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TWO The (iaettP-Times. Ileppner, Ore.. Thursday, May 5, l!77
I .ONE I
LEXINGTON 1
TO MORROW
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ANDA
TOO TOMORROW
i By Tom Franks
Although I have a love for swimming, both as a sport and
for recreation, it seems strange to me that the city budget
committee should elect to close the library before they close
the swimming pool.
My college letter came from swimming and it paid
one-third of my way. I taught lifesaving and swimming over
the years and I look forward to having the pool open for
myself and for my children. (That's how I feel.)
Nevertheless, I cannot forget that civilizations are built on
libraries. None that I know of have been built on swimming
pools. When it comes down to the nitty gritty, with no choice
between the best of both worlds, I must place my option with
the library.
This isn't a happy judgement or a superior judgement. It is
a gut feeling that there is something drastically wrong with
the choice that is being made.
' What is even worse is the knowledge that the most vocal,
and probably the least read, will go along with it.
The fall of the Heppner Library won't make any splash
worth mentioning in the world of letters and that is sorry,
too.
The real option is on the economic scene. Here the question
is no more difficult than the old television commercial line,
"I'd rather do it myself."
If you want service, you have to pay for it or do it yourself.
The question is not how you want to spend your money, but
how you want to spend your time. Whatever you elect to
have, without spending your time, costs money. The other
option is to do without, which in light of the small city budget
which was proposed, is what the people of Heppner have
elected to do.
As the budget committee action stands this week, the
library will be closed. The street department, in the words of
Mayor Jerry Sweeney, "...has been raped," and pool days
will be cut down at the front and end of the season as if by
some magic the income will balance with the shorter season.
About $17,000 remains to be cut from the city budget to
keep it under the six per cent limitation which itself is a
joke in iight of inflation and an obsolete tax base. It is hard to
see how more can be taken from the budget without cutting
into still other essential services such as the police
department.
Suggested cuts made by the budget committee last week
took about $16,000 out of the "street" department, leaving
nolhing to continue the street paving program.
The library was shut out completely, cutting $5,6ii9 from
the budget, including $500 for new books. The $8,650 pool
budget was cut $3,650 to $5,000 on the basis of a shorter
season. The library budget is hardly more than the city pays
for attorney fees. The item for city attorney was cut from
$5,000 back to the $4,000 budgeted for the current year.
There is no apparent way to cut the cost for an auditor,
which, under state requirements, appears to have taken
auditors out of the competitive world into the world of fixed
prices. The auditor cost for one week and some consultations
is $4,200.
And so on and on Kind of reminds me of an old Bob Dylan
story line "...The Titanic leaves at dawn and everybody's
shouting, 'Which side are you on?'..."
Letters to the Editor
Saving noted by
shopping locally
Dear Sir:
Recently the Morrow County branch of the American
Association of University Women completed a grocery store
survey which should be of interest to the residents of south
Morrow County.
We surveyed 7 markets in south Morrow County,
Hermiston and Pendleton, calculated gas expenses and
tabulated results. To our surprise, we discovered that
contrary to commonly held beliefs, there is a slight savings if
we shop locally.
Following are the results of the survey:
1) In January, on an approximate $40 grocery bill, a $1.30
savings was made by shopping out of the area. By March,
when we expanded the grocery list to an $80 bill, a 29 cent
savings was made by shopping locally. We figured in gas
expenses, but no oil, wear and tear on the vehicle, or
babysitting expenses; we based the gas expenses on the
vehicle getting 22 miles per gallon.
2) When items are rapidly escalating in price, like coffee,
the real bargains are found in the smaller markets. Smaller
markets have less turnover and are less likely to change
prices as often, whether raising or lowering them.
3) All grocers give a discount on volume purchases, like
case goods. Locally, shoppers have to ask about these
discounts, though.
4) Area grocers will order or stock unusual items for their
customers, some items which cannot be found or will not be
special ordered in Hermiston or Pendleton. Items are usually
available in 1 week.
5) Meat quality and service is better locally.
