Page J, THE GAZETTE-TIMES. Heppner. OR., Thursday, June 5, 1TS
Horse sense
Rv
ERNEST V. JOINER
(1
Probably the greatest public morale builder since the
end of World War II was Presided Ford's quick and decisive
action to recover the merchant ship Mayaguez and its crew
from their Cambodian captors. The overt act of piracy upon
the high seas by an arrogant, victory-flushed Khmer Rouge
called for fast, overwhelming use of force. Astonishingly
enough to many Americans who have watched with shame
and humiliation the tweeking of this country's nose by so
many of the pipsqueak countries of the world, President Ford
provided that force. Hard on the heels of this prideful event
came the U.S. seizure of the Polish trawler Kalmar, whose
captain has admitted fishing inside the 12-mile limit off the
California coast a violation of a treaty to which his country
is a party. These two incidents should serve notice on South
American countries, Ecuador in particular, that their
national pasttime of seizing and holding for ransom U.S. tuna
boats upon the high seas is also an act of piracy. In order to
accomplish the seizure of American fishing vessels, these
countries have arbitrarily extended their territorial
jurisdiction 200 miles off their coasts. Such actions are
unilateral and have no sanction in international law. Yet, for
many years the U.S. government has had the policy of not
retaliating against these piracies. Worse, it has yielded to
and paid the blackmail demanded by South American pirates
as a condition for the release of U.S. vessels. It is hoped that
President Ford's laudable reduction of the Cambodian
pirates and the Communist poachers will be extended to
include our '"good neighbor" pirates who seize with
regularity our fishing vessels and hold them for ransom. A
pirate is a pirate. All of them should be dealt with equally.
Marijuana, the so-called devil s weed, can't be all bad.
Settlers who came West carried Bibles whose pages were
made of paper made from marijuana plants. The tops of their
covered wagons and much of their clothing was made from
the marijuana plant. Coming down to it, there is no medically
or scientifically accepted evidence that smoking marijuana
is harmful to one's health, is addictive or leads to the use of
hard drugs. It's all in a book by Lester Grinspoon, M.D..
associate clinical professor of psychiatry. Harvard
University Medical School. He wrote a book in 1971,
Marijuana Reconsidered, which I II bet you never heard of.
If you want to hire somebody to work for you, first
consult an attorney. Do-it-yourselfers can wind up in jail. It is
already illegal to discriminate in employment because of an
applicant's race, color, creed, religion, age or sex. To add to
this list. Assemblyman Al Siegler, CA., has a bill that would
ban employment discrimination against cured cancer
patients. At the moment, the safest way to hire somebody
and stay within the law is to hire the first person through the
door, whether he wants to be hired or not. If this marathon of
idiocy continues somebody is going to introduce a bill that
would make it unlawful to discriminate against applicants
who show up late for their interview ! To play it safe, hire
evervbodv.
Last year I had the opportunity to attend the Morrow
County Junior Rodeo. It was one of the finest shows I have
ever seen. The youngsters did an excellent job in their
' respective events and all of them deserve a round of appla use
for their fine performances. The show moves along at a brisk
pace and does not keep the spectator wailing for something to
happen. The action is fast and the ability of the youngsters is
amazing as they compete in the various events. The
youngsters who put on this show range in age from 9-14 in the
junior division and 13-18 in the senior division. While I cannot
heap enough praise on these youngsters and the men who
work behind the scenes making this one of the finest shows in
the county I have one gripe. Last year the bleachers were not
crowded. This Saturday and Sunday let's get behind this fine
group of youngsters and help make their Junior Rodeo a real
success. This weekend let's pack the bleachers.
Last Thursday night the long range planning committee
for Morrow County Schools met at Lexington. After hours of
deliberation they reached a decision and will present their
findings to the school board. If the school board accepts the
recommendations, board members should also consider the
possibility of mobile or modular buildings to be used as
classrooms. This type of classroom will cost the taxpayers
less money and they can be more readily installed. This is not
a question of what the people of the county feel they need, but
what the people of the county will accept and what they will
be able to afford. If the predicted peak of new students hits
the northern part of the county, modular classrooms will help
alleviate the student problem faster than the buildings of
brick or wood.
