Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1967)
HEFFHEB GAZFTTE-TTXES. Thursday. March 16. 1967 THE Sv GAZETTE-TIMES Heppner. Oregon 9T836 MOBBOW COTOTTS NEWSPAPER The Heppner Gaiette established March 3a 1SS3. The Heppner Times established November 18, 1S97. Consolidated February 15, 1912. NIWSfAMI V f5M. PUIltSHItS ISOCIATION WESLET A. SBEBMAN Editor and Publisher Office Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until noon Saturday. Subscription Rates: $4.50 Year. Every Thursday and Entered at the as Second Class Matter. Basic Support and the Budget A common quandary for school districts In the state at the moment Is posed by uncertainty as to what action the legislature will take towards Increasing state basic school support It is particularly tough on the districts because they are currently In the throes of preparing their budgets for 1967-63 and cannot accurately forecast how much they will receive in assistance from the state. With no definite knowledge on what to expect, they can only hold to the present rate of assistance ($160 per census child) in preparing their estimates. If the legislature approves increases In support and it Is expected that It will the action will increase the revenue coming to the local districts and thereby cut the amount of taxes that will be levied against property. Morrow county school district R-l finds Itself in this plight with the rest at the moment Faced with a proposed gener al Increase in pay for teachers, the district is proposing a budget that shows a hike of $160,000 over last year. Should the highest of the proposals now before the legislature bo enacted in Increasing basic school support, this Increase In property levy In the school budget would be cut by some $35,000. The shock of soaring school budgets this year is not unique with Morrow county. It is a general condition, as anyone who follows the daily newspapers or television news will note. The Oregonian, in an editorial Monday, estimated that property taxes throughout the state may be $80 million high er next year chiefly to meet higher teacher salaries. It certainly is a quandary to cause the most conscientious board and budget committee members to perspire. On the one hand, they are faced with the necessity of increasing sal aries for keeping good teachers to provide adequate education for students tn the district On the other hand, they are faced with a mandate from taxpayers to keep levies down. Their only hope for a solution Is to pick up aid from some other source. This was the prime matter for the legis lature to consider at this session, but nothing has crystallized as yet. The Oregonian editorial said Monday, "If this Legislature is so politically mascle-bound that it is unable to provide additional state aid to schools, which would hold down the rapid escalation of local property taxes, there is likely to be a lot of new faces in the 1969 Legislature." Among those who serve on this year's budget committee for Morrow county schools are those who well know and feel themselves the pressure of property taxes. They are Just as interested in holding them to a minimum as anyone. The board arid the lay members have scrutinized every aspect of the budget through a succession of meetings, and they have made substantial cuts. Some pessimism is heard regarding the voters' reaction when they cast ballots on the budget April 17. It is hoped that the situation in regard to state support will be clarified somewhat between now and then, but there is no assurance that It will be. This year it isn't a question of paring "fat" from the coun ty school budget The committee has already made an effort to do that. It's simply a question of whether Morrow county voters will pay the increasing price of teaching their child ren in the face of the uncertainty on property tax: relief. Of the total general fund requirements of $1,231,282 in the county school budget for 1967-68, a total of $762,919 is marked for instruction, including teachers' salaries and other instructional costs. In addition, administrators' salaries are set at $25,653. This accounts for the bulk of the budget When you con sider that many other costs are relatively fixed maintenance of plant utilities, Social Security and so on there isn't much left to hack away that would make any significant change in the levy. It poses a tough dilemma for the taxpayer, but the big hope still lies with the legislature. If the property tax bur den isn't relieved at the state level, it is a virtual certainty that drastic