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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 2023)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 17, 2023 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 Lexington begins planning for downtown improvements Public invited to participate in Monday meeting Heppner students attend Tupper Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $35 in Morrow County; $40 senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $30 elsewhere; $35 student subscriptions. Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.50 per column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $15 up to 100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.00 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi- cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required). For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space for the obituary. For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Obituaries Earl Selby Towner Earl Selby Towner, 72, passed away unex- pectedly on February 27, 2023. A private service was held; a cel- ebration of life will be in the summer of 2023. Born in Prineville, OR, Earl was raised by his grandparents at the Towner Mine. He graduated from Redmond Union High School and later received a degree in electronics en- gineering. Earl had a suc- cessful career with General Electric Medical Systems, and later with his own com- pany, Professional X-Ray Services, Inc. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who enjoyed spending time with his family, farming and working on his vintage corvettes. Earl will be deeply missed by his partner in life and loving wife, Judy (Gentry); sons Michael (Gail), Mat- thew (Allie) and Jeffery; daughter Tammy Baney; grandsons Cory (Ashley) and Jacob; granddaughters Tiffanie Bottoms, Danielle Moss, Mariah (Paul) and Adalynn Baney, and bo- nus granddaughters Lind- si (Scott) Bilyeu, Ashley (Chris) Level, Alesha Simp- kins; and 10 great-grand- children, and numerous nieces and nephews. To view his full obituary, please go to www.bend- funeralhomes.com. If you wish to donate in his name, please do so by contacting the Oregon Community Foundation/Oregon Schol- arship Fund www.oregoncf. org. SAGE Center celebrates 10 years this week Ribbon cutting at the Sage Center at Boardman 10 years ago. L-R: Gary Neal, Jerry Healy, Joe Taylor, Don Russell and Marv Padberg, long-time commissioner Larry Lindsay cutting the ribbon with the big pair of scissors, State Rep. Greg Smith and Oregon State Sen. Bill Hansell. – Contributed Photo The SAGE Center in Boardman is opening its doors wide to the public this week as it celebrates in tenth anniversary here in Morrow County. The celebration is go- ing on all week during the SAGE Center’s regular hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. As part of the celebration, the museum is offering 10 percent off all store sales, admission prizes and raf- fle submissions each day, as well as hosting events visitors have enjoyed in the past. Friday, visitors can en- joy some free French fries from the Lamb Weston fry truck from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., the museum will offer a free showing of “Night at the Museum.” The movie is open to the public and includes free water and popcorn for ev- eryone. Festivities will contin- ue Saturday with SAGE Saturday, as stations for kids’ crafts and sensory play will be available all day. Free face painting by Vivid Imaginations Profes- sional Face Painting will be offered to visitors from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Tilla-moos” cheese giveaways will be back thanks to donations from Tillamook County Cream- ery Association. A free en- chilada feed with admission will be offered by Village Restaurant in Boardman from 12-2 p.m. Also avail- able will be shaved ice treats outside from WE ice. Since officially opening its doors to the public in May 2013, the SAGE Cen- ter has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors, travelers and students to share the story of Morrow County and learn about sustainable agriculture and energy. The SAGE Center is located at 101 Olson Road. For more information, call 541-481-7243. Print & Mailing Services *Design *Print Sykes Publishing *Mail 541-676-9228 The Town of Lexington will hold a public education and out- reach event next Monday to discuss future plans for Lexing- ton’s downtown area. -Contributed photo By Andrea Di Salvo The Town of Lexing- ton is seeking community involvement in its plans for downtown improvement. The town will hold a pub- lic meeting next Monday, May 22, to discuss possible downtown improvements and get community input. The education and out- reach event will run from 6-8 p.m. at Lexington Town Hall. It will also be live online via Zoom. Items on the agenda include roadway facilities, lighting, pedestrian walk- ability and sidewalks, and parking. With the possi- bility of Morrow County Transit putting in a fixed route in Morrow County, the discussion will also include the best location for a public transit stop. “The