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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2024)
50¢ VOL. 144 NO. 46 8 Pages Wednesday, November 20, 2024 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Mustangs overcome Raiders in thrilling quarterfinal, set sights on state championship during Grant’s farewell season The Heppner Mustang football team won their OSAA 2A State Football Playoff Quarterfinal game against the Lost River Raid- ers by the score of 16-12. With the win, the Mus- tangs, who are 11-0 for the season, will move on to the semi-finals where they will face the St. Paul Buckaroos. St. Paul is also 11-0 for the season and is the first-place team from Special District 3. They finished as the fifth ranked team in the OSAA football rankings. The game will be on Saturday, November 23 at 2 pm at Caldera High School in Bend. Heppner kicked off to start the game against Lost River, and the Raiders went on a long drive of running plays that ate up over 8 minutes of the game clock. The Raiders got to the Heppner three-yard line before the Mustang defense stepped up and stopped them from scoring. Heppner took the ball but couldn’t get much yardage and had to punt the ball back to the Raiders. Lost River got the ball near mid- field and went on a 12-play drive that ended in a score. That made it 6-0 in favor of the Raiders early in the second quarter. The Mustangs were three-and-out on their next possession and had to punt the ball back to the Raiders. Another long and time-con- suming drive by Lost River got the ball all the way down to the Mustang 22- yard line. Again, the Hep- pner defense stiffened and stopped the Raiders on downs as the second quarter ended. Lost River controlled the first half of the game, and the Mustangs only were able to run a total of seven plays in the entire Heppner band prepares to boost Mustangs in semifinals clash the Heppner Band practicing in the Greg Grant Stadium. -Photo contributed Heppner, OR – Novem- ber 17, 2024 – The Heppner High School Band, un- der the direction of Brook Baker, has been a driving force behind the Mustang football team’s exciting run to the semi-finals this season. With their high-en- ergy performances at every home football game, the band has brought the crowd to its feet, creating an elec- tric atmosphere that has helped propel the Mustangs energy. Led by Baker, the band’s commitment and passion have been evident We are excited to in- troduce a new initiative at HJSHS to honor our students for their efforts and achievements in the classroom. Each quarter, we will recognize Mustang Students of the Quarter. Congratulations to our First Quarter recipients! These students will be cel- ebrated at our end-of-se- mester awards assembly in January. Additionally, information about the first quarter will be shared on our school webpage and social media platforms. Mustang Student of the Quarter The HJSHS Mustang Academic Student of the Quarter award recognizes students based on vari- ous criteria. This award goes beyond just academ- ic performance; it honors those who exhibit specific positive behaviors and a strong work ethic. As an educational institution, we value and celebrate the growth our students achieve through their hard work and dedication. Students receiving an HJSHS Mustang Academ- ic Student of the Quar- ter award may demonstrate one, or more, of the follow- ing characteristics: HHS to honor students each quarter Heppners Tripp Stewart jumps to make a catch in the third quarter of their quarter final match up against Lost River. -Photo by Tara Eakin Proudfoot half. But after some half- time adjustments, the game flipped, and the Mustangs controlled most all of the second half. Heppner got the ball to start the half and put togeth- er a nice drive to near mid field. They were forced to punt the ball to Lost River who would have to start their possession from deep in their own territory. The game of field position had finally turned in the Mus- tangs’ favor. The Heppner defense forced the Raiders to punt the ball back, and that gave the Mustangs great field position at the Raider 44-yard line. Quar- terback Mason Orem then threw a 26-yard pass com- pletion to Tripp Stewart. Stewart had to jump high and twist his body in order to reach up and bring the ball into his chest as he landed on his back for the completion. It was quite a catch and seemed to fire the Mustangs up. On the very next play Orem completed a pass to Alakae Rodriguez for an 18-yard touchdown. Rodriguez then ran the ball in for the 2-pt. conversion to give the Mustangs the lead 8-6, with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. The Heppner defense forced a three-and-out punt by the Raiders on their next possession. Again, the Mustang