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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2025)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 23, 2025 ~ Letters to the Editor Continued School district plans town Yankees secure opening Chamber supports school bond measure Dear Editor, The Heppner Chamber of Commerce board wishes to express its support of the Morrow County School District bond measure 25- 104 on the May 20 ballot. This bond will allow the district to make need- ed improvements to its buildings. Projects include a new school, remodels of schools and security and safety improvements at all MCSD schools. Projects are planned in Boardman, Heppner and Irrigon. The chamber board recognizes that updated schools are an essential part of our communities and are paramount in making sure that families and businesses continue to choose Morrow County as a place to live and do business. The proposed bond is for $204.4 million, and if the bond passes, the school district will receive an ad- ditional $6 million through a matching grant from the state of Oregon. This is a great opportunity for the district and its students. Morrow County School District is the only district in our area that does not currently have a bond on the tax roll. In order for our district to stay relevant and attract families to live and work, the Morrow County School District must im- prove its facilities. While we understand that this bond would in- crease taxes for Morrow County citizens, the im- provements to our schools are inevitable and the costs associated with them will only continue to increase. It is also important to note that Amazon and other in- dustries will pay 72 percent of this bond over its lifes- pan. Residents will only be paying for 12 percent of the bond. We encourage voters in Morrow County to vote yes on Bond Measure 25-104— for the future success of our halls about bond measure win with big sixth inning county to continue to thrive. Morrow County School Sincerely, Heppner Chamber of District and its board of directors invite district stu- Commerce Board dents, parents, teachers, staff and community mem- bers to three community town halls to learn about General Obligation Bond Measure 25-104 on the May Dear Editor, 2025 ballot. I am writing in sup- The Heppner commu- port of the Morrow County nity town hall will take School District bond mea- place at Heppner Jr/Sr High sure 25-104 on the May 20 School on Thursday, April ballot. This bond will allow 24. Building tours will take the district to make needed place from 4:30-6 p.m. with improvements to its build- a bond presentation and ings in Heppner, Boardman Q&A at 6 p.m. and Irrigon. Projects in- The district and school clude a new school, remod- board are currently engaged els of schools, and security in an information effort to and safety improvements at inform stakeholders about all MCSD schools. the district’s bond. I served on the Com- “We are dedicated to munity Bond Advisory providing accurate, timely Committee for the Morrow information about the dis- County School District. trict bond using multiple Our committee worked for methods to reach our com- a year to review facility munity,” said MCSD Su- assessments, tour buildings perintendent Matt Combe. with school principals, re- “We hope people will join view bond financial options us for the town halls so we and prioritize projects. As a can share with them more former teacher and current information and answer any parent and coach, I have questions they have about seen firsthand the updates the bond and its projects.” that need to be done in our In February, Morrow district. This isn’t just about County School District’s one community; this is a Board of Directors voted to bond that will support all place a General Obligation students in the district. Bond for the district on Although many of the the May 20, 2025, ballot. schools appear well-main- If passed by voters, the tained on the outside, it’s proposed bond would fund the issues you can’t see, these projects: whether it be electrical, -Irrigon Jr/Sr High mechanical or structural, School (built 1978)—due that should be of great con- to severity of structural cern. We are at the point issues, replace school to where we must address provide modern educational these needs, and right now environment for students. we have the opportunity to -Riverside Jr/Sr High do so. I encourage community members to attend the open house tours and a town hall question and answer The recently opened session at Heppner Jr/Sr Willow Street Innovation High School