Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1954)
I L I 8RARY U OF 0 EUGENE. ORE Copies 1 0 cents Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, July 1, 1954 71st Year, Number 16 ifepttet Voters Bond f USPPHtB SUMCMTAH. JCMOOl ws. , fX AHCHITECT'S DRAWING of the planned new Heppner elementary school which will be built immediately if voters approve a requested $325,000 bond issue at the next Tuesday's special election. The building wi 11 face Main street and will be lo cated on lend now occupied by Tum-A-Lum Lumber company and that owned by the city for park purposes. Plans call for 10 classrooms in the two rear wings, a library which can be used as an 11th classroom, furnace room and offices will be lo cated in the front section facing the street. The building is Revised Plans Call For Ten Classroom Elementary Building The voters of school district No. 1 wll go to the polls next Tuesday, July 6 to decide the fate of a requested $325,000 bond issue re quested by the school board to finance olnstructon of a new elementary school building for the district. The election wll be held at the Heppner school and the polls will be open from 2 to 8 p. m. The school, which has been the subject of long discussion and planning both by members of at least two entirely new school boards, as well as by many resi dents of the district, is planned for the Tum-A-Lum site in down town Heppner, immediately ad jacent to the present school plant. The site was approved several months ago at a special election giving the board the opportunity to go ahead with definite build ing plans. Original board discussion cen tered around a 12 room building with a multipurpose room which could be used for a cafeteria, auditorium and general meeting room, but the cost of such a struc ture was estimated by architects to run about $375,000 which the board felt was more than it and taxpayers wished to spend. Re vised plans eliminated two of the classrooms and the multipurpose room, but left intact room for a library which can be used as an additional classroom for the pre sent time, reducing the estimated cost to $250,000 for the building. Purchase of the site, preparing it for use, architects fees nnd other incidentals will bring the total estimated cost to $325,000, the amount asked at the special bond election. The need for the new building and additional classroom space has been obvious for several years, becoming severe during the past school year .when three school classes were housed, dur ing part of the year, in local churches. The state board of edu cation has classified the Heppner school as conditionally standard, basing its low rating largely on the badly overcrowded conditions Should the district fail to meet the to Decide Schoo Issue Next Tuesday requirements set up by the state, it could lose between $45,000 and $50,000 which it receives annual ly from the state in basic school support funds. , Conditionally standard rating is given a school only temporarily to allow it time to make necessary corrections and raise itself to a standard rating. Flans on Display Several large size drawings of the proposed new school, as well as detailed floor plan sketches of the plant are now on display at the First National bank in Hepp ner and in several store windows in town. Architects for the pro ject are Freeman, Hayslip, Tuft and Hewlett of Portland, who have prepared specifications for a great number of the schools of the state. Of interest to most voters is the announcement this week (in a special advertisement elsewhere in this paper) that even with the necessary tax for the proposed bond issue, taxes in the county will be lower than last year. The reduction has come abut from a lowering of both the county and city levy and a readjustment of assessed valuation in the county. Even with the bond issue levy (which is planned at about 5 and one-half mills) most taxes will show a sharp reduction in the district. An exact figure for next year is not yet available from the county assessor's office, but the figures used in the school board statement reflect at least mini mum reductions. According to reports, the completion of-the as esssing program for the next fis cal year could show even greater reductions than now reported. The school board hopes for a heavy vote at the Tuesday elec tion and members have expres sed the opinion that the high in terest in the new school will bring out one of the biggest spe cial election votes in the history of the district. Mrs. Harry W. Nelson and three daughters of Portland are visiting at the home of her parents, Mr and Mrs. Frank E. Parker. planned so that a multi-purpose room and additional class rooms can be added as needed to the north (left) of building. The channel of Willow creek will be moved more than 200 feet east of its present location to give a wide play area to the rear. Architect's plans call for raising the floor level of the plant four feet above street level to prevent any possibility of flood damage or water danger to the students. The building will house