Page J. THE GAZETTE-TIMES, Heppner. OR. Thursday. July . 1J7I
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Ttro swimmers soak cement parched feet at Heppner Invitational Sunday.
(G-T Photo)
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BEFFMEU
GAZETTE-TI
MES
I By Rep. Roger Martin
t
' Taxpayers have heard many recent
examples of how they are fleeced by
self-serving and nest-feathering politicians.
The juciest abuses concern members of
. Congress who have only two things in mind:
1 There own well-being and their own
j re-election.
' ; But Oregonians need look only to Salem to
find abuse by the State Legislature, the
leadership of which talks about holding down
state spending while erecting a monument to
themselves at our expense.
The case in point is known as the capitol
wings. The project is a four-story building
being tacked onto the back of the State
Capitol.
The wings will be used by lawmakers five
months of each two years.
I The rest of the time it will resemble a giant
fmarble tomb unless the presiding officers
buy a bunch of worn out department store
dummies to occupy chairs and stare back at
. the tourists from Wichita.
!. The shenanigans engaged in by the
presiding officers on this issue would cost any
t other state administrator his or her job right
.on the spot. Heads would roll and deservedly
so.
, The bill creating the wings contained an
expenditure of only one dollar. It was the
intention of the presiding officers to provide
the rest of the funding through another
brainchild, the Oregon Building Authority.
Editorial & Viewpoint
Self-serving,
nest-feathering
politicians
The OBA, which would be permitted to
avoid the ban against deficit spending without
a vote of the people, has been challenged in
the Supreme Court.
So the presiding officers switched course in
mid-stream and decided to engage in deficit
spending on their own.
Under the flimsiest of authority, they have
now borrowed up to $10 million in general
funds held by the State Treasurer and they
have squeezed another $1 million from the
State Emergency Board.
Instead of seeking a special session to deal
with the financing question in an open and
aboveboard fashion, the presiding officers
have chosen to completely short-circuit the
budgeting process which all other agencies
must observe or suffer the results.
The presiding officers, apparently, place
themselves on lofty pedestals above other
branches of government and above the people
they were elected to serve.
As it stands now, the presiding officers have
gone their merry way and will ask the next
legislature to rubber-stamp their shaky
dealings. And the next legislature will have
little choice in the matter.
The idea of a palace for legislators has been
with us since the early 60s. But no one bought
this bill of goods until the current presiding
officers took a strong personal interest.
The measure was muscled through the
Senate with only three "no" votes. It
squeaked past the House by only one vote.
To add to the smell of dead mackerel, it was
hustled through in the final hectic days of the
session with little explanation, discussion or
debate. More feasible alternatives were not
considered.
It was literally jammed down the throats of
legislators who believe in fiscal responsibili
tyand who oppose waste of tax dollars.
Senate President Jason Boe and House
Speaker Phil Land would squeal like stuck
pigs if any other state agency demonstrated
such a gross lack of regard for fiscal
responsibility and integrity.
Correspondence & Comment
Nuclear regulator
EDITOR:
We have noted in recent weeks that a minority of Oregon
newspapers, television stations and radio stations still refer
to Ballot Measure 9 as the "Nuclear Safeguards" initiative.
Others refer to it by its legally correct and politically neutral
name, the "Nuclear Regulatory" initiative. May we
comment?
When the sponsors of the measure drafted the initiative
they sought to have it known as the "Nuclear Safeguards
Act." Safety is an instinctively and immediately appealing
idea. Everybody is for it. Certainly we are.
The fact is, however, that the Oregon Attorney General,
whose duty it is (o insure that ballot titles accurately reflect
the body and intent of a measure, would not permit it to be
called this. Neither would the Attorneys General of
California and Washington with respect to similar measure.
The ballot title which the Oregon Attorney General did
assign to the measure is "Regulates Nuclear Power Plant
Construction Approval." Thus, we suggest that the correct,
neutral title, for the sake of brevity, is "Nuclear Regulatory"
initiative.