reaction will result all around the state and not just in Morrow county. Journalism Society Initiates Members - Six Hf-ppner High school stu dents were initiated into Quill and Scroll, national journalism honor society, at the student body meeting of Heppner High on February 21. Those initiated were Barbara Anderson, Pam McCabe, Martha Peck. Jill Schmidt, Marsha Sowell and Mike Sweeney. To be eligible, students must be- a junior or senior, must be in the upper one-third of their class scholastically, and have worked in some phase of journ alism. They must be recom mended for membership by the advisor or the governing mem bership committee and approved by the club's executive officer. Presiding at the initiation cer emony were Donna Potter and Mrs. Rachel Dick, advisor. FFA Boys Attend District Meeting Heppner Chapter of Future Farmers of America was repre sented at the Blue Mountain District meeting in Stanfield on March 6 by four of its members. Local beys who attended the district meeting were David Hall, Earl Struckmeier, Alfred Drake and Steve Wagenblast. Steve also entered his record hook, on which he received third I lace. At the meeting, discussion was held on the election of dis trict officers which will be in April. HEPPNER NATIONAL NEWSPAPER i-TjjnfAig'j'ni HELEN E. SHERMAN Associate PublUhw Monday through Friday; 9 a jr. Single Copy 10 Cents. Published Post Office at Heppner, Oregon, Athletic Banquet Tickets on Sale Tickets for the All-Sports Ban guet to be held in Pendleton on Wednesday, April 19, are now on sale a the Gazette-Times of fice in Heppner. Bob Lilly, all pro tackle with the Dallas Cowboys, will be guest speaker for the banquet, which is sminviroH hv th Pon. dleton Athletic Round Table. Lilly is formerly of Pendleton. The banquet is open to the pubic and will honor Pendleton High athletes. Lillv. a former Ppnrilptnn Utah school star, will fly to Pendle ton with Mrs. Lilly from Dallas, Texas. His former coach, Don Requa of Pendleton High school, is scheduled to introduce him at the banquet. In arirtitinn in fho hu Lilly, several other features are piannea lor entertainment. Jack Sul of Pendleton, ticket chairman, said that it is expec ted that nearly 1000 persons will attend the banquet, which will be in the Pendleton Memorial armory, beginning at 7 p.m. on the Wednesday evening. Tickets are $4.75. They are be- ina nlar-ori nrt cala In trQpinm cities surrounding Pendleton for the convenience of those who would like to attend, and the Gazette-Times is handling them in Heppner as an accommoda tion. The attack rat fn moaclps Is higher than for any other in fectious disease. Chaff aid Wes ITS I'NCOMM ONLY qu let around this wwk with spring (?) vacation on. Seems as if every time we grab the phone to call someone on news, he's gone somewhere, but there are enough contacts left to fill the paper and more. Judging by the copy hanging on the linotype hook at this moment. Monday's snow must have been designed to bring conso lation to the left-at-homes dur ing the vacation week, showing that it Is still winter and that a person should be by the fire side instead of gadding around anyway. Must say, though, that the lawn mower looked pretty for lorn in the yard with the coat ing of snow on it THIS IS the week that a good share of the population might have been at Coos Bay if things had happened a little different ly in the final game of the dis trict basketball tourn am e nt Judging by Vale's showing, it appears that Heppner could have done pretty well in the state tournament. The Vikings blasted Riddle. 71 to 34, in the first round, and that would in dicate that the Mustangs could have handled these opponents, too. Vale lost in the second game, 53 to 45, to Stayton Tuesday, as was to be expected tand predicted last week) by the state's No. 1 ranked A-2 team. We'd still have given a Hepp ner Sheepskin Buck (if we had one) to see how Heppner would have fared against Stayton. One never knows. Doherty, Hoskins and Co. might just have pulled out some magic to upset the TO THE EDITOR. Helping the Blind To the Editor: There is an old adage that goes, "There is no one so blind as those that don't want to or won't see.' Mr. Webster defines the word ' Industry" as systematic work cr labor, ot a particular branch of productive labor. "Industrial" of or pertaining to. or resulting from industry or productive la bor. He also defines "Industrial ist" as a person employed in or concerned with industry, or pro ductive labor. For example, if we take the 100.000 acres in the Industrial Park