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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2025)
50¢ VOL. 145 NO.10 8 Pages Wednesday, March 5, 2025 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Don and Colleen Greenup family honored as St. Pat’s Grand marshals The Don and Colleen Greenup family was chosen as the 2025 St. Patrick’s Day Grand Marshals. This year isn’t the first time Colleen’s relatives have been honored in the Great Green Parade; Colleen’s past family mem- bers honored during Saint Patrick’s were Ilene and Bob Kilkenny, and Ilene’s children Butch Laughlin and Sheridan Tarnasky. The family’s Irish roots run deep, beginning with Colleen’s maternal great-grandmother, who was born in 1828 in County Tipperary, Ireland. Col- leen’s great-grandfather was born in 1830 in County Kilkenny. Her grandfather, Mi- chael Summers, came to America in 1856. Her grandmother, Mary Ellen McCormick, made the long, arduous trip the same year. Michael and Mary Ellen later met in Iowa and were married in 1858. Michael and Mary El- len had five children: Mary Ellen, Kate, Delia, Emmett and Michael. Years later they moved west with three of their children. Michael died en- route at Fort Wingate, NM, in 1880. Mary Ellen kept on, settling in Matney Flat, Gilliam County. One of the Summers children, Kate, met her husband, William Russell, while both worked on the railroad. William Russell was born in 1849 in Belfast, Don Greenup Colleen Greenup Greg and Janet Greenup with family members Amy and Brian Kollman, Rylee Kollman, Kelsie Fennern and Ketch Fennern. They were celebrating Rylee’s graduation from boot camp in San Antonio, TX. -Contributed photo Ireland. Kate and William were married in 1883 in Boise, ID. Kate and Wil- liam had four children: Eddie, Sudie, Margaret and Lottie. Lottie and Ed were well known in Gilliam and Morrow counties for the fine voices, with Irish and Scottish songs beings their favorites. Lottie Russell was Colleen’s mother. John Sheridan Kilken- ny came to America in 1890 at the age of 20, along with James Carty and William Hughes, both from Ireland. John purchased 20,000 acres from George Currin on Hinton Creek. John had a herd of cattle and about 10,000 head of breeding ewes. Lottie married John Sheridan Kilkenny after his first wife, Rose Ann Curran, was killed in a tragic accident in Pendle- ton. John and Rose had six children: Rose, John, Bill, Sara, Maryanne and Mae. The oldest 16 and young- est five when Rose Ann died. Lottie and John had four children: Ilene, Robert Russell, Colleen and Robert Joseph. Colleen was born Oct. 13, 1925. Donald Greenup was born in Hamilton, MT on Aug. 2, 1924. He moved with his parents and broth- ers to Washington before coming south to Oregon in the spring of 1940. He went to work on the Kilken- ny ranch in 1942 and the rest, as they say, is family history. Colleen was Queen of the Heppner rodeo in 1945. The couple married in September of that same year. Don and Colleen be- gan their life together on the Kilkenny ranch on Hinton Creek. Don and Colleen had six children: Tag (Mitch Ashbeck), Sue Ellen (Paul Walton), Bill (Cindy Ek- strom), Greg (Janet Gen- try), Mary Ann (Ted Da- vis) and Bridgett (Mike Whelan). Colleen’s daughters, Tag, SueEllen and Bridgett, also went on to be Heppner/ Morrow County royalty in their own turn. Some members of the board said they never ap- proved the pay increases and ended up rescinding Smith’s raise in a 3-2 vote at the board’s Sept. 20 meet- ing last year. In January, the OLD- CC, a branch of the U.S. Dept. of Defense, sent a letter to Port of Morrow Executive Director Lisa Mittelsdorf asking for doc- umentation for Smith’s monthly salary from a fed- eral grant. Specifically, the OLD- CC wanted documentation that the CDA separately accounted for Smith’s time working as a legislator, de- tailed internal time-keeping controls for Smith, why cer- tain salary increases were not approved by the CDA board, and documentation “validating current salaries” in the grant award budget. The Port’s answers didn’t satisfy the govern- ment. Specifically, OLDCC Deputy Director for Com- pliance Michael Wilson wrote in a Feb. 21 letter that the “CDA’s 2024 budget justification submission did not accurately represent the CDA board’s involvement in the salary increases.” In fact, public state- ments at an Oct. 22, 2024, board meeting indicated that the CDA board was not aware of the salary increas- es prior to the grant award submission. The Port’s re- sponse also did not show adequate documentation and internal controls for timekeeping, Wilson wrote. The bottom line was Greg Smith that the OLDCC asked that the Port “voluntarily termi- nate” the award in question, or the government would terminate it for them. The Port’s Response The OLDCC’s decision last month caused under- standable consternation