Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2024)
Wyden awards Murray 50¢ VOL. 144 NO. 2 8 Pages Wednesday, January 10, 2024 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Sykes reappointed BOC chair Commissioners continue to take beating over ASA, circuit court building By Andrea Di Salvo The Morrow County Board of Commissioners reappointed Morrow Coun- ty Commissioner David Sykes as the board chair at its Jan. 3 meeting in Heppner. The position of board chair had previously rotated among the three positions, but the current commis- sioners chose to switch to a yearly election when they WRRNR൶FHODVW\HDU Morrow County Com- PLVVLRQHU-H൵:HQKRO]ZDV elected vice chair. No controversy sur- rounded the election of R൶FHUVDWWKHPHHWLQJEXW tension was definitely in WKHDLUDWWKH¿UVW%RDUGRI Commissioners meeting of the year. :KLOHQHLWKHUWKHFURZG nor the comments were as numerous as at the Dec. 20 meeting in Irrigon, the FRPPLVVLRQHUVVWLOO¿HOGHG criticism on the county’s Ambulance Service Area (ASA) plan and the new circuit court building, as well as threats of a recall. Morrow County Health District CEO Emily Rob- erts opened the public com- ments by telling the com- missioners that the current ASA creation process was not following the process laid out in the 1998 ASA plan. John Kilkenny of Hep- pner said the health district has been providing great service for decades and he saw no reason to change providers based on that performance. He also reiterated com- ments from the Dec. 20 meeting, saying that he objected to ASA wording about the county being DEOHWRVHL]HWKHDVVHWVRID provider. At the last BOC meet- ing, Morrow County Ad- ministrator Matt Jensen had said publicly that the word- ing had been in the 1998 plan and had not changed. Kilkenny argued that the language had changed “sig- nificantly” and that the 1998 plan had stated the health district would retain those assets. “A million and a half dollars of assets are to be retained by the Morrow County Health District. The new language says that WKRVHDVVHWVDUHWREHVHL]HG by Morrow County,” said Kilkenny. “That’s just total- ly unacceptable language. No business, no ranch, no other public entity would enter into a contract with anyone in which their assets DUHVHL]HG´ During a presentation to the Heppner City Coun- cil Monday night, Jensen again said the wording had not changed, but that the problems in interpretation came from the fact that Morrow County would replace MCHD as the ASA administrator in the new plan. Due to the concerns over the wording of that sec- tion, however, Jensen told the Heppner City Council that the wording had been removed completely from the draft ASA plan. Meanwhile, Tim Col- lins of Heppner was at the BOC meeting last week to voice continued concerns about the proposed site of the new Morrow County Circuit Court building. “I have many concerns and questions about what is going on in Morrow Coun- ty with our local govern- ment and the silence from our government related to what’s going on with the new circuit courthouse that is going to be built in Hep- pner,” Collins said. “I am requesting that the county have open public meetings to inform residents of the FRXQW\ DERXW WKH VSHFL¿FV of this project.” Collins also request- ed that the budget for the project be made public and submitted a petition that he said included signatures of 87 registered voters whom he said wanted to change the location of the building. :KLOHUXPRUVRIDQRWK- er recall have been circu- lating for several months, Irrigon resident Stuart Dick laid the issue on the table when he accused the com- missioners of not listening to constituents but, rather, doing whatever they want to do. “Nobody in this room or this county wants to go through another recall. It was a horrible experience,” said Dick, adding that the recall of previous com- missioners Melissa Lind- say and Jim Doherty was “orchestrated” and “done behind closed doors.” “You have a precon- ceived agenda, so I’m going to be up-front with you. :H¶UH JRLQJ WR LQLWLDWH D recall,” he said. Dick also accused Jen- sen of deliberately taking action he knew would shut down dialogue. “And then you called it a miscommunication,” he said. “It’s not a miscom- munication. It’s deliberate. :H¶UHQRWVWXSLG´ ASA Update True to his word at the last BOC meeting, Jensen also provided an update on the ASA plan at the PHHWLQJ :KLOH PXFK RI the presentation went over old ground, he did attempt to clarify some of what he said in his previous report. Jensen spent much of his time reiterating that the county is overhauling the ASA because Oregon Revised Statutes state that the county is responsible for administrating the ASA. However, he said, there is DQLQKHUHQWFRQÀLFWRILQWHU- ests in current ASAs, which contain an “abdication of control” by the county to allow the Morrow County Health District to adminis- ter the program. ³:KLOH WKLV KDV RSHU- ated quite well, and Mor- row County Health District has taken care of business, WKHUH FRPH FRQÀLFWV ZKHQ there are providers that want to present and take a look at providing additional services,” he said. “And WKHUHEHFRPHVDFRQÀLFWRI interests when your EMS advisory committee, which is in charge of reviewing that, is largely made up of MCHD—another provid- Sen Wyden presenting and awarding Ann Murray at the %RDUGPDQ7RZQ+DOO- Contributed Photo 7KHR൶FLDO$PHULFDQ)ODJDZDUGHGWR$QQ0XUUD\ - Contributed Photo On January 4th, at Boardman High School, 6HQDWRU:\GHQSUHVHQWHGD well-deserved award to Ann Murray during a town hall meeting he was hosting. Ann was honored for her remarkable