Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1962)
LIBRARY U OF 0 EUGENE. ORE. ip o n kB mm U U UVJ b 10 Cents Light Voter Turnout For Friday's Primary After a quiet campaign, a light turnout of voters is expected Fri day at the primary election in Morrow county. Polls in the nine precincts will be open from 8 a. m. until 8 p. m., but it is doubtful if more than 50 per cent of the total of 2217 register ed voters will go to cast ballots in the 12-hour period. Four separate ballots have been prepared, and most voters will mark preferences on three of them the one for his party, one for measures and one for CANDIDATES for Morrow county V I i I ... I . 1 II I I v FI rf kA. , B- . . tfii Jf . U nanot are E. o. (Gene) Ferguson of Heppner (left) who is com pleting his first term in the office and Berl Akers (right) of lone, There are no Democratic candidates for the office. (G-T Photos) State Tax Board Holds Road Tax Base Plan Illegal Morrow county's measure ask ing for voter approval of a $115,000 road tax base is held to be illegal by the Oregon State Tax Commission, County Judge Oscar Peterson has announced. He made the announcement at the Heppner-Morrow County Chamber ot Commerce meeting Monday when a discussion of the uroDosed measure came ud. "I regret very much that I must advise everyone to vote against it," he said. The measure appears on the primary election ballot and will be up for vote Iridav. Since it is too late to remove it or reprint the ballots, it will remain to face decision of the voters, but even if it were ap proved, the commission holds that it could not be placed in effect. District Attorney Bob Abrams said that the basis for the interpretation is that the county cannot have two tax bases one for the general fund and one for the road tax. The uroposal was offered to voters when it was discovered several months ago that the cur rent year's serial levy, approved bv voters in 1953, is illegal be cause it has produced revenue in excess of statutory limits. This was due to the increasing of the assessment ratio on property taxes from 22 to 25'r, a step required by a new law to make ratios uniform throughout the state. The court turned to the establishment of the road base us an alternative method of i. using needed funds. Judge Peterson said that the only recourse now is for the county to ask voters again to approve a serial levy which will he set up in a different form to Photo Proofs Due Those who had pictures taken of children by Woltz Studios un der a cooperative arrangement with the Gazette-Times are re minded that Jack Fixter, photog rapher, will be back with proofs of the pictures Friday from noon until 7 p. m. at the banquet room of Stefani's Fine Food, lone, and from !) a. m. until 6 p. m. at Hotel Heppner. Elks Call Meeting In Odd Fellows Hall Without a home because of the Friday fire, Heppner lodge No. 358, B.P.O.E., will meet Thursday night in the Odd Fellows hall at 8 p. m., it is announced. Temporary club room and lounge for the Elks will be opened in the building just south of MiLadies Apparel, formerly a teen-age center. It is expected that the temporary arrangement will be ready sometime next week. GAZETTE-TlMK judiciary (non-partisan) offices. However, those who have regis tered as independents or for parties other than Republican and Democrat will receive only the ballots for measures and judiciary. Only 33 are registered in this category. Polling places are listed by Mrs. Sadie Parrish as follows: Boardman, Greenfield Grange hall; Hardman, IOOF lodge hall; lone, city hall; Irrigon, A. C. Houghton school; Lexington, city hall; N. E, Heppner, old library commissioner on the Republican conform to requirements of an other relatively recent law. This must be done at a special elec tion prior to July 15 in order that the county receive proceeds from the 1962-63 tax levies, but if possible, the election may be set prior to July 1, he said. State law now prohibits a ser ial levy in the form that Morrow voters have approved for the past 15 years. It called for a 10-mill levy, but it is no longer legal to ask for a specific millage levy. Rather, a certain sum must be asked lor, and the millage levy is determined on the basis of that necessary to raise the sum, spread across the total val uation. College District Election Called An election on the formation of the Blue Mountain Area Edu cation District has been called by the State Board of Education for Friday, June 8, from 2 to 8 p. m. The district is for the organization of a community college to serve Umatilla and lorrow counties. While voters ballot on the for mation of the district, they will also cast votes for seven direc tors to be elected at large in the district. Petitions have been circ ulated for Robert Abrams, Hepp ner, as one of the directors. In Morrow county, polling places will be at Heppner ele mentary school; Irrigon elemen tary school; Riverside High school, Boardman j- school cafe teria, lone; and Lexington Elementary school. Fourt e e n polling places are also estab lished in Umatilla county. The state board authorized the election after conducting a pub lic hearing in Pendleton. Most of those appearing at the hear ing expressed themselves as in favor of the district. Ed