Heppner High School players
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VOL. 145
NO.9 8 Pages
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
New circuit court building will be on
‘Courthouse Way’
By Andrea Di Salvo
The City of Heppner
will have a new street name
on its city maps, as the Hep-
pner City Council voted
recently to designate the
road to the new circuit court
building Courthouse Way.
Heppner City Manager
John Doherty told the coun-
cil at its February meeting
that the request to name
the short street came from
a need for clarity.
The rear entrance to
the courthouse, which will
be used by staff, will be off
Heppner’s Aiken St.
However, while the
courthouse itself will be
within city limits, the front
entrance for the public will
open off the highway and
will fall just outside of city
limits.
That itself isn’t a prob-
lem, but it would give the
circuit court a rural address.
Since that could potentially
confuse visitors, Doherty
said, it would be more
practical to name the short
stretch of road to clearly
designate it as the circuit
court entrance.
“It’s not a city-main-
tained street, but we need
to have a name for it,”
Doherty said.
Doherty said he sug-
gested Courthouse Way be-
cause the name is non-polit-
ical and makes it clear what
the street is.
The council offered
some other ideas—some
serious and some tongue-
in-cheek—and Heppner
councilor Adam Doherty
suggested having a contest
to let students name the
street.
In the interest of time,
however, the council ended
up approving Courthouse
COURTHOUSE WAY
Way that same evening.
Also at February’s
meeting, the council ap-
proved the final draft of
the Heppner Water System
Master Plan (WSMP).
Anderson Perry engi-
neer Dane Maben presented
the draft to the council. Ma-
ben said all of the changes
reflected the council’s feed-
back from recent meetings
but encouraged the council
members to give it a thor-
ough read over the next few
weeks.
“This is not Anderson
Perry’s plan. It’s your guys’
plan,” he said.
While the WSMP pro-
vides the city with a road
map, it doesn’t tie the coun-
cil to immediate action on
any of the projects. Maben
said the next step will be
for the council to review
the draft plan and give final
consent.
The plan will then go to
the Oregon Health Authori-
ty for approval. Then, Ma-
ben said, it will be time to
schedule a one-stop meet-
ing to begin the search for
funding for high-priority
projects.
“There’s a long ways
to go before anything is
getting built,” he added.
The council is planning
a special session this Friday
to discuss the draft, as well
as review sealed bids for
the chip-seal of city streets
in 2025.
The chip-seal projects
will include work on Riv-
erside, South Court, Chase,
lower Water St. and oth-
ers. John Doherty told the
council the money was in
the budget from last year
because the city had waited
too long to go out for bids
last year.
The council also gave
its approval for the devel-
opment of Heppner Public
Works Design Standards.
Heppner Public Works Di-
rector Chad Doherty said
the standards would be a
list of approved materials
for any projects the city
undertakes, especially for
use by contractors.
“That way, the stuff we
already use is what they’ll
be putting in,” he said. The
cost for Anderson Perry to
work on the design stan-
dards could range from
$8,000 to $20,000, depend-
ing on how many changes
the city makes throughout
the process.
In other business at
the meeting, Heppner Fire
Chief Steve Rhea reported
two lift assists, two motor
vehicle accidents with in-
jury, a two-acre fire with
the rural fire protection
district, two motor vehicle
accidents without injuries,
one cat rescued out of a
tree in city limits, an alarm
activation on Linden Way,
an EMS assist with a death,
and a mutual assist call to
Lexington for a house with
smoke.
Rhea said there were
210 calls for 2024, and 13
so far for 2025. There were
24 chief calls for January.
Rhea also reported that
he completed an intergov-
ernmental agreement with
the Oregon Dept. of Emer-
gency Management, sent
a tactical tender and crew
to southern California to
assist with wildfires, at-
tended a water master plan
meeting with Anderson
Perry, hosted a two-day
S-230 wildland class for six
departments and attended
a meeting with courthouse
engineers.
Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Office reported three
animal complaints, one
domestic disturbance, 10
dog complaints, one driving
complaint, five juvenile
complaints, one suicid-
al caller, three suspicious
activities, two thefts, five
traffic stops with citations,
eight traffic stops with
warnings, one traffic stop
with a misdemeanor arrest
and three welfare checks,
with a total of 133 incidents
for January.