contributions to WKH¿HOGRI3KDUPDF\7KH highlight of this recogni- WLRQ ZDV 6HQDWRU :\GHQ presenting Ann with an official American Flag, which had been proudly ÀRZQRYHUWKHFDSLWDO7R authenticate this symbolic JHVWXUH 6HQDWRU :\GHQ provided Ann with the necessary documentation. Morrow County vows to maintain ambulance service despite pending DJUHHPHQWVWDQGR൵ Morrow County - On Jan- nance. MCHD has advised uary 5th, Morrow County the County that it was re- released a new statement quired to give notice since regarding the ASA plan the proposed language for and its ongoing fued with the ASA Plan includes lan- the Morrow County Health guage from the 1998 Plan District. and repeated in the 2023 “On December 13, ASA Plan proposed by 2023, Morrow County re- MCHD, that requires an ceived from Morrow Coun- ambulance service provider ty Health District (MCHD) vacating its area to turnover a notice that it will dis- their ambulances(s) and continue ambulance ser- equipment for use by the -Continued to PAGE SIX YLFHVH൵HFWLYHPLGQLJKWRQ recruited interim personnel March 12, 2024. MCHD until a replacement service also provided notice that it can be established. MCHD would no longer engage in vigorously objects to this water systems. The data the process of development provision. Accordingly, collected throughout the of the new Ambulance Ser- -Continued to PAGE SEVEN project will be integrat- vice Area Plan and Ordi- ed into a comprehensive database and Geograph- ic Information System (GIS) to enable ongoing monitoring, analysis, and preliminary planning-level engineering assessments for impacted well owners. To achieve this, additional well sampling will be con- ducted, with a strong em- SKDVLVRQRXWUHDFKH൵RUWV to domestic well users. An essential aspect of the project is commu- nity education. Domestic well users and the wider $IWHUGHGLFDWLQJ¿YH\HDUVRIVHUYLFHDVDGLVSDWFKHUDWWKH community will be in- 0&62 0RUURZ&RXQW\6KHUL൵¶V2൶FH &RPPXQLFDWLRQV formed about the regional Deputy Acosta Garcia has transitioned into a new role as a MCPD addresses the water crisis By Annalynn Black The Lower Umatilla Basin is currently facing a drinking water crisis, and the Morrow County Planning Department has taken on the responsibility to address this pressing issue. Joining forces with Umatilla County, Morrow County sought assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to secure funding for tackling the problem. On October 10th, 2023, their efforts SDLGR൵DVWKH(3$JUDQWHG a substantial sum of $1.7 million to aid in the iden- WL¿FDWLRQ RI FRQWDPLQDWHG wells within the LUB and the development of both public and private solutions to ensure clean drinking water supply. A longstanding con- cern in the Lower Umatilla Basin, nitrate concentra- tions in the groundwater have been exceeding fed- eral standards since 1990, prompting the Oregon De- partment of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to designate the area as a groundwa- ter management area or /8%*:0$ $V SDUW RI the declaration the DEQ identified five significant sources of nitrate contam- ination. These sources in- clude irrigated agriculture, onsite septic systems, land application of wastewater, confined animal feedlots (CAFOs), and pollution from the washout lagoon at the Umatilla Army Depot. Encompassing approx- imately 562 square miles in northern Morrow and western Umatilla counties, WKH /8%*:0$ LQFOXGHV VLJQL¿FDQW WRZQV VXFK DV +HUPLVWRQ6WDQ¿HOG(FKR Umatilla, Boardman and ,UULJRQ:LWKLQWKLVUHJLRQ around 3,300 active domes- tic wells provide drinking water to rural households. However, about half of this region is under cultivation DOORZLQJ ZDWHU LQ¿OWUDWLRQ due to the shallow alluvial VRLO ZDWHU LQ¿OWUDWLRQ FDU- ries high nitrate concentra- WLRQV ZKLFK SRVH VLJQL¿- cant contamination risks, as reported by the Morrow and Umatilla County Drinking :DWHU,QYHVWLJDWLRQ 08&- ':, :LWKWKHSULPDU\GULQN- ing water standard for ni- trate concentration set at 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L), recent testing of over 600 domestic wells has revealed alarming concentrations ex- ceeding this threshold in a substantial number of wells, with some even exceeding PJ/ 5HFRJQL]LQJ WKH severity of the situation, the Oregon Health Authority has conducted testing on more than 1,600 groundwa- ter wells in both counties as of November 10th, 2023. Elevated nitrate levels in drinking water can have severe health implications, such as causing methemo- globinemia or “blue baby syndrome” in infants, in- creasing the risk of thyroid disorders and gastric and bladder cancers in adults, and heightening the chanc- es of miscarriage, birth de- fects, and low birth weight. Infants under six months of age are especially vulnera- ble if they consume formula mixed with nitrate-rich water. Additionally, high nitrate concentration in groundwater can contribute to algal blooms in surface water, leading to higher lev- els of disinfection by-prod- ucts in treated and potable water. These disinfection by-products pose a range of health risks, including cancer, reproductive health issues, liver and kidney problems, and central ner- vous system disorders. According to the Mor- row and Umatilla County 'ULQNLQJ :DWHU ,QYHVWLJD- WLRQ 08&':, The overarching objec- tive of this project is to de- termine the spatial extent of nitrate contamination and LGHQWLI\ VX൶FLHQW RSWLRQV IRUFRQQHFWLQJD൵HFWHGDU- eas to public or community MCSOs new Parole DQG3UREDWLRQ2൶FHU -Continued to PAGE TWO 3DUROHDQG3UREDWLRQ2൶FHUZLWKLQWKHRUJDQL]DWLRQ -Contributed Photo CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
