Heppner gazette-times., February 24, 1977, Page TWO, Image 2

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TWO The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Ore., Thursday, Feb. 24, 1977
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TOO TOMORROW
By Tom
Stop the world
The affairs of this world show an ever changing face. Due
to this fact, many people would like to stop the world in order
to get off. I learned one thing from my early experiences with
horseback riding. You don't have to stop the horse in order to
get off. I think the same thing holds true of the world.
Well, here I am again at the beginning of another exciting
week in Heppner. Herein follows the results of random
thinking as I waited for rain, hail, wind, etc.
PUFF OF SMOKE THEORY:
According to one theory, we are all on this earth to help one
- another understand what is happening. People who believe
this theory claim that when we understand what it is all
about, we will go up in a big puff of smoke.
People who reject the puff of smoke theory claim that if we
don't understand what it is all about, we will eventually all go
up in a ball of fire.
I say where there is smoke there is fire.
People who reject the puff of smoke theory and the ball of
fire theory often settle for the Keg of Sudds Theory. As C.W.
Farnsworth once said, "A bottle of sudds on two legs is
enough to scare a tame bear from a pool of pure rocky
mountain spring water."
DOWN HOME PHILOSOPHY
The juke box at the Wagon Wheel Cafe was playing a
plaintive country tune. On a voice filled with emotion came
words to the effect that she wanted to be loved "just for
" herself."
Somehow the song brought to mind another gem of country
philosophy. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth," or was it
"Never take a gift horse in the house?"
STUFF AND NONSENSE:
Into mid-day Saturday, the big event on the police beat was
the removal of two residents from Heppner to the mental
" hospital in Pendleton. We are not too sure about the one who
came back.
The event gave me an idea for a best selling book. I am
going to call it "One Flew Over the Rodeo Grounds."
Going to the mental hospital really doesn't make the people
who go different from those who don't go; The major
difference is that they are committed there and we are
committed here. The people who work at the hospital are
committed there, too.
Some people who are in mental institutions are superior in
some respects to some mammals. For example, most men
not only have no way of understanding a Porpoise, they also
have no assurance that the Porpoise doesn't understand
them. This fact drove one man crazy, but didn't bother the
Porpoise.
The first thing I plan to do when I have the spare time is go
to the ocean and talk with a Porpoise. Talking with a
Porpoise is very simple. Getting a reply is something else.
Getting someone to go with you to the beach for that Porpoise
is also something else.
After reading about man's attempt to communicate with
the Porpoise, the reason for failure becomes very apparent.
The first thing you must do is convince the Porpoise that you
are not going to write a book about him.
The problem all started when someone quoted a
conversation between the walrus and the carpenter. The
walrus hasn't spoken since. Carpenters have also been pretty
quiet since then.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
Live hard, love hard, die young and leave a little room for
housing in Heppner.
MORE NONSENSE
Gov. Bob Straub, in an energy -saving message to the state,
said today that some Heppner residents are guilty of wasting
state water supplies. The problem, Straub said, is simply
that too many Heppner residents are getting wasted and then
drinking inordinate amounts of precious water to cure
chronic dehydration and cotton mouth.
After a helicopter tour over downtown Heppner, Straub
said state experts estimate that the water consumed daily by
some Heppner residents to combat dehydration is alone
equal to the amount of water that would be saved by putting
two bricks in every toilet tank in Oregon.
The governor left Heppner for a water conference in
Denver, on a tail wind which produced rain and hail over
much of the drought stricken area.
Straub was accompanied on his Heppner tour by two state
game officers who had been briefed for days on reruns of
Wild Kingdom.
The game officers took turns bulldogging and ear-tagging
wild Heppnerites from the helicopter. The ear tag problem
was conducted on a random sampling of Heppnerites found
on the streets after dark. "The cost of sampling is well below
the general cost of tagging elk. The people tagged were
already tranquilized," the officers explained.
The game and fish department later issued special
commendations to the officers involved in the Heppner
tagging project. We consider it the most successful project
since we traded Idaho a herd of elk for a handful of Bighorn
sheep," the department said.
