1 1 MART u or o EUGENE, ORE 07403 School Budget Shows State Support Poses Huli-t for the Morrow county school district for 1!KS7 08, an approved by thn buduct commit ! and published for the wo und limp thin week on pages 2 and 3 of tlu second section of till )iiht, show sub Ktantlal Increase In estimated expenditures above tliu current scar. Total taxes to he levied In all fund of thn district Is plac ed at $1,023,421 a compared with $-2,8H7 for 19WI67. Thin In an Increase of $1(30,324 to bo added to the tux levy for schools. Of the total levy of $1,023,421. the Hum of $2t.V.21 Is within the six per cent lim itation. An additions $HH,193 In not subject to the six per cent limitation, leaving $i:V.),:w)5 out nlde the llmltittlon. Voter will decide on April 17, when the special budget election will be held, whether to approve the levy outside the Mix it cent limitation. Total budget requirements are placed t $2,918,537, but thU In clude an estimated $1,500,000 for construction of the new Riv erside High school. The district hoard In now negotiating with the Army Corps of Engineers ;(or these fund after, the turpi rejected bids lato lasr year on ! the cuiiNtructlon of the school on thn ground that all bids - were too high. ' This sum for construction, " which must be Included In the iY viv i v AT A PATRIOTIC CEREMONY at the Elementary PTA meeting on March 8. members ol the American Lealon Pott No. 87 presented a new 50 star flag to tbe school. Taking part is the ceremony were Gerry Rood. Don Munkere, Clayton Sweats. BUI Alsup. Anile Hedman and Joe Yocom. Legion Post Presents Flag To Heppner Grade School About 50 Heppner Elementary ITA members worked their way through n busy evening Wed nesday, March 8, In the grade school multipurpose room. FIA President Mrs. Clyde Alstott presided over a meeting which included a patriotic presentation bv the American Legion Post No. 87, two educational film strips and careful discussion of four nieces of pending child related legislation. Legionnaire Gerry Rood, Don Munkers, Clayton Sweek, BUI Alsup, Arnle Hedmnn and Joe Yocom were present to begin the meeting with formal patri otic ceremony including the prayer, tho pledge to the flag and a short Inspirational mes sage. Bill Alsup presented a new 50-star flag to Principal Alan Martin for the grade school, and received the worn 48-star flag which had served tho combined high school and grade school for many years. The Legion post will supervise proper disposal of this veteran flag. One filmstrlp, presented early In tho meeting was entitled "Your Child's Mental Health" and was accompanied by a pre test on the subject ond dlstrl tlon of handbooks for parent use. Part of a packaged presen tation arranged by Roberta C. Frasler, family life specialist with the Extension Service of Oregon State University, the filmstrlp listed characteristics of emotionally healthy children and suggested methods which parents can use to encourage children's good emotional devel opment. Filmstrlp number two, pre sented at the conclusion of the evening, was being previewed by parents of Junior high age children because school admin istrators felt that its use might be controversial since It dealt with venerlal disease. Not only was no objection voiced by any one present, but after the show ing, several parents spoke In fa vor of using it. Four legislative proposals re ferred to local PTAs by the state organization were given a thor ough going-over by the group, but when it came to voting to support these measures, only about half of those present felt that they had enough informa tion to take a stand, Those who did vote gave their approval to a measure to place family and Juvenile matters un der ihe Jurisdiction of circuit courts and to a provision for enforcing Oregon public health standards for day core centers. They were against adding a so cial work responsibility to pub- lie schools at least as stated in the luw under consideration and they disapproved a law which budget, gives an "Inflated" pic ture because It Is listed among the budget requirements. How. ever, the construction cost Is to be reimbursed by the Corps at whatever figure Is agreed up on. Support May Increase While the budget shows that the tax levy will be Increased by the $160,521, this could be reduced by action of the state legislature which Is considering bills that would Increase stutc basic school support, Like other district through out the state, Morrow county school district is left In some thing of a quandary without knowing what the statu support Mill lie. In the county school budget for 1!M)7'CH. the bnslc school support Is figured on tho pres ent wale of $160 In aid per cen sus child, coming to a total of $111,087. This Is shown as a re source (revenue coming to the district). However, one bill pending be fore the legislature would In crease state aid to $240 per census child. If