Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1962)
HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES, Thursday, May 17 .1962 MOBHOW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER PHONE 678-9228 The Heppner Gazette, established March 30, 1883. The Heppner Times established November 18, 1897. Consolidated February 15, 1912 ' WESLEY A. SHERMAN HELEN E. SHERMAN Editor and Publisher Associate Publisher NEWSPAPER PUBUIHIIS ASIOCIAflON NATIONAL EDITORIAL Subscription Rates: Morrow and Grant Counties, $4.00 Year; Else where L50 Year. Single Copy 10 Cents. Published Every Thursday and Entered at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon, as Second Class Matter. OFFICE HOURS: 8 a. m. to 6 p. m.; Saturdays, 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. i Elks Fire Big Loss to Whole Community Loss from the fire which claimed the Elks lodge hall, club rooms and the Star Theater is far greater than the some $200,000 to $250,000 in material damage. It hurts the business community; it restricts the social life of the area; it destroys recreational outlets. Its damage will reach many who are not members of the lodge and who never attended the shows at the theater. Heppner's Elks lodge is known and respected throughout the northwest, and it has brought many visitors here who other wise would never have come to the city. As we mentioned in a recent editorial, the lodge through its projects has done immeas urable good, and its generosity has been enjoyed by the entire area. Likewise, the theater has been a drawing card for the town. Its manager, Mrs. Elaine George, consistently endeavored to bring the best in entertainment, and young folks particularly enjoyed it in leisure hours. Being as hardy and as well-established as it is, we know that the lodge will take steps as soon as possible to build again, and its program, though temporarily curtailed, will continue. Many have expressed warranted concern for the future of the theater. It did not receive the support it deserved from adults in the community. Whether it will be in operation again is a matter that not even Mrs. George can say at this time. Its Importance must not be overlooked, however, and we join many otiiers in hoping that it can be restored or replaced, it is a rather painful thought that this community may not be able to provide adequate recreational facilities so that both adults and youth would be forced to travel to towns some 50 miles away or more to find leisure activity of this type. Thus, Joss from the fire is not only that suffered by the Elks and the theater management; it is shared by the com munity. While expressing our condolences to the Elks and Mrs. George, we would add our voice to the many who have praised the work of the volunteer fire department and to those who assisted at the time of the fire. After tile initial shock of realization that one of the town's heller buildings was in flames and the rush to get at it, little confusion was evident. The firemen pitched into their work methodically and eiliciently. They stuck with it until it was out. Until that time, they contained it so that even the adjoining buildings sultered no greater damage than a small note poked in the turpaper roof ot one. In a fire of this magni tude one would expect mat an entire downtown block could go, but this was never an actual threat because of the fire inanship in evidence. The public at large did itself proud, too. Everyone who could .see anything that needed doing pitched in to help out. I'dinier firemen stepped back Into harness, and others offered to assist. Those who couldn't be ol use kept out of the way and that's a big help in itself, Thoio were no reports of driving over hoses, intertering with the lnemen, nor obstructing their work. In such an emergency as this, the true iieighborlijiess that is characteristic oi our area shows to its best, and the spirit seems to prevail that no matter how great the loss, each otters in share so that all meet it together. Rood Tax Base Defeated Before Election No matter how much a voter might have been in favor of the county's measure to establish a $U5,lH)0 road tax base in the primary election, it will do no good to vote for it. At Hie "11th hour" Just before the election the county has been advised by the State Tax Commission that the proposal is illegal because the county cannot iiave two tax bases one lor the general fund and one for the road fund. Since there is no way at this late date to take it from the ballot, the only sensible thing to do is to vote Wo on this. Doing so will be no affront to the county court nor to other county officials. This is merely the inevitable that lias to be accepted, it it should pass tand the chance now is remote), it would only be declared illegal anyway. This, of course, will leave the county road situation in a precarious position tor a white, it would appear that the county court will call a special election to propose another serial levy for roads, but Hie legal piilalls that best the last serial levy no doubt wil be avoided. When the current budget runs Us course, the road department will have no tux funds to turn to unless a serial levy is proposed and approved by the voters at a special election. Down With Lethargy! Get Out and Vote I Lethargy the slate of inaction or indifference is one of the greatest threats to our way of life. Its brother apathy is seldom more apparent than in a primary election in an off presidential year. Hut how about a campaign to beat lethargy and apathy? All those willing may signify by getting out and voting in the primary. True, there isn't widespread interest, but there are some important local contests on the Hepublican ballot, and some other slate and national races of significance on both of the party ballots. There are two slate measures that command attention, and two contests on the judiciary ballot. This is certainly worth the trouble of any registered voter to stale his preference. Hut if you don't bother to go to the polls, von may be sure that there are always two candidates who will be the victors ami rule you in the end Mr. Lethargy and Mr. Apathy. 