According to one nasty rumor, the elk stayed in Idaho and
the Bighorn sheep migrated back over the border.
Straub said that the problem of dehydration in Heppner
could be solved by nothing short of a special diversion of the
Columbia River. The diversion would be routed smack dab
through the Navy bombing range. Among advantages listed
for the program would be the provision of moving targets for
Navy bombing practice, irrigation water for adjacent lands
and a stable transportation link between the north and south
ends of Morrow County.
The Gazette-Times is already making plans to ship empty
bottles to Boardman so that news may be floated to Heppner.
Representatives in the legislature have promised us that,
along with other meaningful bills, this plan will be put into
effect just as soon as the legislature passes a law requiring
water to run uphill.
IN CLOSING WE WOULD VOTE FOR
1. More executions conducted on political platforms.
2. Crime remaining in the streets where it belongs.
3. A 20 per cent cut in federal spreading.
ml
Franks i
We are in the seventh week
of the Legislative Session and
things have been moving right
along.
Now that both the Senate
and the House have passed the
deadline for bill introduction
by individual members, some
of the serious work can be
done in committee on the bills
introduced.
I have introduced a bill (HB
3056) to exempt agriculture
and forestry from the De
partment of Environmental
Quality's noise regulations.
It will also define agricultural
and forestry operations.
A proposal which would re
quire a constitutional change
has been introduced in the
House. It is designed to
eliminate the 15-member
Get out
Until Mar. 15, nominations or declarations of candidacy
are being accepted by the Morrow County Clerk for 28
directorships on 11 special district boards throughout
Morrow County.
Directors will be elected on Apr. 19 to serve four year
terms on three rural fire protection districts, four cemetery
districts, two park districts, one water control district and
the Port of Morrow. (See related story on Page 1 for election
details.)
For years, many Morrow County citizens have served
faithfully on these boards without pay. In most cases, they
attend meetings at their own expense.
Any citizen who has been looking for a means of public
service should consider one of these directorships. They
represent a chance for significant involvement in community
service.
If you have never accepted an opportunity for public
service If you are really serious about citizen participation
in public works We suggest that you file for one of the 28
directorships in your locality. tjf
Vain vandalism
It is a vain performance to desecrate the unique and
original design of the hand-made brick wall created by Oscar
Lundell, a former talented. lone resident.
The wall particularly enclosed the "Woolery Home" on
Second St., which is an object of interesting design.
The wall was an attraction for townsfolk and visitors.
It surely looks beautiful now!!
I much preferred Mr. Lundell's handiwork.
Francis M. Smouse
lone
Pastor's
(Rev. Mark Johnson Pastor: Hope & Valby Lutheran
: Churches)
On the north end and the south end of Heppner, there are
two large billboards; and during the past few months, these
: billboards have carried a particular message. There has
: been a picture of a young man or woman with the words "I
: found it" written across the sign. As most of you know, this "I
found it" campaign is a new method of evangelism sponsored
: by Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc. Whereas I am not
: opposed to evangelism and spreading the good news of Jesus
:j Christ (in fact, I believe that this is to be an important aspect
: of the life of the church), I wonder if this "I found it"
campaign perhaps gives the wrong impression of what
: salvation is all about. This method gives the impression that
:j it is we who do the finding. I am not at all sure that this is the
: way it is meant to be.
As we look in the scriptures, I believe that we receive
: another impression of who is doing the finding. We see this in
: the lives of the people of the Bible. Abraham was not looking
: for God on the day that he was called to be the father of Israel
(Genesis 12) ; Moses was not looking for God on the day that
he was called through the burning bush (Exodus 3); the
: Apostle Paul was not looking for God on the road to
: Damascus (Acts 9). Yet, in each of these cases, it is God who
is doing the looking and the finding. In the parables of Jesus,
: we see the same things happening. In the parable of the lost
sheep and the parable of the lost coin, it is the shepherd who
: finds the sheep and the woman who finds the coin. (Luke 15)
: Again, it is God finding us and not we finding God.