Gonfy Heads Heppner TV, Inc. Ed Gontv, a director of Hepp ner TV, Inc., for five years, was elected president at the annual meeting Tuesday night. Conlev Lanham, past president, was re elected to the board of direc tors after completing his term. Other directors are Harry O' Donnell, L. E. Dick and Haskell Sharrard. Carl Spaulding is sec retary and Don Wise is tech nician. Six thousand feet of new cable has been purchased to replace old cable. In all, the stock corp oration now has 13 miles of cable. Heppner, Oregon; Thursday, May 17, 1962 Expected Election room in city hall; N. W. Heppner, TN-County Equipment Co. build ing; S. E. Heppner, county clerks office in the courthouse S. W. Heppner, county judge office in the courthouse. On the Republican ballot, prin cipal local interest centers in two county contests, those for assessor and county commission er. Since neither position has a candidate on the Democratic bal lot, choice of the Republican nominee is tantamount to elec tion. Oliver Creswick, appointed as sessor last year to fill the un expired term vacated by the late Harry Dinges, is opposed by Rod- ericK fa. ihomson, deputy asses lor for 4 years, for the assessor position. For commissioner, E. O. (Gene) Ferguson, completing his first term in the office, is opposed by berl Akers of lone. On the Demorcatic ticket. Drin- cipal local interest will center in the race between Jack L Smith, former president of the Oregon Wheat league, and Frank M. Weatherford, incumbent, tor the nomination as state repre sentative from the 28th district, embracing Gilliam, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla and Wheeler counties. Winner of the contest will go against Gaylord Madi son, Republican, In the Novern ber general election, since Madi son is running unopposed on the Kepuoncan ballot. Except for these three po sitions, there are no local con tests on either ballot. Garland Swanson is running unopposed lor another term as port com missioner on the G.O.P. slate and George Wiese, Democrat, also seeks another term for port com missioner on his party ticket Two are to be elected in the fall. Some precincts have precinct committeemen and committee women running opposed and these will appear on the separate ballots lor each precinct. Some additional interest comes at the national and state levels. Six candidates are in the running for nomination as U. S. Senator on the G.O.P. ticket to oppose senator wayne Morse in the gen eral election. Front runners are Sig Unander and Congressman Edwin R. Durno. Also in the race are Harold M. Livingston, Glenn E. Brixey, J, Bacaloff, and R. F. Cook. On the Democratic side, Sen. Morse has opposition from Charles E. Gilbert. Two Republicans are vieinc for the nomination for Repre sentative in Congress from the second district. Robert W. Chandler, Bend publisher, and Everett J. Thoren, Elgin lumber man, are in the race. Thoren has been working actively in this territory and visited in Heppner Monday. Winner will face present congressman Al Ullman in the general election. Ullman is un opposed on the Democratic ticket. in the primary. For governor, Gov. Mark Hal- field has some opposition on the Republican ticket by H. G. Alt vater, but a more interesting race has Deen developing on the Dem ocratic side between Walter J. Pearson, veteran in politics, and Robert Y. Thornton, state attorney-general for years. Two others are in the running, M. A. (Cap) Yegge and Dan N. Cox. Norman O. Nilsen, present commissioner of labor, has op position on the Democratic bal lot by Vic Davis, and Alfred (Pat) Blair is running unopposed for the nomination on the G.O.P. ticket. Some interest in the election dissipated early in the week when it was learned that the $115,000 road tax base proposed by the county court is illegal and could not be placed in effect if it carried. This leaves two state measures on the measures ballot, one to make changes to the 6 percent limitation amend ment, and the other on legis lators' salaries. Two contests on the non partisan ballot find Arno H. Denecke vieing with Lyle R. Wolff for position 6, supreme court, and Judge Peter Gunnar, incumbent, opposed by Raymond L. Jones for judge of the Oregon tax court. WEATHER (Leonard Gilliam, observer) Hi Lo Prec. Thursday 58 34 .07 Friday 61 33 Saturday 57 32 Sunday 61 32 Monday 63 38 Tuesday 59 35 Wednesday 70 43 79th Year, Number 1 1 Going . . . n V-jrr wro t i i , lmlL s , 4 . . "Ml 3-rXT--' took . i. .Jvf mm-;- H'f .H, ..w?J first to turn In 7fb alarm. ' " ' "' . J !J II ' f i,' VOLUNTEERS are shown working saies as names Drone mrougn dense black smoke. Handling Stroeber. i I V . rWC - v &?zzrii::iL :.r-'---...... J :'tt1r-w J).- ' -n I 1 I" " - Ml , ' ' '"TT K - I . - , , . M - - - i n- - I, i i J TWISTED and CHARRED chaos remained after the fire was extinguished. This view looks to the northwest from the back of the building. Bumed chairs from the lodge are visible center left "Hot spot" of the fire centered in the kitchen and dining area. (G-T Photos) Theater Heavily Damaged In Worst Blaze Since 1949 (Pictures also pages 2 and 6) nre, which apparently had considerable head start before being discovered, early Friday morning ravaged the Elks lodge building. It gutted the upper JJL ,E!!?S' buiin sh0ltlV " " "m "el Rm n . . Going . . " on the south side of the building ine tiKs root. Heavy tnicKnesses hoses here are Howard Keithley, H. II I I j I .