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BESSIE
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NEWSPAPER
WET2ELL
LIB
Cattleman honor goes to
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workin9
end. . .
Chuck Acock shows how a
man gets the honor of being
named Cattleman of the
Year for Morrow County.
The Acocks' run a herd of
140 horned herefords in ad
dition to holding down full
time jobs elswhere.
From what Chuck Acock calls a "relatively small cattle
operation" comes some of the most preferred breeding bulls
and replacement heifers around, and he isn't about to leave
well enough alone.
Morrow County livestock growers appreciate Acock's
efforts to the extent that most of the Acock brand stock
purchased at the annual Horn-Acock production sale never
leaves the county. They have also seen fit to award him the
distinction of 1977 Morrow County Cattleman of the Year.
Acock will be honored for his selection at the Dec. 9
Farm-City dinner at the St. Patrick's parish hall, Heppner.
Along with his wife, Helen, Acock manages some 70 head
of adult registered purebred horned hereford and 70 head of
young stock which range on his 110 irrigated acres south of
Boardman. The Acocks continue the operation despite the
fact that both leave the ranch each morning for full time jobs .
As a working foreman on the paint crew at McNary Dam
Acock says the cattle are not his primary occupation.
"Cattle is my highlight but not my livlihood," Acock
says. "I'd like to work with the cattle all the time but there
are other things to consider."
It would be nice to think that the cattle are
self-supporting, Acock says, but with purchasing animals
and developing the herd to a quality level, it becomes an
expensive porposition.
Helen is employed at the Hermiston Veterinary Hospital
and has worked with Hermiston veterinarian Norden
Stefanites for the past 18 years.
"Because we both work, these cows have to do what they
do on their own," Acock says. "They do it inspite of us, not
because of us," adds Helen.
THE -
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Morrow County's award winning newspaper
.in.
mum & i of VfcwjC-
VOL.95.NO. 50
HEPPNER, OREGON
THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 1977
12 PAGES
15c
News briefs
Shirley R ugg to
Forestry Board
Shirley Rugg, Heppner, was recently appointed by Gov.
Straub to fill a vacancy on the State Board of Forestry.
Rugg, the only member of the Board from Eastern
Oregon, participated in a swearing in ceremony Dec. 1 in
Salem. She will serve on the Board for a three-year term and
will participate on the Fire Protection and Management
committees.
She will return to Salem Dec. 14 for an orientation day
and the Board will hold its quarterly meeting the following
day.
Merchant Bonanza
drawing Saturday
The first drawing in the Heppner area merchants'
Christmas Bonanaza with $500 in cash merchandise
certificates -will be held at 3p.m. Saturday in Hep
pner. Winners will be notified by phone and if not at home
a letter will be sent notifying them of their winnings.
Similar drawings will be held on each Saturday af
ternoon through the Christmas season. The cash cer
tificates are spendable at any participating merchant,
a complete list of which appears on page 12 of this
issue.
City adds to
bare budget
A supplemental budget allocating $4,300 in anti recession
funds to the city street, water and sewer departments, was
approved Monday by the Heppner City Council.
Carryover anti recession funds of $780 will be added to
the $1,961 received from the government to date and the
$1,559 still anticipated.
A breakdown of the supplemental budget shows $1,900
earmarked for sewer department materials and supplies,
$1,500 for water department materials and supplies and $900
for street department materials and supplies.
City seeks
sewer engineer
The Heppner City Council last week decided to send
inquiry proposals to various engineering firms in the area
concerning Phase I of federal grants trom me
Environmental Protection Agency.
Grant funds are to be used to upgrade sewer treatment
plant facilities to comply with future standards of the
Department of Environmental Quality. An engineer's
assessment of the sewer facility is necessary before the city
can submit a grant application.
$4.5 million, school bond
for build
ings
prop
ose
d
The Morrow County School
District Long Range Planning
Committee Monday voted to
recommend that the School
Board present a bond issue of
approximately $4.5 million
before county voters to fi
nance construction of an
elementary school in Board
man and a junior high school
in Irrigon to eliminate present
overcrowding in the schools
and allow ' for projected
growth in the area.