on April 24 Hub will host a Teen Entre- from 4:30-6:30. Please do preneur Night on Thursday, your research and vote yes April 24, from 6-8 p.m., on measure 25-104—for while the South Morrow the future success of our Arts Center, located in the students and to build a same building, will host stronger school district and a STEAM Day on Friday, community. April 25, from 11 a.m. to Sincerely, 3 p.m. Madison Rosenbalm The Teen Entrepreneur Heppner, OR Night is free, open to all Community Bond Advi- local teens, and promises sory Committee pizza, prizes and hands-on exploration of business Vote yes for a stronger school district School (built 1968)—re- model and build addition for more classroom space and gym to support future enrollment. -Heppner Jr/Sr High School (built 1962 with lat- er additions/remodels) and Heppner Elementary (built 1954 with later additions/ remodels)—remodel Jr/ Sr High to become a K-12 campus with thoughtful grade level separation, re- sulting in operational sav- ings and safer location for elementary students. -Sam Boardman Ele- mentary—make parking/ traffic flow improvements including a dedicated bus loop for safety. -District-wide—make security and safety im- provements including se- cure main entry, cameras and door access control at all district schools. The proposed bond would raise $204.4 mil- lion. The district would receive a $6 million match- ing grant from the Oregon School Capital Improve- ment Matching Program if the bond passes. The proposed bond would ma- ture in 20 years or less and the bond rate would be an estimated $2.99 per $1,000 of assessed property value, although the actual levy rate may differ. More information about Bond Measure 25- 104 is available online at mcsdbond.org, by emailing bondinfo@morowsd.org or by calling the Morrow County School District Of- fice, 541-676-5705. mitted four errors with no hits in the game. Ya n k e e s D e f e n s e Stumbles vs Red Sox Wednesday, April 16, the Hodgen Distribution Yankees traveled back to Bob White Field after an opening game the night before that had them on the field until almost 10 p.m. This time, for a face-off against Big John’s Red Sox, the Yankees committed six errors and walked seven batters in a 15-3 game that was called in the middle of the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule. Joel Wilson got the start for the Yankees, pitching 2.0 innings, allowing 10 runs (two earned) on five hits with four walks and recording three strikeouts. Joel was replaced on the mound by Charlie Mullins after he walked the first two batters of the third inning. Charlie pitched the last 2.0 innings of the game, giving up five runs on three hits with three walks and re- cording two strikeouts. Five different players were responsible for six errors throughout the game. The offense was not much help as only four Yankees managed a hit; and of those four, only Brody Ogden and Matt Wilson scored. Kord Dickenson joined Brody and Matt as the only Yankee runs as he reached base on an error and scored on a Gage Rosenbalm RBI. The Yankees get a long weekend to rest up and will return for their next action Thursday, April 24, at 7 p.m., hosting the Athena Coca-Cola Nationals at Bob White Field in Pendleton. Teen entrepreneur night, STEAM day at Hub The Gazette Puzzle Pop concepts. Nichols breaks 32-year school record The STEAM Day will focus on science, technol- ogy, engineering, arts and mathematics activities spe- cifically for Heppner stu- dents, grades five through 12. Students interested in attending either event can RSVP by contacting Andrea Perry-Nelson at andrea.per- ry-nelson@morrowsd.org. Willow Street Innova- tion Hub is located at 188 W Willow St., Heppner. Over the Tee Cup A sunny and warm day the field. For flight A, Corol attended the ladies’ play Mitchell had low gross and day April 15 at Willow KP, while Tiffany Clement had the long drive. Creek Country Club. For flight B, Shirley Low gross of the field went to Karen Thompson, Martin had low gross, Kar- while Tiffany Clement had en Wolff had low net and low net of the field. Sharon Sharon Harrison had the Harrison had least putts of long drive. -Continued from PAGE ONE 2nd – Lily Nichols (11), greeted the nine ladies who 26th – Austin Willis (11), 27’ 6” Discus (1.6kg) 6th – Chris Hum- phreys (11), 117’ 11” 10th – Landon Mc- M a h o n ( 11 ) , 1 0 5 ’ 4 ” 16th – Gage Heideman (9), 93’ 8” PR Javelin (800g) 2nd – Chris Hum- p h r e y s ( 11 ) , 1 6 1 ’ 7 ” 21st – Gage Heideman (9), 97’ 8” PR H i g h J u m p 1st – Joseph Albitre (11), 6’ 0” PR L o n g J u m p 4 t h – N i c k We