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Financing Hospital
Presents Problem
To Commission
Group Favors Bond
Issue if Procedure
Is Found Legal
Sale of at least $60,000 worth of
bonds to finance early construction
of the Morrow county, hospital is
proposed by the hospital commis
sion after a preliminary survey
made in the group's first meeting
Friday at Heppner. While having
had little time for studying build
ing operations, the commission con
sidered financing of first impor
tance and reached the conclusion
that the practical method, especially
for early construction, would be the
sale of bonds in sufficient amount
to acquire a site and erect the
building.
Since the two mill tax levy auth
orized at the last election will go
into effect a'fter July 1, 1945, the
bonds could be issued on a short
term basis and taken up as the tax
money comes in. It is estimated that
the levy will produce approximate
ly $20,000 annually and this would
retire the bonds at the end of three
years. All money needed above the
$60,000 to complete and equip the
hospital could be acquired in the
following two years from the tax
levy.
This is the situation as regards
proposed financing. It remains to
be revealed whether or not the
county can authorize the sale of
bonds for construction of a hospi
tal. The law specifies certain things
for which bonds can be sold but a
county-owned hospital is not listed.
District Attorney P. W. Mahoney is
studying the matter but had not
released his findings early this
week. If he finds nothing in the
way of the county financing the
hospital in this manner, the court
can then take steps to call a spec
ial election, or, if in time, to place
the measure on the special state
election scheduled for June 22.
While in session, the commission
looked over the land to the south
of the court house property and it
was agreed that, while not making
a selection, the property offered
numerous advantages as a site for
the hospital.
The county court is considered
part of the commission and Judge
Bert Johnson was chosen as chair
man. A trustee to receive donations
for the hospital will be named soon
to take care of funds and equip
ment coming in as gifts.
Dance Starts Good
Fund for Shriners
One of the biggest crowds of the
season and generous buying of tick
ets made the Shriners' first benefit
dance a pronounced success along
with a big social evening at the
Willows grange hall in lone. The
Morrow County Shrine club now
has a sizeable fund to provide com
forts for patients in the Shrine
hospital in Portland and for the
purchase of equipment for the
Morrow county hospital.
The club feels indebted to Wil
lows grange for cooperation in the
use of the hall; to Fred Lorenzen
Sr. for returning the door prize, a
$25 war bond, for further use by the
club; to Karen Lundell, the two-year-old.
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Raymond Lundell of lone, for her
participation in the program, to
Mrs. Harley Anderson, who made
the Shrine emblem; and to the
people of Morrow county for their
generous response to the fund, and
to all others who, directly or indi
rectly; aided in the success of the
dance.
Farm Labor Wage
Rates Definitely
Under Ceilings
Farm labor wage rates are de
finitely under ceiling regulations,
declared Alden E. Orr, executive
officer for the wage board of the
War Food administration, in ex
plaining wage rate regulations to
Morrow county wheat farmers at a
meeting at Heppner last week. Un
der congressional authority a na
tional level of $200 gross wages per
month has been established which
sets a daily maximum wage at
about $6.80 per day plus board and
room. However, if an employer
paid more than this ceiling rate in
1943 for a specific job, he can con
tinue to pay the same wage rate for
the same job. This holds harvest
wages to the 1943 scale.
Farmers attending the meeting
were unanimous in expressing their
desire for a hearing with the Labor
board to ask that the wage ceilings
be revised to legalize the rates that
are necessary to do the job of food
production.
Orr further brought out that be
fore specific ceilings can be estab
lished it is necessary that 51 percent
of the wheat producers sign a pe
tition asking for the holding of
the hearing. These petitions are be
ing circulated in the county and
copies are available at the county
agent's office for signing. .
In addition to increasing the legal
wage rate, it is the purpose of these
hearings to stabilize the wage rate
the northwestern wheat belt. Sim
ilar action is being taken in other
counties throughout the wheat pro
ducing sections of Oregon, Wash
ington and Idaho.
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Colored Singers
Draw Large Crowd
A Standinig-Room-Only house
greeted the negro singers who pre
sented a varied, program at the high
school gymnasium Wednesday eve
ning. This was the culmination of
a four night engagement of these
young women from Rust college in
Mississippi. They have presented a
song service at the Methodist
church making their first appear
ance at the Sunday evening wor
ship hour.
The group is composed of Miss
Lillian Doxie, accompanist and di
rector, who is an instructor in Rust
college; a first and second soprano
and a first and second alto and a
feminine .baritone. Their programs
are made up of spirituals and folk
songs, in group and solo form, so
distinctive of their race. The girls
have strong, tuneful voices and
sing for the love of singing. They
present an interesting program,
and have a wide repertory, with
which they are very generous.
