TWO The Gazette-Times. Heppner, Ore., Thursday, May 12, 1977
BOAEDMAN B
Letters to the Editor
TO MORROW
For a more
humanitarian world
Suggests coyote,
dog association
Boe explains
school's' safety nef
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TOO TOMORROW
1 By Tom Franks 1
Interview with a Fourth Grade Graduate
in Cal'sCafe
"What are you doing?" said she. "I'm writing an address
to the graduating seniors." "No, you're not," said she.
"What do you do?" "I eat," said she. "I had 12 cinnamon
rolls today."
"What did you have for lunch at school?" "I don't
remember," said she. "Think, brain!" said she, pointing an
index finger to the middle of her forehead.
"What do you do besides eat?" "I play with my ring," said
she, tapping her ring on the table top.
"Do you put all that in the paper?" said she. "No, I write
more than I put in." "You waste a lot of time," said she.
"Are you married?" said she. "No," said I. "You're
dumb," said she.
"Marry Debbie," said she. "Debbie's involved. Besides,
there is more than one Debbie in town." "You're weird!"
said she.
She takes her hamburger and goes to the counter. The back
of her shirt reads "Tankers Do It Better." She finishes her
hamburger and comes back.
"If you're not married, how do you have kids?" said she,
referring to a previous conversation. "I'm divorced." "Oh,"
said she.
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Sharla
I read my notes of our conversation thus far.
"Did you write all that down?" said she. "Yes, but not in
the same order." "You didn't," said she. "Don't put my
name on it. Do you put anything you want in the paper?"
"Yes," said I. ("Within reason," I qualify myself silently.)
"Is your name on it?" said she. "Yes," said I. "We could put
both our names on it," said she.
"Are you going to graduate?" "Graduate! I'm in the fourth
grade!" "You're going to pass to the fifth, aren't you?"
"Yes," said she. "Then you are a fourth grade graduate,"
said I. She laughed a lot.
"What would you say to the graduating seniors?" "I don't
know," said she. (Pause) "I'm dumb." (Pause) "I'd say,
Hurry up and get free." - "
"How shall we put your name in the paper?" said I.
"By Sharla Gaustad A Star!!!
Letter to the Editor
on school levy
To the Editor:
Since the defeat of the Morrow County School District
Budget, I have had a number of people ask me why the
District can't live within the 6 per cent limitation rather than
seek approval of a tax levy outside the 6 per cent.
This question has been raised so often that I believe it
deserves some discussion. The 6 per cent limitation refers to
the fact that if a district has an established tax base, they
may levy that base plus 6 per cent each year for the support
of schools without a vote of the people.
This has not been a satisfactory solution for school finance
for at least two reasons. First, many school districts have
never been able to get the votes to approve a tax base and
secondly, those districts who do have tax bases had them
established many years ago and the bases do not reflect
either inflation or growth since they were established. They
simply have not kept pace.
Currently, Morrow County School District has a tax base of
$466,157.00; an increase of 6 per cent would mean that the
district could levy $494,128 00 this year for the support of
schools. This is $25,939.00 less than the amount budgeted in
1960 for the operation of a newly formed school district. It is
obvious from this that the increase of 6 per cent would not be
realistic even if the budget was reduced to the 1960 figure.
Matthew P. Doherty
Superintendent
Morrow County School
District
EEFFNER
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Dear Editor:
Well, I do declare I find Rev. Mark Johnson's critical
letter about me most interesting. "If God loves such astute
murderers like Olds as much as people like my friend, Mary
Lindsay," I dare say Is it any wonder that recent statistics
show church attendances becoming lower in many cases?
With such teachings, why would anyone need to try to do
good deeds if evil deeds such as Olds' rate the same
compensation in God's family? For a minister to belittle my
endless efforts to try to better conditions for God's animals is
a pretty poor example to set for the public. I consider the
insult pure unadulterated, galvanized gall. Why the necessity
to make a choice between two alternatives of evil by
comparing capital punishment to calf roping?
Man was created in God's image and given a brain to make
decisions as to good and evil. Murdering helpless people in
cold blood with no respect for any age or circumstance is
certainly the most despicable, insidious, evil crime
imaginable. While, on the other hand, the gentler animal
creatures created by God such as calves have been given
bodies of flesh, blood and nerves to feel pain just the same as
man ; but no choice that they would prefer to grow up strong
and healthy in a pasture with their mothers and not be
practiced on in roping sessions in rodeo arenas. Such
continual treatment causes them to be just scrubs and
nervous wrecks.