this should be adopted, it would Increase the budget resources In Morrow county approximately $55,000, according to Supt. David Pot ter. It would reduce the amount of tux levy required here by the same amount. Present bnslc school support from the stale, la figured at i n Mi'uHum nit , K Wr- would support kindergartens and make them mandatory all over the state while approving another kindergarten law which would make kindergartens op tional for districts but would provide basic school support money for kindergartens. Mrs. Robert Abrams asked for more time for the nominating committee to work on officers for the next PTA year. President Alstott announced that the Joint PTA Band Parent committee which is planning the Rand Carnival had plans for the April 1 event well In hand. Refreshments of coffee and cookies, prepared and arranged by Mrs. Robert Jones and Mrs. Herman Winter, were served af ter the meeting. Deadline Nearing On Board Filings Deadline for filing for election to schoci board and advisory committee positions for Morrow County School District R-l is March 31, Mrs. Alice Vance, dis trict clerk advises. Election will be Monday, May 1. Terms of two of the county directors from the Heppner area will explrt as of June 30, and terms of nine advisory commit tee members from throughout the county will also expire at that time. Anv registered voter mav run for the elective offices for the area In which he lives. Nomina tion Is by petition and a mini mum of ten names must be on the petition. Petition forms may be obtained from the office of the district clerk at the Lexing ton administrative bull ding. Freedom Enjoyed After Cast Removal Doug Gunderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Gunderson, is home from Portland without the c&st which he has worn since a leg operation December 28. He nnd his mother made tho trip down Sunday and returned Mon day with brother David and Jim Dohorty to help. Doug and his cast have been a familiar sight around town and at athletic events this win ter but now Doug is going thro ugh the difficult process of get ting back on his fret again. A fifth grader in Mrs. Williams' room at Heppner Grade school, he plans to get right back to school alter spring vacation probably on crutches. Increase; Question about 28. The legislature is considering bills that could In crease the states share to as much as 50. Whatever In crease Is passed by the legis lature would decrease the local property tax load In proportion. Costs Up Around State Since most school district around the state are being fac ed with providing higher teach er salaries and are also con fronted with other Increasing exM-nses, higher school cost will result In many districts. Thus, If state aid should re main at $160 per census child with the legislature providing no Increase, the Btate percent age of support will full well below the 2H, In addition to the $141,987 shown In the budget from state biisle school support, the dis trict also will receive an esti mated $!il,fi03 from the state to tie applied against transporta tion costs. The principal reason for the Increase In estimated expendl lures here for the coming year Is the increase In teachers sal aries approved by the H i board und the budget committee. As outlined in previous news stor ies, the new scale will start leui'hers with bachelor degrees and no experience In the sys tern at $.r800. This compares with the present $5200. Incre ments are provided for exper ience and advanced training by the certified personnel. In addition, the board has acted to place teachers on their proper steps on the salary schedule, after "freezing" them two years ago at their levels as of that time. This change will require $9,000. By mutual agreement be tween teachers and the board two years ago, teachers were "frown" at their current steps on the schedule for two years when they were given a gen eral salary Increase. This meant that thev did not receive incre ments for additional experience during the period. Proper Steps Asked When the professional nego tiating committer reported to the board recently, it requested that teachers be returned to their earned places to give them credit for their experience. The teachers stated that the "freeze" resulted In inequities. New teachers coming to the system would start at their earned steps while holdover teachers here re mained static on the scale. After considerable debate at the last board meeting, the dir ectors agreed to placing the teachers on their proper steps. The higher salary scale for teachers was authorized by the board and budget committee af ter lengthy discussion In a num ber of meetings. Teachers had asked that the scale start at $11000, but the board compro mised on the $5800 figure, and this was accepted by the teach ers. In some instances, pay for extra duty will be decreased. Opinions expressed by the board and