In further elaboration, the question of whether or not the
measure would contribute anything whatsoever to nuclear
safety regulation, or was even intended to, will be discussed
by our committee very actively throughout (he campaign. In
like fashion, we fully expect our opponents to contest our
contention that it is a "ban" measure and was intended to be.
Thus, the qumtKm of what the measure really Is, is central
to the Issues Involved in the campaign. With factual
information from the media, Oregon's volers will have the
opportunity to go to the polls In November and make an
informed decision.
We would not expect you to favor us by referring to it as a
"ban" measure. Neither, we hope, will you favor our
opponents by referring to it as a "nuclear safeguards"
mP,Ure HOWARD APPLING. JR.
Measure 9 is ban
You reported July I that Chris Thomas, spokesman for the
Mxullfd nuclear safeguard' measure, said Measure
The
Heppner
Gazette
Times
would not ban nuclear power, but rather would be a vote to
"keep Trojan and assure that all nuclear plants in Oregon
are built with the best possible safety standards."
The measure is a ban and Thomas, a lawyer and lobbyist,
knows it. Last fall he was asked if this were not the case. He
said it was not an outright ban, "but if our facts are correct,
there will not be any more nuclear plants." (Oregonian,
11-13 75). The wording of the initiative has not changed. If he
was right then, he's got to be wrong now.
More recently, another spokesman, Mike Cook, told the
G res ham Outlook that "this is where we have to start. We
don't have chance with any other energy source until we
stop nuclear power first."
Fellows, if you intend to "stop" it, why bother with "safety
standards?"
Measure 9 is a thinly-disguised attempt to take this option
for producing needed electric energy away from us. We have
the strongest state safety laws in the nation now (ORS 469),
and the promoters of this deceptive measure know that, too.
They are giving us a bunch of double talk.
WILLIAM DAWKINS
Portland
Anonymous donor
EDITOR:
As you know it takes considerable monies lo finance our
local swim team. We have several money raising projects
each year in order to pay the coach's salary, entry fees, etc.
We appreciate the support given us.
However, we wish (o publicly and singly express our
gratitude to the anonymous donor who recently supported us
with a very generous donation. To that Individual the
members and parents of the Heppner Swim Tram say "thank
you for your Interest and generous support of the team. Wt
appreciate it very much.
Forest fire controlled
A forest fire, east of Wineland Lake raged
out of control but was expected to be thwarted
by late Tuesday afternoon.
The fire, covering 236 acres in the Heppner
Ranger District started Monday about 3:15
p.m. It was called Yellowjacket.
According to Forest Service spokesmen,
the fire started when a tree fell over high
electric wires. Six to eight crews from Region
6 were battling the blaze Monday and '
Tuesday.
The Forest Service estimated that 400 men
were in the woods trying to stop the fire. '
Control was expected by 4 p.m. Tuesday, 4'
Twelve teachers hired,
six spots still vacant
Twelve new teachers have
been hired in the Morrow
County School district but six
positions are still empty as of
this week.
Three new teachers have
been hired to fill vacancies In
Heppner, three in lone, four in
Riverside, and three in Irri
gon. One teacher, Rick Bateman,
will serve as band and music
.instructor at both Riverside
High School in Boardman and
at A.C. Houghton Elementary
School in Irrigon.
Chris Borgen has been hired
to serve as Language Arts
teacher and basketball coach
at Heppner High School. Join
ing Borgen in Heppner will be
Linda Orwick Murray, langu
age arts; and Rebecca Ran
dall, girl's physical education
at the high school and junior
high.
In lone, fifth grade teacher,
Jeri Snow McElllgotf was
hired, along with band and
music instructor George E.
Russell and Charles Starr,
principal at lone. Starr was a
math teacher and head foot
ball coach at Heppner before
taking the principal post.
