HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES, Thursday. December 26, 1963
THE "W fwF'
GAZETTE-TIMES
MOHHOW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER
The Heppner Gazette established March 30, 1883. The Heppner
Times established November 18, 1897, Consolidated February 15,
1912.
NIWIPAPII
ruiuiHits
ASSOCIATION
WESLEY A. SHERMAN
Editor and Publisher
Subscription Rates: $4.50 Year. Single Copy 10 Cents. Published
Every Thursday and Entered at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon,
as Second Class Matter.
lllllllltllMIHIIMIIMIIHIIIHIHIIIIH"
Interest Needed on Wheat Program
One of the practical reasons why the national situation on
wheat is in such a confusing stale is that not enough mail has
been received by congressmen and senators to show interest
in the matter.
This is something that tire Oregon Wheat League hopes to
rectify by instituting a letter-writing campaign, details of which
are in a story elsewhere in this paper.
It is a major project to get Congress really at work on a
down-to-earth plan in the first place because so few are actually
farmers, and also because farm state delegates are so far out
numbered by others in the legislative bodies.
Since the wheat referendum was defeated last year, those
close to the matter have implored farmers to come up with a
plan upon which they can agree and press for it.
Wheat growers well know that as a group they have not
presented enough of a uniform front to the Congress, but they
nope to rectify that now and ask the support of others sym
pathetic to their cause.
They are supporting Senator George McGovern's voluntary
certificate plan and hope that it could be enacted for the 1964
crop, which means intensive action is needed.
Walter Jacobs of lone, public relations chairman for the
state wheat league, is working hard on this campaign, and
urges everyone to write to key figures in Washington, D. C,
including those on agriculture committees and Oregon's dele
gation there.
It must be recognized that this is a vital matter for Morrow
county, as well as other counties in Oregon which are de
pendent on wheat raising for a substantial part of their
economy. It is virtually as important to business people in
these counties as it is to the farmers because a considerable
portion of the income in business comes through wheat growers.
Jacobs has pointed out that most ranchers in Morrow
county have held to their wheat acreage allotments in the be
lief that some program would be adopted and have not planted
fence-to-fence, and this in the face of what they verily believe
will be $1.25 per bushel wheat if some program is not adopted.
If it be true that the growers have been slow to present
a unified front on this matter, it is also true that those dependent
on farming in counties like Morrow the businessman, in par
ticularhave been delinquent in becoming informed enough
to help take up the cudgel for those who contribute so much
to the health of business locally.
The league does not ask that anyone compromise his con
victions. Those who may be opposed are Invited to write, too.
But those who feel they can get behind the growers and their
stand on the McGovern proposal are urged to pitch in and get
those letters in the mail as soon as possible.
'63 Forest Fire Record Said Good
Pacific Northwest citizens have
received a Christmas present
ahead of time in the form of
thousands of acres of forests that
were saved from fire in 19G3.
J. Herbert Slone, regional for
ester of the U. S. Forest Service
said that although 1,823 fires
blackened 7,345 acres of National
Forest lands in Oregon and
Washington during 1963, the
record is considered good in view
of the high fire hazard stemming
from the Columbus Day, 19G2,
blowdown imbcr.
In the 1!)C2 season, by com
parison, 1,228 fires on Pacific
Northwest forests were held to
3.G72 acres.
With tons of downed trees and
debris littering timber lands in
Oregon and Washington after
the October 12, 1962, storm, for
esters were fearful that 1963
would be one of the worst fire
years in history.
The fact that it didn't happen
can bo attributed to three fac
tors, Stone pointed out:
CONDON
Invitational
BASKETBALL
TOURNAMENT
DECEMBER 27 and 28
CONDON HIGH SCHOOL GYM
Friday Night's Pairings:
6:30 Heppner vs. Wheeler County
8:00 Condon vs. Sherman County
Winnets Play and Losers Play Saturday Night
ALL FOUR TEAMS SHARE
IN THE PROCEEDS
ADMISSION: ADULTS $1
STUDENTS WITH CARDS 50c
HEPPNER
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
HELEN E. SHERMAN
Associate Publisher
"We had fine cooperation from
the forest users. The weather
was favorable. And fire sud-
nression fnrr'ps rnrriorl nut Ihpir
work quickly and effectively, re
sulting in an average loss of
only 4.02 acres per fire on the
National Forests."
