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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2025)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 29, 2025 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 177 N Main St. Telephone (541) 676-9228. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or sykeschris@hotmail.com Web site: www.heppner.net. Post- master send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: In Morrow County $36/year. Outside Morrow County $41/year. In County Senior Rate (65 years or older) $31/year. 9 month Student student subscriptions $36/year. Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher Andrea DiSalvo ............................................................................................. Editor Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.65 per column inch. Cost for classified ad is 55¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $16 up to 100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.15 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi- cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required). For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space for the obituary. For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. 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 $16 Obituaries Rolf M. Prag Rolf M. Prag Rolf Marshall Prag, 59, passed away on Jan. 18, 2025, at his home in Board- man, OR. A private family burial will take place. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, Feb. 2, from 2-5 p.m. at the River- front Center at the Port of Morrow in Boardman. Rolf was born in Port- land, OR on Feb. 12, 1965, to John A. Prag and Anne E. Marshall Prag. He joined older sister Dana. The family moved to Joseph, OR when he was a toddler and remained there until 1974, when the family moved to Boardman. Rolf attended school in Morrow County, gradu- ating from Riverside High School in 1983. He attend- ed Mount Hood Commu- nity College for two years and graduated in 1987 from DeVry Institute of Technol- ogy in Phoenix, AZ. Rolf made many friends during his school years, re- taining those friendships throughout his life. Special longtime friends include Marty Broadbent, Everett Westmoreland, Earl Con- nell, Sal Erevia and Joe Erevia. During their teenage years, the “pack” could be found in the Prags’ garage, dismantling old pickups and motorcycles. He married Susan in 1987 while living in Phoe- nix, AZ. They later moved to Boardman and adopted Kode Lyle Prag. The couple later divorced. He worked at the Port of Morrow for 26 years, where he was supervisor of utility, maintenance, and site. He enjoyed volunteer- ing with the Boardman Fire Department. In 2022 Rolf began work with the City of Boardman as special projects coordinator and later became public works director; he remained there until his passing. Earlier in his life, he was an avid hunter, spend- ing much of his time hunt- ing deer and elk. He was preceded in death by his father, John A. Prag. He is survived by his mother, Anne Jay of Keiz- er, OR; his stepmother, Lynn Prag of Boardman; his sister, Dana Prag Burk (Alan) of Keizer; his sis- ter, Jenny Aleta Gonzales (Brent) of Gilbert, AZ; his wife, Kristin Elaine Prag, at their home in Boardman along with his son, Cooper John; his son, Kode L. Prag of Pendleton; his stepchil- dren, Devin Rea (Hannah) of Roundup, MT, and Tay- lor Rea of Boardman; his grandchildren, Lakelynn Rea and Ryleigh Prag; and many nieces and nephews. AARP offers free tax assistance starting next month Morrow County res- idents needing help with their taxes will be able to receive free assistance be- ginning next month through the AARP Foundation Tax- Aide program. Workshops will be held in Boardman and Lexington in Morrow County, as well as Heppner and Pendleton in neighboring Umatilla County. The Boardman site is at the Port of Morrow, 2 W. Marine Drive. It will be open Mondays from Feb. 10 to April 7 and will provide services in both English and Spanish. In South Morrow, tax help is available at Lexing- ton Town Hall, 425 F St., on select Fridays from Feb. 7 to April 11. Appointments are re- quired and are available on designated days between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 541-701-9326. People do not have to be AARP members to par- ticipate. While the focus is to assist adults 50 and older with low to moderate incomes, others may utilize the program. IRS-certified volun- teers will prepare federal tax returns or offer guidance for taxpayers to file their own. Umatilla County lo- cations are New Hope Community Church, 1350 S. Highway 395, Herm- iston, Tuesdays through Thursdays, Feb. 4-April 15; and Pendleton Community Room, 501 SW Emigrant Ave., select Mondays, Feb. 3-April 14. What to bring to ap- pointment: -All correspondence re- ceived in 2024 from the IRS and your state/local taxing authority, including a copy of 2023 tax returns filed; -Photo identification and Social Security cards (or other official documents with the Individual Taxpay- er Identification Number) for everyone on the return; -Banking information for direct deposit refunds or to pay direct-debit tax due; -W-2 forms and 1099 forms reporting unemploy- ment compensation, state/ local tax refunds, interest, dividends, pensions, annu- ities and IRA distributions; and -For itemized deduc- tions: documentation of home mortgage, medical expenses, charitable con- tributions, property tax bills paid and 1095A, if coverage purchased from the Health Insurance Mar- ketplace. For more information, including descriptions of what to bring to the appoint- ment, visit www.aarp.org/ money/taxes/aarp_taxaide. Oregon legislature considers two Greater Idaho bills The 2025 Oregon Leg- islative Session has begun, and this year legislators will have two different Greater Idaho bills to consider. In the Senate, a me- morial similar to the one introduced in 2023 has already been introduced. This bill invites the Idaho legislature to begin formal talks with Oregon about a border change. On the House side, Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane) will be introducing a bill that will require the state to create a task force to inves- tigate moving the border. “Passage of either bill would be a tremendous win for the people of Eastern Oregon and would move us one step closer