and divide it Into econom ical irrigation farm units of 160 acres, there would be 625 farms or industries. We will now add one average size farm family to each unit That is quite an In ciease in population. What would be the increase in population if we include all the land in the north part of Morrow county, from the Uma tilla countj line to the Gilliam county line surrounding the In dustrial Park and the Navy fir ing range? How many of us have the foresight to be able to visualize , what the development of that imount of irrigated farms would do to the already established service industries in and around Morrow county? The area would need the services of surveyors, j engineer, land leveling, con struction and building contrac ! tors. The products and services o! pipe and pump dealers, lum ber dealers, farm machinery dealers, gas and oil dealers and ftrtilizer dealers would be a nec essity in the development of these farms. The dry goods, hardware, grocery and drug merchants: restaurant, hotel and motel owners will benefit. The professional services of bankers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, and druggists would be needed and those of you in these and other professions are here and estab lished. As Heppner is the county seat, n.any of these people would have to come here to conduct much of their business, but Eoardmau, Irrigon, lone and Lexington are closer to the area end would expand faster. Our recreational facil i t i e s would have to be increased to meet the demands of that many persons and their families. As we look at the example in the Columbia Basin area to the f orth of us, or to the Central Oregon area to the south of us, we can arrive at a fair picture o: this country 20 to 25 years from now if we act now. Can any one remember Pasco 25 years ago; Warden, Othello. Eltopia, Ephrata, of Quincy 20 years ago? Does anyone remem ber Redmond of Madras before dams in the Deschutes river made water on the land possi ble? For that matter, does anyone remember Boardman or Irrigon before an irrigation ditch brought water from the Uma there ever have been such tilla river to the area? WonlH towns as we know them today : without the water? I I believe that if we will all work together to put that great j God-given natural resource, I "Water," on another God-given i natural resource, "Land," we 1 will see ;i greater expansion of t growth and development that far exceeds expectation of the most farsighted person living in Morrow county today. Barbara Cutsforth Chatter Sherman Eagles but we'll about that now. never know WE WERE talking the other day bout what a basketball tram Heppner would have had if the Bill Barratts and the Bill Lab harts had stayed in town. We wer thinking that Scott Bar rett, who plaved her as a freshman (and sophomore?), was Just a senior this year. But a letter from Bonnie Bar ratt (Mrs. BilH reports that he is attending WSL' as a fresh man. We understand that he made a great showing In bas ketball in the Spokane coun try. Chris Labhart is the main stay of John Day's team, and he's Just a Junior. But suppose we'd had a team with fellows like Dohertv, Hoskins, Jacobs, Barratt. Labhart, Kilkenny and the Mustangs. Wouldn't that be a coach's dream? It's surprising how these kids grow up and get so big. The co-publisher watched the Her man Green family going to church Sunday and said to us, "My, those Green boys are get ting so big." But that's natural. They're Green and growing. WE NEVER expected to run out of No Trespassing signs at this season of the year. I'sual ly the big demand is In the fall at the start of hunting sea son. But Larry Lindsay slicked us out of the fluorescent var iety the other day. You may not believe it, but he has an invasion of hunters on the Lindsay range land, across from the bombing range. Rabbit hunters are coming in droves, he said. They have counted as many as 20 rigs on their range in a day campers, cars, pickups, and what have you. On one occasion they spot ted 18 men with rifles conduct ing a drive. They're shooting around the cattle and some calves have turned up missing. Larry la happy enough to get rid of the rabbits, but he wants to be sure that the hunters know the difference between rabbit and a cow. Judging by the way some shoot up signs, he isn't sure that they do. It appears that rabbit hunt ing is getting to be a late win ter pastime for the city dudes, who can't wait until Septem ber to start firing at birds. We sort of had the Idea that the jacks were nearing extinc tion in the north country, but