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:
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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
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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
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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.
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