I am wondering how Rev. Johnson would like to be halted
and upended on his back in the arena as so many calves are
when they come to the end of a tough nylon rope that is
anchored to a big strong quarter horse that slides to a violent
halt by applying all four wheel brakes at once?
R.C.A. rules say, "If a calf is trip busted to the ground on
purpose, a cowboy will be penalized on points," but has
anyone ever seen this rule carried out anywhere, at any
time? You know the less breath left in a kicking calf saves
precious tying time to please the cheering thrill-seeking
crowd.
Rev. Johnson, I fail to see your appalling attitude about me
getting upset at calf roping. It causes me agony to know that
such creatures have done man or beast no harm, and yet they
must be trip yanked to a halt, thrown to the ground, choked
and dragged through the dirt to entertain the human
creatures. The year my daughter was Queen of the Heppner
Rodeo, a little black calf had its neck broken in the trip bust.
It was dragged out back, and the crowd was informed, "It
will be OK and soon come around, and have the care of a
vet."
And Rev. Johnson, since you were so generous and free to
give me advice on pleading mercy for Mary Lindsay's
murderer, I've got some advice for you. Has it ever occurred
to you that God so loved the animals that He chose to have
His only Son born among them? You should be teaching
reverence and respect for all animals and not promoting
rodeos. We all seem to be trying to go to the same place, but
must be worshipping different gods. A true, loving Good
Shepherd as God is would not condone the cruel $$$
exploitation of His creatures, such as dog fights, cock fights,
bull fights, steer busting, coon on a log, and cruel, lamentable
trapping to rob creatures of their hides for human vanities'
sake, etc.
May God bless the animals that were put here first and got
along very well until man came along to upset nature's
balance and added crime and violence.
Now, for capital punishment; I'm sure no one really wants
it back, except we all value our own lives and since the
prisons are all overcrowded and murderers must be let out to
make room for more murderers, what other alternatives do
you suggest? I'd much rather know a murderer was executed
than to think he would get out and do me in as he did poor
Mary Lindsay.
"When shall all men's good be each man's rule, and
universal peace be like a shaft of light across the land?"
For a more Humanitarian
World,
Lois Winchester
Heppner
Editor, Heppner Gazette-Times,
In answer to Mrs. Vandehey's letter and to more or less
apologize for some of the mistakes made in my former letters
on H.B. (2489), I predict that after Mrs. Vandehey has spent
half as much time trying to make a living in this country, off
the land, as I have, her romance with the coyote will have
faded.
I think Mrs. Vandehey's idea of domesticating coyotes is a
splendid one and perhaps I can even help her in a small way.
There is a Mrs. Winchester in Heppner with similar ideas.
You and Mrs. Winchester could form an association and
cross-breed coyotes and dogs. She has an abundance of dogs
and you, Mrs. Vandehey, would have to supply only the
coyotes. You could call your project "The V. & W. Mad
Coyote Cross Dog Breeders Association." Just an idea, but I
feel you would have some extremely cross dogs.
You pointed out in your letter that all dogs were originally
wild. I agree, but the same is true of all our domestic animals
except, of course, the mule. As one old timer remarked, "A
mule is not one of God's creations anyway, but one of man's
damned inventions!" Sure hope your project doesn't turn out
that way.
You stated I was very wrong in saying the majority in this
area regard coyotes a nuisance. You are so right. I should
have taken a poll on the subject before writing. But, you
know, I'll always be a little puzzled why our Eastern Oregon
counties hire a government trapper and pay bounties, some
up to $25.00, to try to hold down a valuable resource.
One of the other major mistakes in my letter was calling
Kelpie's little sister a brother and I am sorry. To tell the
truth, I still don't know, as I didn't examine the whelp closely
enough to determine its sex. But if you did, Mrs. Vandehey,
and are quite, quite positive, I'll sure take your word for it.
As you can plainly see by my writing efforts, like my friend
Charley Jones, I am far from a college man. My formal
education terminated at about age ten due to the
misunderstanding of one of my teachers. So, you see, Charley
and I are severely handicapped in competition with you
college girls.
Charley and I have gotten by so far without getting on the
Welfare rolls. Probably due to not being able to fill out the
forms. They tell me those forms are buggers.
District 16 should be congratulated in electing
Representative Denzel Jones, with enough sense to table
(H.B. 2489). Denzel is a good friend of mine. In fact, we
attended the same school for a short time.
Denzel is not to be confused with Charley. No relation as
far as I know.
You spoke of the merits of the Dingo. Well, we owned one
for a time and the only thing the little blue potlicker excelled
in was catching biscuits thrown out the back door. Otherwise,
he was about as useful as those little nubbins on a side of
bacon.
