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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2025)
50¢ VOL. 145 NO.22 10 Pages Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Morrow County teachers, staff honored at Crystal Apple Awards Grant receives 2025 Legacy Award L-R: Morrow County School District Superintendent Matt L-R: Legacy Award winner Susie Lemmon, MCSD Superin- Combe with MCSD winners Stephanie Simpson, Elizabeth tendent Matt Combe and Legacy Award winner Greg Grant. Graham, Addie Cole and Brook Baker. -Contributed photo -Contributed photo Karrie Zellars (right) with Ione School District Superintendent Dieter Waite Tracey Johnson. -Contributed photo Pendleton—Inter- Mountain Education Ser- vice District (IMESD) and its component school dis- tricts recently presented the 2025 Crystal Apple “Excellence in Education” Awards. Among the recipi- ents were two Ione teachers and four Morrow County School District (MCSD) teachers. Ione honorees were math-science teacher Dieter Waite and pre-K teacher Karrie Zellars. MCSD award recipi- ents were Heppner music teacher Brook Baker, Ir- rigon special education/ life skills teacher Addie Cole, Boardman special education/life skills teach- er Elizabeth Graham and Boardman math teacher Stephanie Simpson. In addition to the annual Crystal Apple awards, two MCSD staff also received 2025 Legacy Awards. Re- cipients were Greg Grant, head teacher and long-time football coach at Heppner high School, and Susie Lemmon, secretary at Mor- row Education Center. Dieter Waite Dieter Waite is a math/ science teacher at Ione School District, where he has worked for one year. Thos who nominated him said he does an amazing job of leading by example using a positive attitude, setting high expectations for himself and students. Described as kind, car- ing, supportive and com- passionate, Waite believes in building strong con- nections with students in a safe environment where students can make mistakes and learn from them for ac- ademic progress. He is ad- ept at using multiple modes of learning for success in the classroom and eager to share knowledge. Karrie Zellars Karrie Zellars is a pre-K Teacher at Ione school and has worked for the district for one year. She has a lot of experience with young learners; previously, she worked for three years at Head Start, two years with Healthy Families Oregon and two years with IMESD/ Preschool Promise, in addi- tion to 15 years of having a home preschool. Zellars is described as patient, organized and willing to help wherever needed. She always keeps new ideas flowing into the classroom and goes above and beyond to make her stu- dents feel seen and heard. Brook Baker Brook Baker is the mu- sic teacher at Heppner Ele- mentary and Heppner Jr./ Sr. High School. She has worked for MCSD for four years. Her direction and expectations in the class- room are always clear, and her dedication to teaching and student achievement is evident. The community is very supportive of the music program, and the concerts are standing room only. The pep band is very popular, with the football and bas- ketball teams asking them to support them at playoff games. “The kids just love her and can’t wait to get into fifth grade to start band classes,” says one person. Addie Cole Addie Cole is a special education/ life skills teach- er at Irrigon Jr./Sr. High School and has worked for 10 years for the district. Her dedication and passion for student success is shown in her collaboration with students with special needs and their families. Those who know her say Cole has worked tirelessly to build meaningful relationships to promote the well-being -Continued to PAGE SIX Port to stay as CDA fiscal agent a little longer By Andrea Di Salvo The Port of Morrow will continue as the fiscal agent for the Columbia Development authority, at least for the time being. According to the CDA’s current intergovernmental agreement (IGA), one of the five partners (Port of Morrow, Port of Umatilla, Umatilla County, Morrow County and the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation) must serve as the fiscal agent. The Port has been serving as the fiscal agent but intends to step away from the role following recent controversy cen- tered around the loss of grant funding and questions about accountability. “So I’m asking this ta- ble; does anyone else want to sign up for that?” asked POM Commission Chair Joe Taylor. CDA Project Manager Greg Smith said he had been looking for outside resources for accounting, bookkeeping and payroll before he realized the fiscal agent has to be one of the five members. “We still have the abil- ity to have that service, but at the end of the day, one of the five needs to sign off as the fiscal agent,” said Smith. The CDA board dis- cussed amending the IGA to allow an external contractor such as an accounting firm to serve as the fiscal agent. That would require board approval and possibly a solicitation