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HE WAS ON IWO JMA
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Drake have re
ceived word from their son Doug
las that he was with the Marines
on Iwo Jima. At the time of writ
ing he was spending idle hours in
a foxhole, indicating that there was
no shelter left when the Marines
got thorugh with the Japs.
REALTORS HERE
Fred Zimmerman of Floyddale,
Tex., and Mrs. C. Plummer, Mrs.
D. Klosterman and Mrs. Phela
Klosterman of Portland are regis
tered at the Hotel Heppner for a
few days. They are all realtors but
the purpose of their visit has not
been disclosed.
RUSHED TO HOSPITAL
Charles, 14-year-old son of Mr.
and Mrs. Oris Padberg of Lexing
ton, was taken to Pendleton Wed
nesday afternoon where he was op
erated on for appendicitis.
IN SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Mrs. Merle Rice has accepted a
position in the office of Sheriff
John H. Fuiten. She is working in
the tax collection division of the
office.
Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, March
Skuzeskis Dispose
Of Business to .
Washington Man
John Hannan New
Proprietor of The
Heppner Cleaners
Completing 23 years in business
in Heppner, Mr. and Mrs John Sku
zeski have sold their establishment,
the Heppner Cleaners, to John
Hannan of Morton, Wash., and will
give possession on or about April
1. The deal was closed several days
ago when Mr. Hannan came here to
look over the business and he re
turned to Morton to close up his
affairs there and prepare to move
to Heppner.
Failing health on the part of Mr.
Skuzeski made it necessary that he
get out of the cleaning business.
He decided to quit about a year
ago and at that time he purchased
residence propery about one block
from the hot springs at Carson,
Wash. He plans to improve the pro
perty and when the war is over will
build tourist cabins there. The pro
perty consists of an acre of ground.
Mr. Skuzeski will move to Car
son immediately but Mrs. Skuzes
ki and son Ted will remain here
until school is out as Ted doesn't
want to change schools this late
in the year.
The Skuzeskis came to Heppner
in 1923. Their three sons were born
here and the two older boys, John
Jr. and Walter, are graduates of
Heppner high school. Ted is a soph
omore. The older boys are in the
navy. .
Tailors and cleaners from widely
separated sections of the country
responded to the Skuzeski adver
tisement inserted in a trade jour
nal. A man from Iowa wanted to
lease with option to purchase,
while an Oakland, Calif, man want
ed them to wait until he could dis
pose of his business there.
The new owners are experienced
cleaners and dyers. Mr. Hannan's
mother is engaged in the business
and will handle the women's gar
ments. Hannan took one look at
the volume of clothing piled up and
hanging up in the Heppner Clean
ers and said that was all the sales
talk he needed.
DR FAIRHAM STRICKEN
While driving from Fossil to Con
don Sunday afternoon with the ju
bilee singers from Rust college, Dr.
Silas Fairham, district superinten
dent of the Methodist church, was
suddenly taken very ill and suffer
ed a slight stroke which incapaci
tated him temporarily. A passing
soldier from another car drove the
Fairham party into Condon where
the gravely ill man was put to bed.
Mrs. Fairham, who is a trained
nurse was summoned from their
home in Salem and arrived Mon
day to attend her husband.
A SON IS BORN
A seven pound six ounce son,
James Robert, was born Tuesday
March 27, to Mr. and Mrs. James
Hager. Mother and son are report
ed doing nicely at St Anthony's
hospital in Pendleton. The father
was able to be about Wednesday.
RETURNS FROM PORTLAND
Mrs. Alex Green returned Friday
from Portland where she had been
with her daughter who is ill and
in the hospital. Mrs. Green reports
very little change in Mrs. Wallace
Green's condition.
Pvt Robert Hoskins departed Fri
day from Pendleton on the first lap
of his return trip across country on
his return to Fort Benning Ga., af
ter a furlough at home. His parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hoskins, went to
Pendleton with him.
29, 1945
Churches Prepare
To Observe Easter
In Fitting Manner
In observance of Holy week Hep
pner churches are holding many
meetings prior to the Easter ser
vices next Sunday.
At the Methodist church guest
speakers and the Rust college sing
ers were greeted by large audien
ces the fore part of the week. On
Friday night Rev. Bennie Howe
has scheduled a communion ser
vice in his church.
The Church of Christ begins pre
Easter services tonight, continuing
each evening for the rest of the
week. The young people have an
nounced a sunrise meeting for Sun
day morning. There will be a pag
eant in the evening.
Easter services in St Patrick's
Catholic church will be held at
9:30 a m. with the celebration of
high mass.
This evening at All Saints Episco
pal church Bishop Wm. P. Reming
ton will confirm a class of ten
members. Tomorrow (Good Friday)
from noon until 3 p. m. the Bishop
will present meditations upon the
"Seven Last Words."
