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HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES, Thursday, May 2. 1963
jam iviiisw
TO THE EDITOR...
THE
HEPPNER
GAZETTE-TIMES
MOHHOW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER
PHONE 676-9228
1he 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
XNIWIPAPIt
POiUiHIII
V-AJIOCUTIOH
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
lASfsbcUTIQ'N
i7 VJ U
I
czttsa
Subscription Kates: Morrow and Grant Counties, $4.00 Year; Else
where $4.50 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.
HIMMIIIIMIIIIIIMIIIIMIIIIMIMIIIIIIIHIIMIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIHMmHHIMIIMtMilMIIIMIWIIIMMIBMMIMinMIIIIIIM
The Fredrick Martin Recall
When the recall is invoked against a person in public
office, there is an inference that the person is guilty of some
type of dishonesty or incompetency. Provision in Oregon school
law applying to the recall of a district director, however, is not
so specific. It merely states that the petitions must "set forth
concisely the reason" for the recall without specifying what
constitutes a sufficient cause for the action.
It is apparent that in the case of Director Fredrick Martin
the circulators and signers of the recall petition feel that they
have sufficient reason or they would not have gone to all the
time, trouble and expense to do what they are doing.
This is a serious action that should not be taken lightly
by voters. Every eligible voter should weigh the matter in
his mind carefully and make it a point to express himself at
the polls Monday.
The recall involves the reputation of Director Martin, for
if it is successful, it would indicate that in the eyes of the,
voters he has not discharged his duties to the best of his cap
abilities or that he has not acted in the best interests of the
educational system In the district. This is in the face of the fact
that he has served for many years in various capacities on
school boards in Morrow county and holds a respected place
among school directors throughout the state.
Using the recall places another responsibility on. the voter
as it applies to the person who donates his time and abilities
to volunteer public service. If, for some reason, it is invoked
against one who serves with competence and in good con
science, how can the citizenry ask anyone to serve in such
a capacity?
Thus, it is Important that the voter's decision be carefully
considered so that he is sure that the cause is sufficient for
removal of the official.
There can be no quarrel with one who votes for recall who
in his own good conscience is sure that the official has failed
to discharge his duties properly. However, it is a serious breach
of this democratic process to vote for recall and a threat In
the ultimate to democracy itself when the voter cannot con
scienciously say that the official Is guilty of conduct sufficient
for removal.
Both those for and against recall will agree that it is im
portant for all voters to come out for the election so that a true
expression may be received.
To the Editor:
According to a letter in the
April 11 issue of the Gazette
Times a group of six men from
the lone area read my letter of
the week before and decided to
try to deviate attention from
their unfair charges against
Fred Martin by stating they
would like to enlighten me.
vrxt nf nil. let me make it
clear that my reference to the
lone swimming pool and bud
get vote in my first letter was
made to invite an answer so that
the voters of Morrow county
might learn the identity of the
"Boot Fred Martin" committee.
I was well aware of the facts
concerning the lone school plant.
At a regular meeting of the
rural school board of which I
was a member held on Tuesday,
April 8, 1958 a discussion led
hv r.nr Kwnnsnn of lone in re
gard to the use and rental of the
pool made it necessary for the
hnnrrt in form a nnlicv which I
believe to be in effect at the
present time. The motion was
made by Dewey West and sec
onded by Joe Nys that the board
give their approval for carry -
inir Gliph film is In the General
fund. It was my feeling at the
time and still is that the lone
people are to be commended for
Minlr mmnrrwitv in nrovidillC
and sharing this benefit at such
a small cost to the taxpayers
with their neighbors.
The number of DCODle Who
signed the petitions has no
vulue to determine what the
rlirht WAV tn vote on the recall
would be. Thev all know it was
not a vote, and would have
plenty of time to consider and
investigate the charges before
voting.
These charges are little more
than clever Insinuations that
there is something wrong with
the conduct of Fred Martin as
a county school board director.
They were written by a lawyer
to avoid the legal hazards of
such action. The law requires
that a record be kept of all reg
ular and special meetings, which
is available to all citizens where
the actual record could be ob
served of the performance of the
school board, mis recau group
has carefully avoided any ref
erence to this record. Could it
be that it does not contain any
thing useful to their cause? Any
action taken on any problem, or
policy formed by the board must
be by majority vote of that board
so therefore any criticism of one
member Is extremely unfair.
