(,*+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
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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-
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and I decided to tackle
these problems head-on.
Despite what the recall pe-
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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.”
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holz said that former Com-
missioner Jim Doherty,
who was recalled in 2022,
had previously warned him
about a similar situation be-
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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
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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
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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
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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:
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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.
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without proper fencing.
Attempts to contact neigh-
boring Helburgs, known
for owning horses, were
unsuccessful.
- Extra Patrol: RP re-
quests increased police
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Loop in Irrigon. Concerned
about her brother forci-
bly entering her proper-
ty against her wishes. RP
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any suspicious activity.
- Driving Complaint:
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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
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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
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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
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which Diana Ball’s granddaughter was running. EOU’s
team, ranked 9 th nationally and the top-ranked NAIA uni-
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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
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they will play in Round 2 on the 24 th . Good luck! This
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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
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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
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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.
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added drops of love for the Residents: The Ione elementa-
ry school students sent via delivery person each Resident
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homemade gifts for all the residents, as she does each
year. Great examples of thoughtfulness.
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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.
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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
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grands.
Readers of the GT near and far away (several
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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
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Here’s hoping that good news comes to everyone
reading this!
WWW.HEPPNER.NET
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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