The committee also recom
mended inclusion in the bond
issue construction of a new
shop building at Riverside
High School, a multipurpose
room at A.C. Houghton Ele
mentary, a new heating sys
tem at the lone School to
replace the 24 year-old boiler,
remodeling old shop buildings
at Heppner High School and
Riverside High for other
classes, and expansion of the
library at Heppner High
School.
District Supt. Matt Doherty
estimated that, based on
present county tax valuations,
a $4.5 million bond issue would
require roughly $1.60 per
thousand over the present
$7.58 per thousand school tax
money. Several members
pointed out that at the rate the
county valuation was increas
ing the rate would be consider
ably less by the time construc
tion was started.
Doherty said the School
Board would decide at its Dec.
19 meeting whether or not to
present the bond issue to
county voters.
"I don't think the bond issue
is at all unrealistic, consider
ing that schools in the Board-man-Irrigon
area will have at
least 100 new students by next
fall and construction wouldn't
be completed until consider
ably later," Doherty said.
A proposal by the Board-
man-Irrigon Long Range
Planning Committee recom
mended district members con
sider construction of the new
schools and related buildings
expected to accommodate
growth in the area for a
maximum of four years. Dan
Daltoso, chairman of the
Boardman-Irrigon committee
said "It is our feeling that this
measure will satisfy our needs
for a four year period of time
and only for that length of
time."
In discussion that followed,
one committee member said
that "what the county would
accept and not what was
needed" was the issue. Sever
al members expressed the
idea that "construction will
never be cheaper than it is
today."
Doherty presented figures
on school population projec
tions and construction costs of
the buildings under considera
tion. The Sept. '77 enrollment at
A.C. Houghton Elementary
School was given as 413,
projected at 571 in Sept. '70;
Riverside Jr. High, Sept. '77,
127, projected 169, Sept. '70;
Riverside High School, Sept.
'77, 194, Sept. '79, 230.
Many members protested
that these projections, based
on past enrollment increases,
were much too conservative.
One commented, "We got in
the situation we're in now by
Continued on Page 3...
WVathtT
High Lo Precip
Wed, Nov. 30
Thurs., Dec. 1
Fri.,Dec.2
Sat., Dec. 3
Sun., Dec. 4
Mon.,Dec. 5
Tues., Dec. 6
47
56
59
59
45
42
58
33
39
52
48
35
24
33
.11
.08
.08
November Precipitation 2.40"
Normal for the Month 1.44"
1976 November Precip .46"
The Acocks take pride in the fact that the stock is raised
completely without feed supplements. There's no creep
feeding going on at the Acock ranch.
"We're promoting a herd that is structurally sound and
every cow raises her own calf without supplements. Any
cattleman knows a calf has to have milk to develop
properly," Acock says, noting that the milking ability is bred
genetically through the sire.
And once the calf leaves its mother, it stays on its own.
"It makes for a better animal if they have to get out and
rough it," Acock says. "When we sell our stock we know the
buyer is going to send them out in the hills to get by without
bellying up to a feeder."
Serving as herd sires this year are two bulls purchased at
the Stone Hereford dispersion sale in August of last year a
sale in which $2.2 million worth of cattle exchanged hands.
Acock says h'k is expecting good things from SR Saint Junior,
son of the Royal Saint and SR Big Arthur L452, son of Big
Arthur. Both tip the scales in the one ton range and, at two
years old, they are still growing.
About 30 head have been bred to each, and are planned
for spring calving. Acock says he tries to group the calving to
prevent too big a variation in the calves' ages.
The Acocks are now in the process of making
arrangements for their annual production sale held in
conjunction with Buttercreek rancher Brent Horn. The sale
is scheduled for the last week in January at the Buttercreek
Breeding Center, and Acock plans to have about 20 bulls and
12 females on the block.
"We have cattle that will make other people's stock
better, but we're still trying to make our own better, too,
Acock says, "We use a critical eye on the cow herd and if they
don't stack up, we get rid of them."
