HeDDner. Ore., Gazette-Times, Thursday, Nov. 7, 1974
Page .2
Mayor of Hardman
I ERNEST V. JOINER
Tliis iiem is for those interested in knowing how much of
our (ax dollars were dumped into the Willow Creek Dam
project before it was killed on grounds that it wouldn't return
a reasonable profit According to Col. Nelson P. Conover,
District Engineer, W alla Walla District, Corps of Engineers,
'tie total congressional allocations to date total $803,037. As of
Sent 30. 1974. the Corps had spent a total of $625,125. Col.
Coihiver. complying with a request from Mayor Jerry
Sweeney for a breakdown of costs of the ill-fated dam to date,
eave the following accounting: general design memoran
dum, phase 1. $155,000. genera! design memorandum, phase
2. $2H.0i1O; real estate design memorandum, $22,000;
environmental impact statement $25,000; letter report for
Heppner city water supply facilities, $5,000; real estate
acions. $17,000; surveys and explorations, $150,000; and
plans and specifications, $35,125. With $623,125 already spent
"jusi studying" the dam it isn't hard lo see how difficult it
would be for the dam to show a profit . There is about $180,000
already alloca'ed that has not been spent, which may explain
why crews from Waila Walla are back in the area "making
s udies" and tests for a dam that won't be built The money
is there and it must be spent. This means $180,000 worth of
new holes will be bored around the dam area for no other
purpose than lo spend the money! When it's all over, there
w ill he enough holes on both sides of Willow Creek to make a
fine underground condominium for every prairie dog in the
na'ion It makes us wonder why the unspent $180,000 couldn't
be re'urned lo the genera! fund for more "profitable
venules like financing a nuclear plant for India,
subsidizing wheat shipments to Russia or bribing Turkish
fanners no! to raise poppies, again!
Note that the Corps of Engineers spent $25,000 of our
money for an environmental impact statement on Willow
Creek Dam. The dam being remote and removed as it is.
could hardly have had much of an environmental impact on
anything or anybody. But this bit of foolishness and
extravagance was made . mandatory by the National
Environmental Policy Act passed in 1970. largely through
efforts of Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington. But
even $25,000 may have been a bargain, for since 1970 more
than 5.500 environmental impact statements have been filed
with the Council on Environmental Quality. The cost of the
average impact statement ranges from $25,000 to $75,000.
These statements can contain thousands of pages and take
months to a year to complete. When they are finished, only a
few highly trained technicians can even read them. The
impact s'aiement wasn't the downfall for Willow Creek Dam.
bu! 'he statements are responsible for many of the consumer
shortages we now enjoy. .As an example, take the paper
industry. At best. U.S. paper mills were hard-pressed to fill
the country's demand for paper. Then EPA was born. One
big paper mill, faced with spending a hundred million dollars
on such things as impact statements and conforming to EPA
pollution requirements, found it financially feasible to close
the mill rather than meet EPA standards. The result is the
current paper shortage. It raises the question whether the
goal of hard-nosed environmentalists is a sudden cleanup of
the environment or the destruction of American industry. In
any event, a better, more sensible and orderly way to meet
reasonable environmental standards must be found if the
na'ion is to retain its industrial might.
'"Whether in whimsy or in frenzy, Jim Fitzgerald of the
Dallas, Ore., Itemizer-Observer wrote in his editorial column
last week that since President Ford has asked the American
people for suggestions on how to cut the cost of living and
save energy, he is of a notion that there should be no
Christmas this year. Fitzgerald says the perfect answer to
the cost of living and the energy crunch is summed up in one
word: Scrooge. Scrooge may have been a scoundrel, but he
had. his energy, food, and solvency. Christmas, as we must
know, has gotten completely out of hand. It is observ ed in the
I'ni'ed Stales in a manner that would make Jesus Christ
sorry He ever had a birthday. It is a time when Americans
express their love for all living things by chopping down a
?ree; The occasion is an orgy of spending and dissipation that
leaves us all financially ruined, emotionally drained,
physically exhausted and gasironomically glutted. The way
we observe the birthday of the Savior is as meaningful as if
we instead, thew Christians to the lions provided we could
find enough of either to make a party of it. Just think, by
cu'.ung out the sending of Christmas cards alone we can save
aiillion dollars a year and lift the burden from an overtaxed
pvs:aJ system. And. in 300 years, we could pay off the
nauoha! debt with the savings made on no-Chnstmas card
Christmases! By eliminating Christmas wrapping paper,
ribbon and decorations we can save another billion dollars.
