OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLIC A V 3 I T 0 K I U T'i " ' t ttttra Volume 54, Number 38 County School Boards Start New Organization Committee Studies Plans for District Reorganization , A new county school board or ganization was started here yester day afternoon when 75 representa tives of all communities excepting Boardman and Irrigon met at the courthouse to discuss problems and hear D. A. Emerson, assistant state superintendent of schools. E. E. Rugg was elected chairman; R. B. Rice, vice-chairman, and Os car Peterson, secretary-treasurer of the new organization. A committee of seven to study plans for district reorganization was named. Representing various com munities, each committeeman was to contact people in his own com munity, and the committee was ex pected to meet at the end of two weeks to decide upon a plan that appears generally acceptable. A ba sis for action was given in Mr. Em erson's address, which explained two feasible plans, one the county unit system of organization, and the other a program of consolidating all present districts into six or seven larger districts. Named on the committee were 0. W. Cutsforth, J. O. Kincaid, Merle Swaggart, Floyd Adams, R. B. Rice, C. E. Carlson and Alden Blanken ship. Mra Lucy E. Rodgers, county school superintendent, presented facts and figures on the local situa tion showing need for district or ganization, preluding Mr. Emerson's .address. . The state official, who also vis ited high schools of the county to rate them for standardization, said Oregon had passed the horse and buggy days when the present plan of districting was originally set up. Except in those sections where rec lamation is a factor, we know what our population trends are, and it is time for some planning and read justment. When the state was originally set tled, school districts were formed so as to provide schools within a few miles of every family. This gave the state in 1917, 2,556 districts. In the last 20 years more than 500 of these districts have been discontinued and many more have suspended opera tion of a school. Greatest reduction has come in the operation of one-room schools. In 1917 there were 1950 one-room schools. In 1936-37, ten years later, there were only 1073 or approxi mately 900 less. One-room schools have been completely eliminated in two counties. Approximately 200 districts in the sttae retain their district organization but do not maintain a school. Morrow county has 24 such districts, the speaker said. On visiting the local school yes' terday, Mr. Emerson complimented it highly on the many improvements evidenced since his last visit here four years ago. Heppner Machine Shop Has Change L. H. Harlow, expert certified welder, recently of California, took over the management of Heppner Blacksmith and Machine shop this week, succeeding John F. Vaughn. Mr. Harlow says it will be the pol icy of the shop to guarantee all work at right prices. Mr. and Mrs. Harlow have taken up residence in the Case apart ments. BAZAAR AND TEA The Episcopal ladies will hold their annual bazaar, Saturday af ternoon. December 3rd, at 2 p. m, at the Parish House. Tea will be served from 3 to 5:30. Heppner, Local Girl Long Flew Course of Lost Air Liner Had not Dorothy Herren, native Heppner girl, quit air stewarding late in October to become Mrs. Edmund Schroeder, she might have been aboard the ill-fated air liner from which five persons, in cluding the stewardess, were lost on the California coast Tuesday. Mrs. Schroeder, who herself flew from Oakland to Pendleton Tues day and arrived here that night to visit her mother, Mrs. Frank Rumble, for many months had held the same , Seattle-San Francsico run which the ill-fated ship was making. Mrs. Schroeder was well acquainted with Frona Clay, for merly of The Dalles, the- lost stewardess. Before leaving air'-stewarding for matrimony, Mrs. Schroeder had flown 730,000 miles without serious mishap. She experienced a few forced landings and consid erable bad weather flying but was never in a wrecked ship. Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Bennett drove to Pendleton with Mrs. Rumble to meet Mrs. Schroeder. Christmas Seal Sale Launched in County The 32nd annual Christmas Seal sale to fight tuberculosis opened Monday of this week with the Mor row County Health association set ting a minimum quota of 5 seals per capita in this county. Rev. R. C. Young is president of the Christmas Seal sale committee, Rose Leibbrand, county chairman, J. O. Turner, treas urer, and Mrs. Clara Beamer, sec retary. This year the Christmas Seal sale will be conducted along different lines than that of former years, the county being divided into seven dis tricts with local chairmen in charge of seal sales and collections in each community. Mrs. Lucy E. JEtodgers is Heppner district chairman; Mrs, James Leach, Lexington; Mrs. Omar Rietmann, lone; Wm. Corwin, Board man; Mrs. Ralph Jones, Irrigon; Mrs. Richard Robison, Hardman; Mrs, Marion Finch, Pine City and Lena; Leonard Carlson, Eight Mile and Gooseberry. A quota of five seals sold per cap ita in Morrow county will enable this county to retain fifty percent of the sale monies, and a quota of eight seals sold per capita will retain 75 per cent of the sale proceeds for local welfare. Out of 478 tuberculosis tests taken throughout the Morrow . county schools with the aid of Miss Althea Stoneman, part-time county nurse, and