Ione 4 th of July celebration
in pictures page 7
50¢
VOL. 145
NO.28 8 Pages
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
New MCHD board members take the
helm at July meeting
Burke is out, Houser is in as health district CEO
By Andrea Di Salvo
After a near clean
sweep of the Morrow Coun-
ty Health District board in
the May election, a new
MCHD board took the helm
and switched up the interim
CEO at a special session
July 2 in Lexington.
The four newly elected
board members were in-
ducted at the regular health
district board meeting on
June 30, but the July 2 spe-
cial session was their first
meeting as regular board
members.
As the only remaining
member of the previous
board, Stephen Munkers
took the role of acting chair
through the election of new
officers. Janet Greenup was
elected board chair, with
Russ Nichols as vice-chair,
Jason Hanna as secretary
and Annetta Spicer as trea-
surer.
Greenup then took over
the gavel as new chair. After
some brief housekeeping,
the board members dived
straight into the ongoing
search for a new CEO for
the health district.
Interim CEO Dennis
Burke updated the board on
the progress of the search
for a new CEO. Burke’s
Morrow County Dairy Princess Isabel Wedam rides in the
Ione 4th of July parade. -Photo by Andrea DiSalvo
Vintage aircraft to land
at Lexington July 16
(L-R) Bob Houser as CEO pending, new board members Jason Hanna, Janet Greeneup and
Russ Nichols. -Contributed Photo
main goal as interim CEO
was to facilitate the search
for a new CEO and ensure
a smooth transition after the
resignation of former CEO
Emily Roberts.
Burke said that, within
a relatively short amount of
time, the health district had
about 90 applicants, with
about 20 who were “cred-
ible” and five to six who
he said were “absolutely
excellent candidates.”
However, he said the
search had been paused
to allow the new board to
participate in the process.
“Then we had the board
election with, basically, a
complete changeover in the
board,” said Burke. “We ba-
sically decided we probably
need to put this on hold.”
He said they made the
decision knowing there was
a possibility they could lose
some of the candidates if
they waited.
“But we did, because
we want this new board
vested in the new CEO,”
said Burke.
He also said he had
reached out to the candi-
dates, and the top individ-
uals seemed understanding
of the situation and re-
mained interested. Not only
were they interested in the
position, he said, but also
the location.
Faced with the ques-
tion of how to proceed,
Spicer said there was a lot
of information the board
needed before making any
decisions.
Nichols agreed that the
search for the CEO would
not be a quick process.
“But in the meantime,
we still need to be moving
forward instead of being
a little bit stagnant while
we’re waiting,” he said.
Nichols said he felt
Burke was a great CEO and
had done what he was hired
to do,”
“But I do not think
what he was hired to do
is what I feel needs to be
done,” said Nichols.
Nichols then moved to
ask Burke to step down as
interim CEO and hire Bob
Houser as CEO pending an
acceptable contract. Houser
has previously served as
LEXINGTON, OR—
Aviation enthusiasts and
community members are
invited to a special event at
the Morrow County Lex-
ington Airport on Wednes-
day, July 16, when the
Puget Sound Antique Air-
plane Club touches down
as part of its Northwest Air
Tour 2025.
The event will run from
-Continued to PAGE THREE
10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., of-
fering visitors a rare chance
to see beautifully restored
Fire danger increases to high in Northeast
Oregon District
-Contributed Photo
The risk of wildfires is
increasing rapidly due to
warmer and drier weather.
In response, the Oregon De-
partment of Forestry (ODF)
for the Northeast Oregon
District is implementing
High Fire Restrictions on
land they protect, effective
at 12:01 a.m. on Wednes-
day, July 2, 2025.
The primary goal of
these additional fire preven-
tion measures is to reduce
the risk of human-caused
fires.
“Forecasts indicate that
we will experience typical
summer weather in the
coming weeks, accompa-
nied by elevated tempera-
tures. Given these condi-
tions and the escalating fire
danger, we are enforcing
stricter fire restrictions,”
stated Justin Lauer, District
Forester.
These restrictions af-
fect private, state, county,
municipal and tribal lands
in Union, Baker, Wallowa,
and Umatilla counties
along with small portions
of Malheur, Morrow and
Grant counties within the
Northeast Oregon Forest
Protection District. This
area encompasses approxi-
mately two million acres of
protected lands.
ODF encourages land-
owners and the public to
help prevent accidental
ignitions by taking extra
precautions while recreat-
ing or working.
