Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1969)
L ! BRARY U OF 0 f. a c r; r , one 0 7-103 86th Year Number -.. .' I0NE 1 : V 1 THE An GOOoZCERuY GAZETTE-TIME I Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, May 15, 1969 Price 10 Cents 12 it ' - -i ;( "I .v"T 1 J -i ii mi .i V ' r' ' " 1 MODERN CONSERVATION PRACTICES on a ranch at historic Gooseberry have won for Rudy Berg trom (left) the title of Morrow County Conservation Man of the Year. He operates the ranch in association with his father, E. W. (Bill) Bergstrom (right). (G-T Photo) - , - - "7 j SYLVAN SETTING is this picturesque hide-away at a large pond on the Rudy and Bill Bergstrom ranch. Rudy, 1969 Conservation Man ot tne Year, stands by the pond. (G-T Photo) Bergstrom Named Conservation Man Rudy W. Bergstrom, a progres sive young farmer who operates a ranch on a historic site at Gooseberry, was chosen Morrow County Conservation Man of the Year by a committee of the county Wheatgrowers Associa tion this week. Announcement of the honor was made at the spring meet ing of the wheatgrowers Tues day night in the Lexington Orange Hali. Bergstrom, whose grandfather came to Morrow county in 1888 and settled in the same part of the county, has 1000 acres in cropland and farms 500 acres per year. He also does custom farming on about 270 acres. Like some others who have been chosen Conservation. Men, Berg strom operates the ranch in com' bination with his father, Eric William (Bill) Bergstrom, who was born in the Eightmile area at the place of his uncle, Olaf Bergstrom. Selection of the 1969 Conser vation Man was made by a com mittee headed by Jack Sumner. Others on the committee are Bob Peterson, 1968 Conservation winner who also was chosen State Conservation Man; Ron Haguewood; Al Osmin of the Heppner Soil and Water Conser vation District; and Harold Kerr, Morrow county extension agent. Ted Sidor Speaks Announcement of the winner shared the limelight at the Tuesday evening meeting to gether with an address by Ted Sidor, resource development specialist, Oregon State Univer sitv Extension Service. Tad Mill er, wheatgrowers' president, was in charge of the meeting. Besides the cropland, Bergs trom has 360 acres in grassland. Much of it is bunchgrass, but 60 acres is seeded to grass and alfalfa. He is growing certified lone barley seed on 25 acres. Conservation practices that the committee noticed in mak ing the selection, after spending a day touring the county, are many at the Bergstrom place. A total of 3o0 acres is in stub ble mulch, and five miles of diversion ditches have been been built There are 4 miles of fence row under weed control, and there are three erosion control dams and two stock ponds, as well as one sod waterway. Wildlife protection figures in the conservation practices, too. Two protective areas of between one and two acres have been fenced and will be planted with bushes to offer covering for wildlife. Two bird guzzlers on the place, with deer-proof fenc es surrounding them, offer year a round water. A large pictur- esque pond on the back of the place is stocked with fish. The ranch is served by one deep well and two springs. Windbreaks Planted Bergstrom planted windbreaks m 1952 that serve to protect both the home of his parents and that of himself, wife Beth and family. He has been a cooperator in the Soil Conservation Service since 1961 and is a supervisor in the Heppner Soil and Water Conservation district. He and his father have 30 head of Hereford cattle on the ranch. Bergstrom, who was born in Portland in 1935, came to Goose berry as a nine-year-old boy in 1944. His mother, the former Anna K. Peterson before her marriage to Bill Bergstrom in 1933, worked for the telephone company in Portland. She had moved west from Minnesota to be near a sister who lives in Port Orchard, Wash., and ob tained the iob with the tele phone company. Young Rudy attended school in lone and graduated from lone High school in 1953. He had started school in Portland, where he attended the first four grades, After high school, he went to Oregon State University for one year. In 1959-60 he served with the army in Germany with tne ranking of corporal (Spec4) and was a driver for a colonel, In 1966 he was married to Beth Ball, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Archie Ball of Ruggs. Their three children are Donna, Rene and Doreen. Has Historic Background The community of Gooseberry is one of the famous old names in Morrow county's settlements. At one time it boasted a black smith shop, school (which in earliest days doubled for a church), and postoffice with a staple grocery store included. The ranch now owned and op erated by the Bergstroms was formerly that of Fred Esteb, whose father, Isaac Esteb, was among the early settlers to the county, coming in 1883, and the first postmaster at Gooseberry. Rudy's father, popular 1 y known as Bill, is the son of Erik Bergstrom who settled in the county in 1888, the first eight years here being in Dry Fork, 10 miles west of the present place, at the Gilliam county line. Bill Bergstrom spent eight years of his very young boyhood at the George Holmes place. where his family lived, and re calls walking three miles over hill and dale to the Gooseberry school in the early years. He has been a member of Valbv Lutheran church for many years. In 1908 the family moved to Judge Kilkenny, Heppner Native, To Get High Post U. S. District Judge John F. Kilkenny, a Heppner native, will