IIIXARY
u or 0
EUGENE .
ORE
07403
86th Year
Number 17
Bring 'em Back
It's Getting Hotter
Ooops, the Garotte-Times
wot caught short I Although ex
tra papers were printed, tht dt
mand was Terr heavy for tht
G-T issue of June 12. Anyone
who does not want his copy
(or hasn't thrown it away) can
bring it back lor his money,
so it can bo resold.
THE
SPFNEE
ETTE-TME
Heppner, Oregon 97836, Thursday, June 19, 1969
Price 10 Cents
Don Gilliam, weather observer
HI Low Prec
Wednesday S3 58
Thursday 86 53
Friday 76 52
Saturday 80 47
Sunday 83 51
Monday 85 49
Tuesday 89 50
'V; " 4 ; '
v V'.. . ' .
i wfcii mini i Jir urn i ir i lumif i mr'tiiTiiii 'i mi I in Miaa J
o
ALL ALONE IN A SEA OF MUD is Wayne Haisin, City of Heppner employee, as he washes down
the city's swimming pool early this week. The city crew washed seven feet of mud. a result of
last week's flood waters, out of the pool by using fire hoses.'4 As of Tuesday, the pool was re
filled and workmen were cleaning the deck and poolhouse. . (G-T Photo).
Board Hears Scenic Area Testimony
By KIT ANDERSON
"I haven't had my boots off
for a week."
The speaker was Vic Grosh-
ens, ana as ne maae ine state-
ment, he stood in those boots
on the bottom or. me Heppner
City swimming pool cleaning
the walls.
Groshens was one of many
Morrow county residents who
worked to finish the cleaning
up of damage from flood wa
ters that hit here last week.
No official estimates of the
total damage have been made,
but state and federal officials
have been, and will be here, as
the cleanup continues.
The county was declared a
"limited emergency disaster"
area by Gov. Tom McCall last
week.
Groshen said Tuesday that
the swimming pool, hardest hit
of any city property, has been
cleaned and refilled, but could
not say when the pool would
be opened.
The major factor in the re
opening of the pool is the
cleaning of motors damaged
when water and mud entered
the pump house of the pool.
The main pump motor has
been sent out of town to be
cleaned, Groshen said. Motors
for the burners which heat the
pool's water are being cleaned
here.
Some 700 cubic yards of mud
were washed out of the pool
with jet sprays. The lob took
throe men one and a half days.
Young people in the city have
responded with volunteer labor,
Groshen noted, and have work
ed for a week. Groshen, Bud
Springer and Wayne Harsin
have all worked an average of
14 hours a day, the city super
intendent said.
In addition to what was ta
ken out of the pool itself, 15
loads of mud and debris were
taken from the pool deck, he
said.
Working on Streets
Streets in Heppner that were
hard hit from flood waters are
still not clean, although most
of the mud has been cleared.
Groshens made no estimate of
the costs involved in the clean
up, as the city hired the work
done.
The city crew itself spent l'i
days clearing debris and push
ing mud from the city streets.
County Roads Surveyed
Four men representing state
and federal bureaus were sur-
eying county roads this week,
and are expected to continue
through Friday, according to
County Judge Paul Jones.
"We are making a detailed
survey to establish not only a
dollars and cents damage esti
mate but also cost of mater
ials for repair," the judge not
ed. Three state engineers work
ing on the survey include Scott
Coulter, Hal Reynoldson and
Robert Poole. John Schultz is
representing the Bureau of Pub
lie Roads.
Jones said Tuesday the sur
veyors saw more damage than
they had expected, but the judge
himself said there wrs less than
he had expected.
Jones said he was estimat
ing the lass on county roads
at about $125,000. This is less
than 50 percent of the dam
age resulting from the floods
of 1964 and 1905, the judge said.
Msim
I Mgef
:f K-1 Di
n
iiierspent,
By RACHEL DICK
While Morrow, Grant and
Umatilla county residents were
digging out debris from last
week's flood, and debating ways
of averting the too-many-times
repeated damage from the
cloudbursts which hazard this
country, the Oregon Scenic Area
board met at the Morrow coun
ty courthouse to consider des
ignation of 10 nearby highway
stretches totaling over 175 miles,
as scenic areas
In favor of the proposed ar
eas were Andy Sherwool and
Harold Thorburn of Portland,
who have visited the highways
in this part of the state several
times this spring and who pre
sented slides to show particular
ly the wild flowers blooming
along much of the proposed
scenic area.