approximately the first five grades in the Heppner schools. Clean-Up Response Too Good, Pickups Being Continued Cleanup campaign chairmen of the chamber of commerce said this week that the public's re sponse to their city -wide clean up campaign last week was so great that volunteer members of the organization were unable to handle all the pickups of refuse in the time allocated. According to original plans, the group expected to be able to pick up all piles of trash dur ing the week and hopedrfo finish the job last Sunday, but the re sponse made it impossible for them to get to all sections of the town. They asked residents whoj have stacked trash on their curbs to be patient another day or two as arrangements are being made for trucks to make more calls to day and Friday. Jeff Carter, chamber president, said that the results of the drive were very gratifying and that many loads were hauled to the dump by volunteer workers. Snyder Saddle Shop Sold to Elgin Man J. B. Snvder announced this week that he has sold his saddle shop to Kenneth Green of Elgin who has now taken over opera tion of the business and is moving it to a new lacation on West Wil low street in downtown Heppner. Green, who moved here last week with his wife and four chil ren, is currently remodeling the Lanham building which formerly housed the telephone office, and will be set up for operation with in a few days. Snyder has operated the shop on North Court street since 1944 and prior to that time was asso ciated for many years with Gene Noble in the same business in Heppner. LIONS INSTALL TONIGHT New officers of the Heppner Lions club will be installed at a special meeting tonight (Thurs day) at O'Donnell's Cafe. The meting will start at 6:30 and will be open to wives of -members. 0 Mr. and Mrs. Frank Turner have had as their guests their twin granddaughters Jo and Jan Allison of Portland, Heppner Swim Pool Opens Thursday The Heppner swimming pool was opened to the public today with Stephen Trukositz serving as lifeguard and instructor, Carol J Grostiens as aesK girt ana L,ance Tibbies, general utility man. The pool will operate under the came rules and control as last year, council members stated, and since the season is late starting this year, the prices will remain the same as in the past. A small increase had been planned, but will not be put into effect. A family season ticket will cost $7; season ticket for two $6; single season ticket $4. Single Ad missions will be: adults 50c; high school students 25c and children under 12, 15c. The pool is open from 1 to 5 every day but Monday and with the coming warmer weather It wilL remain open evenings from 7 to 9. The committee is anxious that patrons cooperate with the per sonnel in charge and hope that the pool is used to the fullest ex tent. The council included money in the city budget for filter equip ment for the pool, but members expressed doubt that it could be installed and used this season. The city plans to call bids on the equipment as soon as possible but it is expected that it will be fall before it can be Installed. SCHOOL BOUNDARY CHANGE REJECTED The district boundary board Wednesday rejected a petition presented by A. F. Majeske, Mrs. Bertha Hunt and Norris A. Leach asking that sections of their pro perty now included in school dis trict No. 1 be transferred to the Lexington district. The board ruled that geographi- cal and transportation reasons made the transfer impractical. The requested transfer involved 2448 acres with a valuation of $22,000. MONDAY HOLIDAY TO BE OBSERVED HERE All Heppner stores and offices will remain closed next Monday, July 5 in observance of the na tional holiday. The state liquor agency will observe the closure as will the post office and all county ana federal oinces. Local Conservation District State Top Award Winner The Heppner Soil conservation district has been selected as Ore gon's grand award winner in a 1953-1954 national soil conser vation competition it was an noticed at Akron Ohio last week by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., sponsors of the program. Thirty of the state's 4t5 soil conservation districts wore enrolled in the com petition. ' Newt O'Harra and Kenneth Peck, both of Lexington, will be guests of the sponsors with 98 other winners representing the other 47 states on a vacation trip to Wigwam guest ranch, Litch field Park, Arizona in December. O'Harra was selected by the Heppner district as its representa tive for the Arizona trip and Pecki was named the outstanding far- mer cooperator. Rules of the con test provide for one representa tive of the state's first place dis trict and the outstanding farmer cooperator selected by the dis trict to make the vacation trip with all expenses paid by the sponsor. Other members of the Heppner district governing body are Char les Carlson, chairman, of lone;' John J. Wightman, Heppner; Rny-I mond Lundell, lone and VV. E. Hughes, Heppner. j Second place honors for the state were earned by Mid-State soil conservation district, which1 nominated Frank Tatti, Rt. lj