Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 1963)
HEPPNER GAZETTE GAZETTE-TIMES MORROW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER The Heppner Gazette, established March 30. 1883. The Heppner Times established November 18, 1912. WESLEY A. SHERMAN Editor and Publisher NIWSMMt rumsNiit ASSOCIATION Subscription Rates: Morrow County, $4.00 Year; Elsewhere $4.50 Year. Single Copy 10 Cents. Published Every Thursday and Entered at the Post Office at Heppner, iHiiHHHiiiH imimn Aviation Editor Speaks on Boardman Some thoughts on the future of the Boardman project and the Boeing Company were expressed by Robert L. Twiss, Aviation Editor, The Seattle Times, in an address at the recent conference of the Oregon Newpaper Publishers in Coos Bay. His words are particularly pertinent for he is said to be close to the Boeing company. His ideas seem to carry more authenticity than confusing reports that are heard continuously on the future of the project. Here's what he said: "Some day, to cite a development that could take place in this state, I look for space age testing to take place in the Boardman tract in Northeastern Oregon. I think you will hear the rumble of rocket engines in test stands and perhaps the sound of explosives as space age engineers test explosive-forming techniques. "This type of area should prove invaluable for testing that requires the wide open spaces for reasons of noise, safety and national security. I don't look for major payrolls for this type of program but millions of dollars well may be spent on rocket test stands, well protected blockhouses and other facilities. And there will be highly-trained employees, too, although relatively few in number." Twiss, whose topic was "Covering News of Aviation and Space," admonished his fellow newspapermen for careless and inaccurate handling of space-age news. One of the examples he cited was this one, in his words: "A completely ridiculous story regarding possible Boeing act ivities at Boardman was carried by a Pacific Northwest dally, which reported sometime ago that Boeing planned to con duct death-ray tests with laser beams at Boardman. No check was made with the company before this erroneous story was run." There has been too much loose talk and too much conjec ture about the Boardman project. But probably most residents have long since decided that the only boom that will come from the Boeing development will be the "boom" of rocket tests. This is not to discount the possibilities, for as Twiss points out, there is good reason to believe that there will be healthy de velopment by Boeing. In the long run, it will be better for Morrow county if the development isn't of the mushrooming variety. Zip Coding Looks to the Future There will be a wave of new gags and cartoons now, no doubt, on the heels of the post office department's announce ment of the new Zip Code system. Already one television pro gram capitalized on it in a comedy routine of confusion 'be tween telephone's all-number dialing and the code. Indeed, it does seem that we are turning into a civilization of numbers, and the personal touch is being eliminated. Gone are the days of the party line, for instance, when a resident would ring for the operator and say to her, "Mabel, will you ring Emma for me she's down at the Brown place." Zip Coding now shows the same tendency in the post office. We were struck with the novelty, when we first came to Hepp ner, of seeing the address on an envelope that was a classic in brevity: "Phil's, City." But to old-timers here, and to our good postal staff, there was nothing unusual about it. "Phil's" could, of course, be nothing but Phil's Pharmacy, and the letter went promptly into the postal box of that store. To many, the Zip Code numbers, then, will seem ludicrous. What's the sense, after all, of putting 97836 on addresses that everyone knows? But this isn't the purpose of Zip Coding. It Is aimed at spreding up handling of mail in the postal system that finds volume Increasing at a terrific rate. The congestion is going to get continuously worse, if for no other reason than that our population is Increasing so rapidly. An item in the last (Reader's Digest pointed out that if we sent our excess popu lation to another planet, to maintain the current population at the same figure, a space ship would have to leave with 100 passengers every minute! The post office system should not be criticized for trying to figure out a way to expedite mailing. It has received con siderable criticism in the past for using antiquated methods when privately-operated utilities have converted to electronic systems and Ingenious machinery to keep up with expandinc needs. b Zip Coding isn't primarily aimed for areas of small popu lation, such as Morrow county, but is designed for big