50¢
VOL. 144
NO. 20 10 Pages
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Morrow County BOC seeks more public input
on court building location, decision still pending
Heppner Girls place
6th overall at state
and set new 4x400
relay school record
(L-R) Healy Hisler, Lily Nicols, Hallee Hisler and Arianna
Worden after placing 3rd in the 4x400 at the state track
meet. - Contributed Photo
Two of the three sites chosen for the ciurcut court building. (L-R) The site near the rodeo ground in Heppner near the rodeo
ground and the other proposed site at the old mill site. - Contibuted Photo
By Annalynn Black
At the public meet-
ing held in Heppner, the
Morrow County Board of
Commissioners awaited
feedback from the commu-
nity regarding the construc-
tion of a new courthouse.
The meeting was attended
by key individuals, includ-
ing Matt Jensen, the City
Administrator, Austin Gu-
tierez and Kelly Stewart,
architects from the DLR
Group Design Team, Doug
Carl from Alliance Project
Management, and the three
Morrow County Commis-
sioners - Roy Drago, David
6\NHVDQG-H൵:HQKRO]
Matt Jensen, the city
Administrator, took the
floor and began explain-
ing the reasons behind the
need for a new courthouse.
He highlighted the current
building’s technology and
security issues, emphasiz-
ing that it did not meet the
requirements expected of a
modern courthouse. Jensen
clarified that the funding
being sought was for new
construction rather than
remodeling an existing
structure. Additionally, he
mentioned that Oregon
state law stipulated that
the new courthouse had to
be located within the city
limits of Heppner.
Initially, the Heppner
Fairgrounds seemed like
the most feasible option.
However, the Chief Justice
RI WKH VWDWH ODWHU FODUL¿HG
in a letter that the court-
house could be constructed
anywhere within Morrow
County. This allowed the
design team to explore al-
ternative sites. Ultimately,
VL[VLWHVZHUHLGHQWL¿HGIRU
consideration.
7KH ¿UVW VLWH ZDV VWLOO
the Heppner Fairgrounds,
which had been previously
discussed. Another option
that arose was a parcel of
land offered by the Port
of Morrow (POM) free
of charge. The old school
building located in Lex-
ington was also considered,
along with a site across
the street from the public
works building in the same
town. However, the team
discovered that a 2-acre
lot initially purchased by
the county to be used as a
transit center was now un-
usable due to certain grant
restrictions. Lastly, a site
in Irrigon was explored,
but statutory requirements
limited its use and it was
subsequently ruled out.
After careful consider-
ation, the commissioners
decided to proceed with
three potential sites: the
Heppner Fairgrounds, the
Kinzua Mill sites, and the
Boardman site. The deci-
sion was made in order to
ensure that the new court-
house would be conve-
niently accessible to as
many residents of Morrow
County as possible.
Kelly Stewart, an ar-
chitect with DLR group,
SUHVHQWHG KHU ¿QGLQJV RQ
the potential locations for
the courthouse. She em-
phasized the importance of
selecting a centrally located
site, easily accessible to the
public, and highly visible to
enhance the community’s
identity.
Kelly began by outlin-
ing the criteria that needed
to be met for the court-
house’s location. It had to
EH RXWVLGH WKH ÀRRG ]RQH
be able to connect to city
utilities, have a minimum
of 2 acres of buildable land,
and accommodate 24,000
square feet building with
ample parking, around 123
stalls to be precise.
$VVKHÀLSSHGWKURXJK
her presentation slides,
Kelly pointed out the var-
ious sites that had been
considered. One option was
the fairgrounds site, which
had already been surveyed
and deemed suitable for
construction. However,
there were concerns about
it being a residential area,
although she says it’s not
unprecedented.
The Kinzua Mill site is
115 acres, she says the ap-
peal is contingent on future
building with the hopes of
putting it there to be a cat-
alyst in future growth and
development but the reality
is an unknown because the
POM has not disclosed
future development on the
site. Lastly, Boardman
site, which appeared to be
ready for construction. She
says the only requirement
was that it needed to be
surveyed to confirm its
feasibility.
Austin Gutierez, anoth-
er architect with the DLR
group, began by outlining
The Heppner track
team participated in the
OSAA 2A state track meet
on May 16th and 17th at
the University of Oregon’s
Hayward Field.
Hallee Hisler, last
year’s 200-meter state
champion, had a success-
ful meet. She secured
2nd place in the 400 me-
ters with a personal best
(PB) and new school re-
cord (NSR) time of 59.07
seconds, surpassing her
previous record from this
season. In the 200 meters,
+DOOHH ¿QLVKHG QG 6KH
also placed 5th in the 100
meters with a PB time of
12.90 seconds, earning her
a spot in the all-time top
5 at Heppner High School
(HHS).
