Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1969)
t:-r:'tl GAZETTXTIMtS. Thunder, frtawzry w , GAZETTE-TlMJbb lUecMf. Or ? JU MORIOW CO0WTT1 WEWSfAfEl Th Hrppnr Gazefe rfatli.fcH TuJ.e. ub:uM4 November 1A 1512. ZmP0 NlWIfAMI fUiiilMUl ASSOCIATION WESLEY A. SHEIMAW BELXN E. SHEIMAW . ARNOLD RAYMOND .'-hop foreman Pr.r.ter CAff. BURKENBINE Society CirruUtlon m v. STni Entered at t crri-" 3 Pm.. ur.ti r-on Saturday. Deemed to Defeat? A, ,t the mom,r.t the stamp proposed tt the Wlre b 'o Mr I to prpar for an election pnr.g. ,., in rr.ar.v ouarter. .nu .h.rcrr, Vk T. Iar.d v.hool board, fcr irare, to Mir-t it fc ,1 it h Wi that the iir.buwfl formula that to .r.r.d. the property tax 6W Fa-mef organizations t r-n 61 t..em a.c CrearJ-4 UUr ha Indicated almost ur.ar.irr.ou v 'tr A curable strrr.t of bus.ne. leaders are vehement in their epriuift. Ai o .r.-e the many e.t.zen in other a.5 cf .U uho r,nnot he convinced that the .ale, tax ..- the odls at this time seem almost overwhe.rr.ir..,., t..at -:llZa sad futility. The. u no ou ttat t- iV-Wature is earnestly trying to meet the tax dilera- J'.h hVch it -to confronted. It dedicated to the prop ortion of bringing relief to property WW"; vve.a! The dehuranor., on thU rr.aner durir? tne . PSkn h-ive rovt the state a lar?e sum. and it t ima e Maybth straws in the ind" are not reuabie bat as -Ttrnrth id'V tho wi?l no'add to th. taxpayer", burden Jn-.tea d of ev"n though the tax takes a d;fferer.t form. Can the Propon ents dprove the opponents' avsertion that an average Ore Con hoin,r woSld pay S120 In .ale, tax to reduce his Werrn'lnefpush by the legislature. hrgh it, Re publan leadership, to put the sales tax Iom"hw like the lemming who respond to some jn- St urging, and in mas.es. plunge into the sea ,n s- Tll.lators who are so sincerely working for the .ale. tax are admirable Person who are worthy of high respect ind they are a problem of great magnitude The.r earnt desire to keep fai h with the people may impel their zeal to war, t as it seems at this time, an ill fated proposal. One might theorize that under the angry pressure with whirh they have been fared from property taxpayers, they may be partially blinded into Incorrectly reading the signs When the voters defeated the V,"r. lim.tation. legislato s correctly reasoned that thU consigned them the rwponibil toto, mea,ure that would bring relief But it did not mean that the relief was to come from a sa les tax which . dependent-thinking OregorJana have almt traditionally found abhorrent, even though a majority of states in the union have such a tax. The harassment of the legislators, too. may .: ' r them .setting their sights for too much relief. Perhaps in they are reaching for a higher goal than tne people reai.y want and need. Maybe it isn't necessary to "climo the moun tain in one step- to achieve 50", relief, but perhaps a major ity of citizens would be content if the sting were taken froi.i the property tax and there were some safeguards that it would not continuously spiral. Despite its shortcomings, the property tax still remains the one over which the taxpayer has the most control, and to the extent the property tax is lessened, his voice will be reduced. . John Mosser, who many regard as a brilliant tax author ity proposed an alternative to the sales tax that would im pose a 2 net receipts tax and a 2 tax on wages and sal aries, which would be paid by the employer, not the employee. Since this had some appearance of "leading the bates out of the wilderness," It brought Joyous reaction in some quarters with the thought that this might be the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," so to speak. Reaction of some employers, though, is that the tax on wages would be discriminatory and threatening to be oppress ive. They cannot understand why they