Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 17, 2024 -- SEVEN
Wildbill running for State
Morrow County Rural
Senate District 29 non affiliated Transportation Equity Project
Prepares for Columbia River swim
to highlight nitrate contamination in
Lower Umatilla Basin
Tania Wildbill
Tania Wildbill is run-
ning for Oregon State Sen-
ate District 29 as a non-
affiliated candidate and is
not taking donations for her
campaign. She is training
for a swim across a portion
of the Columbia River to
raise awareness about ni-
trate issues in the Lower
Umatilla Basin Ground-
water Management Area.
A resident of Pendleton,
Oregon, Tania was born and
raised in New York. She
attended Spence School,
La Guardia High School
of the Arts, and Columbia
University Graduate School
of Journalism.
Tania worked as a re-
porter, producer, and anchor
for media outlets includ-
ing Rice Thresher, KASE/
KVET Radio, Texas As-
sociated Press Radio, and
KCUW Radio. She also
worked for CNN and The
International Herald Tri-
bune in Paris, France, cov-
ering major political events
like the 1992 Democratic
National Convention in
New York City and the
1992 Republican National
Convention in Houston,
Texas.
Tania’s fundraising
and grant writing efforts
resulted in acquiring 9.5
million dollars in federal,
state, and private funds.
She secured a $350,000
grant from the Oregon De-
partment of Education to
establish the Nixyáawii
Community School on the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion in Pendleton, Oregon.
In filmmaking, Tania
co-wrote, produced, and
directed the documenta-
ry “American Cowboys,”
about the 1911 Pendleton
Round-Up, which gained
recognition at film festivals
and was broadcast on PBS
affiliates across the United
States.
Tania established the
Yoga Round-Up, the first
yoga festival in Oregon,
and opened Wellness Wave,
LLC, a retreat destination
and studio. She received
the National Indian Health
Board Award for Local
Area Impact.
Tania hosts the week-
ly radio show “Wellness
Works” on KCUW Ra-
dio, focusing on healthy
lifestyle success stories
from tribal members of
the Confederated Tribes of
The Umatilla Indian Res-
ervation, earning her the
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center’s “Creativity and
Innovation Award.”
Oregon State Senate
District 29 comprises all of
Gilliam, Morrow, Sherman,
Umatilla, Union, Wallowa,
and Wheeler counties.
Morrow County Fair
quilting competition
Cara Osmin with her bargello quilt that won the 2023 Morrow
County Fair. - Contributed Photo
Quilting has taken Ameri-
ca by storm, and Morrow
County residents are a
part of that growing inter-
est. From the north to the
south, Morrow County has
numerous talented quilters
who create works of art
which vary from pothold-
ers to king-size quilts.
The Morrow
County Fair offers oppor-
tunities for all quilters, with
categories for beginner
quilters and accomplished
quilters alike. There are
classes for youth, adults,
professionals, 70 and over,
and the physically chal-
lenged. The entries may be
hand-quilted, tied, or ma-
chine-quilted. They may be
creations that come from
a kit, use a panel, or are
the individual works that
have garnered admiration
through the generations, as
the Fair theme proclaims.
Quilting Depart-
ment Superintendents,
Cara Osmin and Babette
Wall, both accomplished
quilters, welcome all quil-
ters to bring their fabric art
to share. They are pleased
to announce three special
prizes to encourage entries.
A $25 award will be given
to the winner of the Judge’s
Choice entry. The win-
ner of the People’s Choice
Award will receive a special
gift, and the creator of the
Grand Champion Quilt will
receive a gift basket from
Mama Bear’s Quilt Shop in
Stanfield.
Babette says,
“Quilters are incredible
kindred spirits. We are pos-
sessed with cutting up per-
fectly good fabric into tiny
pieces and then sewing it
back together. As your Quilt
Division Superintendents,
Cara and I are excited to see
all the wonderful creations
of our fellow band of quil-
ters.”
Awarded for Excellence
HEPPNER – Oregon’s
statewide advisory commit-
tee on equitable community
engagement, the Commu-
nity Involvement Advisory
Committee (CIAC), has
awarded the Most Out-
standing Project – Small
Jurisdiction: Achievement
in Community Engagement
Award to Morrow County
and its partners who re-
searched and developed
the report, “Rural Trans-
portation Equity in Morrow
County.”
The Achievement in
Community Engagement
or ACE Award recognizes
organizations and indi-
viduals who have actively
promoted and implement-
ed the values of Oregon’s
Statewide Planning Goal
1 through an outstanding
community engagement
strategy. All projects recog-
nized with an ACE Award
make innovative use of re-
sources, build partnerships
across and throughout the
community, and intention-
ally engage historically
marginalized and under-
served communities.
“This project’s goal
was to better understand
the challenges of commu-
nity members who live and
work in Morrow County,”
said Dr. Daniel Paul Cost-
ie, Assistant Professor of
Public Administration at
Eastern Oregon University
(EOU) and lead author of
the report. “The research
team consisted of Morrow
County, Euvalcree, Rural
Engagement and Vitality
Center (REV), and EOU.
Under my supervision, and
with feedback and guidance
from Morrow County and
Euvalcree, two outstanding
students created a survey
which was then distributed
by the research partners.