With the opening of trout season May 24 young and old
alike flocked to their favorite fishing hole. For the
youngsters. Cutsforth Park provides an ideal fishing spot.
The water is shallow and the small lake is stocked with trout
allowing the small fry to catch a few fish, maybe Ron
Palmer took his granddaughter fishing to Cutsforth Park and
as he proceeded to help her bait her hook and cast the line for
her. another youngster sided up to Ron and asked for help
with his fishing gear. Ron. alw ays w illing to help a youngster,
proceeded to help the voung boy bait his hook. Palmer then
left the t vi o children alone to enjoy their fishing experiences.
He no sooner left the scene when two adults came to the
fishing hole and began casting over the heads of the
youngsters. This is not exactly sportsmanship, but one can
hardly ask the adults to leave since this is a public park.
Perhaps adults should be banned from fishing in the park.
Why not let youngsters enjoy a few years of fishing without
standing shoulder to shoulder with adults as they try to catch
a few fish-??
Willia Whifflelree. nemises of the Heppner City
Council strikes again. Monday night during the regular
meeting of the common council Willia reared her ugly head
and a near crises was averted, when Mayor Sweeney
controlled the situation. William tuhmitted the following
letter to the council for their recommendation:
"Many prolems confront our city. They relate lo the
growth of the city and the need for expanded services of all
kinds. Alt public facilities must be expanded. Much cf the
pressure felt here is due to industrial growth within the
county which must be dealt with by people of divergent
opinions. I see a need for a new public service business I
hereby make application for a permit to install a coin
operated Tar and Feather Vat. If granted the permit, I
guarantee I shall not discriminate against anyone
WILLIA W.
Mayor Sweeney tabled the request to the round file . . .
EC.
We are used to criticism and admittedly we make
mistakes. Last week a big boo boo occurred when two
pictures were inverted. For once, believe it or not, it wasn't
our error but we do want to apologize to the people involved.
I have been offered traps and guns to apprehend the
gremlins that were supposedly responsible and I appreciate
the concern, but will pass on the help for this lime at least.
Fire season
in effect
"I've Got A Better Idea."
In the wake of several small
fires. State Forester J. E.
Schroeder has officially de
clared fire season in most of
southern and west central
Oregon.
All of Douglas. Klamath,
Lakeview, Crook, Deseules,
Jefferson. Hood River, Wasco,
Josephine and Jackson Coun
ties along with parts of
Wheeler, Harney and Curry
counties are covered by proc
lamations already effective or
soon to take effect.
IVclaration of fire season
means that local residents
must obtain permits before
burning any debris and forest
workers must have fire equip
ment and watchmen al all
active operations sites.
KILKENNY Will.
gram ate
Russell R, Kilkenny. 621
S W. Jackson. Portland. OK.,
will graduate from North
western School of Law on June
8 Graduation is being held at
Pamplin Sports Center at 3
p.m.
He is also a graduate of the
University of Oregon and a
18 graduate of Heppner High
School.
Russell is the son of Robert
J. Kilkenny, Heppner and
Vesta Kilkenny of Portland.
He is the grandson of Orville
Cutsforth and Mrs. Alta Cuts
forth. Heppner, and the neph
ew of Judge John F. Kilkenny.
Portland.
The mail pouch
DEAR SUR: (EDYTUR)
It semes tyme to tri to kerect sum of the idees which have
bin put in yer paper about hour skools an there
gradyoweights!
One of your readers seemed to base success upon being a
graduate from college as a lawyer, doctor, or a college
football player.
You seem to base success upon the ability to compose and
write a theme with no grammatical errors or misspelled
words. Still another wants people like you; who, in a little
different way, provoke them into thinking things they would
rather forget, to leave. Still another equates good education
with the size of the school itself.
The overall result of this is probably a healthy, interesting
discussion of an important issue, but you all appear to me to
have overlooked one very important fact in this issue about
our schools.