be appointed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, according to an As sociated Press story Tuesday. The story quoted President Nixon as saying that he will make the appointment. Judge Kilkenny was appoint ed U. S. District Judge in 1960 after practicing law in Pendle ton since 1926. In a recent poll of the Oregon State Bar, Judge Kilknny was the wide choice of the attorneys in the state for the appointment. His selection had been rec ommended by many friends and supporters for years and was backed by - favorable editorials of many newspapers. When the appointment is made and confirmed, Judge Kil kenny will be the first Oregon ian on the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals bench since James Alger Fee, who served from 1954 until his death in 1959. The court's circuit includes the states of Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Mon tana, Nevada, Washington, Guam and Hawaii. Opportunity for the appoint ment came recently when the number of judges on the ap peals court was increased from nine to 13. Judge Kilkenny has many rel atives in Heppner and Morrow county and has continued a keen interest in the county. He recently wrote, ' Shamrocks and Shepherds: The Irish of Morrow County." and this was condens ed in the Oregon Historical Quarterly of June, 1968." He al&o has been very much interested in historical names in the county and designating new parks, reservoirs and other places with names of signifi cance. , , Officer Says Every Area Has Problem With Drugs urug proDiems exist m every community in Oregon, state Po lice Officer John D. Williams said in a talk at the Heppner Morrow County Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday. A recent survey through the State of Washington showed that every school .system in that state had some narcotics prob lem among the students. This included both grade and high schools, Williams said. "wnat type 01 people use drugs? All walks of life, but primarily 'dropouts'. Thev cet the others started." Now in his fifth year in the criminal investigation depart ment, Williams said that young sters 12 to 14 start as "glue sniffers." They "graduate" to marijuana, which sells for $25 per ounce on the black market A "joint" or "reefer" is made, and the homemade cigarette must be hot burning to get the best effect. A usee can be spot ted by his red eyelids, dilated pupils, and by his walk. He walks as if stepping over a curb, the officer said. Williams pointed out that many . claim marijuana is not addictive. "This may be true, but users resort to other drugs," he said. Two Seniors Named Oregon Scholars Terry Lynn Peck and Sara Lynn Miller, seniors at Heppner High school, have been named among 1969 Oregon Scholars by the State Scholarship Commis sion, it has been announced by the commission. Students designated as Ore gon Scholars have been chosen from all high schools in Ore gon on the basis of outstanding academic achievement, accord ing to Sidney Schlesinger, com mission chairman. The Oregon Scholars award, established last year by the commission, gives recognition to the academic merit of students in the state who have excelled during high school, whether or not they have the financial need which qualifies them for state scholarships, Schlesinger said. A total of 1500 students from graduating classes in Oregon which total approximately 35,- 000 students will receive Oregon Scholars awards. The Scholars average grade point is 3.77. Peck, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bud Peck, is valedictorian of the class of 1969 here, and Miss Miller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. (Sam) Miller, is saluta- torian. Judge Jones Slated To Support Project At Washington, D. C. County Judge j Paul Jones will testify for the Willow Creek dam and project before the House appropriations com mittee at Washington, D. C., on Monday, June 2, according to a schedule confirmed by telephone from the office of Cong. Al Ullman. Cong. Ullman recently wrote to Judge Jones and urged that he attend to press for the ap propriation on the project. Directors- -- of Heppner Morrow County Chamber of Commerce Monday voted to authorize up to $200 as a share in expenses of the trip to the nation's capital. The judge said that he ex pects to fly east on the pre ceding day to keep the appoint ment and to come home im mediately after he makes his appearance. He said that Cong. Ullman is allotted only five minutes before the com mittee but said that he would yield all his time to Judge Jones on the belief that the appearance from a local offic ial would be of more influ ence in telling the need for the project. He described other drugs, all of which are available under prescription from doctors. How ever, when young people get them from pushers, they don't know what they are getting nor the effects they will have. Williams told of one complete chemical lab that was set up on a house boat on a river slough. Water for manufactur ing pills came from the slough. These pills were peddled through pushers. The lab was discovered and raided. LSD Is more serious than "speed pills," Williams said. and he described how two others are required to assist when one takes a "trip." One is called a "baby sitter" who sits and waits for hours while the other is on his "trip.M He told of one 14-vear-old Eastern Oregon boy who has been in and out of the state hospital in Pendleton three times. Another who went on a trip" more than