We then analyzed the data
for key themes, then draft-
ed the report based on the
findings.”
“We submitted our
application for the ACE
Award on behalf of these
community-focused or-
ganizations, because we
felt strongly that they de-
served recognition for this
amazing contribution to
our county,” said Morrow
County Planning Director
Tamra Mabbott. “The level
of engagement we had from
our community was out-
standing. We have learned
so much from this process.”
“The CIAC is thrilled
to recognize Morrow Coun-
ty and their partners with
this award,” shared CIAC
Chair Leah Rausch. “Ru-
ral engagement is a chal-
lenge, and Morrow County
succeeded in ways that
demonstrate an ongoing
commitment to the work.”
In 2023, Morrow Coun-
ty was awarded a grant
through the Oregon Depart-
ment of Land Conservation
and Development (DLCD)
to study ways to engage
traditionally underserved
community members to
identify opportunities to
improve access to tran-
sit. The county planning
department’s vision was
also seeking to learn how
to engage traditionally un-
derserved populations with
planning. DLCD Transit
Planner, Madeline Phillips,
engaged directly with EOU
and REV program staff, set
up a Technical Advisory
Committee comprised of
businesses, special dis-
tricts, and the Confederat-
ed Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation who
provides a free transit ser-
vice throughout the region.
In Spring 2024, Mor-
row County launched a
fixed route bus system in
Boardman that provides
transportation for employ-
ees who work at companies
in and around the Port of
Morrow. The survey results
provided valuable insight
the Planning Department
will also use in the 2024
Heritage rail Plan update.
The CIAC was im-
pressed by the following
project elements:
Using demographics
to understand the audience
and coordination with ex-
isting community-based or-
ganizations to reach them,
Meeting community
members where they were,
Coordination with
Eastern Oregon University
for survey development and
analysis, and
Consideration of and
future aspiration to update
Morrow County’s Goal 1
plan to accommodate less
traditional modalities in
community engagement.
Partners in the project
included Morrow County
Planning Department, East-
ern Oregon University, the
Rural Engagement & Vital-
ity Center, and Euvalcree, a
culturally specific organi-
zation. Each organization
will be recognized with an
ACE Award. The report can
be found at www.revcenter.
org/reports.
The Land Conservation
and Development Com-
mission has committed
to uplifting and celebrat-
ing the values of Oregon’s
Statewide Planning Goal 1
for equitable community
engagement through the
ACE Awards and other
activities. The tenets of the
ACE Award support the
commission’s commitment
to the ongoing improvement
of community engagement
throughout Oregon.
Please direct inqui-
ries to: Matthew Jensen,
County Administrator
mjensen@co.morrow.or.us
(541) 676-2529
WCCC Ladies play day results
There were 6 players
in the ladies’ gameplay at
the Willow Creek Country
Club on July 9 th . The weath-
er was hot and dry. The
results are as follows; Low
Gross of the field was Tif-
fany Clement. The low Net
field was Kris Linder. The
least putts of the field were
Sharon Harrison. Flights-
Low gross was (A) Coral
Mitchell, (B) Betty Carter.
The low net was Karen
Smith Griffith. Chips ins-
Sharon Harrison. Upcom-
ing events: Tuesdays play
begin at 8 am. Please sign
in early on hot days we may
play earlier due to the heat.
SMCSM celebrates
one year anniversary
Jakie Alleman and Jerry Conklin speaking at the
anniversary - Photo by Annalynn Black
Julia Brown
Jodi Seagraves
By Annlynn Black
The South Morrow
County Seniors Matter
(SMCSM) celebrated their
first anniversary at their
weekly ‘Seniors Matter’
luncheon on July 16 th . The
event was attended by many
individuals, including Sher-
iff John Bowels, City Man-
ager John Doherty, Perla
Martinez from the Board-
man Food Pantry, Julia
Brown from Age+, and the
two individuals who run
SMCSM, Jerry Conklin and
Jackie Alleman.
During the celebra-
tion, Sheriff John Bowels
provided an update on the
Lone Rock Fire, keeping
everyone informed about
the ongoing situation.
Jerry Conklin, one of
the organizers of SMCSM,
delivered a heartfelt speech
during the event. He took
the opportunity to express
his gratitude towards the
dedicated volunteers who
contribute their time ev-
ery week. Conklin also
acknowledged the various
organizations that have
provided financial support
to SMCSM. Moreover,
he made sure to thank his
partner, Jackie Alleman,
for her valuable contri-
butions to the cause. Jodi
Seagraves, the lead cook
for the senior luncheon,
also gave a speech thank-
ing everyone who comes
to support SMCSM and
acknowledging her brother
Todd, who passed away,
for donating $3,000 worth
of food before his passing.
Julia Brown from
Age+, a nonprofit organiza-
tion dedicated to enhancing
the lives of seniors, also
gave a speech during the
anniversary celebration.
She recognized the hard
work and dedication of
Jerry Conklin, applauding
his efforts in improving the
lives of senior citizens in
Heppner.
Bombing Range Road
closed due traffic accident
Morrow County Sher-
iff reported that Bombing
Range Road was Closed
Monday MP 10-14 due to
Critical Incident - Oregon
State Police is investigat-
ing a serious motor vehicle
accident (MVA).