Inaugural Littlest Cowpoke
calf show in Heppner
50¢
VOL. 144
NO. 16
8 Pages
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Fairgrounds, mill site both on the table as
BOC discusses circuit court sites
By Andrea Di Salvo
$IWHUZLGHQLQJWKH¿HOG
of possible site for the new
Morrow County Circuit
Court building, the options
appear to have narrowed
back down to three, two in
the Heppner area and one in
Boardman.
The Morrow County
Board of Commissioners
held a lengthy executive
session at its April 17 meet-
ing in Irrigon to discuss
several site options for the
circuit court building.
The BOC has not re-
leased details on all of the
sites they were considering
but had previously said it
was considering four in
South Morrow and one in
the Boardman area.
Those options appear
to have been narrowed back
down to three, according to
action taken in open session
after the executive session.
The board of commission-
HUVGLUHFWHGVWD൵DQGWKHGH-
sign team to develop more
precise development costs
for the proposed site by
the Morrow County Fair-
grounds, the Kinzua Mill
site and the Boardman site.
No other details were
forthcoming at the meeting.
Greater Idaho
Also on the agenda at
the April 17 meeting was a
discussion on moving the
Oregon/Idaho state borders,
commonly known as Great-
er Idaho.
In November 2022,
Morrow County voters
passed by a wide margin a
measure requiring the board
of commissioners to discuss
the issue three times per
\HDU 7KLV LV WKH ¿UVW GLV-
cussion for 2024. The BOC
held three such discussions
during meetings last year.
Morrow County is one
of 12 that have passed such
a measure. Crook Coun-
ty has also picked up the
measure and will be voting
in May.
Mike McCarter, pres-
ident of Move Oregon’s
Border and Citizens for
Greater Idaho, was on hand
via Zoom to give an update
on the movement. He said
the goal is to get a discus-
sion going about the issues
that are coming down from
the Oregon legislature and
negatively impacting East-
ern Oregon.
McCarter also said the
Crook County measure was
not a Greater Idaho measure
per se.
“The people in Crook
County, en masse, went to
the county commission-
ers and asked them to put
a question on the ballot
whether or not they should
be supporting, looking into,
the possibility of Crook
County becoming a county
of Idaho,” said McCarter.
“This is from the peo-
ple up,” he added. “They
wanted the opportunity to
voice their opinion because
of the various issues that
seem to be coming legisla-
tively out of Salem session
after session.”
McCarter said Oregon
State government in Salem
is focused on issues that
address or control problems
in Western Oregon, but
which often have negative
impacts on the eastern part
of the state. Examples he
mentioned were minimum
wage, water rights and the
recent move against small
farms.
“These issues need to
be brought up and dis-
cussed,” he said. “Whether
By Andrea Di Salvo
The Morrow County
Board of Commissioners
adopted and certified the
county’s new ambulance
service area (ASA) plan at
it’s last meeting Wednes-
day, April 17. The board
held a public hearing and
conducted the second read-
ing of ordinance ORD-
2024-3 by title during its
regular meeting in Irrigon.
Morrow County Com-
missioner Jeff Wenholz
noted that it had been a long
process, and BOC board
chair David Sykes agreed.
“I’d like to give a
shout-out to our staff for
their work on this,” said
Sykes.
The ORS governing
ASA plans states that it
had to be adopted as a
non-emergency ordinance,
which means it cannot take
H൵HFWLQOHVVWKDQGD\V
That makes the effective
date of the new ordinance
Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
As part of the process,
the BOC’s action also re-
pealed the previous 1998
ordinance and ASA.
“The gist of this one is
WRUHD൶UPWKDWWKHFRXQW\LV
responsible for determining
the ASA advisory commit-
tee and is the manager for
ambulance service provid-
ers,” Morrow County Ad-
ministrator Matthew Jensen
said during his update on
the plan.
Jensen added that other
updates to the plan include
updating language to refer
to ORS numbers and ad-
ministrative rules so the
plan doesn’t need wording
revision as often.
