TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 12, 2023
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
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: In Morrow County $35/year.
Outside Morrow County $40/year. In County Senior Rate (65 years or older) $30/
year. 9 month Student student subscriptions $35/year.
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.
Marriage Licenses
The Morrow County
Clerk reports issuing the
following marriage licens-
es for the month of May.
May 3, 2023—Kristina
Lynn Corbin, 48, of Hep-
pner and Michael Shane
Alford, 51, of Heppner.
May 4, 2023—Nan-
cy L Acosta, 35 of Ir-
rigon and Raul Gonza-
lez Jr., 36, of Irrigon.
-Leonel Perez
Yepiz, 33, of Boardman
and Leticia Louise San-
chez, 31, of Boardman.
May 10, 2023—Mar-
tin Gabriel Garcia, 55,
of Boardman and Teresa
Zurita, 52, of Boardman
May 11, 2023—Bri-
an David Holtz, 47, of
Heppner and Sheila Marie
McKinley, 49, of Lexington.
-Trevor Charles Horn,
22, of Stanfield and Tiffani
Marie Lund, 22, of Stanfield.
May 15, 2023—Char-
lie Anne Dimke, 25, of Hep-
pner and Stephen Gerald
Thompson, 28, of Heppner.
-Efrain Murillo Arel-
lano, 63, of Boardman
and Ma Delia Arellano
Diaz, 35, of Boardman.
May 18, 2023—Juan
Carlos Silva Preciado, 27,
of Boardman and Aileen
Velasco, 25, of Boardman.
May 25, 2023—Hannah
Marie Davis, 24, of Board-
man and Timothy Robert
Atkeson, 25, of Boardman.
-Hector Quinton
Ortiz, 24, of Boardman
and Joanna Marie Lo-
mas, 29, of Boardman.
May 26, 2023—
John Robert Herzog, 73,
of Ione and Pamela Gail
Renfro, 79, of Lexington.
Brass Fire back at Irrigon
Music in the Park
Brass Fire is back for
a repeat performance for
Music in the Parks on July
17 at Irrigon Marina Park.
B r a s s F i r e ’s l a rg e
ensemble includes saxo-
phones, trumpets, trom-
bone, piano, bass, guitar,
and drums. Be prepared for
music made popular by a
large variety of artists from
Chicago to Earth Wind and
Fire, or Elvis to Santana.
Brass Fire spans a musical
range from the Big Band era
music through blues, soul
and on to the rock music of
the ‘70s and ‘80s.
The concerts are free
to the public and begin at
7 p.m. on Monday nights.
Visitors are encouraged to
bring chairs and blankets.
The series is funded by the
Morrow County Unified
Recreation District and
Portland General Elec-
tric and sponsored by the
North Morrow Communi-
ty Foundation.
In the event of inclem-
ent weather, Irrigon perfor-
mances will be held at the
Irrigon Senior Center.
A View from the Hill
By Doris Brosnan
At Willow Creek Ter-
race, with the warm sum-
mer weather has come
opportunities for more fre-
quent socializing on the
front portico, especially in
the afternoon shade. Most
Fridays at 3 p.m. will find
Residents and occasional
family members gathered
there for a “cocktail hour.”
This is an opportunity for
enjoyable conversation
over juice, sodas and nosh-
es.
On July 4, that was
where the firework fans
gathered for sparklers and
ice cream, and this coming
Friday, everyone will be
there for the ice cream so-
cial, some of the occasional
changes in routine – defi-
nitely fun, refreshing and
tasty ones!
Routine activities at the
Terrace include the daily
morning exercises, Monday
Bingo, and Wednesdays’
craft activities or game
events. Today’s feature is
the “Right-Center-Left”
game, and on an upcoming
Wednesday, participants
will be enjoying “Frisbee
Golf” in which prizes will
reward individuals for the
most successful frisbee
tosses into buckets.
Residents at the Terrace
view the combination of
routine and variety as one of
the positives of life on the
Hill. And they always have
the “Welcome” mat out for
potential new neighbors, so
interested persons can come
for a visit or call 541-676-
0004 for more information.
Employment opportunities
are also available, with
more information on the
Terrace’s Facebook page
and from visiting the facil-
ity or calling.
Heritage Trail on
track new signage
Ione gets donation of
special memorabilia
-Continued from PAGE ONE board of commissioners:
Transit-The Loop Direc-
tor Benjamin Tucker told
the commissioners that
the county had received
the report on the ODOT
compliance review done
on The Loop in April. The
last compliance review was
conducted in 2019.
“It was very eye-open-
ing to have been here for
four months and go, ‘Hey,
we want all this information
and we’re going to stick
with you for two days until
you find it,’” said Tucker,
who took over as transit
manager earlier this year.
He said The Loop was
in compliance with all re-
quirements; the advisory
findings ODOT did present
were mainly recommen-
dations for best practices,
many of which the county
had already been in the
process of implementing.
“Nothing that we
weren’t already aware of
process-wise,” added Kev-
in Ince, Morrow County
Finance Director. “And
accounting practices, those
processes have already
been changed operation-
ally even though we don’t
necessarily have the formal
documentation of that in
place. We’re looking good
moving forward.”
For instance, ODOT
wants to see new or updated
policies, which Tucker says
are in the works, as well as
better reporting on com-
pleted preventative main-
tenance. Tucker said The
Loop has been completing
the maintenance on time but
is implementing new soft-
ware, which should make
maintenance record-keep-
ing much better.
“The vast bulk of it is
in process to be taken care
of and be in compliance,”
he told the commissioners,
adding that there were a
handful that he needed to
get clarification on so he
could get them taken care
of.