mailers Some concerns send out many thousands of letters daily Event ually, the Zip Coding, printed In their address in some uniform manner, will permit sorting and handling by electronic eauiD ment. H F This will be important for us all in that it will relieve the congestion and help mail to get through more expeditiously . .un nwsPPrrs have already published editorials scoffing at the Zip Coding stating that it will be abandoned within a short time. Maybe so, but it deserves a fair trial first. It took nine days for a parcel past package to arrive here from Los Angeles once last winter. That's almost longer than it would have required in the days of Pony Express' If ZiD Coding will help cure that situation, we're all for it ' We Will Deliver Your Processed Meat Lexington Ion. WHOLESALE MEATS CUSTOM SLAUGHTERING SCHEDULE: Hogs Tuesday Cattle Wed., Thurs. Sheep Any Day Follett Meat Co. Hermiston, Oregon Ph. JO 7-6651 On Hermlston-McNary Highway fi(L J If I Ol Chary pjS-ll Heppner, - TIMES, Thursday. July 4, 1963 1897. Consolidated February 15, HELEN E. SHERMAN Associate Publisher NATIONAL EDITORIAL 1I!,C8TI3N Oregon, as Second Class Matter. Services in Portland For Howard James, 86 Howard M. James, 86, citv sup erintendent of the Heppner schools in the IMO's died June 2-1 at a Portland convalescent home. Memorial services were held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 2b, at Mt. Scott Funeral Home, Portland, with interment in Lin coln Memorial cemetery. Mr. James was born November 6, 1876. at Pierpont, Mich. He was a graduate of Teachers Col lege. Mt. Pleasant, Mich., and the University of Oregon. He taught 2.) years in Oregon schools, part of this time in Heppner, and after 1933, was a Portland busi nessman until 1947. He is survived bv the widow, Carrie L.; three daughters, Mrs. Leo Ward of Kenton, Wn.; Mrs. W. E. Burton of Lafavette, Calif., Mrs. D. L. Denson of Portland; five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. His home address is 7511 S. E. Henry Street, Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hartle had as overnight guests June 25, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James E. Montague, Nyssa. Chaff and Wes THIS IS th" time of year when many folks head out on va cation, and this particular week In Heppner, with the Kinzua mill down, seems especially quiet around. Apparently quite a few are gone to take advantage of dad's annual vacation layoff. But others, besides the millmen and their families, are going and coming, too. THE FRED GIMBELS apparently got out of town all right. It was raining off and on last week when they were planning for their vacation, and Fred's idea for a camping trip to the moun tains drew the cold shoulder from the rest of the family. As departure time neared, and the cloudy weather continued, Fred rather glumly declared that they were "going south." We'd wager that if a person should happen to be at the right place at the right time, he'd find them at the beach, maybe digging clams. WHEN IT comes to vacation, Gil Lulan has the right idea. He is not only a school teacher (at lone High), and a businessman (partner in Case Furniture), but he spends his summers at Yel lowstone park as a ranger. Any Morrow county folks who go there might bump into him around Old Faithful. It Is his assignment to be in that area. This is his 13th year as a ranger in the park during the summer, and the whole family goes along to spend the time living from their house trailer. Gil finds plenty of time to fish in off hours, thus getting his vacation in a picturesque spot while he works. How about that? IT WOULD be our advice to any one planning to take a vaca tion to check with Arnold Ray mond of the G-T staff and figure on NOT going the week that Arnold leaves. No matter what date he chooses, the rain clouds gather in abundance at that par ticular time. This year, he thought he had it really figured, taking his vacation late in June when the weather should be nice. TO THE EDITOR... Dear Editor: During the past month the East Oregonian has carried two articles regarding the Morrow county school situation. Both ar ticles contained the following statement. "Harvey Warner, Irn gon, will be the only member of the original board to serve after July 1. He has stood alone on the board in many contro versial matters, mainly involv ing local control of school af fairs as against county-wide control in this recently reorgan ized district." In view of the recall of one director and the subsequent res ignation of four other directors it would, at first glance appear that Mr. Warner was the only member of the board who had voted as the people desired. If this was not true then Mr. Warner should have resigned with the other board members because he would be equally as guilty as any other