez replied that
she had asked the question
in Spanish because she
was interested to see if the
commissioners could un-
derstand her. She pointed
to citizens in the back of
the room and told the board
they did not understand
English, and that was why
she wanted to bring in a
translator.
“So please, next time,
if you could bring someone
who speaks in both lan-
guages, I really appreciate
that.”
“I agree,” put in Gray.
“We keep having these
meetings every week in just
English, and we have multi
ethnics in every community
throughout this county. We
should be more inclusive to
everybody.”
The commissioners lat-
er tasked Morrow County
Counsel Justin Nelson with
researching that Zoom op-
tion. Nelson told the Ga-
zette-Times on Monday that
he thought he had worked
out a solution and would be
conducting a test run with
ORA on Tuesday to see if
the Zoom translation would
Ana Maria Rodriquez,
Community organizer
ORA. -Contributed Photo
work for the Jan. 25 board
of commissioners meeting.
Debbie Radie, VP of
operations at Boardman
Foods and part of the busi-
ness coalition helping with
recovery effort, was also
present at the meeting via
Zoom, and asked to speak
when the last ORA speaker
had finished. The coali-
tion has reimbursed over
$51,000 of the county’s
nitrate expenses thus far.
“We are very interested
in having safe water for
all, and we want to sup-
port with funding, and we
have already supported the
funding for continued edu-
cation, well testing, and the
filters,” said Radie. “I’ve
been a well owner in Mor-
row County for 30 years. It
has affected my family, my
friends, and it is personal,
and we do need to continue
to educate.”
Radie added that she
considered herself an activ-
ist in her own right, whether
the topic was nitrates or the
Little League team.
“I live here. My fam-
ily lives here. My nieces,
aunts have been integral
in creating the community
we have today,” she added.
“I am extremely proud of
what Boardman and the
surrounding county has
done in the 30 years that I
have lived here. Thank you
all for continuing that path
and doing the right thing.”
Justice
Court
Report
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace Glen Diehl
has released the following
report from the Morrow
County Justice Court:
-Micah J Stillman, 29,
of Lexington was cited for
Violating the Basic Rule
(VBR) and was fined $165.
-Kholten Michael Ross,
19, of Canby, OR was cited
for VBR and fined $440.
-A juvenile from Ione
was cited for VBR and fined
$265.
-Ariel Marie Knight,
34, of Heppner was cited
for careless driving and
fined $265.
-Stanley O’Neil McK-
night, 35, of Ione was cited
for failure to maintain lane
and no operator’s license
and was fined $265 for each
offense for a total of $530.
Engineering firm
requests additional
funds
-Continued from PAGE ONE Premier Excavation.
Mayor Corey Sweeney
responded by asking if the
city had a guarantee that
the state would reimburse
the money.
“That’s my biggest
concern,” said Sweeney.
“The work has already been
done. The bills have already
been paid. Is the state going
to look at this and say, ‘We
allocated our funds to you
for these projects. This is
after the fact’?”
Cutsforth said he had
asked that and had been as-
sured it would go through.
“I just don’t like the
precedent we’re setting,”
said Adam Doherty.
Lamb put in that unlike
larger areas that were easy
to access, a small city like
Heppner that was harder to
get to might have to make
some unusual allowances.
“It stretched out quite
a bit with COVID,” added
Bates. “This took a year and
a half longer than it was
supposed to have taken.”
“Why are we the ones
paying for that?” asked
Doherty.
“We’re not really pay-
ing,” said Bates, referenc-
ing the state funding.
“Aren’t we?” respond-
ed Doherty. “Whether is
comes out of the house
bill or not, we’re paying it
because it’s going to get out
there and the community is
going to say, ‘Hey, they did
their job, wrapped it up, and
now we’re paying it again.
“It’s the precedent
we’re setting. We’re going
to tell everybody, ‘You can
do a job for the City of
Heppner and then you can
bill it again.’”
Sweeney asked Hep-
pner Attorney Bill Kuhn
where the city stood legally
on such a move. Kuhn said
the city was within legal
parameters to pay more,
and his only concern was
whether the state would
approve the handling of
the funds.
“If they approve it, I
don’t think there’s any city
liability as such, but there’s
also no city obligation as
such,” said Kuhn. “But I
think the council’s already
figured that out.”
Sweeney said he also
questioned it on moral
grounds because it was
taxpayer money. He asked
whether the money left over
went back to the taxpayers
because the city wasn’t able
to use it all.
“It goes back to
ODOT,” said Cutsforth.
The council turned
down the request, with
Bates and Lamb voting in
favor of the additional com-
pensation in the 3-2 vote.
The council also dis-
cussed the closing bill from
“This is kind of the
same scenario but not the
same scenario,” said Cuts-
forth. He said Stripe Rite
was supposed to come in
the fall and do striping on
the streets as part of the Pre-
mier Excavation contract
but didn’t get it done. He
said he did not expect them
now to be able to come back
and paint until June. The
state contract expires in
March, and the state won’t
pay for work that was not
done, he said.
Cutsforth said the city
had three options. First,
they could remove the item
out of the contract, not do
striping, and close out the
project.
Second, they could
work on getting an exten-
sion. Cutsforth said getting
an extension from the state
shouldn’t be a problem, but
to do something like center
striping, the city would
have to bring the surveyor
back out, which would be
added expense.
Third, he said his pref-
erence would be to use the
ODOT funds to buy the ma-
terial and have city crews
do the work with torch
down street bars. Torch
down markings consist of
preformed thermoplastic
film installed by hand using
a propane torch. The work
wouldn’t include the strip-
ing down the center of the
streets, but mostly the stop
bars and crosswalks. The
stop bars and crosswalks
are a legal requirement for
the streets, but the center
striping is not.
“In our experience, the
stripes down the center of
the street aren’t quite as
important, nor do they last
quite as long,” he said.
He added that if the city
chose that route, it would
cost considerably less and
might be done as soon as
St. Pat’s. The HB 2017
money could be used to pay
for materials, but probably
would not cover the wages
of the city crew.
Heppner Public Works
Director Chad Doherty said
the city crews could take
care of it, but it would take
a while as they were already
short-staffed. Sweeney said
he thought it would be a
better use of resources for
the city to get the extension
rather than to have city
workers spend time on it.
Bates said he preferred
to see the torch down rath-
er than the paint Stripe
Rite contracted for, since
it would last longer, and
Sweeney said he thought
the city should research it
more.
“And then we can close
this bill and be done with
them,” said Sweeney.
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