6) Produce is of superior quality and greater variety out of
the area.
If local grocers would advertise their specials and if
shoppers will try buying locally, people will be surprised and
pleased with the results.
The natural question arises as to whether it is really
cheaper to shop out of the area for other items, like clothes,
building items, etc. While we have not investigated this, we
urge consumers to do so.
Yours truly,
Anne L. Doherty
Chairman, Economic Facts of
Life Committee
Editor's Note: The Morrow chapter of University Women
is comprised of about 30 members. The shopping reported
here was done in Heppner, Lexington and lone.
Editorially Speaking Rural power discussed
Town Hall meetings
Considering the slim budget faced by the City of Heppner,
it might be high time for an old-fashioned Town Hall Meeting.
We know that there are plenty of opportunities for the public
to attend budget meetings and council meetings. We also
know that meetings of this nature usually fall behind the
poorest church in attendance.
Certainly the average citizen should not feel obligated to
attend every city meeting, since he or she is paying to have
some service. But in light of the fact that the budget is on
the fine line of seeking volunteers to do the work, we think it
is time that a larger number of citizens became involved to
the point of a line by line discussion of the city budget at a
public meeting.
A public meeting might clear the air and establish a better
understanding among all concerned, including some senior
citizens who are not advised that a city budget increase may
possibly have no effect on their taxes whatever.
If we stand for fewer taxes and less government, it is time
that we at least take the trouble to inform each other of what
is going on. The best ground for this process is face to face,
where the issues can be aired before a wide range of the more
than 800 registered voters in the city of Heppner. tjf
There continues to be a lot of
flak around the Capitol be
tween the Governor and some
members of the legislature,
especially two or three Sena
tors. Most of it concerns the
Governor's plan for a Domes
tic Rural Power Act, com
monly known as DRPA. This
By State Sen. Ken Jernstedt,
Dist. 28
bill is in our Senate Committee
on Environment and Energy
and has been there for some
time, despite the tremendous
efforts of the Governor and his
staff to get it moving. It is one
of his highest priority items
for this session.
DRPA would make the state
a public utility district, al
lowing Oregon consumers to
receive preference Bonneville
power. Although this plan
might give some Oregonians a
break on their electric power
bills, it would not create more
energy. In fact, all this pro
posal does is share the short
age of electrical energy. It
would introduce government
into the position of control,
where private enterprise now
resides. The question that
needs to be asked is: will the
momentary advantage of
some lower rates be worth the
long term increase in gov
ernment control of private
business?
It is not the answer as far as
I am concerned, and most of
the other committee members
seem to feel the same way. We
do not want to see the state in
the power business. We do not
want to see the PUDS and
co-ops come under the juris
diction of the Public Utility
Commissioner. We do not
think that Washington is going
to give up any of its cheap
power to benefit Oregon. In
addition, most of us are
against DRPA because it
deals with only the distribu
tion of power and makes no
provisions for stimulation of
alternate power sources that
will be so desperately needed
before the turn of the century.
The Speaker of the House
may be about ready to come to
the Governor's rescue, as he
has announced that if DRPA is
in fact stalled in the Senate, a
similar bill will "very likely"
be introduced in the House.
This week our Environment
and Energy Committee lis
tened to more than three hours
of testimony as to why our
power problems should be
tackled on a regional basis,
rather than Oregon trying to
make some temporary gains
on its own. Conservation can
be implemented better on a
regional basis and additional
power can be generated and
distributed more equitably on
a regional basis. Of course,
this is more than a regional
problem it is national, and
also extends across our bor
ders. But we should at least
get started on a regional basis.
Letters to the Editor
On coyotes....
Ediiui .
In answer lo Mrs. Winchester's letter about coyotes: Her
logic and reasoning is in line with our permissive society. The
criminal gets all the breaks. Due to soft judges and fuzzy
thinking parole boards, the criminal is soon out to repeat his
crime. II you like criminals, I am sure you would just love
coyotes, because they are the criminals of the animal world.