member. Of course, if he had stood against the board in the controversial matters, then there was no need for his resignation because he had opposed controversial school board policies. I was quite surprised to find that Mr. Warner had opposed all these controversial board de cisions, so I decided to review the board minutes for the past few years to see what his voting record really was. After all if the people had a hero on the board then certainly he should receive his just dues. However, if the other board members felt that the charges against Director Martin could be equally true against them because they had helped form board policies, then they would be equally true against Mr. Warner if he had voted with the other members on controversial matters. In checking Mr. Warner's voting record on what seems to be the controversial issues I find the following: 1. In April 1962, all directors, including Mr. Warner, voted un animously to hire Darrel Reisch to act as transportation and special services director. 2. In preparation of this year's budget, Mr. Warner voted with the other board members to in clude in the capital outlay por tion sufficient money to complete most portions of the new Hepp ner High school. 3. In November 1961, Mr. Warner seconded the motion to have Fred Martin appointed as executive representative to the Executive Committee of the Ore gon School Board Association. He later backed the recall of Fred Martin after Mr. Martin had votcu to place Riverside High school in the Boardman area. 4. In February 1963. Mr. Warner voted to adopt a salary increase for teachers allowing them an increment and a half for the school year 1963-64. The only dissenting votes came from Mr. Martin and Mr. Nelson. 5. Mr. Warner did not vote against the formation of the Riverside High School Site Selec tion Committee. He did, how ever, later vote against the de cision reached by this commit tee as it was not in his favor. He has continued to oppose this decision even though he had previously stated that the Irri gon community would accept the decision made by the board. Evi Chatter Sherman (Normally Oregon provides some lovely rain for the Portland Rose Festival in early June and then clears later in the month). But sadly, on the Raymonds' camping trip to the coast last week, it rained on them every day but one. Happily, however, that didn't bother them. Being true Oregon! ans, they enjoyed it anyway. When he chose early June on previous occasions, he hit rain. Had he picked the same time this year, he would have had it made, since Rose Festival week was warm and bright for a change. CANADA IS a popular choice for some local folks. We under stand the Glenn Smiths headed that direction, and Chief of Po lice Dean Gilman and wife Mary Ellen figure on going that away next week, although Dean isn't making plans too far in advance. Too many things can happen to upset things in his line of work, says he. And the Bill Collins are fig uring on shutting down their cleaning plant for July 14 to 29 for vacation. MEANWHILE, with harvest com ing on back on the ranches, vacations are farthest from the minds of our rancher friends. There's a crop to harvest. To those who are getting their well-earned respites after a year's toil, on behalf of those left be hind, we suggest that the former leave a few sunburns to medi cate, a few mosquitoes to swat, a little eye-watering smoke from camp fires, a few rocks under sleeping bags, and a few nails for tire punctures for the rest of us. IT IS good to see Cornett Green out and around again after his stay in the hospital from painful neck fractures suffered in a fall from his truck. He doesn't look a bit comfortable with that brace around his neck, and he has to go into traction periodically, but he is on the mend. IT SEEMED to kind of stun folks dently he meant that Irrigon would accept the decision as long as the board voted to place the school in Irrigon. 6. Mr. Warner voted with the other board members to submit the bond issue to the people in May 1962. This bond issue as submitted to the people by the School Board called for $606,922 for the new Heppner High school, $130,000 for Irrigon, $130,000 for Boardman, and $3,078 for grounds. A total of $870,000. The Irrigon community has received and spent their $130,000, plus some additional money and now they feel they should have the $130,000 that is morally obli gated to Boardman. 7. In April 1963, the board voted unanimously to purchase 31 acres of land for a school site in the Boardman area. In spite of the fact that Mr. Warner voted for the purchase of this land, he later saw fit to ques tion the method used in selec ting this site and the manner of negotiation. 