Speaking in extremely mild
opposition he objected to only
short stretches of the 176.35
miles which are being consid
ered for the scenic designation
was Roger W. Emmons, an
attorney from Salem, who rep
resents the outdoor advertising
industry.
Emmons' remarks extolled the
beauty or view from most of
the proposed highway areas.
His occasional objections per
tained to short distances be
cause, he said, the strips did
not fit the criteria, "a site of
historical significance or af
fords a view of unusual natur
al beauty."
The miles of highway under
consideration are nearly all
close to Heppner. One starts at
the now-famous Shobe Canyon
and runs nearly to Ruggs. An
other begins a short distance
west of Ruggs and extends al
most to Condon, while yet an
other is the 5 miles just this
side of Hardman. The highway
from just south of Hardman to
the Spray junction is another
strip under consideration.
In addition to these areas is
the road between Kimberly and
Monument, and a strip from
near Pilot Rock to close to Bat
He Has the Luck
Heppner rancher Orville Cuts-
forth had all the luck he need'
ed last week when engine prob
lems beset the airplane he was
flying in the Yukon territory.
Cutsforth first found the Al
can Highway, then a 7,000-foot
emergency landing strip, where
he landed.
After landing, a helicopter
crew who Just happened to be
there on the ground. Just hap
pened to have all the neces
sary tools to repair trie engine
trouble.
"Somebody was really looking
after us on that trip." Cutsforth
said of the events.
They must have been. He Just
had to fly over a 100-mile lake
of floating ice to get to the
highway-
tie Mountain. The last two
strips are about 8 miles of road
west of Long Creek and the
mileage from Fox Creek to the
Mt. Vernon north city limits.
The purpose of the hearing
was to listen to proponents and
opponents of parts or all of the
designated mileage. The testi
mony, which was taped, will
be considered at a later date
by the members of the board,
who had traveled part of the
roads in the scenic areas under
consideration and who planned
to see the rest of the highways
later Monday and on Tuesday.
Within areas designated by
the board which does not des
ignate all areas under consid
eration advertising signs and
junkyards are prohibited al
though leniency is extended to
owners of pre-established signs
and structures. The Act permits
directional or other official signs
or notices, signs advertising the
sale or lease of the property
upon which thev are located.
business signs appearing on
the premises of the business.
and warnings of undereround
cables.
Some well-known historical
sites and scenic hiehwav
stretches, such as from Battle
Mountain south toward Long
Creek, the miles east of Monu
ment, and along the John Day
river, are among the several
thousand miles in Oregon al
ready designated scenic areas
by the board.
Morrow county schools will
underspend their budget for
1968-69 by some $25,000. the dis
trict's board of directors learned
at its regular meeting Monday
night
The figure may be as high
as $30,000, District R-l Super
intendent Ron Daniels told the
board.
But the underexpenditures is
just a step toward paying an
$81,000 deficit which the schools
District Fire Crews
Practice Thursday
With eight fires in the past
week in the Heppner forests
all small, all set by lightning
and quicky extinguished the
Heppner, Ukiah, and Dale Foi
est Service districts' Fire School
at Tupper this week takes on
urgency.
According to Loren Lucore,
who is in the process of trans
ferring from Heppner into the
supervisor's office in Pendleton,
the grass crop in the forests is
tremendous. If it dries out the
potential for fire will be very
high.
On Thursday, the Fire School
schedule calls for a fire to be
set so the trainees can have
practice in putting it out.
The Fire School at Tupper be
gan Tuesday, June 17, at 1 p.m.
and will end Friday, June 20,
at 3 p.m. The forest crew teach
ing staff numbers 18, while
there are 28 trainees from the
three districts, Heppner, Ukiah,
and Dale.
started with at the first of the
fiscal year.
"It looks a lot better than it
did a year ago," Daniels said.
The superintendent noted,
however, that the entire budget
was very well balanced with the
exception of salaries and the
contingency funds, which to
gether make up $21,000 of the
surplus.
The board accepted four res
ignations at the meeting, and
was told by Daniels that hiring
of a new principal lor Heppner
High school has been postpon
ed until June 23.
Sue Jones, librarian aide at
Heppner High; Linda Rigby,
secretary at the district office;
and Sharron Barrick and Nickj
Pierce, both teachers at River
side Junior-Senior High, turned
in resignations at the meeting.
Daniels said the reason for
postponing selecting a success
or for Richard Carpenter at HHS
was to allow administrators to
talk to potential applicants at
a statewide meeting this week
end.
lhe superintendent did say
that one applicant was being
looked at very seriously, but de
clined to name him.
