Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 24, 2024 -- THREE
Heppner City Council
discusses water
treatment and IT
service agreement
By Annalynn Black
In the Heppner city
council meeting on July 8 th
City Manager John Doherty
reports that Anderson Perry
and himself recently had a
phone meeting with Dane
Maben, as presumed con-
sultant, to discuss sched-
ules for WSMP and waste-
water plans. One of the
main topics discussed was
the trickling filter, specifi-
cally the removal of media
and sludge and the potential
replacement of small equip-
ment. According to Dane
Maben, replacing the filter
could effectively decrease
the amount of pneumonia
present in the water that
flows into willow creek.
Additionally, there have
been discussions about the
implementation of a bio
reactor, a chemical process
that can remove pneumonia
from the water completely.
A three-year agreement
has been discussed between
the city of Hermiston and
Heppner for the provision
of IT services. During a
discussion, Council mem-
ber Adam Doherty raised
a concern about whether
overtime charges would
apply for work exceeding
the contracted 8 hours. John
Doherty suggested that if
the actual hours worked
exceeded the agreed limit,
they could revisit and rene-
gotiate the hourly terms at
the end of the year. Adam
noted the absence of any
specific language or policy
regarding the charges in the
intergovernmental agree-
ment. Adam expressed ap-
prehension about potential
delays in service. In re-
sponse, John assured Adam
that most issues could be
resolved remotely, saying
““ Unless there is some-
thing physical with the
server going down it can be
done logging in {remotely
from a computer” Adam
interrupted saying, “I would
argue that that’s not the
case, just because there are
things that they need to ger
their hands on, if we cannot
report what’s going on then
they cannot properly assess
the situation, not saying you
cant report it- my concern
is that’s 8 hours, that sit.”
John replied that the cur-
rent payment arrangement
was within the ballpark of
their expectations, Adam
then cuts off John again
saying, “I don’t really com-
pare those apples to apples
cause’ you just got done
saying they are not worth
a darn-” John emphasized
the positive feedback re-
ceived from others who
have interacted with the IT
service provider. Council
member Cody High then
inquired about the cost of
the contract, to which John
stated it would be $960 per
month assuming the full
utilization of the allotted
8 hours. Adam expressed
his desire to avoid any un-
expected additional costs
if they exceed the agreed
8-hour limit.
John says that the rea-
son why this company’s
prices are lower than the
competition is because they
are not a private company.
He states, “they’re not out
there to make a profit off
it-” However, Adam inter-
rupts and adds, “they’re
not out to lose business-”
Adam then expresses his
uncertainty about the wait
times for services, saying,
“all of a sudden they’re
saying, you know we’ve
been there 25 hours this
month, well get there when
we get there-” Another
council member chimes in,
suggesting that the office
staff doesn’t really need that
much help with IT.
John shares that despite
reaching out, he has never
met the current IT work-
ers in the past 10 months.
Council member Cody asks
if there will be a monthly
report breaking down the
services provided, to which
Adam responds, “it’s all
in the invoice Cody.” He
further adds, “if we have a
poor performer right now
and we have the chance to
switch to someone we have
heard good things about,
and the cost to switch over
is the same as it would be
to go to a private person,
we don’t really lose out by
giving another chance.”
Adam clarifies, “I don’t re-
call saying anything about
the city of Hermiston’s
ability to do their job. I
strictly asked about 8 hours,
which is hardly any hours in
a working month of the IT
world. I just asked if there
was an additional cost on
top of that. I didn’t talk
about how good or bad they
are; it’s a moot point.”
John confirms that they
typically use less than 8
hours per month. Another
council member seeks clari-
fication, asking, “if we only
use 4 hours a month, do we
still get billed for the full 8
hours?” John affirms this.
Adam expresses his
belief that 8 hours is not a
significant amount of time,
particularly if there is a
problem that takes days or
weeks to resolve. Another
council member disagrees,
stating that it is a consid-
erable amount considering
the current level of service
they are paying for.
Ultimately, the motion
to enter into an agreement
with the city of Hermiston
to provide IT services was
passed.
John provided an up-
date on the chip sealing
project. He mentioned that
he, Chad Doherty, and Cory
Sweeny collectively decid-
ed to postpone the project.
Instead, they plan to begin
soliciting bids in January or
February.
In regards to Gale street
alley, John addressed an
issue regarding emergency
services accessing the area.
As a solution, the commit-
tee motioned to authorize
John to accept bids under
$25,000 for resolving this
problem.
Moving on, Council
member Ian Murray shared
an update on the Heppner
Daycare. He announced
that they successfully se-
cured a substantial grant.
The only remaining re-
quirement is acquiring a
new building/property.
To conclude the meet-
ing, the council expressed
congratulations to Chad
Doherty for his recent grad-
uation from BMCC.
