50¢
VOL. 144
NO. 26 8 Pages
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
BM Juniors softball team
wins D3 tournament
Vandenbrinks honored as Grand Marshals in Iones 4th
of July Parade
John and Janna Van-
denbrinks were bestowed
with the title of Grand Mar-
shals for the much-antic-
ipated Ione 4th of July
annual parade. For over two
decades, they have resided
in the Ione area, tirelessly
operating JVB Dairy, a vital
source of milk for Dairgold.
The inspiring journey
of John and Janna com-
menced in Chino, CA,
where fate brought them
together, leading to their
union 47 years ago. Both
hailed from families deep-
ly ingrained in the dairy
farming industry, yet faced
adversity when corporate
competition spelled the
demise of John’s father’s
business in the 70s. Nev-
ertheless, undeterred by John and Janna Vanderbrink and their grandson Henry.
this setback, John stead- -Photo contibuted
fastly pursued his passion
and took over the family
business, acquiring Jana’s
father’s dairy herd and re-
locating to Ione, OR, where
JVB Dairy was born.
Together, the Vanden-
brinks proudly nurture a
beautiful family tapestry,
with four children and sev-
en grandchildren. Their son,
Jonathan, actively manages
and works at the dairy farm,
paving a path for him to
eventually assume the reins
in the distant future, keep-
ing their family business
alive.
John, filled with deep
gratitude, expresses his
heartfelt appreciation to the
town of Ione for honoring
him and his wife Janna
saying, “[I] love the people,
[I’m] very honored to be
asked, and I hope everyone
has a great 4 th of July!”
(The D3 Juniors 13-15 team posing with the winning banner,
Heppner girls Haven Grey, Isa Payne, Cici Stefani, and
Avree Lathrop.) -Photo contributed
The impressive Blue
Mountain Junior Softball
team, aged 13-15 years,
emerged victorious as the
champions of this year’s
District 3 softball tour-
nament. They have now
earned the well-deserved
opportunity to showcase
their talent at the state level
-Continued to PAGE THREE
Wicklund retires from Murrays
Oregon Ethics Commission settles conflicts
of interest claims against former Port of
Morrow Officials
By Chris Sykes
The Oregon Ethics
Commission held a meeting
on Friday, June 28, 2024, to
address conflicts of interest
claims against former Port
of Morrow officials Marvin
Padberg, Don Russell, and
Jerry Healy. The investi-
gation began in 2022 and
involved their actions relat-
ed to Windwave Technolo-
gies, a company installing
fiber-optic lines. There is
also currently an ongoing
DOJ investigation into the
purchase of Windwave.
Meeting Highlights:
Vice Chair David Fi-
skum questioned Susan
Myers, Executive Director
of the Oregon Government
Ethics Commission, on how
penalties were determined.
Myers explained that she
used a matrix, considering
the number of violations
and their frequency. She
applied the maximum fi-
nancial benefit due to the
contract’s significant value,
recommending penalties of
20%-40% of the maximum
allowed, with a recom-
mended penalty of 20% of
$10,000.
Fiskum inquired about
the ‘reservation of rights.’
Myers clarified that the
individuals involved might
face other investigations
or litigation. They agreed
to settle the cases before
the commission through a
stipulation, reserving their
rights for any future cases.
Fiskum asked about the
ongoing investigation and
whether the commission
should proceed pending the
results of the Department
of Justice (DOJ) investiga-
tion. Myers responded that
the DOJ investigation is
not criminal and does not
overlap with the commis-
sion’s jurisdiction, thus not
necessitating a suspension
of their proceedings.
Ethics Commission-
er Dan Mason expressed
discomfort with voting on
a negotiated penalty while
another investigation is
still ongoing, finding it
inappropriate to agree to a
$2,000 penalty in light of
the new information. Myers
clarified that the DOJ inves-
Longtime Murrays employee Shannon Maben Wicklund
posing with her flowers and baloons in the Murrays
Pharmacy. -Photo from the Murrays Pharmacy Facebook.
Marvin Padberg
tigation pertains to actions
outside the commission’s
jurisdiction and timeframe,
emphasizing that the two
cases are separate.
Settlement Details:
Marvin Padberg:
Ownership: Became an
owner of Windwave Tech-
nologies in mid-2018.