Box 262, Bend, outstanding far-mer-cooperntor. Both first and second place dis trict will receive bronze plaques as permanent symbol of their achievements in soil saving at regional meeting of the Nation al Association of Soil Conserva tion Districts later this year. Members of the Oregon state judging committee who selected the state's winners are:: Robert; C. Baum, executive secretary, state soil conservation commit tee; C. A. Nish, retired farmer, Cannon Beach; D. D. Hill, head, farm crops department, Oregon State College; Harold Tower, state conservationist and Ivan Oakes, executive secretary, Ore gon state natural resources com mittee. Rhea Creek Road Oiling Contract Awarded by State The stale highway commission at its meeting last Wednesday in Portland accepted the low bid of $63,660 submitted by the Rogers Construction company of Portland for the construction and surfac ing of 7.77 mile of the Rhea creek road from Jordan 1o the mouth of Keck canyon. The bid was referred to highway engineers with power to award. The funds for the project" will come from federal, state and county moneys. Work is expected to start within a short time. C of C Hears Safety Talk by Sgt. Snyder Sgt. H. C. Snyder of the state police who is stationed at Arling ton spoke at the chamber of com merce meeting Monday noon on the need of safe driving and of the value of safety campaigns and education. Sgt. Snyder said that Oregon is carrying on a very effective educational program through the efforts of the Highway Lifesavers committee end he said that the general public is beginning to appreciate the efforts. Snyder also said that the high school driver training program carried on in many state schools is one of the most important phases of driving education. The group heard a report from the recreation and wildlife com mittee that Orville Cutsforth has purchased about 8 Ms acres of the Herren creek meadow and Is now cleaning the area and plans ex tensive improvements that it may serve for general recreational use. He is removing many trees and plans construction of fireplaces and tables. It was also announ ced that he plans to give the pro perty to some organization or group if they will agree to keep it open for general use. So far he has had no takers, it was said. Gilliam Voters Reject Hospital Plan Gilliam county voters at a special election last Friday turn ed down a special levy of $115,000 for the construction of a hospital at Condon. The vote was 552 no to 299 yes. Local Flying Saucer Story Gets Nation Wide Radio Publicity The story published in the Gazette Times several weeks ago about the sighting of a group of unidentified flying objects by three local men has attracted con siderable interest throughout the nation. ' The story was picked up by Frank Edwards of the Mutual Broadcasting Company and aired recently on his network radio program which resulted in the I paper receiving several requests; from Midwest and Eastern U. S residents for copies of the paper carrying th e account. According to reports numerous individual and organizations in and around Chicago are keeping a close ac count of all reported sightings. The three local men, Al Lov- gren, Robert Minek and Elmer Palmer watched nine of the ob jects cross the sky south of Heppner at noon on May G. Legion, Auxiliary Install Officers Kemp Dick and Mrs. Ehvin Hughes were installed Saturday night as commander and Auxil iary president respectively at a joint installation ceremonies of the Heppner American Legion post and the Auxiliary. YVillard McMillan,. Athena, district 6 com mander was the Legion install ing officer assisted by past local commanders, and Mrs. Lynn Bodies, district 6 Auxiliary presi dent, of Milton Freewater was installing officer for the Auxil iary. Other new Legion officers in stalled include Floyd Savers, first vice-commander; Phil Blak ney, second viceeommander; Glenn Ward, Adjutant; Don Fre- derickson, assistant adjutant Alex Thompson, finance officer;' C. J. D. Bauman, service officer; Donald Frederickson, chaplain; Lyle Cox, sgt.-at-arms; William Labhart, historian; junior pat. commander, Forrest Thornburg. Other Auxiliary officers are Mrs. John Jiartman, first vice president; Mrs. Jack Bailey, se cond vice president; Mrs. John Marshall, secretary; Mrs. Richard Meador, treasurer; Mrs. Alex Thompson, historian; Mrs. Walter Edger, chaplain; Mrs. Cre;(ton Robinson, sgt-at-arms; Mrs. Don ald Bellenbrock, junior past presi dent. Following the installation Miss Darlene Richmond of Hermiston entertained with dancing and acrobatic acts and the program concluded with a dance with the music furnished by Duke War- ner, Al Huitt, Dewey Robinson: and Carl Spaulding, of The Dalles post. n commander Salesman Loses Car, Merchandise to Fire A heavily loaded Cadillac se dan owned by Clarence Phoenix of Portland, -a representative of Trans-Pacific Merchandise Com pany, caught fire last Thursday evening on the Lexington-Her-miston highway about a mile north of the North Lexington ele vator. It was completely de stroyed. Phoenix, who had