Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 24, 2024 -- SEVEN
County, health district still negotiating ASA plan Fatal crash in
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contracts hammered out.
“I know that there’s
some haggling going on,”
he added, “but that’s got to
be set aside. We’re here to
serve people.”
Jensen said the county’s
intent is still to proceed with
the award as announced on
July 3.
Morrow County Com-
missioner Jeff Wenholz
questioned whether the
IGA aspect of the health
district’s contract would
preclude any of the cities
from working with other
entities if they chose, as
well as whether certain lan-
guage about mental health
services would negatively
impact the county’s rela-
tionship with Communi-
ty Counseling Solutions
(CCS).
“We do partner with
Community Counseling
Solutions. We have a long,
successful relationship with
them,” Wenholz said.
Jensen said one of the
municipalities had reached
out with similar concerns
about exclusivity, and that
was one thing that still
needed to be worked out.
“My approach on this is
that it’s not an exclusivity
contract,” he said. “You
can’t constrict on that, and
we wouldn’t want to go
that way.
“This is to consolidate
and solidify that we’re go-
ing to be working together
as partners. There’s been a
lot of going back and forth
and strife over the last few
years, and this is a bit of an
olive branch,” he added.
“However, I would be very
willing as we work through
with the municipalities and
with the health district on
finalizing this agreement,
to make sure to avoid ex-
clusivity and to make sure
that it doesn’t preclude
or hamper any successful
agreements that we have
or could have to make sure
Morrow County residents
are doing well.”
Wenholz also asked
what Jensen thought the
health district’s response
would be should Irrigon or
any other community refuse
to sign an IGA.
Jensen said three
meetings already held with
MCHD had been “very
positive,” and the health
district had said they would
be willing to meet with mu-
nicipalities, give a presenta-
tion, and listen to concerns.
“There has been very
direct conversation on a few
items, but overall there’s,
I think, a strong desire to
move forward on this,” said
Jensen.
“This is a starting point
document,” he said. “If
there’s resistance from the
cities, we’ll be asking them,
‘What’s a better way to get
those assurances that you’d
like?’”
The BOC voted to ap-
prove the contract with
Boardman Fire Rescue
District for the Northern
Ambulance Service Area
(Boardman area).
The commissioners
also approved a draft inter-
governmental agreement
for the Morrow County
Health District contract and
authorized Jensen to take it
to the county’s five munic-
ipalities for consideration.
Both steps were ap-
proved 2-0 by Wenholz
and Morrow County BOC
Chair David Sykes. Mor-
row County Commissioner
Roy Drago was not present
due to a planned absence.
Other Business
In other business, Jen-
sen reported that the ge-
otechnical survey on the
proposed circuit court site
at the old Kinzua Mill site
was complete and the coun-
ty is waiting for that report.
Jensen said he expected the
report within a week.
The environmental
survey on the same site is
underway, he said, but the
county is still gathering
information in cooperation
with the Port of Morrow.
Jensen said he hopes to
have both surveys wrapped
up by the end of the month.
The board of commis-
sioners also approved two
road use and maintenance
agreements for major proj-
ects in Morrow County.
The first was with Idaho
Power for its 290-mile,
single-circuit transmission
line, commonly known as
Boardman to Hemingway,
or B2H.
“The agreement will
help maintain the safety
of the motoring public and
road integrity during their
construction project,” Mor-
row County Public Works
Director Eric Imes told the
commissioners.
The B2H line has been
years in the making and has
faced vocal opposition by
Morrow County residents,
most of which has fallen on
deaf ears at the state level.
Both Imes and Mor-
row County Counsel Justin
Nelson pointed out that the
road use agreement was
not a stamp of approval
from the county, but only
a recognition that county
roads will be impacted
when Idaho Power begins
work on B2H.
“We don’t have the
ability to say, “Heck, no,
we don’t want this,’” said
Nelson, adding that it is up
to the county to try to figure
out how to work with the
project now that it has been
approved by state agencies.
At the same time, Imes
said there is still much
planning to do before B2H
breaks ground.
The second agreement
was with Tower Solar. The
solar project will be near
Boardman Airport and will
use a small section of coun-
ty road, only about half a
mile on Tower Road, Imes
said.
Justice of the Peace
Glen Diehl said high driv-
ing speeds are still a con-
cern; the highest speed
ticket since his last report
was 118 mph, he said.
“We are seeing our
speeds slowly coming
down again,” Diehl said,
but added that he had just
signed a suspension for
a driver going more than
100 mph.
For good news, he said
the county’s efforts to help
get unlicensed drivers li-
censed and insured is gain-
ing ground, with 27 so far
this year compared to 23 for
all of 2023.
“The program seems to
be working. We’re putting
more licensed, educated
drivers that are able to have
their insurance, therefore
no further victimizing oth-
er people should they be
involved in an accident,”
he said. “So I think it’s a
win-win for our citizens.”
