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VOL. 143
NO. 42 8 Pages
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Camper catches
rainbow over Willow
Creek RV Park
Port of Morrow in stalemate over
commission appointment
County commissioners may step in on the decision
By Andrea Di Salvo
The decision on who
will fill a vacant seat on
the Port of Morrow Com-
mission is still undecided,
as Port commissioners re-
main deadlocked over their
choices. The Port Commis-
sion met on Oct. 6 to decide
on a new commissioner to
fill a vacancy but recessed
the meeting after reaching
a stalemate.
The four Port com-
missioners are tasked with
appointing a fifth commis-
sioner to fill the vacancy
left upon the resignation of
former commissioner Jerry
Healy. Healy resigned on
Aug. 8, and the Port began
advertising the vacancy on
Aug. 14. The appointment
requires a majority vote of
three of the four remaining
commissioners.
The commissioners
narrowed the field of eight
applicants down to five,
who were interviewed
during the Port’s public
meeting on Oct. 6. From
there, two front-runners
emerged—Jerry Rietmann
of Ione and Brian Thomp-
son of Heppner.
Rietmann is a
fourth-generation Ione res-
ident. He left the banking
industry in the 1980s to
return to Ione and farm. He
has been involved in farm-
ing in Morrow and Gilliam
counties since then, as well
as being involved in renew-
able energy development
Jerrry Reitman (left) and Brian Thompson during an
interview by the Port of Morrow Commissioners.
-Contributed Photo
since 2008. He has never
held an elected position in
Morrow County, saying he
never felt he had the time
to devote to such a position
but that he is now at a dif-
ferent point in his life.
“And of all the groups
in the county that I am
interested in, the Port is
probably highest on my
list,” said Rietmann.
Thompson is also the
fourth generation on his
family ranch. He holds an
ag degree from Oregon
State University and has
spent most of his career on
the family ranch. He has
been involved in various
local projects, including
appropriating irrigation
water out of Willow Creek
Reservoir and piping it
from Heppner to Lexington.
He has served on various
county boards including the
Heppner Rural Fire Protec-
tion District board, Morrow
County Road Advisory
Board, and Morrow County
Planning Commission.
With two qualified
candidates in front of the
commission, though, that
was where progress ended.
The commissioners failed
to agree on a final selec-
tion, instead splitting in a
2-2 decision. Commission
vice president John Murray
and Commissioner Kelly
Doherty said they preferred
Thompson, while Commis-
sion President Joe Taylor
and Commission Secretary/
treasurer Rick Stokoe said
they felt Rietmann was a
better choice.
After a lengthy discus-
sion, it became apparent
that both sides refused to
give way. If the commission
is unable to make a choice,
the next step is to hand the
decision to the Morrow
County Board of Commis-
sioners.
However, neither Mur-
ray nor Doherty appeared in
favor of passing the choice
on to the county govern-
ment.
Doherty said she saw
nothing in the Port bylaws
that required immediate
action. She suggested it
might be best to prolong the
decision, perhaps with more
candidate interviews.
“I have questions that
didn’t make the list of ques-
tions, and I still have those
questions,” she said.
Taylor pointed out that
all the questions asked of
the applicants had been vet-
ted by the Port’s attorney,
but Doherty replied that
she wasn’t sure if legality
was the only standard the
attorney had used, and she
would like to revisit some
of the questions.
Rick Stokoe disagreed
with the idea of extending
the process.
“Obviously this is why
we have a five-commis-
sioner board,” said Stokoe,
“Because we can’t come
to a stalemate each time
we have something come
before this commission.”
“So I’m not in favor of
kicking the can down the
road,” he added. “We either
make a decision or we allow
-Continued to PAGE TWO
Two Locals take on Rose City Comic Con
Amanda Fenn Poses with Poison Ivy and Bain from Batman
- Pictures by Amanda Fenn
By Annalynn Black
On September 22nd
two locals, Amanda Fenn
and Dallas Mullins headed
for Rose City Comic-Con
located at the Portland
Convention Center. The
two share a love for vid-
eo games and popular TV
shows and got to share
memories that will last a
lifetime. Actors like Zoe
Saldana of Guardians of
the Galaxy, Karen Gillian
of Doctor Who, Ralph
Macchio of The Karate
Kid, and so many more
popular stars were there
for meet and greets, to sign
merchandise, and pose for
pictures. In the sea of en-
thusiastic participants, you
could spot authors, you-
tubers, creators, and cos-
players dressed up as their
favorite characters ranging
from movies, anime, tv
series, and video games.