a vear aeo has been in the hosptal since that time and still shows no sign of coming out. Some students take their lunch money and use it for pills or marijuana. Apprenenaing tne users is a big problem. Williams cited cases where those smoking mar ijuana ate the cigarettes upon the approach of the officers. He described the manv wavs in which pushers transport their drugs, using all sorts of devices and methods. Williams said that use of drugs results in many deaths of juveniles. At the conclusion of his talk he showed samples of many types of drugs being used and burned some marijuana so that all present might become ac quainted with its odor. 1 ' v MICHAEL FOSSET Valedictorian WEATHER Temperatures up to 86 with six straight days reaching 80 or above and not a drop of ram. This was the weather for the week in Morrow county as re ported by Don Gilliam, official observer. Complete report is as follows: Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Hi 78 80 85 85 86 83 80 Low 43 44 47 52 49 50 50 Prec. McCurdy Accepts Pottldnd Position Harlan McCurdy, Jr., former manager of Morrow County urain growers, inc.. has accent ed a position with North Pa cific Grain Growers in Portland as grain merchandiser, John Bauer, general manager of NPGG, announces. "McCurdy is a long-time mem ber of the NPGG family." Bauer said. "His broad experience and warm humor will be welcome additions to the Portland NPGG team. A wide circle of friends through the member locals join in wishing him 'Welcome Aboard'." McCurdy recently resigned his position with Morrow Countv Grain Growers after being with tne cooperative since 1946, ex cept for IVt years in other work. He became general manager in 1966 after serving as assistant manager under the late Al Lamb. witn iFtiu. Mccurdv sue ceeds Bob Gingrich who has re signed from North Pacific to ac cept a position with Rosalia Pro ducers, Inc., Rosalia, Wash., as manager. The McCurdys have offered their home here for sale and expect to move after the close of the school year here. o r. 1 MISS JANA EVERETT Salutatorian Riverside Names Two for Honors For Class of '69 Simon Winter Back, Recalls Heavy Fighting at Khe Sanh Simon Winter, who servedenemy's supply lines were not Forestry District Fire Season Starts (Continued on page 4) Fire season in the Eastern Central Oregon District official ly started at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, May 15, according to announcement Tuesday from Harry Pearson of John Day, dis trict forester. Fire burning permits will be requested in this area after May 15, and all logging operations must have the necessary fire fighting tools and equipment on hand, State inspectors will make checks on operations in the dis trict. Any questions regarding fire season or tools required for fire fighting can be answered at the Fossil State Forestry office.! with the Marines in the thick of fighting in Vietnam, arrived home last week after 14 months in action. He spent six months at Khe Sanh, the isolated out post just below the demilitar ized zone, and was wounded when struck in the back by a "Uook" ruie puiiet. Fortunately the bullet hit his pack plate and only penetrated about 1 inches into his back Otherwise, he might have been killed since the angle was such that it may have come through to penetrate the heart. Winter advanced to the rank of sergeant and commanded a platoon. After six months at Khe Sanh, he was sent to Da Nang lor 24 montns, then returned to Khe Sanh. The Marine, who is visiting with his mother, Mrs. Millie Winter, and other relatives and friends here, said that the Unit ed States appears to be fighting pretty much of a defensive war now." Like others who have returned home, Sgt. Winter said that he believes that if the armed forc es were allowed to open up. they could bring an end to the war. Most of those in our outfit feel that way," he said. Stopping of the bombing of North Vietnam "made a lot of difference," he said, since the nearly so badly disrupted. Winter said that the service men feel that they want to get the job done because they have lost too many buddies who sac rificed their lives to win the war. The NVA are zealous fighters and will fight to the end, he said. However, it is now noticed that more and more are mere youngsters, from 12 to 14 years, indicating a manpower short age. There are some Chinese with the NVA. After spending his leave here. Winter will go to San Diego on June 1 to train as a drill in structor. He goes to school 614 weeks and takes a course in physical training. The Marine has extended his service for a vear and will con tinue until October, 1971. He has received the purple heart, led his squad as lance corporal. made meritorious corporal and then commanded a platoon for a time. The flight home from Vietnam took about 20 hours, coming by way of Okinawa and arriving at El Toro base in California. Winter graduated from Hepp ner High school with the class of 1965, and he entered service in 1967. He plans to enter col lege after completion of his du ty, and is considering majoring in forestry. BOARDMAN Michael Fossey, son of Mrs. Albert Farlow, has been chosen valedictorian of the 1969 graduating class of River side High school. He has a grade point average of 3.8 and has been very active during his high school days. He has been a member of the Honor Society for three years, and this year was its president; has been on the annual staff two years, member of the Lettermen's Club four