Buyers used to come directly to the Acock's Boardman
ranch, where the cattle operation has been located for the
Dast 12 vears. to make their purchases. But since 1968, the
Acocks have annually held a formal bull production sale and
for the last three years they have added female replacements
to the sale.
The family business operates under the name of C.W.
Acock and Son. The other half of the title comes from Bill, an
OSU pre-vet graduate, now seeking a Masters degree in
Animal Nutrition at the University of Nebraska. The Acocks
also have two daughters, Mary Thompson, Hermiston, and
Nina Sellers, Portland.
With the kids out of the house, Helen still keeps active in
youth work by serving as leader of Morrow County's 4-H Beef
Club. For the past 14 years she has been teaching "patience
and good sportsmanship" while imparting some of the
techniques and practices of the cattle raising trade.
"I've seen my share of tear-filled faces as the kids wave
goodby to their animals after an auction," Helen says, "But
when you come down to it, the name of the game is beef and
the moment of truth is when that carcass is hanging up on the
rail. I think the kids understand this, but it's still usually a
hard parting."
Chuck also keeps his hand in the 4-H and FFA
movements by actively seeking buyers for the youngsters'
yearly livestock auction at the county fair.
"Chuck runs himself ragged going all over the county
rounding up buyers," Helen says.
"As much work as the kids put into their animals, they
deserve a little promotion," says Chuck. The Acocks have
maintained a 10 per cent discount of all livestock purchases
by 4-H and FFA members.
In summing up their committment to the cattle business,
the satisfaction and enjoyment of the Acocks is apparent.
"We both really are pleased with everything," Helen
says. "There's no more beautiful sight in the world than
walking out in the field at daybreak to see a brand new calf
nursing on its mother."
As 1977 Morrow County Cattleman of the Year, Chuck
Acock and his wife Helen now have a new dimension to add to
the rewards derived from raising cattle.
Farm-City Day
is tomorrow
CowBelles and cattlemen
will come together for their
fall meetings, scheduled to
precede an afternoon of enter
tainment and speakers and an
evening awards banquet as
the annual Farm-City Day
toasts area agriculture and
business.
It all takes place Friday,
Dec. 9, at the St. Patrick's
parish hall beginning with a 1
p.m. welcome address by
Morrow County Livestock
Growers President Charlie
Daly.
Both the CowBelles and the
livestock growers will then
conduct their business meet
ings followed by guest speak
ers dealing with pertinent
topics such as livestock hor
mones and pest control on the
farm. Virginia Grieb will
narate a travelogue of her
family's recent trip to Scot
land. A special style show will
start at 3 p.m. and will be
offered for CowBelles, their
guests and the livestock grow
ers. Local models comprised
largely of downtown business
people will display garments
supplied through the courtesy
of Kroll's Department Store,
Coles Kuue of Fashions and
The ' Lebush Shoppe. Other
ensembles will be made by the
models. Fashions shown will
be for men, women and
children with narration pro
vided by Daly.
A social hour from 5:30 to
6:30 p.m. will kick off the
Farm-City Dinner, sponsored
by the Chamber of Commerce
' and the livestock growers.
The featured speaker for the
evening will be Don Ostensoe
on, "Agriculture Will the
Government Give It a Second
Chance?"
Special awards to be handed
out at the banquet include
Morrow County Conservation
Man of the Year won by Gene
Majeske, Morrow County Cat
tleman of the Year won by
Chuck Acock, business a
wards presented by the Cham
ber of Commerce and carcus
contest awards from the
county fair.
Everyone attending the din
ner will be in the running for a
diamond pin valued at $100
donated by Randall Peterson.
The $4 tickets for the dinner
and proceedings will be avail
able at the door.
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A i
Is Charlie blushing?
Well, maybe Charlie Daly is blushing a little but he's enjoying helping Carolyn Cole
(center) and Birdine Tullis pick out fashions for models at the upcoming Farm-City
Banquet.The style show is scheduled for the afternoon program; please see accom
panying story for details.
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