Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1957)
CityFo-Keep Present Mountain Water 1"" PHIL BLADINE, Publisher of the McMinnville News -Register, will be guest speaker at Moa day night's Heppner-Morrow Count Chamber of Commerce annual banquet. Job Development Plan to be C of C Speaker's Subject Tickets went on sale early this week for the chamber of com merce annual banquet to be held Monday evening, April 22 at the Heppner Legion hall. Main speaker for the event will be Phil Bladine, publisher of the McMinnville News -Register, and an active member in the McMinn ville chamber of commerce. He will tell of the well-known "Mc Minnville Plan" which was de veloped by that- city's chamber and business men to attract in dustry to the area which would provide additional payroll. Bla dine was active in the formation of the plan and will explain how such a proposal could be put into effect here. Other features of the banquet will be a report on the year's ac complishments, the presentation of awards and the calling of a portion of the bonds sold by the chamber to finance installation of the lighting system at the rodeo field. Master of ceremonies will be Gordon Pratt, vice-principal of Heppner high school and the dinner will be served by mem bers of Epsilon Sigma Alpha sor ority of lone. The banquet is open to the pub. lie and tickets are on .sale at the First National Bank, Turner, Van Marter and Bryant Insurance and the Gazette Times. It is sche duled to start at 6 p. m. with a social hour, president Jack Angel announced. Crippled Children's Clinic Set May 15 The semi-annual crippled children's clinic will be held at the offices of the Umatilla county health department in Pendleton May 15, it was announced this week by Mrs. Velma Glass, Mor row county health nurse. This is a doagnostic, clinic sponsored by the crippled child ren's division of the University of Oregon medical school. Dr. Donald Smith of Pendleton will be the examining orthopedic specialist and other personnel such as the medical social work er, physical therapist, etc., will come from Portland. Any resident of Morrow county under the age of 21 years with a ciippling condition may attend the clinic for diagnosis without charge. Application forms are available from the Morrow county health department in Heppner. An appointment must be made, so persons wishing to attend are asked to request an application form so they will be assured of an appointment. The public health nurse will assist with filling out the application and she may be contacted by calling Heppner 6-9911. r. Funds Started for Church Window Valby Lutheran church is es tablishing a fund to put a stain ed glass window in the new Hope Lutheran church now under construction in Heppner. It will be a memorial window for the pioneers of the Valby church, it was stated. Persons interested in aiding the fund may contact Mrs. Lau rence Becket Mr. and Mrs. Lester Doolittle returned Tuesday from Portland where they visited a week with their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Perrott and son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Doolittle. In Aums ville they visited with Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Akers. : 7 V f - 111 Copies 10 Cents IT CAN HAPPEN Tonido HUGE HAIL STONES DROP FROM STORM Yes, it was a real "twister" . . . the first tornado to be seen in Morrow county in almost 70 years. The much-talked-about tor nado which formed shortly after noon last Friday on the McElli gott ranch southwest of lone and travelled about 20 miles before the long black funnel finally dis sapated at the outskirts of Lex ington, caused more excitement among those persons who watch ed its progress than any act of nature seen here in many years. The twister was accompanied by high winds and heavy rain and hail from the parent storm to which it was attached, but fortunately damage was only minor. As far as can be de termined no buildings were struck though the funnel passed within a short distance of several ra'nch houses and barns and finally disolved within a mile or so of Lexington where steps were hur redly being taken to get school students into a safe place in the building. Several reports have been re ceived of telephone poles being liftd out of the ground and of fences that were picked up and then dropped many feet from their former location. Little if any crop damage resulted from the storm as most wheat is still too short to be effected. Hail and Rain Heavy The storm was accompanied by heavy rain and hail, even after the funnel disappeared. Lexington received nearly an inch and one-half of pea-sized hail and in many places it drifted as deep as a foot. Near the edge of the storm some of the largest hail stones ever seen here were dropped, but in small numbers. Several were picked up at the west edge of Heppner (as shown in- the accompanying photo graph) which were as big as golf balls or larger. Insurance agents have reported a .few claims for broken windows and roof damage and the rear window of at least one car was shattered by