Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1974)
Page 1 I Horse sense I I FJtXfXTV. JOINER I A lot of people are clamoring for a gun registration la, sincere in the belief that such a law will take guns out of the hands of criminals, thus eliminating murder and other crime. These current crusaders might be interested to know that for many years the District of Columbia has had a very strict gun registration law. Yet the District of Columbia for as many years has been known as the crime capital of the United States! According to Attorney General William Saxbe. there has never been an arrest under that law. "It is disturbing to me," Saxbe said recently, to pass a law and then to find that it is not being enforced in the courts here in the District." People still believe that the way to get rid of a problem is to '"pass a law." Just make it illegal and the problem will go away. This is especially true of laws that attempt to regulate human conduct in the field of morals The 13th Amendment apparently didn't teach Americans much on the subject of enforced sobriety. Such laws cannot be enforced, and never will be enforced except in "select" cases One doesn't have to go any farther from home than Heppner for examples of laws that are not and cannot be enforced. If Heppner "s city ordinances were all enforced there wouldn't be a dog on the streets unless it were licensed and on a leash. The Monday noon blast of the fire siren that summons members to the chamber of commerce meeting would be silenced, because there's an ordinance against it. There is also an ordinance prohibiting children from bouncing balls on downtown sidewalks. There are thousands of useless, hypocritical and nonsensical laws on the books in this country that aren't solving the problems they were instituted tocure. They make a mockery of all law and create widespread disrespect for law. As far back as 600 B.C. thoughtful people like Anacharsis. a Scythian philosopher, wrote. "Written laws are like spiders' webs, and will like them only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them." Before any law is enacted the people should answer three questions: should this law be enforced? can this law be enforced? and will this law be enforced? If all three cannot be answered in the affirmative is should never become a law. Apply this test to a gun regisiration law and discover the absurdity of enacting one Common Cause and Ralph Nader's Wonder Boys are ' among many organizations being supported by the people to tell state and national legislators what the people want and need. This is a strange duplication of the legislative processes On one hand we have state legislators and congressmen elected by the people and sworn to look after their interests. Legislators are the people's lobbv. They are hired by the people and are responsible to them for their ac- Hons. Then why are there organizations like Common Cause, and where is the need for them? Common Cause (to choose one as an example is doing exactly what highly-paid and elected legislators dodo the people's business. There is nothing Common Cause is doing that legislators aren't hired to do. If Common Cause, and other such "people's lobbies." .do a better job of representing people than the people's own representatives, then perhaps we should get rid of legislators . and hire Common Cause. But hiring Common Cause to watch our senators and representatives is like hiring one worker to watch another; or. setting one thief to keep another thief honest. The criminal inference on the part of elected congressmen is nothing new. Mark Twain once said that it probably could be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress! The very fact that Common Cause exists is proof enough that state legislators and congressmen are not doing their jobs to the people's satisfaction. If legislators and congressmen are not doing their jobs to the people's satisfaction, why do we continue to employ them? If the nervous streaker who bare-blitzed through the Kinzua mill astride a Honda motorcycle Friday night will come by the mail box at the Claude Graham place he can retrieve his underwear . . . Orville and Barbara Cutsforth attended the Boat Show in Portland. Orville fell into the clutches of a pretty salesgirl and quickly became the proud owner of a new motor home. Later it occurred to Orville that he already had a motor home with only 28.000 miles on it. which he has just overhauled, adding five new tires, two new batteries and paid the licensing for two years. If anyone is interested in a used mobilehome at a bargain price . . . The Saturday before St. Patrick's Day it was like the good old days at Bucknum's Tavern. Free sandwiches and 5-cent beer! With an impromptu rendition of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" there wasn't a dry eye--or a dry throat--in the joint . Before I am crucified head-down and drawn and quarsered for having said something nice about Boeing Corporation's operation last week, let me hasten to assure disturbed readers that Boeing is not an advertiser of this newspaper I have no relatives on the Boeing payroll and I own no stock in that company My case for Boeing is that it has a valid 99-year lease on nearly 100.000 acres of land near Boardman Is also has a valid contract which stipulates that Boeing has the option to lease any adjoining or adjacent land in thai 1 "".' acres that may become available during the lerm of the lease The Navy bombing range may become available U joins the Boing leased lands. Therefore. Boeing ha. the ops ion to lease every acre of the bombing range at 65 t en's an acre My point made last week is. and remains, that peiiplewhonou v an' to move in and make family-sized farm unit oui tii this estimaied 50.000 acres cannot legally do so if Boeing eiecis lo exercise its option Therefore, insiead of turmuig committees and putting heat on state and federal officials to make tm bombing range land available for small farm unit, cwnt-emed citizens sttould instead be consulting Boeing. Boeing owe have a contract Are we at Ihe point ftp want in repeal the Jaw of contracts? If so. there a piece nf proper) m the l.S that would be safe! I fwpp! in taf if- bombing range land for family farm use ha- mr a: tw epnw of Boeing, which eniered into a cmrac m gmxi faiifc arid ha performed its terms atisfactrily and a on cost Boeing has expressed a willingne! in urr-nGer i' up ton if a plan satisfactory to it t presented .