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85th Year
Number 44
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THE :m
HEPPNER
GAZETTE-TIMES
Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, December 26, 1968
Price 10 Cents
Mustangs Win Holiday Tournament
I Undefeated
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OFFICERS OF the Heppner-Morrow County Chamber of Commerce for 1969, elected Monday, are
Jerry Sweeney (right, front), president; Judge Paul Jones (left, front), first vies president,
and from left, back row. Gene Pierce, second vice president; Marian McCurdv, Jr., secretary; and
Norman Supple, treasurer.
Sweeney Chosen
To Head Chamber;
Directors Named
Jerry Sweeney, owner of
Sweeney's Mortuary, was elected
president of the Heppner-Mor-row
county Chamber of Com
merce for 1969 at a meeting of
the organization's directors
Monday. He will succeed Wesl
Sherman, publisher of The Ga-1
president through 1968.
County Judge Paul Jones was
reelected first vice-president and
Gene Pierce, president of the
Bank of Eastern Oregon, was
chosen second vice-president.
Harlan McCurdy, Jr., manager
of Morrow County Grain Grow
ers, Inc., was reelected secretary
and Norman Supple of the
Heppner branch, First National
Bank, was reelected treasurer.
Judge Jones, who normally
would become president in the
Chamber's custom of moving up
through the line of officers, ask
ed not to be considerea tnis
year because he will be gone
on business in connection with
the legislature on the usual
Chamber meeting day Monday
during the months that the
legislature is in session.
He is serving on a legislative
committee for the Association of
Oregon Counties.
Reelected to the board of dir
ectors for two-year terms were
McCurdy and Sweeney. Three
new directors elected are Robert
Abrams, attorney; L. E. (Ed)
Dick, Standard Oil distributor;
and Harry O'Donnell, manager
of the Morrow Abstract and Ti
tle Co.
Holdover directors, who serve
until the end of 1969, are Judge
Jones; Dick Carpenter, Heppner
High school pirncipal; Elma
Harshman, owner of Elma's Ap
parel; Pierce; and Dr. Wallace
Wolff, physician and surgeon.
Sherman, as past president,
will serve as ex officio member
of the board of directors for one
year.
Officers for 1969 will be in
stalled at the first meeting in
January, Monday, January 6.
(G-T Photo),
Garrisons, Winchesters
Win Decoration Firsts
With a large brilliantly-lit
Christmas tree in the yard, tig
ures of deer and snowmen, and
the home outlined in blue lights,
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Garrison
won first place in the outdoor
division of the 1968 Christmas
Lighting and Decoration contest
sponsored bv the Heppner-Mor
row county Chamber of Com
merce. The word Noel, is
framed in red lights on the side
of the house, which is located
at 245 W. Baltimore.
Winner of first place in the
indoor division decorated win
dows and decorations visible
from the street are Mr. and
Mrs. Ernie Winchester, 124 W.
Church St.
Their place has a profusion
of decorations, both indoors and
outdoors, with many figures in
cluded. One window has a large
painting of an angel with the
word, "Compassion," worked in
to the painting.
Both the indoor and outdoor
first place winners receive $30
in this year's contest.
Second in the outdoor contest
are Mr. and Mrs. Len Ray
Schwarz of 140 North Chase
Street, winners of $20, and third
are Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Meth-
4-H Skiing to Start
At Arbuckle Jan. 4
Members of the 4-H ski clubs
will start the season at Arbuck
le Mountain on Saturday, Jan
uary 4, according to Dick Mc
Elligott, club leader.
Snow reached a depth of
some 18-24 inches about 10 days
ago, and it appeared to be pack
ing good, the leader said. This
depth was greater than any
during the season last year.
More probably has fallen
since, but the Chinook of Mon
day may have cut it some, Me
Elligott said. He said that he
had not been up to see the
course during the past week.
However, the course might be
high enough so that it was not
affected by the warming
winds.
No announcement has been
made as yet as to whether the
Jaycees will be operating the
course for the general public as
they have the past two seasons.
vin, 475 Chase Street, winners
of $10.
Second in the indoor contest
is Mrs. Mattie Green, 335 W. Wa
ter Street, whose window dis
play features an open Bible and
candles, and third is the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Lov-
gren, 240 S. Court. Mrs. Green
wins $20 and the Lovgrens $10.
Judges toured the city Sun
day evening, and after reporting
the results said, "The commit
tee feels more of the people who
decorated their homes should
have entered the contest."
A tour of the city confirms
their statement. Many beautiful
displays that were not entered
can be seen in all sections of
town.
Of the total $120 in prize
money, $60 is contributed anon
ymously, $30 comes from the
Chamber and $30 from Colum
bia Basin Electric Cooperative.
Mrs. Avon Melby Is chairman
of the Chamber of Commerce
committee in charge of the contest.
Team Takes
Fourth Title
For the fourth straight year,
Heppner High's basketball team
has won a Holiday Basketball
Tournament championship.
