The Gazette Times
Thanksgiving hours
50¢
VOL. 143
NO. 47 8 Pages
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Heppner teen takes on racing world
Hayden getting ready to race down the track in her Jr.
Dragster. - Contributed Photo
By Chris Sykes
Meet Hayden Rossi, a
15-year-old racing prodi-
gy from Heppner, Oregon,
who has been tearing up
the tracks and leaving her
competitors in the dust.
Fondly known as the “Gi-
ant Killer”, because she
could beat all the big kids.
Hayden’s passion for
racing started at a young
age when she saw her
cousin compete on the
tracks. Fueled by her com-
petitive spirit and a desire
to follow in her cousin’s
footsteps, she pleaded with
her dad, Joseph, to let her
race. Initially hesitant, Jo-
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after one pass he knew that
his daughter had what it
takes to be a racer, even if
she had recently wrecked
her bike.
Now, Hayden is in a
new car, aptly named “Lit-
tle Monster”. Her car, a
$25,000, 16-foot, top fuel
2006, half-scale, Jr. Drag-
ster, is equipped with a
powerful 66-horse Brigs
and Stratton engine. Her
father Joseph closely mon-
itors the car using com-
puters, tracking every bit
of data, even the weather
conditions. When Hayden
is in the cockpit, she relies
on her instincts, listening
to the sound of the motor,
and can quickly diagnose
issues, then relay the in-
formation to her father so
he can make the necessary
repairs or tweaks to the car.
Despite her young age,
Hayden has already made
a name for herself in the
racing community. Over
the past four years, she has
consistently dominated her
division, making it to the
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there was one year when
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other kid to take her spot,
showcasing her admirable
sportsmanship. This spir-
it of camaraderie is what
Hayden loves most about
racing. One of the things
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Heppner Councilor JoAn-
na Lamb will be stepping
down at the end of the year,
citing lack of time to devote
to council business.
The council agreed to
advertise for applicants and
select Lamb’s replacement
at the December meeting,
with the new councilor to
be installed at the January
council meeting.
After a lengthy discus-
sion, the council also ap-
proved a limited agreement
with CenturyLink for a new
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John Doherty told the
council that CenturyLink
had approached the city in
October requesting a permit
for a fiber pull up to the
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Office. The fiber pull is
part of a statewide 911 sys-
tem update by the Oregon
Emergency Management
Association (OEMA).
“This is something they
need. It’s not like it’s a
convenience or market-
ing for CenturyLink,” said
Doherty. “It’s the OEMA
funding the upgrade of
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“So it’s kind of a timely
thing,” he added.
However, Doherty said
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suing a permit for nearly a
month in order to bring the
issue before the council.
The concern is that
CenturyLink’s previous
ular hours starting Monday
the 27 th .
Dougherty wins
California 2023
Rookie Ag Pilot of
the Year
Hayden in her garage psoing with her prized car and many
trophies she has won. - Photo by Chris Sykes
is the sense of family that
comes from gathering at
the races and seeing other
racing families. “Racing
is like one big family, and
there’s no drama. If you
break your car, everyone
helps,” Hayden explained.
The racing season
is an intense one for the
Stills family. From April
until October, they travel
to various tracks like Wal-
la Walla, WA, Renegade
Raceway in Yakima, Pa-
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Bremerton Raceway, and
even a once-a-year race in
Hayden posing with her
trophie and winnings.
- Contributed Photo
Redding California, which
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show in Las Vegas.
In their family, racing
is all about fun and sports-
manship. They love sup-
porting everyone on the
tracks and understand the
importance of good sports-
manship. Joseph empha-
sizes that racing is about
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and having fun because if
you do it for the money,
you will go broke. While
the local races are more
relaxed, things change
when they reach Las Ve-
gas, where the stakes are
higher. They’ve witnessed
families arriving in ex-
travagant two-million-dol-
lar trailers, and some kids
have their own team of
mechanics and multiple
cars at their disposal. In
Las Vegas, Hayden has
competed against around
200 racers and achieved
an impressive fourth-place
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-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
Heppner garbage rates to increase slightly
in January
By Andrea Di Salvo
Among other city
business at its November
meeting, the Heppner City
Council passed a resolution
approving a slight Miller
and Son garbage rate in-
crease for 2024.
Miller and Sons owner
Ryan Miller asked for the
rate increase due to the con-
tinuous rise of equipment
and fuel costs, including
the need to replace a truck
wrecked in June and the
purchase of new cans to
replace broken and worn-
out equipment.
