7:2+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQWednesday, February 21, 2024
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of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
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SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
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Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Annalynn Black ............................................................................................ Editor
Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising
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Heppner Welcomes
New Pastor
SDA Pastor Dr. Dan Solis
The Seventh-day Ad-
ventist Church is welcom-
ing a new pastoral cou-
ple. Dr. Dan Solis and his
wife Cindy are serving the
Morrow County Adventist
churches in Irrigon and
Heppner. Dr. Solis is a
graduate of Southern Ad-
ventist University, Andrews
University, and Reformed
Theological Seminary,
from which he earned his
doctorate. Mrs. Solis is a
graduate of Southern Ad-
ventist University and In-
diana University, where she
also taught. She taught in
various elementary schools
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supervisor for student
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University. The Solis’s have
three adult children living
in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee,
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and Lodi, California.
Dr. Solis has served
the church as a writer, au-
thoring the church’s in-
ternational Bible Study
guides in 2014, as well as
contributing to multiple
sermon collections, devo-
tional books, and church
magazines. He authored
the book, Discipleship,
which was published in
both English and Spanish.
He directed the Indiana
Community Services Di-
saster Response Agency for
three years before accepting
a professorship at Kettering
College where he coordi-
nated academic advising,
taught history, and religion
courses, and sponsored the
drama club. Later, after
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ley Camps, coached track
for College Place High
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Valley Academy, leading
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district championships, and
coached cross-country for
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leading them to an appear-
ance at the 2019 NAIA
national championships.
The Solis family has
a wide range of hobbies
and interests. Dan, with his
experience in cooking for
the Navy, enjoys cooking
and entertaining. Both Dan
and Cindy share a love
for gardening and play-
ing table games. Dan also
enjoys outdoor activities
such as kayaking, canoeing,
backpacking, camping, and
sledding. On the other hand,
Cindy enjoys quilting, can-
ning, and reading.
For those who would
like to hear Pastor Solis,
the Heppner Seventh-day
Adventist Church, located
at 560 Minor Street, wor-
ships at 3:30 p.m. on Satur-
days. His sermons are also
available on YouTube under
the Irrigon SDA Church
tab, or The Village Church
[College Place] for older
sermons.
Gazette gets new sign
Solar project
-Continued from PAGE ONE
construction, which doesn’t
allow enough time to ad-
dress all possible problems.
At the same time,
Sweeney said communi-
cation with businesses has
gotten better, with energy
companies becoming more
proactive during initial
planning stages.
“The energy compa-
nies are being proactive,
reaching out to me more
and more, earlier and ear-
lier, and the county really
appreciates that,” he said.
“I’ve been able to say to
them, ‘Look, here’s what
you’re going to run into,
what issues you’ve got to
look at,’ and we’ve been
working together.”
Morrow County Board
of Commissioners Chair
David Sykes said he saw
a two-pronged issue, the
need for an agreement and
also for compliance and
enforcement.
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come into the county, they
negotiate tax breaks,” he
said.
Sykes gave the exam-
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tax abatement being con-
tingent on meeting certain
requirements—in that case,
the requirements had to do
with the warning lights on
the turbines. “Is that some-
thing that is possible or that
you would want in future
tax break negotiations?”
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case provided precedent,
and pointed out that such
a contingency would add
extra strength to enforce-
ment later.
“I’m not saying they
would not take care and
do what they say they’re
going to do,” Sykes added.
“But as everybody knows,
there are probably more
solar projects coming, so
this might be something
that we’re going to have to
deal with.”
“It was one more tool
for enforcement,” he said.
Mabbott said that it was
a good idea to get the lan-
guage right with the siting
council on this project.
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over the past several years,”
she said. “I think we’re
kind of ground central in
Morrow County for solar.
They bring a lot of revenue,
the farmers enjoy it, there’s
just a few things we need
to make sure we get right.”
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need to make sure we have
the language and the docu-
mentation,” Mabbott added.
Protecting Farmland
Another sticking point
for county planners was the
lack of detail in the solar
project’s Goal 3 mitigation.
Oregon Statewide Planning
Goal 3 refers to the protec-
tion of existing farm ground
for continued production.
Goal 3 requires coun-
ties to identify farmland,
designate it as such on the
comprehensive plan map
and zone it for exclusive
farm use (EFU). An EFU
zone places restrictions
on developments that are
unrelated to agriculture in
order to minimize uses that
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that they provide additional
information,” said Mabbott.
The solar project’s ap-
plication says, essential-
ly, that there will be tax
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However, Mabbott said the
county needs more infor-
mation.
“Tax revenue in and of
itself does not mitigate the
loss of farm ground,” she
said. “As you know, once
a solar facility is built, that
land is taken out of farm
use, which is why there is
an application.”
Mabbott stressed that
the county needs more de-
tails on what NextEra plans,
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going to pay some taxes
and the county can do with
it what it wants,’” she said.
“I don’t know what
they’ll come back with.
Maybe they’ll come back
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and EFSC will require it to
do some mitigation,” Mab-
bott added, “or maybe we’ll
just get it as is.”
Other Concerns
Other needs addressed
in the comment letter in-
cluded asking for a traf-
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road use agreement prior
to construction. The letter
also asked for more details
on dust abatement during
construction.
Mabbott said both the
City of Boardman and
Town of Lexington had
expressed concerns on how
the project would impact
housing. Like many other
areas, Morrow County is
struggling to keep up with
the demand for housing.
Mabbott said the county
has asked the company to
provide additional housing
data and meet with the
county and cities to address
the cumulative housing
impact.
She also said the county
will have another oppor-
tunity to provide formal
comment on the project as
it moves forward.
“EFSC will take these
comments and add that to
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present that to the siting
council, and then the siting
council will come up with a
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and then we get to provide
comments on that,” she told
the commissioners.
Commissioner Jeff
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from discussion and voting,
and the other commission-
ers voted 2-0 to approve the
comment letter.
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177 N. Main
P.O. Box 337
Heppner, OR 97836
Chris@sykesrealestate.net
Broker
Chris Sykes
541-215-2274
$395,000
Pending
Discover peace and seclusion on this expansive
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80439 Black Mountain Ln Heppner
MLS#:23425595
9.09 ACRES
Secluded mountain property! Don’t miss out
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Good Luck at State - Heppner
Girls Basketball teams!
Girls - February 24, 1:00 pm VS Regis
at Regis High School
Owner Chris Sykes walking out candidly out of the Gazette.
-Photo by Cindi Doherty
The Heppner Gazette
Times recently added a vi-
brant touch to Main Street
with their eye-catching
new sign. Standing tall and
proud, this sign is hard to
Coach Rob Wilson, Hadlie Nation, Arianna Worden, Healy
Hisler, Avery Lathrop, Katie Spivey, Hallee Hisler, Ava
Gerry, Riley Archer, Kadie Henrichs, Zaleta Masterson
Maya Payne, Morgan Cutsforth, Delaney Stefani, Lily
Nichols, Coach Russ Nichols
miss, popping with a play-
ful combination of green
and white. The sign was
painted by Andrew, Chris’s
brother.
DEADLINE:
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AT 5PM
124 N. MAIN STREET
HEPPNER OR (541) 676-9481