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VOL. 144
NO. 34 8 Pages
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Ambulance service
agreement finalized
Kinzua Circuit Court site hits $1.5 million ground
fill roadblock and looming contamination worries
Judge Hill advocates for Boardman annex in official letter
By Annalynn Black
The August 21 st BOC
meeting kicked off with
Tamra Mabbott, the MC
Planning Director, dis-
cussing the importance of
updating the Natural Haz-
ard Mitigation plan every
five years. Failure to do so
would render the county in-
eligible for natural disaster
funds. Mabbott noted that
once the board approves the
plan, a notice will be sent to
the cities, giving them the
option to adopt it as stand-
alone entities. However,
during the discussion, some
concerns were raised by the
commissioners.
Wenholz voiced his
confusion regarding the
mention of renewable ener-
gy in relation to hazard mit-
igation in Morrow County.
One sentence of the plan
stated that the county is
dedicated to sustainability
through harnessing wind
and solar energy to create a
cleaner community. Wen-
holz questioned the rele-
vance of this statement and
compared it to the section
on data centers, which de-
scribed their existence in ar-
eas with chronic droughts,
sounding somewhat nega-
tive in his opinion. “One is
really rosy, and one is kind
of downbeat when reading
this,” Wenholz remarked.
Commissioner Sykes
supported Wenholz’s ob-
servation, agreeing that
some of the adjectives used
in the plan, such as “the
government offers extreme-
ly valuable tax breaks,”
seemed subjective and
questionable, “that’s the
best subjective call I’ve
heard” Sykes said.
Wenholz further raised
concerns about the claim
that data centers use exces-
sive amounts of water that
could otherwise be used for
farming. According to him,
this statement is incorrect,
as the water used to cool
down servers is repurposed
for irrigation purposes. “It’s
not factually correct, be-
sides one is really rosy, and
one is really downbeat,”
he stated. Commissioner
Drago expressed agreement
with Wenholz’s point.
In response to the is-
sues raised by the commis-
sioners, the board request-
ed Mabbott to reword the
problematic sections in the
plan. They agreed to review
the revisions in the next
meeting.
County Administrator
Matt Jensen delivered an
update on the ASA advi-
sory. Jensen explains that
this committee will play a
significant role in advising
on various matters on a
quarterly basis. Addition-
ally, they will act as the
frontline reviewers when
it comes to addressing any
jurisdictional conflicts or
issues within the ASA,
making them crucial for
efficient functioning.
Jensen revealed that
the committee has been
entrusted by the OHA (Or-
egon Health Authority)
to review response times
of the ambulance service.
While the current shortest
response time stands at 20
minutes, the OHA believes
that this duration should
be reduced. Jensen fur-
ther emphasized that the
newly formed committee
will effectively address this
concern.
The committee’s struc-
ture involves the partic-
ipation of two specific
representatives from the
county. Robin Kennedy,
the Morrow County direc-
tor of Public Health, has
been appointed as the chair.
However, it is worth noting
that a representative from
the MC Health District is
yet to be designated.
Alongside these rep-
resentatives, several other
members have been se-
lected to bring diverse per-
spectives to the commit-
tee. From Boardman Fire,
George A, Paul Martin, the
director of EMS services at
PMH, will serve as desig-
nees from Pioneer Memori-
al Hospital. The committee
also includes Judy Gabriele
as the designee from Good
Shepherd Hospital.
The remaining mem-
bers comprise represen-
tatives from different fire
districts, ensuring that first
responders with firsthand
knowledge of the field par-
ticipate in important dis-
cussions. Thomas Roberts
from Irrigon Rural Fire
Protection District, Tamra
Beardsley from Board-
man Fire Rescue District,
Eric Chick from Heppner
Rural Fire District, Adam
McCabe from Ione Rural
Fire Protection District,
and Josie Miles from the
Lexington Volunteer Fire
Department.
The motion was passed
by the board to approve the
committee picks.
Moving onto an update
from Project Manager Doug
Carl on the Kinzua Mill
site, a potential site for the
new Circuit Court Building.
Doug revealed that there
is a substantial amount
of ground that needs to
be filled, estimated to be
16 thousand cubic yards,
costing an additional 1.5
million, according to Doug.
He mentioned that there are
suspicions of potential soil
leeching, and borings are
proposed to verify this data.
Doug further emphasized
that if the soil is contami-
nated, it will require storing
elsewhere, incurring addi-
tional expenses.
Commissioner Drago
expressed his concerns by
stating that he is “highly
concerned with continuing”
with the current site. Com-
missioner Wenholz echoed
this sentiment, adding that
the site has already created
complications, and moving
forward, these issues may
intensify. “It’s not gonna get
better; it’s gonna get worse
at best,” Drago emphasized.
Jensen received a letter
from Judge Hill, which
presented an alternative
proposal for a court annex
building. County Admin-
istrator Matt Jensen eluci-
dated the letter’s contents,
explaining that Judge Hill
recommends a court annex
in Boardman. According
to Judge Hill, this loca-
tion would cover 80% of
civil and 90% of criminal
cases in the north end of
the county. Jensen made it
clear that Judge Hill is not
demanding the circuit court
to be located in Boardman.
The administrator also as-
sured that the letter would
be made available on the
county’s website for public
view.
