Page 2, THE GAZETTE-TIMES, Heppner, OR, Thursday. Jan.
BtEXSlECEXESA
Besides being the Bicentennial year. 1976 is also election
year for many millions of Americans throughout the nation.
This will give many voters chance to elect new people to the
various openings. This will be the year when the American
people can stop their bellyaching and vote In the candidate of
their choice, if they decide to get rid of some of the rascals
now in office. . ,
Yet during this election year, more Americans will sit on
their hip pockets and let George do the voting for them as
they feel their single vote won't make any difference.
On the local scene, in the city of Heppner. three councilman
and the mayor will either seek re-election or let someone else
take over the responsibility of running the City. None of the
councilmen seeking reflection have expressed any views on
whether to seek re-election or call it quits. After all the hours
are long and the pay is good.
The yearly salary of Mayor Jerry Sweeney is currently
$845 per year, which is hardly enough to cover the cost of his
phonebill. For those who think the mayor is receiving too
large a salary perhaps the Heppner common council can take
the necessary action as was taken by the City Council in
Yakima WA. When the first woman mayor of Yakima was
installed the council voted to reduce her pay from $750 per
year to $400. They also decided to examine the issue as to
whether the mayor has too much power, contending that the
office has become a throne and the mayor has powers beyond
those intended by the city charter. Wait til the next budget
meeting Mayor Sweeney!
Now for the bad news. By this time I imagine that most of
the readers have had a chance to digest the stones on the
front page relating to farm licenses and also the article
regarding the Child ana f amily services
22, m
The Farm Exemption provision allows motor vehicles
owned by farmers to be e xempt from weight-mile tax(s) and
economic regulations. During the 1975 legislative session. SB
1 was passed which changed the complex under which
farmer's vehicles could qualify for exemptions.
After reading the Child and Family Service Act, and
listening to people tell of the good that will come from the
governments taking care of the needy children at home
rather than spending billions of dollars to care for the
starving children abroad, I can only comment, "when was
the last time anyone starved to death in the United States?"
Now that the government plans to care for the needy
children, the following questions come to mind. What is a
needy child? How many government employees will be
needed by the government to carry out this program? What
benefits will be derived by the needy families? Will this be
another continuation of the present welfare act where all
families may apply for help? I have nothing against feeding
and caring for hungry children, however. I thought this was
one of the responsibilities of the parents. If this program goes
into effect, it will relieve parents of all responsibilities.
One of the stipulations of the new regulations is that
farmers must keep records of each exempt motor vehicles
movements, whether empty or loaded. These records shall
include for each trip on public highways the date; point of
origin; destination; miles traveled; commodity carried;
weight of load; ownership of load; if farm products were
carried, where they were grown, and any other documents
relating to the load including but not limited to the purchase
receipts. THIS INFORMATION SHALL BE MAINTAINED
IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO FACILITATE AUDIT BY
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMISSION.
In order to meet the requirements, 75 per cent of both the
tonnage carried and the miles traveled by the vehicle must
be transportation in the farmers own operation. This may
have been violated in the past but the keeping of records will
not solve the problem. Most farmers like other people hate to
keep records, especially tor audit. Ana uriess one iarmer
tells of another farmer using his truck illegally who is going
The mail pouch
EDITOR:
Among my souvenirs I have found this 1902 copy of the New
Years edition of the Heppner Gazette and I am sending it to
you as it might be of interest to compare Morrow County
then, with the present .
I think I may be one of the older persons to have been born
in Heppner. in the year 1893, although our ranch home was on
Little Butter Creek. My father. William Douglass, and his
father, Robert Douglass, had taken up land there before 1870.
My grandfather is buried in the little pioneer cemetery near
Lena, on Butter Creek.
We came east when I was five years old. in 1898, and settled
in central New York State. For years I called myself an
Oregonian and still have warm memories of it. In fact, I have
just completed writing the story of my life and ancestry, and
hi so doing, many details of life there have come back to my
mind. - . . .