The directors hired four new
employees, including one at
HHS, two at Riverside and one
at the district office.
Thomas Shear, a graduate of
the University of Oregon, will
teach art at Heppner Element
ary and high schools; Mrs. Celia
Mitchell, an Oregon State Uni
versity graduate, will teach
English and Girls P .E. and
coach girls' sports at Riverside,
and Lynn Bowman, a graduate
of North Dakota State Univer
sity, will teach Homa Ec and
girls' P. E. and will coach girls'
sports at lone High.
Mrs. Forrest (Gail) Burken
bine of Heppner will take over
Mrs. Rigby's position at the dis
trict office.
The board also approved con
tracts for all classified employ
ees in the district.
Daniels spoke of two main
tenance problems facing the
district, telling directors of the
sand blow problem at Riverside
High and of a damaged bridge
at the bus shed here.
He said the blow problem
was "at least 50 percent the
responsibility of the contractor"
who built the school.
According to the superintend
ent, the blow emanated from
the contractor's removing grass
from the sand when he buried
debris from the site.
The bridge at the bus shed
had sunk six inches at one end,
and Daniels asked for the school
district attorney's opinion on
whose responsibility it is to
maintain the bridge.
The directors also approved a
contract with Bob Smith of On
tario to make a three-year study
of district building needs. If the
district did build, Smith would
be the architect under provis
ions of the contract.
In other business, the board:
Approved a change in the
list of property insurance ag
ents.
Paid all Riverside, Title I
and regular bills.
Approved its meeting cal
endar for next year.
Ordered drivers training
cars for next year.
Authorized the clerk to can
for service bids for next year.
Voted Jack Sumner as its
new chairman and Max Jones
as its new vice chairman.
All but "third-rate roads" are
now open, according to Jones,
and those not open now will
be opened within a week, he
said.
Some roads still have one
way traffic, but culverts wash
ed out have been replaced, the
judge said.
The county, unlike the city,
Is keeping a running account
of its expenditures from flood
damage. More than $3,500 was
spent In the first week after the
flood
The state of emergency de
clared by McCall makes the
county eligible for federal funds
to repair its roads.
Federal Emergency Undeclared
But at the same time, a state
of emergency declaration by
federal agencies has not been
made. Jones said he was antic
ipating this action.
Such a move would make fed
eral funds available to farm
ers and homeowners as well
as city and federal governments.
A repesentative of the Small
Business Administration was
here Tuesday, but Jones said
no firms in Heppner indicated
any interest in getting funds.
A solution to flood problems
in Shobe Canyon was proposed
by two area ranchers at the
Heppner-Morrow county Cham
ber of Commerce meeting Mon
day.
Dick Wilkinson and orviue
Cutsforth said a small dam at
the Roice Fulleton place in
Shobe Canyon, along with a
concrete channel over the hill
to Willow creek, would tie in
with the proposed Willow creek
dam to alleviate flooding prob
ems in both creeks.
Both men are ranchers on
Willow creek.
The Farmers Home Adminis
tration will have a representa
tive here today at the court
house to hear claims on flood
damage.
The FHA may also declare an
emergency situation, thus allow
ing funds to individuals. Farm
ers are urged to take pictures
of flood damage in order to
substantiate requests, the judge
noted.
Jones said the county had not
been in touch with the Army
Corps of Engineers, and ha.d not
had any further contact with
Rep. Al Ullman in Washington,
D. C.
Wafer Said Safe
Rumors that the city water
supply is unsafe have been dis
spelled by the district sani
tarian of the Mate Board of
Health, it was learned Monday.
Jack Wright, a guest or the
Heppner-Morrow county Cham
ber of Commerce, said the
"Heppner water supply tests
satisfactory." He noted the flood
had caused no health problems.
This was reaffirmed Tuesday
by City Superintendent Vic Gro
shen. Groshen said some problems
with the sewage disposal plant
had been caused by people put
ting mud through their sewer
systems, and Issued an appeal
to citizens to refrain from do
ing this.
Night of June 9 Flood Held Many Interesting Experiences For G-7's Sherman
i smki eii tK' u fwt'.";! j ;' t.i
Rv WES SHERMAN
MnnHav Jnnp 9. at The
It Mai icu a a luuunc v.. , - ,
Gazette-Times office. It was to be a quiet week. News copy was
well in nana, aavenisin)? layouts weie mouc, xjiu me ..w-k"""'
ers were preparing to proofread the long Morrow county budget
i i ; ,J .. . U . UinwT ..too in tYtck malinor
Wc IlclU I1U JUCd men niaiuij w aa m ...u.x...,.
