L ! BRARY
u or o
e u G e r; e ,
07403
86th Year
Number
ETTE
TIME
Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, May 1, 1969
Price 10 Cents
Pfcms Laid ffr College Efcgtondl M
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Many Expected
For Event Here
May 30-June 1
Knox's Variety Starts
Grand Opening Today
nt wont hurt TOu, says Kyle Robinson, 3n of Mr. and Mrs. Don Robinson, as be rides a
purebred bull at the Kirk and Robinson ranch to prove his point to visiting Portland eighth
graders. Besides the students, among those watching are Tad Miller (third from left), tour
committee chairman; Gail McCarty, county extension agent; and Gray Thompson, urban exten
sion agent of Portland.
(Harold Kerr Photo).
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(Also See Pages 4 and 5)
Knox's Variety store, which
has been In preparation stages
since the first oi the year, will
greet the public at its grand
opening starting i today (Thurs
day) and continuing throueh
Saturday, Henry Gohring, one of
the owners, announces,
There will be free popcorn,
free ballpoint pens for adults,
free balloons lor children and
door prizes will be given at the
conclusion of the event Satur
day.
Many fine specials are includ
ed in the firm's grand opening
advertisement on. page five of
1
yi ;
"BUSHED" at least for the moment may have been the word for these eighth graders Satur
day on the sixth annual Portland Eighth Grade Tour. They had already had a busy and ac
tive l'j days on the tour when they stopped at the Ken Turner place for lunch, and the relax
ing felt good I Mr. and Mrs. Turner stand in the background.
(Photo by Harold Kerr, County Extension Agent).
Attentive Portland Eighth Graders
Prove Good Guests on Tour Here
(See Pictures Page 2, Sec. 2)
Thirty-one Portland eighth
grade students are back at their
school desks in the big city this
week, but they have memories
of a great week-end in rural
Eastern Oregon.
These are the youngsters who
came for the 6th annual Port
land Eighth Grade Tour from
Friday until Sunday, under the
sponsorship of the Morrow
County Wheat Growers Associ
ation, the Morrow County Soil
and Water Conservation District,
the Extension Service, the coun
ty schools, and the Morrow
County Livestock Growers Asso
ciation. The time here was busy and
active, and the weather cooper
ated with bright sunshine.
"This group seemed much
more attentive and really the
most interested of any group so
far," said Gail McCarty, county
extension agent who had much
to do with arranging and con
ducting the tour.
"Apparently the teachers had
given them a better background
on the county," he added.
Hay Ranch First Stop
After , Leonard Munk e r s
brought the youngsters here
from Couch School, Portland,
Friday morning, they first em
barked at the Walt Wiggles
worth Hay Ranch where they
were shown hay operations.
They continued to the Glenn
Campbell ranch where McCarty
extended a welcome ana gave
orientation information. Chaper
ones accompanying the young
sters were Miss Margaret Aquino
of Kellogg School and Donald
By?r o Multnomah school. Gray
a flS'mpson. urban extension
agent of Portland, also made
the tour.
A feature of the stop at the
Campbell ranch was a water
witching demonstration, which
made some "believers" out of
"non-believers."
C & B Livestock Co. and Pine
City Extension Unit were hosts
for the lunch at noon with Char
ley Daly acting as chef in bax
becuing the hamburgers, the
meat being furnished by C & B.
Mrs. Barbara Witherrite was
hostess on behalf of the Pine
City Extension Unit of which
she is president. The unit fur
nished food for the meal other
than the meat. The report is
that 98 persons on the tour con
sumed 191 hamburgers at this
lunch stop. It was a long time
from the 7 a.m. departure from
the big city!
At the George Currin and Sons
ranch, Tom and Ron Currin gave
branding demonstrations and
Hack Bloom showed how to shoe
horses. Mrs. Bill Healy gave a
demonstration on horsemanship,
assisted by Patti Healy and Pat
ty Daly who rode horses for this
part of the presentation.
At about 4 p.m. the visiting
youngsters, accompanied by
their new young friends of com
parable age here, went to the
homes of their host families,
At 9 a.m. Saturday they were
out and at it again, boarding
buses for the North Lexington
Elevator of Morrow County
Grain Growers. Riley Munkers
showed how wheat was dump
ed and loaded out.
At the elevator, the tradition
of guessing the combined weight
of the group was continued.
Robin Adair of Whitman school
and Duane Christensen of Whit
taker school, both of Portland,
came the closest to the correct
total which was determined by
the elevator scales. Average
weight of the youngsters was
132 lb.
