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TWO The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, February 2, 1978
Sifting through
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Straw Ballot
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LETTERS
COMMENTS EDITORIAL
Talk of resurrecting the Willow Creek
Dam project is making for good conversation
these days in Souther Morrow County.
Senator Mark Hatfield, in an election
year announcement, said the Willow Creek
EDITORIAL
Dam could be built if the local citizenry wants
it and he indicated it could be done without
bringing the Corp of Engineers back in the
area for their notorious public hearings.
The Willow Creek Dam issue should be
carefully considered by residents of Heppner,
Lexington and lone. If built, the dam would
virtually eliminate the flood plain that now
encompasses much of the commercial and
residential areas of those cities.
A public meeting has been scheduled for
next Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the
Courthouse. At that meeting will be Steven G.
Hickok, the Senator's representative; city
and county officials; and possibly a Corp
person.
Those public officials need your atten
dance and input at the meeting.
As an added means of gaining public
input, a straw ballot has been included on this
page. Persons are urged to fill out the ballot,
add their comments and mail it to the address
listed on the ballot.
From the public meeting and the straw
ballot, your elected officials will make the
decision on whether or not to support the dam.
Where to write
Federal
Following is a list of Oregon and Eastern Oregon public
officials for the information of readers who want to
communicate with them:
U.S. Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, Russell Senate Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 20510. Member of Appropriations
Committee, Interior Committee, Rules Committee and
Indian Policy Review Commission. Portland office , Pioneer
Courthouse, Rm. 107, 520 SW Morrison, Portland, Ore. 97204,
phone 221-3386.
U.S. Sen Bob Packwood, Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C, 20510. Member of Finance Committee and
Commerce Committee. Portland office, 1002 NE Halladay,
Rm. 700. (P.O. Bos 3621), Portland, Ore. 97208, phone
233-4471.-
U.S. Rep. Al Ullman, of the Second District, House Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. Member of Ways and
Means Committee. Salem office, 150 N. Church, Rm. 219
(P.O. Box 247), Salem, Ore. 97310, phone 399-5724.
State
Gov. Robert Straub, State Capitol, Salem, Ore. 97310,
phone 378-3100.
State Sen. Ken Jernstedt (Morrow, Gilliam and other
counties), 311 Pine St., Hood River, 386-1393.
State Rep. Jack Sumner (Morrow, Gilliam and other
counties), Route 1, Heppner, 676-5364.
Letters Policy
ALL LETTERS of general interest are welcomed,
providing they are in good taste and not libelous.
250 WORDS IS about the maximum length we can
accept, however, if you need more space, please use
it.
ALL LETTERS MUST be signed to be considered. If
you wish to have your name withheld for good
cause we will do so after contacting you for an
explanation.
TELEPHONE NUMBERS should be included. The
number will only be used by the Gazette-Times to
confirm it was you who wrote the letter.
THE GAZETTE-TIMES reserves the right' to refuse
any letter it deems unfit for publication.
LETTERS SHOULD BE addressed to Editor,
Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Ore., 97836.
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
Will
ow Creek Bain Project
Yes, I would like to see
Willow Creek Dam constructed
No, I would not like to see
Willow Creek Dam constructed
Comments
Please mail ballot to P.O. Box 337, Heppner OR 97836 &
Farming: What the future holds in store
The following is the text of Heppner High School senior Krynn Robinson's
winning speech in Monday's FFA chapter public speaking contest.
by Krynn Robinson
America, the land of plenty, was founded by industrious
immigrants, people of ambition and foresight. Our founding
fathers decided that a free enterprise system should prevail,
thus allowing a reasonable return for a given amount of
investment, initiative and or labor. Thus given the incentive
and desire, this pioneering spirit developed from a crude
beginning into today's modern American farmer, who has
inherited a love of the land and the desire to be independent,
free, and self-reliant.
Today's advocates cry "back to nature" while more than
half of the family-owned farms have been forced out of
business in the past quarter centruy. Agriculture must be
allowed to prosper or those that have chosen to be the earth's
caretakers, and have the stamina and inherited ability to
competitively produce at minimum levels, will be socialized
into non-existance.
Agriculture involves the largest group of independent
business men in this country, who provide their own labor,
finance jnarketingand management skills. Though only 4 per
cent of the U.S. population live on farms, agriculture is the
highest producing but lowest paid minority in this country.
Yet much has been said about agriculture being subsidized.
Only few commodities have ever been subsidized and this has
not insured profits. Most subsidy prices are below the cost of
production, so actually the farmer is subsidizing the public
through a cheap food policy. About 60 per cent of the cost of
food is added after leaving the farm because of union wage
demandsd at the processing stages. True, everyone deserves
a decent wage, but how long can the farmer give all the
profits to the middleman before our farm economy
collapses?
In a free enterprise system, modest profits must result if
producers, processors and distributors can continue to
produce, expand output, or improve products and services.