as employers, as on segment of our society, should be required to pay this Us for the relief of all, and the point is a very good one. Particularly to be penalized under this proposal would be small businesses, such as those which exist in our smaller towns, that require large staffs of employees. Their salaries take a substantial part of such businesses' gross volume. In some retail establishments, such as grocery and drug store;, the profit margin is a small percentage of the gross. Imposition of such a wage tax would cut this margin and perhaps result in an operational loss. The Mosser advo cates declare that the property tax load will be relieved, and the business will profit thereby. But many businesses do not own their buildings. They rent them. Thus, they would be required to pay an additional tax. it seems obvious, too. that businesses seeking locations in Oregon would think twice before they would establish themselves In a spot where they are required to pay 2"c tax on salaries. The net receipts tax deserves more study, for this would apply to all. , Still unanswered in the minds of many is why the in come tax doesn't still present the best hope for alleviating the property tax. An increase in the tax rate, elimination cf the federal deduction, and closing the gap on exemptions should bring considerable relief, although perhaps not to the extent that the sales tax proponents are seeking. If the state's economy continues upward, as is expected, the increased incomes would bring more property tax relief from those best able to pay it. Only when this possibility is refuted once and for all will many people consider voting yes on a sales tax. In the meantime, if the sales tax is to have any chance of passage, its advocates are going to have to make it much clearer than is the case at present as to how this will be of real, true and equitable benefit to the people of this state. The legislature, if It were not of such single-minded bent, could at least try the income tax alternatives without any disruption of the tax structure or the great expense of In stalling a new system. If it didn't meet the need, another course could be followed. fTV ' HEPPNEH Mirth t-S2fS ' XW. Conaolldated February 15. ..'..ars Amo&uBo ' found 1 135 EDrTCl AJIO PUBLISHES ASSOCIATE PUBLISHES REGGIE PASCAL Linotype Ovror DALE COOPER pre, rr KELLY GfcEEN Apprentice fey 10 Certs. PufcL.h Pt C& . KepPr. Own. Monday thrown Friday; 9 - ept would t nm numwrn hfritace r Chaff and Chatter Wes Sherman i ON THE RARE oceaiio.-- when ' er t.'.'&i occmj we oet ur.dertar.: cur ieoer.de r.-T" or. J e.tncitv and rr.ot appreciate ! h'.1r.2 st to ser.e us. ' A.r.d U't week. wher. Herjrver L-rr.rT Ccrr.wr.v forced to i --it dewn because cf the sr.ort ; .. ,1 rc rrs r iv.xcars. we ,xca:. .ppreciated i I in HetJwT.er most afj how important tr.e tr..on rw trar.cr. l.r.e is to us. It provides c-.it economic blooi-trears here. The ra.lroad ha.s vr.ed us well for many years and l.ke electricity, we a.-A inclined to take it for grant ed, but we shouldn't. This is the 100th anniversary of Union Pacific, and it is fitt.ng that we mark the occasion witn scrr.e proper appreciation. THE CAR CRISLS here last week provided an opportunity to get a little insight on some of the problems that the railroad faces. . . It was just a few hours after Bruce Malcom of Heppner Lum r t ber announced that ne nau iu ; oK..t iti.-n tho mm ami i hnt ftnwn tne mm anu teleerams to the LI" presiaen;, to Congressmen, and otners ap- pealing lor aio. inai i. " i jran. mats rean c... s Qregrjn, xnls LS tor tne conven Roberts. transportation iaspector ; one can't describe tr.eir worrf-1 lence 0f persons wishing orig for UP. arrived. Apparently he ljy,e on(v wav to- get tr.e tnrill j . . jcenses 0r permits to drive. 