There is another woman in this city who was born in
Heppner and lived there at the time of the flood of 1902 or 3.
She is Mrs. Helen Fairbanks, whose maiden name was Hart.
I believe at the time of the flood, her father was station agent
on the railroad, and they lived over the station. She was 5
years old at that time.
Thisliobklet means nothing to my family of course, so I am
hoping someone there might like to see it.
Best wishes to Heppner for 1976. '
ANNIE DOUGLASS PAYNE
842 N. Aurora St.
Ithaca, N.Y.
EDITOR:
What is sportsmanship today? Is athletics only for a chosen
few
How can our athletes prove their sportsmanship or their
athletic ability when they are warming the bench during
most of the games? Next year when we have lost the chosen
few and the spirit is knocked out of the uncnosen few, what
will we have?
We would like to know the requirements for an athletic
director.
We can say that all the boys are faithful for practice, in
return what do they benefit from the practice?
We are proud of our boys for their old-time sportsmanship.
Yet. it is hard for the uncnosen few to sit on the bench while
their parents and friends come to watch them play.
Keep up the good sportsmanship boys, if and when you are
given the chance to play.
Name withheld by request
(On file with theGazette-Times).
EDITOR:
Noting the letter of Mrs. Donald Culbertson inquiring about
Bob Hvnds. While I never knew him personally. I bought the
Hvnds ranch in Sand Hollow in 1945. 1 would like to state, that
I have never dealt with better people, than Dave and Will
Hvnd.
Dave often spoke of Robert and I can remember a story he
told me that should be remembered.
It seems Bob owned a livery stable in Heppner in 1903 at the
time of the flood. He always got along with people especially
the Indians who camped in his stable yard each year, as they
came through the mountains.
This particular year when the Indians arrived, they went
right through and camped on the hill where the new Heppner
High School is now situated and Bob wondered about that. A
short time later, three squaws came to see him and to warn
him that much water was coming. The weather was bright
and sunny, not a cloud in the sky and he dismissed the
thought of a storm. Although they insisted that he take his
family and join them on the hill, he refused. As Mrs.
Culbertson said, the flood drowned the entire Hynd family
and Bob was rescued down the creek (about where John
Monahan lives, more dead than alive.
O W.CUTSFORTH
Heppner.
THE GAZETTE-TIMES
MORROW t Ol NTY'S NEWSPAPER
Bet 137. Heppner. OR. KM
Subscription rate: M per year Is
Oregow. $7 elsewhere.
Ernest V. Joiner. Pablliher
Robert A.MaiwelL Editor
PoMUke every Tknrsday aod entered at a
rromUUM matter al the Pl office al Heppner.
Oregon, under the art of M.rrk 2. lit'. Second clan
pmfage paid al llfppnef, Oregon.
to audit the books. How many more representatives will the
commission have to hire to keep the farmers records
straight?
Will the farmer be required to take all his records along
when applying for another farm vehicle exemption license?
In the past farmers have been hauling each others goods to
market for years, probably what prompted this legislation by
the PUC. Farmers realize they were not doing things
according to Hoyle. and in some cases the farmer has been
wrong, but this pol' ctioR is not the 8olution- 1U w8gcr
before all the meetings are over there will be some changes
Sen. Hatfield states that some people will reject this bill
because of the cost involved, which will be $1 billion annually
after a phase-in. The act is compared with other budget items
such as the military aid. tax reductions and defense. How
about cutting out some of the shameful programs presently
going on such as the effects of alcohol on fish which cost the
taxpayers $103,000. , . . . ,
Would be interesting to know if the fish prefer whiskey to
gin.
Now for the good news.
According to State Representative Jack Sumner, the
1975-76 budget will provide $36 million more to basic school
support than the Governor requested to ease the property tax
burden and insure quality education. Additional monies were
also shifted to: improve alcohol and drug treatment, provide
alternative care for senior citizens, so they may remain at
home, improve community college and higher education
programs, treat hemophillia victims and control predatory
animals. , .