on both the Port and CDA boards. In a Feb. 24 POM meet- ing, Port Commissioner John Murray read a state- ment apologizing to con- stituents, CDA partners and Port employees for allowing the situation to persist, blaming poor com- munication and leadership decisions. Zachary Brown (left) and Landon McMahon (right) made Heppner history by taking state championships in their re- spective weight brackets. -Contributed photos By Tylynn Cimmiyotti Last week marks the end of one of Heppner High School’s most success- ful wrestling seasons—a season that was nothing short of historic, filled with numerous firsts and unfor- gettable achievements that have set a new standard for excellence and success as a Mustang athlete. It’s inspiring to see the growth our wrestling pro- gram has seen since its in- ception, which has not only gained strength in numbers, but has also become a cor- nerstone of HHS legacy, proving that it is here to stay and will continue to thrive for years to come. Five Heppner wrestlers represented HHS at the state tournament in Port- land at the OSAA/OnPoint State Championships this past week, a group that demonstrated determina- tion and experience and marked several notable achievements. Among them were three seniors who brought their seasoned skills to the competition, as well as two trailblazing Mustang athletes—the first female wrestlers in school history to qualify for state. Three members of the team had already made a splash at districts, claiming first-place titles and paving the way for a strong perfor- mance at state. -Continued to PAGE SIX Holden selected as St. Pat’s button design winner -Continued to PAGE THREE The Port, the CDA and Smith’s response By Andrea Di Salvo Accusations are flying as the Columbia Develop- ment Authority faces the loss of key grant funding due to alleged misconduct by CDA Executive Director Greg Smith. Smith, a Republican State Representative from Heppner, representing House District 57 since 2001, has faced scrutiny over financial and ethical issues tied to his legislative role and private business dealings in recent years. Most recently, Feb. 4, 2025, federal officials sus- pended funding to the Co- lumbia Development Au- thority (CDA), which Smith led as executive director for 20 years, due to concerns over his pay claims. This comes as tensions within the CDA are already high, with internal lawsuits un- derway and members tak- ing sides. The Port of Morrow has served as the fiscal agent for the CDA since 2015, handling grants and federal awards used in the development of CDA prop- erty. The CDA property was previously part of the Uma- tilla Army Depot and was transferred under the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990. The current controver- sy stems back to pay raise given to Smith as part of an Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) grant request submitted by the Port on behalf of the Columbia De- velopment Authority board. Mustang wrestling ends successful season with state wins At the same time, the Port’s priority is to avoid jeopardizing its ability to receive future federal grants. “In my opinion, the Port of Morrow is in the position that it must end functioning as the fiscal agent for the CDA and re- linquish the OLDCC grant, for the selfish reason of maintaining our ability to qualify for future federal grants,” said Murray. At the same time, Mur- ray noted that the transfer of Army lands to the CDA is important for the local economy. “If the grant is relin- quished by the Port of Morrow, does that mean the OLDCC funds are no longer available?” he asked. At the same meeting, Mittelsdorf told the Port commissioners that the letter had offered a 10-day window to voluntarily ter- Congratulations to the 2025 Wee Bit O’ Ireland Button Con- test winner, Kylie Holden! Buttons will be for sale for $3 at Heppner City Hall and Heppner Chamber of Commerce until the celebration on March 15. Buttons can also be purchased at the information booth on Saturday, March 15. Each button purchase gets earns an entry into the drawing to win $100. The drawing will take place Saturday afternoon, March 15. -Contributed photo Heppner softball field gets new backstop after 25 years After 25 years, the Heppner softball field is getting a much-needed new backstop. Grants from WCVEDG and MCURD, as well as funds from the Heppner Booster Club, paid for the new nylon mesh screen and supporting structure. -Contributed photo In Heppner, the soft- much-needed replacement ball field’s outdated back- in 2024. The original chain- stop—dating back to the link structure, bent and -Continued to PAGE EIGHT late 1990s—finally got a -Continued to PAGE TWO CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information John Murray reads a state- ment regarding the OLDCC letter at the Port’s Feb. 24 meeting. -Contributed photo