budget committee was to the effect that the in creased scale is necessary in or der to provide salaries more In keeping with those offered by other districts around the state. The opinion has been given of ten, too. that the action is nec essary to get and hold good teachers in the county. Salaries Up $93,817 Salaries for Instruction are figured at a total of $721,000 for the comlnr year as compared with $G27.183 for 1966-67, there by amounting to an Increase of $93,817 foi Instruction. Salaries for administration are figured in the upcoming budget at $25,653 as compared with $25,829 this year. The slight decrease reflects a trans fer of duties where Lloyd John son will devote full time to in struction at lone rather than work part time on the adminis trative stair at Lexington. Principals, whose salaries are Included under "instruction," will receive Increases in salary according to the new schedule and their appropriate grade fig ures. No salary increase is pro vided for Supt. Potter, although the board voted at its last meet ing to continue his contract for two years. Many Cuts Made In going over the budget, part by part, the budget committee made cuts In many areas. Among those subject to the most cutting were capital outlay items, principally for new equipment. It is estimated that some $30,000 in cuts were made. Neverthe less, the budget shows that capital outlay Items will be up more than $17,000 In the area of equipment. Cop ies of the mimeographed budg et, available in the school dis trict office at Lexington or at the Gazette-Times office, show these items in detail, ad well as some of the cuts which have been made. In addition, the budget shows that cost of transportation has increased by some $12,000, and maintenance of plant is esti mated to be $12,000 higher and food services are up some $5,000. Included In the capital outlay portion of the budget is an item of $12,500 for equipment in Riv erside High. This accounts for some of the increase in that de partment. $8,000 Transferred One item, $8,000 for helping (Continued on page 8) 84th Year the -mm GAZ Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, March 16, Board Holds Tight mm"" ' , ..(-'-'-'. -"V.J ' .... t- X-v- ' ''Jl If'-'-' 5 I i r ?! i i nSAU WORKSHOP of Helen Cox Flowers and Gifts was charred and blackened inside following a fire Saturday that did heary damage. A walk-In cooler (doorway risible at left) was hardly damaged, howerer, and flowers inside it were sored. (G-T Photo). Helen Cox Shop Severely Damaged In Saturday fire Floral workshop of Helen Cox Flowers and Gifts was severe ly damaged Saturday morning In a fire that struck the build ing. Besides damage to the building, loss to flowers and supplies was heavy. The fire apparently started near a butane heater in the workshop, sometime after 9 a.m. Mrs. Cox first noticed It when she saw smoke coming from the windows. She went to investi gate while her daughter called the fire department at 9:55 a.m. The workshop is behind the Cox home and gift shop, which is in one section of the home. Fire Chief Forrest Burkenbine said that nine volunteer fire men answered the call, and they spent about two hours exting uishing the blaze and cleaning up. The blaze spread into the at tic of the building, maklnjr It more difficult to fight The structure was heavily insulated for the protection of the fresh flowers. The interior of the building was gutted. A walk-in cooler in the work shop remained Intact, and the flowers In it were saved. Chief Burkenbine said that cans of spray paint in the build ing exploded periodically, add ing another problem to fighting the fire. No monetary estimate of the damage was fixed as of Mon day, although insurance adjust ers arrived on that day to be gin compiling the amount of loss. Mrs. Cox said she believes the loss is covered by insurance. Repairs will be made to the building as soon as possible. In the meantime, Mrs. Cox will do the floral work for her business from her home and will contin ue "business as usual." Owner Extinguishes Fire; Damage Light Curtains near a stove in the home of Opal Brings, 360 S. Green, caught fire Friday after noon as she started to light a fire in the stove. The flames spread quickly, and Miss Briggs started to call the fire depart ment but decided that action would be needed immediately to extinguish it. She checked the spread by throwing water on the celling, using a cup, and then exting uished tho flames by dousing them with buckets of water. Damage was confined to the one corner of the room, Including the burned curtains, blind and some damage to a corner cup board. The fire started when the lighted match head flipped off as she struck the match. It drop ped Into some papers that ig nited and spread to the curtains. Miss Briggs was grateful that she was able to extinguish the fire without further loss. rmr n :: Brother Coming To Manage