Last Monday the voters in all
areas of Morrow county turned
down the budget to operate the
schools another year except
Boardman. The voters of Board
man failed to represent the will
of the majority of voters of the
county. I hope no action will be
taken against our friends in
Boardman because they failed to
look in their crystal ball before
voting.
The question of whether or
not there is adequate fire es
capes at the lone grade school
is not the responsibility of one
member of the county school
board, but is the duty of citi
yens and the entire board alike
to make certain that the lives
of our children will be safe
guarded in case of fire. The
state fire marshal's report of
January 10, 1963 states, quote
"Previous order complied with.
No further orders at this time."
End quote. He lists four recom
mendations for future action,
but no mention is made of fire
esennes.
The letter to enlighten me in
Hi, Ciirta ctntoc the nnlv nnnl-
nication noeueci to onserve me
validity of the charge of sane
linniniT Kchnnl bus transnorta
tion routes is good enough
vision to reonenize inrec Dass-
enger vehicles painted highway
yeuow, lanoioii morrow loumy
Schools, meeting, passing, going
nnnosite directions on our coun
ty roads. I will challenge all
six signers oi mis letter 10 pro
duce a plan whereby the stu
dents of our county can bo trans
nnrted to school without meet
ik liiismniT or point? in ounosue
directions. No mention is made
nf nnv nlnee where dunlication
could be observed, for obvious
reasons. Here again there is no
evidence to support the charge
that Vrm Martin should he re
called because he sanctioned
duplication of school bus routes.
That also is a responsibility of
the entire board, not one mem
ber. What we will decide next May
6 is whether we will give Fred
Martin a dishonorable discharge
from his duties as a county
school board director on unfair
charges or whether we show by
the vote that we appreciate me
years of work that he has given
tor tne Betterment oi eoucauon
for our children in Morrow coun
ty. Respectfully yours,
Alonzo Henderson
Lexington, Oregon
To the Editor:
I am sick at heart at tne in
will between the communities
in Morrow county. Like many
other people, my loyalties are
divided, inougn i taugnt in iune
only one year, my parents lived
there several years. Some former
lone students now live in Hepp
ner, and some lormer Heppner
students now live in lone. I feel
sure that these people too must
be distressed at our failure to
solve our problems witnoui
bitterness.
I havo hepn nroepedine on the
strength of the prayer, "Oh Lord,
let there be peace, ana may u
begin with me." But in recent
days many people have remark
ed that the lack of letters sup
porting Fred Martin nas iea
them to wonder if his recall is
not justified. So I want to ex
plain my stand as an individual,
on the recau ana scnooi su-
rsvat.T. means REMOVE. The
vote next Monday is to decide
whether Fred Martin shall be
REMOVED from the county
ctinnl hnnrrl
Mr. Martin was elected to two
terms on the rural school boara,
and two terms on the county
school board wnicn succeeueu
if Ho 1c a rniineilman in lone.
He is an honest, Christian man
uhn is nnp of the best-informed
persons in the entire state on
chnn au; hp is nmniv revalu
ed throughout the state. He has
represented lone fairly and he
hoa haH tho host interests of the
entire county at heart all his
years on the boara. . .
If a board member like this is
to be removed from the school
board, what kind of a replace
ment would tne voters warn;
Cnmnnnn who Duts his own
school area first in all consid
erations? . , ,
Morrow county's school Doaro.
has seven members, one each
from lone, Lexington, Irrigon,
and Boardman; three from
Heppner. By trading votes me
fr.nr rnnrpspntatives from the
smaller communities can out
vote Heppner. yet Heppner ns
about 13 tne entire pupuiauu..
r tha nmmtv within its City
limits, and its schoolboard
members represent an even
larger percentage of the people
of the county.
According to the 1962-63 Direc-
fr nf Mnrrow COUntV School
officers and teachers, 637 of the
tntoi hnnl nonulation of lloo
attend school in Heppner. This
is over 54 of the students. So
with over half the students and
over a third of the population
of the county, Heppner has only
37 of the representation on uk
school boara. n tne memueis
tho hnarri from lone. Lexington,
Irrigon, and Boardman choose to
put their communities first they
have the power to uo &u.
vmA Martin rip-htlv feels that
he owes representation to the
entire county, oo uu, i mum,
ent board. So do, I hink, all
u nthor mnmhers of the pres
ent board. Do people really want
it otherwise.'
