Land selected for new
circuit court building
50¢
VOL. 143
NO. 27 8 Pages
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Knowles inducted into pro rodeo hall of fame
Heppner cowboy Butch
Knowles will be inducted into
the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
next week in Colorado.
-Contributed photo
By Andrea Di Salvo
“I’ve never ever
thought my place would
be in the Hall of Fame, I’m
just that type of guy. I’ve
enjoyed the ride that I’ve
had,” says Butch Knowles.
“I look up to all those guys
in the Hall of Fame and I
think they’ve made incred-
ible marks in the sport of
rodeo in their lives.”
There’s a saying that a
good cowboy doesn’t have
to tell anyone he’s good,
because his horse already
knows. That seems to be
the philosophy of Hep-
pner cowboy Brian “Butch”
Knowles. Knowles, 68,
does a lot of talking in his
line of work, but little of
it is about himself. He’s
pretty famous in the rodeo
world, but he takes his fame
in stride.
That includes his most
recent accomplishment, his
induction in the ProRodeo
Hall of Fame and Museum
of the American Cowboy in
Colorado Springs, CO later
this month.
When it comes to his
induction into the hall of
fame as a rodeo notable,
it’s difficult to pin down
one reason Knowles is re-
ceiving the honor. Rather,
it’s a lifetime of work and
accomplishment that puts
him where he is today.
Knowles has made a
name for himself as a TV
commentator, including
countless broadcasts from
the National Final Rodeo
(NFR). He doesn’t just
talk about rodeo, though.
Knowles also qualified for
the NFR in saddle bronc
riding in 1981, 1983 and
1986-87. He won the NFR
average in 1987. Add to that
his time spent volunteering
and coaching, and one can
see why he might be con-
sidered “notable.”
His story began May 11,
1955, in Klamath Falls, OR.
He grew up in Redmond,
involved in the ranching life
from an early age. He didn’t
answer the call of the rodeo
until about 1968, when he
and his brother decided
to enter a Western States
Junior Rodeo Association
rodeo in the area.
“My brother entered in
bareback riding, and I en-
tered in the calf riding,” he
recalls. “That was my first
splash in the pond.”
He was about 13 years
old.
“It hooked me right off
the bat. That’s all I thought
about from that point for-
ward,” says Knowles. “I
couldn’t wait to do it.”
He says he had always
been drawn to the mystique
of the cowboy life, and the
adrenaline rush of the rodeo
clinched it. Even though
there were only about five
junior rodeos around Ore-
By Andrea Di Salvo
A site in Heppner has
been selected for the new
Morrow County Circuit
Court building, Heppner
Mayor Corey Sweeney
announced last week. The
new courthouse will be
located on land the county
already owns, near the Mor-
row County Fairgrounds in
Heppner.
“We’ve been in full
support of it, and we are
going to be working with
neighbors and citizens with
this project,” Sweeney said.
“We’re very excited about
this.”
The decision regard-
ing the courthouse site has
been months in the mak-
ing. Sweeney told the Ga-
zette-Times that the City of
Heppner has been working
extensively with the county
to find a suitable parcel on
which to build the new cir-
cuit court. Several possible
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT
Columbia 10U shuts out
Baker for district title
11U baseball and Juniors softball
take second place
The Columbia 10U baseball team won the Oregon District
3 Little League Championship and is headed to the state
championship tournament in La Grande later this month.
-Contributed photo
Knowles with his trophy for All-Around Cowboy at the St.
Paul Rodeo 1979. -Contributed photo
gon at the time, he dove in
with both feet.
“I started roping and
working a lot of events
after that junior rodeo in
Redmond,” he says. In fact,
he competed in every event
in every rodeo he could
throughout high school.
The same year he gradu-
ated from Redmond High
School, 1973, Knowles
also won the National High
School Rodeo all-around
cowboy.
Walla Walla Communi-
ty College (WWCC) rodeo
coach Tim Corfield saw
his potential and offered
him a rodeo scholarship to
WWCC.
“It meant a lot that Tim
believed in me before any-
one else really knew who I
was,” says Knowles, adding
that he and Corfield went on
to become fast friends. “I
really respect that.”
Knowles continued to
compete heavily at the col-
lege level, initially making
his mark as a bull rider, as
well as a saddle bronc rider.
“I liked all the rough
stock events,” he says.
Though he became best
known as a saddle bronc
rider, he loved bull riding,
and continued to compete
in every event he could.
He says it was that broad
knowledge of events that
gave him an advantage in
his later role as commen-
tator.
