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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2024)
(,*+7+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQWednesday, February 21, 2024 Commissioner Recall -Continued from PAGE ONE -Continued from PAGE SIX -H൵:HQKRO] David Sykes Roy Drago Stuart Dick years of saving lives. 2) BOC has not coop- erated with Heppner resi- dents or been transparent regarding the site for the new Circuit Courthouse in Heppner. 3) The current BOC has lowered their official workload to two meetings a month and are in the process of hiring a second Administrator at a Coun- ty cost, with benefits of $365,000 for both. Unac- ceptable to Morrow County Citizens. 4) Morrow County has a very serious nitrate pollu- tion problem regarding well drinking water primarily in the north end. BOC has not used their authority to address or take leadership to remediate this health hazard. 5) The BOC has made an unnecessary tax abate- ment deal with Amazon to the detriment of Morrow County taxpayers. In the future tax abatement deals with Amazon must be sub- ject to citizen transparency and experienced/skilled negotiators. Response from the Commissioners Commissioner Sykes said “Commissioner Jeff :HQKRO] DQG , FDPH LQWR office one year ago, and waiting for us was: no sit- ting commissioners, no ad- ministrator, an ambulance dispute that should have already been resolved, no plans or site chosen for a needed courthouse, and a water nitrate problem years in the making. Commis- VLRQHUV :HQKRO] 'UDJR and I decided to tackle these problems head-on. Despite what the recall pe- WLWLRQ¿OHUVVD\ZHKDYHQRW done the people’s busi-ness behind closed doors, and in fact, have held multiple public meetings to deliber- ate these im-portant issues. No, not all of the coun- ty’s citizens are going to agree with the proposed solutions, however, we have worked diligently to derive ones we feel are in the best interests of the county as a whole. Feel free to contact me to discuss any of these issues.” &RPPLVVLRQHU :HQ- holz said that former Com- missioner Jim Doherty, who was recalled in 2022, had previously warned him about a similar situation be- IRUH:HQKRO]ZDVHOHFWHG The Heppner Gazette contacted Commissioner Drago on Tuesday, Febru- ary 20th, but unfortunate- ly, we did not receive a response from him before our printing deadline. BMC Heppner Allstars Cameron Proudfoot -Photo Contributed 6KHULৼ¶V5HSRUW Landon Mitchell -Photo Contributed Caden George -Photo Con- tributed Mason Orem -Photo Con- tributed The Heppner Mus- tang boys’ basketball team landed four players on the Blue Mountain Conference (BMC) all star teams. This recognition is for their out- standing play during the entire BMC season and is voted on by the coaches in the conference. They were honored at the end of the BMC District Tournament this past weekend. Landon Mitchell received the most votes by the coaches in the conference and was a unanimous selection to the first team. Caden George was also a first team selection for his outstanding play throughout the season. Cameron Proudfoot and Mason Orem were also recognized by the conference coaches as outstanding players and were honorable mention selections. The Mustang basketball team is proud of these fine young men and basketball players for receiving these awards. speeding towards tenth St. - Driving Complaint: A GULYLQJFRPSODLQWZDV¿OHG RQ,:LQ%RDUGPDQ$ silver Kia sedan was report- ed for erratic driving, with a broken back window and no license plate. - EMS: An emergency medical services (EMS) call was received from Mike Nelson Res on Kunze Ln., in Boardman. An adult male was experiencing la- bored breathing, a possible overdose situation. Mul- tiple emergency services including BAMB, BFD, BPD, and MCSO respond- ed. However, the patient refused further medical assistance. - Driving Complaint: A driving complaint was made at Se Utah Ave/Se Eighth St, in Irrigon. A black Toyota Tundra with big tires and black rims was observed spinning its tires on the pavement and speed- ing towards Division St. - Driving Complaint: Another driving complaint was reported at Se Utah Ave/Se Tenth St, in Irrigon. A brown Ford Ranger with black rims was observed speeding towards tenth St. The deputy in the area was unavailable, as they were responding to a priority call. - Suspicious Activity: A report of suspicious ac- tivity