Wp Hennner area people are
nrnhnhiv epttine better repre
sentation than we deserve, con
sidering our poor turnout i
meetings concerning the schools
and at scnooi elections.
Heppner has 54 oi tne stu
dents; 4 school buildings, 41
teachers, 2 cooks, b custodians,
and 10 bus drivers. Compare
these figures with those for the
other 4 communities: 46 of
ii,,. cinlnnk fi srhnol huildines.
42 teachers, 7 cooks, 7 custodians
and 15 bus drivers.
I am willing to pay extra taxes
s0 that each community can
have its school, so I can't under
stand why, after they have ask
ed for these facilities, lone, Lex
ington nnit irrid'on voted against
raising the money to pay for
tlum- . u ,
Cnrolv thn rause for much of
nni- lnrop NO VOtp Oil budCCtS
is worry about the increasing
property tax ouraen. ii every
person who fears this creeping
tax burden would write to at
least one legislator demanding
transfer ot most ot tne nnanciai
cost of schools from property tax
ir, innnmp tax nr sales tax. much
more good would be accomplish
ed.
Income tax is based on ability
in nav A sa. 1p tav should ex
clude groceries, seed, and drugs
because these things are neces
sities; a sales tax covering
necessities could be as burden
some as our present property
X3XGS.
I hope Heppner voters partic
hard thinking
on these school problems, ask
ing questions as necessaiy aim
discussing them with their
friends and neighbors. Then,
please vote rega r d 1 e s s of
whether you agree or Qisagice
with me. .
Rachel Forsythe uick
(Mrs. L. E. Dick, Jr.)
To the Editor:
Chaff and Chatter
Wes Sherman
Many citizens of Morrow
county are concerned about re-
nt nhornroc maHo hV a CTOUP
of lone citizens attacking the
integrity of the Morrow county
School Board, one specific school
board member and the school
er,rintpnripnt Thpse accusa
tions are against the entire
school board. All the members
are charged with irresponsibility.
What are the facts in tne mat
ter? 1. Fire escapes at lone. Fire
escapes which served the bal
conies of the old lone gym were
removed in the summer oi isou
when the old balconies were
Tho state fire mar-
shall has not requested or sug
gested that tnese De lepiauc.
In fact, the words "fire escape
do not appear in a single firs
marshals report on lone since
July 1, 1959. All orders to the
school district by tne ure mai
shall have been competed as di
rected in all the schools of the
district. Recommendations by
the fire marshall, which differ
from orders, in that the orders
must be carried out and the rec
ommendations are suggestions
to be carried out whenever feas
ible, so as not to interrupt
school or whenever funds are
available, are planned to be car
ried out this summer. This in
cludes installing swinging fire
doors on the landings between
the upper and first floors in
both lone and Heppner schools,
and also sealing all vertical
openings in the school at lone.
2. Shop program at lone. At
present, juniors and seniors and
seventh and eighth graders have
a shop program. The lathe, drills,
welding equipment and other
tnlc. nra hoinCT llsPfl in tlllS PrO-
gram. The instructor is Mr.
Strait.
3. Duplicate bus routes. There
are not duplicate bus routes in
nf,.,.i7 pnnntv The transDorta-
tion department of the State De
partment laid out all the school
bus routes after a careful survey
in 1959. However, in order to get
to lone or Heppner, loaded buses
must in some cases travel on
.u ,v,o hicrhwav after DlCKine
up students on their regular
routes.
Full credit should be given to
fVin inno eommunitv for their
building program prior to July,
1959. It shouia De pointeu uui,
however, that Heppner residents
am ctiii makinff hond Davments
on the elementary building they
constructed in 19S4. neppnei
bond payments will be complet
in iQ7n Roardman taxDavers
made a final bond payment this
year. Irrigon and lone complet
ed their payments in 1962.
The current building program
is intended to complete addit
ionally needed facilities. The
board has not practiced decep
tion in this or any other pro
gram which is under our con
trol. t .
