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