- 1 I : 1:1 s inn. r3fc'W-: WVRikiJ floor and caused extensive smoke and water damage to the Star theater, located on the lower noor or tne same structure. Heppner volunteer firemen, led by Chief Charles A. Ruggles and 4 A1 i i ft - w -' .J .? the alarm was sounded me bm south 01 town and was . t & Si uStJ te-M Hiuii A ww from the roof of Heppner Auto ot tar on the roof caused the J. Stroeber, Mike Crist, and Don Gone 1 Bill Farra, were on the spot a few minutes after the alarm sounded shortly after 6 a. m. and stuck with the stubborn blaze until it was brought under con trol two hours later. Mop-up operations by the volunteers be gan at 9:30 and work continued through the day. Dense black smoke billowed over the city, and heat was intense when flames broke through the roof. Chief Ruggles had attempted to gain entry through the south stairway upon arrival at the scene, taking a high pressure booster line with him, but was forced back by the heat. Entry was blocked from the rear of the buildim? hv a steel door locked from the inside. ine ctnet conjectured that there was some possibility that the fire might have been ex tinguished at once had the men been able to train access lhrmiih the rear door. Estimates of damaee ran as high as $250,000 at first, but later review brines the fitruro eon- siderably lower, although it will oe sometime belore adiusti-is have completed their work. La- verne van Marter of Turner. Van Marter and Bryant insurance agency expressed the opinion that damage would be placed well under preliminary estimates. Elks members and volunteer helpers carried much of the equipment and supplies from the lower floor club room, but all equipment in the kitchen and lodge rooms on the upper floor was lost. Fire did not reach the theater, but smoke and witi'i' damage was extensive. Mrs. Elaine George, who leases quarters for the theater from the Elks, said that "rust is all over everything." Projectors and metal seat backs show this damage, she said. Ceiling in the theater apparently is ruined and walls are damaged. The screen also suffered severely. nrst to turn In tho alarm was Mrs. James McCabe who noticed smoke pouring from the build ing from her home on the hill south of town. Chief Ruccles said the call came exactly at G a. m. Within three minutes another call came from Everett Struckmeier, owner of Hotel Heppner. ' Ruggles took one truck from the fire barn and Bill and James Farra took the rural pumper. "I could see at the corner of Main and Chase as I approached from the west that the whole top floor of the building was full of dense, black smoke," the chief said. He placed his high pressure pump truck in front of the building and the Farras went to the rear of the building with the rural truck. Other men joined immediately to lav lines from hydrants at the Main and May, May and Chase, Willow and Chase, and Willow and Main intersections. Hot spot of the fire seemed to be in the kitchen-dining area. some 20 feet back from the front of the building. Firemen ap proached the fire from the ton of the Heppner Auto Sales build ing on the south, and from the Bucknum Tavern building on the north. One l'a" line was used at the rear of the building from the ground. Those on the tavern building were forced to wear masks because of the dense smoke blown to the northeast by a slight breeze. Later the wind shifted for a time and drif ted across the top of the Auto Sales building, but the fire was controlled soon after. The fire worked through ceil ing and roof in the dining area and progressed to the front and back. Steady streams from the sides held the roaring flames in check but could not extinguish the fire until the tarpaper roof was completely burned and the interior remained a charred and blackened waste. No one was in the building when the fire started, and no one was injured during the course of the blaze. At no time did the fire break away from the volunteers who kept it well con fined. Although businessmen on the street were worried about the possibility of general de struction of the main block, damage was held strictly to the Elks building. Earl Ayres of Heppner Auto Sales said that no loss was suffered in his building, and Elmer Berry, tavern owner, said that if any damage was done to his building it would be on the roof where some slight damage might have been caused by the necessary traffic on it. Loss appeared to be well cover ed by insurance. The Elks had invested some $100,000 in Im provements to their hall and club rooms only four years ago, but the building and furnishings were well insured. Mrs. George said that the theater is also well covered. What the future holds remain ed a question Thursday. Mrs. George could not say whether she would continue to operate the theater, depending upon ac tual extent of loss, her arrange ment with the Elks, and other matters. Members of the Elks, too, are uncertain. Some stated that they may reconstruct the present quarters, but others feel that they build a new structure in the rear of the present lo cation. Consensus is, however, (Continued on Page 6)
