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."