Sunday services in the various
churches will be a time of rejoic
ing with especially appropriate mu
sic as well as the spoken word
marking the day.
Farmers to Hear
About Opa Price
Ceilings on Cattle
C. L. Jamison, secretary of the
Oregon State Farm Bureau, will
discuss rulings and price ceilings
affecting cattle marketing in a talk
to the Morrow County Farm Bu
reau Monday evening at the Lex
ington grange hall. The meeting
will open at 8 o'clock and will be
open to the public.
There has been no small amount
of misunderstanding relative to the
marketing of cattle and Jamison
will come prepared to give the in
formation needed and desired.
Rep. Henry Peterson has promis
ed the bureau that he will be pres
ent and give a summary of the le
gislation passed affecting this dis
trict. (Our informant did not say, but
we venture to state that there will
be refreshmens.)
Woolgrowers Aux.
To Sponsor Club
A meeting has been scheduled for
1:15 p. m. April 6 at the Lucas
Place for the purpose of formulat
ing plans for a women's club. The
Woolgrowers auxiliary is sponsor
ing the meeting which will open
with a no-host luncheon.
A program will be given at 2
o'clock at which time a member of
the Federated Women's club of
Kinzua will be the guest speaker.
All women interested in the for
mation of a women's club in Hepp
ner are extended an invitation
to attend this meeting. Reserva
tions should be made through Mrs.
Kenneth House.
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. Easter and spring vacation and
the young folk home from college.
Many familiar faces have been seen
this week. Among them Betty Ad
ams, Peggy Tamblyn, Frances Wil
kinson, Mary Kay and Helen Blake
and Marjorie Sims from Oregon
State; Don Turner from University
of Oregon; June Hughes, Loma Mae
Jones and Mrs. Bill Eu.banks from
Northwest Christian college.
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WOUNDED ON IWO .
Mr. and Mrs. Fred E. Reed of
Reed's mill have received word
from their nephew, Pfc Floyd E.
Reed, that he is recovering from
a wound received in the conquest
of Iwo Jima and that he hopes to
rejoin his outfit shortly.
Volume 62, Number 1
Lexington Moves
To Build Airport
To Serve County
Site Northwest
Of Town Chosen
For New Project
Assurance that Morrow county
will have an airport is seen in the
move of Lexington citizens to pur
chase a tract of land northwest of
the town for that purpose. Negotia
tions are under way between Lex
ington town council and the Pet
ers estate for 200 acres lying just
north of the city reservoir. The
whole tract consists of 640 acres or
thereabouts and it is stated that the
Peters interests are willing to dis
pose of the amount asked for air
port purposes.
This move to establish an airport
at Lexington has met with the ap
proval of most Heppner citizens
asked for an opinion on the mat
ter. Investigation of sites in the vi
cinity of Heppner has not brought
satisfying results and in the opin
ion of most people giving some
thought to the future of air travel
in the county the Lexingon site is
centrally located and should have
the support of the rest of the
county.
The Peters tract borders the
highway running towards Her mis -ton
and is but a short distance
from the Willow creek highway.
The power line running to the
Cutsforth place also is close at
hand. The land will require little
leveling and the 200 acres should
give room for adequate runways.
Lexington is just a trifle off the
established flying route between
Pendleton and Portland and if
made a port of call will not incon
venience existing schedules or
those to be made after the war.
These and other factors caused
Lexington citizens to undertake the
building of an airport and they feel
justified in asking the support ' of
the rest of the county.
A survey of the site was made
the past week by Harry Tamblyn
and Walter Ready.
It is understood that the town of
Lexington, through its council, will
post at least one half of the pur
chase price of the land. The other
half may be raised by popular sub
scription or if the county can do
so, the court may be prevailed up
on to match Lexington's share.
Special Program
Scheduled at Star
Each spring the Officers club of
Ruth chapter of the Order of the
Eastern Star raises money to carry
on its activities throughout the
year. This year the group is team
ing up with the Star theater to
give the people of the community
some special entertainment on the
night of Tuesday, April 10.
Local talent will offer a program
of music and stunts in about one
half of an hour and the theater has
scheduled Waterloo Bridge, featur
ing Vivien Leigh and Robert Tay
lor, as the film offering. The Hepp
ner Women's chorus is slated to
sing a group of songs and other
special numbers in state of prepa
ration have not been announced.
UP FROM PORTLAND
Week-end visitors from. Portland
were Mr. and Mrs. Clare Ashbaugh
and sons, Lowell and Garnet. Gar
net was on embarkation leave and
wanted to visit the old home town
before departing for active duty.
AT BAKER
Rev. Francis McCormack was in
Baker the first of the week for Holy
week services at the Catherdal. He
will return Friday afternoon.
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