I am not mad at you for calling me a liar. Have been called
worse, much worse, over the years.
A Neighbor,
Ray Gates
Spray, Oregon
Dear Editor:
Judging by some of the recent letters-to-the editor
published in your paper, there seems to be a great deal of
confusion over Ballot Measure 1, the Safety Net for Schools
Financing Plan. I would like to take this opportunity to
correct any misunderstandings that may exist in the minds
of your readers.
First, Ballot Measure 1 does not take away the people's
right to vote on school levies. Ballot Measure 1 maintains
your right to vote by requiring yearly school levy elections. It
limits costly school budget elections to no more than two a
year. The voters can request additional elections through
petition, however. Only those school districts that cannot
pass their levies on two tries are allowed to fall into the
"Safety Net" under Ballot Measure 1.
Second, there is no automatic tax increase in Ballot
Measure 1. In fact, Ballot Measure 1 can help curb
skyrocketing property taxes. Following two consecutive levy
defeats, a school district is allowed to fall back on last year's
levy, plus a limited, optional increase for inflation of up to six
per cent. This increase is not mandatory. It must be
authorized through formal, public action by the locally
elected officials who serve on the school board. And the
increase must always be less than the smallest levy defeated
by the voters.
Even a full six per cent increase is far less than most school
districts receive under the present system. Statewide
property taxes for schools have increased at an average rate
of 11 per cent a year since 1970. That's almost twice as much
as the maximum safety net increase allowed under Ballot
Measure 1.
Third, Ballot Measure 1 does not threaten local control.
The final decision on the amount of the "Safety Net" levy is
not made by the Legislature or the Department of Education
in Salem, but by the locally elected school board members.
This enhances local control, since school board members are
ultimately responsible to the voters of their district.
Fourth, Ballot Measure 1 will prevent a repeat of last
year's tragic school closures. Over 12,000 Oregon school
children were locked out of their schools last year because of
repeated levy failures in North Bend, Eagle Point, Cottage
Grove and La Grande. Many of these children will never be
able to regain the educational opportunities they lost. Ballot
Measure 1 will insure that Oregon's children receive the
education they are entitled to under the Constitution.
In closing, I want to assure your readers that the 1977
Legislature is firmly committed to achieving state-wide
property tax relief. The Legislature has already voted to
raise the level to 34 per cent for the coming school year. And
the Legislature is giving very serious consideration to raising
Basic School Support to the 40 per cent level for the 1978-79
school year, with the provision that the increase be used as a
direct offset against property taxes.
I urge Oregonians to take the first step to school finance
reform, and vote YES on Ballot Measure 1 on May 17th.
Very truly yours,
Jason Boe
President
Oregon State Senate
M.C. CBer's
set break
The Morrow County CBers
break will be held, beginning
at 7:15 p.m. Monday, May 16,
at the West of Willow Res
taurant in Heppner, according
to club officials.
Thanks
to Wil
To the Editor:
The coaching staff at Heppner High School would like to
thank Wil Phinney for his fine coverage of our sports'
programs this year. His coverage, articles and editorials
were of the highest quality and we deeply appreciate his time
and effort.
Chris Borgen , Rebecca Randall
DaleConklin Chuck Lutsch
Dale Holland George Koeffler
John Sporseen Michelle Portman
YOU ARE INVITED TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION "
j Blue Mt. Community College
Board of Directors and Administrators
I will meet in Heppner for a
t
Public Forum
Now's the time for weed control
Both Aerial & Ground Applications Available
WESTERN FARM SERVICE
CUSTOM SPREADING & SPRAYING
NH3 Aqua
Ag Chemicals
Dry Fertilizer
Seed
Animal Health Products
I ! f ; - r I i fJ f 1 !. V I no if VniiiA
lACil uiiiiiii oaiw u miiivw
Bob Davidson - Sales & Service
Bill Wondra - Fieldman
r
FflRm SERVICE Dennis Reisch - Branch Manager
Boardman 481-2921 Heppner 676-9103 Lexington 989-8525
Tuesday, May 17 at 8 p.m.
West of Willow Meeting Room
-Refreshments will be served
Forum Sponsored By Your
American Association of University Women
BMCC welcomes all comments and suggestions as to future
services the college can provide Morrow County residents.
'THIS MESSAGE SPONSORED BY'
Columbia Basin
Electric Co-op
Serving 3,010 square miles in five counties.
THE
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HEPPNER
GAZETTE-TIME
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 Heppner 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
n . r