This is the good news of the Gospel: not that "I found it,"
but that "I have been found." In my baptism, God has found
me; through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of
: Holy Communion, God finds me; in new and glorious ways,
: God finds me each day of my life. The power of the Gospel
and the uniqueness of the Christian faith is not that "I found
it," but rather that "I have been found."
THE v
GAZETTE-TIMES
Published every Thursday and entered as a
second-class matter at the post office at Heppner,
Oregon, under the act of March 3, 1879. Second-class
postage paid at Heppner, Oregon.
Wil C. Phinney,
Advertising Manager
Tom Franks,
Editor
State Emergency Board, of
which I have been a member,
and proposes that the Senate
become a year-'round Legis-
JACK
SUMNER
lature, joined every other year
by the Oregon House of
Representatives.
The Emergency Board sits
in monthly session during the
interim between full sessions
and officially acts as a
mini-legislature on fiscal mat
ters. If this resolution passes
the Senate and the House it
will go to the people for a vote.
There has been much con
troversy over the emergency
state-operated cloud seeding
project. The Governor has
and win
Corner
nr,,. officla neu,saDer of the Citv
a j
of Heppner and the County of
Morrow.
called for an amendment to
Oregon's Cloud Seeding Law
that would allow the State
Department of Water Re
sources to launch the project
on an emergency basis with
out holding public hearings in
advance. The cloud seeding
could get underway in two to
three weeks if the Legislature
approves it. However, in
many parts of my district I
don't believe there has been a
cloud in the sky for weeks!
Speaker Lang appointed a
special committee to hear
HJR 62, a measure that would
rescind Oregon's vote on the
Equal Rights Amendment. I
testified before this commit
tee and proposed an amend
ment to HJR 62 (the repealer)
which would have applied the
Sr. Citizen
tax law
known
by few
There are few Oregon resi
dents who are aware that a
law currently exists which
allows homeowners age 62 or
over to elect to defer the ad
valorem taxes levied on their
homesteads. To exercise this
option, the person must file a
claim for deferral with the
county assessor and the State
Treasurer after Jan. 1 and on
or before Apr. 1 of each year in
which the deferral is to be
claimed. The law contains no
minimum or maximum in
come requirement.
Eligibility requirements for
the tax deferral under ORS
311.668 to 311.700 are that the
individual:
1. Be 62 years old by Mar. 1
of the year in which the appli
cation is filed. If the individual
dies while receiving the de
ferral, the spouse must con
tact the county assessor to
have the deferral continued
(the spouse must be at least 60
years of age within six months
of the death of the original
individual receiving the de
ferral ) ;
2. Have a recorded title to
the property or be purchasing
the property under a recorded
sales contract. If the individ
ual owns the property with
someone other than his or her
spouse or if he or she has a life
estate in the property, the
individual is not eligible for
deferral;
3. Live on the property in
addition to owning the proper
ty; 4. Not be earning income
from the property;
5. Not have unpaid taxes on
the property at the time the
deferral application is filed.
There are few senior citi
zens who currently take ad
vantage of this law. This may
be due in large part to lack of
- knowledge of this deferral
program as well as a lack of
understanding.
Additionally, a large num
ber of seniors may not elect to
exercise this option because
they do not want to have a
"lien" on their property even
though it is not collectible
during their lifetimes. Vhat is
overlooked is the fact that
with tax deferral and only a
six per cent interest charge on
delayed payments, apprecia
tion in value of property would
in most cases preserve the
current value without loss
when the deferred taxes are
paid.
Additional information on
this program may be obtained
from County Departments of
Revenue and Taxation.
HEPPNER
G.M. Reed, Publisher
Dolores Reed, Co-publisher
ERA to the Oregon Constitu
tion. This amendment was
rejected by the committee. I
feel the Oregon Legislature
can and should pass the
needed measures for equality
for both men and women. An
0
Bill would give Ag
Department more clout
Although stream and river
flow becomes increasingly
critical in Oregon, bills con
tinue to pour into and out of
committees here in Salem.
This week the Senate Agri
culture and Natural Resourc
es Committee held its first
hearing on one of my top
priority bills, SB 448, which is
a measure to help bolster the
Department of Agriculture by
making the Board of Agri
culture a policy-making board
instead of merely an advisory
group. It also takes the
appointments to the commod
ity commissions out of the
Governor's office and gives
this responsibility to the Di
rector of Agriculture. Another
hearing will undoubtedly be
held before the Senate will
have an opportunity to vote on
. it.
