Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1975)
Page 2, THE GAZETTE-TIMES, Heppner, OR., Thursday, July 17, 1975 sense Horse y ERNEST V. JOINER In a speech to members of the Citizens For Law and Order in Santa Rosa recently, I suggested as a possible solution to many of our legislative ills that Californians be urged to vote against lawyers who offer themselves as legislative candidates. Lawyers dominate all state legislatures (in numbers) and can usually be counted upon to enrich their profession at public expense. No-fault insurance as an example. This type of insurance would eliminate a lucrative field of practice for lawyers. So lawyers oppose it. When faced with overwhelming public demand for no-fault insurance, lawyer-dominated legislatures pass them with so many crippling amendments that the problem, far from being solved is actually enlarged. Which, of course, makes it more profitable for lawyers. Take another example of how lawyers in the legislature compound a problem, instead of solving it the medical malpractice issue which, if not corrected by legislation will mean disaster for health services in California. It costs one Long Beach hospital $970,000 a year for malpractice insurance. Stanford University pays about $1 million a year for such insurance. Palm Drive Hospital Administrator AI Carrion says the insurance costs his hospital $48,000 a year. Dr. Horace Sharrocks, a practitioner, has been notified that his insurance is going to $22,000 a year! All this overhead expense is added to the cost of patient care. The average annual insurance cost per hospital bed in California is $1,497. The legislature has offered many proposals to relieve the hospitals and doctors, but has adopted none. And how could it when the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee is composed of 11 members 9 of whom are attorneys? Dr. Malcolm C. Todd, past president, American Medical Assn., told the Commonwealth Club of California recently that it may take a referendum by the citizens in order to "force" the state legislature to act in the field of medical malpractice. He attributes the hopelessness of the present situation to the lawyer-dominated California Legislature which is reluctant to disturb the lucrative legal fees inherent in the present system where juries respond to emotionalism generated by attorneys in the courtroom rather than to the facts at hand. The United States is the only country in the world that allows lawyers to accept contingency fees in medical malpractice suits, and these fees run from 30 to 50 per cent of the jury awards or settlement. The California Physicians Crisis Committee has determined that California patients who sue and win judgments in malpractice cases receive about 16 cents of the insurance premium dollar; 40 cents goes to attorneys; another 40 cents goes to the insurance company. Dr. Sharrocks says he visited in England not long ago and heard one of his doctor friends complaining that his malpractice insurance had jumped to $80 a year! The average general practitioner, Sharrocks, said, pays $15 to $20 a year for malpractice insurance in England. The low rate is because doctors there work for the government, and it is more difficult to sue the government than an individual practitioner. Too, the legal profession investigates each malpractice claim thoroughly to determine which are justified, and to what extent. It might be one answer to the problem in this country if the lawyer-legislators can be persuaded that such a procedure would not interfere with their profits. There is big money in Sacramento. The legal profession knows it. And lawyers "mine" it like gold. The fastest growing interest group to invade state legislatures (where the money is) is the educationists. Most of the $90 billion a year spent on schools in this country is dispensed through the state legislatures. This is why the most powerful lobby in Sacramento is education. The education lobby spends more money to influence legislation than any other group. Something is being done about the lawyer-dominated California Legislature. The assembly has passed 58-10 a bill by Assemblyman Howard Berman (D-Beverly Hills) that would place "public members" on committees that oversee the members of the legal profession the Board of Governors, the Disciplinary Board and the Examining Committee of the California State Bar Assn. Attorneys oppose the bill on grounds that "only attorneys are competent" to pass judgement on complex legal issues. Says Berman: "It seems to me that the non-attorney members would have a more objective approach to the crucial questions surrounding the issue of the delivery and accessibility of legal services. Todav the law gives attomevs a monopoly over every aspect of the legal profession and the delivery of legal services. I think there are built-in conflicts of interest and anti -competitive effects when an organization has absolutely no public input." AMEN, BROTHER. Berman 's bill will probably never make it. It now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee (remember, where (of its 11 members are lawyers?) where stiff opposition is expected even though it has the support of Gov. Brown and the attorney general. Voters who send lawyers to the legislature do so at their own peril. The next worst step is to send an educationist. We have seen how both perform to the advantage of their respective professions and to the disadvantage of (he rest of us. Here's what taxpayers have discovered after years of being blinded by educators who claim money is the key to better