And we can’t forget icon-
ic characters like Daleks
from Doctor Who, The
infamous car from Super-
natural, and Droids from
Star Wars. Fenn says, “It’s
always been a dream of
mine to act out the charac-
ters I watched while grow-
ing up.”
Ms. Fenn dressed as
her personalized character
from the video game Red
Dead Redemption and her
favorite character D.Va
in the video game ‘Over-
watch’ while Mr. Mullins
dressed up as the main
character Steven Universe
from the show ‘Steven
Universe.’ While the atmo-
sphere of a big event may
seem overwhelming, MS.
Fenn says “Everyone at the
convention had so much
support for one another, no
one is judging anyone, it’s
a very open and normalized
environment.” “There isn’t
any wrong way to go. You
can be whatever or whom-
ever you want. The sky is
the limit really. I was able
to be myself without hes-
itation.” The event lasted
three days giving all par-
ticipants a chance to meet
their idols and mingle with
Amanda Fenn poses with Dead Pool - Pictures by Amanda
Fenn
like-minded people be-
fore hanging up costumes,
that had been planned for
months, and returning to
their regular lives.
While you can show
up for the celebs and cos-
tumes some have other
interests in mind, the con-
vention offers a wide ar-
rangement of panels and
workshops like writing and
illustrations, behind-the-
scenes discussions with in-
dustry insiders, panel dis-
cussions with actors, and
even gaming zones.
As of October 17,
2023, there are more than
1,000 comic cons held an-
nually in the United States.
The Rose City Comic Con,
now in its eleventh year,
boasts over 4,000 attend-
ees. However, it’s import-
ant to note that Rose City
has a strict weapons poli-
cy. Only simulated or cos-
tume weapons are allowed
as part of your costume.
Real swords, bats, shields,
or heavy staffs are strictly
prohibited.
The photo above was sent by Ben Howell, who was staying
at the Willow Creek RV Park shortly after a rainfall.
Photo by - Ben Howell
Lexington plans to
improve Town Hall
The town of Lexington
is embarking on a project
to enhance the parking lot
of its Town Hall and Fire
Hall. They have received a
grant of $10,000 from the
Willow Creek Valley Eco-
nomic Development Group
to partially fund the project.
However, additional funds
will be required to com-
plete it. The grant money
will be allocated towards
improving safety access to
the Town Hall, installing
parking lines and proper
signage, creating parking
spaces that meet ADA re-
quirements, constructing a
suitable driveway for the
Fire Hall, ensuring right of
way for Fire Trucks, and
installing a new garage door
for the Fire Department.
The project organizers
are confident that if they
can gather all the necessary
funds, the project will be
completed within a month
of commencing. The town
of Lexington Council is
highly motivated to initiate
this project promptly to
ensure that the town facil-
ities are safer and easily
accessible for all.
Morrow County
Rural Fire District to
participate in Disaster
Preparedness Drill
HERMISTON, OR –
On Tuesday, October 17,
2023, from 9:30 a.m. until
1:00 p.m., Good Shep-
herd Health Care System
(GSHCS) will participate
in a full-scale disaster pre-
paredness drill. This sim-
ulation drill will provide
training to GSHCS staff in
their roles and responsibil-
ities during disasters, and
how to execute coordinated
response efforts with out-
side agencies.
Many local agencies
and their support personnel
will take part in the drill
including:
Oregon State Police
Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT)
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office
Umatilla County Emergen-
cy Management
Umatilla County Public
Health
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict 1
Life Flight Network
Morrow County Rural Fire
District
Pendleton Fire Department
First Student Bus Company
Bert’s Auto Salvage &
Towing
“This is about taking
care of our community,”
stated GSHCS President
& CEO Art Mathisen. “We
want to give our team the
experience needed to be
as prepared as possible for
real-world occurrences.”
Access to medical care
will not be affected by the
drill. “Good Shepherd will
remain fully op-erational
while the drill is underway.
Patients may hear and see
our emergency response
system and local agency
officials on our campus
during that timeframe, but
rest assured it is only a
scheduled drill,” stated
Mathisen.
Umatilla County Public
Health
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict 1
Life Flight Network
Morrow County Rural Fire
District
Pendleton Fire Department
-Continued to PAGE THREE
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information