Lily Nichols partici-
pated in the 800 meters,
1,500 meters, and 300 me-
ters hurdles, contributing
VLJQL¿FDQWO\ WR WKH WHDP¶V
success. She placed 4th in
the 1,500 meters, 8th in the
800 meters, and 8th in the
300 meters hurdles.
the possible sites for the
new government build-
ing. He explained that all
the locations were situated
RXWVLGH RI WKH ÀRRG ]RQH
ensuring safety and stabil-
LW\ IRU WKH FRXQW\ R൶FHV
The Fairgrounds site and
the Boardman suite were
already owned by the coun-
ty, while the Mill site was
the property of the Port of
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
Morrow (POM). Although
the port mentioned a build-
ing that could be provided,
WKH VSHFL¿FV RI WKH VLWH¶V
allocation were yet to be
discussed.
Austin emphasized the
importance of proximity
to businesses along Main
Street. The Fairgrounds
site, less than a half mile
away, was an attractive
option due to its easy acces-
sibility for court users. On
the other hand, the mill and
Boardman sites, both a mile
and a half away from near-
E\DPHQLWLHVR൵HUHGPRUH
secluded and serene views
for those who preferred a
quiet environment.
Matt Jensen interjected
Austin’s presentation with
an impactful statistic. He
pointed out that only 20%
of court cases originat-
ing from Heppner, Ione,
and Lexington, while the
remaining 80% of cases
stemmed from the northern
end of the county.
Kelly began explaining Securtiy camera photo caught the back of the person who
the different factors that broke into the Taste of the South - Contributed Photo
distinguished each location.
According to a Face- mentioned requesting the
The mill site posed a partic- book post by Dan Ficek, the city to review surveillance
-Continued to PAGE THREE owner of Taste of the South footage, not so much be-
food truck in Heppner, their cause of the value of the
¿UVW EUHDNLQ RFFXUUHG RQ stolen items, but because
Saturday night, May 19th. the act of theft itself was
Dan mentioned that the unsettling.
Dan expressed grat-
perpetrator likely entered
for those in attendance.
itude
towards the com-
through
a
small
window,
Let us come together
munity,
highlighting their
indicating
that
it
must
have
as a community to honor
support
and concern in
been
someone
of
small
our veterans, remember the
responding
to the incident.
stature.
The
stolen
items
fallen, and show our grati-
He
and
his
partner, Deb,
included
a
portable
speaker
tude for their service and
relocated
from
Salem al-
and
cooked
brisket.
VDFUL¿FH:HDUDUHGSRSS\
most
two
years
ago and
Dan
emphasized
that
and contribute to support
appreciate
being
part
of a
as
a
small
business,
they
those who have given so
caring
community.
do
not
keep
much
cash
on
much for our country.
As of now, no further
the truck and encouraged
anyone in need of food to updates on the situation
approach them instead of have been provided.
resorting to theft. He also
Break-in at Taste
of the South Food
Truck in Heppner
Celebrate National Poppy Day May 24th
Celebrate National
Poppy Day by supporting
our veterans and honoring
the fallen! Join us on Fri-
day, May 24th from 9:00
am until 3:00 pm in front
RIWKH+HSSQHUSRVWR൶FH
where we will be selling
beautiful red poppies.
Poppy Day is recog-
nized and celebrated in
countries all over the world.
In the United States, the
American Legion Family
initiated National Poppy
Day® by urging Congress
to designate the Friday be-
fore Memorial Day as a day
to honor our fallen heroes.
By wearing a red poppy
on the Friday before Memo-
rial Day, we pay tribute to
The names of fallen veterans in front of the Ione legion Hall
- Contributed Photo
those who have served our
country and express our
support for the brave men
and women who have worn
our nation’s uniform.
The red poppy has long
EHHQDV\PERORIVDFUL¿FH
and remembrance, worn by
$PHULFDQVVLQFH:RUOG:DU
I. It serves as a powerful re-
minder of the immense sac-
UL¿FHVPDGHE\RXUYHWHUDQV
in defense of our freedoms.
Led by the American
Legion Auxiliary, members
of The American Legion
Family distribute poppies
HDFK \HDU:LWK HDFK SRS-
py, we kindly request a
donation to support the
future needs of veterans,
active-duty military person-
nel, and their families, par-
ticularly in terms of medical
DQG¿QDQFLDOVXSSRUW
Additionally, on May
27th, there will be a memo-
rial service at Ione Legion
Hall at 10:00 am. During
this event, the names of the
Morrow County service
men and women who have
GLHGZLOOEHUHDGDORXG:H
invite everyone to attend
this solemn ceremony and
R൵HUGRXJKQXWVDQGFR൵HH
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information