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