It also updates the
makeup of the EMS advi-
sory committee to include
representatives from each
of the county’s five fire
districts. Lexington was
not originally included,
but at the hearing on April
3, the plan was amended to
LQFOXGH WKH /H[LQJWRQ ¿UH
department.
The county is still in
the process of forming an
ad hoc committee to ad-
minister the plan. Of nine
proposed members, five
will be representatives of
HDFKRIWKH¿YHWRZQVLQWKH
county, one will be an EMS
specialist from an adjoining
county, and the other three
will be Jensen, advising at-
torney Bob Blackmore and
a member of the county’s
own legal counsel.
Jensen said they have
IRXU RI WKH ¿YH QDPHV RI
the city representatives but
ZHUHZDLWLQJIRU¿QDOZRUG
on who Irrigon selected.
7KH\DUHDOVRVWLOO¿QDOL]LQJ
the EMS specialist.
In response to a ques-
tion from Morrow County
Health District (MCHD)
CFO/COO Nicole Ma-
honey, Jensen said he had
QR VSHFL¿F GDWH DV \HW RQ
when the request for pro-
posals (RFP) for ambulance
service would be released.
+HVDLGKHKDG¿UVWZDQWHG
to be sure the ordinance
passed.
“We didn’t want to pub-
lish a schedule on that until
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
%2&FHUWL¿HVQHZ$6$SODQUHSHDOVRUGLQDQFH
3DUWLFLSDQWVRIWKH¿UVW/LWWOHVW&RZSRNHVVKRZVSRQVRUHG
by Morrow County Livestock Growers, was held at the Mor-
row County Fairgrounds on April 6. Pictured L-R are Cora
Schoenfelder, Grace Schoenfelder, Makenzi and Karter
Evans, Winnie and Quincy Worden, Kendal Cavaletto and
Paige Miller. -Photo contributed
Heppner, OR - April
6, 2024 - The Morrow
County Livestock Growers
(MCLG) recently held its
inaugural Littlest Cow-
poke Calf Show at Mor-
row County Fairgrounds in
Heppner. This is the start of
what is hoped to become a
tradition celebrating young
talent in the ranching com-
munity. This event brought
together aspiring young cat-
tlemen and women to show-
case their skills and passion
for agriculture. Under the
guidance of judge Nick
Nelson, along with the
GLOLJHQW RUJDQL]LQJ H൵RUWV
of Makenzi Evans and
Erin Heideman, the Lit-
tlest Cowpoke Calf Show
proved to be a resounding
success. Participants from
various corners of Mor-
row and Umatilla coun-
ties, including Paige Mill-
er, Grace Schoenfelder ,
-Continued to PAGE TWO
Heppner TSA attends
OTSASL Conference
Front; Elizabeth Finch, Rylee Palmer, Lily Nichols, Izzi Kil-
lebrew. Back; Lane Critchlow, Chris Humphreys, Karver
Wilkins, Kaden King, Aden Lathrop, Delilah Sauceda, Loren
Trujillo, Braden Desclos-Curtis, Brody McDaniel, Mason
Seitz, Ashli Paullus and McKenzie Maben. - Photo contrubuted
The Heppner TSA Chapter
attended the Oregon Tech-
nology Student Association
State Leadership Confer-
ence. Students competed in
several events and attend-
ed leadership workshops.
Heppner TSA won First
and Third places in VEX
Robotics. They earned
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT Third place in Dragster
Design and Technology
Problem Solving. State
2൶FHUV5\OHH3DOPHU/LO\
Nichols, Delilah Sauceda
and Elizabeth Finch each
received an award for the
work they have been doing
since April of 2023. The
state officers will be at-
tending the National TSA
Conference in June.
The Sweeneys celebrate 25 th anniversary EOU 2024 Winter
Fall term Dean’s list
with the Eclipse in San Antonio, TX.