the stones. Two ranchers north of Lex ington reported over one half inch of rain fell within less than 10 minutes and as the storm pro gressed over Black Horse canyon and Sand Hollow the fall was even heavier. The most rain re ported was 1.20 inches measured at the Gene Cutsforth ranch in Sand Hollow. It fell in less than one-half hour. Last Tornado in 1887. At the annual dinner meeting of According to reports, the last the Morrow county TB and Health time a tornado struck Morrow Association held at the Wagon county was June 14, 1887. That wheel Tuesday evening it was storm passed through Lexington voted to give free chest X-rays causing one death and consider- at the hospital on the first Wed able damage. It was also about nesday evening of each month that same time that similar from 7:0o to 8:30 p. m. instead twisters damaged Long Creek 0f jUSt twice a year as in the and tore up trees in the Monu- past. ment area. R wag reported tnat Morrow :?? county was second in the state TORNADO PHOTO WANTED BY GT The Gazette Times has ben unable to locate anyone who took a picture of last Friday's tornado which can be used for a newspaper cut. One was ob tained, but its quality was such that it would not make a usable newspaper picture. If any reader has such a picture which is sharp enough for this paper to reproduce, we would appreciate having a print of it as quickly as possible. If one is found, it will be printed next week. .The nega tive is preferred and it will be returned unharmed. PLANE CRASH VICTIM KNOWN IN COUNTY James Andreas who was killed last weekend in a plane crash near Medford, was a former resi dent of Condon and was well known in this area. He served as a Seventh Day Adventist min ister in this section about 1950. Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, April 18, 1957 HERE... Scares, Xf """SI NO, NOT GOLFBALLS . . .HAILSTONES Last Friday's thunder - storm which brought a tornado to sections of the county also dropped some huge hailstones in certain areas. These were picked up near the west city limits ground 15 to 20 minutes before being photographed. Another group of big ones is being kept in a freezer at the Gazeette Times office to prcve to Doubting Thomases that Morrow county can also grow man-sized hail. The hand belongs to state patrolman Bill Lab hart, on whose car fender the stones were placed for photograph ing. . (GT Photo) Rainfall Records Continue to Fall -As Does Moisture March set the all time record for rainfall at Heppner, and from all appearances the month of April is out to set another one, figures from the Heppner wea ther station indicate. Continuing storms over the county dropped .57 inch of rain here during the past week to bring the April total to 1.14 inches. During fhe entire month of April 1956 Heppner received only .09 inch and the 10 year average is only 1.49 inches. The 40 year average is even less at 1.37. Leonard Carlson, Gooseberry observew reports 1.20 inches for April and 10.72 since September 1, 1956, the crop year. Heppner has received a total of 7.34 inches since the first of the year, a record which is con tinuing to get better as time goes on. Records at the Heppner station during the past week showed: Max. Min. Prec. 62 44 . 59 40 .24 58 35 .11 63 46 .03 61 34 . 54 31 . 58 40 .19 Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday (Monday Tuesday Wednesday Enlarged X-ray Program Planned By TB and Health Group percentage wise in seal sales for the year, receiving $1,474.50 dur ing the sale, it was also re ported that 794 chest X-rays had been given at the hospital, to incoming patients, during the year. ' P. V. Mahoney discussed in corporating the association and it was voted to incorporate wltn the four top officers as the in corporators. Mrs. L. E. Dick was appointed seal sale chairman for the com ing year and the officers, presi dent, Mrs. Herman Green; vice president, Mrs. Lowell Gribble; treasurer, Mrs. W. W. Weather ford and secretary, Mrs. Kenneth Peck were unanimously reelected for another term. The president appointed a com mittee of Mrs. Velma Glass, L. E. Dick, Mrs. Robert Penland and Mrs. Noel Dobyns of lone to in vestigate and formulate plans for the association to sponsor a scho larship to a girl interested in nursing. The nominating committee for next year named was Mrs. Wil liam Labhart, Mrs. Lowell Grib ble, and Mrs. Kenneth Peck. But Damage Light of Heppner and had been on the Angel Resigns As Chamber Head Jack N. Angel, president of the Heppner-Morrow county chamber of commerce and administrator of Pioneer Memorial hospital, Monday submitted his resigna- lion as head of the chamber. He took office January 1 this year, Angel stated that hp is coins into private buinesJn the near future which will require so much of his time that he would be unable to adequately serve the chamber as president. He has also sumbitted his resignation as hospital head but will not leave that post for five or six months. The chamber directors will name his successor within a short time. o : County Again Tops Cancer Drive For