-Natural! . if the land is going to be developed on a corporate om. Boeing wants to do it. Could anything be more fair'.' I am disappointed thai me people harbor ill-will toward Boeing over ihe Boardman operation. Boeing came into that land openly and honestly, and only after local fanner and developers had let that land go undeveloped for too years. Well-heeled, local farmers could have taken Ihe land ai any time and developed it. They didn't. So Boeing did. II local people feel resentment over Boeing success on once-woilhless land, that resentment is better directed lo then Guv. Mark Hatfield, who engineered this "land giveaway" in Ihe first place Boeing merely made a far-sighted business deal, fraught with economic peril. But Hatfield made what turned out to be a bad deal by giving away land that has become valuable over the years. If there is a culprit, isn't lie Hatfield and iiol Boeing? TJCW tT'f DHLS BU-tED 6AJDWtfl WiTH OTD MJMBER UCfiNSS- ftATES. TC10Rft3W IT5 BiONX. SCHOOL TEACrttft9 UNDER 25" WW V NUMBERS... The mail pouch EDITOR: I am a 6th grader at the middle school in Rumford, Maine. Our community is a "Right to Read" center and our school is doing projects for "Right to Read" month during April Our school project is collecting newspapers from all over the United States for reading ih our classrooms and library, and we would very much appreciate it if you would send ua copy of yours. LYNCOXTI. Rumford. Maine. ED. NOTE--They're in the mail. Lyn. I hope your class if readv for this' EDITOR: A District Improvement Company is being formed in Morrow County by local family farmers. Some have land that is near the river, some are irrigating from wells and some are interested in obtaining land to irrigate. The local people are interested and willing to develop the Boardman bombing range and are organized to do so. Small privale business was a major part in building this county on a sound financial and social basis Better communities and more responsibility develop from private ownership. In your last paper you presented a case for Boeing 's rights How about the rights of the original landowners who were forced to give up their land to the government for a mere pittance when the bombing range was established; and might I ask the editor why he is in Heppner rather than working for a large metropolitan newspaper? DON PETERSON" ' lone ; EDITOR. For critical folks such as Mike and Joanie Wells 'Cazeae Times. March 21' 1 have a question: what have you done recently for man or beast0 Also I'd like to contribute this "daily thought" for them: Let me tonight look back across the span "Twixt dawn and dark and lo my conscience say because of some good act to beast or man "The world is betier thai I lived todav." Planners LOIS WINCHESTER. Heppner. i Continued from P. 1 1 this i! must first seek approval from such agencies as the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Fish and Game Department and Ihe state engineer. To further aid in cleaning up the present trash disposal sysiem. Kinzua has agreed with DEQ to install a trash burner which would allow virtuallv no emissions. The proposed burner will hopefully be in operation by December. Parking for Ihe mill is being planned in and around the current shop area and would extend back inio the present trash area. In other action, three Boardman residents. Robert Harwood. Homer Prilchard and Lester Moen issued a complaint concerning a land owner who is apparently not complying wiih county zoning laws. After discussion as to who and where the law enforcement body for the planning commission is. it was decided that the staff would investigaie the situation and hopefully correct any prob lems. Ethel McKenzie of Irrigon pointed out that since the area was undergoing rapid trailer expansion that controls should be enforced "If controls aren't clamped down right now. we're going to have a heck of a mess pretty soon." she said. Irrigon landowner Hilda Sharp of Portland was present to present her views on the proposed rezoning of the 1.500 acres of land around Irrigon from farm to farm residential. This move would allow land owners lo break their land into one-acre plots, not just five acre plots as Ihe current zoning allows. Mr. and Mrs Leon Lablanc of Irrigon also presented their views to the change. The planning commission noted it had received 52 returned questionnaire ballots which included 32 in favor of the change. 21 against the change. 