Location is up in the air for Morrow County Circuit Court

HEPPNER – Morrow County received state funding to build a new courthouse from the state of Oregon. The question remains where to put it. Originally, the plan was to find a location in Heppner, the county seat. However, the Morrow County Board of Commissioners has approved building an annex courthouse in Boardman at the suggestion of Circuit Court Judge Dan Hill. Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson said Hill gave the board some interesting figures.

“Judge Hill looked at the numbers and he believes that 90 percent of the criminal cases and 80 percent of the civil cases come from the north end of Morrow County,” Nelson said.

No one had considered building an annex. Umatilla County has its main courthouse in Pendleton and an annex in Hermiston, but Nelson said that’s not the way most of the state operates.

Originally, a site in Heppner near the Morrow County Fairgrounds had been suggested but residents in that area didn’t like the location. However, the Heppner City Council has expressed an interest in replacing the current courthouse in that city instead of building and staffing an annex in Boardman. The Boardman site, which is owned by the county, is the direction the county is leaning, but it’s not a done deal.

“This is not a set-in-stone spot,” Nelson said. “There is still testing and analysis that needs to be done, but the direction is to move forward with that location.”

Nelson said members of the council plan on attending the Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday to continue the discussion.

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Elkhorn Media Group

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