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50¢ VOL. 144 NO. 14 8 Pages Wednesday, April 3, 2024 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon 7KH/RRSXQYHLOVQHZ¿[HGEXVURXWHVLQ Morrow County /5 7UDQVLWRSHUDWLRQVPDQDJHU3DWULFN.HHO\6KHUL൵ John Bowles, Commissioner David Sykes, JOP Glen Diehl, County Administrator Matt Jensen, and Transit manager Ben Tucker, cutting the ribbon at the Loop ceremony. -Photo by Annalynn Black By Annalynn Black the Heppner Chamber of 7KH /RRS DQ RQGH- mand transit service, re- cently celebrated the launch RILWVQHZ¿[HGEXVURXWHV in Morrow County with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 1st. The event took place at the city park in Heppner and marked the introduction of three new routes: the green route from Heppner to Boardman, the blue route from Boardman to Heppner, and the red route that loops around Boardman and the Port of Morrow. A number of key in- dividuals were present at the ribbon-cutting event, including Patrick Keely, the /RRS¶V WUDQVLW RSHUDWLRQV Supervisor, Ben Tucker WKH /RRS 7UDQVLW 0DQDJ- er, County Commissioner David Sykes, County Ad- ministrator Matt Jensen, Justice of the Peace Glen Diehl, and Sheriff John Bowles. Other attendees included John Doherty the Heppner City Manager, Madison Rosenbalm from &RPPHUFH DQG /LQGVD\ Grogan with the County. The loop also had driv- ers and dispatchers attend, 0DU\W]D3UDGR5H\H]'LV- patcher, Audrey Durfey bus driver, Joe Shelley the /RRSRQGHPDQGGULYHUDQG Cage Keely dressed up as a comical cow for this event. The ceremony com- menced with Commissioner 'DYH 6\NHV H[SUHVVLQJ gratitude to their partners, ODOT and Kayak Transit, followed by the ribbon cutting, and ended with a courtesy ride to showcase the stops along the Heppner URXWH7KHEXVHVXWLOL]HGLQ WKHQHZ¿[HGURXWHV\VWHP are equipped with ASA standard wheelchair opera- WRUVDQGR൵HUDPSOHVSDFH for bicycles, strollers, and other belongings. Addition- ally, a pull string runs along both sides of the bus to allow passengers to request stops as needed. The discussion about LPSOHPHQWLQJD¿[HGURXWH bus system for South and Gage Keely, dressed up as a cow for the ribbon cutting ceremony. -Photo by Annalynn Black North Morrow County be- gan some time ago, and Transit Manager Ben Tuck- er said, “We are picking up the pieces and getting the ball rolling.” The buses, which were funded by Mor- row County, consist of three routes. The Blue route starts at 7 am in Boardman and ends at 9:15 am in Heppner, with a repeat schedule at 7 pm. The Green route begins at 4:45 am in Heppner, ORRSV WKURXJK /H[LQJWRQ and Ione, and concludes at 6:45 am in Boardman. This route repeats at 10:30 am and 12:15 am. The Red route runs from 1:15 pm to 1:57 pm in Boardman, with additional trips at 3:15 pm, 4:15 pm, and 6:15 pm. Transit Operations Manager Patrick Keely H[SODLQHG WKDW SDVVHQJHUV with ASA access issues can be picked up within a 3/4th mile radius from the desig- nated bus stop if they call DKHDG RI WLPH 7KH /RRS FXUUHQWO\HPSOR\V¿YHIXOO time dispatchers and four drivers, with plans to hire one more person. The main objective of the new route system is to connect North and South Morrow County. Keely also mentioned that ODOT has been instrumen- tal in securing and main- taining state and federal grants for the operation and acquisition of equipment, with Kayak serving as the local transit provider to en- sure access to public transit for all Morrow County residents. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the new bus route is not sponsored by any private entities. 7KH /RRS DGPLQLV- trators have established strong relationships with the Port of Morrow and the Boardman Chamber of Commerce. They have collaborated with various entities and community representatives from all the cities in Morrow County to develop the routes based on H[WHQVLYHVWXGLHVDQGORFDO input. Initially, the feed- back indicated a need for more stops in Boardman, resulting in the doubling in VL]H RI WKH UHG URXWH PDS Additionally, the adminis- trators aimed to facilitate a hassle-free commute for those working at the Port of Morrow. For the north end, the number of stops is limited due to the smaller VL]HDQGFDSDFLW\RIWRZQV OLNH /H[LQJWRQ ,RQH DQG Heppner. It is important to note that the “Dial-A-Ride” car service and the weekly shopper bus will continue to operate alongside the QHZ¿[HGURXWHV\VWHP New allegations emerge beyond original BOC recall petition By Chris Sykes Recently, in February, Stewart Dick filed a re- call petition against three Morrow County Commis- VLRQHUV-H൵:HQKRO]5R\ Drago, and David Sykes. In his petition, he listed ¿YH UHDVRQV IRU WKH UHFDOO Stewart recently posted on the Morrow County &LWL]HQV IRU /LEHUW\ DQG Justice Facebook page. Dick added a new reason to the recall list, accusing Retired Commissioner Don Russell of orchestrating a µO\QFK PRE¶ DJDLQVW /LQG- say and Doherty. Dick stat- ed, ‘...Commissioner Rus- sell orchestrated the lynch mob against Lindsay and Doherty. That disgraceful manipulated recall is a main reason for this BOC recall. And trust me, it will happen.” Dick then posted a re- sponse to a claim that the recall was motivated by revenge. He stated, “This recall has nothing to do with revenge. If it was purely about revenge, I wouldn’t KDYHJRQHWRWKHH൵RUWVRI KROGLQJ ¿YH SXEOLF PHHW- LQJVLQDOO¿YHFLWLHVRI0RU- URZ&RXQW\WU\LQJWR¿QG a solution with our Board of Commissioners. This recall is about standing up for liberty and justice, and seeking to correct a case of mis-justice that Jim and Missy have faced.” 