t I SRARY
u or o
EU5ENE. ORE.
!
97403
Teachers Offer to Hold Present
At a special school board
meeting Tuesday niqht dir
ectors voted to propose to
teacher a salary schedule of
$6300 base, increments ot $220
per Tear and district payments
ot S6.S0 per month towards
the health insurance coverage
of each teacher. The proposal
will be submitted to the
teachers' negotiation commit
tee for consideration.
Morrow county's public school
teachers Monday night offered
to hold to the present $t'000
base on the current salary
schedule with Increments re
maining at the present 4. pro
vided that the school district
pay the lull health Insurance
cast ($13 per month per teach
er). 85th Year
Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, February
Year's First Baby Born;
To Get Many Prizes
Although the new year was
33 days old when Jerry Alan
Blanckaert was born Sunday,
February 2, in Heppner's Pioneer
Memorial hospital, he was tho
first baby of the year and there
by wins the 29 prizes offered by
local merchants.
Sgt. and Mrs. Jerry A. Blanck
aert of the Condon Air Force
Station are the parents, and the
boy is their first child. He
weighed 7 lb., 15 oz. when he
was born at 10 p.m. Sunday.
In some years of the annual
contest, the year's first child has
arrived on New Years day, but
it is not without precedent for
the No. 1 baby to arrive some
time in February.
Prizes that will go to young
Jerry and his parents have a
total value of between $200 and
$250. Included is 25 off the
hospital bill, $45 in cash or sav
ings accounts, $30 in gift cer
tificates and many merchandise
prizes.
The Gazette-Times will fur
nish the parents a letter of in
troduction to be used in collect
ing the gifts.
The full list is as follows:
Surprise gift for dad, Fulleton
Chevrolet Co.; $5 savings ac
count, Bank of Eastern Oregon;
$5 in merchandise, Case Furni
ture Co.; $5 in merchandise,
Central Market; $5 off on elec
tric bill, Columbia Basin Elec
tric Co-op; $5 gift certificate, El
ma's Apparel; $5 savings ac-
Willow Company
Reelects Officers
Members of the Willow Creek
Improvement Company conven
ed for their annual meeting at
the courthouse Monday night,
heard a talk by Quentin Bow
man, field representative of the
State Water Resources Board,
and reelected all officers for the
ensuing year.
Bowman suggested steps that
might be taken to maintain in
terest in the project towards its
eventual culmination.
"If you do not continue con
tacting your congressional dele
gation, the Corps of Engineers,
and the Bureau of Reclamation,
as well as getting other enti
ties, such as the county and city
to do the same, you very like
ly will lose priority to the more
recently planned projects," he
said.
He also told of concern about
the decline in ground water that
may be coming about with the
increased drilling of wells.
Reelected officers in the com
pany are Herb Hynd, president;
Lewis Halvorsen, vice president;
Herman Winter, secretary-treasurer;
and Dick Wilkinson, Don
Evans and Kenneth Cutsforth,
directors.
Thirteen were present at the
meeting.
Speaker Urges Willow Dam Activity
"Keep in contact with your
congressman; keep a systemat
ic show of support."
This was the advice of Quent
in Bowman, field representative
for the State Water Resources
Board, to the Chamber of Com
merce if the organization hopes
to assure eventual construction
of the Willow Creek dam. Bow
man spoke to the Chamber
Monday.
The same advice, he said, ap
plies to the City of Heppner
and to the county.
"It is official now that the
Corps of Engineers' capability
for using detailed planning
funds for the next fiscal year
is $250,000," the speaker said.
However, this sum was not in
cluded in President Johnson's
budget.
"It usually takes about three
But the district board. In spe
cial meeting at Lexington, did
not agree to this proixwul. and
the salary issue (or l!-70 still
stood unresolved us of Tuesday.
The proposal was mude by the
teacher negotiation committee
with Adrian Cook, chairman, an
spokesman.
It was a considerable conces
sion from the first proposal of
the teachers, made In Decem
ber, when they asked that the
base salary for a teacher with
bachelor decree and no exper
ience be raised from the pres
ent $6000 to $H00, that the an
nual Increments pay Increases)
be raised from 4 to 5, and
that the district "participate" in
the teachers' health insurance
plan by assuming some of the
cost.