education. From 70 to 80 per cent of every property tax dollar in the U.S. is expended on schools. From 70 to 80 per cent of every school budget goes for teacher's salaries. There is no way of knowing how much state and federal income taxes are diverted to education. We do know the combined expense for education is about $90 million year. Taxpayers have a right to demand more for their money than they're getting. mumuuuumm$mtmKuunnim$mnnummmmBn THE GAZETTE-TIMES MORROW OINTV8 NEWSPAPER Box J37. Heppner. Ore. 97838 Subscript ion rate : $8 per year in Oregon, $7 elsewhere Ernest V. Joiner. Publisher Published every Thursday and entered as a MTondlass matter at (he post office at Hrppner. Oregon, under the act of March J, 1879. Second class postage paid at Hcppner, Oregon. tmmnHnnumxnunam$MmaBn$iauwMnnn Cecil Take A Load Off Jerry The mail pouch (Contlnae from Page I) tinued steadily until his death t which occured Nov. 8, 1896. He ' left a fine estate of 800 acres of deeded land, well improved, with a handsome two-story residence and other substan tial products of his skill and industry. He was activo & politics and the affairs ot the county. " His widow continued to live in the home at Cecil until her death In 1903. All of their children are gone now, the last to die being Mary, 1941. One of their many grandchildren, Norah Cecil Rasmus, a dau ghter of Wilford. died this year at Heppner. Several great grandsons, Percy of Heppner and Frank of Spray, are still active in this area. Frank's daughter, Jan Cecil Stroeber, Heppner, brought the picture of her great-great-grandparents and some of this family Information to the Gazette Times. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stroeber have three dau ghters, Shelly, 8, Cindy, 6, and Christy 3, who are sixth generation members of the Cecil family living in Morrow County. DEAN'S HONOR LIST Philip Carlson and Julie Zinter, both of lone, were recently named to the Dean's Honor List at Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls. To achieve (his honor a student must maintain a gradepoint average of 3.00 (o 3.50. Philip is a student in diesel technology. Julie is a student in medical radiologic technology- Mayor of Hard man DEAR MISTER EDITOR: Court house notes EDITOR: Senate bill 100. LCDC Land Conservation and Development Comm., is rank theft. The property owner is left with nothing but the title and taxes. He must beg permission from the Fascist state. They in turn must answer to no man. Permission denied there is a bird nest or moth in that tree that must be preserved for further generations. Saving the moth is for the public good. There seems to be no check on the governments powers. Rudy Ness, lobbies! for the taxpayers was refused permission (o speak for the man that pays the bills. Jim Allison has been refused his referendum again and again. The state cannot be bothered with the man that pays the bills. Senate Bill 100 and other similar bills in other states became law by the promise that tha land could be had and it wouldn't cost the taxpayers anything. No theft if you can get away with it is the cheapest way to go. Now we come to the part about if they get away with it or not. The state constitution says that the people are supposed to tell the county what to do. The county is supposed to tell the state what to do and the state is supposed to tell the federal government what to do. Any time the constitution is not followed to the letter a crime has been committed against the United States of America. If you allow the crime to go unpunished you are as much a criminal as you would be if you knew someone was stealing from your store and you did nothing to punish (hem. Looking away when you see a crime committed will only mean that the criminal is still free and you could be the next to get il. HAZEL GUDGER Brookings EDITOR: In appreciation of the organizers of the Heppner High School class of '65 reunion ; please print this letter of thanks from my husband and I. All the way from then to now, (en vears have gone by. July 5th we celebrated the Class of '65. July 6th I knew we each had found our Yellow Brick Koad. Some took the meadows, some took to the hills, and some took (heir (ime. Sunshine livin in our small town grew from (he warmth of friendships we knew. All the way from then to now, seems like only yesterday. We would like to say thank you to all for making this a memorable ten-year reunion. Mrs. Leora (VanWinkle) Kane Michael D. Kane San Francisco New people are seen about the halls of the building this week. They are Sheriff John Mollahan's communications staff and will be working at various hours during the day. Judge Paul Jones says that the court authorized him to consult with Harold Becket about adding a fire escape from the second floor of the building as the state fire marshal recommends. The judge says thai the fire escape must be under construction soon. A sprinkler head over the boiler in the basemen! will t also be added. The treasurer's office has quieted this week. It might become a very fine source of information and news now thai tax collector Irby and assistant Fetsch have joined Treasurer McDaniel in the first floor, south-east corner of the building. Two "regulars". Alma Gre en and Barbara Bloodsworth, were off vacationing last week. Juvenile Department head. Carolyn Davis said that her committees were rather dormant during the summer. She is hoping (o get ground work started toward the establishment of a Big Broth er program in (he county in the future. Judge Jones toured (he Eight Mile area with (he county road boss. Doc Sherer, to assess storm damage and reports that (he crews will have extra work cleaning up and repairing culverts. The next meeting of the Morrow County Planning Commission and its Advisory Committee is set for Monday, July 21, 8.00 a m. in (he Courthouse. They will consid er the application of the Oregon State Highway Divi sion for a conditional use permit for surface mining on Hwy. 74 north of Cecil, and will continue the Keeco hear ing. They will review fees for hearings and zoning permits and for filing subdivision plats and several other matters. NOR MAN WILLIAMS COMMISSIONED Coast Guard Ensign Nor man W. Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford A. Williams of Lexington, Or., was com missioned in his present rank upon graduation from Officer Candidate School at the Coast Guard Reserve Training Cen ter, Yorktown, Va. He completed 18 weeks of intensive training, which in cludes instruction in Coast Guard history and tradition, uniform regulations, military courtesy, marksmanship, close order drill and (he principles of leadership. Williams also learned the procedural aspects of Coast Guard missions such as search and rescue, aids to navigation, maritime safety, marine law enforcement and port security. A 1974 graduate of Portland State University, Portland, Or., with a Master of Arts degree in history, he joined (he Coast Guard in January 1975. SCHOOL BOARD MEETS Morrow County School Board will hold its regular meeting on July 21 at the lone High School. Meeting lime is 9 p m. RrefqjlifLng mefliods undergo changes "There have been many changes in fighting forest fires today as compared to yester day," said Roy Skelton, Fire Management Assistant for Heppner District of the Uma tilla National Forest. He spoke before the Chamber of Com merce Monday. He went on to describe how today men can be at the scene of a fire within IS minutes with the use of helicopters. "In the past, when a firt broke out it could take two hours to transport the men by vehicles and another three hours of hiking to reach the fire", he said. The 25 man crew working at Opal Meadow are specially trained In fire fighting. This . year ISO men were trained at Pendleton for one week. After they received the basics, the 25 men were taken to Opal Meadows for another two weeks of training. In the event of a firt the men respond in either two or four man teams. With the use of the helicopter they can cover four to six fires In an hour. "The faster the men get to the fire, the faster it can be brought under control," con tinued Skelton. "If more men are needed to combat the blaze they can be flown in within an hours time. If fire retardant is needed, the planes can be on (heir way as soon as they are loaded wi(h (he slurry," said Skelton. At Pendleton there are two DC6a, each capable of carry ing 8.000 gallons of slurry. The slurry can be dispensed as needed by separate com partments or all of the compartments can be opened and the entire amount spread over the fire area. The cost of the helicopter' and the coat of the retardant art considered costly but when they are compared to (he amount of time saved Id fighting the fire and the arrount of trees lost, the cost la reduced. - The cost of the helicopter, rented on a contract basis is $565 per day, whether it is used or not, plus an additional $175 per hour during a fire. The cost of the retardant ia 57 cents per gallon. Speaking on the retardant, Skelton remarked that a new material Is now being used as a retardant, which can also be used as a fertilizer. Borate is no longer used, as it had a tendency to sterilize the ground for a period of years. Besides the 25 men stationed at Opal Meadow, there are lookouts stationed at Ditch Creek, Bull Prairie and Tup per. Using the present methods, Skelton reported that (here has not been fire In the district that m burned over three-tenths of an acre, Last , year one of the larger fires In the district burned over 300 acres and (wo years ago fir damaged 52,000 acres. "One of the reasons for small fires in the area Is that the hills art till green and the recent rain has helped us," said Skelton. Some areas in the district have reported three-quarters to an Inch of rain. He again stressed Import ance of getting the men at (he scene of the fire In order to prevent It from spreading; however, he commented, "While we are able to control most of the fires, we will not be able to control all of them." "What we are practicing is how to reduce the area the fire will burn." He also told of the use of observation planes to spot fires. Some of the private corporations, such as Kinzua, use their own plane to patrol the forest. Most of the men at Opal Meadow are living In trailers and have established their own cook house. Most of the men will slay there until mid September, when soma will return to college. The remainder will slay until the fire season Is over. 1 reckon everbody that ever worked on one of them big city papers has slopped at one time or another and though! about how nice it would be to put out little weekly paper where everthing runs along easy and nobody's In a hurry to git Uie news ou(. Ever time I see the President on one of his play acting TV press conferences I git the feeling If you ain I In a hurry you can t amount (o much. Have you evr noticed how when it s time to start the President comes In the room at a half (rot? Probable, he's been setting In back room having a cup of coffee and fumbling with his no(es fer 15 minutes, but when (he cameras come on he takes off like a spooked rabbit. The Idee is (ha( a feller In a hurry is