NINE - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Dinning resigns
-Continued from PAGE ONE as elementary principal for
tion, and they look forward
to making sure Ione is on
their calendar for events
and school functions that
they can attend.
“At this time, we do not
know where our journey
will take us next year, but
we will always be grateful
for being welcomed into the
Ione Community for the last
two years,” said Dinning.
“We have accomplished a
great amount in the last two
years, and I am hopeful the
district will continue the
progress with the bond and
school improvement with
Tracey Johnson.”
“The district is in great
hands moving forward, as
Tracey has been at the table
the last three years, and
she has been at the table
for all of our district im-
provement efforts and bond
work,” Dinning added. “A
huge thank you from me to
the students, staff, school
board, community mem-
bers and community or-
ganizations that supported
us through the last couple
years!
“I will look forward
to seeing the Ione School
District and the Ione Com-
munity School continue to
get better every day for the
rest of the year and after
my contract year finishes
at the end of June. Forever
and always, go Cardinals!”
County Republican
Party to meet next week
The Morrow County
Republican Party will meet
at 6 p.m., Thursday, April
20, at the Morrow Coun-
ty Government Building,
Don Adams Conference
Room, in Irrigon. Precinct
Committee Persons (PCPs)
and anyone interested in the
county Republican Party
are encouraged to come and
join the discussions.
MCRP will draft a
budget for 2023, continue
planning the 2023 fund-
raising event and discuss its
presence at spring/summer
community events.
PCP positions are open
in Heppner, Lexington,
Boardman and Irrigon.
Individuals interested in
one of these positions are
encouraged to attend this
meeting to learn about the
positions. PCP appoint-
ments can be made during
MCRP meetings.
The Republican Par-
ty is open to individuals
interested in conservative
ideals and values. The Re-
publican Party platform can
be found at https://oregon.
gop/. For more information
on the Morrow County
Republican Party, contact
mocoreps@gmail.com.
Ione FFA participates for first time in
district floriculture, meats evaluation
The Ione FFA Meats Evaluation team participated for the The Ione FFA Floriculture team took third place at the district
first time at the district competition last week. L-R are Corey competition this past week. This is the first time Ione has
Rice, Liam Heideman and Martin Mendoza. -Contributed photo participated in this event, and Deacon Heideman was much ap-
preciated as the bus driver. Pictured L-R: Deacon Heideman,
Eight Ione FFA high be fun to watch these mem- Elizabeth Doherty, Jolene Serrano, Kelly Doherty, Delaney
school members competed bers grow,” said Ione FFA Stefani and Brionna Serrano. -Contributed photo
at the 2023 District Flori-
culture and Meats Evalua-
tion Career Development
Event held at the BMCC
Complex in Boardman last
Thursday, April 6. This was
the first time that any mem-
ber of Ione FFA Chapter has
participated in this event
since the chapter chartered
about seven years ago.
“Our chapter has a very
enthusiastic group of high
school students, and it will
The suspect, identified
as Gregory Ryan Salverda,
52, of Boardman, was trans-
ported to a local hospital
with minor injuries and
was reported to be in stable
condition. OSP said there
was no further danger to
the public.
Per department policy
and in accordance with SB
111, the officer involved
in the shooting has been
placed on administrative
leave pending the outcome
of an investigation by the
Morrow/Umatilla County
Major Crime Team.
Assisting agencies con-
sisted of the Oregon State
Police, Boardman Police
Department, Pendleton Po-
lice Department, Hermiston
Police Department, Mil-
ton-Freewater Police De-
partment, Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office, Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office,
Morrow County District
Attorney’s Office and the
Oregon State Police crime
lab.
Ballots no longer to include
secrecy envelopes
Morrow County Clerk
Bobbi Childers has an-
nounced that the optional
secrecy envelope will no
longer be included with
voter ballots.
Childers told the Ga-
zette-Times that price and
scarcity of envelopes is a
factor in the decision but
that the secrecy envelope
has always been optional
for voters. It is no longer
needed, as the outer signa-
ture envelope has a printed
security weave on the inside
that protects voter privacy,
she said.