GAZETTE-TI
count. First National Bank of
Orccon: shirt for dad, Gardner's
Men's Wear.
One vear subscription, The
Gazette-Times; first shoes, Gon
ty's; 10 gallons of milk, Hager's
Dairy; electric bottle warmer,
Hennner Auto Parts: $5 in clean-
ine HeDDner Cleaners; $5 for
savings account, Heppner Nor
fias Co.: 10 gallons of gasoline,
Jack's Chevron Station; $5 for
savings account, Lott's Electric.
A diaper stacker, Murrays
Rexall Drug; $5 for savings ac
count, M & R Company; $5 in
merchandise. MiLadies Apparel;
$5 for savings account, Morrow
County Grain Growers; swortn
of infant's merchandise, Pen
neys; sterling silver cup with
name engraved, Peterson's Jew
elers; $5 in merchandise, Pet
tyjohn's Farm and Builders
Supply.
Twenty-five percent off on
hospital bill, Pioneer Memorial
Hospital; $5 for savings account,
C. A. Ruggles Insurance; 12 reg
ular cans of milk, Thomson's
Grocery; $5 in cash. Turner,
Van Marter and Bryant, Insur
ance; and a diaper pail, West
ern Auto Store.
Mustangs Drop
Wahtonka 49-37
To Lead League
In a tight defensive battle
the Heppner High Mustangs
wrested the western division
lead from the Eagles of Wah
tonka Tuesday night on the
Eagles' home court. The game,
originally scheduled for January
31, but cancelled due to bad
roads, was a see-saw battle un
til shortly before the close of
the third quarter, when Heppner
ran away from the tiring Eag
les, 49-37.
The score stood at a 13-13 tie
at the beginning of the second
quarter. Wahtonka led 28-27 at
the half, but Heppner had built
a fragile margin of 36-33 at the
third quarter buzzer. A change
in the Mustang defense strat
egy held Wahtonka to five
points in the third, and four
points in the final quarter.
Only 23 fouls were whistled.
Heppner sank 11 of 16 tries and
Wahtonka 5 of 11. Both teams
were poor in field goal percent
age, at 31 each.
Cal Ashbeck whisked in 13,
John McCabe and Gary Kemp
each totaled 9, Jon O'Donnel 8,
Larry Pettyjohn 6, and Pat Kil
kenny and Mel Ashbeck made
2 each.
In the preliminary, Jayvec
coach Ed Hiemstra played Dave
Gunderson, John Hall, Lee Hu
son, Steve Kemp and Matt Mur
ray until the closing seconds in
an easy 60-43 win.
years of detailed planning be
fore the 'blue prints' for the
project are in form to be put
into the hands of a contractor,"
he said. "For this reason you
should continue to ask your
Congressman to request funds
for this detailed planning now
and work with Judge Paul
Jones, Chairman Clarence Rose
wall of your county water re
sources committee, and the City
of Heppner, Granges and others
to keep up a systematic and
continued show of support in
the request for additional plan
ning funds."
An effective priority date is
in the State Engineer's office
for the Willow Creek Dam and
Reservoir as a result of the joint
efforts of local groups and oth
er agencies, Bowman said.
"A letter to the State Engin
In essence, this latest move
by the committee, which has
been given power bv vote of
teachers of the county to act
for them, would hold salaries
for the coming year exactly on
the same schedule as the cur
rent year. But the $13 per teach
er on the Insurance plan would
cost the district about $13,500
per year, not Including insur
ance payments for non-certified
personnel.
In setting up the tentative
1969-70 budget, which was pre
sented at the first budget meet
ing on January 28, Supt. Ron
Daniels, budget officer, includ
ed a figure of $15,700 for dis
trict payments on Insurance and
made no provision for Ralary In
creases. The board had voted to
pay $10 per month for all em-
6, 1969
. W,- ' , .....
r
i : rii
IT WAS A REAL BATTLE with the wind and drifting snow for a
Heppner High photo shows snow plow clearing the main road
were deep.
