Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1977)
u or ORE N E S PAPER LIB - r '"t r? o ? 1 " 1 Trains won't stop, but UP depot survives 'A . Z- s ' Ox' f , .. - : "w,: '""v V ty-si..' ... . s-. - ",:'... I I ; " - -f - V . , f t ; v' 1 .r"i I- rv N " ;J7J j I -I : tiiiH f , - f fcj : i -: :"'" '-'.? ..-.i f . . , , : - -.:... . -. ... m -1 . . i i .i:rr . I Although the trains no longer stop there, the lone railroad depot certainly hasn't seen the end of its usefulness. Ownership of the historic Union Pacific depot at lone changed hands Tuesday when lone Mayor Robert Drake received a no-charge bill of sale for the structure from George Skorney, UP public relations director from Port land. Mayor Drake requested donation of the building to the city in early 1976 when Union Pacific announced the build ing was available due to plans for its retirement from ser vice. Drake said the depot will be moved by city and county work crews, to the city park one block from the present site. Removal of the depot from the railroad property was a stipulation of UP's donation agreement with the city. The city plans to restore and paint the exterior of the building and retain it as a historical monument. It can also be used for city storage, Drake said. Skorney said the 18 x 75 foot one-story building was con structed in 1904 by the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company following com pletion of the Heppner Branch in 1888-1889. It is similar in design to many of the turn of the century depots and is painted in the traditional "Union Pacific yellow". The building was last used in 1973 as living quarters for the local agent. Final approval to close the lone agency was granted by the Oregon Public Utility Commissioner in July. Ship pers in the Ione-Heppner area are now served by the agent at Heppner. Drake said the project of relocating the building is expected to begin within the next six months. 4'. - v THE ' Morrow County's award winning newspaper... 4MM VOL. 94 NO. 35 ' HEPPNER, OREGON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1977 12 PAGES 15c Union Pacific representative George Skorney (R) hands bill of sale to lone Mayor Bob Drake. ' Schools open Tuesday All Morrow County schools will open their doors to students on an abbreviated schedule Tuesday, Sept. 6, except the kindergartens which will operate on full sessions. Heppner Elementary and Jr. High will begin classes at 8:30 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. Heppner High school classes will get underway at 8:37 a.nv: and will end at 1:30 p.m. lone schools will operate on schedule at 8:35 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. while Riverside High School and A.C. Houghton will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. Full student bus service will be provided for the early afternoon return trip. A morning and an afternoon session will be offered by the Heppner kindergarten with the first session lasting from 8:30a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and the .More, on schools, new teachers pages 4 and 5 second session beginning at 12:30 and ending at 1:30 p.m. Generally, the morning ses sion is for out of town residents and the afternoon class is for the in town families. At the lone kindergarten, a single session lasting from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 will be offered. ' " Boardman will begin' morn ing and afternoon kindergar ten sessions for the first time at the Greenfield Grange Building. The kindergarten will separate from 8:05 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 12:20 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Sweeney heads personnel; new plant engineer Kfnzua Corp. last week announced that Dan Sweeney will be taking over the position of Personnel Manager at the Heppner mill beginning September 1. Sweeney, a three-year Kinzua employee, replaces Larry McGillvray who is leaving Kinzua to become Personnel Manager at the Warrenton Lumber Co., a division of Dant and Warren. , -j Billy Joe McMinn has moved from the Kinzua mill to asume Sweeney's duties as Plant Engineer at the Heppner mill. McMinn has been associated with Kinzua Corp. for the past 19 years and has moved to the Heppner area with his wife, Pat and two daughters. Morrow County agriculture The grass is- giree mer o o o A farmer, who started harvesting his crop around January, believes he is now supplying some 50 per cent of the commodity in the area and hopes for that same share of the Northwest Market in the future. Eric Anderson, 30-year-old lone farmer, has turned his three year dream of growing sod in dryland farming country into a reality. He calls it "Earth