was made at Rustic Truck Bar & Grill on E Highway 730., in Irrigon. The caller noticed a sus- picious car parked at the employee parking lot, po- tentially involved in a drug deal. The status of the vehi- cle, whether it was moving or leaving, was unclear. MCSO Dec. 17 :HOIDUH &KHFN $Q employee at Morrow Cold Storage in Boardman has been behaving strangely. Concerned about his well- being and potential danger to himself and others. Last seen driving in circles in the area, left belongings at the facility. Referred to other agency. - Driving Complaint: :KLWH)RUG)RFXVUHSRUWHG driving in an erratic manner on Se Utah Ave in Irrigon. - Dispute: Ex-partner trespassing and threatening to kick the RP out of his own house. Female ex- hibiting signs of a mental breakdown and denying her own identity. Occurred on Sw Utah Ave in Irrigon. - Animal Complaint: RP reports 13 horses on her property, located on Kan- garoo Court Ln in Irrigon. +RUVHVDUHLQWKHEDFN¿HOG without proper fencing. Attempts to contact neigh- boring Helburgs, known for owning horses, were unsuccessful. - Extra Patrol: RP re- quests increased police SUHVHQFH DW :DJRQ :KHHO Loop in Irrigon. Concerned about her brother forci- bly entering her proper- ty against her wishes. RP ZRXOGOLNHWREHQRWL¿HGRI any suspicious activity. - Driving Complaint: :KLWH'RGJH-RXUQH\JUH\ Dodge Dart, and grey SUV with black compartment on Good News Only by Doris Brosnan top observed running a stop sign on tenth. Occurred on Se Utah Ave in Irrigon. - Driving Complaint: &UHDPFRORUHG-HHS:UDQ- gler reported running a stop sign on tenth and heading to Division. Occurred on Se Utah Ave in Irrigon. - Suspicious Activity: Darker colored truck pulled up to RP’s house on Knapp St in Irrigon. Driver revved the engine and refused to leave. RP unable to iden- tify the individuals due to heavily tinted windows. Ve- hicle left before contacting dispatch. Last seen heading eastbound on Knapp. RP requests a check of the area for any suspicious activity. - Driving Complaint: RP reports a silver Pontiac G6 speeding down from tenth and through Utah be- fore turning into Division. Occurred on Se Utah Ave in Irrigon. MCSO Dec. 20 -Theft Complaint: Oc- curred at Division Rd/De- pot Ln in Irrigon. The sub- ject was arrested by MCSO for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Theft in the First Degree, and Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree. Additionally, there was a warrant from MCPP for Possession of Stolen Property/Aggravated Theft in the First Degree. The subject was taken into cus- tody and housed at the UCJ without bail. Another warrant from OSPB with case number 12817093 for Identity Theft and Theft in the First Degree was also served, and the subject was lodged at UCJ without bail. -Burglary 2FFXUUHGRQ6XQÀRZHU Flat Rd in Heppner. The RP reported that two males claiming their vehicle was broken down entered her residence without permis- sion. It is believed that they VWROH¿UHDUPVIURPWKH53¶V house. The RP suspects that these individuals left to- wards the lake. The vehicle description is unknown, but both males were described as larger in size, white, and were wearing heavier, dark- er coats and jeans. The RP did not grant the individuals access to her residence and only discovered them inside when she woke up. -Information Occurred on Se Fourth St in Irrigon. The RP stated that one of her employees found a bag of kittens tied up in the middle of the road. The employee posted about it online, and a female reached out claiming they were her kittens, which she had bought for her third- grade son at AC Houghton School. However, when the kittens were picked up, the female confessed that her current boyfriend disliked the cats and had trapped them in the bag with the intention of having them run over while she was at work. The RP is concerned about the welfare of the student and requested that deputies check on him or contact the RP to discuss available options. Print & Mailing Services *Design *Print Sykes Publishing *Mail MANY thanks go out to the contributors to this col- umn. It wouldn’t, couldn’t be without you! Hunter Nichols, son of Russ and Toni Nichols, con- tinues to run himself into the record books! On February 9, Hunter participated in the Husky Classic track meet in Seattle and not only improved his personal best time of 8.34.61 in the 3000-meter but also broke