Thought for the week-According to the Bible God made
the world in six days and rested on the seventh. If He had to
make the world today it would probably take six months to
get the necessary permits from DEQ and the EPA. If He
could get the permits in the required amount of time and
build the world in six days He would have the ACLU on his
back for not hiring minorities and completing the job too
quickly.
Mayor ofllanliW
tiff -if 44-4- cmuiin
1902
Agriculture is growing in
importance. Grain can be
easily and cheaply grown, and
the productiveness of the soil
makes II profitable.
As a rule farming is carried
on a large scale. One man with
a little hired help can farm
from 500 to 800 acres.
The soil is loose and easy to
plow. A great many of the
large farmere use eight-horse
teams with triple gang plows.
With an outfit of this kind, one
man can easily plow 400 acres
in one season.
Owing to a large amount of
summer-fallowed land this
season, the grain crop of
nearly 700,000 bushels was
below the average being
200.000 bushels short of last
year's crop.
Good wheat land can be
purchased at from $2.50 to $10
per acre.
During the year of 1901,
John Harble who resides in the
lone area, purchased . 640 .
acres of land for $5 per acre.
He put it in wheat. After the
crop was harvested, he sold
the grain and after paying all
expenses, he had money
enough left from the sale of
the crop to pay for the land.
WALKING SMALL
RESIDENTS OF UMATILLA AND MORROW COUNTIES:
I am writing this letter in an effort to survey public opinion
regarding the construction of a greenhouse on the campus of
Blue Mountain Community College. I am in the process of
writing a proposal to obtain federal fund ng for this project
and one section of the proposal is to be a "local review
statement. Because the college is supported by you, the
residents of Umatilla and Morrow Counties. I am making this
appeal to you through the local newspaper in hopes that some
sort of representative public opinion can be obtained.
Construction of a greenhouse facility on the Blue Mountain
campus has been requested off and on for approximately
nine years. At the present time, "first-hand" learning
experiences are greatly restricted in the biological,
botanical and plant science of ferings. Several plant mobiles
(racks equipped with gro-lux lights) are used for growing
plants that are used in laboratory exercises but this
equipment is not suitable for many experimental procedures
since they provide inadequate growth space. Even small
experimental plants have difficulty in surviving with only 11
inches of vertical growth space!
The proposed greenhouse facility would be used by
students in botany, biology, plant science, crops, farm
chemicals, and soils and fertilizers classes. It would alleviate
crowded conditions in the present biology laboratory and
would provide facilities for meaningful experiments
throughout the course of the academic year. The result would
be a significant improvement in the quality of education
received by students in the plant science field. Additional
personal enrichment courses, such as herb gardening, house
plant culture, etc., could also be offered if the proposed
facility is constructed.
During fiscal year 1976 the National Science Foundation is ,
administering a funding program designed to improve
undergraduate science education at two- and four-year
institutions throughout the country. Blue Mountain
Community College is applying for such funds and will be
competing with several hundred two-year Institutions for
funding. The proposals upon which allocation of funds will be
determined ire due in Washington. D C. on Feb. 16.
Because the National Science Foundation encourages
institutional commitment lo projects it funds, federal monies
may cover 75 per cent of the project. The remaining 25 per
cent of the project funding must be supplied by the local
institution. For the greenhouse construction project, the
college would provide some $9,700.
I would like lo hear from as many of you as possible. When
you write please give your name and phone number, your
occupation and age group, whether you live in a town or
farm and how you feel about construction of a greenhouse. If
you favor the greenhouse please tell me if you think It should
be designed to Incorporate some type of solar heating
system. Your comments and suggestions will be most
welcome. Pica let me know how you feel by Feb. I.
Thank you for your time and Interest.