No accidents . nor illnesses
marred the tour, keeping the
six year record intact, but one
Portland girl's foot slipped
through grating at the ware
house and caught. She sustain
ed only a sore ankle and was
not injured. This, however, was
the closest to an accident of the
tour.
Equipment Shown
At the Stan Kemp wheat
ranch, the tourists learned about
wheat ranching and equipment.
Tad Miller, tour committee
chairman, explained the use of
discs, plows, combines, rod
weeders and other machinery,
A rod weeder demonstration
provided a good cloud of dust
to cover all the tourists.
Mel Boyer of Lexington Air
port gave an airplane spraying
demonstration at a field be
tween Miller's ranch and the
Ken Turner ranch. He provided
two airplanes for a joint spray
ing of one field, and then the
planes landed to give the
youngsters an opportunity to
inspect them and ask questions,
At the next stop, Bud Batty
provided a demonstration of the
remarkable new pivot sprinkler
system, which works automat
ically in covering a large plot
of ground, and Jay Scott of Far-
) & k II a iimhn K'arin
iuiumu;a uaom
Schedules Move
To New Building
This week-end. is moving
time ior Columbia Basin Elec
tric Cooperative
Move of the offices from the
present quarters on Main street
will be made to .the new con
crete block building just off the
north end of Main street near
the utility's substation,
Harley Young, manager, said
that offices in the new building
will be open for business as of
8 a.m. Monday, May 5, and all
persons having business to con
duct will find the staff there.
The large $21? structure is
virtually completed, tbut finish
ing toucnes must De mede be
fore the building is ready for
open house. This event is plan
ned for early June, Young said.
Eastern Oregon Construction
Co. was principal contractor on
the project, which was started
last fall. It was planned to be
in the building by March, but
severe winter weather delayed
construction.
The new building will be
headquarters for all operations
of the cooperative which serve
Gilliam, Wheeler and Morrow
counties. The old headquarters
became overcrowded after the
cooperative expanded several
years ago when it acquired the
operations of Pacific Power and
Light Company in this area.
Provision is made in the new
quarters to house trucks and
heavy equipment In the large
garage and service area. Also
included are crew quarters, mo
tor testing room, offices, vault,
and a conference room.
Young said that the move
will take the headquarters from
a congested and crowded situa
tioh on Main street, which Is
aggravated by the coming and
going of the cooperatives trucks,
to an area that will be free
from congestion.
Telephone number will re
main the same, b7b-9146.
this paper, including "all the
spring clothespins that a per
son can hold in one hand for
5c."
The store has been doing bus
iness for well over a week, but
merchandise stocks were not
complete and all preparations
had not been finished.
Judee Watkins, store manager,
says that Knox s Variety has re
ceived a royal reception from the
public to date, and she was par
ticularly pleased with the re
sponse shown at the Moonlight
bale Friday evening.
The store is located on Main
street in the former location of
Case Furniture Co. The building
was purchased from Mrs. Gene
Case by the Bank of Eastern
Oregon and remodeled for the
variety store.
Knoxs is a name very famil
iar throughout eastern Oregon,
and is owned by Gohring and
E. T. Knox. The family operat
ed a department store in John
Day from about 1900 until this
year, but closed it to open the
variety store here.
Knox s variety stores are also
located in Hermiston and Burns.
Those who have shopped in
the store to date have been im
pressed with the large stock car
ried In all lines of variety goods.
y
HARLAN McCURDY, JR.
Harlan McCurdy
Resigns Position
As MCGG Manager
(Continued on page 8)
Conservation Man
Nominees Sought
The Morrow County Conserva
tion Man of the Year for 1969
will be selected and announced
at the annual spring meeting of
the Morrow County Wheat Grow
ers Assn., Harold Kerr, county
extension agent, announces.
The meeting will be Tuesday.
May 13, at the Lexington Grange
HalL Ted Sidor, community de
velopment specialist, will pre
sent a slide show on land use
planning and community devel
opment. Nominations for the Conser
vation Man of the Year may be
made by individuals, neighbors
or organizations, and sent to the
Extension Office or to Jack
Sumner. selection chairman.
Nominations should be made by
Monday, May 5.
The annual contest is spon
sored by the Oregon Wheat
League and the John Deere
Company, Portland. Last year's
winner was Peterson Brothers
Ranch, lone.
