Candlelight vigil held
for burned vehicle
50¢
VOL. 143
NO. 49 8 Pages
Wednesday, December 06, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
BOC talks solar projects and weed control
By Chris Sykes
During the special
meeting of the Morrow
County Board of Com-
missioners in November,
various discussions were
held regarding mitigation
projects related to the Sun-
stone Solar Project.
Tamra Mabbott, in col-
laboration with Admin-
istrator Matthew Jensen,
referred to a memo they
had drafted providing an
overview of the Sunstone
Mitigation Project. The
Sunstone Solar Project,
which encompasses a pro-
posed 9,500-acre solar
project in Morrow County,
requires a mitigation proj-
ect to minimize its impact
on the local agricultural
community. To quantify the
project’s impacts, Sunstone
provided an Economic and
Agricultural Impact Anal-
ysis (EAIA) conducted by
ECONorthwest. Sunstone
is proposing this mitigation
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its kind, to obtain an excep-
tion to Oregon Statewide
Planning Goal 3.
Kevin Gray, the Gen-
eral Manager of MCGG,
discussed the potential con-
sequences that the Sunstone
Solar Project may have on
the Cooperative and its
members. He stated that the
loss of nearly 10,000 acres
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reduction in wheat produc-
tion, estimated at 200,000
bushels, as well as a decline
in crop input sales. Gray es-
timated that MCGG would
suffer an annual revenue
loss of $15-20 million. He
proposed utilizing mitiga-
tion funds to improve the
North Lexington concrete
elevator, which requires
Image of a solar panels similar to what would be used for the
Sunstone Solar Project. - Contributed Photo
electrical updates, repairs,
productivity upgrades, and
increased storage capacity.
Upgrading the elevator
would save travel expenses
for farmers by providing a
closer alternative to eleva-
tors in Boardman.
Christopher Clark, the
Senior Siting Analyst at
ODOE, acknowledged the
uniqueness of the Sunstone
Mitigation Project in terms
of its scale and the type of
land being used. Unlike
other projects on Exclusive
Farm Use (EFU) land, this
project involves arable,
cultivated land. Clark men-
tioned ongoing wildlife
mitigation studies and the
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applicant to quantify the
project’s impacts.
Logan Stephens, the
Senior Director of Project
Development at Pine Gate
Renewables, expressed the
current goal of narrowing
down priority projects to
provide a more detailed
analysis. Sunstone Solar re-
quested guidance from the
County on how to respond
to ODOE.
Leslie McLain, a Land
Use Planner at Tetra Tech,
referred to the ECONorth-
west analysis, which de-
tailed the impact of remov-
ing 10,000 acres of dry-land
wheat production. This
analysis covered direct job
losses, indirect impacts on
retailers selling to farmers,
and the broader impact on
the community. Sunstone
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cial losses through the mit-
igation project.
In other business, Kev-
in Payne, the District Man-
ager of SWCD, mentioned
being approached by Pine
Gate Renewables to suggest
potential mitigation proj-
ects. After consulting with
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weed treatment as a major
concern. Payne proposed
the option of a precision
weed sprayer, which could
be provided as a service
by SWCD, offered as a
cost-share program, or in-
centivized through rebates
for landowners who pur-
chase their own sprayers.
The adoption of this new
spraying technology could
offset some of the losses
caused by the solar project
and improve productivity
and efficiency. Another
suggestion by Payne was
the use of weed seed mills
in combines to prevent the
spread of unwanted seeds.
SWCD also expressed
interest in conducting a fea-
sibility study for a ground-
water recharge project
around Willow Creek. This
project would capture win-
ter and spring surface water,
injecting it into the ground-
water to make it more avail-
able during the later part of
the season. Options for data
monitoring, such as weather
stations, were also pro-
posed to provide real-time
updates and alerts to users.
Finally, SWCD suggested
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for technology upgrades
in equipment to enhance
communication and func-
tionality, thereby improving
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was another idea put for-
ward to improve regener-
ative grazing and livestock
movement patterns.
J.R. Cook, a Land
and Water Consultant for
NOWA, shared information
about a mitigation trust ac-
count co-managed with the
Mid-Columbia Water Com-
mission. NOWA proposed
providing a permanent wa-
ter source solution through
a water recharge program,
pumping water from the
Columbia River to improve
groundwater access for ap-
proximately 150,000 acres.
Funding from Sunstone
would assist in retrieving
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reallocating groundwater
resources.
Craig Reeder, a con-
sultant, discussed the goal
of improving groundwater
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The plan involves removing
polluted water, allowing it
to dilute, and replenishing
aquifers with clean water.
