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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2023)
Ione water tests positive for E.coli and Coliform 50¢ VOL. 143 NO. 50 8 Pages Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Board of commissioners’ honors passing of former commissioner Former County Commis- sioner John Wenholz. By Andrea Di Salvo Last week’s meeting of the Morrow County Board of Commissioners began with a moment of silence for the late John Wen- holz. The Irrigon man had served as Morrow County Commissioner from 1997 to 2009. “I was fortunate to know John,” Morrow County Board of Com- missioners Chair David Sykes said in a prepared statement. “I can tell you he loved Morrow County and put his heart and soul into this job.” After the moment of silence and at the top of the docket Dec. 6 in Heppner were two proposed rate increases that would impact county garbage services. The commissioners held public meetings regarding increases to rates by both Miller and Sons Disposal DQG)LQOH\%XWWHV/DQG¿OO Morrow County Pub- lic Works Administrative Manager Sandra Pointer told the commissioners it had been about three years since Miller and Sons had requested a rate increase. “He struggles, as we all do, with equipment repair, equipment replacement, just the cost of everything with inflation going up,” Pointer told the board. Miller’s rate increase will be between three and four percent and will raise the cost of a 300-gallon dumpster from $82 to $85, rural residential cans from $26 to $27, in-town resi- dential cans from $23 to $24, roll-off truck from $105 to $110 per hour, and dump rate from $25 to $26. Daily box rent will stay the same at $6 per day. Pointer said that Miller also hopes to use the extra margin to improve services. Pointer said the Finley Buttes increase will be 5.5 SHUFHQW7KHODQG¿OOSUHYL- ously raised its rates at the beginning of this year after going several years without a bump in prices. New rates would affect truckloads, tires, appliances, and other large items. The cost to dump solid waste will rise to $19.76 per ton with a $16.88 load minimum, with the same per-ton charge of $19.76 for construction and demolition waste. County staff recom- mended accepting the increased rates. With no comment from the public, the county commissioners approved both rate increas- HV7KHUDWHVZLOOWDNHH൵HFW Jan. 1, 2024. Also at the meeting, the county commission opted not to immediately PRYHIRUZDUGZLWKR൵HULQJ a reward for information regarding the vehicle that had burned in Boardman Nov. 27. The pickup that burned belonged to Oregon Rural Action community organizer Rafael Romero. While no one was harmed, ORA representa- tives believe it may have been an act of violence against the organization, which has been vocal in advocating for action re- garding groundwater nitrate pollution in north Mor- row and Umatilla counties. 0RUURZ &RXQW\ 6KHUL൵¶V 2൶FH 0&62 UHJDUGVWKH circumstance as suspicious, but so far there is no proof of criminal activity. Morrow County Com- missioner Roy Drago Jr. told the other commission- ers that Umatilla County had approached him and suggested that each county Image of E.Coli bacteria. By Annalynn Black According to the City of Ione website, On November 29, 2023, state regulated routine water tests, done ev- ery month, were conducted in the City of Ione. These tests are a regular part of WKH FLW\¶V H൵RUWV WR HQVXUH the safety and quality of its water supply. However, on December 1, 2023, the city received concerning results from the sample taken at City Hall - it tested positive for Coliform bacteria. In response to this ¿QGLQJ WKH &LW\ RI ,RQH promptly took action to inform its residents. An urgent notice was posted RQWKHR൶FLDO&LW\RI,RQH ZHEVLWH ZZZFLW\RILR- QHRUHJRQJRY DQG À\HUV were distributed at various locations including Ione -Continued to PAGE TWO City Hall, the US Post Of- ¿FH WKH ,RQH 0DUNHW DQG Deli, the Cardinal Café, Wheatland Insurance, and Ione Schools. Furthermore, the city requested a private individual to alert the public through a Facebook page named “City of Ione,” al- though this page is not an R൶FLDOFLW\FKDQQHO:KHQ asked by a reporter from the Gazette, City Administrator Elizabeth Peterson states 0LOHVDQG\HDUVRIPDUULDJH 6DPDQG0DU\.D\JHDULQJXSZLWKWKHLU3ULXV By Chris Sykes On their 50th wed- ding anniversary, Sam and MaryKay Bellamy took on a once-in-a-lifetime trip across the United States. They loaded up their Prius with their beloved Yorkies, Murphy and Job, and all the essentials for their 10,000- mile adventure. Their goal was to visit historic land- marks and monuments and visit family along the way. 7KHLU ¿UVW PDMRU VWRS was Keystone, South Da- kota, where they stayed near the famous Mount Rushmore. Mount Rush- more was amazing she said. From there, they continued their travels to the