Larry says not so. They have lean years and prolific years. He figures this Is the year of a bunny explosion. Anyway, it's a rather appropriate thought with Easter coming on. - MAYBE YOU won't believe It, but all of the county school administrators were out until 2 a.m. Friday morning. Don't be alarmed, though, they were Just getting home from school board meeting that broke up about 1:30 at Lexington. Did you ever stop to think how these six hour meetings could turn all the people in the county Into an irritated state of mind? It could go like thtis: The principals go to the meetings and stick them out to the bit ter end, getting into bed around 2 am. Without much sleep, when they go to school In the morning, they couldn t be in a happy frame of mind. This might cause them to speak sharply to their teachers. The rankled teachers, in turn, might give their pupils a bad day. Then the youngsters would come home to release their emo tions on their parents, thereby covering all corners of the county with the wave of irri tation. This chain reaction possibil ity reminds us of the old story of the college freshman who was flunking out. His profes sors blamed it on his high school teachers for not laying the proper foundation. The high school teachers passed the buck to the elementary teachers for not giving him the fundament als. The grade school teachers declared the kinderg a r t e n teacher was at fault for not giving him a good start And the kindergarten teacher point ed to the home situation as being the cause of the trouble. And the mother declared, "His dad's folks always were that way." PUTMAN FLYING. INC. WEED PRAYING CALL HOTEL HEPPNER PH. 676-9623 Salem Scene la Chan? Coming In Baste School Aid? "Until wc get a tax program and know how much money will be available, we can't talk In telligently about basic school support"' according to Senate Majority Leader Al Flegel ID Kutscburgi, chairman of the Sen ate Committee on Education here-. Nonetheless, the 1967 leglslat ure is studying several bills in tended tu change the formula b whWh the state subsidizes local school districts for the cost of Ortgon pubic education Many idea are gaining favor, and it seems reasonable to ex pect some changes in paying for education within the over all tax reform picture, A number of claims of inco, uittes under the present allx-a-tion formula can be cited: Port land versus down-Mate commu nities, Easterm Oregon versus the more populous Willamette Valley, luige school population districts with small property evaluation versus small popul lrtlon large value districts, O C land grant counties versus non-O C counties, to name a few. Both Sen Flegel ami Rep. Carroll Howe (R K. Falls), chairman ot the House Taxation Cummittet and for 30 years n professioi.al educator. would like to reduce the friction. Both would like to see the state gen eial fund budget supplying halt the operational cost of schools. Such an Increase from the pres ent 28 30 per cent woull reduce local taxes, but such a hike ap pears highly unlikely unless the state picks up more tax dol lars. The 50 per cent Idea is repre sented in H.B. 1573. sponsored by Rep. Howe, Rep. Stafford Hansel! (IMIermtston) and Sen L W. Ncwbry l R Ashland). It provides foi the state to give lo cal districts amounts equal to half the cost ot education for each pupil within each district "This bill is keyed to fluctu ations In the state's average in come," Rep. Howe explains. "Furthermore, It Is keyed to high-spending and low-spending districts, which will help cvrrect sme of the inequities In the Portland area" Portland, with 17 per cent of the state'. school population, re ceives only 12 J percent of state aid. It is argued by non-Portia ndcrs that Oregon's largest city does not bond itself for school construction, and that it has the highest property evalu ation rate per student. Sen. Flegel. now serving his tenth year, calls H.B. 1573. "the btst plan devised since I've been in the legislature. But . . . there is no recommended tax plan with It. We can't serious ly consider Increasing expendi tures without a plan to Increase revenue." Another idea receiving serious considerntion is S.B. 325, the re sult of seven months of study by a State Department of Education-appointed technical com mittee and lay advisory com mittee representing wide geo graphic and economic areas. It would raise state aid to 42 per cent, a possibility with funds already available, and provide corresponding property tax relief. The bill would give Portland a 10 per cent bonus, raising