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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2023)
G-T closed Labor Day News, ad deadline Friday 50¢ VOL. 143 NO. 35 10 Pages Wednesday, August 30, 2023 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Gentry wins MoCo Rodeo All-Around The Heppner Ga- zette-Times will be closed Monday, Sept. 4, for the Labor Day holiday. The deadline for all news and ads for the Sept. 6 edition will be Friday, Irrigon Council says no to truck route exceptions Pictures and results page 7 By Andrea Di Salvo The Irrigon City Coun- cil voted this month to maintain the current city truck ordinance and not allow exceptions. Irrigon City Manag- er Aaron Palmquist told the council at the Aug. 15 meeting that the issue came up because a new resident had asked the city council to review and consider amending the existing truck route ordinance so he could drive his semi-truck home to SE Kristen Dr. Because of the amount of community discussion around the topic, the Irrigon Planning Commission was asked to weigh in on the issue. The planning com- Tate Gentry (left) won the buckle for Morrow County Rodeo All-Around Winner Sunday, July 20. Morrow County Rodeo Board President Tanner Britt is presenting the buckle, which was sponsored by Heppner Les Schwab. See more Morrow County Rodeo photos and results on PAGE SEVEN. -Photo credit: Alexis Cady, Wild Red Rodeo Heppner student wins state art contest “The calendar contest is a great project for teach- ers and students to cultivate creativity while celebrat- ing agriculture’s beauty and bountiful lessons,” said Brittany Capell, AITC Education Programs Coor- dinator. Each month in the cal- endar features one of the winning students’ pieces of art, and each day of the year has a fact about agriculture. The 13 students se- lected to be featured in the 2023-2024 calendar received a $50 award and certificate to commemo- rate this honor. The win- ning artwork is displayed on our website and at the Oregon State Fair, which runs through Labor Day in Salem. Calendars are free to Oregon teachers, and can be ordered for just $4 on oregonaitc.org/shop. Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping stu- dents grow through their educational lessons, activi- ties and resource materials to Oregon educators to support the integration of agricultural themes into academic subjects such as math, science, history and language arts. For more information, visit the AITC website at www.oregonaitc. org. mission’s recommendation was to maintain the truck route designations and re- strict trucks to those routes. The existing ordinance has been in place since 2015. Palmquist said the ordinance had gone through a lengthy process when it was developed, and he was concerned with the consequences of making exceptions. “When you make ex- ceptions, then you’re go- ing to have some dispari- ties that concern me,” said Palmquist. As an example, he said, if the city charged for permits, one trucker might be able to afford a special permit while anoth- -Continued to PAGE TWO Boardman councilor faces misdemeanor sex charges The Morrow County District Attorney’s office is bringing misdemeanor sex crime charges against Boardman City Councilor Isaac Williams. Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney Justin Nel- son said the allegations pertain to a relationship Williams reportedly had with a 17-year-old prior to his time on the city council. Nelson said the Board- man Police Department had referred the case to Oregon State Police for investigation on June 13 of this year. Morrow County Chief Deputy DA Zach Williams—no relation to the defendant—reviewed the case. The district attorney’s office filed the preliminary charge of third-degree sex- ual abuse against Williams on Wednesday, Aug. 23. Arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 5. Williams, 36, has been a member of the Boardman City Council since 2021, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy. He was elect- ed to an at-large position in 2022 for a term that expires in December of 2026. Third-degree sexual abuse is a Class A misde- meanor in Oregon. Lexington council discusses water concerns Heppner Student Hadlie Duncan displays her artwork at the calendar art contest reception at the Oregon State Fair, where she and 12 other winners were honored last Friday. -Contributed photo Heppner Elementary fourth-grade student Hadlie Duncan was selected as one of 13 winners in a statewide annual calendar art contest sponsored by Oregon Ag- riculture in the Classroom (AITC). Hadlie’s artwork was selected from among 1,722 entries submitted to the contest showcasing Ore- gon’s diverse agricultural and natural resource com- modities. The winners were honored at a reception on Friday, Aug. 25, at the Or- egon State Fair in Salem. This year, artwork was submitted by students kin- dergarten through sixth grade across the state in public, private, charter and homeschool education sys- tems. The entries received celebrated Oregon’s diverse agriculture with artwork depicting a wide variety of the state’s 220 agricultural commodities. H a d l i e ’s a r t w o r k , which can be viewed on the May page of the calendar, featured a field of canola with wind turbines in the landscape. “When driving back home from Hermiston, I saw fields of beautiful yellow flowers blooming, which was the inspiration for the artwork,” Hadlie said in describing the art- work. Sept. 1, at 5 p.m. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, Sept. 5. The G-T wishes every- one a safe and happy Labor Day. Hadlie Duncan’s artwork, which features a field of canola with wind turbines, can be seen on the May page of the Oregon Ag- riculture in the Classroom 2023-24 calendar. -Contributed photo Boardman brewery closes its doors for good Ordnance Brewing in Boardman closed its doors for good this past weekend, Aug. 26. The brewery and Boardman Tap House, lo- cated at 405 N. Olson Road, had reopened in February after a pandemic-related closure. The company an- nounced the closure on its Facebook page, but did not indicate a reason for the sudden closure. “The Ordnance fam- ily can’t thank everyone enough who came out to support your local brew- ery,” the Facebook post stated. “Whether it was a Bingo, Trivia, Lotería, Ka- raoke, paint class or game day; we appreciate each and every one of you for coming to enjoy our cold beer and our ‘Cheers’ atmosphere!” Several comments on the post expressed sadness on the closure—several commenters called Bloops “awesome” or “the best beer in Oregon.” “So sorry to hear this. We have been going to Ordnance for several years while camping at Board- man,” Joyce Harrison Stiff wrote. “We’ll miss all your great beers (that we liked lol) and your wonderful & friendly staff!” Ordnance will also be closing its Wilsonville brewery, though that loca- tion will remain open as a taphouse. By Andrea Di Salvo Town water—or the lack of it—were concerns at a Lexington Town Council meeting earlier this month. The town council learned that the town’s engineering firm, Ander- son Perry & Associates, had submitted Lexington’s water system master plan to the Oregon Health Au- thority’s Drinking Water Services (DWS). DWS sent a letter to Anderson Perry confirming the master plan met all the Oregon Admin- istrative Rule criteria. One of the main con- cerns of the water master plan is securing a second water source for the town. The town currently has only one water supply well, which is limited during the late summer months due to a lowering of the water lev- el in the aquifer. The town also cites insufficient water storage volume. The town’s current wa- ter system has 127 water connections—107 residen- tial, 15 commercial and five other. Its annual usage is 31,500,000 gallons of water. According to the town, the existing well must run nearly 22 hours a day to meet peak demand. With demand expected to in- crease in coming years, that makes a second water source a high priority. Through its work with Anderson Perry, Lexington is laying the groundwork to seek funding for a new well and pump station for the town, as well as a new 300,000-gallon storage res- ervoir. -Continued to PAGE SEVEN CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