The three- to four-per-
cent increase will take ef-
fect January 1, 2024. In-
town residential cans will
increase from $23 to $24,
rural residential cans will
go from $26 to $27, and
300-gallon Dumpsters will
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truck will increase from
$105 to $110 per hour, the
new dump rate will be $26,
and the daily box rent will
remain at $6.
At the beginning of the
Nov. 13 meeting, Ian Mur-
ray was sworn in as a new
Heppner City Councilor.
Murray takes the seat va-
cated by John Doherty, who
resigned from the council
when he was hired as Hep-
pner City Manager.
The council also dis-
cussed the need to seek
applicants for another up-
coming council vacancy.
We will be closed Thursday
the 23 rd and Friday the 24 th ,
we will resume with the reg-
franchise agreement ex-
pired in 2016. That docu-
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in 2006. Doherty said he
and Heppner City Attorney
Bill Kuhn could draft a new
franchise agreement but es-
timated it could take around
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updated document.
He said CenturyLink
had been making franchise
payments regardless, but
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ular concern because of
the trenching and boring
required.
“My only worry is,
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agreement in place,” he
said. “If it didn’t involve
the trenching, it wouldn’t
even have come to this
meeting.”
Doherty wanted to
know if the council would
be willing to save time by
having the city issue a per-
mit if CenturyLink agreed
to abide by the terms of the
original agreement should
any issues arise.
Heppner City Coun-
cilor Cody High asked
why the council couldn’t
change the date and other
relevant details on the ex-
isting agreement and have
CenturyLink sign a new
franchise agreement.
Doherty said he
thought even that would
be a longer process than
asking the company to
simply sign a one-page
letter saying they would
abide by the terms of the
previous agreement. Other
councilors voiced concerns
that language used in the
2006 document needed to
be reviewed and updated.
The council voted 6-1,
with High dissenting, to
move forward with the per-
mit and letter of agreement
with the understanding that
a new franchise agreement
would be prepared within
the next several months.
Other Business
In o t h er b u s i n es s ,
Doherty said he had at-
tended a League of Oregon
Cities meeting via Zoom,
and one of the “hot topics”
had been cutbacks in Ore-
gon Dept. of Transportation
Coby Dougherty (right) receiving his award for Rookie Ag
Pilot of the Year - Photo by Dawna Doughtery
Coby Dougherty, son
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erty, has been recognized
for his achievements in
the agriculture aviation
industry. He received the
“2023 Rookie Ag Pilot of
the Year” award for the
State of California, show-
casing his exceptional skills
in aerial agriculture op-
erations. Coby graduated
from BMCC in 2020 with
a degree in Ag Production
and obtained his private
pilot’s license in 2021. He
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in South Dakota, earning
multiple ratings and en-
dorsements, including com-
mercial, high horsepower,
instrument, multi-engine,
and tailwheel. Currently,
Coby is employed as an ag
pilot for Farm Air Flying
Service in Sacramento.
Morrow County fair
theme contest due
Dec. 12 th
The Morrow County
Fair wants YOU to help
choose the perfect theme!
Calling all students from
grades K-6 and homes-
choolers, it’s time to get
creative! Come up with
a catchy and short phrase
that captures the spirit of
the fair.
To enter the contest,
submit your theme from
mid-November to Decem-
ber. You can email it to
mcfair@co.morrow.or.us
or mail it to Sue Gibbs, Fair
Manager, P.O. Box 464,
Heppner, OR, 97836. Don’t
forget to include the teach-
er’s name, school, grade,
and your fantastic theme!
Due on December 12th
The Morrow County
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es of this exciting contest.
The winning class will re-
ceive a class set of frisbees
for each student - perfect
for some fun outdoor play!
But that’s not all! Once
the theme is selected, it will
be given to the talented
7th-12th graders in January
for a drawing contest. The
challenge will be to create
a black-and-white drawing
(or drawings) that perfectly
matches the chosen theme.
On February 14th, the
winning drawings will be
chosen. The talented artists
behind those creations will
be rewarded with an art set,
allowing them to further ex-
plore their artistic abilities.
The theme and the win-
ning drawing(s) will then
come together to create a
marvelous coloring page
(or pages). These coloring
sheets will be shared with
the public, allowing every-
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excitement.
To make sure your class
or homeschool group gets
well-deserved recognition,
the winning theme and
artwork will be featured in
an article and advertisement
in the newspaper, as well as
showcased at the fair itself.
So, students of Morrow
County, let your imagina-
tion run wild and submit
your theme ideas today.
Who knows, yours could
be the one that sets the
stage for a fantastic fair
experience!
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information