EOU’s previous, 10-year best time of 8.23.70 by running an 8.05! The next day, after little rest and a long road trip, Hunter also SDUWLFLSDWHGLQ:KLWZRUWK8QLYHUVLW\¶VPHHWWKHRQHLQ which Diana Ball’s granddaughter was running. EOU’s team, ranked 9 th nationally and the top-ranked NAIA uni- YHUVLW\LQWKH:HVWHUQ5HJLRQLVVXUHO\ORRNLQJIRUZDUG to the NAIA Indoor Nationals on February 29. The Ione-Arlington girls’ basketball team earned its way into Round 1 of the 1A championship competitions DQGZLOOEHSOD\LQJ,PEOHURQ:HGQHVGD\,IWKH\ZLQ they will play in Round 2 on the 24 th . Good luck! This ZHHNHQGZLOODOVREHWKH6WDWH:UHVWOLQJ&KDPSLRQVKLS competitions in Portland, and three HHS wrestlers will be competing on Thursday and Friday: Jaime Cavan, Landon McMahon, and Zachary Brown. Good luck! Last Thursday 10 women gathered for lunch at the Heppner Elks Club to celebrate Sharon Lewis’s 85 th birth- day, which was actually on January 3, but bad weather SUHFOXGHG WKH FHOHEUDWLRQ (YHU\RQH HQMR\HG WKH ¿QH SUHVHQWDWLRQDQGWDVWHVRI+HDWK¶VEHHI:HOOLQJWRQURDVWHG baby reds, and cheesecake and two+ hours of visiting. Yes, many people in the Northwest go to the warmth of Arizona in the winter. Recently, Jerry and Carmen Healy were relieved to get back home from their trip to Tucson, AZ, because they wanted to warm up! Visiting -HUU\¶VVLVWHU-HDQ0DULHIRU¿YHGD\VWKH+HDO\¶VZHUH rained on for four of those days. And the temperatures remained mostly in the 30’s! As they returned through the Gorge at 10 PM, the temperature was in the 50’s, while in Tucson the thermometers read in the 40’s, and Heppner the next day continued to be about ten degrees warmer than was Tucson! Feels good to be warm(er)! Thoughtful surprise for those impressive, energetic band members who shook the rafters in the gym at Hep- pner High’s last game: Some parents provided enough money at the concessions stand for every one of them to have a treat! Kudos to the many local grandparents and great grandparents who are providing daycare for their little ones. Such a gift to employed parents. Judy Harris Betts, who lived on a ranch near Ione for many years before moving to the Adams area, recently gave the Ione grade school a free-standing basketball hoop for the temporary playground being used during construction at the school. Judy is great grandma to Michaela, Justin and Ryder, whose parents, Keisha and Michael now live on the ranch. She appreciated being able to have the hoop delivered to Ed and Becky Reitmann, who put it together for her and delivered it. 9DOHQWLQHV¶ 'D\ DW :LOORZ &UHHN 7HUUDFH IHDWXUHG added drops of love for the Residents: The Ione elementa- ry school students sent via delivery person each Resident DVWX൵HGDQLPDODQGDKRPHPDGHYDOHQWLQH$QG&KLUHOOD :DOODFHDQGKHUOLWWOHFRPSDQLRQFDPHZLWKVPLOHVDQG homemade gifts for all the residents, as she does each year. Great examples of thoughtfulness. &DURO\Q:LOOH\LVJODGWREHEDFNLQ+HSSQHU)ROORZ- ing a stroke on February 12, Carolyn was transferred from the local ER to OHSU. Returning last Friday, Carolyn is temporarily staying at Sharon Lewis’s home, and all necessary follow-up procedures are falling into place for her work on recovery. Although Carolyn is not available for phone calls presently, she welcomes correspondence, which could be sent to Sharon’s PO Box 589. :HOFRPHWRWKLVZRUOG%R$OGHQ-DFN$QGFRQJUDW- ulations to the new parents, Keenan, and Emily Jack. Bo Alden was born in Pendleton on February 17 at 9:06 PM, having decided to join his parents about ten days before his “due date.” Eager to love on this 20” long and 7 lbs. 15 oz. little package are grandparents Brian and Susie 7KRPSVRQDQG+HUPDQDQG%REEL:LQWHUDOO¿UVWWLPH grands. Readers of the GT near and far away (several VXEVFULSWLRQVGRWUDYHOPDQ\PLOHV ZLOO¿QG\RXUSRVLWLYH tidbit a welcome respite if you are willing to take a few minutes to send it to dbrosnan123@gmail.com or call 541-223-1490. Some readers actually report that these WLGELWVGRPDNHDSRVLWLYHGL൵HUHQFHIRUWKHP Here’s hoping that good news comes to everyone reading this! WWW.HEPPNER.NET Sɲɟɪɦɱ1ɢɴɰ$ɡɳɢɯɱɦɰɦɫɤ $ɫɫɬɲɫɠɢɪɢɫɱɰ /ɢɱɱɢɯɰ7ɬ7ɥɢ(ɡɦɱɬɯ 6ɢɫɡ8ɰ3ɥɬɱɬɰ 6ɱɞɯɱ$1ɢɴ6ɲɟɰɠɯɦɭɱɦɬɫ 541-676-9228 Congratulations Heppner Girls Wrestling Team for a great Season! Coach, Kasey Jones, Denisse Bracamontes, Loren Trujillo, Journey Cavan Harris, Keeley Nairns, Sarah Munkers, Coach, Tyler Robinson 124 N. MAIN STREET HEPPNER OR (541) 676-9481