Local businesses urged
to decorate for fair
The Heppner Chamber
of Commerce invites local
businesses to show their
“Admiration for Genera-
tions” by decorating their
storefronts for this year’s
Morrow County Fair and
Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo,
August 14 th -18 th . Window
paint, western decor, and
the like are all welcomed
and encouraged! Let’s
help welcome out-of-town
guests to our wonderful
town!
~ Letters to the Editor ~
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the
following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to
have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also
requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you
can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for
verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not
be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible
for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks
will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $15
Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net.
Bye bye
Biden
Just got the news to-
day. Biden is dropping out
of the race. Hmmmm….I
heard tell there were only
three things that would
cause him to change his
mind about staying the
course. One: If someone
convinced him that he
had zero chance of beat-
ing Trump. Two: If he ac-
quired a medical condition.
Three: If he heard from
The Almighty. Well, when
you bring millions of new
“voters” across the border,
“zero chance” is a pretty
hard sell, especially when
the last rigged election was
such a success. And since
he’s had his 14 th COVID
vax, I’m pretty sure he just
had a cold. And finally, I’m
willing to bet that The Al-
mighty has been knocking
on that door a long time….
nobody home. Answer the
door, Joe.
So, I wonder what re-
ally convinced him. Maybe
the FBI threatened to give
him the same DEI Secret
Service protection they
gave Trump. Who knows.
But since actually handing
over the keys to the White
House won’t happen for a
while, all he has to do until
then is convince the world
he is still able to run the
country “as well as ever“
for the next few months,
which should be fairly easy
from his basement. I heard
someone in the news media
mention how great Kama-
la would be as President.
“She’s learned from the
best”, he said. Next thing
I know, I’m shouting at
my car radio “The BEST
at WHAT?!” Flushing our
tax dollars down the toilet?
Opening the Welcome Wag-
on to our enemies? Wreak-
ing havoc on our economy?
Making us a laughingstock
to the rest of the world?
Oh wait….I got it. That’s
it! Who would be a better
choice than Kamala to re-
ceive the Laughingstock
Baton? Makes sense….
Kackler in Chief.
Maybe I sound a lit-
tle bitter. I guess it’s my
mood after witnessing a
preventable assassination
attempt and the sad loss of
a patriot, father, and hero.
Am I surprised by the at-
tempt on Trump’s life? No.
I unfortunately figured it
was coming. And the more
I learn of the events that
led up to it, the more I’m
convinced it was a planned
“incident” by the corrupt
powermongers. Also, not a
surprise. If this were any-
one but Trump, it would
have been a different scene
altogether. But expecting
anyone to believe this was
just a series of unfortunate
events aka ineptness, is an
insult. The big question is
why? Are they really that
scared? Do they actually
believe the “Nazi, Democ-
racy-destroyer” rhetoric
they’ve been spewing? Not
a bit. They just know a
Trump presidency would
make it impossible for them
to continue their control and
carry out their Anti-Ameri-
can agenda. They liked their
puppet.
But here’s the good
part. Just when they thought
they had him, God stepped
in. A bullet meant for his
brain simply pierces his ear
because he “happened” to
move his head a tad? Well,
if you can’t see a miracle in
this, you’re not looking. As
they say….God had other
plans. I’ve heard many say
that Donald Trump is differ-
ent now. It seems that we’re
seeing a more subdued,
more humbled man. I hope
the change in him involves
a heart that’s turned to Je-
sus for forgiveness, mercy,
wisdom, and is ready to
submit to God’s plan for his
life, and for the country he
loves. I pray for that.
“A man’s heart plans
his way, But the LORD
directs his steps.” Proverbs
16:9
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-Continued from PAGE ONE “I am very pleased with
For Jeff Wenholz:
Yes: 737
No: 1465*
Over Votes: 1
Under Votes: 9
Total: 2212
For David Sykes:
Yes: 697
No: 1504*
Over Votes: 1
Under Votes: 10
Total: 2212
Statements from the
Commissioners:
Roy Drago Jr., Morrow
County Commissioner:
“I would like to thank the
people of Morrow County.
It gave me hope and trust in
the process. I am glad it is
over. When asked how he
handled the recall, Roy said
that he tried to focus on the
work of the county.”
Jeff Wenholz, Morrow
County Commissioner: “I
am glad it is over. We can
get back to focusing on the
business of the county.”
David Sykes, Morrow
County Commissioner:
the outcome of this elec-
tion. The people have spo-
ken. Morrow County has
a bright future, and I hope
now we all come together
to build a great place for
ourselves and our children.”
Roy Drago Jr. is up
for re-election in Novem-
ber. He was appointed to
serve the remainder of Jim
Doherty’s term following
Doherty’s recall.
Taken from the Mor-
row County Citizens for
Liberty and Justice, Stuart
Dick wrote this, “Here are
the results of the recall. I
want to thank all who toiled
to give the citizens a vote.
The voters have spoken,
and we will accept this deci-
sive decision for the current
BOC. I will close down the
Morrow County Citizens
for liberty and Justice web
page. This is not the result
we hoped for, but we will
abide with the decision
and support the vote of the
people.”
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