iconic Niagara Falls. Mary Kay was amazed by the roar of the falls and taken back by the sheer force of the rush- ing water. Unfortunately, she realized she had forgot- ten her passport, preventing them from venturing to the Canadian side. They stayed on the US side and later found her passport back home. Throughout their trip, Sam and Mary Kay stayed in various motels, spending almost every night on the road. Each morning, they packed up their belongings DQGVHWR൵WRZDUGWKHQH[W destination. They mainly dined at local restaurants, indulging in whatever food they felt like having. Before the trip, Mary Kay had concerns about spending long hours in the car. However, she found comfort in sitting on pil- lows, which not only eased the physical strain but also helped her see above the low dashboard. She men- tioned that the seats in the Prius sat so low that visi- bility became challenging. Curious about how spending such an extend- ed period together would impact their relationship, I asked Mary Kay if they got on each other’s nerves. To my surprise, she replied that they got along incredibly well, even though MaryKay did run over a curb and ripped part of the bottom of WKHFDUR൵DQG6DPGLGQ¶W even get that mad. When one of them wasn’t driving, they would engage in con- versations, read books, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Sam, being a seasoned trav- eler and having visited Chi- na before the COVID-19 outbreak, wanted to witness the beauty of fall colors in the eastern and southern parts of the country. They visited historic Gettysburg, where Mary Kay, being a war history enthusiast, was captivated by the displays and the tragic story of the only woman killed during the battle. They then made their way to the enchant- ing Shenandoah National Forest. Their journey eventu- ally led them to Daytona Beach, Florida, where they spent a few days before heading to Winter Haven to visit their other son, Travis. They stayed at an Air B&B near Travis for a couple of weeks and said his family was doing great. Mary Kay did note that people in Florida drove like maniacs, and her son had to give her a driving lesson encouraging her to they will not be sending information out via mail due to the changing nature of the situation. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the city sent three water samples to Box R Laboratory on December 4, 2023. The Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division, Drinking Water Services examined these samples and delivered the results to the city on De- cember 6, 2023. Unfortu- nately, two out of the three samples were found to be contaminated. The repeat sample from City Hall test- ed positive for E. coli bacte- ria, while the sample from the city park tested positive for Coliform bacteria. The third sample taken from the city well, fortunately, tested negative. Upon receiving these results, the city sought guidance from the OHA Drinking Water Services ZKRDGYLVHGWKHPWRÀXVK the city hydrants. Hence, starting from 12:00 pm on December 6, 2023, the city EHJDQWKHSURFHVVRIÀXVK- ing the hydrants, aiming to complete the operation by 11:00 am on December 7, -Continued to PAGE SEVEN Irrigon home FDWFKHV¿UH 6DPVLWWLQJZLWKWKHWKSUHVLGHQWRIWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV step on the gas pedal as she couldn’t drive that slowly. However, she admitted to enjoying the slower pace of life before they headed east of Colorado. Next on their route was San Antonio, Texas, where they enjoyed a romantic dinner atop the Tower of the Americas. The revolving restaurant provided them with a 360-degree rotating view of the city while Mary Kay ate the best steak of her life. Their next major stop was Dallas, where they visited the ICR Discovery Center for Science and Earth History. The Dis- covery Center has engag- ing exhibits explaining the universe’s origin, and how science aligned with the Bible. The animatronic creatures, special effects, and fascinating facts about DNA, human ancestry, fos- sils, rocks, dinosaurs, and astronomy. Sam and MaryKay’s love story began at a Hal- loween party in Carl Mar- quardt’s barn in 1970. They dated for three years before tying the knot in 1973. Sam, originally raised in Sherman County, moved to Heppner when he was -Continued to PAGE SIX )LUH¿JKWHUVIURP,UULJRQ%RDUGPDQDQG8PDWLOODZRUNLQJ WRJHWKHUWRH[WLQJXLVKWKH¿UHRQWKHXSSHUOHYHORIWKHKRXVH 0DU\.D\DGPLUHV0RXQW Rushmore and the Oregon VWDWHÀDJ - Photo by Sam Bellamy Irrigon Rural Fire De- partment was dispatched to D UHVLGHQWLDO VWUXFWXUH ¿UH on Tuesday, December 5th. Umatilla FD, Boardman FD, Morrow Co Health District Ambulance Crews, Morrow Co Sheriff’s Of- ¿FH2UHJRQ'HSDUWPHQWRI Transportation, and the City of Irrigon Public Works showed up to help aid in any way needed. CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
