Willow Creek Terrace receives Remembrance Walk proceeds 50¢ VOL. 143 NO. 14 10 Pages Wednesday, April 5, 2023 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Robbery/burglary interrupted in Irrigon County law enforce- ment interrupted an at- tempted robbery in Irri- gon on Saturday, and three suspects were arrested for their suspected roles in the attempted burglary. Around 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, Morrow County Sheriff ’s Office Communication Center (dispatch) received a 911 call from an individual on Wagon Wheel Loop in Irrigon advising that they had a trespasser. The caller told dispatch that a man was trying to enter the house and that he had a gun. The caller then advised they had to go because the man was in the house. The call was disconnected. MCSO Patrol Sgt. Gor- don Adams was dispatched Morrow County Sheriff Vehicle -Contributed photo to the scene in Irrigon. Boardman Police Sgt. Jer- emy Fye heard the radio traffic and also responded to assist. Oregon State Po- lice (OSP) was called for additional backup. Later, Deputy Neubert and K-9 Telly were also called out to assist. Adams, Fye and two OSP troopers worked to- gether to take control of the situation and investigate the incident. Within about 30 minutes, three persons were safely detained without fur- ther incident. Joel Ernesto Rodriguez, 37, of Irrigon was arrested and charged with robbery I, burglary I, harassment (x2), unlawful use of a weapon (x3), trespass II, felon in possession of firearm and unlawful possession of a concealed weapon, as well as a parole and probation detainer. He was lodged at Umatilla County Jail with no bail. Kaylee Lynn Mack, 25, of Irrigon was arrested and charged with robbery I, burglary I and trespass II. She was lodged at Umatilla County Jail with no bail. Shavon Lee-Onne Er- ickson, 24, of Irrigon was arrested on an unrelated Umatilla County Warrant. Umatilla County advised to cite and release Erickson on the warrant. Board of commissioners gets refresher on SIP, EZ agreements By Andrea Di Salvo Morrow County Tax Assessor Mike Gorman ap- peared at a Morrow County Board of Commissioners work session last week to help give the board and other audience members a clearer picture of the dif- ferences between county tax exemption programs. Specifically, Gorman gave a presentation on the Stra- tegic Investment Program (SIP) and Enterprise Zone (EZ) property tax exemp- tions the county can extend to businesses within the county. Morrow County cur- rently has properties in both SIP and EZ agreements; the EZ agreements in the coun- ty fall within the Columbia River Enterprise Zone, or CREZ. Gorman said these two property tax exemption programs, while similar in some ways, are unique and substantially different from one another. SIP and EZ exemptions are not tied to a specific type of prop- erty, though Gorman said that enterprise zones pretty much rule out any type of commercial properties except for motels and ho- tels. Enterprise zones cover specific physical areas with detailed boundaries, while SIP agreements have no such restraints. What is an SIP? The Strategic Invest- ment Program has three statutory components—the taxable portion, the com- munity service fee and the exempt portion, as well as a non-statutory component, which may consist of an additional payment amount negotiated between the company and the county or city. An SIP can be located anywhere in the county. “If it’s inside the city limits, then the city could negotiate. If it’s outside the city limits, then the county has jurisdiction,” Gorman told the board, adding that a city can negotiate an SIP, though the county does have final say, needing to ratify any SIP for it to take effect. The dollar amount the county gets depends on the amount of the total invest- ment. “It kind of follows the assessed value of taxable property with its statutory three percent increase,” said Gorman. The taxable portion of an SIP will increase three percent per year during the exemption period, and the exemption period can be up to 15 years. The enterprise zone does not have any taxable portion. Gorman said there are three tiers relating to the taxable portion. An invest- ment of $25 million to $500 million has a taxable portion of $25 million. An investment of $500,000,001 to $1 billion has a taxable portion of $50 million. An investment of more than $1 billion has a taxable portion of $100 million. “That goes on the tax rolls, gets taxed normally, goes to all the affected dis- tricts,” said Gorman. The new Amazon data center on Bombing Range Road is currently being negotiated as an SIP. Ama- zon’s intended investment -Continued to PAGE SIX Health district approves agreement to take online payments By Andrea Di Salvo Morrow County Health District patients will soon be able to make online pay- ments through their patient portals, the health district board of directors decided at its March 27 meeting in Ione. The board approved an agreement with TruBridge for a 1-Pay service that will allow patients to pay bills through their online patient portals once the district switches to its new electronic health records (EHR) system. The agreement with TruBridge includes ac- cess to a secure website via Evident’s patient por- tal for processing patient payments, secure credit and debit card transaction processing, auto-posting of payments to the applicable patient account in Evident’s Thrive System, tracking of all payment transaction activity and reporting of processing activity includ- ing denials and exceptions. The five-year contract will cost the health dis- trict a $1,700 service setup fee with a $550 monthly service fee. MCHD board member Aaron Palmquist asked if this system would incur fees to the patients or, if not, if the health dis- trict was increasing costs somewhere to cover the increased merchant fees for card processing. Health district CEO Emily Roberts told the board it will not raise patient fees. “This should help us increase our