The Local Government and
Elections Committee held a
hearing and sent to the floor of
the Senate HB 2283. This
measure pertains to the terms
of members of special district
boards such as water districts,
irrigation districts, I.E.D.
boards, fire districts and port
districts. It is important to
Senate District 28 because
there are so many such groups
involved.
A 1975 law made the terms
of all members of special
district boards expire simul
taneously this year. The prob
lems incurred by having the
terms of all members of these
boards expire at the same
time, causing a lack of
continuity and the loss of the
expertise of senior board
members who are familiar
with the districts' problems,
are the reason for this cor
F
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. !- -J 1
( 111 -
; y v .r, ;
Quantity & Quality
f Guaranteed. Personally
L supervised by J. R.
"I guarantee it."
Breakfast Menu
Eggs-any style ham, bacon,
f or steak, hash browns, toast
with ham or bacon
with steak
For pizza to go,
call 676-5551
For sandwiches to go,
call 676-5149
West of Willow will
serve breakfast after the
Elk's Annual starting at
midnight Saturday.
amendment was adopted
which reaffirmed Oregon's
1973 action on the ERA. The
resolution will come to the
House floor in this form.
If you would like any in
formation concerning this leg
rective measure. This bill
provides for overlapping
terms of office.
I carried this bill on the floor
of the Senate and it was ap
proved with only three dis-
KEN
JERNSTEDT
senting votes. The Governor
signed it the same afternoon
so that it could become law in
time to allow county clerks to
properly prepare ballots for
the forthcoming special dis
trict elections.
Concern about financing
Oregon's schools continues to
run high, and there are a
number of bills being heard at
present on this subject.
Much publicity has been
given to Senate President
Boe's "safety net" proposal
calling for a maximum of two
school levy elections. If both
fail, the budget for the next
year would be the previous
year's amount, plus an auto
Heppner Elk's Calendar
Thur., Feb. 24
Lodge, 8 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 25
Happy Hour, 4-6 p.m.
Dinner, 6:30 p.m.
Live Music
Nelson Duo
9-1:30 a.m.
Jjl For ffcs Only
Open everyday
at 8 am
for breakfast
A Heppner First
From 8-11 am, Mon. - Sun.,
West of Willow will feature a
self-serving fruit breakfast bar!
Pears
Plums
Grapes
Peaches
Mandarin oranges
Filled blueberry hotcakes
Filled apple hotcakes
Link sausage
$2.50
$3.00
Package orders to go
as always
O Seafood
O Steak
O Pizza
Sunday
Luncheon Buffet 12-4
islation or other legislation of
interest to you, please do not
hesitate to contact me. My;
office phone is 378-8815 and my
address is H276 State Capitol,
Salem 97310.
matic 6 per cent increase.
Results of a state-wide poll
show that 60 per cent of the 800
persons contacted favor this
concept. This is rather dif
ferent from initial results of a
poll I have been taking in
Senate District 28. Rather
than present this as a pack
age, I divided it into two parts.
While 80 per cent of a samp
ling of 125 persons favored a
maximum of two levy elec
tions, only 33 per cent favored
using the previous year's bud
get, plus an automatic 6 per
cent increase. 53 per cent
favored using the previous
vear's lew. with voter an-
proval of any additional
amounts. 14 per cent were for
closing the schools when
money ran out and until a
budget could be passed.
We are still in the process of
tabulating answers to the
questionnaire, which appear
ed in many of the newspapers
in my Senate District, and I
will go into more detail on the
results in a future column.
Sat., Feb. 26
ELKS ANNUAL
11 a.m. registration at
lodge
1:30 p.m. Ladies' team
cards, Elkdo
2 p.m.. Lodge and Initia
tion Dinner, 6-8:30 p.m.
Dance to Marty Davis,
9-1:30 a.m.
B.P.O.E. No. 358 lU
Breakfast Bar
$2.50
i