TWO The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, January 12, 1978
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Heavy runoff from recent precipitation has been called the worst in nearly a decade by
area farmers. Silt deposits have covered roadways and rushing water has scarred fields.
Still waiting for 1st baby
Tad Miller: "Farmers in state of unrest"
Gifts are being given to the
year's first baby by Judy's
Fabric & Macrame; Bank of
Eastern Oregon; First Na
tional Bank; Kroll's Depart
ment Store; Coast to Coast
Store; Cole's House of Fa
shion; Lebush Shoppe; Petty
john's Supply; Turner, Van
Marter & Bryant; Shoe Box;
Court Street Market; Lexing
ton Lumber Yard; Ray Boyce
Insurance; Case Furniture;
Morrow County Grain Grow
ers; Cal's Arco Service;
Central Market; Murray's
Drug; Columbia Basin Elec
tric Co-op; Peterson's Jewel
ers; Cal's Cafe and Lounge;
the Gazette-Times; and Pio
neer Memorial Hospital.
The first baby of. 1978,
eligible for many gifts from
local businesses, must be
residents of Morrow, Gilliam
or Wheeler Counties. He or she
must be born at Pioneer
Memorial Hospital to get the
$50 discount from the hospital
bill, but will be eligible for the
other prize if born in another
hospital to parents who are
residents of Morrow County.
The exact time of birth must
be specified by the attending
physician and a written state
ment must by submitted to the
Gazette-Times within 36 hours
of the time of birth.
OBITUARY VidaHeliker
Vida Heliker, late of lone, preceded in death by her
died in Seattle, Washington on
Thursday, Jan. 5, 1978 at the
age of 83.
She was born in Hopewell,
on Nov. 1, 1894, the daughter of
Alfred and Irene McKinley
Zink. She had been a resident
of the lone community since
1916.
Mrs. Heliker was a member
of Rebekah Lodge No. 91 in
lone, Willows Grange No. 672,
Home Extension Service, lone
Garden Club and the Morrow
County Historical Society.
Survivors include a daugh
ter, Harriet Busby of Seattle,
Washington; a grandson,
Gene Heliker, Seattle; and a
step-granddaughter, Sharon
Stookey, Heppner. She was
husband, Ernest Heliker, and
a son, Donald E. Heliker.
Funeral services were held
on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 2 p.m.
at the lone United Church of
Christ with the Rev. William
Graham officiating. Carl and
Betty Marquardt sang "The
Last Mile" and "In the
Garden", accompanied by
Rikka Tews on the organ.
Concluding services and
vault interment were in Lex
ington Cemetery with Swee
ney Mortuary in charge of
arrangements.
Casket bearers were Cliff
Aldridge, Berl " Akers, Leo
Crabtree, Darrell Padberg,
Milton Morgan and Bryce
Keene.
Editor's note: The following article was written by Tad
Miller of Heppner, past president of the Oregon Wheat
Growers League.
The article carries a message for both the farmer and the
consumer and was first published with "Oregon Wheat" the
OWGL newsletter.
by Tad Miller
The farm strike movement is calling for 100 per cent
parity. That is the goal, although I do not believe that it
necessarily has to be achieved, but it is a good figure on
which to hang your hat.
I believe that what most farmers want is not a
guaranteed profit, but to be able to operate within an
environment that enables them'or gives them an opportunity
to earn a profit. With the attitude now prevailing within the
present government and the Carter administration, in all too
many cases this is not possible.
Today, farmers are in a state of unrest. This, of course, is
due to low farm prices for most commodities, especially
wheat. I believe though, that there is a more basic or
underlying reason for this unrest. The Carter administration
has a stated, even an avowed, cheap food policy. This policy
is a political one dictated by the non-farmer consumers who
have come to expect cheap and cheaper food, even though the
cost of everything else they buy, due to inflation, is
constantly increasing. With this attitude from the
Administration and the government as a Whole, the farmers
are frustrated at every turn in their attempts to improve
their situation.