collections, which should make it worth it, and it’s a patient conve- nience,” she said. MCHD Interim Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney pointed out that the district already pays fees for merchant services, but that right now they have to run the cards manually. This agreement was only for the processing software and would not change any other district practices or fees. “It’s just to collect pay- ments through the portal,” added Roberts. “Anything else would be a separate contract or discussion.” “I understand that, but I think everybody needs to be very clear what’s there,” said Palmquist, adding that he thought the board should look into a way to distribute the card processing costs to patients, because he knew those could add up. “From a fiscal point, as a board member, that needs to go forward. That is big- ger than this agreement,” he added, “but I think it’s still pertinent to have that understanding so staff can look at that down the road.” The board also ap- proved part of a commu- nity benefit request from Irrigon Jr./Sr. High School. The request was for a total of $9,224.99 to replace soccer goals and purchase a volleyball coaching box. MCHD Board Chair Marie Shimer abstained from the conversation due to any perceived conflict from her employment with the Morrow County School District. Roberts told the board that, while the request was one that could normally be funded through the Com- munity Benefit Fund, the district did not have enough left budgeted in the fund to meet the request. “We typically have not used those funds to fund this type of activity, and I do know we have two more AED (automated external defibrillator) requests com- ing in this fiscal year, and we likely have a food bank donation,” said Roberts. She suggested the board approve the $425 for the volleyball coaching box but not the entire amount. Palmquist agreed. “Our fund is a com- munity benefit thing, and I know that it’s needed, but I think it’s going to be locked up and it only benefits a certain…I mean, it’s very limited,” he said. Palmquist said again that he knew the school needed new equipment but made a motion to approve only the $425. “Because we have oth- er stuff that is true, prop- er, community benefit on behalf of who we are,” he added. “I would just say that, in the past, it’s been a little more health-related that the health district has funded,” added board member John Murray. “I’m certainly not against equipment for kids to play outdoor recreation away from electronics, but where we’ve always funded health-related issues, I’d kind of like to focus on -Continued to PAGE EIGHT Proceeds from this year’s Remembrance Walk/5K Run went to Willow Creek Terrace assisted living, and members of the Friends Helping Friends committee went to the facility Tuesday to present a check to the staff and residents. Twelve of the 15 residents were able to be on hand for the presentation. WCT manager Leanne Lankford said the $5,000 will be used for a range of things to make the residents’ lives easier and more enjoyable, everything from Bingo prizes to new cushions for the patio chairs. Front (L-R): Bob Stevens, Floss Watkins, Randall Peterson, Rita Bowman, Alex Camarillo, Ginger O’Brien, Ray Harper, Joyce Ward. Back (L-R): Molly Turrell, Bev Sherman, Dorothy Green Warren, Jerry Green, David Azevado, Leanne Lankford, Kathi Dickenson, Janelle Ellis, Jacque Wilson, Jazmyn Cimmiyotti, Tiffany Akers. Not pictured: Residents Sandi Hanna, Virginia Peck and Rita Dezoete. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo Irrigon, Heppner fire departments among those to receive new engines Engines part of State Fire Marshal’s $25 million engine program Irrigon and Heppner fire departments are among those selected to receive new engines as part of the Oregon State Fire Mar- shal’s $25 million Engine Program, the OSFM an- nounced this week. Across Oregon, 76 lo- cal fire service agencies were selected to receive a new type 3, type 6 or water tender to boost firefighting capacity. Irrigon Rural Fire Protection District will receive a type 3 and Hep- pner Rural Fire Protection District will receive a water tender. “This investment in the Oregon fire service is critical as the state mod- ernizes equipment and in- creases firefighting capacity to respond to incidents in our communities,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “Over the last three decades, more communities have been impacted by wildfire. This investment is a major step forward in achieving our mission to protect people, property, and the environ- ment from fire and hazard- ous materials.” The delivery timeline is not established because engine chassis are on back- order. In January 2023, contracts were awarded to Rosenbauer to build the -Continued to PAGE TWO Easter sunrise service planned Sunday Area churches offer Holy Week services The South Morrow County Ministerial Asso- ciation is sponsoring an Easter sunrise service this Sunday, April 9, at 7 a.m. in the stands at the Les Payne football field in Heppner. This is a community event, and everyone is invited. Area churches are also offering other opportunities to celebrate Holy Week and Easter this week, as follows: Wednesday, April 5 Evening prayer at Hopeful Saints, 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6 Hopeful Saints— Maundy Thursday agape meal and stripping of the altar, 6 p.m. St. Patrick’s Catho- lic—Holy Thursday Mass, 6 p.m. Tr i n i t y L u t h e r a n (Hermiston)—Maundy Thursday service, 7 p.m. Friday, April 7 St. Patrick’s Catho- lic—Good Friday Mass, 6:30 p.m. Tr i n i t y L u t h e r a n (Hermiston)—Good Friday Service, 7 p.m. Resurrection/Easter Sunday, April 9 Tr i n i t y L u t h e r a n (Hermiston)—9 a.m. Valby Lutheran—10 a.m. Hopeful Saints—10 a.m. Willow Creek Bap- tist—10 a.m. Lexington Reformed Baptist—10:45 a.m. Heppner Chris- tian—10:45 a.m. Ione Community Church—11 a.m. St. Patrick’s Catho- lic—11 a.m. CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information