n - berg (12), 17’ 10” 12th – Joseph Albitre (11), 16’ 11.5” Girls 2 0 0 M e t e r s 2nd – Hallee His- ler (12), 26.57a (3.5) 3rd – Healy Hisler (10), 27.90a (3.5) SR 18th – Laia Puelles (10), 31.83a (0.6) PR 4 0 0 M e t e r s 1st – Hallee His- ler (12), 1:00.59a SR 2nd – Healy Hisler (10), 1:02.98a 8 0 0 M e t e r s By Brian Bunch Heppner ’s Hodgen Distribution Yankees built on their lead and pulled away from the Prodigal Son Brewers with a six-run sixth inning on Tuesday, April 15, in a 10-2 win in their first game of the season. It seemed that Pendleton’s Bob White Field had been gifted perfect weather for the opening week of the 2025 Babe Ruth Season, as the fans admired the weather with a high near 70 degrees for the day. The Yankees held a 4-2 lead after five innings with a quality start from Kord Dickenson. The lefty went 4.1 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four walks and zero hits with nine strikeouts. Johnny Ashbeck worked a lead-off walk in the top of the sixth to start the Yankee parade around the bases as they sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning, scoring more than half of them. Mason Haugen re- placed Kord on the mound in the fifth and finished the game, pitching 1.2 innings, giving up no hits, one walk, and recording two strike- outs, including a backwards K on a nasty curveball to end the fifth. Kord and Darby Spivey both led the team at the plate with two hits and two runs in two at-bats. Jace Wilson added the only other Yankee hit, while younger brother Joel Wilson added two runs. The Yankees secured their season-opening win, scoring 10 runs on five hits and committing only one error, while the Brewers scored two runs and com- 2:29.08a SR 1500 Meters 1st – Lily Nich- ols (11), 4:55.67a PR – School Record 8th – Riley Archer (11), 5:31.94a SR 11th – Brooklyn Hendricks (10), 5:45.54a SR 3000 Meters 4th – Riley Archer (11), 11:48.19a SR 100m Hurdles (33”) 16th – Laia Puelles (10), 19.47a (0.6) 300m Hurdles (30”) 5th – Lily Nichols (11), 51.49a 4x400 Relay 1st – Heppner A: Riley Ar- cher (11), Healy Hisler (10), Lily Nichols (11), Hallee Hisler (12), 4:19.82a Shot Put (4kg) 18th – Avia Boutefuhr (9), 24’ 2” PR Discus (1kg) 32nd – Avia Boutefuhr (9), 59’ 5” PR Javelin (600g) 2 1 s t – Te a g a n K e l t - o n ( 11 ) , 8 1 ’ 5 ” P R 3 5 t h – Av i a B o u t e - fuhr (9), 67’ 10.5” PR 36th – Loren Trujillo (11), 66’ 0” WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription Sharpen your mind with our Gazette Puzzle Pop! Weekly math, word, and local trivia from our five towns—no internet or phones allowed. Answers in next week’s edition—grab a pencil and show off! Number Pattern Puzzle Level - Moderate Question: Find the next number in the sequence:2, 5, 11, 20, 32, … Wordplay Whiz Level - Easy Question:What do you call a dinosaur that takes care of its teeth? (Hint: Think of a dinosaur name combined with a dental term.) Morrow County Trivia Challenge Level - Easy In what year was Morrow County created from parts of Umatilla and Wasco Counties? Answers from April 16th edition 177 N. Main P.O. Box 337 Heppner, OR 97836 Chris@sykesrealestate.net Broker Chris Sykes 541-215-2274 For Sale $550,000 More than meets the eye! There is plenty of room in this 3,680 sq. ft. 5 bedroom 4 bath home on 5.29 acres located on Dee Cox Rd near Heppner. Has family/game room, office space and a deck for summer barbecuing. Beautiful bamboo floors with an open kitchen and dining area. Top of the line induction cook top convection oven with air frying included. Daylight basement opens out to the back- yard, where there is an outbuilding & chicken coop. These small acreage homes are hard to come by, so come and have a look soon. Property is located in the flood zone. 61476 DEE COX RD Heppner MLS#: 639453591 Number Pattern Puzzle Puzzle: Find the next number in the sequence: 1, 2, 7, 34, 103, 104, 623, ... Solution: The next number is 3742. New Wordplay Riddle Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I? Answer: An echo. Question: What is the highest point in Morrow County, and in which forest is it located? Answer: Black Mountain, Umatilla National Forest Seniors Matter March/April Menu April 1 - Chili Relleno, Refried Beans, Cinnamon, Rolls, Peaches April 8 - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes/ Gravy, Mixed Veggies, Dessert April 15 - BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans Mac/Cheese, Cucumber Spears and Dessert April 22 - Taco Soup, Chips, Salad and Dessert April 29 - Stuffed Baked Potato Bar and Dessert Ad sponsored by Bank of Eastern Oregon