Firm Bruce Malcom brother of Bar ncv Malcom who died unexpect edly February 28. will come to Heppner from bpringiieia to take the position of general manager of Heppner Lumber Company, Mrs. Barney tMary) Malcom announced Monday. He plans to start here Monday, March 20. The brother has been associ ated with Weyerhaeuser Timber Company at Springfield for about three years. He spent sev eral months here with Heppner Lumber Company In 1963-64. Bruce Malcom Is a graduate of forestry from Washington State University. Like Barney. he spent his childhood and youth in Eatonville, Wash. Wife and family of the new manager plan to remain in Springfield until after the close of school this spring. Mrs. Mai corn's first name Is Arlene, and the couple has four children, Steven, Lorie, Julie and Jimmy. Conference Set On Civil Defense A special conference, intend ed to increase the participants' knowledge of what constitutes "disaster preparedness" for both county and municipal govern ment, has been scheduled March 23 at the Elks' Temple, 142 N. Main, in Heppner. The conference will be the ninth in a series of 18 to be held in Oregon through May of this year as the result of a Div ision of Continuing Education contract with the U. S. Office of Civil Defense. Invitations to attend have been sent to county and city of ficials within Morrow County, heads of private and public agencies, service organizations. Bishop to Ordain Rinehart An ancient service of ordina tion will be observed at All Saints' Episcopal church Friday evening, March 17, at 7:30 P.m., when the Rev. Mr. Dirk T. Rine hart will be ordained priest in God's Holy Catholic church, ac cording to the rite of the Prot estant Episcopal church. The Rt. Rev. Lane W. Barton, D.D., Bishop of Eastern Oregon, will ordain Mr. Rinehart and celebrate the Holy Communion. The Rev. Rustin Kinsey, Rev. Rinehart's brother-in-law, will be guest speaker, and the R Armand Larive of Nyssa will present Rev. Rinehart to the Bishop for ordination. The Episcopal church, through the centuries, has retained a three-fold ordained ministry (deacon, priest, bishop) as found in the ancient church, the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church. The Rev. Rinehart has served nine jTE-TIM 1967 on Riverside Offer Senator Morse Appeals To President Johnson Problem of getting a new school building constructed at Boardman has now gone all the way to the top in officialdom, it was revealed In letters read at the March meeting of the Morrow county school board last Thursday night. Senator Wayne Morse has written a letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson pointing out the problem of reaching a set tlement with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and stating that "Implications of this are very serious." He said it is being charged in the Oregon state leg islature that the Corps Is "In tr rtering with the state educa tional policies." A copy of the letter was read at the meeting, together with two others sent by - Senator Morse to officials in Washing ton, D. C. The senator urged the county school board not to accept or reject any offer from the Corps at this time and not to rush into a settlement. Listening to the reading of the letters, unperturbed, were three representatives irom tne district office of the U. S. Army Corps, Walla Walla, who at tended the meeting. Col. Frank McElwee, district engineer, told the board that the three had come to the meeting prepared to negotiate. Following the rejection of construction bids on tne scnooi late last year by the Corps, the Engineers eventually made a cash offer to the district of $1,000,000. A counter proposal of $1,661,000 was made by the school board, after which the Corps proposed a Sl.242,000 lump sum settlement via Col. McElwee. .... . , "Not For Apart The district engineer said Thursday night that he felt the school board and the Corps were not very far apart He said that he was empowered to negotiate and effect a set tlement. Carnival of Fun Plans Underway Heppner's 1967 PTA-Band Car nival to be held April 1 at the Fair Pavilion is shaping up as PTA presidents, Mrs. Clyde Al stott and Mrs. Marshall Lov gren, and band director Arnold Melby announce plans for the event this week. Heppner PTA officers hope that this one event will take place of a number of fund-raising efforts and produce money necessary for PTA scholarships, and band members are hoping to gain the funds to send stu dents to Washington State Un iversity's High School Summer Music camp again this year. Band students are selling tickets for a typewriter to be the main prize of the evening. Sellers of the highest number of tickets will receive cash prizes. WEATHER By DON GILLIAM Official weather report for the week of March 8-14 is as fol lows: HI Low Prec. Wednesday 61 35 Thursday 50 34 .07 Friday 43 33 .06 Saturday 44 32 .02 Sunday 46 23 Monday 47 