1 1. i"fi u.firti ui Ki.wz while he was at Condon. He left so fast to get here that he forgot his street shoes and ar rived clad in some rough work shoes. It didn't take long for him to get across the message that Un ion Pacific is just as interested in the shipper who loads a car or two per day as it is in the one who may ship 100 cars per day. Roberts made it clear to us u... r-Wrt.A i verv con cemed about keeping the flow of ' cars coming here. It is no easy job at the moment, in tne case I of the wide door cars, because i of the very short supplv. A t longeshoreman's strike on the I east coast has thousands of i them tied up. Weather has kept many Irom returning 10 me west coast, too. Probably Union Pacific would be fairly content if it could get itc rai-n rar har-K. dui iron ieallv it is having a problem i ly report in whicn i oeai w in. m do ne so j what I hope will be interesting K side-lights of the legislature HAVE YOU EVER noticed, as I that don't make headlines. Here you came up alongside a train j Ls the first: while traveling a highway, how Secretary of State Clay My many different railroad com- j ers. after the nightmare of the panies are represented in a i bed-sheet ballot in the laws pri trainioad of cars? Read the i marv. rightly brought to the at- . u irr i-nn'll tf,r,tin t.i the legislature Si SeT- names on iinr lan. w - find some companies that you V .. . n nr.. i.r heard of before ! Then you begin to wonder how ! a wandering box car ever finds i its way home. But Roberts tells I us that an ICC regulation re ! iuirwt that a railroad move a car towards the line of the own er Nevertheless, it musi k'-i verv confusing and confounding to keep all tne roiling muck .rti tut and to keen an ade i .. h rt b-0n an ano. quate supplv of each type of car available. ! In the current crisis, a lot oi ! shippers who ordinarily want tho wide door box cars have tried to get along by using scime t at cars. However a kixju man., hnvpnt won't accept lum ber shipped on these, arcording to Ed Brandenberg of Heppn.fr ; Lumber. ! The whole community, and not only the sawmill firm, is ,....i..f,,l fnr thf fast action of; Union Pacific in acting on this i ....... ... - , --- matter which is so impo..ar,t t j our economy. t c riinto 'v-rtain that the lo- , s7 hiP in ret a, l tX I 111... "vii r.-- many wide door cars as it needs for a while, but Koix-ns maae it clear that it will get its fair share, considering the needs of other shippers. Meanwhile th milrnart is doine all it can to ! meet the emergency. I ... ! IT WAS a privilege to hear Ed I win D. Canham. editor in chief t of The Christian Science Moni j tor. one of the world's most re i spected publications, at the Ore- eon Press Conference in Eugene i last week. ' He said there is a need for -, t, i , throe thir.e in the field of jour ralLsm: 1. Befer t-..r.king. 2. Better writing. 3. Be'-er tecnnol i cgv. -".Ve live in the greatest age man has ever kr.own and we ater.t wortnv of .' ." he said. ', Tho-e usir.z the ool of the ! wTiften word should use It to . awaen humar.m. He s'ruck a chord too. when talks too A gab." he said. ""Evervbod; much. It is an a.- IF YOC HAVE never heard the Eugene Gleemar. and get an opportunity to, don't pass it by. Thev sang for the 43rd consec utive vear at the Oregon Press i - r-,4'..r r iinHer the direction of Estlev Schick, and. their music mak'rs a persons spine tingle. , Director Schick states tnat since the group was organized, 573 different men have partic ipated but two of tne charter members are still active in the group. About 40 comprised the group singing at the banquet. Thev have sung SV) different songs during their history. At tries nannue. it i uai.- At tnis banquet, it is irauu ional lor them ta conciuue un ,he number -Ion tne Oregon rn ii i.j ... ...... Knowing that time would not allow me to make weekly re- me to make weekly re- on the legislature, as I n the past, I have de- i . .'