The Public Use Restric-
tions (High Fire Danger)
include the following fire
prevention measures:
• Open fires are prohib-
ited, including campfires,
charcoal fires, cooking fires
and warming fires, except at
designated locations.
• Portable cooking
stoves using liquefied or
bottled fuels are allowed.
• Propane fire pits are
allowed if they are self-con-
tained and 3 feet away from
any flammable fuels with a
maximum flame height of
two feet.
• Non-industrial chain-
saw use is prohibited from
noon to 8 p.m.
• Non-industrial chain-
saw use is allowed at all
other hours if the following
firefighting equipment is
present with each operating
saw: one shovel or other
firefighting tool and one
eight-ounce or larger fire
extinguisher or one gallon
of water. In addition, a fire
watch is required at least
one hour following the end
of chainsaw use.
• Electric Chainsaws
are allowed all day.
• Cutting, grinding and
welding of metal is prohibit-
ed from noon to 8 p.m. Cut-
ting, grinding, and welding
of metal is permitted at all
other hours, if conducted
in a 10-foot area cleared of
flammable vegetation, and
in possession of a shovel
or other firefighting tool,
a minimum of one gallon
of water, or 2-½ pound or
larger fire extinguisher.
• Mowing dried and
cured grass with pow-
er-driven equipment is pro-
hibited from noon to 8 p.m.,
except for the commercial
culture and harvest of agri-
cultural crops.
• Electric string trim-
mers are allowed all day.
• Any electric fence
controller in use shall be:
1) Listed by a nationally
recognized testing labo-
ratory or certified by the
Department of Consumer
and Business Services; and
2) Operated in compliance
with the manufacturer’s
instructions.
• Possession of the fol-
lowing firefighting equip-
ment is required for any ve-
hicle/UTV/ATV traveling
on unimproved roadways
where flammable vege-
tation exists on roadway:
shovel or other firefighting
tool, minimum of one gal-
lon of water, or 2-½ pound
or larger fire extinguisher.
PROHIBITED:
• All open debris burn-
ing, and the use of burn
barrels.
• Use of fireworks.
• Use of exploding tar-
gets.
• Use of tracer ammu-
nition or any bullet with a
Antique aircraft are touching down at the Lexington airport
July 16. -Contributed photo
pyrotechnic charge in its
base.
• Smoking while trav-
eling, except in vehicles on
improved roads, in boats
on the water, or in a cleared
area free of flammable
vegetation.
• Use of sky lanterns is
prohibited throughout the
year in Oregon.
For further informa-
tion, contact the Oregon
Department of Forestry.
Current fire restrictions
for forestlands in Northeast
Oregon can be found at
www.bmidc.org or by call-
ing the Northeast Oregon
Fire Prevention line, 541-
975-3027.
http://bluemountain-
fireinfo.blogspot.com/is
your spot for current fire
information in the Blue
Mountains.
Find us on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/
oregondeptofforestryNEO/
Call Blue Mountain
Interagency Dispatch at
541-963-7171 or dial 9-1-1
to report a fire.
antique aircraft up close
and meet the pilots who fly
them.
Lexington’s Broken
Spoke will be on-site serv-
ing lunch (cash only).
Organizers encourage
attendees to come early
to watch the planes land
or stick around later in
the afternoon to see the
vintage take-offs—perfect
moments for photos and
conversation with fellow
aviation fans.
Smith faces ethics investigation
regarding CDA pay increase
Greg Smith
By Andrea Di Salvo
State Representative
Greg Smith is again under
investigation by the Or-
egon Government Ethics
Commission (OGEC), this
time for allegedly granting
himself and staff unautho-
rized pay raises tied to a
federal grant in his role as
executive director for the
Columbia Development
Authority (CDA).
In a June 13 executive
session, the ethics com-
mission voted 6-0 to move
forward with an investi-
gation. The decision came
after OGEC Compliance
and Enforcement Coordi-
nator Casey Fenstermaker
reported that CDA employ-
ees, including Smith, wrote
materials for a grant from
the Office of Local Defense
Community Cooperation
(OLDCC), including a pro-
posed CDA budget that
included pay increases for
CDA employees.
The materials were de-
veloped in cooperation with
OLDCC personnel and
were then submitted by the
Port of Morrow, the CDA’s
fiscal agent at the time.
The grant application
was approved by the OLD-
CC, and the budget that was
included in the OLDCC
grant application materials
was subsequently approved
by the CDA board. It was
later discovered that the
grant application included
language that the employee
pay increases were board
approved.
“However, it appears
-Continued to PAGE THREE
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information