Country Cutters Club
Has Zipper Lesson
The Country Cutters 4-H club
met at the home of Sandra Carl
son, Saturday, December 7.
We checked our goals for the
coming year. Our leader, Betty
Carlson, showed us how to put
a zipper in. The rest of the meet
ing was spent practicing sew
ing zippers.
Refreshments were served by
Sandra. Our next meeting will
be on January 4, 1961.
Kristine Peterson, reporter
Tell the advertiser you saw it
in the Gazette-Times.
HOLIDAY
Chaff and
Wes
ALTHOUGH having major res
ponsibility in staging the Far
West basketball tournament in
Portland this week, Jim Barratt,
athletic business manager of
OSU, and his family sneaked off
for a couple of days to be in the
old home town of Heppner for
Christmas.
He came lugging a big port
folio of dope on the tournament,
however, and has been hounded
by phone calls ever since he has
been here.
Always exuberant and enthus
iastic, Jim (once called "junior"
in his home town and so re
ferred to by Dr. Tibbies in greet
ing him this week), had plenty
of joyful news for home con
sumption this week. He bubbled
over with it as a guest of the
Chamber of Commerce Monday.
Michelle (Mike) Morrison's
selection as queen of the classic
over beauties from the seven
other colleges rperesented was
one of the happiest items of glad
tidings that they brought.
The candidates were not iden
tified in the selection process,
but Mike's poise and charm won
over another top candidate, Judy
Green of Brigham Young.
Jim says that Mike is a nat
ural on television and radio and
seems to be perfectly at home.
More good words emanated
from Barratt concerning Dick
Ruhl, who has carved a name
for himself in OSU football.
"Dick did a great job at OSU,"
Jim said. "We think he will be
the best linebacker on the Pa
cific coast next year."
Dick has another year of eligi
biliyt if he can be prevailed upon
to lay out a term and come back
next fall.
Morrow county currently has
quite a one-two-three punch in
publicity through the OSU ath
letic system in Barratt, Ruhl and
Queen Mike.
WE'RE STILL HOPING that Jim
will run down the matter of
whether his dad, Garnet, is going
to be on the TV program, Bon
anza, or not. Since this story got
started, Bonanza's rating in
Heppner must have just about
set a new record, but no one
has spotted Garnet in a cowboy
suit on the program yet. Jim
said he would phone and find
out about it.
DAVE GEORGE should have
some kind of plaque set up
by the student body in Heppner
High school, He was the first to
score points in a varsity basket
ball contest in the new gymnas
ium, getting the first three in
fact a field goal and a free
throw against Condon. That
should be something he can tell
his grandchildren in later years.
MORROW county folks who read
the Gazette-Times from cover
to cover are topped by readers
in Vietnam. Mrs. Terrel Benge
sends copies of the paper with
magazines every month to her
son, Mike Benge, who is teacn
ing there. But by the time he
gets to the papers after the na
tives have read them, they are
so tattered and worn that they
are unreadable. It is nice to know
that we have such avid readers,
but it is no compliment to us
Breeds on Range
Hearing Jan. 14
Purebred bulls of more breeds
of cattle would be permitted to
run on the open range in Ore
gon under changes proposed by
the Oregon Department of Agri
culture in regulations on breeds
allowed on the open range.
A hearing on the proposed
changes has been set for Jan
uary 14 at 10 a.m. in the Agri
culture Building. Salem.
The department proposes to
enlarge the list of breeds to in
clude Angus, Shorthorn, Here
ford, Charolais, Santa Gertrudis,
Galloway and Devon.
Angus, Shorthorn and Here
fords have been the only breeds
on the list.