30 .13 Tuesday 48 31 Snow months as deacon since his or dination to that ministry in July. As priest in the church he will be authorized to cele brate the Holy Communion and pronounce absolution, as well as perform all the other duties of the ordained ministry. Women of All Saints' church will serve a buffet dinner for all out-of-town guests before the ordination, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Also, a reception will be field following the ordination service in the church parish hall. The reception is open to the public. All friends of the Rev. Rine hart, and especially members and friends of All Saints' par ish are invited to attend this joyful event. Special invitations have been extended to all Hepp ner clergy to attend. Many out-of-town faml 1 y members, friends and clergy are expected to be present. Number 3 HEPPNE 10 Cents Chairman Irvin Rauch asked that a 5-page letter from Col. Mchiwee be reaa to explain ae- tails of the last offer and re jection of the board's $1,661,000 proposal. It was read in full. The colonel sueeested that if the board did not wish to neg otiate at the meeting, a time and place be set to consider the matter further. After hearing the letters from Sen. Morse and the text of Col. McElwee's letter, the board went into executive session. When the directors were back in regular session, a motion was passed that the board support the action suggested by Sen. Morse. Then a meeting was ar ranged with Col. McElwee and the Corps for Wednesday after noon. March la, to continue dis cussions. In outlining his position be fore the board. Col. McElwee pointed out that the offer of the Corps approximated nearly $23 per square foot lor tne new building. Senator Disapproves One of Morse s letters saia that he felt the $1 million of fer was unsatisfactory and that the $1,242,000 offer was also un reasonable. He said that he felt a proposed dike around the old school building to continue school there while the reservoir waters were rising and the new school was under construction was "completely unacceptable." He proposed a conierence in Washington, D. C that would Include county school oiltciais; the architect; Sen. Al Flegel, chairman of the State Senate eoucation committee, the state superintendent of public instruc tion; and others. Gen. W. T. Cassidy, Chief of the Army Engineers; Congress man Al Ullman; and S. Doug lass Cater, special assistant to the president on education; and Sen. Morse would also attend the conference. But the school board made no move Thursday night for a re turn trip to Washington. Chair man Rauch did comment that he wasn't interested in another trip east. Several went there earlier in the negotiations in the hope of getting an agree able settlement from the Corps. In a letter to Cater, Sen, Morse called the Riverside school matter a "serious poten tial public controversy." It was indicated that nothing short of $1,500,000 in a cash settlement to the school district is reas onable nor adequate and that 79ths of the continuity cost is the responsibility of the federal government The "continuity cost" is that of maintaining suitable quarters for a school building while the new build ing awaits construction. The school directors were hopeful that further word from Washington, D. C, would lend strength to their cause before Wednesday, but just prior to the scheduled session at Walla Walla, there was no indication of further developments that might complete the negotiat ions. Meet Lasts Six Hours This latest chapter In the Riverside problem was the on lv one important matter touch ed upon at a meeting that last ed six hours. The diiectors con sidered teacher contracts (see story elsewhere in this paper), heard a report from lone on a proposed six-six school organl zation there, acted on policies connected with the new salary schedule, and handled many other items of business. Director Don McElligott and Louis Cailson of the lone advis ory committee told of favorable impressions received after a committee had investigated the six-six plan. They asked the board's permission to apply to the State Department of Educa tion for establishment of a sys tem in lone that would have a six-year elementary school and the grades 7 through 12 in the high school building. This move was approved by the board. The lone committee felt that it could move ahead on the plan if it seems desirable but could meeting. back off even though the appli cation was made, if it seemed undesirable. However, if there is a possibility of starting such a system in the fall, application must be made soon. The twj men said that some of the committee had visited the Pilot Rock schools and returned with the idea that it was a "very smooth" system. Visits with bus iness people there found them highly in favor of the system although they recalled that in the first few weeks of operation (Continued on Page 5)