Snow Slowly Melts
Despite Added Fall
As temperatures warmed gent
ly this week, the heavy accum
ulation of snow melted slowly
and seemingly prepared to de
part for the season after a six
weeks' visit. But on Wednesday
morning a new covering of 2V
inches was on the ground,
bringing at least a temporary
setback to the cold weather
period.
With no sign of a feared Chin
ook in sight, the snow melt
through Tuesday was consider
ed ideal for obtaining maximum
benefit from the moisture it con
tains and for preventing heavy
runoff or flooding.
While the snow has been a
blessing here towards alleviat
ing drought conditions of the
past three years, it has also
taken a toll on some fronts.
Road damage has been heavy
and costly to the county; calv
ing and lambing has been dif
ficult for some livestock grow
ers; wildlife has sutlerea some
losses; and there have been
numerous accidents, most of
them minor, as a result of the
storm period.
Drifts Close Roads
Drifting snow late last week
was probably the hardest to
deal with of any condition
throughout the six weeks per
iod. Trucks jackknifed on the
highway, one big rig blocking
the Condon highway near the
Clark Canyon junction; school
buses were unable to cover
some of the routes; snow plows
got stuck in drifts, and in one
case a rotary plow, sent to their
aid, also became stuck.
A Hager's Dairy truck was un
able to negotiate the icy corner
at the bottom of the hill com
ing down from the high school
and went into the ditch last
eer once a year may be in or
der to explain the progress of
the investigation. You should
note that the project was auth
orized by the Eighty-ninth Con
gress, is awaiting federal fund
ing, and that Bureau studies
are continuing."
In suggesting that the con
tinuous contact be kept with
Congress, the speaker said, "As
they shuffle the papers, it is
important that the Willow
Creek project keeps coming up
on top."
City Responsibility Stressed
He also suggested that some
one on the city council should
learn what the city's channel
responsibility is and that it be
prepared to meet any financial
obligation that may be requir
ed. While this may not be
(Continued on page 8)
Scale if Full Insurance Paid; Board Demurs
plovees of three-fourths time or
more. Including the non-certified
staff, as participating in
the Insurance plan, but had re
jected any salary increase. In
his message, Daniels said that
anv additional costs on salary
settlement would need to be
added to the budget figures.
The board's demurral on the
latest teacher proposal hinged
on two points: 1- That the base
of $6000 is not high enough to
attract new teachers In view of
the high settlements being
reached In other districts
around the state. 2. That the dis
trict should not pay full cost
of the insurance plan.
Position Chanqe Noted
As the matter stood as of
Tuesday, It represented a rath
er peculiar twist In the negotia
HEPPNER
MES
Thursday. No one was hurt.
For a while, the routes to Pen
dleton from here were closed by
drifting snow, and the Condon
highway was also closed. The
mail truck couldn't get through
to Condon.
But the trend towards warm
er and better weather started
Saturday and by Tuesday, the
ice on the city streets was slow
ly being converted to slush.
Heaps of snow that had accum
ulated by streets and sidewalks
were receding but Wednesday's
snow added a little more.
As late as Monday, 35 of
the county's rural roads remain
ed closed while crews worked
to open access to all sections.
Plowing Costs High
County Judge Paul Jones said
that the $750 per day cost for
snow plowing, that he had pre
viously estimated, was a "very
minimum" figure. On Friday
the county had declared an
emergency and applied to the
state for a loan through its
(Continued on page 8)
Ll W j
A $550 DEAN'S FUND for use in assisting studen's attending Blue Mountain Community College
has been established by the Pendleton Masonic Lodge. Robert Abrmns, (right), Heppner attor
ney and chairman of the college board of directors, received the money for emergency fund
from Bob Hale, master of the Pendleton Lodge.
tions from the original presen
tation bv the negotiation com
mittee: The teachers sought a
higher base, but this was re
jected by the board. Now the
teachers would settle on the
present base, but the board pre
fers a higher base. The change
by the board apparently has
been Influenced bv the high set
tlements around the state.