The hearing is open to the
public and interested persons
may also send their views and
evidence to the department un
til the date of the hearing. Copies
of the list of breeds the depart
ment proposes to permit on open
ranee can be obtained from the
department.
It's our pleasure
fo send you our very
best wishes for fhe com
&2f XJL
rKV fX V
PETTYJOHNS'
Farm and Builder's Supply
HEPPNER
Chatter
Sherman
particularly. They go for all
reading matter the same way.
Some have expressed interest
to Mrs. Benge in sponsoring some
of the pupils there as a project,
and some clothing has been re
ceived. RAY GONTY, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Ed Gonty of Heppner, is a
policeman in Seattle. He received
prominent attention recently
when he participated in the cap
ture of some hodlums after a
grocery store holdup. Officer
Gonty was involved in a chase
through the Queen Anne dis
trict, and with other officers, got
the culprits. His picture was in
a spread in the Seattle Post
Intelligencer on December 10.
SEE BY THE papers that in some
city they suspend their com
munity Christmas tree from the
end of a crane boom, maybe 100
feet in the air. Maybe we ought
to do that here to keep the lights
intact on it. Last year they were
stolen and this year they were
broken by a prankster.
TO THE
EDITOR. . .
To the Editor:
This is about the same letter
published in the East Oregonian
last week. I sent it to Umatilla
county because they favored it
as it stood to benefit from the
Boeing deal and stood not of the
cost. And as I've had several
requests to write it here at home
I've decided to do so.
I think we are over optimistic
about the Boeing lease of the
Boardman lands.
If I were Boeing's attorney's
and were drawing up a lease to
submit to the state of Oregon
and saw the need to arbitrate
each point, I'd shoot for the
moon and I'm told that is just
what they did.
They could have needed a 25
year lease; wanted 49 years so
applied for an eighty year term.
They needed a quarter mile
water front, wanted a half mile
so asked for the entire 8 Ms miles
(about as much as Portland's
water front). They needed to
freeze the real taxes against
future raises at the true cash
value now so asked to get them
froze as of 1938.
Knowing the value of a 100,000
acre field for agriculture, they
didn't apply for grazing rights,
they asked for all agriculture
use's. And with the tube in Mc
Nary dam to water it and as it
has under it as tar as we Know,
inexhaustible underg round
water, it could produce $15 to
$20,000,000 worth of sugar beets
annually.
And then to protect themselves
from competition and to stop any
such foolishness in the future
they inserted another clause com
pelling the state to lease tnem
all adjoining lands the state now
owns or will ever own for the
remaining 77 years at the same
rate of 50c per acre.
Yes they shot for the moon and
the school boys in Salem gave
them the Universe.
O. W. Cutsforth
Saddlelites Elect
The first meeting for the year
of the Saddlelite 4-H club was
called to order by Dick Struck
meier. The purpose of the meet
ing was to elect officers. The
club voted for Dick Struckmeier
as president; Barbara Bloods
worth, vice president; Verina
French, secretary, and Sandra
Matheny, news reporter. Before
adjourning we played a game
led by Joe Hay.
Sandra Matheny, reporter
Mrs. J. O. Hager U convales
cing at the home of her son and
daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.
Jim Hager, from a heart at
tack she suffered recently.
State to Begin
Issuing New Auto
License Plates
Oregon will begin issuing new
style automobile license plates
January 2, but the Department
of Motor Vehicles says it will be
five years before ail autos are
equipped with them.
Over a four year period, new
plates will be issued to persons
who buy new cars or move to
the state. Replacement for mut
ilated plates will continue to be
available. Remaining plates of
the old series, first issued In
1955, will be replaced in 1968.
The new plates will contain
a three letter prefix and three
numbers (AAA 001), similar to
the system used in Washington
and at least three other states.
The first letter will indicate the
month of expiration, but the
other letters and numbers will
have no significance.
Color of the plates will be un
changedyellow on a blue back
ground. Missing from the new series
of plates will be the slogan
"Pacific Wonderland." The Leg
islature dropped the slogan to
permit larger letters and num
erals and a larger "Oregon."