it to 15 per cent of sup port funds, and it provides a special allocation to small schools in sparsely-populated areas. It also would abolish the equalization levy of intermedi ate education districts, elimin ating costs "double equaliza tion." A similar proposal, from the Legislative Fiscal Committee, revises procedures for payment of allocations and places the state fund under an allotment PHONE 989-8420 For Fast and Dependabl FREIGHT TRUCK SERVICE Daily Overnight Serric From Portland including Saturdays MOVING? CALL US Flatt's Truck Service GENE ORWICK by tmett L Cutter system. Limitations are placed on district tax levies ior vn n grades and on the number J'J tax elections which tnnv be held on operating or capital outlay levies. Still another plan, Introduced In the Mount at the governors request, would Imposo the wtme two limitations and would pro vide allocations to common and union high school district of basic and supplemental grant, based on a support urogram lev el. It also would eliminate any mandatory county school fund levy and would abolish Inter mediate education district. With so many proposals to study, the legislature Is consid ered' almost certain to hammer out some new formula system. Right now. Sen. Flegel and Hep. Howe agree, the stage must be set by the Joint Ways and Means Committee, which breaks down the state budget's receipts and expenditure tally for leg Islnllve approval. When the Senate Equalization Committee this week voted to i Increase balc school support ' from $160 to $240 per census . child, Sen. Flegel pointed out j that action would have to come ; from Ways and Means, which would have to come up with, the money. "I am sure that Hep. Howe will agree with me," says Sen j Flegel In summing up much ; legislative sentiment, "that If we can find the state funds, we j should give local school one- i half of their operational cost, j district by district, and forget about the formula." j Governor to Report On Tax Problems Governor Tom McCall will re port to the people Thursday, March Id. at 9:30 p.m. In a spec ial color television show to or iginate ocr KGW-TV In Port land The Governor's first tele vised report since taking office will be titled. "Do You Want Property Tax Relief?" John Monger, director of the Department of Finance and Ad ministration, will appear with Gov. McCall on the program. The governor will explain In de tail his plan fur a reduction In property tax. Gun Club Schedules Shoot on Sunday Morrow county gun club will hold a shoot at the club grounds south of Heppner on Sunday, March 19, at 10 a.m.. club lend ers announced Tuesday. Merchandise prizes will be given to winners at the ahoot. AllAAVn EIRflT nilAIITV 3 DAYS ONLY Gaymode nylons reduced! Reg. 3 pairs for 2.93 3 pr. for 2.27 Famous Gaymode first- quality nyloni oil stylos i (lot knits, mesh, Agilon and Cantrece stretch, loo. Demi-toes, service weights... seamless or lull-fashioned. All proportioned (or belter fit. Spring shades. Boys' dress oxford 6.99 Durable Pentred tola and heel, scuff-resistant healed up. per In smooth black leather. Extra comforti broad toe last. 8tt to 3,' Examiner Coming A dilvcfs lli-ento examiner will be or duty In Heppner on Tuesday, March IM, at the court house hitMeeii Hie hours of ).3o niu. mid .1 hi pin, lit iHpart nient of Motor Vehicles of Ore gun announce. Persons wishing iillglniil licenses or permit to ililve are asked lo I lie applies lion well ahead of 111 schedul cd eloslnj,' hour In order to a sure time for completion of the required llceliM) lest. COMMUNITY BILLBOARD Coming Events ROCKHOUND MEETING Saturday, March 18, 8 p m. Old Heppner Library build ing Meeting changed from March 25 of Holy Week. MORROW CO. GUN CLUB Sunday. March 19, 10 am. Heppner Club Ground Merchandise Prize EASTER FOOD SALES American Legion Auxiliary, Friday, March 24, next door to Gardner's Sans Souct Rrbekah Benefit Hake Sale, Sat. March 23 Coxen Building, next door to Gardner's. GOOD FRIDAY SERVICES Friday. March 24 First Methodist Church, 12:30 P m. until 3 p.m. Sponsored by South Morrow Ministerial Assoc. Every oi .c Welcome. CIVIL DEFENSE MEETING Thursday, March 23, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Elks Lodge room. SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BT C. A. RUGGLES Insurance Agency Hippnar t. O. Box $47 NL CTO M1S STORE HOURS 9:00-6:00 DAILY S NOW Girls' classic pump 5.99 In glossy black patent vinyl pretty enough lo go party ing! One-strap styling with rounded toe, synthetic sole. It's Chlldcraft! 8V4-3. j! I h 4 1 90