Coach Bob dough's Mustangs
throttled the tall Wahtonka
Eagles Friday night in the tour
nament, held at Wahtonka, 60
to 47. and then rolled over Con
don Saturday night, 59 to 33, for
the championship.
The Eagles thumped Sherman
County, 66 to 44, to win the
consolation in Saturday nights
preliminary. Condon topped
Sherman in the opening game
Friday night, 63 to 47, to gain
the final round.
One of the problems of the
Mustangs in the Friday night
game was to stop Butch
Schmidt, towering 6 ft. 7 inch
basketeer of the Eagles. The
Mustangs used a zone and sag
ged on Schmidt at times to hold
him in check. They limited him
to four field goals, but he gam
ed 14 chances on the free throw
line, making tight of them, for
an evenings ,ronuction ot lb
Gary Kemp had his best night
as a Mustang, tallying eignt
field goals for a matching lb.
and he missed his only chance
on the gift line.
At all the quarter stops, the
margin favored the Heppner
lads. 19-13, 33-28, 45-39 and the
final. 60-47.
Four Mustangs were In doub
le figures for the game Kemp
with 16. John McCabe with 14
on five buckets and tour tree
throws, Cal Ashbeck on six and
one, and Jon U Donnell with 1U
on four and two.
In the title contest Saturday
night, the Mustangs, having
twice defeated the Blue Devils
already, were favored again, but
Steve Riney, one of Condon's
better players, was in the line
up for the first time this year.
and it was expected that he
would make a difference.
Riney did lead his team in
scoring, but the Cloughmens
winning margin was greater
than either of the first two meet
ings at 26 points 59-33.
Taking a 13-9 first quarter
jump, Heppner moved to a 27
17 halftime lead and broke
away for a 44-23 advantage by
the start oi tne fourth.
Kemp's 16 matched his point
production of the night before
and made him tourney high for
the champs with 32, all but four
points of which came on field
goals.
McCabe was next in line with
15 on five field goals and five
free throws, getting a total of
29 points for the tournament.
Cal Ashbeck had 22 points for
the tourney, getting nine Satur
day, and O'Donnell had 18 with
eight on Saturday.
(Scores on page 8)
Train Hits Carat Lex Crossing;
Sailor Escapes with Cut, Bumps
County Tops State
In Vote Percentage
In General Election
Morrow county voters won
the distinction of taking their
franchise most seriously in the
general election, according to
figures released recently by
Clay Myers, Secretary of State.
A total of 89.51 of the reg
istered voters in the county
cast ballots, thereby leading
all counties in the state, My
ers said. Statewide average
was 84.84.
Ironically, neighboring Grant
county had the lowest per
centage at 80.04.
Republicans across the state
went to the polls at the rate
of 87.46 but Democrats slip
ped to 82.95.
In leading the state percent
agewise, Morrow county had
a rather phenomenal turnout
in some precincts. For in
stance, Northwest Heppner
had a percentage of 93.1. Of
its total registration of 334,
all but 23 cast ballots.
Chinook Wipes Out
White Christmas
Joseph Michael Burcham, 20
Lexington has seen some com
bat action in 2 years service
with the Navy, but he has nev
er experienced anything as ter
rifying as that which occurred
within sight of his own home
Saturday.
A Union Pacific freight train
collided with his 1966 tudor
Chevrolet at a crossing at Lex
ington, just after Burcham had
driven away from his parents'
mobile home, located just west
of the tracks.
The train hit the auto almost
broadside, but fortunat e 1 y
knocked it away from the
tracks, some 20 feet to the side.
Burcham received a cut on the
head, which required some
stitches, and a few bruises, but
that appeared to be the extent
of his injuries.
Sheriff C. J. D. Bauman, who
investigated, said that Engin
eer Charles Wilson stated he
never saw the car approaching
from the west, nor did Burch
am notice the oncoming train,
headed north.
It took 12 car lengths for the
slow moving 15-car freight train
to stop, the sheriff said.
This was not a regular run
for the U. P. train but was a
special, the sheriff said. The ac
cident happened at 12:05 p.m.
Burcham, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Ralph Burcham, is on leave from
the USS Rogers. He serves as
a gunners mate and has seen
duty in waters off both Vietnam
and Korea.
He is now wondering wheth
er the fact that he arrived
home on Friday, December 13,
had any significance. Although
his car was a total loss with
no insurance, he still considers
himself fortunate.
The young serviceman said,
"It was quite a shocking exper
ience." GMG3 Burcham will leave on
January 3 to resume duty with
the Navy and expects to be
sent off Vietnam again.
Those in Heppner who had
dreams of a white Christmas
had conditions well in their fa
vor until Monday when the
warm chinook wind came and
turned the "white" to gray or
brown.
Several inches of snow had
accumulated through Sunday
but it left in a hurry Monday
with the wind and warmer tem
perature.
A snow storm blanketed much
of the northern part of the state
Sunday, with blizzard conditions
hitting in the Columbia Gorge
and in Portland. Rains came la
ter, though, to wipe out the
snow in the Portland area.
The week brought a total of
7 inches of snow in Heppner
and a total of .46 inch of rain.