spent the day in Heppner servicing ac counts here, said that the fire ap parently started from a flat tire; which became overheated and burst into flames. Before he was1 able to extinguish the blaze it ignited the gas tank, sending thel entire vehicle into a mass of flames. In addition to the loss of the car, Phoenix lost numer-! ous articles of clothing and over! $1,000 in sample merchandise, j Two local firemen and sheriff C. J. D. Bauman made the longi run to the scene of the fire but; were unable to do more than cool the machine off sufficiently that it could be towed off the road. Bauman took the owner on to Hermiston to catch a train back to Portland. o County Budget Receives Approval The Morrow county budget call ing for expenditures of $199,103 for the next fiscal year was ap proved by the county court Wed nesday morning following a pub lic hearing held at the court house. There were no objections presented. The budget is up only slight ly from last year when the total county expenses were set at $495,- 125. The total tax levy for county purposes will be 113,112, the remainder to be raised from receipts other than taxes. It wasiwere Orville Gentry, Robert and turned over to the assessor for in-1 Vernon Flatt, J. B. Way, Forrest elusion on the coming tax rolls.L, Adams, and Manuel Easter. County Taxes and Valuation to Show Drop Next Year Tax millage in Morrow county is expected to show a consider able reduction for next year, the county assessor Mrs. Joe Hughes, announced this week. Assessed valuation of the county is also expected to show a slight drop, though when final figures are compiled it could remain ap proximately the same as last year. The greatest difference that tax payers will note on next year's tax statement is the reduction in ratio percentage of tax assessed on personal property, the assess or said. In the past all personal property tax has been charged at a 55 percent ratio (55 percent of the cash value), next year this assessment will he reduced to 30 percent. The ratio on real pro perty will remain the same as in the past, which has been 25 per cent. The reduction in the personal property catagory has come about as part of the current reappraisal and equalization program which is aimed at spreading the tax load niore evenly. Assessment figures, just com pleted by the office, show an in crease in the value of real pro perty in the county. The total for next year is $0,076,250 which com pares with $8,705,020 for 1953-51. Personal property values showed a sharp reduction from $3,021,705 for .1953-54 to $2,178,160 for the coming year. The total assessed valuation of the county, not in cluding public utility figures which are supplied by the state tax commission and have not yet been received by the local asses sor, will be $11,224,945 which compares with $11,700,760 for last year. Public utility assessments are expected to show an increase over last year which will probably bring the final county total up to about even with last year. The public utility values on last year's roll amounted to $2,373,014, which was down several hundred thousand dollars from the pre vious year. Levy to Drop Mrs. Hughes said Wednesday that while the assessment figures were completed the breakdown into the millage levy would not be completed for some time yet. however from all budget indica itons it is expected to show a decided drop due largely to the eliminatbn of the 5 mill special hospital construction levy and a reduction 'ri the general school levy of about 3 mills. This re- duction, coupled with the lowered personal property ratio will re flect a sizeable lowering of taxes on many statements this fall, Much of the change of ratios and increases in certain property classifications has come out of the current reappraisal program being carried on with the cooper ation of the state tax commission. o Wymon Is Named Local Farm Chemical Service Distributor Agri-Chem Inc. of Athena has announced the appointment of Lester Wyman of Heppner as Brea Aqua Ammonia service dis tributor for Morrow, Gilliam and parts of Umatilla counties. He will offer complete facilities, equipment and service for scien tific crop building with nitrogen. Brea Aqua Ammonia, which is called a new low-cost nitrogen fertilizer, Is manufactured by Brea Chemicals, Inc., a subsidiary of the Union Oil Company of California. Agri-Chem company has its distributorship for this area of the state. Wyman said the company plans an extensive advertising campaign to announce the new product which is applied in a water solution. Carl Linn Wins New Mail Haul Contract Carl P. Linn of lone has been awarded the contract to haul the mail between Heppner and Arlington, it-was announced this week by Heppner postmaster James Driscoll. He will start operation of the route on July 1 under terms of the contract which calls for the same frequency of service as under the former con tract which was held by Orville Gentry. Linn's bid of $5,680 was the lowest among the six bids re ceived by the post office depart ment. Others who submitted bids