years, In the band two years, and the chorus one year. He played basketball four years and football three years. Last year Michael won the REA Speech and Essay contest and a trip to Washington, D. C, He also won a bronze award In the National Mathematical As sociation test. During his fresh man year he was class presi dent. Michael plans to major in physics at Oregon State Univer sity. Jana Everett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Everett of Ir rigon, has been chosen saluta torian. Her grade point average is 3.5. She has been a member of the Honor Society three years, played volleyball one year, and was a member of the GAA and Pep Club three years. She was cheerleader two years, and a member of the chorus two years. She was treasurer of the student body this year, secretary of the class in her junior year, and treasurer in her sophomore year. After graduation Jana plans to major In drafting at Blue Mountain Community College. Baccalaureate services for the Riverside graduates will be Sun day, May 18, at the Boardman Community church, and com mencement ceremonies will be Friday, May 23, in the gymnas ium, both at 8:00 p.m. State Plans Cost Survey 07 Highway Oregon State Highway depart ment will conduct a survey of improvements that could be ac complished on the Willow Creek highway with the principal amount of $550,000 in federal and state funds that have ac cumulated to the credit of the county. This was determined last Wednesday after a meeting of the county court with Bob Prang, engineer with the city and county planning division of the department. The court had indicated ear lier that it may wish to use most of the accumulated FAS funds for the badly needed im provements on the state high way. It also considered the pos sibility of using a portion of the money on a project on the Willow Creek county road south east of Heppner with the hope of extending the surfaced por tion closer to Cutsforth Park. The meeting with Prang, how ever, brought out the fact that standards of the department for use of the FAS funds would be too great for the county to meet on the county road. It was es tmated that it would cost about $100,000 to complete each mile of the county road to the new regulations. Before devoting the accum ulated funds to the Willow Creek Highway, running from Heppner to I-80N, the court made it clear that it wanted to know specifically what improve ments would be made to the highway with the money. Thus, the survey will be ta ken and a report will be made at a later date so that the coun ty court and the public may be informed. Judge Jones said Monday that the county - may wish to use some of the $550,000 fund to establish connections at the new I-80N interchange in the north eastern part of the county. A delegation headed by Earl Blake appeared at the court meeting to ask that three miles of new county road be built to to the Blake development on Black Mountain where 52 tracts of land have been sold. A road from Willow Creek leaving the present road at near the site of the artesian well would cut off seven of the 23 miles now required from Heppner via the Hinton Creek route, Blake said., May 23 Meeting To Eye Sales Tax Marlon D. Thomas, state ex tension specialist, public policy education, will be the featured speaker at a meeting on Fri day, May 23, at 1:30 p.m., to discuss the sales tax package. Sponsored by the Morrow County Farm Bureau, the meet ing will also discuss weed con trol. It will be held in the county fair pavilion annex. Thomas will present a pro gram of slides on the tax ref erendum to Illustrate his factual talk. Vote on the sales tax pack age will be on Tuesday, June 3, and. the public is urged to attend the meeting to become informed on the proposal. All are asked to reserve the date now so that they may at tend. Auxiliary to Sponsor Annual 'Poppy Days' Paper poppies, honoring war veterans, will blossom on the streets of Heppner during an nual "Poppy Days", May 22-24, according to this year s co-chairmen, Mrs. Bill Heath and Mrs. Riley Munkers, of the Legion Auxiliary. Poppies will be on sale in front of the Penney's store by auxiliary members. A window at Gardner's Men's Wear will focus attention on the annual event, and give rec ognition to the observance of the 50th anniversary of the org- anizations existence. "The story of the poppy over these first 50 years is remark able, as we have honored those who fought for freedom and who valiantly serve today, and as we have aided many in our own communities," Mrs. Martha Cams of Cascade Locks, depart ment poppy chairman, points out I School Concert Due on May 21 and con- Combined Heppner High Elementary school spring cert will be presented Wednes day, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Heppner High gymnasium, Arnie Hedman, director, an nounces. Bands of the two schools will play and the high school chor us will sing. Hedman directs the bands and also is the chor al Instructor at the high school. About 150 students will par ticipate in the event. The pub lic is invited to attend. Sale to Close Out Van's Variety Stock Oregon Merchandisers of Eu gene have bought the stock of the former Van's Variety store and today (Thursday) started a sale that will sell the stock "to the bare walls," Dale Sims of the company states. "We will stay until the job is done," he said. Bargains will be offered as great as 70 off regular price, and everything will be sold at wholesale price or less, Sims said.