the seventh consecutive year Morrow county was the first county in the state to go over the top in the April crusade of the American Cancer Society's Oregon Division, H. B. Cooper, Portland, state chairman announ ced late this week. Mrs. Howard Pettyjohn of Heppner has served Texas- He was in the 3545th chairmen and the hostess com as local chairman for the past Pilot training group and received jmittee will be Mrs. William Lab three years. his Air Force wings at the gradu- hart, Mrs. Paul Hisler and Mrs. By late last week Mrs. Petty- ation' Don Bellenbrock. john reported that 124.7 percent For the next six months Lt. n of the county quota had beenjplPer will be with the 3565th GRADUATION DATES SET reached and the figure is still rising. Pilot Critical After Plane Crash Vern Green, 31 year old Hood River pilot suffered critical in juries Friday afternoon when the light plane he was piloting crashed just east of the Lexing ton airport runway. The plane! spun into the ground only a short distance from the Lexing-1 ton-Echo highway from an altl-' tude of about 300 feet. , j Green had taken off from the! Lexington field only a few min-j utes before on his way back to Hood River, but apparently storm conditions caused him to change his mind and return to the field. In making his landing approach turn, he apparently was caught in a squall over the canyon which sent the ship out of con- trol. Green was brought to Pioneer Memorial hospital after being extricated from the wrecked Tav. lnrrraft nlann It ronllirA1 tho lico of hack saws to cut him from the nlane's framework. -ii ta i ine puoi suuereu muiupie compound fractures of both legs, concussion and severe head lac- erations and his condition is still listed as serious. He is mar- rled and the father of three small children. ' 74th Year, Number 6 Two Top Honor Students Are Named at HHS Heppner high school's top honor students were named this week. They are Miss Mary Jo Stewart, valedictorian, and Ger ald "Jay" Sumner, salutatorian. Miss Stewart, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joe H. Stewart, has attended Heppner high school for two years, and her grade point average for her full four years of high school is 3.96. In addition to a top grade ' point average, she has served on Hie Heliisch and Mustang staffs; , as president of the National ' Honor Society; secretary-treas urer of Quill and Scroll; GAS vice-president; a member of the Pep Club: was chosen Girl of the Month for April; a member of the volleyball team, band, Let terettes and the FBLA. She has been a delegate to two press con ferences. Other activities include Rainbow for Girls, 1956 local United Nations contest winner and winner of the Elks most val uable student award. Jay Sumner completed his four years of high school work with a grade point of 3.91. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Sumner. Jay's activities Include: editor of the yearbook, member of the National Honor Society, Quill and Scroll, band concert master, sergeant at arms of the student body, student council member, class president and parlimentar ian, Boy of the Month for October, FBLA member, delegate to four press conferences and he was ac claimed in the upper one percent ui me nauuu 111 aigeura Know-' ledge as a freshman. " , 1 Ho was a delegate to Bovs State, national Boy Scout jam boree, and was Hoppner high math contest winner as a sopho more. For two years he has re ceived honorable mention awards for outstanding under-classman journalistic contributions. The two top seniors will re- ,kt. . i i. a ii ueive ineii uwuius hi grauuuiion exercises May 22. Lt. Loren Piper Receives AF Wings Lt. Loren E. Piper, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Piper of Heppner, graduated April 12 at Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, navigation training wing station- ea at james uonnauy akh ati Waco, Texas. , j o for RUMMAGE PICKUP. Anyone having rummage the Civic League sale May 3 and 4, which needs to be picked upj may call 6-9725 or 6-9284, it has been announced. It may be left at Jack's Chevron station if de-days with his brother C. C. Gil sired. liam. it v $ f I 'K. HOOD RIVER PILOT, Vern Green, is in serious condition in Pioneer j Memorial hospital from Injuries suffered when his light plane j crashed in this field near Lexington airport See story j (Photo by Scott McMillan) :: s VALEDICTORIAN of Heppner high school graduating class is Miss Mary Jo Stewart. SALUTATORIAN of HHS senior class is Gerald "Jay" Sumner. Elks To Sponsor Saturday Morning Easter Egg Hunt The Heppner Elks lodge will sponsor an Easter egg hunt next Saturday morning at the court house lawn for all county youngs ters up to the sixth grade. The scramble for prize eggs is sche duled to start at 10 a. m. Included In the hundreds of colored eggs hidden , in the area will be 20 prize ones worth a silver dollar, or other prizes, to the finders. The front lawn will 1)2 reserved for pre school child ren, the rest for those up to the sixtn grade ,,,,, u, .. Ih commltU-e the hunt is Mrs. i,,irma m-o