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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2023)
Morrow County passes the 0&+'¿YH\HDURSHUDWLRQOHY\ 50¢ VOL. 143 NO. 46 8 Pages Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon CREZ funds allocated to capital projects as county eyes future needs %\$QGUHD'L6DOYR A discussion about where to allocate funds received from the Colum- bia River Enterprise Zone (CREZ) III turned into a larger conversation about capital projects and county priorities at a recent meet- ing of the Morrow County Board of Commissioners. The discussion cen- tered around a $1 million distribution the county re- ceived from CREZ III last month. The distribution was part of a $5 million Community Development Contribution from Amazon Data Services as part of its long-term rural enterprise zone agreement with the CREZ. The funds were divided between the en- terprise zone sponsors and D൵HFWHGWD[LQJGLVWULFWV Morrow County Fi- nance Director Kevin Ince told the commissioners that, since the distribution was not considered “guar- anteed” funds, the county had not included it in the current budget. “When we receive an unexpected revenue in that amount, it would be a good practice to discuss where those funds should go,” said Ince. “I do need some direction on where to put this because we can’t just have a million-dollar check sitting here,” he added. In this case, Morrow &RXQW\VWD൵UHFRPPHQGHG that the million dollars be placed in the county’s Cap- ital Improvement Projects (CIP) Fund. “That is the fund where we are accumulating funds for various large, strategic capital projects,” Ince said. 0RUHVSHFL¿FDOO\,QFH said he thought the money would be best used for the new circuit court building the county is currently planning in Heppner. He said he didn’t know the exact amount allocat- ed to the project because the county is still trying to close out the previous ¿VFDO \HDU EXW DV RI -XO\ 1, about $6.8 million had been committed to the court building. The CREZ distribution would bring that balance to around $7.8 million. Other projects includ- ed in the CIP include the county’s planned new tran- sit facility, public health building, and public works building. However, Morrow &RXQW\&RPPLVVLRQHU-H൵ Wyden, Merkley Announce Nearly $3.8 Million in fed funds to Ione Morrow County city to receive USDA resources for sewer system U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have announced that the city of Ione in Eastern Ore- gon will receive nearly $3.8 million in federal funds to construct a sewer system. This investment aims to address the infrastructure needs of rural communities in Oregon and support eco- nomic growth. Senator Wyden em- phasized the importance of providing rural commu- nities, like Ione, with the necessary infrastructure to thrive. He recognized that modernizing outdated infrastructure is vital for enhancing the quality of life in rural areas. Upgrading the sewer system in Ione will help preserve property values, support the local school, and enable the com- munity to grow. Senator Merkley high- lighted the risks associated with outdated sewer infra- structure, emphasizing that it can hinder growth and development opportunities for communities. The feder- al investment, provided by USDA Rural Development, comprises a grant of $1.98 million and a loan of $1.81 PLOOLRQ7KLV¿QDQFLDOVXS- port will enable Ione to es- tablish a community-wide wastewater collection and disposal system, replacing the current individual septic tank setup. Ione currently lacks a comprehensive sewer system, which limits the town’s potential for growth. By implementing this proj- ect, Ione hopes to stabilize its housing market, pro- vide a permanent solution for the local school, and create opportunities for the construction of new homes. Additionally, the development of a central- ized sewer system will be EHQH¿FLDOIRUIDPLOLHVZKR work in nearby Boardman, where thousands of jobs are available. Jerry Rietmann, Volun- teer Director of Develop- ment for the City of Ione, expressed his excitement about the positive impact this investment will have on the community. By ex- panding housing options and supporting local infra- structure, the city of Ione aims to enhance the overall well-being of its residents. This federal investment in Ione’s sewer system is an example of the gov- ernment’s commitment to improving infrastructure in rural areas, supporting economic growth, and en- hancing the quality of life for residents. Wenholz said he questioned the use of the discretionary dollars toward the circuit court building. “I really want to see us be using discretionary dollars for things that we pay for with discretionary funds, whereas the circuit court building is something we pay for with general funds,” he said. “I’m just afraid that at some point there’s always going to be some need or ask to use the discretionary dollars.” “When we get to the point where we need to spend money on things, we need discretionary dollars to be spent on, we won’t have the money, and the