local physicians 18 cases were reported with positive reactions. Thirty-five persons showing active reactions were taken to The Dalles for fluoroscope tests. Firemen's Fund Aim Of Dance Dec. 10 . Heppner's volunteer fire. depart ment is presenting its annual ball at the Elks hall Saturday night, Dec. 10, with a cordial invitation for ev eryone to attend. The best in dance tunes- and floor entertainment is guaranteed by Bill Isom, manager of the affair. - Funds from the ball go into the firemen's own exchequer to help make firefighting more attractive and to help build up the morale of the volunteers, says Albert Schunk, chief. What stipend the boys receive from the city for their services is hardly compensatory for wear and tear on clothing. Then, gas masks, helmets and cloaks are needed. Pur chase of tickets to the ball will be just like buying added fire insur ance, he said, besides getting a lot of entertainment for the money. SHEEP FROM MONTANA Garnet Barratt received the last of his sheep from the summer range in Montana by special train Mon day afternoon. Sheep of Krebs Bros, of Cecil came by the same train. Oregon, Thursday, December 1, 1938 Veterans' Views on Important Problems Aired tomorrow Public Mass Meeting Set for District Legion Conference A public mass meeting at the Elks hall tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock will be one of the highlights of the district American Legion conference, one of a series being held thruout the state, at which state and district officers of the legion and auxiliary will appear. To be discussed will be the leading service organizations' stands on important problems of the day. Scheduled to - appear are John Beckwith, state commander, a prom inent Portland attorney, and Carl R. Moser, veteran state adjutant, of the Legion; Mrs. Blanche Jones of As toria, ' department president, and Mrs. May Whitcomb of Portland, department secretary, of the auxil iary. Afternoon conference will be fol lowed by 6:30 o'clock dinner at Ho tel Heppner. The afternoon legion session, beginning at 2:30, will be held at Elks hall presided over by Marion Coyner of Pendleton, 6th district commander. Mrs. Marie Todd of Hermiston, district president, will preside over the auxiliary meeting at the same time at the home of Mrs. Spencer Crawford. Word has been received from most of the posts and units of the dis trict that they will have represent atives present. $6000 From AAA First In Area i Compliance checks in the amount of $6000 were being distributed this week to county cooperators under the 1938 AAA program, the first to be received by any county in the Columbia basin wheat area, an nounces E. H. Miller, chairman of the Morrow county compliance board. The checks received here are evi dence of the speedy and efficient manner in which the local committee got in the necessary reports. While the amount received is only a fraction of the total expected, other checks will be coming along shortly as the work of proving compliance has all been sent through for final checking. Those for whom checks are received are being notified as quickly as the checks arrive, and Mr. Miller says it would facilitate work in the office if those expecting checks would wait until notice is received before calling. No True Bills, One Not True Bill Given The December circuit court term grand jury, after convening for two days, reported no true bills and one not true bill to Judge C. L. Sweek yesterday afternoon. New roofing for county poor houses and installa tion of light at jail entrance were recommended. Serving on the jury were Jack Hynd, foreman; Carl Bergstrom, L. H. Frederickson, H. M. Miller, A. V. Wright, E. C. Heliker and F. P. Leicht. To Repair Old Toys For Yuletide Cheer Heppner Boy Scouts will repair old toys to add to cheer at the near ing Christmas season. Toys may be left at the office of Mrs. Clara Beamer in the hotel building, or a phone call to Tom Wells or Alvin Kleinfeldt will bring boys to collect them. Mr. and Mrs. Olds of Grass Valley arrived in the city this week and are assisting Mrs. Olds' brother-in-law, J. A. Sharp, at Heppner bakery. CURRENT TAX ROLL 68 COLLECTED Payments on Delinquencies Equal 18; Balance Still Slightly on Red Side of Ledger Current taxes in Morrow county were 68 per cent collected as of December 1, according to the state ment issued from the office of Chas. W. Barlow, county clerk. Collections on delinquent taxes up to that date showed right at 18 per cent of the total. The amount collected on current taxes was $186,338.03, leaving $85, 207.95 uncollected of the total rolls for the year, $271,545.98. Discount for prepayment of year's tax in full amounted to $4,198.18, while interest for late payment was collected to the amount of $362.37. Total delinquent taxes outstanding as of January 1, 1938, were 342,285. 