got a great field position to start their next drive near mid field. The Heppner offensive line real- ly started to take control of the game, and the Mustangs began to control the time of possession in the second half. Heppner went on an eight-play drive and got another score when Orem handed the ball off to Zach Brown. Zach then powered his way in from 7 yards out for the touchdown. A direct snap to Caleb George saw him blast his way into the end zone for the 2-pt. conversion. That gave the Mustangs a 16-6 lead as the third quarter ended. Lost River went on a 12-play drive that ate up half of the fourth quarter clock and saw them score a touchdown on a 13-yard pass play. That made the score of the game 16-12 in favor of the Mustangs. Heppner started their next drive deep in their own territory at the 15-yard line. But they put together a drive of punishing runs that ate up five minutes of the game clock. Heppner got the ball out to the 49- yard line before they were -Continued to PAGE SIX National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to comply with the Endangered Spe- cies Act. Heppner City Manag- er John Doherty said the move by FEMA goes back to a 2016 biological opin- ion in which environmen- tal groups stated that flood- plain development does harm to endangered spe- cies. For Columbia River tributaries, that includes salmon and steelhead. Doherty told the coun- cil that, under PICM, com- munities may choose one of three compliance mea- sures. The first option is to prohibit all new develop- ment in the flood plain. The second is to in- corporate the Endangered Species Act performance standards into local flood plain ordinances through a model ordinance provided by FEMA. Third, a city may use a permit-by-permit model that requires permit appli- cations to develop a flood- plain habitat assessment to show that proposed devel- opment in the flood plain hazard area will create no net loss. “No net loss” fo- cuses on flood plain stor- age, water quality and veg- etation. “Whichever way we go, it will involve some changes to our zoning and flood plain ordinances at some point,” he said. Doherty said the Ore- gon League of Cities has challenged the move be- cause the cities are being forced to alter course with little time to prepare and before a corresponding study is completed. “This was sprung on us July 25, was the first email,” Doherty said. For now, though, cit- ies are still faced with se- lecting one of the three options to move forward. The deadline is Dec. 1, and Oregon communities are trying to navigate the new requirements with little in- formation to guide them. “I have raised many questions. Other cities have raised many ques- tions,” said Doherty, add- ing that he had to read 300- 400 pages of documents to try to figure it out. “It’s very confusing.” Doherty said one of his big questions is why Heppner is included in the requirement, since Willow -Continued to PAGE EIGHT Collaboration among local and state agencies leads to successful flood siren test in Heppner New FEMA requirement creates even more hassles for floodplain development By Andrea Di Salvo Getting permits to build in the floodplain will be even more difficult thanks to FEMA and the Endangered Species Act, the Heppner City Coun- cil learned at its Nov. 12 meeting. The City of Heppner will need a floodplain habitat assessment for all floodplain permits going forward—a huge lift, since most of Heppner’s level ground is within the flood- plain. In July 2024, the Fed- eral Emergency Manage- ment Agency (FEMA) sent a letter to cities and coun- ties in Oregon instructing them to make short term changes to how the city or county regulates develop- ment in flood hazard areas. These Pre-Implemen- tation Compliance Mea- sures (PICM) are short- term actions that FEMA wants cities to adopt before FEMA fully implements long-term changes to the -Continued to PAGE SEVEN The Heppner flood siren . -Photo contributed Heppner tested its flood warning system on Thurs- day, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. The coordinated effort involved the Morrow County Emer- -Continued to PAGE SEVEN gency Management, Hep- pner Fire Department, the Operations Project Manag- er for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Oregon Department of Emergen- cy Management, and the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office. As many Heppner residents likely noticed, the flood warning siren was tested and lasted for three minutes. This test was conducted to ensure the system’s efficiency and preparedness in the event of an actual flood. According to Morrow County Emer- gency Manager Steve Free- land, who led the test, the -Continued to PAGE EIGHT CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