“It really helped later,
being an analyst and in
broadcasting. I had experi-
ence in all of those events,
and that really helped me,”
It was a packed sched-
ule of baseball and softball
games at the Oregon Dis-
trict 3 Little League All Star
Tournament in Hermiston
this past week. Morrow
County was well represent-
ed with players and coaches
participating on teams in all
divisions.
The Columbia River
Little League 11-and-under
All Stars, coached by Brad
Adams, took second place
at the tournament, beating
Pendleton twice, 8-2 and
10-0, then falling to Herm-
iston in the championship
game. Local players on the
11U team were Carter Ad-
ams, Peyton Matheny, Coo-
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT
Heppner coach,
athletes honored by
Army National Guard
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
County commission approves budget,
expresses support for solar project
By Andrea Di Salvo
The Morrow County
Board of Commissioner
unanimously approved
the budget for the fiscal
year 2023-24 at its meet-
ing in Irrigon June 21. Of
the $91,454,508 budget,
$29,196,690 was appropri-
ated for the general fund.
Other big-ticket
funds included road and
road equipment reserve
funds ($10,934,905 com-
bined), the airport fund
($1,662,097), Finley Buttes
license fund ($2,290,449),
special transportation
fund (1,597,652), capi-
tal improvement fund
($4,303,341), fair improve-
ment fund ($1,050,000),
park fund ($1,225,257),
Shepherds Flat fees fund
($1,501,500), community
corrections ($1,055,355),
PGE Carty fund
($2,277,053), Wheatridge
Wind fund ($2,440,000),
and the resiliency fund
($5,609,228), among oth-
ers, for total appropriations
of 72,109,625. Unappro-
priated and reserve funds
totaled $19,344,883.
The budget had passed
out of the budget committee
with unanimous approval.
The board of com-
missioners also approved
the property tax rate for
the county at $4.1347 per
$1,000 of assessed value for
the 2023-24 tax year.
Before discussing the
budget for the upcoming
fiscal year, the commission-
ers addressed a proposed
supplemental budget for
the fiscal year 2022-23.
Morrow County Finance
Director Kevin Ince ex-
plained the budget for the
fiscal year just ending had
both shortfalls and unantici-
pated income that needed to
be dealt with.
“Largely these changes
are driven by changes in
personnel services,” said
Ince of the shortfalls. “Ex-
penditures that were not
included in or anticipated
in the current fiscal year.”
Primary changes were
additional positions and a
five percent pay incentive
that the board approved
several months ago.
Ince also pointed out a
large increase in appropri-
ations of about $811,000.
Of that, $685,377 was an
increase in Wheatridge
Wind fees.
“We had a larger be-
ginning balance than was
anticipated and had more
revenues than were budget-
ed for,” Ince said.
He proposed the county
use the surplus funds to
make an additional contri-
bution payment toward the
county’s defined benefit
pension plan.
The board unanimously
approved the supplemental
budget and the proposed
payment to the pension
plan.
The board held public
hearings on both budgets,
but there was no public
comment.
After some discussion,
the board of commissioners
also agreed to sign a letter
of support for Sunstone
Solar, the large solar project
that Pine Gate Renewables
hopes to build in Morrow
County. The letter was to
support Sunstone Solar’s
preliminary application for
site certificate with the Or-
egon Energy Facility Siting
Council.
Morrow County Board
of Commissioners Chair
David Sykes asked for in-
put from Morrow County
Planner Tamra Mabbott.
He said he was concerned
in case there was any con-
flict between the county’s
recognition of the economic
benefits of the project and
the county’s possible role
in approving zoning for the
solar facility.
“I want to make sure
we’re not tainting our de-
cision-making process,”
said Sykes.
Mabbott said she had
shared Sykes’s concerns
since the solar facility was
just beginning the permit-
ting process. Even though
the state is the lead agency,
she said, there is a role for
Heppner football coach Greg Grant (right) with SFC Joseph
Sullivan of the Oregon Army National Guard.
-Photo courtesy of the OSAA
A Heppner High School
coach and two athletes were
honored with special rec-
ognition from the Oregon
Army National Guard last
month. The Oregon Army
National Guard partners
with the Oregon School
Activities Association
(OSAA) and the Oregon
Athletic Coaches Associ-
ation (OACA) to present
awards to coaches and ath-
letes who show exceptional
leadership and team spirit.
Greg Grant is the head
teacher and athletic di-
rector at Heppner Jr./Sr.
-Continued to PAGE SIX
High School, as well as its
long-time football coach.
He was one of only two
coaches in the state who
received the Oregon Army
National Guard Coach of
the Year award, according
to the OSAA, because of
his “exceptional leadership
and a deep commitment” to
his student athletes.
“Through their efforts,
they’re shaping more than
just skilled athletes. They
are building character, in-
stilling discipline, and cul-
tivating our future leaders.
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information