The board of commis-
sioners also approved a
change in the reporting
structure for the Morrow
County Emergency Man-
ager position. The change
comes in the wake of cur-
rent Morrow County Emer-
gency Manager Paul Gray’s
resignation.
Historically, Morrow
County Human Resources
Manager Lindsay Grogan
told the commissioners,
the Morrow County Under-
sheriff was also the county’s
emergency manager. As
the county grew, it became
too much for one person to
handle both positions, so
the emergency manager po-
sition was created in 2021
and was placed under the
supervision of the county
administrator.
With Gray’s recent res-
ignation, county staff re-
evaluated the position and
decided it would be more
effective if the emergency
manager reported to the
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office rather than the coun-
ty administrator. It would
remain a separate position
housed in the county’s gov-
ernment offices.
“I met with the sheriff,
undersheriff and with Paul,
and we talked about this
position, where it should
fall,” said Morrow County
Interim Administrator Ro-
berta Vanderwall. “Most
of the emergency manag-
ers fall under the sheriff’s
guidance.”
She added that the sher-
iff is “not thrilled” by the
change but agrees that it
makes sense.
“I can remember when
it was under the sheriff,”
replied Sykes. “I thought it
was better, myself.”
In other business, the
-Approved an engi-
neering consulting services
agreement for $271,806
with Century West Engi-
neering for the Lexington
Airport Taxiway D Re-
construction Project. The
contract is one portion of
the total project cost and is
fully reimbursable through
the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration grant program.
-Approved an Inter-
governmental Agreement
between Morrow County
Public Health and the Uma-
tilla County Health Depart-
ment for a Nurse Family
Partnership home visiting
program.
-Approved Amendment
1 to an Oregon Department
of Transportation (ODOT)
Grant Agreement for a Ru-
ral Veterans Healthcare
Transportation Program.
The amendment extends
the length of the agreement
from June to September.
-Approved an ODOT
funding agreement for ad-
ministration and mobility
management. The agree-
ment provides federal fund-
ing totaling $420,263 for
Morrow County Transit ad-
ministrative expenses such
as salaries. The $48,102
county’s local match will
come from the Special
Transportation Fund.
-Approved an ODOT
agreement for $123,814
in Federal Transit Admin-
istration funds to improve
mobility for seniors and in-
dividuals with disabilities.
Morrow County will have
a $14,171 local match.
-Approved an ODOT
Agreement to fund Board-
man-Port of Morrow cir-
cular operations. The de-
viated fixed route project
will serve Boardman and
will provide first/last mile
connections between inter-
community and commuter
services and employers at
the Port of Morrow. It will
run 18 round trips per day
Monday through Saturday
and will also provide access
to the Heppner-Boardman
connector and coordinate
with Kayak’s Hermis-
ton-Boardman connector.
The $484,000 in state fund-
ing requires a $121,000
local match.
-Approved a $241,600
ODOT agreement to fund
transit services between
Heppner and the Port of
Morrow with a stop in Lex-
ington en route. The con-
nector will run up to eight
round trips daily Monday
through Saturday and will
provide coordinated access
to the Port of Morrow cir-
culator and Kayak’s Herm-
iston-Boardman connector.
Morrow County will pro-
vide a $60,400 local match.
Print
&
Mailing
Services
*Design
*Print
*Mail
Sykes Publishing
541-676-9228
Dave Stratton, right, and Ione Public Works Director Matt
Dotson. -Contributed photo
The City of Ione re-
ceived an unexpected gift
recently when Dave Strat-
ton of Mississippi stopped
by to donate a rare piece of
Americana to the city.
Stratton, a retired Fe-
dEx driver who now lives
in Olive Branch, MS, is a
license plate collector and
amateur historian. He ob-
tained a very special vanity
license plate from at man
in North Dakota several
years ago.
He thought the license
plate, a North Dakota plate
that says “IONE,” would
be the perfect addition to
the City of Ione’s collection
of memorabilia. He made
a detour on his way from
Spokane, WA to California
to donate the plate to the
city.
Stratton said he has
been to every county in
Oregon except Wheeler
County, which he will drive
through on his way to John
Day before heading to Cal-
ifornia.
Missing man located
safe
Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Office reports that the
Silver Alert issued for Rob-
ert Hiatt last week had a
happy ending.
The 72-year-old man’s
disappearance from the
Willow Creek Road area
south of Heppner on July
3 was concerning because
he suffered from dementia,
was without needed med-
ication and could be in a
confused state of mind.
MCSO reported later
that evening that Hiatt had
been located alive and was
being checked by medical
staff.
MURRAY’S GIVEAWAY!!!
Our Heppner location is turning 64 this year and
we are celebrating in sizzling style! To thank all of
our amazing customers for their support over the
years, we're hosting a
giveaway!
Here's how to enter for a
chance to win a
Blackstone Adventure Ready
22" Griddle:
1. Like/Follow our
Facebook Page!
2. Share this post with your friends!
3. Comment "done" when finished! The lucky winner
will be contacted directly by Mu rray's Drug.
217 North Main St.,
Heppner, OR
Phone 676-9158 Floral 676-9426
murraysdrug.com
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm • Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 9am-2pm
Pharmacy- Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
I r t h r I g h t
Baby Clothes, Diapers &
Wipes Needed!
Clothing:
Newborn and size 0 to 3 months
Both Boy and Girl
Diapers: Newborn Sizes 1, 2 & 3
Wipes: Any kind
Birthright of
Morrow County
541-676-0530