At the regular January school
meeting, the board had present
ed Its latest counter proposal:
A $6400 base but decreasing In
crements from the present 4
to flat increments of $200 for
each added year's experience or
for each step up In training.
In their deliberations on this
proposal, the teachers decided
that they could not accept the
smaller Increments.
Number 50
Price 10 Cents
----'
few days during the week. This
behind the school, where driits
i
School Census
Shows Decrease
School census in Morrow
county, taken as of October,
1968, shows a decline of 79
children from the census of two
years previously, October, 1966.
Ron Daniels, superintendent of
Morrow county schools, report
ed recently. Present total is 1360
as compared with 1439 in 1966.
Of the current total, 669 are
boys and 691 are girls. In 1966
there were 713 boys and 726
girls. Covered in the school cen
sus are all children of ages four
through 19.
The school census was taken
by four different organizations,
including the lone PTA, the Ir
rigon PTA, the Boardman Tilli
cum club and the Heppner Jay
cee Wives.
Figures by ages are as fol
lows (with the 1966 figures in
parentheses):
Four-year-olds, 65 (78); 584
(78); 686 (87); 777 (100);
881 (85); 988 (100); 1087
(94); 1189 (112); 1296 (106);
13103 (91); 14105 (115); 15
97 (75); 1699 (99); 1784
(84); 1872 (72); and 1947
(65).
"The 4 Increment has been
a previous settlement &nd Is not
an Increase," Cook said. He add
ed that anything less than the
present i would be unaccept
able. The $6400 base $200 Incre
ment plan of the board would
lessen the current salary posit
ion of teachers with longer ex
perience and higher training In
the district while offering a bet
ter salary Inducement to start
ing teachers.
$6300 Base Defeated
A motion by one of the dir
ectors Monday night proposed
that the board offer $6300 buse.
Increments of 3', and $8 per
month per teacher towards the
insurance plan. The motion was
defeated.
In presenting the proposal to
Estacada Firm Awarded
City Drilling Contract
F & S Drilling Co. of Esta
cada. low bidder among three
contractors seeking the job of
drilling another city well, will
be offered a contract on the Job
as a result of action taken by
the city council at its February
meeting Monday night.
A motion was approved to
tender the contract, contingent
upon the firm's filing of a re
quired bond.
The F & S bid was to drill
200 feet at $14.80 per foot, with
a 30 ft. casing at $7.35 per foot.
Set up charge will be $300 and
testing will be at the rate of
$13.65 per hour.
City Supt. Vic Groshens said
that he could not say how much
the total job would cost, depend
ing on depth required and time
needed.
Drilling of the last city well
required less than $6000, he
said.
Two other bidders were A. C.
Plaque Honoring
Late Bill Farra
Presented Monday
A plaque honoring the late
J. W. (Bill) Farra and recog
nizing new equipment pur
chased for the volunteer fire
department in his memory
was presented to his widow,
Mrs. Ida Farra, and the City
of Heppner by Fire Chief For
rest Burkenbine at the council
meeting Monday night.
The equipment consists of a
Scott Air Pack unit, valued at
more than $300, which was
purchased from donations by
organizations and individuals
as a fitting gift to honor the
man who served as a volun
teer fireman here for some 20
years.
Mayor W. C. (Bill) Collins
responded with words of ap
preciation for the memorial
gift, which will be used to
save lives and property in the
spirit of the former assistant
fire chief. The plaque and
equipment memorialize Far
m's devotion to the depart
ment, his willingness to serve
his fellow men, and his many
hours of volunteer work for
the community.
The plaque will be placed
on a wall of the city hall, but
the Air Pack will be put in
service to help aid firemen In
the protection of life and
property.
Farra died December 5 of a
heart attack after fighting fire
at a residence here.
Contributors to the memor
ial gift and plaque include:
The Heppner Volunteer Fire
men, the Chamber of Com
merce, the Soroptimist club,
the Odd Fellows lodge, the
Heppner Elks, Morrow County
Jaycees, C. E. McQuarrie, L.