Temperature dropped as low as
11 degrees early last Friday
morning. After maximum tern
peratures had hovered around
the freezing point for four days,
it warmed to 51 degrees Mon
day, clearing the snow cover
rapidly.
Complete weather report for
the week from Don Gilliam, of
ficial observer, is as follows:
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
( 1 inch snow; 1.7 inches
DRAWN BY CHRISTY BRADLEY. 7th GRADE
Young oArtists oAgain Tight
Christmas Lamp' in greetings
As the drawing by Christy Bradley, seventh grade stu
dent, proclaims, Heppner Elementary School children are
again "Lighting the Lamp of Christmas" In this issue of
the paper.
Their original Christmas drawings are used again in
presenting the annual greeting issue of The Gazette-Times
...Ilk Mnrsilt onio DiinncnriniT tha 4 rfl U7 1 fl tttt
This is the third year that work of students of Terry Lin
cecum, art teacher, have been presented In the greeting edi
tion of the paper. Unfortunately, the student artists far out
number the businesses available to sponsor the season's draw
ings, and therefore, only relatively few of them could be
chosen.
Those which appear throughout this paper should be con
sidered representative of the work done by the students.
Many, many fine drawings had to be omitted.
While there is no contest in connection with the draw
ings, those who have their work published will receive certif
icates of merit from the paper.
Below each drawing used Is the name and grade of the
student artists. It is interesting to note the students' many
different interpretations of the Christmas season as they por
tray it some humorous, some deeply religious, some empha
sizing Santa and his reindeer, some working in kindness to
animals and other good deeds.
Most of the students' greetings are presented, along with
the other traditional type greetings of the merchants, in sec
tion two of this paper.
Relatives Hear Encouraging
Information on Mike Benge
Hi Low Prec.
40 26 .12
29 20 .17
30 11
33 15
39 20 .14
51 25 .03
snow;
1 inch snow)
Breaks Hip in Fall
Mrs. Norah Rasmus received
emergency treatment for a bro
ken hip at Pioneer Memorial
hospital late last Thursday af
ternoon, after she was injured
in a fall on an icy sidewalk,
while walking downtown.
Mrs. Rasmus was transported
by ambulance to St. Anthony
hospital in Pendleton on Friday
for further treatment
Encouraging information con
cerning Michael D. Benge, be
lieved held for nearly a year
bv the Vietcong. has been re
ceived by his sister, Mrs. Matt
Hughes, of Heppner. It bright
ens the Christmas season for
Mr. and Mrs. Terrel Benge, his
parents, of lone and all his rel
atives and friends.
A friend, name of whom the
relatives prefer to keep anony
mous, has written from the Sai
gon area to report that he had
talked to a native who had seen
Benge in a VC jungle prison
camp.
Benge, who had been working
with the Montagnards for five
years in a civilian capacity, was
reported missing following the
Tet offensive in late January,
1968, and his relatives here re
ceived the report in early Feb
ruary. They have spent a great deal
of time and effort during the
year trying to check out leads
that would give them any in
formation about Mike, but have
had little success through eith
er official or unofficial sources.
Native Identifies Mike
The friend, who was with him
the night before his apparent
capture, sent the recent heart
ening word in a letter dated
December 13.
He wrote:
"I just returned from Ban Me
Thuot, and there is good news
about Mike the first news I've
gotten about Mike. I was In
Buon Ale-A where the Rhade
leaders live, and a Rhade just
came in from the bush reported
that he had seen five Ameri
cans in a VC jungle prison camp.
He could Identify Mike, Betty
Olsen and Hank Blood, but not
the other two.
"We think that they are the
people from the Leprosarium
captured in 1965. He said that
Mike and Betty were in good
shape but that poor Hank was
very thin and couldn't walk.
They are being kept in a house.
It seems that they are getting
better treatment than before.
"Now that the Paris peace
talks are getting underway, I
think it might be a good idea to
write to your congressman and
urge them to get things rolling
for the VC to display goodwill
by releasing some of the civil
ian prisoners. They are allow
ing Christmas gifts to be sent
to the military prisoners in
North Vietnam.
"I'd like to wish you and your
mother a Merry Christmas and
the best of the New Year. Hope
fully, next year Mike will be
with you to celebrate."
The friend, who is a civilian
in Vietnam, Is considered a very
reliable source of information.
Blood Brother
The Rhades are of the Mon
tagnard people. The Montag
nards thought so highly of
Benge that they made him a
blood brother in a ceremony.
Betty Olsen and Hank Blood,
named in the letter, are believed
to be among missionaries who
were captured in the same of
fensive that resulted in Benge's
capture, Betty Olsen being a
nurse.
Benge was to complete his
tour of duty there in April, 1968,
after serving for five years. He
had been home the previous No
vember on leave, flying on the
same plans as Ambassador
Ellsworth Bunker.
Mrs. Hughes said that ths
family sent three identical
Christmas packages by three
different routes to Mike, hoping
that at least one might be de
livered. However, one directed
via the Red Cross has been re
turned, saying that they could
find no way to contact him.