In my opionion, the first step facing agriculture is to
change this attitude. That first step is already in progress
through the "Farm Strike" movement. Now, it is essential
that the OWGL and other farm organizations prepare
themselves to move in with their ideas on what can be done.
There are a number of things that the government can do
administratively that would improve the situation. Some
would have an immediate effect while others would have a
more long range effect.
Speaking of wheat, the immediate effect, working within
the new farm law, might be raising the loan rate. Longer
range effects might come from increased funding for F.A.S.
for foreign market development. More liberal use of P.L. 480
and long range credit for importing nations would tend to
move more wheat, thereby stimulating the market, as well
as reducing supplies which in itself would be a market
stimulant. Any supply management program such as the
setaside program should be administered with the farmers
income in mind not exclusively on whether this country will
have an adequate food supply. These are just a few
suggestions, but before they can be implemented a change of
attitude within our government will have to take place.
Morow County School District's newly created long
range planning committee held its first meeting this week in
1968, under the chairmanship of Don McElligott.
At the time the new committee members included: Dr.
Wallace Wolff, Robert Jones, Ronald Currin and Orval
Matheny, alternate, all of Heppner; Ted Palmateer, Garland
Swanson, Louis Carlson and Harold Snider, alternate, all of
lone; Mrs. Dewey West and Vernon Russell, both of
Boardman; Bill Parker and Orville Buchanan; both of
Irrigon; and Elden Padberg, Lexington.
McElligott said the committee was formed because of
the school district's need to be working toward long range
goals instead of taking each item as a separate entity when
an emergency arose.
An lone girl, Susan Lindstrom, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
. Roy Lindstrom was named as one of the four Pendleton
Round-Up court princesses this week ten years ago. Queen of
the 1968 Morrow County Fair and Rodeo was also
announced Berniece Matthews, 18-year-old daughter of Mr.
. and Mrs. Wallace Matthews of lone.
The Morrow County Museum, now one of best small
museums to be found anywhere, was just a dream 20 years
ago, but the first step toward making this dream a reality
was taken this week in 1958 with the appointment of Mrs.
Ralph Thompson and Mrs. Omar Rietmann as co-chairmen
of a committee to develop a museum plan. -
A tour through the beautiful building donated by Amanda
Duvall with five rooms filled with fascinating items of
historical significance shows the museum's reality, 20 years
later, more than fulfilled the dream.
In a story headlined "District 7 Football Champs Given
H's at Colorful Dinner" the following members of the 1947
Heppner football squad were reported to have received their
letters from coach Leonard Pate 30 years ago this week:
Richard Allstott, defense; Bob Bennett, quarterback;
Bob Bergstrom, back; Morgan Connor, guard; Malcolm
East, end; Karl Gabler, guard; Clarence Greenup, back;
Willard Hammack, back; Doyle Key, tackle; Buster'
Padberg, back; Jack Ployhar, tackle; Don Rippee, back;
Norman Ruhl, tackle; Jim Sumner, center; Jerry Waters,
end, and Carl Thorpe, manager. The sportsmanship award
was given to Buster Padberg, who was chosen for the hono
by vote of his teammates.
This week in 1938 the Gazette-Times editorialized about a
proposed saw mill following an address by forest ranger F.F.
Wehmeyer before the Lions' stating that if logging is thrown
open in the Heppner district, the western yellow pine will
disappear within 15 years:
"A question of no little magnitude to Morrow County has
arisen because of the proposed sawmill establishment here.
Local folk, for the moment, are stalled in their rejoicing that
Heppner is to have a payroll industry, by announcement that
such an operation does not conform to forest service policy of
administering the timberlands...The question now confront
ing our people is: Shall an operation be encouraged here
which can last no more than 15 years at the most, or shall all
influence be thrown in favor of an operation at Kinzua...?