Along with Bateman in
Riverside, Nancy Myklebust
was hired to teach girls P.E.
at the junior high and high
school; Charles William (Bill)
Bernard, social studies at high
school was hired; and Sharon
Barrick was tabled for lan
guage arts duties. .
Douglas Howell, a fifth
grade teacher, was hired to fill
that void at Irrigon at A.C.
Houghton. Joining Howell in
the new ranks will be Bate
man ar.d Diana Conley, a
fourth grade teacher.
Six positions have yet to be
filled. At Riverside High
School, language arts and
vocational agriculture-shop
teachers need to be hired. At
lone, a language arts teacher
is still unfound. And in
Heppner, a vocal music and
special education teacher,
plus a combination math teacher-football
coach, left open
by Starr, needs to be filled.
Court orders grain
inspectors to work
Harvest goes on snd the
market goes down.
That's routine.
And finally, after eight days
of insecurity, area farmers
can semi-relax again knowing
grain inspectors are back to
work in Oregon and ship
ments of wheat can be ship
ped. According to Riley Mun
kers, Morrow County grain
Growers buyer and seller, the
strike didn't "hive any ap
preciable effect."
Munkers was concerned in
a Monday telephone interview
that area ranchers would soon
run out of ports. "We just
can't send our grain," Mun
kers said.
But grain inspectors were
ordered back to work Tues
day, ending the eight day
strike which blocked ship
ments through Oregon ports.
Judge Val Sloper of Marion
County Circuit Court in Salem
said the strike had damaged
the public welfare because of
its economic effect, the As
sociated Press reported.
His action means 68 state
inspectors, weighers and
samplers will have to return
to work at the ports of Astoria
and Portland and the flour
mill in Pendleton.
Sloper issued a temporary
injunction, and gave inspec
tors' union 10 days to show
why the order shouldn't be
permanent. After that, the
issue automatically goes to
binding arbitration.
The inspectors struck last
Tuesday because of an im
passe in wage negotiations,
which have been bogged down
since May of 1975.
In southern Morrow Coun
ty, farmers are reporting 25
bushels to the acre, which is
below average due to drought
and frost at higher elevations.
Some wheat is being piled on
the ground. Morrow County
has 100.000 bushels on the
ground snd expect it to reach
200.000 by the end of harvest
According to Munkers, pro
duction in Lexington is im
proved. Munkers said some
harvesting is taking place in
the upper part of the county,
around Ruggs and Heppner.
Planning commission
approves spud sheds
The Morrow County Plan
ning Commission approved
two applications Monday ni
ght to allow building of potato
sheds.
Sabre Farms, Boardman
was granted a zone change
from qualified farm to farm to
allow five acre lot sizes and
the building of a potato ware
house. The commission also appro
ved a variance for setback re
quirements in an Industrial
tone owned by Tom Jayo. The
applicant plans lo build two
concrete potato warehouses
on Port of Morrow land.
In other business, the com
mission :
tabled an application by
Shormakt at the request of the
applicant.
approved a mndiilonal
use permit to Union Collier for
Monte Crum for a fertilizer
distributing plant. Located on
Highway 207 near Baseline
Road, the plant will build no
permanent structures but will
have tanks and trucks for dis
tributing fertilizer to the area.
approved a plat plan from
Dewey West Jr. on about 75
acres of land he plans to sub
divide in Boardman.
accepted the final plat
plan for Rivervlew subdivi
sion. 15 acres In Irrigon.
E M L. Contractors will divide
the land Into one-acre tracts
for residential buyers.
decided to continue a tone
change application for Earl D.
Trudeau on acres In Board
man till they receive recom
mendation from the Board
man city planning commission.
DAN JAMES, President
I Irppner Swim Team
IIEPFNElf
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C'lly ef Heppner and the Cetmty
f Morrew.
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Ouloret Reed. ( VblUner
HilC. rklHsey.l dllar
Pdbllthee every Tkr.ay n4 entered as
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poMa- paid at Hrppner, Oregon.