88, of which $60,531.21 had been col lected as of December 1, leaving a balance of $281,754.67. Interest col lected on delinquent taxes amounted to $4,670.76. Another turn-over from the sher iff's office is not expected until after January 1, but additional collection of $25,000 needs to be made for the year to keep the county from sliding a little more into the red side of the tax ledger. Community Meetings Set in AAA Program All community meetings for elec tion of community committeemen and delegates to the county conven tion have been set for Wednesday, December 7, in organizing the AAA compliance program for the coming year, announces E. H. Miller, presl dent. Places and hours of meetings fol low Alpine, 2 o'clock at Lexington; Eight Mile, 1:30 at Rhea Creek grange hall; S. Heppner-Hardman, 1:30 a Rhea Creek grange hall; Lexington, 2 at Lexington; N. Hepp ner, 2 at court house; lone, 2 at lone Legion hall; Morgan, 2 at lone Le gion hall; Boardman, 2 at grange hall; Irrigon, 7 at school house. The county convention to be held later will elect county officers for the new year. First Casaba Tilt Comes Next Monday Basketball season officially starts next Monday evening, at 7:30, when the Heppner Mustangs meet the lone quintet on the local floor. There has been a record turnout at Heppner this season, with about thirty boys fighting for places on the squads. The "A" and "B" squads are practicing separately now. The "A" squad is composed mainly of juniors and seniors and about four sophomores, while the "B" team is made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores. lone will have a veteran team this year, and with their fighting spirit, should give Heppner a tough game. ' SMITH CAR HITS ICE Chas. W. Smith, assistant state county agent leader, sustained con siderable damage to his car Tues day morning a short ways from The Dalles while on his way here. He swerved the car to miss a boulder in the road and as he did so the car skidded on slick pavement, hitting the bank and an overhanging rock that dented the rear top of the car and broke three window glasses. MONAHAN CAR WRECKS John Monahan from Condon wrecked his car Monday evening when he hit a slick place on a curve about a mile below lone. Hp and two other occupants of the car es caped iniurv. but the car was con siderably damaged. Mr. Monahan was returning to his home after visiting in Heppner. Rain had fallen and frozen on the highway at the spot ot the accident. For Sale '29 Dodge truck, '29 Ford sedan, lot of chickens, $1 ea. A. Stef am, lone, Ore. 38-39 Subscription $2.00 a Year Fine Entertainment Slated for Wheat League Conclave The Dalles Hailed as Perfect Host Tomor row and Saturday The most elaborate program of entertainment ever staged for the annual Eastern Oregon Wheat lea gue conference is set at The Dalles tomorrow and Saturday, when 1500 to 1600 visitors are exDected for this year's meeting at the Wasco county seat, said Charles W. Smith, league lecretary, when in the city Tuesday. Conference sessions opened todav with general committee meetings to digest reports from the various counties. All county committees had held their meetings with record at tendance in all counties, Smith said. Wasco county farmers, chamber of commerce and Port of The Dalles have all cooperated in formulating the entertainment program. A barge and a river boat will be on hand for free boat trips. Dances will be held i)nday and Saturday nights. The Dalles drum corps, German band, Legionettes and high schol musical organizations will be on hand, all in addition to the big annual banquet followed by the "extravaganza," a most hilarious feature, said Smith who had witnessed rehearsals. All conference sessions and banauet will be held in the chamber of com merce building. Banquet tickets will admit to the extravaganza and ad dress of Governor-elect Charles A. Sprague, slated in the main audi torium immediately after the ban quet. Reservations for banquet tick ets have been so lively that a dead line for sale has been set at 2:3d . tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. Furthering the hospitality theme, business houses of The Dalles are presenting window displays depict ing many phases of the wheat motif. All registrants will be given the privilege of voting for the window they consider most attractive, and league president, George N. Peck, will present a plaque to the winning firm at tht Friday evening banquet lomorrow morning Mayor H. E. Willerton of The Dalles will df1i vcr the address of welcome shortly af ter convening at 9:30. Response to welcome will be followed by Presi dent Pecks annual address, finan cial report of the secretary, and address by J. H. Christ, acting re gional conservator of soil conserva tion service, from Spokane, Wash. Tomorrow afternoon addresses are slated by C. I. Seelv. noxious wpA investigation agent, University of Ida ho, "Wild Morning Glory Control in the Dry Land Districts of the Paci fic Northwest"; F. L. Ballard, vice director of extension, O. S. C, "Land Use Problems in Mid-Columbia Ter ritory," and Dr. M. K. Bennett, ec onomist food research institute, Stanford university. "PrsAnt WnrU Wheat Situation." Harry Brown, assistant of agriculture, will tell nf "TMi, west Wheat Problems in Relation to rational i arm Program" at Satur day morning's session. Other speak ers at uus time will be Herbert G. West, executive secretary Inland Waterways association, "Present and Future Development nf ri,uj River," and Dr. D. D. Hill, associate agronomist, O. S. C, "Production of Brewing Varieties of Barley." United States Senator-eletc Rufus C. Holman will speak at the Satur day aiternoon Session. Committee reports are interRnoroo i x the program, and the convention will iu oaturoay afternoon with elec tion of officers and selection of host city for 1939. DUCK SEASON ENDS Local sportsmen found duck shoot ing fairly good during the season which ended Monday. Favorite shooting grounds were in the north end of Morrow and west end of Umatilla county.