They will kill any defenseless bird or animal and they kill for
lun.
I have received many letters from coyote lovers, mostly
Iroin Portland, where they have acquired a vast amount of
knowledge about coyotes. They tell me, among other things,
that to hear a coyote howl on a cold, frosty night is music to
their ears. I wonder how many of them have heard the music
a lawn makes across a deep, heavily timbered canyon, while
being eaten alive by a coyote. I have. It isn't pretty. I have
also seen documented films of calves that were partially
calen by coyotes before they were completely born.
You pointed out the superior qualities of synthetic fibers
over wool. The world is rapidly running out of petroleum. Is
tins progress. Ms. Winchester?
I jusi hope Mrs. Moore gets her coyote back and he gets
away as I hey always do. becau.se his scalp is worth $3.50 at
our county clerk's office. I could sure use the money.
I have always placed coyote lovers in two categories,
newcomers and just plain stupid. Mrs. Winchester is not a
newcomer. My friend, Charlie Jones, would probably call
you a crackpot, but I wouldn't go that far. I think the slate of
California has a monopoly on those, but due to overcrowding,
they may have spilled over into Oregon. Anyway, this whole
Ilium is a big hullabaloo over nothing. Kind of fun, though,
isn't it"
Ray Gates
Spray, Oregon
'Hate is like acid'
Editor:
I h.i e read Ms. Winchester's letter concerning Ray Gates,
Spray.
Hale is like acid, this lady tells us. And. well she should
know, recalling the old maxim, "It takes one (a hater,
perhaps i to know one." In her epistle, the acid she mentions
in line :;:! of her write-up in your April 21 issue, spills out and
boils up and over in line 4. "Two-legged predators and
murderers." she say s. Then, in line 7, she has the colossal
audacity to accuse this man of making a "challenging"
Ma'eimnl And. line 32, she states Ray "hates living
creatures with a vicious venom." Challenging statement
indeed. Think! II these comments and accusations stem from
love. Satan must be a winner. And smiling broadly.
Heppner louiiders and old-timers, sheep men of the old
siIkhiI. Iii nut. I will venture to say, come into riches
aiimuiii; the coyote sightseeing privileges (line 27) among
their ilocks.
It coyotes rate over sheep in value, then our state, and the
counties within it. have poured countless bounty, and other
predator control dollars, down the drain.
And now she waxes poetic (line 34). Well move over,
lady ! Check your powder. Dry, is it? Get your old Winchester
ready to lire and go low on your sights for a verbal shoot -out.
You. My Dear, are in enemy territory. Verbalfy and
poetically.
Hate is like acid? It is, indeed,
For 'twas the Devil who sowed the seed,
And poured on the molten liquid, Hot.
Ray's damaged the vessel??? Yours filled the pot!
Charlie Jones
Spray, Oregon
Capital punishment
Dear Editor,
Ever since the tragic death of Mary Lindsay, there has
been much discussion around town concerning the
reinstatement of capital punishment. The majority of what I
have heard has been in favor of capital punishment. This
letter is a statement against capital punishment, and
because I am a pastor, it is done from a religious basis.
I believe that everyone is a child of God, and is loved by
Him. This means, therefore, that Michael Olds is as much a
member of God's family as is Mary Lindsay. He- along with
Mary, is loved by God. He, along with you and I, is a part of
God's creation. As one of God's creatures, who or what gives
us the right to pronounce death upon another one of God's
creatures?
I am well aware of the Biblical quotes concerning "an eye
lor an eye and a tooth for a tooth," but I am also aware of the
context from which those were written, and I do not believe
that they apply (therefore, if you are going to quote
scripture, make sure that you fully understand what it is
saying). As creatures of God, and ones who have to live in an
imperfect world, we have been given the power of retention
as w ell as the responsibility of rehabilitation, but I do not see
when we have been given the power of determining death for
another. Obviously, the crime committed was tragic,
senseless, and against the laws of the state as well as against
the laws of God. But to pronounce death upon another, even
though he may have done so, is not a power which has been
given to us. "Why do we kill people who kill people in order to
show that killing people is wrong?"