KARL A URBAN, Instructor
Biology and Botany
Cleanings
The U.S. Department of
Labor will use $846,693 to
provide on the job training for
mentally retard. This is one of
the best uses I can think of for
tax money. It will help make
productive citizens from those
who were considered unpro
ductive. There is nothing like
earning ones own way to make
that great feeling inside. Good
citizens are those who take
pride in being self sufficient.
How do you get taken?
By advertising in magazines
and newspapers, companies
can entice you to send them
money to be "registered" for
such kinds of work as addres
sing envelopes, sewing small
items like baby booties or
selling merchandise by phone
or letter. The fraud comes
when the company keeps your
"registration fee" but tells
you that you are not qualified
for the job (in one case 60,000
were tested for their ability to
sew baby shoes all failed) or
gives you the work to do but
doesn't pay you. In either case
you lose either some money
or your lime and you must go
to court for repayment.
To avoid these problems,
Postal Service advises that
before you sign any forms or
send any money, you should
take some precautionary
steps:
R.A.Maxwell
If you are interested in a
specific program that you saw
advertised, see if the company
will send you any free
literature. If you have to put
down money before you can
ev en learn about the program
it might be wise to stay away
from that company.
Be suspicious of claims that
sound too good to be true. Just
because the ad making the
promise appears in a well
respected publication, that
doesn't mean that the ad is
true or that the company is an
honest one. Magazines and
newspapers accept most ads
they receive and don'l have
the resources to make sure all
are accurate.
if you decide to go ahead
with the program, keep a
record of the money you sent
and wIh-a you received the
materials. If it becomes
necessary to go to court to get
your money back, you will
need documented proof of how
much money you tent the
company and what took place
after that.
If you lose your money or
are not paid for your time,
contact the postal Inspector at
your local post office for help.
PS will probably not be able to
get you a refund, but It will
investigate the ma'.ter and
prosecute the company if
postal Inspectors can prove
mail fraud.
DEAR MISTER EDITOR:
One thing the bicentennial is going to have to share the
froS page with this year is politics. We got na. on ;lec ion,
com ng up. and pritty soon Democrats are going to have to
narrow the field down to a dozen or two and the Republican.
Sua will have to face the fact that they can't nominate
fwo fellers fer President. Until that time come. Mister
Editor we're going to have more wrote and .poke than we
can read orK to and we're going to be told of more cure,
than this country has got diseases.
The fellers .till was worked up on scientific progress
during the session at the country store Saturday night birt
they took time out from discussion wimmen and other
mirac es to give politics a lick and a promise It was New
S New Froni Great Society Democra Hrier
that got the floor first, and he took a unusual text :t hisf irst
political sermon of the year. Afore we are
fide of election-year bragging and bad-mouthing. Clem said,
we had ought to remind ourselfs what we're do ng. and we
can start by looking around at what the rest of the world is
d0Cl?m said President Ford', visit to China didn't prove a
thina we didn't know. We ain't never had a President that
could it w5i chopsticks. But the trip did remind u. that
none of u would trade place, with folk. In China. The
Russians still are working on their first five-year plan after
35 years, they still can't raise enough food to live on. and folks
still are standing in line fer everthlng they need, and they
can't afford much of that. In England, inflation . running 25
per cent and taxes as high as 97 cent on the dollar. Spain is
going from one dictator to another, and India has gone from a
"experiment" in democracy to a chained and bolted police
state like most Africa and South American countries have
lived under ferever. Afore we start lambasting one another to
see who's going to be in charge fer the next two to four year.
Clem declared, it will do us good to keep In mind that what
we re doing is trying to keep the oldest democracy in the
world a living example of what free people can do in a short
run of 200 years. .
That was some charge to the congregation Clem laid on the
fellers and they all give it some thought. But Ed Doolittle got
over it quick, and he come back with a list of "what this
country needs" that we'll be hearing from now on. Ed .aid he
had saw where Congress has passed a reserlution Mtting a
$375 billion limit on Federal spending fer this year, and that
this takes in consideration that outgo will be $74 billion more
than income.