... I , .r i mnnth. ports on have l terminer! to shoot for a month- i nu-.n , , ; ies of proposals to shorten tne kiu. trt msbo vfiiinc a shorter process and to eliminate "voter fatigue". Anv such proposals are bound in rrv- tho ceerfs of Conflict with the American democratic tradition that voting should be -. an unnurrieo, ueuiwoic .v .. ; and that the more things and ; canaiaates me iatuijw .. ' tma mnrp m v neintA.iav.9 the more truly democracy is served. Ballet Slogans Eyed His first proposal was to eliminate ballot slogans. My committee felt that ballot slo- gans jn a primary election serve a useful purpose out n de cided tentatively to limit the material to standard facts such as age, experience, etc.. to try to eliminate the use of the slo gan for purposes of humor or to mislead the voter. The committee did, however, agree wnn tne secieiai? mi : lhe orK. j0,an delegates to the i national conventions should I . ... ... : a . . i ! nave wouia oe tne candidate thev support or the word "uncommitted". This is a step toward shortening the bal lot. Mvers and others made a ser ies of susgestions to prevent so manv delegate candidates names being on the ballot in a presidential year. Here we ran into a real reluctance of very many legislators to take away the voter's right to vote on con vention delegates. The alterna tive is selection at state con vention. I think a majority of the com- I . . I Mann !. j to ' -" J Man j A By REP. 1RVIN MANN. Jr. j k g v- - STATE CAPITOL Speaker Smith States Opposition To Fluoridation Oregon ihim SlM-iiker Itnbeil F. Smith null hi".! week ' ol.tH.Mil In iTiiindiilorv Hlulewlde fluoridation of Ori-gnna linie tic wilier oiUM'lv. lie nh Id hi niH.hlllon did mil ....... "in i., nil nr In unit ftoill nnv of the mvllis or "Id wlve tales Kurrouiiillfilf ' I will not diiiirrel with H' ' ii al exM-rls who coin lud Hint proiier nmounts of fluoride mm scssex certain medlc iil In neflls Smith wn ll liw npiMiHllion ws bused on Hie iIiH'mipIiV H"l "state Kovertiliienl should il" only wlint lt ii-tiN e.r cniimiiiiil lies lire tiniibli' In do fur Ihein selves " He nolo! Ilwil marlv 2IMMHKI Oregonliins iireseiitlv drink fluorldnled water. luivltlK "l proveil It Ihroiiidl vole of II"' people oil II I'M 111 level. This Iim'iiI option Is iivnlliilile In every cliv, town and rmn munitv In He slle. sn I see no compelling reiison lor prod ding or Miking bv slule govern ment," Stnllh said. He said linn one m strongest nrguinenls 111 beluilf of statewide f luor Itln t im Is llml it would gr-allv reduce dental costs incurred l)V welliire recip ients who are nimble l bcnr the high costs of denial treat ment. "Therefore, I would support proposal whereby fluoride would lie made available t slate ex r.,nt. u nil tit.-ite welfare agen cies for any low Income citizens desiring to fluoridate their drinking water," he said. In addition, he said, he would support a measure to allow the State Health Board to set uni form standards for communities presently using fluoridation, and for those which may decide to do so in the future. MEETING CALENDAR Monday, February 24 Chamber of Commerce, 12 noon, Wagon Wheel Cafe Volunteer Fire Dept., 7:30 p.m. Ruth Chapter, No. 32, OES, Ma sonic Hall, 8 p.m. Wednesday. February 25 Roval Arch Masons, Chapter 2fi. Masonic Hall, 8 p.m. Willow Lodge, lOOF Hall, 8 p.m. Examiner Coming A drivers license examiner will be on duty at the court in Hnnnner on Tuesday, February 25, between the hours . , q.-ji a m ann j:.