3 Hemorrhoids Cured Painlessly By Non-Surgical Method The non-surgical, elec tronic method for treatment of Hemorrhoids (Piles) de veloped by doctors of the Bcal-Oliver Sandy Blvd. Clinic has been so success ful and permanent in nature that the following policy is offered their patients:" fter all symptoms of Hemor rhoids . . . have subsided and the patient has been dis charged, if he should ever have a recurrence, all further treatments will be given ab solutely free." Patients experience little, if any pain. Their treatment requires no hospitalization and does not employ drugs or injections. Write today for a free, descriptive booklet, yours without obligation: The Bcal-Oliver Sandy Blvd. Clinic, Chiropractic Physi cians, 2026 N. E. Sandy Blvd., Portland 12, Oregon. iiiiimliitmiiiiiiiHMmiiiiiiii Chaff and Chatter Wes Sherman HlMIIIIIIMIIIMMMIIItlllflHIIII LIVING NEXT door to the city fire alarm almost insures that a sleeping editor will be cata pulted out of bed from sheer shock of the nerve-shattering blasts at any time of night that a summons comes. A few years ago, as a volunteer smoke eater in another town, we answered every nocturnal call, routing the weary bones and groping for a pair of pants to slip over the pa jamas, grabbing turnout coat and eventually reaching the scene of the fire still uncertain whether this was really happen ing or whether our lost soul had been transferred to the River Styx. By steeling oneself, though, it is possible to control the old fire horse tendencies, and a guy can convince himself that he has a right to sleep through it. We have learned to roll over and drift back into the realms of morpheus, secure in the know ledge that here Charlie and his boys will competently take care of it, and undoubtedly it's only a chimney fire anyway. For some reason the sleep that we enjoy from 5 to 7 is the best of the night, being by nature and vocational necessity a swing shifter. So when the big blast came Friday morning just after 6 a. m. it was as annoying as if a huge horse fly had suddenly burst in the bedroom to start his raucous buzzing. A lot of noise for an other chimney fire. We rolled over to take another crack at dreamland. The pestiferous con science clamored when the blasts continued, but by now we were determined to stay in bed. Printer Joe Hartle, though, is a fitting candidate for daylight time if there ever was one. For some ridiculous reason, he is up around 4 a. m. and is about town for morning coffee often between 5 and 6. We got through the siren all right, but when Joe knocked at the apartment door and yelled that the Elks' build- Painful Plight of Paper Procrastinarors We have said it before, and we will say it once more. Prob ably the most painful duty facing an editor is leaving out important stories from the paper for the simple reason that there is no place to put them. Sadly enough, this happens every week. The thing that makes it tough is that we know very well that, to someone, the story we leave out is most important. Quite often the one who is the victim of the omission is convinced that there are many stories of far less importance that reached print, and oddly enough, this may be true. The basic trouble comes because too many people who want news in the paper think that Wednesday is soon enough, and Tuesday is early. But that isn't true. In our little plant, all the news must be set into type on one machine. Volume of news now in the paper has probably increased as much as 100 over what it was just a few years ago. One man has to set that type, and he sticks with it Tuesday and Wednesday nights until his eyes look like two "burnt holes in a blanket," as the saying goes. We have no more mechanical capacity than the Gazette-Times ever had since the "hand peg" days. When all the real important news comes Tuesday and Wed nesday, it is necessary to use less important material to get the paper started. The printing process is nut done all at once, but the press starts to roll as early as possible on Wednesday. It is necessary to use whatever is ready to get out on time. It is not our intention to leave out legitimate news that is of significance to our area, but the contributor has an obligation, too. He should inform us of important events coming up just as soon as he knows of them so that we can get them on our calendar and expect them. For example, when the Jaycees seat belt drive was scheduled for Heppner, one of the members of the Pendleton organization called on us well in advance, told us of their plans and asked for our cooperation. He said that he would send us the details as soon as plans were completed. That was exactly the thing to do. We put it on our calendar, expected it, and when it came we were ready for it. Result was