process. Another problem with shifting the role of fiscal agent has to do with em- ployees. Rather than being employed directly by the CDA, the two staff, Smith and CDA Project Manager Emily Collins, are tech- nically Port of Morrow employees in the Port’s role as fiscal agent. Collins noted that, de- pending on how things shake out, the CDA might need an Employer Identifi- cation Number (EIN). That requires an individual’s Social Security Number unless the entity is a mu- nicipality or government agency, which the CDA is not. Smith pointed out that, depending on future con- versations, the role of fiscal agent in the future could be “significantly different” from what was being dis- cussed at the meeting. The board discussed the need for a clear scope of work for the fiscal agent, in- cluding the implications of transitioning to a contractor model. Representatives of CTUIR indicated that serv- ing as the fiscal agent is not a good fit for them due to state regulations and sov- ereign immunity concerns. Umatilla County alter- nate Dan Dorran expressed hesitant interest but said he was not willing to make any promises. “I think that eventually the CDA should have its own fiscal, responsible, point-at person,” said Dor- ran. “In the meantime, I think it’s worth a conver- sation.” Meanwhile, the Port of Morrow agreed to continue as the fiscal agent until Aug. 1 of this year but expressed a desire to transition away from this role. “We can carry this ball a little bit more down the road,” said Taylor. “Maybe something will change, shake loose.” “But that was the ex- tent that we were willing to do for the time being,” he added. The board voted unan- imously to have the Port continue as the fiscal agent until Aug. 1. Morrow County voters overhaul Health District board, school bond has the votes…for now Morrow County’s 38.94% turnout surpasses state average in off-year election By Chris Sykes On May 20, 2025, Mor- row County held a pivotal election with a 38.94 per- cent voter turnout, with 2,822 ballots cast out of 7,247 active registered vot- ers, surpassing the state- wide average of 21.83 per- cent. The election reflected a community eager for change in areas like health- care while maintaining the status quo at the Port of Morrow. The school bond mea- sure currently has enough “yes” votes to pass, with 50.25 percent (1,225 votes) in favor and 49.75 percent (1,213 votes) against. How- ever, with a deadline of May 28 for all votes to be received, the outcome could still swing to “no” votes. Morrow County Health District: A call for new leadership Morrow County voters signaled a strong desire for change in the Mor- row County Health Dis- trict (MCHD) by electing four new board members to guide healthcare prior- ities. MCHD, a non-profit Oregon Special District, operates Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner, clinics in Heppner, Irrigon and Ione, and provides coun- ty-wide ambulance, home health and hospice services. The past two years have been turbulent, marked by operational challenges and legal disputes. -Continued to PAGE SEVEN MCSD awaits election outcome for bond measure Morrow County School District is awaiting the re- sults of the May 20 election regarding Measure 25-104, the district’s General Obli- gation bond. As of Tuesday, May 27, the bond was nar- rowly passing with 50.25 percent yes votes and 49.75 percent no votes. According to Morrow County Elections, ballots that were postmarked on Election Day were given several days to arrive and will be counted on May 28. At 5 p.m. on May 28, Morrow County Elections will issue updated results. Official certification of the election results will occur on June 16. According to election law, the bond will pass with a simple majority vote, which is 50 percent of the votes counted plus one ad- ditional vote. “While it’s very dif- ficult to wait for election results, Morrow County School District is pleased about the number of voters who supported the bond so far. We remain committed to improving schools in our district to further student success,” School Board Chair Richard Cole said. -Continued to PAGE TWO Wildhorse grants help MoCo organizations $36,239 benefits Boardman childcare, Irrigon fire, South Morrow seniors Three Morrow County organizations were among the 40 organizations award- ed grants by the Wildhorse Foundatiuon this quarter. Families First Child- care of Boardman received $11,100 for equipment and supplies, while Irrigon Ru- ral Fire Protection District was awarded $16,239 for protective equipment. As reported in last week’s Ga- zette-Times, South Morrow County Seniors Matter also received $9,000 to honor and assist Morrow County veterans. The Wildhorse Foun- dation is a community fund managed by the Confed- erated Tribes of the Uma- tilla Indian Reservation in partnership with Wildhorse Resort & Casino. The for- mation of the Wildhorse -Continued to PAGE THREE CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