"As for the future we are not so greatly alarmed. There "
are compensatory forces at work in Nature over which man
has no control, and while influencing his destiny, they will
continue whether the lumber is made at Heppner or
Kinzua..."
We leave you with this thought for the week, printed 50
years ago in the Gazette-Times: "If any two classes of
workmen have anything in common it is the farmer and the
newspaperman. In one respect, at least, this similarity is
most outstanding, for everybody knows in his own mind that
he can run a better paper than the publisher, and everyone
can readily tell a farmer how to run his farm."
Set aside blasted; NFO program seeks $5.05 wheat
THE
GAZETTE
TIMES
Published every Thursday and entered as 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, Managing Editor
Jim Summers, News Editor
Eileen Saling, Office Manager
Elane Blanchet, Reporter
Gayle Rush, Composing Chloe Pearson, Composing
Justine Weatherford Local Columnist
Don Peterson, state presi
dent of the National Farm
Organization, told a group of
about 30 county farmers that
the current set aside program
announced by the government
will result in $3 per bushel
wheat which is still below the
cost of production. Peterson
made the remarks at the
meeting of the Morrow County
NFO held last Wednesday in
the Lexington, Grange.
Peterson said the $3 wheat
will mean that for an ever
increasing number of farm
ers, no principle will be paid
on existing mortages, no
payment will be made on
machinery and vehicles, and
building indebtedness will not
be reduced. The result, he
said, will be reduced pur
chases of machinery, vehicles
and clothing along with in
creased prices forseen for
food items.
Jerry Simpson, Pilot Rock,
leader of the American Agri
culture group told the group
that complacent farmers must
get off the ranch to work for
better prices. Simpson said
the national farm strike is
focusing attention on farmers'
loss of equity and lack of
profit. It also is bringing
public awareness to the fact
that parity is a current
calculated monthly index and
that if farm prices would
follow this index, the Ameri
can economy would benefit
from the generated earned
income, Simpson said.
According to Ray Jorgen
son, area grain director for
NFO, multinational grain
companies and USDA statis
tics set world wheat prices
with no consideration given
for the farmers out of produc
tion. Jorgenson said NFO
offers an updated program
whereby farmers can influ
ence prices up to 110 per cent
of parity, noting that anything
higher would be inflationary.
Under the plan, known as
the 5.05 Wheat Block, NFO
members would put up 100 per
cent of their old wheat crop or
new wheat crop, or both, on a
Grain Contract for Sale. This
production would be commit
ted in two separate blocks.
The first block would be 90
per cent signed in Section II of
the Grain Contract for Sale
and would be authorized for
sale by the member on a
Gargaining and Sales Authori
zation for sale by the member
on a Bargaining and Sales
Authorization Supplement at
$5.05 per bushel delivered to
each member's closest export
terminal. The second block
would be 10 per cent signed in
Section I for immediate bar
gaining. The member, if
necessary, could sell at any
time through the NFO Grain
Program at the current mar
ket price, part or all that has
been committed on the 5.05
Block.
This action is being offered
to wheat producers in Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Montana,
North Dakota, Northern Min
nesota, Nebraska, Kansas and
Colorado. It operates under a
new one year NFO member
ship agreement which would
forgive back dues over two
years old.
Jorgenson said the commo
dity contracts will enable
members to participate in
grain movements geared for
export, domestic and local
sales. He said grain signed on
the contracts would be identi
fied as being on strike. Several
members attending the meet
ing indicated their grain has
been intered on the contracts.
The group decided to solicit
new members and seek sup
port for the program.
HEPPNER BOWL ASSN.
ANNUAL TOURNAMENT
JAN. 20,21,22
JAN. 27,20,29
FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
ENTRY DEADLINE JAN. 14
HEPPNER
laHUJWlL
Ph 676-9203 or 676-5805
it. ri O w x
THE
ANNUAL MEETING OF
Willow Creek
w Country Clm
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18 7:30 p.m.
COLUMBIA BASH! ELECTRIC CO-OP BUILDING