that it received adequate publicity treatment and the drive was a success. On the other hand, an important meeting was scheduled in Heppner that was to be held this week. Publicity had to be in the paper last Thursday. We were not advised of the forth coming meeting until last Tuesday when we received a phone call, and in the mid-week rush, its significance was overlooked. Along with some thirty other stories, it was left oot of the paper because there just was no place to put it without taking out something else which was equally important to some other group. We had failed to realize its significance until we received an irate call Friday morning, charging that we are prejudiced against the sponsoring group. We are prejudiced against no community group lodge, church, civic organization, political party, nor any other legitimate entity. We want news of local organizations, and we appreciate those who are so helpful in letting us know of things going on. But we ask that those interested in publicity bear a few things in mind: 1. Do not assume that we know of your important event coming up until you tell us. 2. Remember that a com munity the size of ours has more organizations in proportion to its size than larger cities with consequently greater demands on the limited paper facilities available. 3. To avoid the painful plight to which we referred above, do not procrastinate. Get the word to us at the earliest possible time. 4. Bear in mind that it is not practicable to run an added page in the paper at will. This is geared to the amount of advertising and the time and resources available to produce it. 5. Be sure that we com prehend the significance of your story. In case there are any who still do not understand, we cord ially invite them down at midnight any Wednesday, or at 2 p. m. any Thursday to perspire with us as we attempt to squeeze all the type We have into the space available. (0s v o o AND YOUR FEET WILL BE AS GAY AS A SPRING SONG In I Featherweights wr . ay SI2ES AAAA-t 414 thru 11 SIZES' AAA-C Yi thru 10 CUSHION CIIPI SOLI WITH HEEL FULL WIDOIE CUSHION CRIPI SOLI, float your fool en million of air bub. Cuihiom ovory Hop you toko. Soft bin. Soft gloVfc Itolhir. Jtttl arch for glovo loathor. Stool arch for oxtra xtra lupport. support. Announcing The Winners in our FREE GLOVETT Drawing: Mary J. Lippert, Monument Muriel Runnion, Heppner ONTY' ing was engulfed in fire, we hit the deck, growling at our stup idity in not getting up in the first place. CHIEF CHARLIE and his smoke eaters looked as if they had been on the job for hours when we arrived on the scene with camera about 6:20. Charlie, backed by his firemen, had al ready gone up the south stair way in an attempt to stop the second -story fire but they were forced to retreat by the intense heat and dense smoke. We found young Tom Gonty on hand with camera, and with the same thought as ours. To gether we clambered to Gonty's roof for a better picture-taking vantage point. Within a few minutes, Ed Gonty joined us. Soon the Elks friends organ ized a salvage operation and swarmed in and out of the club room like ants on a disarranged anthill. They carried out chairs, desks, trophy case, files and hun dreds of articles, each man with tears running down his cheeks from the heavy smoke. ASSISTANT CHIEF Bill Farra had set up the rural pumper at the rear of the building and was attacking the fire from that point. The steel door at the top of the fire escape, entry through which might have meant stop ping the fire considerably earlier, yielded to no man until an acetylene torch was brought, and the door was burned through. On the roof of Heppner Auto Sales a crew poured thousands of gallons of water on the top of the fire as flames broke through. Howard Keithley, H. J. Stroeber, Fred Gimbel, Herman Green, Don Stroeber, and Nate McBride were at it. They placed ladders against the fire wall that rises some 12-14 feet above the Auto Sales building and climbed up. When the roaring flames broke through, the heat was searing, and only the protective wall of water from the hoses kept the firemen from getting scorched as they poked their heads above the top of the wall. Morgan Connor took a posit ion at the back of the building and poured water into the in ferno from his 2y2 inch line. It got so hot that he had to move back, but he couldn't leave with out shutting off the water, and he could hardly do that without getting burned. He had a tiger by the tail. But he managed it. Avery Taylor grabbed a hose and cat-walked along the nar row ledge at the crest of the wall, not more than a foot wide. A slip one way would have plunged him into the fire. A slip the other way would have plummeted him 14 feet to the Auto Sales roof. FOR A TIME it appeared that the volume of water was fail ing to do the job, but the men stuck at it doggedly and stub bornly and they gained ground. Eventually there came a time when the dense black smoke that rolled out of the building in a cloud turned whiter as it became dissipated with steam. It was then the smoke eaters knew that they were getting it controlled. Wind came up slightly and shifted to blow to the southeast to pose another threat, but it subsided. Soon only blackened waste re mained in the upper portion of the building, and the once proud and well-furnished lodge hall was charred chaos. THERE IS THE old saying, "There is no great loss but what there is some small gain." That is true again in this