opportunity will pass us to allocate these monies to that,” he added. Such projects might in- clude needed repairs or up- grades to roads and bridges, Wenholz said. Earlier in the meeting, the commissioners had heard an update from Oregon Dept. of Transpor- tation Region 5 Manager Ken Patterson. Part of that conversation had centered on the need for new bridges, interchanges, and overpass- es along I-84. Much of the funding for those projects will have to come out of the county budget. “I do get it that here’s an opportunity to put mon- ey towards [the circuit court building],” Wenholz said. “I’m just afraid that if we keep spending the discretionary dollars that, when the time comes that the bridge falls down, we have to spend the money then and we won’t have it,” Wenholz added. “The bridge is going to be a 30-, 50-year asset.” Ince replied that, re- JDUGLQJEULGJHVVSHFL¿FDO- ly, the county had estab- lished a reserve in the road fund this year to begin accu- mulating funds for a bridge program. The amount bud- geted in that fund this year was $500,000, he said. “The plan, I believe, was to carry that forward IRU WKH QH[W WKUHH WR ¿YH years to accumulate funds,” said Ince. “We addressed a num- ber of those in this budget by establishing reserves for that,” he added. Wenholz said the cost of a bridge deck was around $460 per square foot or more. “It doesn’t take very With a total of 1284 yes’s and 945 no’s and 7,136 registered voters in Morrow County with 31.29% voter turnout. Heppner, Lexington and Ione respond to KRXVH¿UHLQ+DUGPDQ -Continued to PAGE EIGHT Joint operation leads to arrests in Irrigon According to a press release from the Morrow &RXQW\6KHUULI¶VR൶FHRQ Wednesday, November 1 st , 0RUURZ &RXQW\ 6KHUL൵¶V 2൶FH 0&62 LQFROODER- ration with Umatilla Coun- W\6KHUL൵¶V2൶FH 8&62 led a joint operation to lo- cate a suspect on South First Street in Irrigon. Mr. Dylan Ostrom was a suspect in several crimes in Umatilla County and he also had an outstanding warrant. MCSO Detectives, Deputies, and P&P Depu- ties located Mr. Ostrom at the residence. He attempted to run but was apprehend- ed and taken into custody without further incident. Also arrested from the res- idence was Mr. Michael Norman, who had two out- standing warrants out of Umatilla County. Information gathered as a result of the arrests on Wednesday led to a search warrant being served on Friday, November 3 rd at the same location. The search warrant led to the recovery of stolen items located at the residence. Also arrested were Ms. Michelene Cody and Mr. Christopher Nelsen both of whom had outstand- ing warrants. Ostrom, Dylan Mi- chael, 27, Transient was arrested by MCSO on Mor- row County P&P Detainer – Parole Violation for Stran- gulation, Assault IV, and interfering with Police. He was lodged in the Umatilla County Jail with no bail. Norman, Michael Don, 40, Transient was arrested by MCSO on Umatilla County Community Cor- rection warrants of Fail to Appear on Fail to Report as Boardman: Yes - 166, No - 416 Irrigon: Yes - 330, No - 232 Lexington: Yes - 132, No - 59 Ione: Yes - 140, No - 75 Heppner: Yes - 516, No -163 )LUH¿JKWHUVH[DPLQLQJWKHORZHUURRIDQGZLQGRZVLQWRWKH KRXVHZKLOHSXWWLQJRXWWKH0DUWLQKRXVH¿UH - Contributed Photo On November 9th, around 12:35 pm, the Hep- pner Fire Department re- ceived a dispatch regarding D VWUXFWXUH ¿UH DW WKH UHV- idence of Sam and Angie Martin in Hardman, OR. At around 12:54 pm, the department arrived at the scene and successfully ex- WLQJXLVKHG WKH ¿UH +RZ- HYHUXQIRUWXQDWHO\WKH¿UH had already consumed the home office, guest room, half of the living room, and part of the kitchen. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries. In their ef- IRUWVWRFRPEDWWKH¿UHWKH Heppner Fire Department received aid from neighbor- LQJ¿UHGHSDUWPHQWVLQ,RQH and Lexington. The two departments used a shared apparatus and contributed additional firefighters to help control the situation. Fire Chief Steve Rhea stat- ed that the exact cause of WKH¿UHLVVWLOOXQGHULQYHV- tigation. D6H[2൵HQGHUDQG3DUROH Violation - Theft III. He was lodged in the Umatilla County Jail with a bail of $55,000. Cody, Michelene Ann, 45, Transient was arrest- ed by MCSO on Uma- tilla County Community Corrections warrant for Contempt of Court. She was lodged in the Umatilla County Jail with a bail of $5,000. Nelsen, Christopher Scott, 45, Transient was issued citations on Umatilla County Community Cor- rections warrants for Fail to Appear and driving while suspended. MCSO stated that they are very happy to have a good working relationship with our law enforcement partners in neighboring jurisdictions. We know that criminals do not stop at the county line and we work closely with agen- cies in Morrow County, neighboring Counties, and the state of Washington to On Monday night, at the Heppner City Council meeting, Ian apprehend offenders and Murray was sworn into the Heppner City Council by Mayor Corey Sweeney. -Contributed Photo prevent crime. Murray sworn in at Heppner city council CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