-ivj u.iii.. Department of Motor Vehicles of J mittee agreed with the dean of the House, Jake Bennett, who j the House, Jake Bennett, who : told us, "this is the only chance an average voter has to express Lr- . . nnu.;Jnn,;ql his preference for a presidential candidate . Still on a strictly tentative basis the cemmittee has decided to deal with this problem by having no delegates run siaie wide and apportioning all dele gates to one of the four con- rrrMcinnal riictHetC fin tho has- is of population. This should be a step toward Danoi snonening. Again these solutions are high- The Rhyming 1 AMBITION TOO MANY FUTILE THOUGHTS ENCROACH UPON A" ACTIVE MIND; I THINK OF FISHING. BAIT AND BOATS AND WORK GETS LEFT BEHIND. I ALO FALL FOR FEMALE LURE, OF GIRLS WHO SPABK AND PLAY A MALADY WITH NO KNOWN CURE, AND NO HELP ON THE WAY. I GOT MYSELF INVOLVED IN DREAMS THESE MANY YEARS AGO WHEN A3 A WAYWARD LAD IT SEEMS I WANDERED TO AND FRO BETWEEN PURSUING HOT AND HARD A LIFE OF CRIME AND VICE. OR JOINING UP WITH SCOTLAND YARD AND PUTTING CROOKS ON ICE. I NEVER MADE THE COPPERS' RANKS NOR TROD THE GANGSTERS' TRAIL, OR HELD UP VERY MANY BANKS AT THINGS LIKE THESE I D FAIL. MY ONLY TALENTS HARD TO BEAT, WHICH NO MAN CAN DENY. 15 PROWLING UP AND DOWN THE STREET AND WATCH THE GIRLS GO BY! HARRY W. FLETCHER YOUR SENATOR REPORTS . . . The leKli.btllve Inoinelilum shllled I III- week fmm ,ir In Hi und.ilif ,rsl IV Mlleiillmt HM'V.d rmin Hie innie mlmful I'lll nl mh edii.nllon. flu.iildiillnti nod I.Ih.HI.111 In Hie teiilllleH of Hie mil lr pmblelil f.iclMK Hie w-h-Sinn . . . I'l I V 'ellef Willi Hn week IniielV under WiiV, Hie IIoiihc voted nut a nlr lux P "Ill for l""IH',''V lux relief, wllh H miiildn ' " JH The hill wiix Hun Iniwiitd ed In the SeniHe lr III" upier t liiimher's I miHldetiil Inn. The hill In H PM'xeiit form (nines In f'nr IiumIc part. '"'V Hie hinkrn ilnWll III Ihe follow llil' iniiiniet: IIJK H . . . This Is the ve Ii It-It- fur the suit's liix. II plui-e . the lux Into Hie cnliMllulloii lit n flxeil rule f 3": inn! sxt Iflen Hint the money will be used for school suppnil, the lihllnsophv being. If the lux Is lurked Into the cniislltiilloil Hie rate caniiot l. ralseil nor Hie use of Hie iiinds rhiinged unless by a vote of the people House Kill 112V . . . ' llu' inmlilnerv or the plan, u specifies III detail what Is to be luxed mid what Is to be ex empt. The present tax plan tax es all commodities except pres cription drugs, water, gas fuel, iinliiial life, feed, seed, and fer tilizer, plants, publicaiions, con tainers, property used or con i i, iniinvf rial use and 'a of all fuel fnr Industry and ag. ri,.,, inro Thu n an varies iroiu I he tax proposal til last session In that It taxes fnod. However, to compensate, this proposal gives a rebate to all persons under a taxable Income of $(i I M H) ilouse Bill 1120 . . . This deals with how the money will be al located to scnooi Ul.NiriCIS, U.Y giving the districts a new tax base equal to the operating budget of the previous year. It also limits school elections to twice a year and fixes the al V,lo ornwlh in the buduet to 5 without a vote of the peo ple. u.,i,m Rill 1(155 . . . Increases the corporate excise taxes from 6 to 7 per cent a 16 23 in crease. According to the architects of the measure, it will raise some $100 million a year. This, thev cat will nllnw the state to car ry 50 of the local school dis tricts' financial Duraen rainer than the present 23. This ad- rlitinnul Tnnnov Kpnt hack tO lO- cal school districts is expected to lower property taxes some 25. The Senate Taxation Commit tee in a surprise move Thursday evening, voted out of commit tee a plan much different than was expected by legislative ob servers. The plan, as it now goes to the floor of the Senate for consideration, differs from the House plan in two major areas: it achieves property tax relief by directing the money through the property tax relief fund, rather than through bas ic school support suggested by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ruggles traveled to Eugene last week where