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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