How long will our nation be able to provide all that its people
can afford to pay for? No longer does it seem inportant that
our farm lands be allowed to prosper along with the rest of
society. Food prices are up less than 100 per cent in 20 years
compared to the wage scale, which has increased from 500 to
1000 per cent. The productivity of American agriculture since
1965 has increased 66 per cent, which is 4 times greater than
A Poem is Born
Sometimes on the rise of the morn,
Sometimes in the still of the night,
A poem is born.
The mind cruises off on a far away seas,
Sometimes on waves of reality
Again, towards a land that can never be.
Some wave thoughts appear serene and smooth,
Others oft-times dashing high,
As memories and yet-to-be's
Glide swiftly by.
Encompassing love and loyalty, friend and foe,
On a sea less poetic hearts can never know.
Loves of the past and the future;
The here and the now,
Drift closer and closer to the dreamship's bow.
Lost in reverie, drifting along;
Heart filled with the melody of an unwritten song.
Comes the journey's end, thoughts begin to blend.
Eager pen begins to write, blended thought on
paper white.
Again on the rise of the morn,
Or in the still of the evening;
A poem is born.
Katherine Rozelle Farrar
any other U.S. industry.
Agriculture's productivity contributes to agri-business
employing more people than any other industry in the United
States. Likewise, agriculture's needs for equipment and
supplies make farmers the largest customers for key
industries such as petroleum, chemicals, rubber and steel.
These costs have contributed to a 93 per cent rise in farm
production costs.
If reduction in agriculture results, how adverse the effect
on the nation's employment would be, where job
opportunities range from unskilled labor to highly trained
scientists and technicians.
However, what the world needs is more food, not less!
People talk of a food-hungry world and America is criticized
for not supplying more food to needy countries, though 80 per
cent of the food provided by the World Food Congress comes
from America. Much more food could result if modest profits
to producers were realized .Why aren't we as a nation, trading
surplus goods for oil and other needed imports, instead of
paying whatever price is demanded? Why aren't tariffs
placed on products that undersell the same commodities
produced by United States industries? Can't a formula be
enforced that would allow more imports to come in when .
domestic supplies are short and cut back when our supplies
are long? Obviously the protection of our own nation's
economy leaves a lot to be desired, and farmers shouldn't be
used as a pawn on the chessboard of international diplomacy.
What is affecting agriculture is an economic, social and
political blight that threatens a heavy hand on everyone.
Environmental programs should help everyone including the
farmer, who is the best conservationist of all. The long
tradition of multiple use of public lands is being restricted by
over-achieving environmentalists. Land use policies and
water development projects must aid agriculture and public
land grazing fees and restrictions cannot be prohibitive.
Urban encroachment threatens to gobble up vast acres of
fertile soil and this will continue unabated as lack of profit
forces farmers to give way torising land costs and taxation.
Investment and tax incentives, as well as commodity and
production credit programs, should be strengthed and
expanded to enhance small business and the endependent
farmer, who are the very essence of the American way of
life.
The U.S. D A. which was created to aid agriculture in
research ,marketingconservation and efficiency, has become
nothing but a subsidary of the Dept. of H.E.W. Over 80 per
cent of the Dept. of Agriculture's budget is spent for food
stamps and welfare. How poorly this is administered is
shown by the fact that nearly $440 was misspent for welfare
payments in the first half of 1977 for ineligible persons. If
excessive spending and mismanagement of taxpayers
dollars can be stopped, inflation can be halted.
When inflation strikes, both the producer and consumer
suffer. We must make a national decision to become energy
producers and leading food exporters. Our country needs a
national policy that encourages agricultural production
through profit incentive. The food producer must be
encouraged to produce profit from this land while
leaving the consumer with money to make purchases and
investments.
It is a fact that a nation grows and prospers as its
agriculture grows and prospers. We must sustain a truly
democratic way of life. Without vision, our nation could
perish. America muststrengthen her efforts to lead the world
in peace and prosperity through resolutions that make our
own nation united with a sound economy.
CLASSIFIEDS
WORK FOR YOU
676-9228
5J
The possibility of resurrecting the Willow Creek Dam
project wr page news in the Gazette-Times last week
and a story on the dam also made front page news ten years
ago this week: "President Lyndon Johnson's proposed
budget for 1968 lists $29,000 for the Bureau of Reclamation to
use on investigation and survey of Willow Creek project in
Morrow County.. .(This is) in addition to the $51,000
appropriated last year. ..The Bureau of Reclamation is
involved only in the irrigation feature of the Willow Creek
Dam project. Other phases of its multipurpose use are the
responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers with some help
from local agencies...."
Editor Wes Sherman commented on the appropriation in
his column "Chaff and Chatter" on page two: "...Well, sir, on
Tuesday came the word that another $29,000 is in the
President's budget for the Willow Creek Dam. ..That's a good
start for the Year of the Monkey, especially after Judge
Jones called Cong. Al Ullman's office and was assured that
the Willow Creek project is going to go through, probably just
as soon as the Vietnam War is settled (and perhaps if we
can keep from getting involved in another war.)"