Add o it another billion a year to be saved by refusing to buy
Chris mas trees, which would also save a billion board feet of
timber for useful purposes. Think about the billions people
sfiiSiiifi spend on non-essential gift goods during the holiday
madness, and another billion to be saved for not having to
advertise appeals to make junior, Susie, uncle or grandma
fest for more handkerchiefs, face lotions, perfumes and foot
warmers. It is impossible to calculate the cost of the booze
Sat w ill be bought and consumed this Christmas in the name
Eff the "Prince of Peace; or the dollar value of toys to be
ftstributed to over-induiged children, not in the name of the
Li Jesus Christ but in the name of that old pagan rogue.
ma da us. If people are serious about Christmas they will
flake a day off to attend church services, the way it was
w-ended. And on Dec. 26 we could get back on our jobs
gjs;4i)f spending a week in bacchanalian revelry, battling
fSBnjfcvers and indigestion while the world is deprived of the
aecelsittes made possible through our productive efforts.
Bie gross waste of time, money and energy at Christmas is
a a&Wrtinable as the rape of the wilderness and pollution of
tfee air. Brother Jim has a great idea. Up with Scrooge!
tHappy No Noel" to all!
Sverheard at the Wagon Wheel: "Things are so
csmpelKive, it's dog eat dog. I don't believe it. Sometimes
i5 just -the opposite." "That guy is getting so old he doesn't
even fall down as fast as he used to." "There's a lot of
satisfaction in driving a school bus just realizing those kids
ascent mine." "There's one thing I don't understand about
Vd Weight Watchers where does the weight go when you
GAZETTE-TIMES
MORXOW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER
tm 337. Heppaer, Ore. 17X31
Subscription nte: $t per year in
Oregon, $7 elsewhere
Ernest V. Joiner, Publisher
f " Pabiabes every Thursday, and entered as a second-class
't matter at the post office at Hepooer. Oregon, under the ad of
iitrtk 1 1I7I. Second-class pottage paid at Heppner,
S5
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"WelL.Other Than That...How Was The Election?"
CROSSROADS
REPORT
DEAR EDITOR:
My querious neighbor says
he has been studying the
matter of how come the
situation in Washington seems
to gel more messed up every
day.
And he has reached the
scientific conclusion that this
results naturally from a
situation where small minds
are constantly wrestling with
large problems.
Which causes compounda
tion of foul-ups because if the
miniature mentalities knew
how much there is that they
don't know, they wouldn't be
miniature.
D.E SCOTT.
Crossroads, USA
quoteunquote
Should a gasoline shortage
occur again Petroleum Today
has dug up this advice from a
19B automobile instruction
manual: "If your engine is
warm and you run out of gas.
you can always get home on
kerosene, or alcohol, or even
bad whiskev." Skoal!
Oregon Country . . .
By P ATRICK STEBER
Grain harvest was even more exciting than Christmas to
the kids of Eastern Oregon. Bu! to the grownups it means
long days of ho! and dus'y work
Neighbor helped neighbor for it took 20 to 30 men and up to
40 mules to harvest an average field. Mule drawn binders cut
and biund the whea'. dropping it in the field for men to pick
up and carry to the thresher.
The thresher, usually steam-operated, was the center of
acivi'y and dust. I: chewed through sheaves of wheat,
separating the grain from its stalks A 100-foot belt attached
to the thresher operated the grain separator and
wind-stacker which blew the straw and chaff over the men
and into a pile while the clean grain rolled down a trough
where it was sacked and loaded on wagons.
Harvesting was hard work and the men needed good,
hear'y food, and lots of it. to keep up their strength.
I' fell to the women to fuel these crews and each woman
look her turn as the threshers moved to her husband's farm
lo cook breakfast, dinner and two field lunches for 30 hungry
men
Bu' a woman looked forward to it in a way because her
reputation as a cook depended on this annual spiurge.
Competition was keen and the wood plank tables set on
sawhorses sagged under the weight of the feast.
Heaping platters of fried chicken and smoked ham were
placed within easy reach all down the table along with piles
of mashed potatoes and stacks of steaming corn on the cob.
Filling the empty spots were mounds of fresh-churned butter
and steaming biscuits and corn bread There was corn cob
jelly for the biscuits and watermelon pickles to munch on.
Cake and fresh cold milk and homemade ice cream filled in
any emp'y spots in the men.
1' was the kids' responsibility lo w ave leafy branches over
she food to keep the flies off while the men shook the chaff
from their necks, sauntered over lo the washbasins and
finally plopped down at the heaping table.
There was little conversation as they settled down to the
serious business of eating. As soon as there were
appreciatively noticeable dents made in the servings talk
returned, loaded w ith compliments for the ladies and stories
of a woman on "another ranch" who always shortchanged
the men on food.
"Why her favorite mealtime expression," one of them
would say. "was. "well, well, now wasn't I a good guesser,
just enough and none too much."
The kids listened to the stories with only half an ear as they
anxiously watched food slow ly disappearing. But at last the
men headed back to the fields and the kids scrambled man
ners weren't strictly remembered today to gorge
themselves on their favorite food.
The ma7 pouch
UNLIKELY LETTERS
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'Tfovt Ktciettt, yu tieUx U iUl (vie
utd tt AUtit tJuU4 tit UUMt.UA CfC4.
Ste, uut.
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EDITOR:
How rewarding to read of another young man earning an
Eagle Scout Award
I Ttttnk perhaps the Heppner area has. however, turned out
several oilier Eagle Scouts and Glen Ward was probably the
firs; but not the last one.
James F Green of Arlington, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cornett
Greeii. Heppner. received his on May 24. 1951 at the age of 15.
Also, aboui 'he same lime we think Terry Thompson and
Wesley Maria' of Heppner received theirs.
Grtigra'ula'iiins to Bruce and to Glen for being such an
inspira'ion so these boys It takes real dedication and work lo
earn this high award
SALLY GREEN,
Arlington.
EDITOR:
A few of your north Morrow County readers might be
interested in the article on the old Alpine School appearing on
page 270 of the September, 1974. issue of the Oregon
Historical Quarterly.
JOHN F. KILKENNY,
Portland.
Grazing lands
up for bids
The Department of the Navy
invites bids for the lease of
land for grazing purposes at
the Naval Weapons Systems
Training Facility, Boardman.
Bids are being solicited for
the lease of 7.360 acres in the
north portion of the facility.
Grazing of either cattle or
sheep will normally be limited
during each year to the period
Nov. 1 through April 30. The
lease term will begin on Nov.
15 1974 and end on Oct. 31 1975,
with lessee's right of renewal
annually for two additional
one-year periods. The general
public is invited to bid.
Sealed bids will be opened at
1:30 p.m., Nov. 14, 1974. in
Building 206, Western Divi
sion, Naval Facilities Engi
neering Command. San
Bruno, Ca. 94066. Bid forms
and other information may be
obtained from that office or
from the Public Works Office,
Naval Air Station, Whidbey
Island. Oak Harbor, Washing
ton 98277 (Phone (206) 2572211.
extension 4348).
" Do I Think Apathy Was A Factor
In The ElectionfWhat Election?"
)
DEAR MISTER EDITOR:
Them folks in the Bible didn't have nothing on us when it
comes lo speaking in tongues. We got a tongue for ever trade,
and you newspaper folks are caught square in the middle of
all of em.
I saw by the paper where some school people had a series
of "articulation seminars." and I read the piece through
without finding out what went on. The best I could come up
with was they was trying to figure out what each other was
saying.
You see where folks "identify" with this kind of car or
"relate" to that kind of weather, and it all runs together and
you don't know what anybody means.
Nowadays, a feller that gits sick is "hospitalized," and if he
can't git there by hisself he is "ambulanced." It won't
surprise me to read where some poor devil is ambulanced
and hospitalized on Sunday and funeralized on Wednesday.
The fellers touched on this matter Saturday night at the
country store. It was Clem Webster that was talking about
the off-year elections, and he said they must be called that
cause when politicians don't have a national ticket with a
coattail lo grab they jump in their campaign saddles and
gallop off in all directions.
Politicians, declared Clem, is the master of the feedback.
He alius is ready to say what he thinks folks want to hear.
And if he ain't sure he just speaks politician and nobody can
lell if he's fer or agin anything.
Speaking of the elections around the country, Mister
Ednor. the fellers come up with a reserlution that I wish you
would give some thought to.
They are fer passing a law saying that the winner in ever
race has to go around and take down all the posters that both
sides put up. Clem said that ought to give the public servant a
feeling of doing somepun fer the public right off the bat . They
already is laws agin sticking them "Vote Fer Me" signs
everwhere, but nobody pays any attention.
Clem said when the President starts campaigning at the
World Series on television like he did last month they ain't
nothing sacred to politicians. You might of noticed that they
don't even refer to one another as "my honorable opponent"
any more, but they all can promise the Rotary Club at supper
lo cu' federal spending, and the next morning at breakfast
they can guarantee the Farmers Home Administration
they'll vote fer more housing and water systems for
everbody.
Personal. Mister Editor, I git everthing backwards. I see
where newsprint is going up $25 more a ton cause one
company went up and all the rest had to follow to keep from
losing business I know a doctor that use to charge $15 fer an
exam, and he got one ever now and then He went up lo $75 fer
the same physical, and he's got more than he can do. To keep
up with competition today . you gut to git your prices up there
ahead of everbody
Yours trulv.
MAYOR ROY.
Missouri
Lutheran
Congressional
champion
By LESTER K1NSOLVING
Under the administration of President J A O. Preus, the 3
million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has
approximated either the early stages of the Thirty Years
War. or a perpetual extension of the Battle of Gettysburg
More then 1 .000 of the denomination's pastors have banded
toge'her to form a protest organization called ELIM
i Evangelical Lutherans in Mission' which the Rev. Dr.
Preus would obviously relish ELIMinating. For ELIM is
supporting "Semmex," the "Seminary in Exile" which was
formed w hen the overw helming majority of the student body
and faculty of the denomination's Concordia Seminary in St.
Louis walked out rather than submit -to the Preus brand of
or'hodoxy. which requires a belief that Jonah was literally
swallowed by a great fish.
On the o' her hand. President Preus can rejoice that among
Lu'herans in Indiana he has a champion in Congress, a
stalwart layman who has moved to implement the Preus
an'i abortion position. Congressman Earl F. Landgrebe
R ind i has introduced a bill which he describes as "a tax
exemption for unborn children . . .from the moment of
conception."
That moment, he explained, "would be determined by
calculating 280 days prior to the date of birth of the child; 40
weeks is the normal human pregnancy." Congressman
Landgrebe also noted, "There might be some people who
would be so base as lo repeatedly become pregnant and
repea'edly kill the unborn child in order to obtain additional
tax exemptions."
But the Hoosier Congressman is fully prepared for any
such base, in utero tax evaders. "I have written the
amendment with the '280 days prior to the birth' provision,"
he points out.
This clever strategy amounts, however, to a concession
tha' the fetus or embryo can suddenly stop being a human
being if it is subsequently miscarried before the Landgrebe
280 day proviso.
Perhaps it is this contradiction (or, more probably, the
general absurdity of this "Embryo Exemption Bill") that
accounts for Landgrebe's failure to enlist more than one
co-sponsor of this bill despite his circulation throughout the
House of a "Dear Colleague" letter.
Guam's delegate, Antonio Borja Won Pat, agreed to be a
co-sponsor. But no one else did even though Landgrebe's
office staff received several inquiries about this letter from
the offices of other Congressman. They wanted to know"
whether it (the "Dear Colleague" letter) was a hoax.
Congressman Landgrebe has further defended the faith by
a surreptitious dropping of Bibles under the seats of a
Moscow movie theatre for which he was arrested and
subsequently released by a generally astounded Soviet
police.
He further demonstrated his theological acumen by being
the only member of Congress to vote against cancer research
bill, because "finding a cure is costly and will only change
which way you're going to go."
Finally, another theological impact was manifested in
Congressman Landgrebe's poignant announcement, "When
you don't understand me, take me on faith . . .Don't confuse
me with facts. I've got a closed mind."
The students and faculty of "Seminex" might well
consolidate their problems with a- "Draft Landgrebe"
movement to make the Congressman president of the
Preus-controlled Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.
Ilhiijiil"- vW
r?i'v'Vrs, sv, tii
YV I
Some people say that buttercup mixed with salt and hung
from the fingers will cure toothaches!