case. This emergency showed the helpfulness and thoughtfulness of many people. Mr. and Mrs. Max McCormac of Mack's Cafe made a big urn of coffee and took it to the firemen. Strangely enough, nothing tastes better af ter an hour or so on the end of a hose than a cup of coffee. Fred Gimbel grabbed the insulated cup that was handed to him and took a big gulp as if it were Kool-Aid. That man instantly was afire inside, too! The McCormacs also earned gratitude of the boys by serving them double portions for break fast, and the department asked us to express their appreciation in print. NEWS of the fire traveled fast through the countryside, and many neighbors from other towns responded. Charles O'Con nor of lone arrived to has his townspeople could be of help, and a crew was standing by there. But at no time did it appear that the fire was getting away, and no extra aid was summoned. OVER THE week-end liniment sales at the drug stores must have been booming. Even the more active firemen found mus cles they hadn't used in a long time as they ran up and down ladders, hoisted hose and clam bered about the premises. "THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED" was a thoroughly delightful play, and its director, Mrs. Maurice (Janet) Groves did a superb job on it. One long-time citizen here declared it was the best play that the high school had ever presented. It is always a revelation to see what the high school kids can do when they get on the stage. Probably not many ever intended to become actors, but the experiences for them is won derful, and it brings out hidden talents. We particularly enjoyed the clever little touches that the di rector worked into this play the paper boy (Randy Stillman) riding his bike across the front and tossing a paper on to the porch as naturally as if he were making his morning rounds down the avenue the actors making their entrance from the front the use of inkblot slides in the play the excellent stage setting (that we'd wager Mrs. Groves' contractor husband had a hand in). The entire cast did a wonder ful job. Rodney Ayers as the ab sentminded bird fancier surely put his whole physical being into his work and got hearty laughs for it. His falls were neatly executed and after going through them three nights in a row and at rehearsals, he should be black and blue all over. It is apparent that Mrs. Groves is dedicated to her work as di rector and the interest reflects in the production. ENGAGED in an unusual and valuable project are pupils in Mrs. Harold (Inez) Erwin's 6th grade class. They are studying Willow Creek and its drainage, and Wednesday took a field trip as far towards the source as they could go, accompanied by extension and soil conserva tion helpers. They are making a relief map of the 70-mile long creek, studying its tributaries, plant and animal life along the creek and other interesting points in the science project. Winning Exhibits To Be on Display At NW Science Fair Oregon museum of Science and Industry, Portland, will play host May 25-26 to more than 600 sci ence fair exhibits which will be on display during the Northwest Science Fair. Approximately 14 students from Umatilla-jMorrow area will be eligible to enter exhibits in the fair. Students eligible to enter this fair are the gold medal winners from school and regional fairs throughout Oregon and south west Washington. Winners of the Future Scien tists of America competition and finalists in the Oregon State Sci ence Talent Search will also have projects on display. Subjects range all the way from a linear accelerator to a study of soap bubbles. Experi mentation and scientific investi gation have been emphasized in this year's projects. Gold medal winners of the three competitions will be invit ed to attend the Science Award Dinner May 26 They found that little material on the subject is available and have aroused the interest of lo cal agencies. We hope to publish results of this study. COMMUNITY I ) BILLBOARD I Coming Events SPRING MUSIC CONCERT High School Band, Chorus, Grade School Honor Band Benefit of Scholarship Fund Wednesday, May 23, 8 p. m. High School Gymnasium Adm. 75c 50c, 25c BASEBALL GAME Varsity vs. Faculty Tonight (Thursday) 7:00 P. M., under the lights Adults, 50c; children, 10c AWARD ASSEMBLY High School Students Awards Tuesday, May 22, 7:30 p. m. High School Gymnasium This space will be used each week ,to announce com ing events of a public service nature at no charge. SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY C. A. RUGGLES Insurance Agency Heppner P. O. Box 611 PH. 6-9625 To All Who Helped During Our Fire We Extend Our Grateful And Sincere Appreciation. It is impossible to thank everyone individually. In fact, dozens lended a hand to protect our property and that .of others in a truly neighborly spirit, with no thought of receiving credit nor compensation and without bothering even to be identified. To all those who shared in battling the fire, or in any manner had a part in helping, we extend this message of gratitude in the hope that each ont' will know it is intended for him. We can find no words sufficient to express our thanks to the members of the Fire Department who did such efficient and valiant work in fighting the fire. We feel tremendously fortunate in having such reliable and unselfish men as these volunteering their services to us and our community. B.P.O.E. No. 358 By Conley Lanham, Exalted Ruler I 1 (Adrrrtliioitat)