Image of the candlelight vigil ad from ORA’s Facebook page.
By Chris Sykes
On November 29th,
a candlelight vigil was
held at the intersection of
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Pioneer Lane in Boardman
to honor the Oregon Rural
Action (ORA) pickup truck
that belonged to Rafael
Romero, a community or-
ganizer for ORA, which
caught fire on November
27th. No individuals were
harmed in the incident, but
ORA representatives sus-
pect it may have been an
act of violence.
Currently, there is no
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er this was a criminal act.
Firefighters acted swiftly
to extinguish the flames,
preventing further damage.
The initial investigation
conducted by the Board-
man Fire Rescue District
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but could not determine the
exact cause.
ORA, an organization
based in La Grande, has
been actively advocating
for measures to address
groundwater nitrate pollu-
tion in Morrow and Uma-
tilla counties. In response to
the incident, ORA released
a statement urging local and
state authorities to conduct
a thorough investigation
and ensure the safety of
their employees.
Morrow County Sher-
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is currently leading the
local investigation with
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marshals from the Oregon
State Fire Marshals doing
their investigation. They
plan to collaborate on their
reports, and Deputy Martin
expects to provide updates
by the end of the week.
-Continued to PAGE SIX
Zinter awarded
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-Continued to PAGE SIX
ODFW is seeking assistance in elk waste
case in Lexington
The OSP Fish and
Wildlife Division is seek-
ing public assistance in
locating the person(s) re-
sponsible for the waste
of two Rocky Mountain
Elk in Morrow County.
On Nov. 27, 2023, troopers
responded to a call of two
elk that had been left par-
tially to waste in a dry creek
bed near Lexington. Due
to the recent cold weather,
it is believed the elk may
have been killed in the
past week. The Elk were
found with no skin, except
on their heads. A reporter
for the Gazette called the
OSP and F&WD, but they
did not have any more in-
formation or leads. There
is a reward program for
those who turn in poachers
called the Turn in Poachers
Program (TIP) which is
a collaboration between
state and local authori-
ties and involves the Ore-
gon Hunters Association.
The TIP program of -
fers preference point re-
wards for information lead-
ing to an arrest or issuance
of a citation for the unlawful
take/possession or waste of
big game mammals. The
TIP program also of-
fers cash rewards for
information leading to an
arrest or issuance of a cita-
tion for the unlawful take/
possession or waste of the
Two elk found dead in dry creek bead near Lexington, Ore-
gon - Photo by ODFW
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species. Cash rewards can
also be awarded for habitat
destruction, illegally ob-
taining hunting or angling
licenses or tags, lending or
borrowing big game tags,
spotlighting, or snagging.
The reward program as
follows.
Preference Point
Rewards:
5 Points: Bighorn Sheep
5 Points: Rocky Mountain
Goat
5 Points: Moose
5 Points: Wolf
4 Points: Elk
4 Points: Deer
4 Points: Pronghorn An-
telope
4 Points: Bear
4 Points: Cougar
CASH REWARDS
Oregon Hunters As-
sociation (OHA) Cash
Rewards
$2,000 Bighorn Sheep,
Mountain Goat, or Moose
$1,000 Elk, Deer, or An-
telope
$600 Bear, Cougar, or
Wolf
$300 Habitat Destruction
$200 Illegally obtaining
Oregon hunting or angling
license or tags
$200 Unlawful Lending/
Borrowing Big Game
Tag(s)
$200 Game Fish & Shell-
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$200 Game Birds or Fur-
bearers
$200 Spotlighting
$200 Snagging/Attempt to
Snag
Oregon Wildlife Co-
alition (OWC) Cash
Rewards
$500 Hawk, Falcon, Ea-
gle, Owl, Osprey
$500 Cougar, Bobcat,
Beaver (public lands
only), Black bears,
Bighorn Sheep, Marten,
Fisher, Sierra Nevada Red
Fox
$1,000 Species listed as
“threatened” or “endan-
gered” under state or fed-
eral Endangered Species
$FW H[FOXGHV¿VK
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Guides Association
(OOGA) Cash Rewards
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ter Guide for the Illegal
Killing of Wildlife, Il-
legally Obtaining Ore-
gon Hunting or Angling
Licenses or Tags, or
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and 704.020.
Chief Steve Rhea (L) presenting Katilyn Zinter with the
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ers vote each year on their
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the department that has
gone above and beyond the
call of duty for the year. This
includes taking on tasks that
are not normally assigned
to them, doing exception-
ally well on the tasks that
are assigned to them, and
proving their skills within
the department. This year
Katilyn Zinter received
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within the department and
started training within the
department to keep them
up to date on new training.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information