6,;+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQWednesday, December 06, 2023
Local student graduates Solar projects and
from UW-Madison
weed control
MADISON, Wis. (De- ceremonies the previous
cember 1, 2023) - Just over
1,300 students received
doctoral, bachelor’s, mas-
ter’s, and professional de-
grees in August 2023 from
the University of Wiscon-
sin-Madison.
While there is no
commencement ceremony
in August, many of the
graduates take part in the
spring or in December.
Here are the degree
recipients from your area:
Alex Lindsay, School
of Education, Master of
Science, Curriculum, and
Instruction.
For more information
about UW-Madison, visit
http://www.wisc.edu.
Heppner Lions Club
At a recent meeting, the
Heppner Lions Club mem-
bers recapped many of our
club’s accomplishments and
activities we were involved
in throughout the year. Along
with routinely picking up litter
on a section of Highway 207
south of Heppner, this year a
couple of our members took
on the project of repairing and
adding seating to the viewing
platform at the top of the
switch-back trail from Cowins
Street to the top of the hill near
the dam.
Heppner Lions Club
again participated in the annu-
al vision screening sponsored
by the Oregon Lions Sight
and Hearing Foundation. At
Heppner 163 students were
screened using the Welsh
Allyn Spot device. This de-
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vision issues in seconds, of
the 163 screened, 31 were
referred for follow-up with an
optometrist.
While most insurances
cover the cost of optometry
visits and glasses, the Lions
Club collaborates with the
KEX Kids Fund to provide
students with free comprehen-
sive eye exams, eyeglasses,
and/or hearing aids for indi-
viduals up to 21 years old who
are without vision insurance.
The Oregon Lions Sight
& Hearing Foundation has
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of the Lions Clubs of Oregon
to provide sight and hearing
assistance for people living
in Oregon and Northern Cal-
ifornia. When it comes to
helping people obtain and
finance vision exams and
glasses the Heppner Lions
serves all of Morrow County.
If you, or someone you know,
needs help with paying for
eyeglasses contact our Sight
& Hearing Chairman, Molly
Rhea, at 541-399-3420. She
will provide you with an appli-
cation, and upon approval of
your application, instructions
on how and where to make an
appointment.
In 2023 Heppner Lions
provided seven $500 scholar-
ships for Heppner High School
seniors and then invited each
recipient to attend our annual
BBQ in June. To be able to
provide these funds, the club
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guide, Ralph Klock.
AARP Tax-Aid
Volunteers needed
Looking for AARP
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Needing help in Hermiston,
Boardman, and Lexington.
All training provided. The
season runs from February
to April.
As a Tax-Aide volun-
teer, you’ll receive training
and support with IRS cer-
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and connect with people
in your community while
giving back. There’s a va-
riety of volunteer roles at
over 4,000 sites nationwide
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tunities. Join our team of
volunteers and find out
why volunteering with a
Tax-Aide is so rewarding.
Please contact Bob-
bi Gordon at bobbigor-
don53@gmail.com or call
or go to the AARP
website https://www.aarp.
org/volunteer/programs/
tax-aide/
Christmas Scavenger
hunt back for a 3 rd year
Everyone is invited
to join the Heppner-area
churches for a fun, inter-
active adventure during
the 3rd annual Searching
for Christ in Christmas
Scavenger Hunt. On De-
cember 17th from 5 p.m.
to 7 p.m., participating
congregations invite groups
of “travelers”-the public, to
their locations to discover
the religious meaning be-
hind Christmas. The par-
ticipating churches include
Heppner Christian Church
at 293 Gale St, Heppner
United Methodist Church at
175 Church St, St Patrick’s
Catholic Church at 525
Gale St, Willow Creek Bap-
tist Church at 560 Minor
St, Heppner Seventh Day
Adventist Church at 560
Minor St, Elohim Covenant
Ministries on 140 W Bal-
timore, and the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints at the Sage Garden
Preschool. The evening will
wrap up at the Sage Garden
Preschool at 7 p.m. with a
fellowship message, songs,
and cookies and cocoa from
Tumbleweed Bakery.