The school board does not asK
for a blank check, but for funds
within a budget for the oper
ation of our schools. All expen
ditures are approved by the
board as a whole and all our
SATURDAY NIGHT'S Band Carn
ival was a tremendous suc
cess from every standpoint but
one Harley Young never did
rr.,,nH thrpp nails into the 4x4
with three blows each, try as
he might. He had a connaeni
southpaw swing and wielded a
mighty blow, but he never quite
made the grade. I don't know
how many tickets he used up
trying, but the number was con
siderable.
The Columbia Basin manager
turned the board sidewise and
pointed out nails that had been
Hritron from tho other side, with
the inference that his were
bumping Into them on tne way
down. Nevertheless there were
some good clean imprints, deep
in the wood, of the hammerhead
beside some of his nails.
THERE JUST couldn't be any
nicer affair for the family than
this homemade entertainment.
Everyone has a good time, and
all the kids, regardless of size,
carry home so highly-valued
prize Japanese lantern or kew
pie doll and the proceeds go
for a fine cause.
We marvel at the wonderful
job of organization done on tnis
carnival. Bud Peck is the guid
ing light, and he deserves high
praise from the community for
his work. It is obvious, too, that
a crrpat amount of work is done
by many hands to get the job
done.
DON'T EVER say that Randall
Peterson doesn't have some
financial accounts are audited
annually. All our audits have
been commented upon favorably
by the auditors, witneren, witn
erell, Lavoie and Morrison, of
Pendleton.
ii should he obvious that in
our present system where the
cnhnnl hoard is assisted bv the
county superintendent and the
principals and aavisory Doaras
from each community, no one
man can be held responsible
for the charges made against
Fred Martin charges over wnicn
Mr. Martin did not have sole
control.
It is mv fervent hope that the
voters of Morrow county will
ovaminp their consciences and
vote in a fair and honest man
ner, as I believe irea Martin
has performed his duties as a
memhpr of the Morrow County
School Board.
Dick T. Wilkinson
sort of influence with Old Jupe
Pluvius! Through two or three
weeks of bad weather he calmly
went about preparations for the
Cnr nrr m OctlVfl I nPre llllUUKli aix
sorts of jibes and taunts. But
when the great aay came, .c
hinssnmpd forth, lust as he
A;tnA ooriv in the morning
and stayed out all day. He had
old Jupe cowea someuuw, cvc.
though it had rained Friday.
rru TToctiirol tlimpd OUt tO De
a fine event with a lot of fun
and interest. Randall just about
does a one-man jod iorwieinei
i,,ntc mmmittpe of the Cham
ber of Commerce, and his fellow
businessmen snouia giye ium
highest commendation for his
..ts-vris- rtnr rn mctinuii Line unto
wuirv, w
who come to town ana enjoy u.
m t
ACCORDING to a half-hour
.nii-ni7!1o snpeiai UUUUiilcir
JlBUWllu.w .
toiovicmn nresentation re
cently, entitiea vauum b
Breed," country newspaper cu
thpir wav to obliv
ion. The telecast was the case
history of an editor in one of
the states of the Deep South,
v,o hori thp nnlv DaDer in
the county just like the G-T
in Morrow county.
The editor was subject of con
troversy in the county, partic
ularly because of political issues,
and much of the TV time was
devoted to pro and con com
ments about him.
rnnntrv pditors mav be a
"Vonichinor Rrppd." but We
think "Dimishing Breed" would
be more apt. Population trend
is towards uroan centers, au
right, but there always will be
some small towns, and always
a place for the warmth of the
weekly paper.
We've known of cases in the
past when some irate reader
would have liked to place us
immediately in tne category 01
the "Vanished Breed," but not
too often. The country editor can
be a tenacious character.
reading it again Besides that's
the only way many oi us ea
itors get by, and hope that no
one remembers that we're re
peating ourselves.
'SHOW YOUR COLORS," de
piarps .Tim Farlev of Farlev
Motor Co. who has become a
part of a campaign to get Amer
ican people into flying their
oftpn. Hp deelarps
that 66 of the homes in the
country do not even own a Hag,
and Americans display their
colors less than any other na
tion in the world.