. With the front page report of the theft of $80 from the
Heppner High School office ten years ago, editorial comment
was given to the 'crime wave' hitting the county at that time:
"The wave of burglaries occurring in Morrow County is
unusually high for this area which has the reputation of being
relatively free of crimes of any consequence. But recently
two grocery stores have been entered, and three schools have
been prowled. A motel was robbed, and there have been other
instances where entries have been made...
"Perhaps we in Morrow County, not being plagued by
such crimes are too complacent about it, and perhaps too
careless. At least during the present wave of entries more
vigilance is called for.. .an alert public may give some
help... Americans are getting a notorious reputation for their
indifference for not coming to the other's aid, for "hiding
their heads in the sand." We prefer the "old-fashioned" kind
of Americans, and we urge our fellows here to, be the
concerned and alert kind.
Discussion of the organization of a union high school
district called for by Orville Cutsforth, president of the
Morrow County Farm Bureau, this week in 1948 resulted in
no decision and little real interest expressed by Farm
Bureau" members:... "The sentiment expressed by those
called on was that more study is needed and first of all the
road program should be well underway before undertaking
another extensive building project..."
An editorial on the proposal was likewise lukewarm:
"This column is not disposed to take sides one way or another
relative to the formation of a union high school district
comprising the lone, Lexington and Heppner districts. ..it is
doubtful if enough interests could be stirred. ..to get the
movement started, but the idea has been advanced and
school-minded folks will be doing some thinking about it..."
With dog control regulations to be considered by Heppner
City Council later this week, this little item printed on the
front page of the Times 40 years ago is especially interesting :
"NOTICE TO DOG OWNERS, By an order of the County
Court, dog owners are given until the first of March to get
licenses at the rate of $1 for male and $2 for female. After
March 1st, the price will be $2 for male and $4 for female.
C.J.D. Bauman, Sheriff of Morrow County, Oregon."
The front page account of the killing of a bear this week
in 1928 must have been of great interest to the readers of the
day:
"While in town the first of the week, Harry French
reported to this paper that there was a big bear hunt on out
his way. The bear was one that had been doing a considerable
amount of damage to stock and it was hoped that the efforts
to get rid of him would be successful. Harry promised to give
further report as the hunt progressed and here it is. Guy
Chapin and Kenneth Bleakman ran the bear out on Friday
and gave him chase all day Saturday, interest in the drive
increasing all the while and on Sunday no less than six
nimrods of the neighborhood were hot on the trail of the bruin
and Monday the party was composed of the original hunters
and ten more, the latter being Ron, Percy and Bert
Bleakman, Gilman Blevins, Frank and Ron Howell, Carl
Leathers, Foster Collins, Fan Miller and Elmer Musgrave.
Five days were spent all told in the chase, when finally Mr.
Bruin was killed by Percy Bleakman at a point a half mile
above the Joe Dillon place. He was a brown bear, weighing
200 pounds."
ADITIIAD1CC
Thomas Howell
Thomas Stanford Howell,
74, died at his home in
Heppner, Thursday, Jan. 26.
A lifetime resident of the
area, he was born July 26, 1903
at Hardman, the son of John
and Nellie Merrill Howell. He
was a grocery store and meat
market owner for many years
until his retirement; a mem
ber of the First Christian
Church of Heppner, and a
member of the Heppner Elks
Lodge.
Mr. Howell was married to
Millie Zigmant at Coeur
D'Alene, Idaho on Aug. 19,
1948.
Funeral services were held
Monday, Jan. 30, at the First
Christian Church of Heppner
at 1 p.m., with the Rev. Edwin
Sikes officiating. Sacred selec
tions sung by Melvin Follett
were "Beautiful Isle of Some
where", "Sometime We Will
Understand" and "The Old
Rugged Cross". He was ac
companied at the organ by
Kathryn Hoskins.
Active bearers were Robert
Riddle, Len Ray Schwarz, Del
Piper, Jerry Holloman, Ran
dall Peterson and Ralph
Marlatt. honorary bearers
were Clayton Ayers, Dean
Gilman, Wilbur Van Blokland,
Jerry Rood, D.R. Tash and
L.D. Tibbies. Concluding ser
vices and vault interment
were at Heppner Masonic
Cemetery with Sweeney Mor
tuary in charge of arrange
ments. Besides his widow, Millie, of
Heppner, Mr. Howell is survi
ved by a son, Thomas,
Fleppner; daughters, Kathryn
Cummings, Spokane, Wash.;
Nellie Hodges, Vancouver,
Wash.; Betty Snow, lone;
Patti Brannon and Brette
Diggins, Heppner, a brother,
Clarence Howell, Irrigon;
three sisters, Opal McLaugh
lin, Beaverton; Dorothy Ma
honey, Hawthorne, Nev.; and
Blanche Jones, Heppner; thir
teen grandchildren and six
great-grandchildren. Two bro
thers and a son preceded him
in death.
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