Childers said the deci-
sion to discontinue privacy
envelopes has been formal-
ly approved by the Oregon
Secretary of State’s office
and will save the county
both money and staff time.
“Your privacy and the
secrecy of your vote has al-
ways been and will continue
to be protected throughout
the ballot counting pro-
cess,” said a statement on
the clerk’s website.
The next ballots mailed
will be for the May 16
special district elections.
Signed envelopes must be
received or postmarked
by 8 p.m. on election day.
For more information, see
the county clerk’s website
or contact 541-676-5601
or elections@co.morrow.
or.us.
Ione FFA was chartered
in 2015 and is part of the
Oregon FFA Association
and the Blue Mountain Dis-
trict. The district consists of
Pilot Rock, Athena-Weston,
Milton-Freewater, Herm-
iston, Pendleton, Irrigon,
Heppner, Boardman, Stan-
field, Echo and Ione. For
more information about
Ione FFA, visit their Face-
book page.
Coordinated response includes outreach and education, well testing
and replacement strategies, and delivering drinking water to
impacted residents
Governor Tina Kotek
Salem, OR—In re-
sponse to the ongoing
groundwater contamination
in the Lower Umatilla Ba-
sin, last week governor Tina
Kotek reiterated her com-
mitment to coordinating
an inter-agency response
that includes testing and
treatment of affected wells,
pursuing a contract with
a local community-based
organization to engage in
this effort, and dedicating a
project manager to support
safe drinking water.
“Every Oregonian
should have safe, healthy
drinking water. The water
contamination experienced
in Morrow and Umatilla
counties is unacceptable
and must be fixed,” Gover-
nor Kotek said. “Residents
need to be aware of the
danger posed by nitrates
and have immediate access
to well testing and clean
drinking water while we
work towards longer-term
solutions.”
Members of the gov-
ernor’s office were in Mor-
row and Umatilla counties
recently touring impacted
residential sites and meet-
ing with community lead-
ers, local elected leaders
and public health officials
in advance of the governor
visiting Umatilla and Mor-
row counties in the coming
weeks.
Since January, the
governor’s office has been
meeting with the U.S. En-
vironmental Protection
Town and Country awards
banquet May 4
The Heppner Chamber
of Commerce will host its
annual Town and Country
awards banquet on Thurs-
day, May 4, at 6 p.m. at the
Gilliam & Bisbee Event
Center in Heppner.
A limited number of
tickets are for sale at the
Heppner Chamber of Com-
merce, Heppner City Hall,
and Murray’s Drug. Tickets
are $40 each, which in-
cludes a prime rib dinner
by Gateway Café and a
no-host bar provided by
Bucknum’s Tavern and
Grill, a silent auction and,
of course, the community
awards presentation.
Award nomination
forms can be found at www.
h e p p n e r c h a m b e r. c o m /
awards and will be closed
Friday, April 14.
Potato could be Oregon’s
state vegetable
Oregon Sen. Bill
Hansell (R-Athena) has
announced that the humble
potato is one step closer to
becoming the Oregon State
vegetable. Hansell is one of
the chief sponsors of SCR
3, which would designate
the potato as the state veg-
etable. The senate resolu-
tion has made it through
the senate with unanimous
support and now moves to
the Oregon House of Rep-
resentatives.
“It is good to see we are
one step closer to making
Oregon the potato state,”
Hansell said in a release.
Hansell says he sup-
ports the potato as the state
Jace Thompson, winner vegetable because of the
of the grand prize at the spud’s important role in
Oregon’s agriculture and
Heppner Market Fresh
economy.
Easter egg hunt Satur-
According to Hansell’s
day, grins as he shows off
speech to the state senate,
his prize—a big bunch
Potatoes are Oregon’s most
of water balloons and
widely cultivated vegeta-
launchers. -Contributed
ble crop, taking up 44,000
photo
acres. In 2021, Oregon
That’s one egg-citing prize
were then judged. Elizabeth
Doherty was number eight
overall.