7KH +HSSQHU *D]HWWH contacted the three current commissioners, as well as retired commissioner Rus- sell, to seek clarification regarding his statement and inquire about their involve- ment in the last recall. Retired Commissioner Don Russell denies having anything to do with the last recall, saying, “Stuart Dick’s post was pointed out to me by a friend. I’m retired now and I try not to be involved. I had my turn to be involved when I was commissioner. I can tell you that I didn’t make DQ\SKRQHFDOOVRUJDQL]LQJ people and didn’t go to any meetings about the recall. I didn’t gather signatures for the recall or call people and encourage them to sign pe- titions. I’m aware of some of the people who gathered signatures and none of them are related to me or, as far as I know, associated with cor- porate farms or any industry at the Port of Morrow.’” Commissioner Drago said, “Stewart has been claiming there is no trans- parency from the county and here he is not being transparent with his inten- tions. It’s very telling about hypocrisy. I want to ignore the rhetoric and do my job for the people of Morrow County.” “There is irony over Stuart Dick’s admission, the true reason for this recall is his need for vengeance over the last recall,” said David Sykes, Chair of the Morrow County Commission. “The most contentious issues he is using against us are both tough problems we inher- ited from the previous ad- ministration. Instead of tak- ing on these tough issues, the previous commissioners chose to delay and stall any decisions that needed to be made. The previous ad- ministrators had two years to deal with the ambulance issue but refused. Previous commissioners should have sited the new circuit court building by the time they OHIWR൶FHEXWLQVWHDGRQFH again they refused to deal with the hard decisions their R൶FHUHTXLUHG$GHFLVLRQ on siting the new circuit FRXUW EXLOGLQJ ZDV SXW R൵ IRUVRORQJE\WKHWLPH-H൵ :HQKRO]DQG,WRRNR൶FH the county was on the verge of losing state funding for the building. “With Stuart Dick’s revelation of the true reason behind the cur- UHQW UHFDOO H൵RUW , ZRXOG urge all Morrow County residents to give us time to work through these issues,” Sykes continued. “We are dealing with these matters openly and honestly. Do not be part of one man’s personal lust for vengeance over the past.” Commissioner Wen- KRO] VDLG ³-LP 'RKHUW\ told me in 2022 that there would be a recall against me and that was before I was a commissioner. So, I knew the real motivation behind the recall.” 7KH¿YHUHDVRQVOLVWHG on the curent recall petition are. 1) The three Morrow County Commissioners (BOC) have been uncoop- erative and lacking trans- parency when it comes to working with the Morrow Egg-cellent ex-travaganza! Heppner kids go hopping mad for easter egg hunts! By Chris Sykes On Easter Saturday, Market Fresh and the Elks /RGJH LQ +HSSQHU RUJD- QL]HG H[FLWLQJ (DVWHU HJJ hunts for children. The ¿UVWKXQWNLFNHGR൵DWDP in Market Fresh, where kids eagerly formed a line down the aisle, anticipating the opportunity to find a plethora of eggs. Following this, at 9am, the second hunt took place at the Heppner Fair Grounds, providing HYHQ PRUH H[FLWHPHQW IRU the kids. In addition to the HJJKXQWVWKH(ONV/RGJH arranged a special Easter Bunny photo session, al- lowing parents to capture moments with their kids. For more images of the (DVWHUHJJKXQWVÀLSRYHU to page seven. Berkley Hanna proudly displayed her impressive egg collection from Market Fresh on Saturday. - Photo By Chris Sykes Men’s golf opening day April 7 th Entrance to the Willow Creek Country Club. - Photo by Chris Sykes The Willow Creek men will open their 2024 season on Sunday April 7 th at the Wil- low Creek Country Club. The day will start with breakfast at 7:30 and play will begin around 8:30. The event will be a blind draw 2-man scramble. The board asks you to remember to have dues paid by this time. Wednesday night play will begin on April 17 th . There is a sign-up sheet posted in the clubhouse. Hope to see you all on Sunday. Trout stocking schedule for Willow Creek Northeast Oregon – With spring getting under- way, ODFW are stepping up their trout stocking schedule. For April, 13,000 legals and 1200 trophies are bound for 13 water- bodies across the North- east Oregon District, for D WRWDO RI ¿VK )RU reference, the Northeast Oregon District compris- es the entirety of Gillam, Morrow, and Umatilla counties, the majority of Wheeler, Grant, Union, and Wallowa Counties, along with portions of 6KHUPDQ :DVFR -H൵HU- son, and Harney counties. The April trout stocking VFKHGXOH LQFOXGLQJ ]RQH DQG QXPEHU RI ¿VK LV DV follows: Date: April 1 – April 5 Waterbody: Willow Creek 2൶FH-RKQ'D\ /HJDOV Trophy: 0 Total: 500 Date: April 1 – April Waterbody: Willow Creek Reservoir 2൶FH-RKQ'D\ /HJDOV Trophy: 750 Total: 750 -Continued to PAGE TWO CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