doing somepun. Fer my money, that ain't the case. If he's keeping ip with his Job I don l see no need to act like he's so far behind he's got to run to catch up. But a busy man with never enuff time is the kind of image ever politician wants, and keeping up the Image Is what keeps em in office, not keeping up their jofcs- Personal, I ruther see (he Presided (ake his (Ime to glt to all them microphones. When he's in hurry the Image f git Is one of somepun terrible about lo happen. If he walked slow and stopped lo pass (he time along the way I'd flgger everthing was running smooth. " But, like the fellers was talking at the country store Saturday night, you can'( beat this Image business. We got people selling up nights figgering new Images fer folks that didn't even know they had one or needed one. It was Bug Hookum (hal got on the subjeel, and he wondered why they call em Images, cause what (hey come up wi(h usual is a far cry from what (hey are. Speaking of Images. Zeke Grubb said (hey work In some cases. Zeke said he use to belong lo a lodge where you had lo wear a coat and necktie lo git In the dances they had onct a month. The thinking was (hat if you dress a feller up he's more likely to (hink of hisself as a gentleman. He may be the same drunk under the coat and lie, allowed Zeke, but he's apt to behave hisself if he's wearing his Sunday best. Zeke said the same line of thinking works at church. A feller dressed to the top notch in the front pew gits (he Idee he's high class, and you don't find the menfolks standing around in bunches telling jokes at church. What (hey "re doing. Zeke allowed, is living up to their image. Gitting back to your case, Mister Editor, a heap of our Image making is (he old game of Ihinking (he other feller's grazing is greener. If you lived up to your image In (he eyes of them on the big papers, you wouldn't ever git a paper out. You'd Jesl set around smoking your pipe with your thumbs hooked under your galluses. General speaking. I figger we're better off living up (o our image of ourselves than one thai somebody ctks up fer us. Yours (ruly. MAYOR ROY. C LkJJ Hew to use a Diocese By LESTER KI.YSOLVING One of the perennial goals of many of (he nation's Roman Catholic liberals is (he right of (he clergy and laity of each diocese to elect their own bishop, Instead of (he preterit system whereby all bishops are appointed by The Vaitcan. Some Catholics would regard the remote possibility of such a local ecclesiastical franchise as the arrival of ecclesiastical Utopia. If so. they might find II enlightening to consult with (he Episcopalians who do fleet their owq bishops-especially those in the Episcopal Dioceses of West Virginia and Delaware. For during the Intricate process of electing a bishop which can be just as delicate and painful aa courlship-both of these diocese recently experienced (he same case of R H P. ("Reluctant Hot Property"). A "hot property" In ministerial parlance is a clergy comer, one who is frequently sought after ("called") to prominent parishes or election as bishop. The seeking after an R H P. has a decided element of risk, however. For there are some In this category who for vanity's sake permil their names to be placed In nomination, or even elected, to parishes or dioceses to which they have not the slightest Intention of going. Such a turn-down or eleventh hour withdrawal can be absolutely shattering to Ihe morale, no! to mention (he finances, of the electing parish or diocese. But the R H P. has an easy out. He can announce piously (hat "after prayerful consideration" he has learned from The Holy Spirit that he cannot leave his present parishioners. (This, of course, can send soaring his stock with the flock, many of whom virtually weep with relief that the greal man will not be leaving them I One ot the nation's leading Episcopal R H P s Is the Rev. Jack Spong. (he outspoken and (to some) mesmeric libernl who Is rector of Richmond's St. Paul's Church ("The Westminister Abbey of The Confederacy"), and a member of Ihe denomination's national Executive Council. Last December, the Rev. Mr. Spong told the nominating committee of Ihe Diocese of Delaware: "I don't want to play games. I will accept If elected." But less than (wo months later, on (he night before Delaware's election of a new bishop, , Spong wired Wilmington: "I find myself less and less comfortable with the possibility of serving in thai capacity . . . St. Paul's Is more exciting than any church In the U.S. and I am not ready to leave . . ." The Rev. Mr. Spong did not reveal o the Delaware Episcopalians precisely how St. Paul's had become so exciting In less than two months. Nor did he Indicate where In Ihe ordination vows of a priest is there any such criterion of being "comfortable" as the basis for evsluating rails. Three years earlier, on September 29,1972. the Rev. Mr. Spong gave consent for his name to be put In nomination to become Bishop of West Virginia. Yet Just 18 days later, he wrote the West Virginian Episcopalians: "I have tried (o live with that (being Btshnp o( W. Va.) and it is Increasingly difficult . v Is ease so Important In Ihe Spong ministry Apparently. For It ia with remarkable ease that the Richmond rector solves something of a major dilemma. It seems that he has become something of TV star, as cofanelist with Rabbi -Jack Splro, ,M Richmond's Congregation Beth Ahaba. But spon . continues his membership In the Country Club of Virginia Which exclude Jews. ExplaliuTSpong: "I don't apologlzo-I ckq't even fed bat. . 5 " .?ecMMIy "!" operandi lo bending the establishment."