E. Dick, Orville Cutsforth and
Randall Peterson.
hold to the present salary ached
ule and asking for the lou-l
payment on the Insurance plan.
Cook said. "The Morrow county
teachers, recognizing the prob-
Ih. l.viiavprt nf Mnr.
it-urn v - -
row county, feel the Insurance
request is tne most economiou
Increase the board could grant."
He pointed out that an In
crease on such a benefit would
not bring a hike In tho district s
fixed charges (such as Social
Security. Workmen's Compensa
tion, and retirement payments)
that a salary increase would
bring.
Cook pointed out that with a
$6000 base on the salary sched
ule the county would have one
of the lowest, If not the low
(Continued on page 8)
Englehart of Hermiston and R.
J. Strasser of Portland.
Work may be started some
time in February, Groshens said.
By passage of a resolution
that had been prepared by City
Attorney Bob Abrams, the coun
cil authorized Heppner's partici
pation with other cities of five
counties in the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act.
It Is expected that total cost
of the program to train and up
grade officers and to expedite
law enforcement would be $4161
for the five-county district
(Umatilla, Morrow, Wheeler,
Grant and Gilliam). The feder
al and state governments as
sume 90 of the costs, accord
ing to the understanding of the
city councllmen, and so Hepp
ner's cost, sharing the 10 with
other cities in the district, would
be minor.
Chief of Police Glen Kolkhorst
recently attended a meeting in
Pendleton on the matter and
highly endorsed the program,
Mayor Bill Collins said. The
chief was expected to report on
the program Monday night but
was unable to appear because
of illness.
Through the program, it is ex
pected to send city officers to
take state ponce training in inu
future, as well as to participate
In other activities to upgraae
law enforcement.
Willow Project Push Asked
Councilman Jerry Sweeney re
ported on the suggestion of
Quentin Bowman of the State
Water Resources Board that the
city should write Congressmen
to continue Impressing them
with the importance of the Wil
low Creek project. He also said
that the council should determ
ine its responsibility on the
creek channel in order to be
prepared when the project is
funded.
Mayor Collins said that he
had been approached about the
city purchasing the Assembly
of God church building, across
from city hall, on the theory
that the city might have use
for the building, which is also
adjacent to the fire hall.
After some discussion the
matter was turned over to the
city services committee, Jerry
Sweeney, chairman, for Investi
gation. The same committee
was asked to work with Jaycees
in seeking a site for a proposed
shelter for students awaiting
school buses near the city park.
Councilman Clyde Allstott said
that Columbia Basin Electric
will provide heat for the shel
ter which the Jaycees have
been asked to construct, tie
said that some consideration is
hplnc plven to providing a
building that might be used for
a small community Kitcnen at
the park in summertime, with
a coin-operated range.
Old Truck In Trouble
Supt. Groshens reported that
the city's snow plowing activi
ties came to a halt recently
when its 1946 model truck's dif
ferential went out. When repairs
were attempted, the problem
was compounded by axle troub
le. Difficulty has developed in
finding parts for a truck of that
vintage, he said, but it is hoped
that repairs will be made soon.
The 1946 model is the only
vehicle available for snow plow
ing duty, he said. It had been
hoped to use it for clearing
slush from the streets as snow
started to melt, thus permitting
the runoff water to be carried
away.
Mayor Collins appointed W. C.
Rosewall, former mayor, to a
position on the city planning
commission, and he re-appointed
John Venard and Glen Ward
to the city budget committee.
Wilkinson Reports
Minor 'Avalanches'
Along Willow Creek
Snows last week produced a
phenomenon that Dick Wil
kinson said he has never seen
before.
He reported seeing a small
avalanche start on rolling hills
a few miles up Willow Creek
from his ranch home. It gain
ed momentum and reached
sizeable proportions as it hit
the creek. Sweeping on across,
it dammed the creek under an
accumulation of snow and
debris of some five or six feet
in depth, he said. Within a
short time the stream cut
back through it.
Later in driving back up
the canyon, he noted four
other minor avalanches that
had started from the weight
of the heavy snow accumula
tion, he said.