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VOL. 94 NO. 28
Byrnes
With two weeks on the job
behind him, Pioneer Memor
ial Hospital's new administra
tor Robert Byrnes is moving
into the early stages of a
process aimed at establishing
a health service district to
facilitate hospital funding.
The district, with boundar
ies emcompassing Morrow
County and parts of both
Wheeler and Gilliam Counties,
would, according to Byrnes,
give the hospital "Complete .
autonomy and allow us to
establish a new tax base." He
added it would also clean up
the administrative process by
removing the county court as
another level of management.'
"It would be my opinion that
to carry out expansion plans
we will have to find other
funding sources and the dis
trict concept is one option,"
Byrnes said. The establish
ment of the district arrange
ment is an involved process
and Byrnes estimated it would
require a minimum of 10
months.
; At present, inquiries have
been sent to various commun
ity organizations regarding
the district possibility. If the
response is favorable, Byrnes
said the hospital board would
proceed in that direction.
"Everyone involved is pos
itively directed toward deliv
ering the best system of health
care with the resources av
ailable," he said. "Obviously
remodeling and expansion has
a high priority with us because
until we get more space to
work with, we are somewhat
limited."
Byrnes brings his enthus
iasm to Heppner from Lincoln
City where he served as
administrator of North Lin-
School
board
to meet
July 18
Morrow County School Dis
trict will hold their first
meeting of the new fiscal year
on July 18 at A.C. Houghton
Elementary School in Irrigon,
the meeting will be at 9 p.m.
Prior to the meeting the Board
is expected to tour several
properties which are being
considered as future school
sites. "
In regular session the Board
will select a new Chairman
and Vice Chairman. Currently
John Matthews from Irrigon is
Chairman and Pauline Winter
from Heppner is Vice Chairman.
rmrrniT-i ft
HEPPNER. OREGON
seeks hospital
Town Hall meet;
focus on welfare
Welfare is the topic and
public response is the target
as the Town Hall Meeting
concept comes to Heppner to
elicit views on the nation's
income maintenance policies.
The meeting, entitled
"Wages, Welfare or What," is
scheduled for Thursday, July
14, at 6:30 p.m. in the Heppner
Elementary School multipur
pose room. It is one of 33
similar meetings to be held
across to answer basic ques
tions concerning economic
security for Americans.
Cathy Peck, Lexington, the
Legislative Affairs Chairman
of A.A.U.W., will moderate
Ullman optimistic
about Carter
Rep. Al tJllman offered
words of praise for the new '
man in the White House and
hopefully a sympathetic ear to
the plight of local ranchers
during a luncheon held Wed
nesday, July 6, at West of
Willow Restaurant.
"Jimmy Carter has done
away with the imperial pres
idency," Ullman told the
crowd of approximately 40
diners. "I talk to him several
times a week, and I think his
approach is refreshing in this
post-Watergate era."
The U.S. representative for
Eastern Oregon, on his annual
visit to Heppner, called Carter
a man who is "strong-minded
yet flexible," adding that it is
an exciting challenge to work
with the man.
"If he does what he propos
es, and I think we have a good
chance of doing it in eight
years, it will be somewhat of a
miracle," Ullman said, citing
Carter's ambitious programs
in the areas of tax reform,
welfare reform, energy plan
H !!
THURSDAY. JULY 14. 1977
coin Hospital. He has taken
up residence in Heppner with
his wife Mary and their twin
daughters Cindy and Debbie.
Cindy is currently attending
Lewis and Clark College,
majoring in International Af
fairs and Debbie is attending
school at Eastern Oregon
State College.
the Heppner version of the
state-wide Town Halls which
are sponsored in the interest
of community education, by a
broad coalition of business,
labor, academic, civic, public
interest and social service
organizations in Oregon.
In a statement issued by
Gov. Bob Straub urging cit
izens to attend, Straub states,
"Social welfare and income
maintenance policies are
among the most crucial issues
facing our country today."
The conclusions drawn from
the meetings will be summar
ized in public opinion surveys
and sent to Pres. Carter, the
Oregon Congressional Deleg
ning and government re
organization. Regarding his work with the
House Ways and Means Com
mittee, which he chairs,
Ullman said, "This year we're
working together as a com
mittee and I'm pleased with
the results."
"We're spending a lot of
time on problems you have
here. We're trying to get a
better drought relief program
going but the problem is that
programs are tailored to the
entire country instead of
specific regions."
After Ullman's brief ad
dress, the floor was turned
over to questioners and Don
Peterson, president of Oregon
National Farmers Associa
tion, took the opportunity to
read a prepared statement on
the current situation faced by '
cattle and wheat ranchers.
"We are in a crisis situation
and we wanted to have a house
full of farmers today," Peter
son told Ullman.
HEPPNER
VII M
8 PAGES
IS c
funding
Byrnes has previously serv
ed in administrative positions
in hospitals in Seattle, Wash,
and Anchorage, Ala. He is a
delegate to the House of
Delegates of the American
Hospital Association and a
past member of the Regional
Advisory Board with jurisdic
tion over hospitals in the
Western states.
ation and to special Congres
sional hearings scheduled for
later this summer.
Clearly, something has to be
done to overhaul the welfare
system before it hauls our
country over the brink of
financial disaster," Straub
said of the spending programs
which by 1980 will reach $550
billion.
A discussion of the problems
concerned with economic sec
urity, employment and gov
ernment intervention will fol
low the film and then partici
pants will have the opportun
ity to complete the public
opinion survey.