District Attorney Justin
Nelson shared his thoughts
saying that the letter sent
by the county council re-
garding the statute require-
ments was commendable.
He appreciated that the
letter supported the notion
that the courts should be in
Heppner, despite a previous
conversation that seemed to
suggest otherwise.
Nelson also brought up
an important consideration
regarding the expansion of
the courthouse. He stated
that he was unsure about the
extent of services they were
Morrow County Administrator Mathew Jensen (L), and
Morrow County Commissioner David Sykes (R) signing the
new Ambulance Service Area plan. -Photo from the Morrow
County Website.
Morrow County an-
nounced that all three ambu-
lance provider agreements
under the new Ambulance
Service Plan have been
finalized. Contracts with
Morrow County Health
District were signed on
August 23, 2024, to pro-
vide ambulance services in
the Southern area starting
September 6, and in the
Northeast (Irrigon) area
starting September 20. The
Northern Area (Boardman)
was previously awarded
to Boardman Fire Rescue
District, which has been the
full-time provider in that
area since July 17, 2024.
Each agreement has a five-
year term.
Board of Commission-
er Chair David Sykes ac-
knowledged the lengthy
process leading to the final-
ization of these agreements
and expressed appreciation
-Continued to PAGE SIX
Father Condon Memorial
Golf Tournament
The attendants and players at the ‘Father Condon Memorial
Gold Tournament’. -Photo from Kay Proctor
Participants in the an-
nual Father Condon Me-
morial Golf Tournament
enjoyed nice weather and
a huge breakfast buffet this
past Saturday while rais-
ing scholarship funds for
local students. Organized
by Mark McElligott and
originated by Jim Swanson,
the scramble begins with a
whiskey toast and a prayer
for Father Condon, and
-Continued to PAGE THREE
Flowers on Main Street
-Continued to PAGE SIX
Heppner Daycare calls on community to find location
for new facility
Heppner, OR- The
Heppner Daycare Expan-
sion Subcommittee is ap-
pealing to the local com-
munity for assistance in
identifying and securing a
suitable location for a new
and expanded childcare
center. After more than a
year of diligent searching,
the Subcommittee is now
calling on residents, land-
owners, and stakeholders
to help meet the critical
need for enhanced childcare
services in the area.
The planned facility
will significantly expand
care options for infants,
toddlers, preschoolers,
and children requiring af-
ter-school care. The current
daycare facility, located on
Gale Street in Heppner, is
no longer adequate to meet
the increasing demand,
particularly for infant and
toddler care. The lack of
available slots has become
a pressing issue for many
families in the community,
driving the urgency of the
Subcommittee’s search for
a new location.
Board Chair Katie
Murray highlighted the
importance of acting swift-
ly, given the financial and
temporal constraints tied to
the project. “We have time
constraints on spending the
grant funds we have already
secured, and deadlines for
additional essential funding
for this project. If we do not
acquire property, we look
at potentially delaying this
project several years,” Mur-
ray stated. “This is a crucial
juncture for us. We are in an
excellent position right now
to have the childcare facili-
ty this community deserves,
but we need to take this
critical next step to make
it happen. It truly takes a
village, and we are asking
ours to come together to
accomplish this.”
The urgency stems
from the need to secure a
property that can accom-
modate the necessary ex-
pansion while adhering to
the specific requirements
set forth by the grants and
funding bodies. The new
facility is envisioned to
provide a minimum foot-
print of approximately 0.3
acres. The Subcommittee is
flexible in negotiating with
potential landowners and
is committed to finding a
solution that benefits both
the seller and the commu-
nity at large.
Beyond simply ex-
panding the physical space,
the new facility is expected
to play a transformative
role in the community by
enhancing the quality of
early childhood education
and care. Heppner Day
Care has established it-
self as a family-focused,
high-quality licensed, and
certified center, dedicated
to nurturing the social-emo-
tional and physical growth
of children. This foundation
is seen as vital for fostering
future academic success
and building strong self-es-
teem in the community’s
youngest members.
The expanded daycare
center will not only provide
more slots for infants and
toddlers but will also intro-
duce new programs aimed
at enriching the lives of
preschoolers and offering
much-needed after-school
care for working parents.
The Subcommittee believes
that the new facility will
serve as a cornerstone for
the community’s future,
helping to meet the evolv-
ing needs of Heppner fam-
ilies.
Murray also empha-
sized the broader impact of
the project, noting that the
expanded daycare center
would support the eco-
nomic growth of Heppner
by enabling more parents
to participate in the work-
force. The availability of
Flowers hung up outsie of the local Bank of Eastern Oregon
(L), and hung up outside of the local food pod (R). -Photos by
Cindi Doherty.
During the spring
and summer months, the
Heppner public works de-
partment puts up beautiful
flowers around town. The
flowers line both sides of
Main St., creating a vibrant
and colorful display for
residents and visitors to
-Continued to PAGE SIX enjoy. These yearly flower
arrangements add charm
and a touch of natural beau-
ty to the town, enhancing
the overall aesthetic appeal
of Heppner. Whether you’re
strolling through town or
driving along Main St., you
can’t help but notice and ap-
preciate the vibrant blooms
that adorn the streets.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information