Come to think of it, we are
rather negligent on this point-
even right here in neppner.
Goodyear Rubber Company has
a nationwide emphasis on this
"Show Your uoiors- program
nv,i tTorlou no local dpalpr for
Goodyear tires, is handling it
here. He has a brand new stocK
of American flag kits that are
hoino nffprpH at cost as a Dart
of the promotion. Take our word
for It, he doesn i mane anyming
on them. Stop by his service
station and take a look, then
show your colors on every ap
propriate occasion.
COMMUNITY U
J BILLBOARD j
To the Editor:
T unnripr who could stoop SO
low as to swipe flowers that
took me three years to start on
my folks lot in tne cemeieiy.
They dug up the pink peony
huihe hut did leave the red
ones, it was done since last year.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Hayes
nvtv F.niTOR that we hate to
see "Vanish" from the Eastern
Oregon scene is Giles trench,
3n vpars editor of the
Shprman Countv Journal at
Moro. He has sold the paper to
Dan Bartlett, former editor of
the Hermiston Herald. The Journ
al attainpH its nlace in the sun
as the medium of Giles' pithy,
pertinent and often caustic
comments. He has an apparently
onriipss snnrcp of clever nutshell
comments, such as in one of his
recent papers, relative to tne
rainu nnpninc dav of trout
concrtn "A trout, eaueht Satur
day would hardly know tne an
ference." Every week he had a
full column of them on the front
page, and his sage observations
were widely quoiea.
Giles said that the reason he
is quitting is that he finds him
self writing the same thing over
that he wrote last year.
Most of us wouldn't mind
Coming Events
LEGION MOVIES
Saturday, May 4, 8 p.m.
"Glory," starring Margaret
O'Brien and Walter Bren
nan. Plus cartoons.
FOUR ONE ACT PLAYS
Full evening of entertainment
by Heppner Hign scnooi
students.
Friday, May 3, 8:00 p.m.
Adults, 75c Students, 25c
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
School Election M o n d a y,
May 6.
Polls open from 2 to 8 p.m.
HOMEMAKER'S FESTIVAL
'The Wonderful World
Ahead," Miss Esther Tas
kerud, OSU, guest speaker.
Wednesday, May 1511 a.m
St. Patrick's Parish hall
SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC
SERVICE BY
C. A. RUGGLES
Insurance Agency
P. O. Box 247 PH. 678-9625
Heppnar
Dear Editor:
In the March 18 issue of this
paper the Morrow County School
Board voted to let each school
have one trailer on the school
property at $10.00 per month
charge.
Tliis is just one more item
that proves very poor manage
ment by our school board and
leads to higher taxes.
There is now and has always
been housing available for
teachers. lone has a very nice
trailer park with flowers, laun
dry, dry cleaning available at
$15.00 per month.
If the school board Installs
trailer space on the school prop
erty it will cost the taxpayers
several thousand dollars be
cause trailer space must meet
state specifications, such as 750
gallon septic tank minimum,
150 foot drain field per bedroom,
double this if a garbage dis
posal is used.
I think it is time for we the
taxpayers to stand by our con
victions and on our own two
feet and do something about
the wasteful spending of the
taxpayer's money.
E. J. Akers
lone, Oregon
Spring Checkup Time
If winter driving has gotten your car
down-get a lift here!
Change oil
Lubricate chassis
Check brakes
We sell all ATLAS tires batteries accessories
New working hours:
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays
Closed Sundays
Wayne's Chevron
Station
SHOW YOUR COLORS
WAYNE BALL
AT HEPPNER FORD
GET fNEW 50 -STAR
; FLAG SET s
NOW FOR KJrJU J
' HOLIDAY ST-v I l-f i
DISPLAY! f "
fi
COMPLETE 6-PIECE ENSEMBLE READY TO FLY
Big 3 x 5 ft. Double Hemmed
Cotton Flag in brilliant fade
resistant colors
Has 5-i"ch Amprii'sn Eagle on top
of 6 ft. collapsible Aluminum Staff
Includes Cord Halyard and metal
mounting wall bracket with screws
i
Complete with Illustrated Manual
on Ullicial t lag ttiquette
Get Them At
FARLEY MOTOR CO.
126 E. MAY
HEPPNER
PH. 676-9116