Outside, the city firemen were having the fire drill. We could
hear them Danter oacK ana ionn, pumriuaieu vy me uu.o!iuim.
roar or tne Dig irui.-Ks.
. . - ' l 1 . .un woin r-1 n r A in fnirantc onnimn tn calico AirC
J1 y U VJlUCrV llic lain Biaucu IJi luncnw, viiuu.. w " " -
Sherman to look up from her typewriter and say, "Boy, it's really
open the front door a crack. Rain water was running down his
wmie Iireman S nai aiiu uupphjk uii iu ma luinuuuj,
"It's raining," he said with a grin.
The torrent intensified and within 15 or 20 minutes, the
wail of the flood siren started. It took a while to sink in, for
the fire trucks' sirens had sounded incidentally a few times
during the course of the drill.
We stepped outside. Arnold Raymond and Reggie PascaL
also curious, came out of the back shop to Join us under the
metal awning. There were no flood waters in sight
Probably Just a false alarm." was one of the comments.
City Police Officer Dean Gilman was cruising in the patrol
car when the downpour started. He had a visitor from Alaska
with him.
When the heavy rain hit, they started talking about floods.
"You know, you can sort of smell these floods coming after
you've been around here for a while," he told the dubious Alas
kan. They headed up the Condon highway to check around,
"in ft, I think t ran smell one rieht now." Gilman declared.
He fold the visitor that they have sort of a sulphurous sroelL
He played the car's SDotlieht fo the right over the fields
around the Marcel Jones place and was startled to see a choc
olate brown mass of water rolling towards town.
Gilman whipped the car around, hit the siren and headed for
town to sound the alarm.
"Want to go look around?" said Raymond.
"No, you go if you'd like. We've got to get this budget read."
Arnold went down back of the hotel, came back on a run.
"Reggie has to get his car out, or he'll lose it," our shop
foreman exclaimed as he approached. "Water is really rolling
behind the hotel."
Big Reggie got the message. He left his linotype machine
and headed down the street. It was the first time we'd ever
seen Reggie run.
We donned a raincoat and rain hat but never thought about
putting on boots, which we have readily available.
Heading back of the hotel, we hit the water. Only a few
steps into it, and we could feel the silt around the feet in the
low loafer-type shoes.
A car drove slowly east on Willow into the path of the torrent.
Amazingly, the nonchalant driver turned up Chase, right against
the crushing current
The water surged over his headlights and onto the hood. The
car shuddered and stopped. It seemed that it would be engulfed
for sure. But somehow the driver eot it moving ahead, took a
sharp right and found sanctuary on the hotel parking lot. Its
sides were covered with mud. j
Word of the plight of the swimming pool spread quickly.
We went up there, looked at the water rushing down Main
street, carrying all manner of debris with it
Carl Spaulding stood with us. wondering about the plight
of his daughter and son-in-law whose bouse is in the flood
area.
m. - i i . -a AaMAaA 4a vitHa itn
1 ne water seemed io rewu a " w M-wv- - -r
by the pool to take a picture. Standing in the water at right
angle to the current we tried to focus the camera, but the cur
rent kept Jarring us. Every few seconds from out of the dark
ness would come a small log, a tree bianch or a plank, broad
side. We tried to hop over them, but one gangly tree branch
hooked the raincoat and threatened to dump us into the
slimy mass. We managed to shake it.
The water deepened, surging up around the knees. We
decided it was time to get out and turned to go, but It wasn't
easy
No longer braced against the current the roaring water
threatened to upset us. After doing an impromptu water bal
let trying to gain balance by swinging the camera around
in the air, we managed to stay upright and slogged out of
the water.
Carsten Brandhagen stood in front of his house, across from
the swimmins pool. Its front yard was filled with debris. His
car was parked a few feet away on higher ground, with his small
son inside.
Brandhagen made his way into the house, leaving the boy
behind.
The lad grew apprehensive, hopped out of the car and came
up to us.
"Is the water getting higher?" he asked in shaky voice.
Carl and the writer said that it was.
The boy turned and pointed to the house, "My daddy's in
there!" he screamed.
We assured him that his daddy would be safe, and he quieted
down. But we understood his concern, for it was a frightening
scene.
And that is how the flood developed on June 9, 1969.
Just five days before the anniversary of the Great One of
June 14, 1903.
is !
"",,"Vff,.. I
HARMLESS SHOBE CREEK me
anders along at the Howard
Pettyjohn place south of
Heppner. (G-T Photo).