Ed was of a mind that as long as people we tend to
Washington keep convincing one another we can come out
ahead giving away borrowed money or lending It out fer less
interest than we pay. this 200-year-old Democracy will never
be safe as long as Congress Is in session.
Your, truly,
MAYOR ROY.
Learning
Disabilities
(Fourth in Series)
James Angermeyr. MA
In spite of the trauma, and frustrations that accompany
the learning disabled child, the knowledge and advance
ments that have been gained in the Ust decade have given
new hope to the plight of these individuals. With the use of
modern techniques, it is now possible for the learning
disabled to progress in school with their oeer.: to attend and
whatever field tney may choose. These techniques, however,
are not a miracle cure, and progress can only be realized
through a tremendous amounl of perseverance on the part of
the disabled person and extreme patience and dedication on
the part of his instructor, and parent..
It i. a simple fact that, at this point, there is absolutely no
known cure for learning disabilities. There is no drug or
surgical technique that can change the way or rate that a
person processes sensory stimuli. While there is much
research aimed at isolating the neurochemicals responsible
for transmitting these kind, of stimuli, that science is in its
infancy; and the learning disabled individual must be able to
accept the fact that, in all likelihood, he will be so disabled for
his entire life.
Today, most techniques used in the remediation of learning
disabilities rely on the principles of compensation. Most of us
have known or have read about the amazing sense of hearing
that blind people have. At times, they can deduce the amount
of change someone has merely by listening to the sound it
makes when the coins are dropped on a table. In a similar
way. deaf people can develop a tremendous capacity for
lip-reading, thereby being able to follow at least a one to-on?
conversation. These principle, of compensation seem to be
nature's way of "making up" for their handicap, in other
areas.
Fortunately, most learning disabled children are more
severely handicapped in one area, and learn, usually on their
own lo compensate by perfecting other areas. A child with
visual perception problems will, for example, find it difficult
to learn to read to himself ; but his less handicapped auditory
abilities will allow him to learn the same information if the
words are read lo him, or if he hears them on tape.
The first step in remediation is to establish which sensory
area is the most handicapped. Once this has been done, a
program of learning is set up to utilize the stronger senses
and, given sufficient intellectual abilities and hard work, the
perceptually handicapped child can learn al a pace similar to
his more fortunate peers.
Simply put, the more sensory mode, that are used, the
better chance that one piece of information has of being
learned. One of the more popular technique, used In
remediation is called the VATK technique. These initial,
land for "visual." "auditory." "tactile." and "kinesthetic."
Let us suppose we are trying this method to teach a child to
recognize and spell the word "cat." Step number one
involve, writing the word "cat" on the board. This written
word provide, the visual stimulus. At the same time, the
teacher My. the word aloud, thi. being the auditory Input.
The child then write, the word "cat" on paper and says it
aloud. This reinforce, the auditory and visual stimuli, and
adds the kinesthetic, Information which is gained by the
motion of the arm and the movements of the eye following the
pencil. Finally, the child Usees with hi. hand the letter. In
the word "cat." At limes, sandpaper letter art used to
reinforce this tactile Input. This entire procedure I. repeated
until the word "cat" is totally lain down In the brain. A long
and tediou. process, but also a necessary one for the learning
handicapped child.
These same mull sensory techniques can be used everyday
by parent of learning disabled children. For example, by
writing down instruction, to be home at I p m. for dinner In
addition to saying It, may help reinforce II for the child and
keep the parent from having to heat up another meal when he
return, at ? p m. with the fact thai he "forgot what you
Mid!"
It wa. the Intention of thl. series of article to explain
learning disabilities and above all, Instill hope In learning
disabled Individuals and their parents. New research
continue In this field and we or our children may we the day
when thl. perplexing malady is vanquished from our youth
and from our classrooms.