Photo by TERRI WATTS

Dave Ford and Steve Daniels attended the county court meeting on July 21 to discuss commissioning celebrations for the USS Oregon, SSN 793 Submarine.

The following are the unapproved minutes from the Harney County Court meeting held July 21. These minutes were edited for clarity and length. 

Dave Ford and Steve Daniels presented the court with a slideshow and shared details about the commissioning of the USS Oregon, SSN 793 Submarine.

The USS Oregon is a nuclear-powered attack submarine in the United States Navy that was christened on Oct. 5, 2019. It’s the fourth vessel to carry the name Oregon and the 20th Virginia-class submarine.

The Navy conducts the formal commissioning ceremony but is prohibited from funding all of the traditional celebrations and customs that welcome a new ship into the fleet.

The Commissioning Committee asked the Harney County Court to donate toward the commissioning celebrations.

Harney County Judge Pete Runnels said the court will discuss the matter with the budget committee during the quarterly meeting in October.

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Hilda Allison was present to discuss a relinquishment deed that was recorded in 2012.

Allison said she found some inconsistent information on record when she was conducting research. She explained that a deed widening the highway and giving access back to the owners was acknowledged.

Allison requested that the relinquishment deed be amended to acknowledge the access.

The court will seek advice from legal counsel and then follow up with Allison.

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Harney County Commissioner Kristin Shelman discussed the court’s opposition to the River Democracy Act 

The act would designate specified river segments, primarily in Oregon, as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Shelman said she hopes water storage can be discussed before further action is taken. Nine permittees are affected by these nominations.

The court expressed disappointment that such little outreach was conducted by the sponsors of the legislation.

The court agreed to adopt Resolution 2021-18 in the matter of opposing the River Democracy Act. The court also approved a letter addressed to Sen. Ron Wyden expressing opposition to the proposed act.

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The court reviewed an application for naming “Artemisia Road,” which is located in Frenchglen. The court decided to table this application in order to obtain further information.

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After further reviewing the minutes for the July 7 county court meeting, Runnels expressed dissent in Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh’s edits.

Runnels said he believes the minutes need to be completed by the county clerk, and he felt that Dorroh’s edits were not complete, if that was her intent.

Dorroh replied that she felt the discussion was important, and it needed to be more complete.

Runnels mentioned that there was more discussion than she added, so it was not yet a complete transcript of the discussion.

After a brief discussion of the Elected Official Compensation Committee report, budget committee member Rick Paul said he felt the hours are irrelevant for elected officials.

Harney County Clerk Derrin Robinson said he is content with edits from the court, as long as they are accurate and unbiased. 

Robinson added that he simply summarized the content of the discussion, as that is the intent of the minutes. He said he cannot and will not spend an additional day relistening to the audio to capture every word.

Robinson also noted that there is no reason why the minutes would have to be approved at the following meeting, and said the court should take more time, if needed.

The court agreed by consensus to table the July 7 minutes for further edits.

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In other business:

• Runnels presented Robinson with an award for his 25 years of service to Harney County;

• Connie Christensen discussed a public nuisance issue. She said she already brought the matter to the court, but the trailer hasn’t been moved yet. 

Allison said she contacted the owners, and they’ve inquired about how to get the trailer moved.

However, Christensen said she was told that the owners plan to make it a junk car lot.

Christensen asked about an additional property, stating that progress has not been made. She said the property was purchased a year ago, and the new owners were given 90 days to clean it up. However, that did not happen.

Runnels said Sheriff Dan Jenkins is monitoring the clean up, but at some point it becomes a civil matter.