"We are alarmed about the
current price levels being
discussed in the proposed H.R.
7171. The last Oregon State
cost study, for this area,
places our cost of production
at $4 per bushel, and this is for
an above average yield. Ob
viously, drought conditions
raise that cost even higher.
Our family farm structre is
headed toward oblivion and
we don't believe this is what
our country wants," Peterson
siad.
"We ask that parity prices
be the goal of congress for
agriculture. We ask for a loan
tied to the parity calculation
storage program without
mandatory release levels be
low parity, supply manage
ment based on bushel control
and payment limitations in the
$20,000 per farmer range to
protect the family farm."
Ullman acknowledged the
bleak outlook faced by Oregon
ranchers but offered no prom
ises or solutions at the time.
Economic development
association is formed
Persons interested in the
economic growth of Morrow
County are invited to attend
an organizational meeting of a
group being formed to act as a
citizen's advisory committee
for land use planning.
The Morrow County Econo
mic Development Association
(MCEDA) will meet next
Tueesday, July 19 at 8 p.m. in
Teacher hiring
progresses
With the 1977-78 school year
still a month and a half away,
Morrow County School Dis
trict administrators are close
to filling all of the 27 vacant
teaching positions needed for
the fall.
Of the 27 openings, seven
are new positions created by
enrollment expansion and at
tempts to equalize educational
opportunities . around the
county. All seven of the new
posts will be added to the
staffs of A.C. Houghton and
Riverside Schools. The re
maining hirings were neces
sitated by six retirements, and
13 resignations.
Assistant Administrator
John Edmunson said the
number of resignations was a
little higher than usual but
added that all were attributed
to valid personal reasons such
as advancement opportunities
in other districts.
Eighteen of the teaching
contracts have already been
accepted and an additional
seven have been offered with
the district office waiting
m
I l
Congressman AI Ullman and wife Audrey (left) make their
way through a crowd that heard the Representative speak
g
ft
-.ate Aftf -'iifr'rffiiiil''
the West of Willow conference
room.
Birth of the organization
came this week as proponents
of a proposed road leading
from Portland General Elect
ric's coal-fired generating
plant site to Southern Morrow
Conty, met to discuss the road
issue.
Beecher Emert, an lone
return. Administrators are
still seeking appicants for the
remaining three positions
which includes a replacement
for Chris Borgen, basketball
coach and language arts
teacher at Heppner High
School last year who recently
resigned to take a job at a
larger school in Washington.
A breakdown of the vacan
cies from last year at each of
the district schools includes :
A.C. Houghton, 8; Heppner
Elementary, 7; lone Elem
entary, 2; Riverside, 4; Hep
pner High, 4 and lone Jr. -Sr.
High, 22.
"Having been involved in
quite a bit of the interviewing,
I feel we have an excellent
group of teachers coming in
next year some beginners
and some experienced," Ed
mundson said.
He added that the district
office welcomes applications
for substitute teaching posit
ions for the coming year.
Actions taken by the School
See
school page 3
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Ullman visits here
All the speculation about what kind of crop would
be produced in this "year of the drought" is being
put to rest as farmers move to the fields for harvest.
Barley and wheat harvest is well underway in the
areas north of Lexington and Morrow County Grain
Growers General Manager Larry Mills says, "it
doesn't look good."
Mills said most farmers in that area are getting
about half the yields they normally expect reaping
little more than 10 bushels to the acre this year on
wheat. Barley is coming off that good with about
one-third production being the average about 450
pounds to the acre.
Mills said dryland farmers in that area generally
get about 20 bushels to the acre on wheat and
between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds of barley.
"As we move farther south the yields will be up a
little bit, but still not good," said Mills. Harvest is
expected to move into the areas south of Lexington
and close to Heppner by the end of this week.
"Even with crop insurance there isn't any way to
come out on that kind of production," said Mills.
businessman who started a
petition drive asking for
sulpport of the proposed road,
told those at a meeting last
Tuesday, "The road to Carty
is a complex issue. ..one that
needs the input and organiza
tion of a group."
The proposed road would
cross land Boeing leases from
the State of Oregon and would
lead to PGE's plant. Boeing
officials have expressed op
position to the road.
Emert and a half-dozen
other Morrow County resid
ents are seeking to form the
MCEDA and have retained the
services of Heppner attorney
Michael J. Sweeney to draw
up articles of association.
The association will have a
dues-paying membership; the
monies to be used for an
Class of '47
reunion here
The Heppner High School Class of '47 will host a
reunion of classmates this weekend with activities
planned for Saturday evening and Sunday.
A banquet will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday evening at
the Wagon Wheel Cafe & Lounge, in the banquet room.
The class will adjourn to live music and dancing in the
lounge following the banquet. Friends of the class are
invited to join in the evening's dancing.
Sunday a class picnic will be held at Cutsforth Park.
here last week at the West of Willow restaurant. In the inset
Ullman makes a point in response to a question from- the
audience.
economic analysis of the
proposed road, which is the
group's first project.
"We're not only looking at
the Carty Road deal," said
Emert, "but we think this
association can continue to
work for the economic benefit
of Morrow County with the
county court, the Chamber of
Commerce and all the towns
in the area."
The association will elect
offiers and a board of direc
tors next Tuesday. Emert
said the association would be
non-profit in nature and would
be controlled entirely by the
voting membership.
Persons interested in be
coming members or who
wish more information are
urged to attend Tuesday's
meeting.