they "attended a mid-winter insurance seminar meeting, sponsored by the Oregon Asso ciation of Insurance agents. Fol lowing a short visit with Mrs. Ruggles' family in Portland af ter the meetings, the couple re turned home Sunday evening. ly tentative and will undoubt edly undergo change. Finally, the secretary suggest ed that a physical shortening of the ballot could be accomplish ed by allowing delegate candi dates to be printed in double columns which cannot now be done. Many printing presses were not large enough to print the Democratic ballot in the 1968 primary because of the length of the single column of delegate candidates. The com mittee has not discussed this yet but it appears to me to be a reasonable suggestion. Philosopher y urn jtnmrzur. ,1 UTATE IENATOII j lltli Dlnllrt. Including ' J Mortaw county Si-riiite' rounterpiirta. It is difficult '"'" ,htt t hmige Hn y t ome nbout '''if' the lx prop I hoUd pi,. Hie Snte. arid there ro dtinni' IndliJitioti Hint It lU. Hie bill will be referred bjck ti the House for thern to con cur on the Senate amendments. Although there u a differer.ee In opinion between Senate and limine irxrnbers, It w felt that llii MM iin In-smoothed outqunn y so that Hie f-ople of Oregon inuv have a chance It vote on Hie (linkage In June. .Slate employee are In for a wage Increaw. Under the pay plan approved earlier thu week, all state workers will get an news the board pay hike of n on April 1; a 6'i Increase on Julv 1. l'J70. Also, a new system of advan cing state workers from wage scale to wage scale was approv ed. The system stretches out the length of time needed for a worker to move up on the pay ladder, and it Increases the lev el of pay. This program was adopted to help attract career minded people to state employ ment and to give wage incent ives to workers on the top cf their pay scale. Please bear In mind that it I? a little difficult to keep a week ly report up to date. By the time vou read mv column the pic ture could change entirely as far as any one measure is concerned. Pioneer Ponderings By W. S. CAVERHILL A Blizzard of Bills Our coffee club, noting the agitation for election reform, abolition of conventions and lowering of the voting age, is concerned that nothing is being done to check the blizzard cf bills that snow our legislature under each session. A possible thousand or twelve hundred ot them will drift into the cham bers and committee rooms be fore adjournment. That is an average of at least ten bills for each member of the entire as sembly. Admitted, that most of our member's political exper ience is that of a city council man, from that level we do not see that our social and econom ic structure has slipped up or down or sideways in the past two years, to an extent that calls for such an abundance of suggested remedies. We have come a long way from the position of pioneer leader who said. "If government will keep the peace, we'll take care of the rest." Coming Events HEPPNER BASKETBALL Friday, Feb. 21, Pilot Rock, there Saturday, Feb. 22, Madras, there Saturday, March 1, Sherman, here League games Support the Mustangs! GRADE SCHOOL Friday, Feb. 21, lone there, 2 p.m. BAKED FOODS SALE Friday, Feb. 21, from 10:00 a.m. Sponsored by LDS Relief So ciety Next door to Gardner's Men's Wear 4-H LEADERS CONFERENCE Wednesday, Feb. 26, 10:00 a.m. Home of Mrs. Wr. H. Wolff Discussion of Club Programs with county extension a- gents ELKS 72nd ANNUAL Sat.. Feb. 22 Registration at Ford Garage, 11:00 a.m. Entertainment for women guests, St. Patrick's parish hall. 1:00 p.m. Dinner, 6-8 p.m.; dance 9:30- 1:30 TERRIFIC BARGAINS IN HEPPNER'S WASHINGTON BIRTHDAY SALES THIS WEEK-END SPONSORED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY C. A. RUGGLES Insurance Agency P. O. Box 247 PH. 676-9625 Heppnex COMMUNITY U 1 BILLBOARD &
