Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2024)
50¢ VOL. 144 NO. 49 8 Pages Wednesday, December 11, 2024 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Santa Claus is coming to…Lexington Two great coaches, one awesome legacy Santa Claus. - Photo by Rudolph Santa is coming to Hol- year,” said a Holly Rebekah ly Rebekah Lodge in Lex- spokesperson. Breakfast consisting ington on Saturday, Dec. 14, to have breakfast with of pancakes, scrambled eggs, two link sausages kids ages zero to 99. and drinks will be served Due to his busy holiday Greg Grant and Les Payne (center) surrounded by former players proudly holding trophies from past championships, cele- for only $5. Cinnamon rolls schedule, Santa will arrive brating decades of success and an enduring legacy. - Photo by Petra Payne in Lexington at 9 a.m. and will also be available for $3. By Chris Sykes master of ceremonies Ken Juli Kennedy will be will only be able to stay The Gilliam and Bis- Grieb. Speakers, includ- taking pictures at no cost until 11 a.m. bee Building was filled to ing Joe Armato, Stephen “We feel lucky that he during breakfast. The lodge capacity Saturday night as Matheny, Josh Coiner, Jer- will be able to come, even is located at 135 Main the Heppner community emy Rosenbalm, members if it is just for two hours, Street. came together to celebrate of the 2015 State Champion during his busy time of the two legendary coaches, team, and Superintendent Greg Grant and Les Payne, Matt Combe, shared stories at a Retirement Celebration of leadership, inspiration, honoring their extraordi- and the profound life les- nary contributions to Mus- sons both coaches imparted. tang football and the town Les Payne, the sec- of Heppner. ond-to-last speaker of An estimated 250-300 the night, reflected on his people, including former nearly five-decade career players, past and current with heartfelt gratitude. He portunity for a young per- coaches, and even rival thanked his family, players, son to represent Morrow coaches, gathered to pay fellow coaches, Greg Grant, County not only during the tribute to these two men and the Heppner commu- week of fair in August, but who have left an indelible nity for their unwaver- also at various other events mark on the sport and the ing support throughout his throughout the year,” said community. The event fea- journey. Les recounted his Morrow County Fair Sec- tured heartfelt speeches, a early days in coaching, the retary Sue Gibbs. moving slideshow showcas- personal and professional These events include ing their coaching careers, growth he experienced over parades, rodeos, county and a standing-room-only the years, and the enduring functions and other festiv- crowd that reflected the support that fueled his ded- ities throughout Oregon in immense respect and admi- ication. He spoke fondly 2025. ration they’ve earned. about his long commutes to Applications are avail- Honoring Decades of Heppner, emphasizing how able at the fair office, the Dedication much he loved coaching SAGE Center, Green Feed L e s P a y n e b e g a n there and affirming that he After a 10-year hiatus, the and Morrow County high coaching in Heppner 48 never wanted to coach any- Morrow County Fair and Ro- years ago, while Greg Grant where else. Les also gave a Greg Grant and Les Payne stand together after accepting deo is again seeking a queen to schools, as well as on the their commemorative jerseys, marking the culmination of Morrow County website. recently concluded his 35th special, heartfelt thanks to their legendary coaching careers. - Photo by Petra Payne reign in 2025. Completed applica- year. Both men led the his wife for her unwavering -Contributed photo tions can be mailed to Mor- Heppner Mustangs to re- support and understanding, port throughout his 35-year throughout his entire coach- After a 10-year lapse, row County Fair, PO Box markable success over the acknowledging the sacrific- career. He reflected on the ing tenure. Grant concluded the Morrow County Fair 464, Heppner, OR 97836 years, and their legacy is es she made that allowed relationships and memories by affirming that there was and Rodeo is again ac- or emailed to mcfair@mor- cemented not only in the him to pursue his passion that made his coaching no other place he would cepting applications for a rowcountyor.gov. journey so meaningful, have rather coached than memories of their players for coaching. Morrow County Fair and Fair and Rodeo Queen but also at the facility where Greg Grant spoke last, candidly acknowledging Heppner. Rodeo Queen. applications must be post- The highlight of the the Mustangs play, now beginning by thanking his how demanding he could The application is open marked by Dec. 31, 2024, or known as Les Payne Field wife and expressing heart- be at times and offering evening came when both to students between the returned to the fair office no at Greg Grant Stadium. felt gratitude to his family, sincere thanks to those coaches were presented ages of 14 and 19 in Mor- later than noon on Monday, The evening’s program coaching staff, players, and who stood by him. He gave with jerseys featuring the row County and neighbor- Jan. 6, 2025. Applicants are was a mix of humor and the Heppner community special recognition to Les ing counties. -Continued to PAGE SEVEN heartfelt moments, led by for their unwavering sup- Payne for being by his side “This is a great op- -Continued to PAGE THREE Fair and rodeo again seeks royalty Applications available for 2025 fair and rodeo queen Price tag for Boardman circuit court site The Heppner Gazette causes ‘sticker shock’ for county officials is seeking your stories BOC chair Sykes calls for revisiting the design By Andrea Di Salvo The Morrow County Board of Commissioners and county staff experi- enced what they called “sticker shock” over the latest cost estimate for the new Morrow County Cir- cuit Court building planned in Boardman. Representatives of Al- liance Management and Construction Solutions and architectural firm DLR Group attended the Dec. 4 board of commissioners meeting in Heppner to give an update on design prog- ress, costs and next steps. It was business as usual until DLR Project Architect Kelli Stewart got to the cost estimate—$50 million total cost, for which the county will be on the hook for around $33 million. “I’ve got sticker shock,” admitted Morrow County Administrator Mat- thew Jensen. “I know that those numbers are very con- servative. The size of those numbers, though, makes me question my proposal to have the justice center located there.” Morrow County knew from the outset that it had to come up with at least $12.5 million. The county had previously received a $12.5 million matching grant from the state for con- struction of the circuit court building. The sate later added another $1.5 million, but the total of $25 million has been the number tossed around since then. However, with uncer- tainty and changes to the site, it seems no one has ever come up with a firm estimate before. Alliance and DLR representatives said they new the county would spend at least $25 million on the project, but that the figure used so far in discussions was “just a number.” “We discussed early on that we knew there was going to be other buildings that were going to be added on. It wasn’t like we didn’t know it was going to go above $25 million,” said Doug Carl of Alliance. “When it was potentially at the mills site that we were looking, there might be a $4 or $5 million utility project, you know, so we just didn’t know. So now we’re at a spot where something could be defined.” Carl, Stewart and the others said that part of the rise in cost was from infla- tion during the prolonged design phase, while part of it was due to added square -Continued to PAGE EIGHT Are you tired of pol- itics? Do you like seeing news about hometown sports and local people? Then you might be just who the Heppner Ga- zette-Times is looking for. The G-T is seeking con- tributors to send in news that matters to you—youth events, local sports and interesting characters, for a start. To connect with the newspaper, contact Andrea Di Salvo or Chris Sykes at 541-676-9228 or email editor@rapidserve.net. CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