Vern L. Hill, director of the
department, says that taking the
next five years to issue the plates
will save $200,000 because it will
be unnecessary to make an im
mediate massive switch in filing
systems or employ extra person
nel to help make the re-issue.
The new system will permit
an almost endless combination
of letters and numbers. No ef
fort will be made to spell words.
Some letter combinations, how
ever, will be eliminated since
they might offend an owner.
Oregon has approxima t e 1 y
900,000 registered pass e n g e r
cars.
Field Man Coming
Robert Albrecht, field rep
resentative for the Social Security
Administration in Morrow coun
ty, announces that following the
Christmas holidays he will be
in Heppner on Thursday, Jan
uary 9, from 9 a.m. until noon
in the city hall.
Looking Forward
New Y
II v Jr J "f "" Here's a royal jf
I J wigs welcome to me New
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KlNZUA
One -Shot
Roscoe
As Told By
ORVILLE W. CUTSFORTH
(Editor's Note: This is an
other in the series of stories
about Roscoe Cox, legendary
Morrow county figure who died
earlier this year).
One time the bunch of us wers
hunting elk up by Ellis. We
were lined up crossing the ridges,
about six or eight of us. My
wife was on the right as we
trailed through this country. She
scared up a pair of coyotes
crossing a ridge. These coyotes
ran by Roscoe. Roscoe shot one
of them. He lowered his gun and
didn't shoot the other one. Old
Pappy Leyva was next to him
and was watching him. Roscoe
didn't know Pappy was there.
Well, Pappy wondered why Ros
coe didn't shoot the second coy
ote. He didn't know Roscoe was
playing with him. The coyote ran
by Pappy some distance and
then Roscoe nonchalantly raised
his rifle and shot this coyote in
the rear end. The bullet tore a
big hole in the coyote.
Pappy said this was the most
wicked thing he had ever watch
ed. He thought about the shot
Roscoe had made, 200 to 225
yards, at a small end of a coy
ote dodeiner throueh the trees.
He thought it was the finest 1
shot he had ever seen and
Pappy had been with the game
commission for 40 years.
At noon we were gathered
around the fire eating lunch and
Pappy was telling about this
shooting job that Roscoe had
done.
My wife spoke up and said,
"Roscoe, shooting the rear end
of a coyote at 200 yards running
through the brush, it would
make about a 4 inch target.
That's a pretty small target isn't
it, Roscoe?"
Roscoe said, "No lady, all tar
gets are the same size, you shoot
the middle."
TO
ear
Mrs. Lula Pierce of Pendleton
is spending Christmas week in
Heppner with her son, his wife
and family, Mr. and Mrs. Gene
Pierce.
Visiting the James Pheglev
through the holidays are Mrs.
Phegley's parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Phelps, who arrived here
Saturday from Crescent City,
Calif.
COMMUNITY I
yj BILLBOARD I
Coming Events
BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Condon High School Gym
Heppner vs. Wheeler Co. High,
Friday, Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m.
Condon vs. Sherman, 8:00 p.m.
Playoff Saturday, Dec. 28, 6:30
and 8:00 p.m.
Admission, adults $1, stu
dents, 50c.
Support the Mustangs.
BENEFIT BOWLING
TOURNAMENT
Fiesta Bowl, Sunday, Dec. 29,
7 and 9 p.m.
Benefit for Hospital Expenses
of Shirley Cox.
SKIING AT ARBUCKLE
6" to 20" packed snow on hill.
Tow operating Saturday, Sun
day. Skiing hours, 12 noon to 4:00
p.m.
SEASON'S GREETINGS
May the New Year Bring
Peace and Prosperity to all.
SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC
SERVICE BY
C. A. RUGGLES
Insurance Agency
P. O. Box 247 PH. 676-9625
Heppner
Here's a royal
welcome to the New
Year, with greetings to our
friends and thanks for ail your
cooperation in the past. May the
months ahead bring you much happiness.