This is. of course, the vast difference in our many citizens'
idea of success. For instance, in my immediate area live two
lawyers who are now in the much cherished (in our
community ) profession of farming. Many more of us feel that
our schools have succeeded emminently when so many of our
cherished sons learned enough about citizenship and courage
to have fought valiantly in the several wars their country
happened to be in. We see no difference in success between
our beloved school teachers, bankers, businessmen, you
name it. from your previous writers "top ten", if that 's what
he is driving at.
The whole thing is that our schools do for our people the
most important thing they can. They help teach students to
be able to choose what they want to do. and can do. to best
serve themselves and their fellow citizens; and if they were
all taught to be lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, college
football players, and-above all newspaper writers, what a
hell of a country we would have. Also, it would appear that
your self styled, educated college graduates might better
adjust to the fact that in our schools we are about par with the
rest of the nation and that grand scholarship awards will still
be given to those who wouldn't wait until graduation to get
married, known lawbreakers will win citizenship awards,
and that honor students will not be able to make the grade
when they get to where influence of one kind or another
vanishes.
Let's not give the schools credit or blame for everything
that happens to a youngster. We parents still have charge of
them more than twice as long as the schools do!
Stick around' Some of us love being provoked into thinking
about different things sometimes.
RAY HEIMBIGNER
Circle E Ranch
lone.
EDITOR :
I can't decide just what you think you have proved by
running our community, people and schools down. Sorry, but
I can't see why you think you are qualified to judge.
Mr. Abrams named a few of our young people having gone
through college and made the grade.
I could name a long list of others as I have lived here longer
than Mr. Abrams has. I learned long ago if you can't find
good in things at least don't make a fool of yourself by
condemning what others seem to enjoy. Whatever your
education consists of you missed human kindness. If you
don't like our way of living you are free to leave anytime.
As for the Gazette-Times it could be Improved as It is very
disappointing reading. And the mistakes, even In last week's
pictures. You might be surprised to learn even farmers and
stockmen went through college.
MARTHA VAN SCIIOIACK
EDITOR;
When I taught composition (Al San Diego Slate, back in
ancient history) I was horrified and downhearted at the
"good'' high school grads' general inability to build a decent
sentence, much less an essay. It seemed, even then and
there, a mark of snobbery to demand of them a breath of the
King's English. At the end of my first teaching semester, I
was almost- mustered out of the whole department for
flunking a promising jock because he stonily refused to
accept the ancient art of punctuation. (I won.)
But . . . and . . . therefore, cheers to you for your stand, for
your wise rebuttal, for your offer. (We'll be most Interested
in the response. ) It's my firm and biased belief that people . .
kids to seniles . . . w ho don't depend, to a great extent, for Joy
growth, wisdom: on READING never absorb the easy flow ,
the natural craft of decent WRITING. So I fear it's a bit late
to inject the inspiration to communicate intelligibly into an
atrophied Tnind bred, at best, on Comix and boggled by
Madison A venuese ( I dare you to parse that!) I try hard not
lo consider non-readers, bad writers as less than human, but
it's hard. It's also getting lonelier by the decade,
As a matter of fact, so ingrained is my churl that I don't
even mind your political peccadillos (much), for they're at
least well expressed ANYONE can be a Goldwater groupie.
It s a rare man these days who can delineate his philosphies
with high grammatic style!
JOANIE WELLS
Spray.
(Sorry Mike., better luck next time EDITOR).
Courthouse notes
: Mayor of Hardman
DEAR MISTER EDITOR:
I see by the pacrs that reports of the death of the family Is
greatly egzageraled. It looks like from all the upcoming
weddings that a heap of young folks still flgger the state of
mnirintony is a wonderful fix to be in. I've heard it said that a
hatchler is a feller that has never made the same mistake
om l. but I alius note that them saying II usual is a victim of
that mistake and wouldn't want to be in any other condition.
Mister Editor. I worry a lot about the way the country is
going, and I bring up these matters pritty regular in these
piece. In the light of all the trial and tribulation in the world,
it is easy to lose sight of what's going right. Fer myself. It Is
good news that all these young folks are planning their June
weddings, and they are proud to tell everbody about it. I alius
have believed if we got a solid family, we got the makings of a
solid community , a solid date and a country with the best yet
to be.