Carpet." The project, within sight of the Portland General Electric coal plant, is about nine miles north of lone. Anderson's 400 acres look more like an 18-hole golf course than a farm crop. Last year, Earth Carpet covered 50 acres. It was expanded this year to 400. Next springs expansion will almost double the circle irrigation farm to 700 acres, making Eric and wife Mamie Anderson, the largest sod growers in the Northwest. They are already thinking in terms of a 1,000 acre crop. ' Four circle irrigation systems water the five varieties of grass Anderson grows on his year-round project. "The advantage of this area is that it can supply grass most any day of the year," Anderson said. The only exception is when it freezes. Story, photos by Lavon Starr Anderson keeps his sod green throughout winter by applying a high concentration of nitrogen fertilizer in the fall. "By doing it this way we can market green turf even in the dead of winter," explained the 1970 Oregon State University agronomy and business major. . Anderson's closests competitors are in the Tri-Cities. He is mounting a challenge, however, by selling his sod at nearly half the price of his competitors. His rivalry doesn't stop there. Anderson's sod was the first in the state to meet state standards for purity and quality. "We're the only producers of Oregon certified turf as far as I know." That certification allows three grass weeds and three broad leaf weeds per 1,000 feef or turf. "We're a lot cleaner than that, but down in the 'Valley', that's too tough for them." The Washington state standards are considerably more stringent and Anderson has hopes of attaining that state's certification. "Whatever is the toughest, we want to go with them," Anderson explained. Continued on Page 10 HI ' ' . 2 Turf farm harvests crop. 5 s to 7 1 ncE- A CORP. i v- 0YMINT J.0KIYI 3. Dan Sweeney (R) welcomes Billy Joe McMinn to Kinzua's Heppner office. Friday sale set Many of the downtown Heppner merchants are noting Labor Day weekend with a special sale either Thursday, Friday and Satur day, or Friday afternoon from 3 p.m. to closing. w m iii ii in n Labor Day SEPT. 5 ' Sale items range from fall fashions and home improve ment items to clearance of summer merchandise. Consumers are urged to pay special attention to advertise ments in this week's Gazette Times for merchants' special sale days and hours. Most businesses will be closed Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5. News notes Blood draw Sept. 12 Area residents will be asked to roll up their sleeves on September 12 for the next Bloodmobile visit sponsored by the Alpha Theta sorority. The Bloodmobile will be at the Elks Lodge from 2:30 to 6 p.m. and baby sitting service will be provided for the donors. Sponsors have set a goal of 115 pints for the day. Senior passes here Activity passes entitling senior citizens to free admission to all high school sponsored activities are now available at the Heppner High School main office. Pass holders will be admitted to all athletic events, concerts, plays or other activities. There is no charge for the pass. ML 1. tCf 111 Jit ! JT iuui The Heppner City Council recently appointed William Kuhn of the City Attorney's office to a four-year term on the Library Board. Kuhn was named to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Edwin Struthers who is moving from the area. As Board chairman, Struthers presided at the July 27 meeting where the members present unanimously recommended the appointment of Kuhn. The recommenda tion was then forwarded to the Council for final approval. Break in dry weather bolsters farmers hopes It finally came. Even if it was too late to do anything for this year's crops, the rains of the past week may at least give area farmers a boost in the right direction for next year's crops. Heppner weather recorder Don Gilliam measured 1.16 inches of precipitation for the month of August which he said is 1.22 inches below last year's record fall of 2.38 inches but still is .78 inches above the normal rate. "Anytime we can get some rain, it's beneficial, "says County Extension Agent Har old Kerr. "A few growers with hay on the ground are getting a little damage but it's not a serious problem. Kerr said some south Mor row County ranchers in dicated they have enough moisture to seed in mid or late September but others feel more rain is needed before the seeding can begin. "If thev have to wait until November to seed, it will have an effect on the next yield," Kerr said. HIGH LOW Wed, Aug., 24 76 53 Thu.,Aug.25 67 52 Fri.,Aug.26 68 53 Sat., Aug. 27 72 54 Sun., Aug. 28 78 51 Mon., Aug. 29 72 52 Tue.,Aug.30 67 48 Prec. Aug. to date 1.18 Normal -38