2 unsigned ballots for and 1 unsigned ballot against. It was agreed a public hearing would be set up at Irrigon where the commission wouid finally make a recom mendation lo the county court from their findings. The commission passed a variance for Chip-a-Way Trucking allowing it to change a five-acre area from farm to industrial zoning so it may construct a truck shop A letter to the commission said plans for a trailer park on the Van Winkle lot had been dropped, with no proposed new plans. Progress reports from two north county areas were also given lo the commission I.M. Docken of Desert Springs Mobile Estates said current action was "static" while awaiting various permits and approvals. A letter from the business manager of Boeing Company's agri-business said the present project is about "20 per cent completed " The report said work on feedlots and storage areas was pro gressing steadily. The final portion of business before Ihe commission was brought forward by member Fritz Cutsforth. Cutsforth thought he might need a variance for structure altera tion on his place. Attorney Dennis Doherty ruled that no action need lie taken by the commission. PGE files for -650 million nuclear plant, Boardman Portland General Electric has filed application with the Atomic Energy Commission for a construction permit for Eastern Oregon's first nuclear generating plant, it was an nounced yesterday by Joseph L Williams, vice-president of PGE. Portland. The application is for the Carry Reservoir Site 12 miles west and south of Boardman. to be known as Boardman No. 1. Irrigation water will be part of Ihe multi-use project Cost of the 1260 megawatt pressurized water nuclear plant is $650 million, exclusive of fuel PGE will build a cooling reservoir at Carly and coop erate with the Boeing Cor poration for space in it for irrigation water. The site will have a capacity for four 1260 megawatt planis. one or two coal plants, and provide up to 30.000 acres of irrigation water. PGE has arranged with Boeing for 20.000 acres of state land now leased to Boeing, and land not required for the nuclear facility will be turned back to Boeing. PGE needs 5.700 acres of Navy bombing range land. Williams announced that the Navy is tentatively relocating the bombing range to Douglas County. Wash., and thai his company is no! involved in Ihe disposition of land except lhai needed for the reservoir. Lexington has postal "The Navy can and will move from the bombing range prior to 1979," Williams an nounced. Congressional ap proval is expected An additional application is being prepared for a nuclear plant at Pebble Springs near Arlington, but the Carty Site is Ihe first choice because of the multipurpose potention. "Work will begin as soon as authority is granted iby the Atomic Energy Commission), hopefully by the first half of 1975." Williams said. "The plant should be on line by July 1980." Heppner, Ore., Gazette-Times, Thursday, March 28, 1974 Mayor of Hardman DEAR MISTER EDITOR: Folks that run them steak eating places long ago stopped believing in doggy bags. Any man that can afford a steak has done to well in life to be reckless enuff to toss even a best rabbit dog a bone with as much meat on it as you see em take home from the cafe. The leftover meat will turn upon his breakfast table with a egg on top of it, or he will hold it back fer Sunday dinner. The dog may git to lick the greasy sack. Now it looks like. Mister Editor, that the feller that runs the store has quit believing in lawnmower gas. It use to be a customer could tell him to fill the two-gallon can In the back of the pickup and he would do it. Everbody figgered he needed to run the tiller over the old lady's garden, mow some grass or maybe mix up a batch fer his fishing molor. Here lately, the store feller won't pump but precious little in pickups, and none at all in cans. It was Bug Hookum that changed his policy. About ever other evening fer a couple of weeks, Bug would git his lawnmower gas can filled up. The store feller didn't ask Bug what he was doing with the gas, and Bug didn't say. He jest kept hitching a ride to the store with Clem Webster to git his can filled up. It wasn't until somebody mentioned that Clem and Bug was going to the Portland farm show that the truth come out. Actual. Bug don't have a thing on his little place that needs gasoline. His old lady hoes the garden, and Bug still trims their patch of front yard grass with a old man-powered reel mower he keeps in tiptop shape. What happened was. Clem told Bug he'd take him to the farm show if Bug would take care of Ihe extry gas they'd need to git home after all the service stations closed. So Bug had been buying the gas and storing it in Clem's tractor tank until they got ready to go. Bug had even borrowed two stout five-gallon cans to carry the extry gas in the back of Clem's pickup. Saturday night at the country store. Clem reported to the fellers that he and Bug didn't git to see the farm show last week. He said he went down to his tractor shed the morning they had planned to go. and he found somebody had punched a hole in the bottom of the tractor gas tank and drained it dry. Clem said you can't win fer losing. A month ago he bought a lock fer the tractor tank, and now he is out tank and the gas to It jest proves agin that locks is fer honest folks, was Clem's words. The feller that runs the store said he was sorry Clem's tractor tank was busied, but he was put out about Bug hording that gas under false pretenses. He said maybe Ihe gas was took by somebody desperate, like a young feller that needed to go see his gal. He said the gas quota don't give him enuff to fill extry cans, and it looks like he's going to have to ask fer a not from the preacher to check on all the folks that say they got to have gas to git to church. Yours trulv. MAYOR ROY. change The Lexington Rural Station of the U.S. Postal Service has been moved from Del s Mar ket to the Edward Struthers home in Lexinglon. The move will become effeclive April 1. 