CREZ Board: Served
on the Columbia River
Enterprise Zone (CREZ)
II and III Boards, negoti-
ating multiple deals with
Amazon.
Amazon Contracts:
Amazon contracted Wind-
wave Technologies at least
20 times to install fiber-op-
tic lines to its data centers
in Morrow County, with
14 contracts during the
relevant period.
Conflicts of Interest:
The Ethics Commission
found that Padberg failed to
announce potential conflicts
of interest during three key
meetings:
Two executive sessions
on August 11, 2021, and
November 10, 2021, dis-
cussing the sale of Port
property to Amazon and
infrastructure development.
An executive session
on December 21, 2021,
discussing Amazon devel-
opments and Windwave
lease/purchase options.
A public meeting on
December 12, 2018, where
the Port Board approved
Amazon enterprise zone
agreements.
Padberg later made
public announcements of
conflicts in meetings on
May 13, 2020, June 29,
2020, and December 21,
2021.
Settlement: Agreed to
pay a $2,000 civil penalty,
with the Commission re-
Don Russell
Jerry Healy
leasing all claims against
him. Padberg did not admit
wrongdoing but settled to
avoid further legal costs.
Don Russell:
Ownership: Became
an owner of Windwave
Technologies in mid-2018
while serving as a Morrow
County Commissioner.
CREZ Board: Served
as one of the County’s rep-
resentatives on the CREZ
Board of Directors and as
the President of the CREZ
Board of Directors from
September 13, 2018, to
January 2, 2023.
The CREZ Board ne-
gotiated multiple enterprise
zone agreements with Am-
azon, facilitating the con-
struction of data centers that
required fiber-optic lines,
thus creating business op-
portunities for Windwave.
Amazon Contracts:
Amazon contracted Wind-
wave Technologies at least
20 times, with 14 contracts
during the relevant period.
Conflicts of Interest:
The Ethics Commission
found that Russell failed
to publicly announce con-
flicts of interest during two
CREZ Board executive
sessions on December 3 and
December 12, 2018.
He also failed to dis-
close conflicts of interest
in 5 out of 31 Board of
Commissioners meetings
where issues related to Am-
azon and Windwave were
discussed.
Russell began making
public announcements of
conflicts of interest after
seeking advice from the
Commission in December
2019.
Settlement: Agreed to
pay a $2,000 civil penalty,
with the Commission re-
leasing all claims against
him. Russell did not admit
to any wrongdoing but
agreed to settle to avoid
further legal costs.
Jerry Healy:
Ownership: Became an
owner of Windwave Tech-
nologies in mid-2018.
CREZ Board: Served
on the CREZ II Board from
September 13, 2018, to
January 15, 2020, and as
an alternate member of
the CREZ III Board from
March 10, 2021, to Septem-
ber 13, 2022.
Amazon Contracts:
Amazon contracted Wind-
wave Technologies at least
20 times, with 14 contracts
during the relevant period.
Conflicts of Interest:
The Ethics Commission
found that Healy failed to
announce potential conflicts
of interest in key meetings:
Two executive sessions
on December 3 and Decem-
ber 12, 2018, discussing
Amazon agreements.
Two executive sessions
on August 11 and Novem-
-Continued to PAGE SIX
Murrays Heppner
Pharmacy- After 23 years,
our lovely Shannon Maben
Wicklund is retiring! What
an accomplishment!! We
have been so blessed to
have her alongside us for
so many years. She will
be greatly missed! We ap-
preciate you, Shannon! We
already miss you! Happy
Retirement!
Heppner TSA attends
National Conference
L-R Rylee Palmer, Lily Nichols, Delilah Sauceda, Lizzie
Finch. -Photo contributed
The Heppner High
School Chapter of the Tech-
nology Student Association
(TSA) traveled to Orlando
FL to attend the National
TSA Conference. TSA
State President Rylee Palm-
er along with State Officers
Delilah Sauceda, Lily Nich-
ols and Lizzie Finch com-
peted in Technology Bowl,
Audio Podcasting, Board
Game Design and Tech-
nology Problem Solving.
They placed 10th in Audio
Podcasting and Rylee and
-Continued to PAGE THREE
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541-989-8221
ext 204
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information