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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2024)
50¢ VOL. 144 NO. 19 10 Pages Wednesday, May 15, 2024 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon CREZ II stumbles over 2023 fund disbursements By Andrea Di Salvo Columbia River En- terprise Zone (CREZ) III agreed to pursue an exten- sion in the Lexington area, while CREZ II reached a stalemate regarding fund distribution at a joint meet- ing April 30 th in Boardman. CREZ III chair and Morrow County Commis- sioner David Sykes brought forward the idea of extend- ing the CREZ III boundary into the Lexington area. The property in Lexington is a small parcel of private- ly-owned property on the edge of town, zoned rural industrial. While no applications have been made to use the land, Sykes pointed out that expanding the CREZ III boundary to include that land could encourage growth in the Lexington area. The enterprise zone has made boundary exten- sions before without active business applications on the table, and Port of Morrow Executive Director Lisa Mittelsdorf said she would recommend the expansion. Rural industrial zoning would receive an automatic three-year tax abatement for any business wishing to develop on that property, WKRXJKDWHUPRIXSWR¿YH years could be negotiated. Sykes said he was bringing up the issue be- cause the CREZ is already putting an application in with Business Oregon for an extension in the Board- man area, so it would be easy to add the Lexington parcel to the existing ap- plication. The CREZ III board unanimously approved add- ing the Lexington property to the current application. The property is not with- in the town limits but is within Lexington’s area of LQÀXHQFHVR6\NHVVDLGKH would bring it before the Lexington Town Council at the town’s next meeting on May 14 th . Decision making didn’t go so smoothly when it came to directing the re- maining 2023 funds from CREZ II. The CREZ II board is made up of two members each from three sponsoring entities—the Port of Morrow, City of Boardman and Morrow County. At least one board member from each sponsor must vote yes for a motion to pass. The remaining $900,000 to be disbursed from 2023 had been ear- marked to fund public safe- ty. When it came to how this particular disbursement would happen, however, there seemed to be ten- sion between the City of Boardman and the Port of Morrow. Port of Morrow com- missioner John Murray started the discussion by moving that direct disburse- ment be made to law en- forcement and the various ¿UHGLVWULFWVLQWKHFRXQW\ among others. Disburse- ment amounts ranged from $50,000 to $200,000 per entity. CREZ II Chair and Boardman Mayor Paul Keefer disagreed, saying he thought it would be simpler if the funds were divided between the city and the county, with those entities determining the ¿QDOGLVEXUVHPHQW “I don’t think it’s clean- er. We can take care of busi- ness here, today,” replied Murray. Keefer replied that CREZ II was not obligated to disburse funds to any- one other than the three sponsors. “That’s not the way the board has gone,” he said, but added that special dis- tricts in the south end of the county are taxing districts and would keep receiving tax income from the busi- nesses after the enterprise Recall signatures submitted IRUYHUL¿FDWLRQ Morrow County - On May 9, Stuart Dick presented over 720 signatures for each recall petition to County Clerk Bobbi Childers. He initially filed three recall petitions on February 15, aiming to unseat coun- ty commissioners David 6\NHV -H൵ :HQKRO] DQG Roy Drago Jr. Each petition required at least 613 valid signatures within 90 days to prompt a county-wide recall vote. The petitions received 725, 726, and 748 signatures. Childers has 30 days to verify these signatures, with the process anticipated to conclude by early June, while the primary election is set for May 21. In a sim- ilar recall effort in 2022, around 60 signatures were invalidated. If any petition falls short of 613 valid sig- natures, the recall process will halt. Otherwise, the commissioner targeted by a valid petition must either UHVLJQ ZLWKLQ ¿YH GD\V RU provide a 200-word state- ment for the ballot, which would lead to a recall vote within 40 days