8. In April 1963, Mr. Warner cast the lone dissenting vote against allowing the chairman and the clerk to negotiate the contract for the Riverside High school with the Army Corps of Engineers. This then is Mr. Warner's vot ing record on what I would con sider the so called controversial issues. In review we find that Mr. Warner voted exactly the same as all other board mem bers on every issue except the issue involving the location of Riverside High school. Since the decision was not in Irrigon's fa vor this vote was only natural. I am not criticizing Mr. Warn er's voting record, but I am won dering what controversial issue he was opposing. Either his thinking was the same as the other board members or he did not vote his convictions, which is worse. In reviewing his voting record it would seem that if there was reason for the resignation of four board members then there was sufficient reason for five resignations. If the people were dissatisfied with the pol GRAIN FIRE TIME IS AT HAND! 2 D0N7 WAIT NEXT WEEK MAY BE TOO LATE! C. A. RUGGLES AGENCY P. O. Box 247 when they heard that Dr. L. D. Tibbies was in the hospital. Somehow we seem to figure Jhat a doctor is supposed to always take care of our ailments and it is hard to understand when he is laid up himself. Our people have good reason to appreciate the work of our local doctors and are fortunate in having them. They are as competent and help ful as you will find anywhere. At last reports, Dr. Tibbies was making good progress in lick ing his case of infectious neuritis, and it will be good when he Is able to be back treating other folks' maladies again. WE'RE GLAD that Mrs. Jack Bedford is back safe and sound from the rather disappointing vacation trip that she and Jack took to the south. She became ill with what probably was a heart attack in San Jose and had to spend some time in the hos pital there. Rumors sifted back home, but no one knew anything for sure. After a couple of days in the hospital, they went on but she wasn't feeling a bit well. The Bedfords spent some time in Portland later on before coming back to Heppner. Ruth is feel ing better now but is still taking it easy. Social Security Man Coming on July 1 1 On Thursday, July 11, the social security representat i v e will be at the Heppner city hall. He will continue coming to Heppner on the sceond Thurs day of each month. The hours will remain 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. King Leach, social security field representative, invites any one having questions regarding social security to visit him when he is in Heppner. "Too often," said Leach, "a person hesitates coming in with a question, feeling it is not im portant enough to bother the representative. When a person is making a financial investment toward his future security, all questions are important." icies formed by the school board then they were also dissatisfied with Mr. Warner because he vot ed right along with the other members in forming board pol icies. It does not seem fair to the previous board members to crit icize them and then to defend one person who has voted the same way they have, except on the matter of the Riverside High school site. It would seem that out of loyalty to the other board members, Mr. Warner would have clarified this point him self. Before Mr. Warner questions legal actions of the previous board members perhaps one should question the legality of his action in asking the Army Corps of Engineers to delay ac tion on the Riverside High school contract. One might ask where a lone board member, without authorization, has the power to stop an action taken by the en tire board in a legal meeting and in a legal manner Perhaps Mr. Warner has been in favor of more local control, but I see nothing in his past board action to indicate that he has worked toward this end. Ac cording to the Heppner Gazette, Mr. Warner opened the board meeting last Tuesday night with a fine speech on starting over and burying all past differences. Then he closed the regular meet ing by reviving the location of Riverside High school ana at tempting to include all the new board members in a controversy that has already been settled if it was left alone. He further ac cused the past board of illegal action in the Durchase and ne gotiation for the actual school site. Forget all past differences : .' In mv opinion Mr. Warner is working solely for the benefit of Irrigon and his concern tor education in other parts of the county is of secondary import ance. A closer look at Mr. Warner would indicate that not only should he not be treated as a martyr, but perhaps the wrong director was recalled. The views expressed in this letter represents the thinking of several people from various parts of Morrow county, not just the Boardman area. I do not mean this to be any criticism of the new board as I know they have a tough Job ahead of them and I wish them