in charge of Tom Wilson, LaVerne Van Marter, Mrs. John Hartman, Mrs. Harlan McCurdy, Jr., Mrs. Everett Keithley, Mrs. William Labhart and Mrs. Jack Van Winkle. - Heppner P-TA To See Style Show The Heppner F. II. A. Chap ter of the Heppner high school will give their annual style show at the P-TA meeting Wednesday evening, April 24 at 8:00 p. m. in the multipurpose room of the new school. Mrs. Homer Hager will be pro gram chairman, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Anderson. hosDitalitv Graduation for Heppner high school has been set for Wednes day evening, May 22 and for the ' grade school Thursday evening, J May 23. More particulars will be printed at a later date. Leonald Gilliam left Tuesday by plane for Campbell, Calif., where he will visit for about 10 J 1 s I m Source Pipeline Renewal To Start, Summer Supply Assured The City of Heppner will start immediately on a program to re place nine miles of worn out water supply pipe line with new steel pipe, it was decided bv fhe council Monday night at a spe cial meeting called to cope with the suddenly serious water sup ply problem. Bids will be asked for bv next council meeting on the purchase of two miles of steel pipe which will be sufficient to solve the im mediate problem, and plans will be developed within the next two or three months to finance fhe remainder of the project. Only two weeks aso the eoun. cil received a report from its engineers concerning the renewal of its antiquated water supply system from its upper wells 13 miles above town on Willow creek, and it was planned by the councilmen that a study of the proposal, which included the suggestion that new wells be drilled, be made during the next several months. The sudden change in the water picture, cau sed by the rebuilding of the Wil low creek road, under which a portion of the city's pipe line runs, was the reason for the Im mediate action by the city. The entire nine miles of the line is in need of renewal, and the council has been eivine the work serious thought over the past year, as to feasibility and mctnods or financing. The engi neers' report was a maior steD in determining this program. Work on the road rebuilding, however, has caused many breaks in the 41 year old concrete line during the past few weeks, and it became aDDarent that If the city was to have adequate water this summer, something had to be done immediately. Cost Scaled Down The engineer's reDort estimated the cost of replacing the more than nine miles of old pipeline (Four miles of the total leneth are now steel) at about $193,- 000, and suggested the idea that the city consider drilling new wells closer to town as a cheap er way to get water. Council dis. cussion centered about the rapid ly falling water table in the county and fear was expressed that several expensive wells might be drilled without finding a supply sufficient to furnish the city. It was pointed out that one 000 foot dry hole was drilled be fore the present "lower" well three miles from town, was brought in which supplies about 350 gallons per minute. It was also feared that additional wells in the same area could verv possibly tap the same water sourse as the present well, mak ing it useless. Several council members ex pressed the feeling that although the cost of bringing water from the upper wells might be ex pensive, the supply was proven and the water is rated as second best in the state of Oregon. Many cities must bring their water many times farther, it was point ed out, and still don't have as good water as is available here. Cost of replacing the critical two-mile section was set at ap proximately $25,000 and the council felt that the entire nine miles could be laid for consider ably less than the engineer's estimate of $193,600. Monev for the present work will be gleaned from budget monev for the cur rent year, and from next year's budget which starts its fiscal year July 1. Bonds May Be Needed After more study Is given to the Job, the council will proba bly be forced to ask the people to approve a bond issue for an undetermined amount to com- plete the work. It had been hoped that about one mile of th line could be replaced each year, without the necessity of bonding but engineering showed that the present line would be olanned to follow the new Willow creek road which is an even grade. while the old line follows a Dath on the south side of Willow creek for most of its distance and coes over many ridges and Into num erous canyons, causing serious pressure ana breakage problems. The council action In decidtn? not to abandon the upper wells was based on its own Judgment of- the water problem and the feeling that most residents de sired that the city continue to get most of Its water supply from the excellent wells at the forks of Willow creek. The lower well, owned bv the city, is used only during the sum mer months, or In emergency when the upper pipeline Is out of order and is considered excel lent protection against loss of supply. It alone cannot supply enough for summer use when (Continued on Page Six)