1974. accord ing to Hubert C. Wilson. Heppner postmaster. Patrons will be assigned boxes at the new postal unit and are asked lo contact the station after April 1 to receive new box numbers. Hours for the new station will lie 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 5:30 p.m. except Sundays. Marie Sirulhers will be maintaining Ihe station. Questions concerning the new postal boxes or the station should be addressed to her in Lexington. Sweek injures hand Greg Sweek. 21. son of Mr. and Mrs. Ned Sweek of Heppner. underwent surgery on his left hand Saturday following an accident at the Kinzua Corporation. He suffered severe damage to his hand when he caught it in a large saw. He was given emergency treatment at Pio neer Memorial Hospital, then taken to Good Samaritan Hospital. Portland, where part of his thumb was ampu tated. Physicians believe he may also lose part of his forefinger and pari of the middle finger. Sweek will undergo another operation involving plastic surgery. Lions Club to hold Charter Night, May 3 The Heppner Lions Club will hold its charier night and installation ceremonies at the Elks Club. May 3. An esiimated 140 Lions from the local club, neighboring Lions Gubs. district and state Lions Club officials and wives are expected to attend Ihe dinner and program. At Tuesday's meeting. Heppner Lions elected Don Cole as Lion lamer and Dave Franzen. tail twister. Next meeting of the Hepp ner Lions is Wednesday. April 3. 6:45 a.m.. at Ihe Wagon Wheel Restaurant. GAZETTE-TIMES MORROW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER B m, Htepaer, Ort. 7IM, Tel. 7t-tU "if you dwt want H poMitlMd. f it toMn" Tne Heppner Gaiette w titeslied MtrcX 30, IU3. TIM Heppner T.mes ws it4biyM Nov II, W7. Th two were conwixMled Fee 15, 112 AnnToney chief. Information Section; Official taster; Liason Officer lo the Elks Club Ernest V. Joiner Purveyor of Political Poppycock Ernie Ceresa Intelligence, Bottle Washer and Drama Critic Glenn Morrison Group Therapy, Corporate Masseuse and Picture Taker; Streaking and Other Sports Phil Strandvold Hair Sty,is, and PubUc Speak. ing Specialist Peggy Taylor 38-22-36 r Vu davits neglects clergy BY LESTER KINSOLVI.NG When Senator Jacob Javits (R-N.Y.i runs for reelection this fall he will no doubt point with pride to his authorship of the Pension Reform Act. But ministers, priests, rabbis and their parishioneers throughout the nation - and especially in the Empire State -should in turn point to Senator Javits and their congressmen who passed this bill and ask: "Why did you exempt religious pension plans from your pension reform bill?" This should be a particularly compelling question to the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church, For it was recently discovered that their S7 million Endowment Fund -- Ihe primary source for paying pensions to retired clergy - was short $4.2 million. The Conference's treasurer - now suspended and under investigation --lost Ihe $4.2 million by investing it in high risk businesses. Not one dime of this loss is recoverable. The Conference has since been forced to lay off a number of its staff, in order lo keep paying the pensions upon which Iheir retired clergy depend. Another clergy pension scandal right there in Senator Javits' own back yard is the Episcopal Church (clergy) Pension Fund in Manhattan. This $250 million organization has arbitrarily confiscated Ihe accured pension benefits of hundreds of clergy who were deposed (unfrocked before 1968. Even though some of those clergy are like Ralph Higgins of San Anlonio, who served devotedly for more than three decades (before his divorce and remarriage), their pension benefits have been entirely confiscated. (The denomination now pays off only if the clergyman was deposed after 1968. and provided he served for at least 10 years). Moreover, the layman who heads this Episcopal Church organization has arranged lo have himself paid a salary which is five times more than the average priesl's, and nearly twice that of the denomination's ranking bishop. Last fall, when the Javits bill was introduced in the senate land while the N.Y. Melhodists were losing $4 million), I asked Ihe senator why church pension beneficiaries deserved any less legal prolection than other privale pension funds. Javils rather brusquely referred me to his assistant, Michael Gordon, who specializes in pension law. "When the Welfare and Pension Disclosure Act was introduced in 1958," recalled Gordon, "I understand that there was such an outcry from church leaders thai their pension funds were exempted, and we didn't want to raise the issue again." To exempt church pension funds on the basis of a rumor is hardly what should be expected from anyone as reportedly bright as Javils or his staff. For contact with the Washington headquarters of the U.S. Catholic Conference, the National Council of Churches, the Lutheran Council and the Friends Committee on Legislation, as well as the Central Conference of American Rabbis in New York, revealed that they had made no such outcry or objection whatsoever. Moreover, during the 1957 hearings on this bill, the only religious organization among hundreds of witnesses and correspondents was the Committee on Publication of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston. Inman Douglas, manager of the organization's Washington office, explained that the Christian Science Board of Directors believes in "the principle of complete separation of church and state." There is indeed a "complete separation" when the state supervisory restraints are so lacking that Senator Javits' unfortunate Methodist Church constituents are very nearly ruined by losing more than half of their retirement pension fund.