of the signa- tures being validated. Drago is also cam- paigning to retain his seat in the May 21 primary elec- tion. If he fails to secure a WRSWZR¿QLVKKHFRXOGVWLOO be subject to recall before his term ends in January 2025. If he wins either the zone ends. “There will be no more money for Boardman. There will be no more money coming to the Port,” he added. “I don’t know that we’ll be running out of money any time soon,” said Murray. Mike Gorman also pointed out that some CREZ II projects are lo- cated at least partly in the City of Boardman. Despite support from the county and the Port, Murray’s motion failed when Boardman board members Keefer and Karen -Continued to PAGE TWO Pettigrew voted against it. 6\NHVR൵HUHGDPRWLRQ to disburse $300,000 each to Boardman Fire Rescue District and Boardman Police Department, with the remaining funds to be determined. That vote also failed when Port of Morrow members Murray and Kelly Doherty voted against it. A third motion by Keef- er to disburse $300,000 each to Boardman Fire, Boardman PD and Morrow County Health District died for lack of a second. With 7KHNLGVRQVWDJHJDWKHULQJIRUDSLFWXUHWR¿QLVKRIWKHIXQ no agreement reached, the night. - Photo by Janelle Ellis disbursement was tabled until the next CREZ II meeting. Kids enjoy prizes and fun at Elks Youth Night Pendleton Center for the Arts features Heppner Teacher (L-R) Berkley Hanna and John Doherty posing for a picture DIWHU%HUNOH\¶VQDPHZDVGUDZQIRUWKH+HQU\ULÀH UD൷H- Photo by Chris Sykes Kids and parents waiting to see if their ticket will be drawn for youth night. - Photo by Janelle Ellis One of Andrea’s oil paintings that is on displayed at the Pendleton Center for the Arts, Lorenzen Gallery through May 31. Andrea Perry-Nelson Andrea Perry-Nelson plays multiple roles in her Heppner community. She teaches math and science, runs the high school’s art program, and is working on opening an art center and ceramics studio. She also paints, with a solo ex- hibition of her new work on display at Lorenzen Gallery at the Pendleton Center for the Arts through May 31. Perry-Nelson attributes her development in art to having access to compre- hensive school programs, teachers at Blue Moun- tain Community College (BMCC), and ample cre- ative space. She benefit- ed from opportunities to explore various mediums and develop her artistic skills through private and high school classes, logo contests, and mentorships at BMCC. Although she did not pursue art as a ca- reer, she maintained it as a hobby. After college, Per- ry-Nelson returned to East- ern Oregon to teach. She currently teaches in the Heppner school district, covering multiple subjects and integrating art into her curriculum. She man- ages the high school’s art program part-time and is working to expand it. She typically dedicates her Sunday afternoons to painting, using the best light to create images in- spired by her travels in the region. She focuses on using Eastern Oregon as a study and recreating it on canvas. Establishing a VSHFL¿FWLPHDQGSODFHIRU her art has allowed her to consistently create. Her current body of work is in oil paints, al- though she initially worked with watercolors. Her focus is on landscapes, transi- tioning from realism to abstraction. She describes her style as “Realistic Im- pressionism.” The inspi- ration for her work comes from the changing light and scenery of Eastern Oregon, making each piece unique and recognizable. Perry-Nelson’s work will be exhibited at the Lorenzen Gallery at the Pendleton Center for the Arts through May 31, alongside the Small Works Invitational in the East Oregonian gallery. Admis- sion is free and open to the public. More information is available at PendletonArts. org or by calling 541-278- 9201. Local kids and relatives gathered at the Heppner Elks Lodge for an exciting evening filled with raf- fle drawings, a spaghetti dinner, and plenty of fun. Among the many prizes were Nerf guns, toy cars, paint sets, basketballs, sci- ence kits, Barbies, and col- oring books. The highlight of the night was the gun UD൷HZKHUH%HUNOH\+DQQD won a Henry .22 caliber ULÀH:LWKSOHQW\RISUL]HV and good food, the kids had a fantastic and memorable time. CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