By Annalynn Black
The Mayor of Hep-
pner, Corey Sweeney, and
his wife, Brandi Marshall
Sweeney, embarked on
a remarkable journey to
Texas to witness the solar
eclipse, marking their 25th
anniversary. After two years
RI SODQQLQJ WKH FRXSOH ¿-
nally made their reservation
last year. Unfortunately,
Brandi could not join the
rest of the family during the
2017 eclipse due to work
commitments. In a heartfelt
promise, Corey assured her
that they would make it to
the next solar Eclipse in
the United States. And so,
it was.
Initially considering
destinations like Missis-
sippi or other southeastern
states, Brandi’s dream of
experiencing Texas led
them to San Antonio. The
Sweeneys spent two event-
ful days in San Antonio and
one day in Austin, exploring
its rich culture and indulg-
LQJLQLWVXQLTXHR൵HULQJV
Determined to catch the
eclipse in its full glory, they
traveled an hour outside of
San Antonio to witness the
celestial phenomenon.
Although the Sweeneys
embarked on their journey
alone, they were quick to
make acquaintances with
Coery Sweeneys and Brandi The Eclipse from Texas.
Sweeney in Texas for the -Photo by Corey Sweeney
Eclipse. -Photo by Corey
Sweeney
fellow eclipse enthusiasts.
Engaging conversations
ensued with people from
New Zealand, as well as
individuals from Oregon,
California, and Arizona.
The prevailing atmosphere
was one of friendliness and
curiosity, with everyone
eager to embrace the eclipse
experience.
With an initial bout
of nerves caused by cloud
cover, the Sweeneys held
their breath in anticipation.
But as the eclipse embraced
totality, those anxieties
melted away, leaving be-
hind a profound sense of
awe. When asked about his
emotions while witnessing
this natural spectacle with
his wife, Corey struggled
to put it into words. He de-
scribed it as an exhilarating
and surreal experience, ex-
pressing profound gratitude
for the opportunity to wit-
ness it once again saying “It
was nice to just be able to
be there witnessing it again,
[we] felt very fortunate.”
Although the eclipse
did not align precisely with
their anniversary date, the
Sweeneys seized the oc-
casion to celebrate their
enduring love. Exploring
the wonders of San Anto-
nio, they ventured along
the enchanting River Walk,
a recommendation from the
locals in Heppner. Visits
to historical landmarks
such as the Alamo and the
stunning Natural Bridge
Caverns filled their days
with wonder and fasci-
nation. They also visited
Rita’s on the Riverwalk;
a renowned restaurant ac-
claimed for its margaritas.
Already planning ahead,
the Sweeneys have set their
sights on Iceland or Spain
for the next eclipse, slated
to occur in 2026. Unde-
terred by the challenge of
embarking on yet another
astronomical adventure,
Corey and Brandi eagerly
await their next opportunity
to witness nature’s majestic
display. For this dynam-
ic couple, the fascination
with celestial events goes
beyond the ordinary, serv-
ing as a testament to their
enduring love and shared
sense of adventure.
LA GRANDE, Ore.
(April 19, 2024) – Eastern
Oregon University named
610 students to the dean’s
list for the 2023 fall term.
Qualifying students achieve
and maintain a grade point
average of 3.5 or higher on
a 4.0 scale while complet-
ing a minimum of 12 hours
of graded coursework for
the term.
From
Board-
man, Dominic Epkey, STM
and Health Science, Psy-
chology and Ariel Lissman,
Education, Early Child-
hood Education. From
Heppner Kellen Grant,
Business, Agriculture En-
trepreneurship and Trevor
Nichols, STM and Health
Science, Biology. From
Irrigon Katelynn Evans,
Education, Elementary
Education, Victoria Palm-
quist, Business, Business
Administration, and Beth-
any Stewart, Education, El-
ementary Education. From
Lexington Paul Lindsay,
STM and Health Science,
General Studies-Explor-
atory.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information