Red Cross Fund
Campaign Lagging
V
Response to the mailed solic
itations for donations to the
fund campaign of the Morrow
county chapter. Red Corss, has
been disappointing, Norman
Supple, campaign chairman,
saia Monday,
He reported as of that time
only about $300 had been receiv
ed towards the needed goal of
$1950.
ine campaign by mail was
used this year in order to save
many people in the county the
necessity of taking the time and
trouble for personal contacts,
However, the response has been
far below expectations, Supple
said.
He urges all those who re
ceived the mailers to respond
with a contribution. Those who
may have lost the return envel
opes can send their donations to
American Red Cross, Morrow
County Chapter, P. O. Box 727,
Heppner.
"Your donation is Important
in support of our boys in Viet
nam, our local swimming and
lifesaving programs, our first
aid program, our blood bank
program, and the national dis
aster program," Supple said.
The donations are tax deduct
ible.
Don McKinnis Due
For Chamber Talk
Don McKinnis, development
specialist for the State Depart
ment of Agriculture, will be the
speaker at the luncheon meet
ing of the Heppner Morrow
county Chamber of Commerce
Monday at noon in the Wagon
Wheel Cafe banquet room.
RT. REV. WILLIAM
B. SPOFFORD
Bishop Spofford
To Be Welcomed
For Church Visit
Members and friends of All
Saints' Episcopal church will
welcome the Rt. Rev. William
B. Spofford, newly consecrated
Episcopal Bishop of Eastern
Oregon, to Heppner this week
end for his first official visita
tion to this area.
Bishop bponord will live un
der a busy week-end schedule
when he arrives Friday after
noon. Included are an overnight
men's retreat Friday evening, a
baturday evening potluck din
ner in Condon and Confirmation
at All Saints' church at 10 a.m
Sunday morning.
Following worship, a potluck
dinner will be held In his hon
or in the parish hall.
Where is Shutler Flat?'
Carson AsksonNationalTV
Morrow and Gilliam county
community names which sel
dom are heard on television
programs received some nat
ional publicity Monday night
on the "Tonight" show, em
anating from New York City.
Johnny Carson, who has
bantered from time to time
with Doc Severinsen, leader of
the NBC orchestra, about Doc's
being born at Shutler Flat,
produced a map at the start
of his Monday night program.
lie pointed to the map of
Oregon and asked Doc to
point out Shutler Flat. Doc
couldn't find it.
"See, there is no Shutler
Flat," Carson declared.
Johnny found Arlington,
Olex, lone, Mikkalo and oth
er towns, but no Shutler Flat.
Carson said that now he
will probably receive letters
from all the i"olks at Shutler
Flat.
Whether he does or not, The
Gazette-Times will send him
a Metsker map which has
Shutler Flat on it in nice,
big letters.
A good piece on Shutler
Fj'at, and the naming of it,
is included in a book on the
Weatherford's 16-mule Team,
written by Marion Weather
ford and printed by The Gazette-Times
in December. Car
son should get a copy of that.
After the Tonight Show was
taped Monday the Severinsens
called Herb Hynd to tell the
Hynds that the banter about
the Morrow and Gilliam coun
ty places would be on the air
that night at the late release
time. They routed the Hynds
out of bed but they enjoyed
hearing the discourse, which
came at the start of the pro
gram. Maybe the Chamber of Com
merce should invite Carson
out for a tour of these famous
places if he could stand the
congestion.
Harlan McCurdy, Jr., manager
of Morrow County Grain Grow
ers, Inc., since April, 1966, ten
dered his resignation to the dir
ectors of the organization Mon
day. It was accepted by the dir
ectors, and they named Riley
Munkers as acting manager of
the cooperative.
McCurdy terminated his con
nection with MCGG immediate
ly after the resignation, but the
resignation as approved by the
directors becomes effective May
31.
Differences in operational pol
icies between the manager and
directors were responsible- for
the resignation, Barton Clark,
president of Morrow County
Grain Growers, said.
Munkers will act as manager
until a successor to McCurdy is
chosen, the co-op president said.
At the present time a commit
tee of directors is seeking a
qualified man and will inter
view candidates for the position
Other possible changes may
be made in the organization la
ter on, Clark said. He pointed
out that the Grain Growers dir
ectors, members and patrons
have felt the increasing need to
reduce expenses because of
problems that have come about
in the past few years the loss
of Commodity Credit Corporation
storage wheat, reduction in ac
reage allotments, and recent
poor crop years.
The cooperative has under
gone considerable change and
adjustment in the past two
years after merging with the
former Lexington Oil Coopera
tive and acquiring the Lexing
ton Implement Company.