I mentioned this to my old lady the other night after
supper, and she jumped al the chanct to remind me what she
has said many times, that a person going through this life by
hisself is like the sound or one hand clapping. He can go
through all the motions, she allows, but unless he gits both
hands working together he ain't going to git much done,
Actual. I know wimmen has a stronger nesting instink than
men. and I think they are more sure of their place in the
marriage partnership than we are, but I had to agree that
wnat my oia may sain nas mane sense io a neap oi ioiks ler a
long time, It really don't matter how many different ways
young folks discover fer theirselves the secrets of life, they
alius come back to the bedrock of the same arrangement we
started with.
General speaking, the same old idee of news holds true fer
weddings as it does fer everything else. The star of stage and
screen that is bragging about having a baby but no husband
gits her picture In the paper, but behind ever one of them
ileins is hundreds of couples that is slaying married, or is
gnting married fer the first and last time with the full Intent
of raising kids, going to work and to PTA and to doing all (he
things their folks done. Like I said. Mister Editor, the more
ou think on the natural order of life and how we awing this
way and that but come back to center ever time, it kind of
cuts ikiwn on the worry about the little things like whuther
this country likes that country's trade policy.
That said about the social section of the paper, I'll have to
go on and complain about what 's passing as wimmen newt in
our big daily papers. Most of em look like they regard
wimmen as living in another world. A wedding ain't much
wiihout a man. but how much do you read about the male side
of matrimony? If we got to have "fer and about wimmen,"
w e need to admit men do more than fish and go to ball games,
is my feeling.
Yours truly,
MAYOR ROY.
The Amazing
j Founder of
f Jehovah's Witnesses
The series of Board of
Equalization hearings called
to consider situations involv
ing recent property re
appraisals have continued
longer than in any previous
year.
Besides the outof-court-house
members of this board,
(he county assessor, and the
judge have needed to give
considerable time to these
hearings the past two weeks.
County Clerk and Budget
Committee Clerk. Sadie Par
nsh states that there w ill be no
voting by citizens on serial
levies as was reported in a
story in last week's paper. The
two serial levies for the
hospital and the county road
department were approved
several years ago. The county
budget is within the 6 per cent
limitation. It will be reviewed
al a hearing on Tuesday
morning. June 24. in the
County Judge's office. Inter
ested persons may appear and
discuss its provisions al that
time.
The Juvenile Department
recently held a well attended
joint meeting of the out going
and in-coming members of the
Juvenile Advisory Board. The
discussion fix-used on prob
lems that might crop up next
school year. Carolyn Davis,
Department Director, is
pleased that there are several
sophomores among the new
board members because she
will be able lo work with them
fur two years.
The County Planning Com
mission will meet on Monday,
June 16. al 8 p m. in Irrigon, It
will consider at least two
matters There will be a
rehearing of Ken Evan's
application for a zone change.
The West Extension Irrigation
District asks consideration of
its request for permission to
conduct surface mining for
gravel.
HOME EXTENSION
ELECTS OFFICERS
Home Extension study
groups in Morrow and Umati
lla counties have recently
elected officers for the 1975 76
year. The new officers were
installed by Extension Home
Economist, Molly Saul at the
annual leadership training
workshop.
Morrow County officers In
clude: Mrs. Geraldine Quim
by, Mrs. Dorothy Ransom and
Mrs. Hetty Schmeder, Hoard
man. Mrs. John Madison,
Mrs, Jerry Myers, and Mrs,
George Luciana, Pine City.
Mrs. Hal Sunday, Mrs. Dean
Wrighl and Mrs. Elmer Pal
mer, Rhea Creek.
EDITOR:
I read with Interest your "Horse Sense" column of May 29,
1975.
All I can say is it's too bad I don't live closer. Because If I
did, I would come in your office sometime before the June 1 1
deadline, write a 25minule composition, win your silly
'contest' and take your 25 buck.
GREG DAVIDSON
Portland.
The contest is a 100 word composition, not a 23 minute
composition.