The meats team earned
third place as well and
consisted of Martin Men-
doza, Corey Rice and Liam
Heideman. They were re-
sponsible for identifying 25
cuts of meat with species,
primal cuts and retail cuts
and then evaluating a class
of steaks based on yield
grade information.
Governor promises coordinated response to
groundwater issues
Pursuit ends in
officer-involved shooting
A pursuit in North Mor-
row County Tuesday night
ended in an officer-involved
shooting and car crash, ac-
cording to a statement by
Oregon State Police.
Shortly after 11 p.m.
last Tuesday, April 4, Mor-
row County Sheriff’s Of-
fice attempted to perform
a traffic stop on a vehicle
traveling at a high rate of
speed on Highway 730.
The vehicle attempted to
elude the MCSO deputy
and traveled into the City
of Boardman. The pursuit
continued through the res-
idential areas of Boardman
before the fleeing vehicle
eventually crashed.
During the incident, a
Boardman Police Depart-
ment officer fired his duty
weapon and hit the eluding
vehicle.
Oregon State Police
troopers were able to finally
force the vehicle to stop in
the vicinity of West Main
Street and Boardman Av-
enue and the suspect was
taken into custody.
Advisor Erin Heideman.
The floriculture team
earned third place and con-
sisted of Delaney Stefani,
Elizabeth Doherty, Jolene
Serrano, Kelly Doherty
and Brionna Serrano. They
were responsible for iden-
tifying 10 insects, 10 plant
diseases and 25 flowers or
plants. They then created
bud vase arrangements and
developed a cost invoice on
each arrangement, which
farmers harvested 2.6 bil-
lion pounds of potatoes,
and potatoes are Oregon’s
top-selling vegetable, add-
ing 216.8M to the Oregon
economy. In fact, pota-
toes are Oregon’s seventh
most valuable agriculture
commodity; 25 percent of
Oregon frozen French fries.
“For, no matter how
you cut it, no matter how
you slice it, no matter how
you chip it, no matter how
you dice it, no matter how
you flake it, no matter how
you shred it, no matter how
you mash it, no matter how
you peel it, no matter how
you bake it, no matter how
you fry it, no matter how
you cook it, no matter how
you eat it, and no matter
how you drink it (remem-
ber vodka comes from po-
tatoes) the question has
been answered... there is
no question,” Hansell told
the senate. “For the Oregon
vegetable, the potato should
be!”
Agency (EPA), Oregon
Health Authority (OHA),
Oregon Department of Hu-
man Services (ODHS), the
Department of Environ-
mental Quality (DEQ) and
the Oregon Department of
Agriculture (ODA), as well
as engaging community
leaders to build a plan and
team that will accelerate
free testing of domestic
wells.
At the direction of Gov-
ernor Kotek, a dedicated
project manager from OHA
has been identified to lead
this inter-agency work. A
public education and out-
reach campaign will ensure
that every domestic well
owner in the Lower Uma-
tilla Basin Groundwater
Management Are (LUB-
GWMA) has information
on the impact of high ni-
trates in drinking water.
In addition to free water
testing, households whose
water tests high for nitrates
will receive delivered wa-
ter and, where effective,
in-home filtration systems,
while longer-term solutions
are being developed. The
governor’s office is also
pursuing a contract with
a local community-based
organization to support the
outreach, engagement, and
delivery of water testing
and treatment in impacted
communities. There will
be additional outreach to
other community-based
organizations to engage in
that work. Kotek says she
is committed to working
with the EPA, DEQ, ODA,
and community members
to address the long-term
remediation needs of the
groundwater aquifer.
“I want residents who
have been impacted by
this water contamination to
know that we are working
with urgency to deliver
solutions,” Kotek said.
“The state’s coordinated
response must meet the
needs of the families on
the ground. In addition to
my staff’s hard work over
the past several months, I
look forward to personally
meeting with community
members in Umatilla and
Morrow counties in the
weeks ahead.”
Residents of the affect-
ed region can access testing
by visiting the OHA Lower
Umatilla Basin Groundwa-
ter Management Area Test-
ing and Treatment webpage
or contacting their county
public health department.
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