to becom- ing part of Idaho,” said a statement issued by Greater Idaho. Oregon and Idaho ar- en’t the only states talking about moving their borders. Earlier this month, two other states besides Idaho introduced bills regarding changing their state borders to include rural counties of neighboring states. A bill in Indiana would take in the 33 counties in Illinois that have already voted to separate from Chi- cago, while a bill in Iowa proposes buying several counties from neighboring Minnesota. This is all happening while President Donald Trump is talking about getting Greenland from Denmark and making those people American citizens. “People across the country and the world are ready to get better govern- ment and more self-deter- mination for their citizens, and we believe that the more these movements suc- ceed, the better chances that ours will as well,” said the Greater Idaho statement. Ione wastewater project Happenings at the -Continued from PAGE ONE There are also some unre- Holly Rebekah Lodge dirt and rock with the help of Morrow County Public Works. The boring operation under the highway was completed. The four-inch, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) line is finished under the highway and up Johnson Grade Rd. The Swaggart team is currently installing both four-inch HDPE line and six-inch gravity flow line along the south side of the Morrow County Grain Growers yard. New elevation GPS readings throughout town have been double checked for flow accuracy. The re- check of individual lots is nearly complete. The city also said there have been a handful of individual lots with their “own unique challenges.” All challenges will be ad- dressed prior to excavation. solved issues at the east side of the high school, which are currently being addressed. The city is also current- ly focusing on the need to pump out the pit at the main lift station. Finally, the cultural monitors from Plateau Cul- tural Management visited Ione a few weeks ago. They were shown the additional areas to monitor, but their field survey produced no significant finds. Also in Ione news, the city has announced that Main Street will be closed from Hwy. 74 at the MCGG fertilizer plant to Surething Ave. by the MCGG gas sta- tion. The closure was slated to begin as early as Jan. 27 and may be in effect for as much as a month Local traffic will have access to their facilities from Hwy. 74 only. Holly Rebekah Lodge members have announced that the lodge is keeping busy. Members are continuing with their bottle and can drive. If anyone has cans and bottles to donate, they may call LaRae Kindle at 541-310-9499 or Edith Pa- pineau at 541-215-9460 or simply drop them off at the Lodge Hall in Lexington. Lodge members say they are grateful to everyone that has and continues to donate bottles and cans for the Hol- ly Rebekah building fund. The friendly meal and Bin- go are still being held on the last Sunday of the month starting at 3 p.m. The cost of the meal is only $5. This month the meal will be bean and ham soup, tomato soup and cornbread. Those who don’t wish to stay and play Bingo are welcome to come and eat. And one doesn’t need to eat to play Bingo. The game starts at approximately 3:30 p.m., and the cost is $5 for a 10-game packet. The ladies of the lodge are also cooking up some- thing new. Starting Feb. 5, the Lodge Hall will be open from 1-3 p.m. every Wednesday for people to pop in to visit, or to play cards or games. Wednesday afternoons will be free, and coffee, tea and water will be provided. If anyone has games to donate, it would be appre- ciated. Print & Mailing Services *Design *Print Sykes Publishing *Mail 541-676-9228 Good News Only by Doris Brosnan Familiar cliches inform us that “all good things come to an end;” “it was fun while it lasted;” “nothing lasts forever.” The implication is that we should enjoy and appreciate the good things while we have them. Good News Only seemed a good thing to some read- ers, and it was fun to put together for a few years. Unfortunately, getting “tidbits” for the weekly column became a challenge. Even prodding and cajoling were less and less successful. That is not fun. We certainly appreciate the many contributors who kept the Good News Only something to look forward to reading these past few years. Many people volunteered their feel-good items that gave us a brief respite from news less positive. Thank you, Contributors and Faithful Readers. Remember that good news is everywhere, all the time! Here’s hoping that good news comes to everyone reading this. Correction In an article in the Jan. 15, 2025, issue of the Hep- pner Gazette-Times entitled “Kotek declares state of emergency in Morrow and Umatilla counties,” the sec- ond paragraph incorrectly stated, “The emergency declaration makes an ex- ception to the Port of Mor- row’s current wastewater permit with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), authorizing the Port to apply wastewater if necessary to fields within the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) that are either down gradient from any domestic wells or designated as ‘low-risk.’” The sentence should have stated “…fields within the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) that are either not down gradient from any domestic wells or designated as ‘low-risk.’” The editor apologizes for the error. SMCSM February menus South Morrow Coun- ty Seniors Matter has an- nounced the following meal menus for the month of February: Feb. 4—Pork and hash brown casserole, buttered carrots and dessert. Feb. 11—Mini pizzas, garden salads and dessert. Feb. 18—Beef Stroga- noff over mashed potatoes, green beans and dessert. Feb. 25—Tacos on a plate and dessert. South Morrow County Seniors Matter hosts free weekly meals for seniors at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Meals are provided every week on Tuesdays from 11:30-12:30. Meals are at no cost for seniors over 60 and $5 for those under 60. Each week, a new speaker hosts our luncheon. Dona- tions are accepted. The veterans’ meal on Feb. 12 will be chicken pot pie and peach cobbler. WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription "EARS"OF EXPERIENCE Ready to help with your hearing healthcare needs 600 NW 11th Street Suite E-21 Hermiston, OR 97838 P.S. 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