point is to help slow people down and also help provide safe walking and biking for our commu- nity and our visitors,” says Lexington Town Councilor Katie Imes. Imes says the town be- gan looking into possible downtown improvements due to safety concerns, es- pecially at the junction of highways 74 and 207 and through the dip in the center of town, where visibility is limited. “Lexington is located at a junction,” says Imes, “so there is a lot of activity for our little town.” Public outreach like next week’s meeting is the first of many steps toward completed projects in a process that will most likely take several years. The town is seeking initial project funding through the Transportation & Growth Management (TGM) program, which is a joint effort between Ore- gon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Dept. of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). The TGM program’s goal is to support com- munity efforts to expand transportation choices. That includes planning for streets and land use in ways that lead to more “livable, economically vital, and sustainable communities,” according to a TGM report. In the 2017-19 biennium alone, TGM awarded 25 grant projects totaling more than $4 million to 23 local governments. Competitive grants are awarded yearly for projects involving transportation safety and land use. Lexing- ton is seeking an Integrated Land Use and Transporta- tion Planning grant, geared toward compact, mixed-use development. “There’s a lot of differ- ent things communities can do with these programs,” says Imes, “but we’ve cho- sen to focus on our down- town.” Lexington first applied for a TGM grant for the 2022-23 funding cycle. The application wasn’t ap- proved, but a Region 5 committee member told Imes the committee had really liked the town’s ap- plication. Funding was limited however, so the committee told the Lexington Town Council to put some more work into education and outreach and then try again. The town is currently in the process of applying for the next round of funding. This time around, Imes says, Lexington is more likely to receive the funding it needs to move forward. The town is seeking a $175,000 grant. If awarded, the funding will be used to hire a consultant to analyze Lexington’s downtown area and conduct studies of the town’s downtown needs and transportation system. The results of those studies will, in turn, open the door to more funding for projects like downtown lighting, sidewalks and more. The prospects are promising, but it’s not a quick fix. It will take at least a year for a consultant to finish the studies and have the council adopt them, plus more time to find addition- al funding and complete downtown improvement projects. “This is not a short- term project,” says Imes. Monday’s meeting is only one part of the town’s effort to involve the com- munity in the initial plan- ning process. Lexington council members and Lex- ington Town Recorder Ve- ronica Ferguson have been working with planners from DLCD and ODOT to create a public outreach strategy and talk with town stake- holders. Imes said the town would also like to see en- gagement from elected of- ficials and county-wide stakeholders, including the board of commissioners and Morrow County Public Transit. Lexington Town Hall is located at 425 F Street in Lexington. The Zoom meeting can be accessed through meeting ID 687 755 5033, passcode: Lex- ington. More information is available on the Lexington website, https://lexington- oregon.com. Any questions or concerns regarding this meeting should be directed to Veronica Ferguson, Town Recorder at 541-989-8515 or by email to lexington. oregon@gmail.com. The heppner Elementary School sixth-grade class spent a week at Tupper Outdoor School recently. The week at Tupper is an annual tradition that is supported by many partners in the community. Students said they had a great time and made some amazing memories. -Contributed photo Boardman hosts low-cost rabies clinic, offers free dog licensing The City of Boardman is reminding pet owners of the need to keep their dogs and cats current on their rabies vaccinations. This year the city will host a low-cost rabies vaccination clinic given by Dr. Burgess of Country Animal Hospital. Rabies is a fatal disease of the brain and spinal cord, caused by a virus carried by mammals. Vaccinating dogs and cats against rabies is essential in protecting loved ones and halting the spread of the disease. This low-cost rabies vac- cination event kicks off on Saturday, June 17, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Boardman City Park. The cost of the rabies vaccina- tion is $25 per pet. Along with the vaccina- tions, the city will offer free dog licensing. All dog owners who reside in the city limits of Boardman are required to have their dog licensed for identification purposes. For more information, please call Boardman An- imal Control Officer Jose Fernandez at 541-481- 9252. May 21st Happy 30th Birthday Amber Boyer. To our sweet Goddaughter. Love Bob and Bonnie. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription