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THE GAZETTE-TIMES
MORROW COUNTY'S NEWSPAPER
Box 337, Heppner. Ore. 978.16
Subsc ription rale: $6 per year In
Oregon, $7 elsewhere
Ernest V. Joiner, Publisher
Published every Thursday and entered as a
second class mailer al the post office at
Heppner. Oregon, under Ihe act of March J, 1879.
Second class postage paid at Heppner, Oregon.
MNXa?MiraSIMMMMSUIXtMMMIItH(MirHHN!(r?lftttKMKXI
By LESTER KINSOLYING
BROOKLYN. N Y. -According to their national head
quarters here, last year I 6 million Jehovah's Witnesses
sjienil over three hundred million hours "preaching the good
news'' in ?i of the world countries.
The "good news " includes the Witness belief (hat the
win Id shattering cataclysm of Armageddon is imminent,
when "Jehovah God" will select 144.000 Witnesses to reign
with ( hi isl in heaven. The rest will continue proselytizing for
a thousand years, after which the "wicked" will be
annihilated, with Ihe "saved" enjoying a worldly paradise.
Most Jehovah's Witnesses would rather die than accept
blood transfusions, since a passage in Leviticus forbids the
eating of blood. The Witnesses also claim to be the only true
religion
The harshness of such basic beliefs is considerably offset
h the dedication and courtesy of many of the Witnesses,
whose rate of home visitation in search of converts is
approached only by the Mormons. On the other hand, there
are some Witnesses whose aggressive insistence makes them
among the world's most resented ecclesiastical pests.
The Witness high command seems to favor the latter
methodology, al least from the tone of various references to
other denominations. In Los Angeles, for example, the
denomination's President, Nathan H. Knorr, told 50.000
Witnesses in Dodger Stadium that modern clergy are guilty
of what he termed:
"(Hit right disloyally toward God and his work." because,
among other things, some of them question the Virgin Birth
of Jesus iThe Witnesses do not believe in Christmas, Easter
or the Trinity.)
In Milwaukee, Witness leader Ralph Lindem told 22.000
, Witnesses in the city's stadium that Ihe clergy of Christian
(leiHiminalinns "Have made God's name stink to high
heaven" because "For the sake of their own name the clergy
prefer to let their lies against God stand."
The Witnesses are ruled by seven directors who lead a
5io member, self perpetuating governing board. One of these
jew is Fred Rusk, who works In Ihe writing department (nine
million booklets. 21 million books, 235 magazines distributed
during 1973).
During an interview. Rusk explained that the founder of
Jehovah's Witnesses. Charles Taze Russell, had moved from
Pittsburgh to Brooklyn in Ii9-because (a) "Brooklyn waa
then known as Ihe 'City of Churches' " and (bl "New York
harbor offered bcl'er transportation facilities for our
publications."
But the Brooklyn Public Library, which contains the
microfilmed files of the old Brooklyn Daily Eagle, suggesta
several additional reasons why Russell left Pittsburgh.
When asked about these records, Rusk replied Indignantly
that he had never had time to examine them and proceeded,
rather angrily, to conclude the Interview,
These records reveal:
That "Pastor" Russell was an unordalned shirt salesman
who began preaching In the Pittsburgh suburb of Allegheny,
but whose wife, an active suffragette, divorced him,
charging Improper relations with various females. (Divorce
was al that lime a decided rarity among the clergy. So were
Mrs. Russell's charges: cruelty and "Being too fond of his
ward, Rosa Hall, to whom he had written: 'I am like a
Jellyfish. I float all around and touch this one and that one
and if they respond, I embrace them.' ") ;
Thai "Pastor" Russell had transferred 1317,000 In financial
assets to the Walch Tower and Bible Tract Society, while
claiming that he could afford only 140 per month in alimony, i
That "Pastor" Russell sued The Brooklyn Dally Eagle for."
Iioo.ooo, claiming that he waa libeled by a carton, which
lampooned him for offering farmera "miracle wheat" al
sixty limes the current price of one dollar a bushel. '
On Jan. 29, 1913, the N. Y. Supreme Court ruled In favor of
The Eagle, nothing that "Truth Is always a defense In a libel
suit."