luck in their jobs. If I have made a mistake in listing any phase of Mr. Warner's voting record, I would appreciate his straigtening me out on this matter. Sincerely, Mrs. Arthur A. Allen Heppner Ph. 676-9625 TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: The State Board of Equaliza tion, which is none other than the State Tax Commissioners, has reviewed the assessment ratio as adopted by the Boards of Equalization of several East ern Oregon counties and has come up with the conclusion that the ratio in Morrow county here is more than 10 below the 25 ratio as approved by our board a little over a year ago. Now the 25 ratio is act ually nothing more or less than 25 of the true cash value as it appears on the assessment rolls. Just last week a few of us, representing the local equal ization board and the assessor, were requested to appear at a hearing, scheduled before the entire State Board of Equaliza tion and show cause why the Morrow county ratio, as set up should be approved. This we did. Rod Thomson, Raymond French and myself attended. The State Board is particularly concerned with, as they put it, the apparent failure of the coun ty here, to appraise farm lands at 1963 market values. This in spite of a re-appraisal program that is under way and a signed agreement with the State Tax Commission that, with their as sistance, our re-appraisal pro gram will be completed within the next year or two. The ap praisal of urban properties and public utilities is now complete. It is a coincidence that each of these represents approxi mately 16 of the tax roll and is close to the 25 ratio. Leav ing practically two-thirds of the Morrow county tax base in a somewhat delinquent state of appraisal. It is required by law that a re-appraisal be made every six years. We are behind here, as many of the neighboring; coun ties are also. It is represented that farm lands are more nearly in the category of a 15 to 18 ratio category. With utilities and urban more nearly in the 25 ratio there is a demand for an explanation. As said, Morrow county has a contract with the State Tax Com mission that they go with us and complete this re-appraisal pro gram as soon as possible. But this cannot be completed for 1963 market values. True cash values of farm lands, as on the assessment rolls, range from a low of $44.00 per acre to a high of $92.00. Prac tically all of this is low com pared to present market values. Also, there are some woeful dis crepancies in these values. We are in the process of getting a thorough re-appraisal done. But it will not happen overnight. We who were in Salem in regards to our problem asked that Mor row county be given one year of grace. The members of the State Board of Equalization were most I RELAX . . . TAKE IT EASY USE THIS CHECK LIST TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR VACATION NEEDS AVAILABLE AT HUMPHREYS REXALL ( ) First Aid Kit ( ) Aspirin 2 ( ) Poison Oak Lotion ( ) Antiseptic ( ) Band-Aids ( ) Laxative p ( ) Scissors ( ) Bandages ( ) Cold Remedies ( ) Cough Drops ( ) Tooth Brush ( ) Tooth Paste ( ) Shampoo ( ) Comb and Brush ( ) After-Shave w 4) c ( ) Sun Glasses ( ) Facial Tissue ( ) Suntan Lotion ( ) Camera Supplies ( ) Insect Spray ( ) Flashlight !jj ( ) Mosquito Repellent ( ) Paper Cups S, ( ) Vacuum Bottle ( ) Bathing Gear w ( ) Travel Clock ( ) Playing Cards Humphreys Rexall DRUG HEPPNER Two on OSU Roll Allen D. Fergeson and Ronnie Belsma of Heppner are listed on the spring term honor roU from Oregon State University. To qualify for honor roll listing, stu dents must make at least a B plus average for the term. Miss Belsma will be a sophomore this fall in humanities and social sciences; Fergeson wiU be a jun ior in engineering. courteous and promised that, if at all possible, they would. How ever, the pressure on them is great and they may have to fall back on one of two plans, which are: 1. Lower existing 25 ratio, or: 2. Blanket increase value of farm and range lands. Oscar E. Peterson Morrow County Judge COMMUNITY U J BILLBOARD jv Coming Events LEGION MOVIES Friday, July 5, 8 p.m. "Steel Helmet," Korean war picture, starring Robert Hut ton and Steve Brodie. KICK-OFF RODEO DANCE Saturday, July 13 Fair Pavilion building Come and welcome the new queen and her court. Dancing from 10 to 2:00. Lunch served. SWIMMING POOL OPEN Open daily, except Monday. Afternoons 1 to 4 p.m. Evenings G to 8 p.m. Sunday afternoon, 1 to 5 p.m. Season tickets on sale, Hep pner city hall or at pool. Check now for swimming lessons. July 4, pool open only be tween 1 and 4 p.m. SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY C. A. RUGGLES Insurance Agency P. O. Box 247 PH. 676-9625 Heppner DURING YOUR WONDERFUL ANNUAL VACATION ) Razor Blades ) Shaving Cream ) Deodorant ) Cosmetics ) Foot Powder PH. 676-9610