Heppner Public Works
Manager Chad Doherty
reported that the water de-
partment replaced eight
water meters, responded
to and replaced two frozen
-Continued to PAGE THREE
Camarillo at 100: A life of horses, hay and hard work
Alex Camarillo at his birthday party at assisted living in Hep-
pner. -Photo by Cindi Doherty
By Andrea Di Salvo
Alex Camarillo’s room
at Willow Creek Terrace is
a far cry from the stables
and open ranges where the
100-year-old spent most of
his life. His walls, though,
are covered with photos of
family and of horses and
cowboys, remnants of a life
well lived, a time gone but
far from forgotten.
“It’s all I’ve ever done,”
he says.
In 1925, Calvin
Coolidge became the first
U.S. president to have his
inauguration nationally
broadcast over the radio
that year. That was the
year F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
The Great Gatsby was pub-
lished.
And it was the year
that Alex Camarillo’s life
began on Feb. 11, 1925, in
Tustin, CA.
When he was five, the
family moved to Costa
Mesa, CA. Camarillo at-
tended school through the
sixth grade. He recalls that
they had fun in school;
though he never participat-
ed in organized sports, the
kids would spend their free
time playing soccer ball.
There wasn’t much free
time, though.
“I didn’t do too many
funny things,” Camarillo
says of his life. “I worked.”
Camarillo spent his
growing up years work-
ing on his father’s 10-acre
ranch with parents Louis
and Josie, as well as his 17
siblings and half-siblings.
He worked on the
threshing machine, thresh-
ing crops that included
sugar beets, black-eyed
peas and lima beans.
Aside from crops,
Camarillo says his father
owned “horses and cows
and everything, too.” Of
course, with livestock
comes the need for hay,
and that was also a big part
of his younger years.
Camarillo recalls that
his father owned a baler—
first a horse-drawn baler
and later a mechanical one.
“Then he got one with
an engine on it and got rid
of the mules,” says Ca-
marillo.
Even with a mechanical
baler, the days were long.
Camarillo and the rest of the
crew would spend the week
in the haying field, only
coming home on weekends.
At night, they would spread
their blankets on the hay
piles and bed down in the
field.
With his young life
spent around crops and cat-
tle, it made sense that, when
it was time for 17-year-old
Camarillo to set out on his
own, he would again turn
to cattle ranching. He got
a job with Santa Monica
Cattle Ranch in Oceanside,
CA, which he says was a
“regular cattle ranching
job,” taking care of horses
and breaking them in.
Work with and around
horses would end up being
a large part of his life—ex-
-Continued to PAGE THREE
Heppner High School saw
several of its players hon-
ored as League All-Stars
for their outstanding per-
formances on the court
Girls: 1st team: Hallee
Hisler. 2nd team: Delaney
Stefani & Kadie Henrichs.
Honorable mention: Lily
Nichols Boys: 2nd team:
Mason Orem. Honorable
Mention: Keaton Coiner & Hallee Hisler
Caleb George.
Delaney Stefani
Kadie Henrichs
Lily Nichols
Mason Orem
Keaton Coiner
Caleb George
Shamrocks for Good Luck: A
hospice fundraiser
This March, Hospice
is spreading good luck and
comfort through the com-
munity with its Shamrocks
for Good Luck fundraiser.
For a small donation, res-
idents can have a festive
shamrock placed in the
yard of a friend, neighbor,
or loved one who could use
a little extra luck.
But this fundraiser is
about more than just good
fortune’s about providing
comfort to hospice patients
and their families in their
final weeks together. The
funds raised go directly to-
ward meaningful extras that
help make these moments
as special and comfortable
as possible. Past donations
have helped provide air
purifiers, diffusers, essen-
tial oils for aromatherapy,
massage therapy, and other
comfort-focused items that
enhance the quality of life
for hospice families.
“These small comforts
make a big difference for
patients and their loved
ones,” said Jackie Alleman,
Hospice Volunteer Coor-
dinator. “Whether it’s the
soothing scent of essential
oils or the relaxation of
a gentle massage, these
moments bring peace and
connection during a diffi-
cult time.”
Participating in the
Shamrocks for Good Luck
fundraiser is simple. For a
suggested donation of $20,
you can send a shamrock
to someone special, let-
ting them know they are in
your thoughts while also
supporting a cause that
brings comfort to those in
need. It will stay in their
yard for 3 days. Shamrocks
will be rotated through
yards beginning March
1 and ending on Sunday,
the 16th. Don’t miss your
chance to spread both good
luck and the spirit of giving
across the community. To
order a shamrock or learn
more about the fundraiser,
contact Pioneer Memorial
Hospice, 541-676-2946
or visit 162 N Main St. in
Heppner.
Let’s come together to
share the luck and spread
the love—one shamrock at
a time.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information