Sykes said he likes the
way Diehl combines help
with penalization.
“I don’t know if most
places do that, but I’m glad
we do,” said Sykes.
Morrow County Juve-
nile Department Director
Christy Kenny reported
that the department has
been working with LEAP
(Leveraging Evidence to
Activate Parents), which
uses an evidence-based ap-
proach and involves parents
in their children’s behavior.
She said what they’re
finding is that a lot of par-
ents lack either the skills
or the patience to deal with
their children’s behaviors.
“It’s a great program to
hopefully get these parents
more involved,” she said.
“Hopefully this will pro-
duce some evidence-based
proof that this is something
that is working. It’s an in-
teresting study, but we’re
going to be utilizing that
as part of our tools in our
toolbox when we work
with these kids and families
moving forward.”
Kenny also reported
that they had received 12
youth referrals for the quar-
ter—one violation, 10 mis-
demeanors and one felony.
Sykes asked if the de-
partment is seeing any con-
cerning changes or spikes
in youth behavior. Kenny
replied that bad behavior
always increases toward the
end of the school year. This
year, they saw an increase
in youth misdemeanors
toward the end of May and
beginning of June. She said
there had been an influx of
sex cases about a year ago,
but that was unusual.
“It’s still staying fairly
consistent with, I would
say, our trends,” she said.
Morrow County Fair
Secretary Sues Gibbs told
the commissioners that fair
planning is nearly com-
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A prayer vigil for the
fires in Heppner, Oregon
will be held at the Catho-
lic Church Parish Hall on
Thursday, 25th at 6:30 pm.
Organized by Stuart Dick,
there will be updates from
fire officials and informa-
tion on how to support
firefighters. Contact Stuart
Dick at (541) 377-5451 for
questions.
plete. She said the fair will
have two professional art-
ists coming in to teach
and present thanks to art
coalition funding. There
will also be a wellness room
with a cooling station, first
aid and a decompression
area for children or adults.
She also said Avian Flu
is a small concern this year,
and the county has met with
the state vet and is taking
steps to keep fairgoers and
animals safe.
Gibbs also reported
that she is working with the
SAGE Center to have an ex-
hibit drop-off point so res-
idents at the north end can
enter items without having
to drive to Heppner. The
Loop is also working on
transportation between the
north end and fair during
that week.
There were no emer-
gency management or
sheriff’s reports due to ac-
tivity on the Lone Rock
Fire. Jensen said he has
been in close communica-
tion with Morrow County
Emergency Manager Steve
Freeland, who has been in
contact with the Oregon
State Fire Marshal and oth-
er resources. He said they
were working on a system
to provide regular updates
to the public.
At the time of the meet-
ing, both the Morrow Coun-
ty OHV Park and Anson
Wright Park were closed
due to evacuation levels.
Meanwhile, the county is
opening the fairgrounds as
a staging ground for fire-
fighters.
Wenholz reported that
he visited Finley Buttes
landfill and learned that
the life expectancy of the
landfill is around 200 years,
with a finished height of
1,310 feet.
The landfill is still gen-
erating power from meth-
ane gas, but Wenholz said
the company is looking
to convert to a system of
scrubbers and filters for the
methane gas so it can be
used as renewable natural
gas in the pipeline.
At the end of the meet-
ing, the board of commis-
sioners held two back-to-
back executive sessions.
One was to conduct delib-
erations to negotiate real
property transactions. The
other was to consult with
counsel concerning the
legal rights and duties of a
public body with regard to
current litigation or litiga-
tion likely to be filed.
At the end of executive
session, the board of com-
missioners voted to autho-
rize Jensen and the Morrow
County Weed Department
to continue negotiations
to find a short-term lease
for Morrow County Weed
Department and equip-
ment based on space and
environmental leads for
the Morrow County Weed
Department.
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Morrow County
Morrow County, Ore.
19 July 24- On Friday,
July 19, 2024, at 3:10
p.m., Oregon State Police
responded to a two-vehicle
crash on Hwy-730, near
milepost 173, in Morrow
County,
The preliminary inves-
tigation indicated a west-
bound Jeep Wrangler, op-
erated by Anthony Daulton
(41) of Las Vegas (NV),
crossed into the eastbound
lane for unknown reasons
and struck an eastbound
Nissan King Cab pick-
up, operated by Abraham
Figuerou-Ayala (51) of
Umatilla, head-on.
The operator of the
Nissan (Figuerou-Ayala)
and passenger, a male ju-
venile, were declared de-
ceased at the scene.
The operator of the
Jeep (Daulton) and passen-
ger, Clarissa Ann Daulton
(41) of Las Vegas (NV),
suffered reported serious in-
juries and were transported
to a local hospital.
The highway was im-
pacted for approximately
five hours during the on-
scene investigation. The
cause of the crash is under
investigation.
OSP was assisted by
Boardman Fire, Irrigon
Fire, Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Office, and ODOT.
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