One comment concerning Lois Winchester's article
i Heppner Gazette, April 28). I find it interesting that she gets
upset at a calf that is roped at a rodeo, but is asking for the
death of Michael Olds. I ask that she have as much
compassion on Mr. Olds as she does the dogs and cats of the
community.
Sincerely,
Rev. Mark Johnson
Pastor's Corner
Louis Evely writes in his small but powerful book, Our
Prayer, "When the Word became flesh, God had to choose
which of all human values would be the most apt for showing
God's taste, for revealing the divine way of life. And He
completely discounted riches, honors, force, authority, glory,
violence. He chose poverty, humility, gentleness, service,
suffering, passion for justice and mercy."
But too often when we think of the Church of Jesus Christ
today, we see most of the values rejected in Christ. Then one
often hears the common phrase, "I don't go to church
because they are all hypocrites."
Could it be that too often the church of Jesus Christ has
prostituted herself and preached their own values, their own
desire and judgements, rather than those of their Lord? A
characteristic not only true today in the 20th Century-but
also true in the early days of the Christian Church. St, Paul
wrote to the church in Corinth explaining, "For it is not
ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as Lord
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (II Cor. 4:5).
Maybe it is both the people within the churches as well as
the people outside the churches who have failed to
understand the love, mercy and forgiveness revealed in
Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. For when one grasps the
message of love in God, it either forces one to their knees in
awe or fills them with anger. For if one believes that they
have heard of God's love and felt nothing but indifference,
they have failed to hear.
Steve Tollefson
United Methodist Church
THE
HEPPNER
GAZETTE-TIMES
DEADLINES
WHAT
WHEN DUE
EVENTS THAT
HAPPEN BEFORE
FRIDAY
FRIDAY, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, SATURDAY
& SUNDAY EVENTS
MONDAY, 5 p.m.
MONDAY & TUESDAY
MORNING EVENTS
TUESDAY NOON
CLASSIFIED ADS
TUESDAY NOON
DISPLAY ADVERTISING MONDAY 5 p.m.
OSP names
Heppner
trooper
Heppner will be assigned
another Oregon State Police
trooper in mid-summer, ac
cording to State Police in
Hermiston.
The new trooper for Hep
pner is Tom Dixson, a native
of the Milton-Freewater area,
according to Cpl. Mike Hays of
the Hermiston Safety Center.
Dixson is married. He and
his wife, Sally, have an
11-month-old girl.
There is no fixed date for the
assignment of Dixson, but a
tentative target date of July 1
has been set.
Dixson joins Trooper Vic
Groshens, a native of Hep
pner, who has been assigned
here for more than five years.
THE
HEPPNER
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.
The official newspaper of the City of Ileppner and the County of Morrow.
G.M. Reed, Publisher
Dolores Reed, Co-publisher
Terry M. Hager, Business Manager
Tom Franks, Editor
Eileen Saling, Office Manager
Justine Weatherford, Local News
Georgia Seal, Composing
Janene Searle, Composing
Sharlene Arends, Composing
Mother's Day
Let us wine and
dine that great lady,
Mom,
who deserves the best.
Sunday, May 8
West of Willow
8 oi. Top Sirloin served with
3-4 ox. Lobster Toil
Beef Barley Soup ' Salad Bar ' Coffee-Tea
$ ra5
Served 12:00 4 pm Adults 3 Under 12 '1"
Sweet -Sour Shrimp langostino Meatballs
Paparika Chicken Deep Fried Chicken
AuCratln Potatoes French Fried Potatoes Peas and Carrots
Coffee Tea Roll
BREAKFAST
BAR
Fruit Bar
- Hot Cakes
Ham or Steak
and Eggs
served
9 a.m. - 7 1 a.m.
J V ;
J f ) ' .. '
V )V N
Quality and
by
.?. personally
Steaks and
Seafood
as always ,
every night at
West of Willow
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