McCurdy has been associated
with MCGG since 1946, except
for a 1 year period in other
endeavors. He has been with
the organization continuously
since 1950, and he became as
sistant manager while the late
Al Lamb was manager. Follow
ing Lamb's death on March 21
1966, the directors named Mc
Curdy manager, and he has
served in that capacity since.
He said Tuesday that he has
no definite plans for the im
mediate future but will seek
another position.
McCurdy's verbal resignation
was given Friday when it be
came apparent that differences
between the manager and the
board could not be resolved,
The eleven directors and five
associate directors held a spe
cial meeting Sunday accepting
the resignation, and the writ
ten resignation was presented
Monday.
A twelfth directorship on the
board Is vacant at the present
time. Lewis Halvorsen resigned
his position last year after serv
ing on the board for years.
Moonlight Sale
Shines Friday Eye
Friday night's Moonlight Sale
was a bright success In Hepp
ner.
ah parKing was taken on
downtown streets during the 3
hour sale and stores were well
filled with shoppers. Sidewalk
traffic was similar to that in
the days just before Christmas.
All merchants report fine re
sponses from the public, the
adjectives ranging from "better
than we expected" to fabulous.
Jerry Adamson, merchants
chairman, said that indications
are that this sale brought more
people and a better response
than ever before. He thanked
the public for the response and
the stores for their participation.
About 100 contestants from 15
colleges will be in Heppner May
30 through June 1 for the reg
ional Intercollegiate rodeo that
will be staged at the Morrow
county rodeo grounds, Riley
Freeman, rodeo club advisor at
Blue Mountain Community Col
lege, told members at the Hepp-ner-Morrow
county Chamber of
Commerce Monday.
The event is sponsored by
Blue Mountain College, which
has both boys' and girls' rodeo
teams in the thick of conten
tion for regional honors and the
right to enter national finals.
Freeman said that the spon
sors will be "greatly disappoint
ed" if the event doesn't bring
at least 500 persons to Heppner.
"we want to fill Heppner with
a lot of outside people and we
will," he said.
Freeman was accompanied bv
three outstanding performers on
the BMCC boys' rodeo team.
Mark Rosenberg of Pendleton.
John Rhoden of Prineville, and
Bill McCoin of Redmond.
Events Listed
Rosenberg, a bull rider and
I steer wrestler, said that men
will compete in six events here
calf roping, bulldogglng, sad
dle bronc, bull riding, bareback,
and ribbon tying. Girls take
part in barrel racing, goat ty
ing and breakaway roping.
There are six men and three
women on each of the college
teams.
At Lewiston, Idaho, in the
first college rodeo of the year,
BMCC surprised the field by tak
ing first and won a trophy "four
feet high," Rosenberg said. The '
BMCC girls were second.
At the next rodeo at Missou
la, Mont., the boys came in
fifth, and the girls were third.
(Continued on page 8)
School Election
To Fill Positions
Annual school election for
Morrow county schools will be
Monday, May 5, with voting op
en from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. at
six polling places, Supt. Ron
Daniels announces.
Only one director for the dis
trict board is to be elected, as
well as several committee mem
bers of advisory committees.
Jerry Peck of Boardman is the
only candidate for director, rep-
resenting zone l. He was ap
pointed to the board to fill a
vacancy and now is running for
election uncontested.
Candidates for the several ad- J
visory positions around the
county are also without oppo- ,
sition.
Election of directors for two
positions on the Blue Mountain 5
Community College board will :
be held concurrently with the
same polling places and during :
the same hours. Bob Abrams and
Ralph McEwen are candidates,
each being the only nominee for
their respective positions. ,
BMCC Directors
Up for Election
Two members of the R1u
Mountain Community College
board of directors will seek re-
election during the Mav 5 an
nual school elections in Uma
tilla and Morrow counties.
Robert Abrams. Heppner. cur
rently serving as chairman of
the board, and Ralph McEwen,
Pendleton, are the onlv candi
dates for the two positions. Both
have served on the board since
its inception. Term of office Is
four years.
Polling places have been es
tablished at the same locations
where regular school elections
are being held.
Sunshine and Rain
More sunshine and more rain
a little of each for the week
ended. Maximum temperatures .
dipped to as low as 49 on Tues
day, according to the report of
Don Gilliam, official weather
observer. Monday's rain brought
nother .41 inch after .08 inch
earlier in the week. Complete
report for the week is as fol
lows:
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
HI
63
55
53
62
69
63
49
Low
43
40
32
29
35
43
35
Prec.
.07
.01 ,
.41