Heppner Elks Lodge to
host annual Hoop Shoot
The Heppner Elks
Lodge will host the annual
Hoop Shoot Free Throw
Contest in the Heppner
Elementary Gym on De-
cember 17. The gym will
open for registration at
12:30 with the shoot be-
ginning at 1:00. This is a
free event for girls and boys
from Ione, Lexington, and
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April 1, 2024. There are
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where each participant will
shoot 15 free throws, rest
then complete an additional
10 free throws for a total of
25. The participants with
the most made shots in the
age groups will advance to
the District Hoop Shoot that
will be held in John Day
on January 7. For more in-
formation, contact Corey
Sweeney at 541-256-0355.
MCRC to meet Dec.
The Morrow County 13 th at 2 p.m. at the Public
Road Committee will hold Works Conference Room in
a meeting on December Lexington, Oregon.
-Continued from PAGE ONE to become a transmission
This approach could have
a positive impact on local
water quality and mitigate
the effects of the nitrate
water crisis.
Tamra Mabbott re-
quested guidance from the
Board regarding which
projects they would like to
endorse.
Commissioner Drago
stated that all the suggest-
ed projects seemed viable
but expressed the need for
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Chair Sykes agreed
with Commissioner Dra-
go, emphasizing the im-
portance of knowing the
budget allocated by Sun-
stone for mitigation. He
suggested attaching a dollar
amount to each proposal for
better decision-making.
Matthew Jensen clari-
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ule for the Circuit Court
building promised earlier,
was not ready. He planned
to meet with the design
team on November 13th
and would provide an up-
date as soon as possible.
Commissioner Wen-
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interest due to his position
on the Board of Direc-
tors for Umatilla Electrical
Cooperative (UEC). As a
result, he has decided to re-
cuse himself from any dis-
cussions and voting related
to the Umatilla-Morrow
County Connect Project, a
proposed transmission line
by UEC. This project falls
under the jurisdiction of
the EFSC (Electricity Reg-
ulatory Authority). Com-
missioner Wenholz has ac-
knowledged that although
UEC’s involvement in the
project is currently limit-
ed to preliminary studies,
there is a potential for UEC
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provider in the future. Thus,
he believes there exists a
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and acted accordingly.
Present In-Person at
the Morrow County Board
of Commissioners meeting
was Chair David Sykes,
Commissioner Jeff Wen-
holz, Commissioner Roy
Drago Jr., Matthew Jensen,
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ta Lutcher, Kevin Ince,
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Christopher Clark, Logan
Stephens, Kevin Gray, Les-
lie McLain, Kevin Payne.
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Stephen Wrecsics; Non-
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te Allesandri, J.R. Cook,
Craig Reede.
ORA candlelight vigil
-Continued from PAGE ONE in attendance was Jim
Deputy Martin has
been actively engaging with
neighbors daily, hoping to
gather more information or
potential leads. Currently,
there are no suspects, and
no security cameras in the
neighborhood captured any
suspicious activity. Dep-
uty Martin has personally
spoken with neighbors to
determine whether this is a
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No injuries or fatali-
ties were reported because
of the incident. Deputy
Martin acknowledged that
vehicle fires pose unique
challenges due to the size
and the presence of vari-
ous components, including
volatile substances like fuel
and magnesium, which can
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One notable person
Doherty, former Morrow
County Commissioner
who is currently running
for State Senate. Accord-
ing to the East Orego-
nian, Doherty spoke to the
crowd prior to the vigil. In a
post-vigil interview, he con-
veyed his opposition to acts
of violence and stressed his
desire to actively contribute
to the community. It should
be noted that Doherty is not
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Action.
The Morrow County
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of the investigations carried
out by the Oregon State Po-
lice and Oregon State Fire
Marshals.
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