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TWO The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, March 2, 978
Sifting through
G-T announces
the
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price increases
Increased production costs have prompted The
Gazette-Times to raise the price of annual subscription
and newstand copies effective March 1.
The yearly subscription rate is now $8 for
subscribers in Morrow, Gilliam, Wheeler and Umatilla
counties; $10 per year elsewhere.
Single copy or newstand price of The Gazette
Times has been increased to 20-cents per copy.
The last subscription price increase for The
Gazette-Times was in 1974 when the annual
subscription price was raised to $6 per year for local
readers.
Friday meeting to
air farm programs
A farmers' meeting sponsored by the Agriculture
Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) for the
purpose of explaining the new farm program is scheduled for
Friday, March 3, at 1:30 p.m. in the Elks Lodge, Heppner.
Judy Buschke, ASCS executive director, will present
details of the program, assisted by Ken Nelson, ASCS county
chairman, and Harold Kerr, county extension agent.
Such aspects of the program as the requirements for set
aside, eligibility for deficiency and disaster payments, and
the federal loan program will be explained.
"This is a voluntary program and growers need to know
all the details in order to decide whether or not they want to
participate," said Buschke.
All county wheat growers are urged by ASCS to attend
the March 3 meeting.
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, 2O5J0. 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.
Picture Credit
Sabrina Lear, Heppner Elementary School first grader,
pensively contemplates the flag given to her Monday by
Lions Club members Don Cole and D.O. Nelson. The Lions
Club gave away approximately 50 flags to the schools first
graders, an annual February project to inspire patriotism
and love of the country's flag among the children. Sabrina is
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dwane Grissom and a student
in Marilyn Post's class.
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Added state support may
cut property tax for schools
One of the biggest problems
facing Oregon lawmakers
every time they meet in Salem
is how to pay for public
education.
The so-called free public
education that is part of the
American birthright has be
come mighty expensive. It
will cost something more than
a billion dollars this year to
educate this state's 456,350
elementary and secondary
students.
By tradition, property own
ers have paid the biggest
share of this bill through
property taxes. But as the cost
of education has increased, so
have complaints from proper
ty owners.
Resistance to rising proper
ty taxes grew to the
point last year that voting tax
payers in some districts
refused to approve budgets
and a few schools closed
temporarily.
Consequently, the 1977 Le
gislature redoubled efforts to
keep the schools open and
provide a measure of relief for
property taxpayers at the
same time. With a consider
able surplus of income tax
revenue remaining after the
state paid its biennial bills,
lawmakers voted a signifi
cant increase in state support
to schools.
The theory is that the more
money the state contributes,
the less each district will have
to obtain from local property
owners.
The state contribution this
year is 40 per cent up from 34
per cent last year and 29 per
cent the year before. With this
kind of increase in state
support, it would appear
property owners should find
their taxes going down for a
change. And in some districts
that could be the case this
year.
However, school finance is a
complicated procedure. Some
revenue comes from the
federal government, some
from the state and the balance
from local sources. All of
these resources are consi
dered in distributing state
support. The amounts each
district receives depend on
many factors devised to make
the distribution as equitable
as possible.
For instance, districts with
lower property wealth per
student receive relatively
more aid than districts with
higher property wealth per
students.
One particular provision of
the new distribution formula
is the key for speculation that
property tax reductions may
occur in some districts this
year. It establishes that any
state funds in excess of 108 per
, cent of the district's 1977-78
distribution must be offset
from the district's property
tax levy rather than consi
dered as a budget resource.
The Department of Educa
tion estimates nearly $52
million will fall into this offset
category from districts' certi
' fied levies in 1978-79. On a
statewide basis, the offset
represents a maximum poten
tial property tax rate reduc
tion of $1.27 per thousand of
assessed value based on the
$40 billion of taxable property
value for 1977.
v Following this line of rea
soning, hypothetical tax rate
reductions for selected dis
tricts have been computed by
dividing the 1978-79 offset by
the districts' 1977 taxable
values. The amounts of reduc
tion range from a high of $4.70
per thousand in Oregon City
No. 62 to a low of 24 cents per
thousand in Portland Dist. No.
1. Most of the hypothetical
examples however, are in the
$2 per thousand range.
It must be remembered
however, that these projec
tions are purely hypothetical.
Each district has its own ideas
about how to operate its
particular educational pro
gram. And certain special
education requirements vary
from district to district.
Consequently, the potential
property tax rate reductions
could be influenced substan
tially by voter-approved levies
for specific purposes not
available during this specula
tive computation.
Another factor that makes
estimating tax rate reductions
difficult is variable increases
in assessed value of property
from district to district.
In essence, there's no real
guarantee the additional state
money will actually result in a
reduction of anyone's particu
lar property tax bill.
At the same time, it's
interesting to note that we still
have to pay for our free public
education. One should remem
ber the state money being
distributed to districts comes
from income taxes. What
Oregonians are seeing is a
shift from education's reli
ance on property taxes to
taxes on income earned by
working people.
A statement descriptive of
our economic system claims
there's no such thing as a free
lunch. And that truism applies
also to our free public education.
THE!
GAZETTE -TIME
The Off icial Newspaper of the City of Heppner
and the County of Morrow
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.
G.M. Reed, Publisher Dolores Reed, Co-publisher Terry M. Hager, Managing Editor
Jim Summers, News Editor Eileen Saling, Officer Manager Elane Blanchet, Reporter
Gayle Rush, Composing Chloe Pearson, Composing Justine Weatherford, Local Columnist
LOVE
Love is an ember glowing in the night.
As time passes the ember glows more bright.
Love is quiet.
Love is still.
Like the shadows of evening coming down the hill.
Love is constant;
Love is true.
Spoken in words old, yet forever new.
Love is tempestous; almost mad.
Tender even sad.
With the coming of life's night,
The ember even grows more bright.
Love is forever
Though in life's evening, one heart may be still.
by Katherine Rozelle Farrar
Stories about honors earned by county youths
monopolized the front page of the Gazette-Times ten years
ago this week.
The Mustangs were headed for state tournament
competition for the fourth time in four years after beating
Sherman County in Moro in their last game of district play.
They were scheduled to meet Vale in LaGrande during the
weekend for the first round of tournament play.
Dave Hall, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Hall, was winner
of both the annual Elks Youth Leadership Award, and the top
honor in the Heppner FFA chapter, the Star Farmer trophy,
presented at the annual FFA banquet.
Merri Lee Jacobs, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jacobs
of lone, shared the Elk's leadership award with Hall. Both
winners were announced at afternoon ceremonies during the
71st Elks Annual celebration.
lone High School chose Kathy Keene, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Bryce Keene, as valedictorian for the school's 1968
graduation ceremony. Janice Snider, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Harold Snider was selected salutatorian.
Sue Greenup, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Don Greenup,
was selected by the Lena Community to serve on the 1968
Morrow County Fair and Rodeo court as its fourth and final
princess.
Elks scholarship winners were also announced this week in
1958. Jim Morris and Joann Brosnan, both of Heppner, each
won $200 in scholarship money, while Tom Currin, Heppner,
and Mardine Baker, lone, won $100.
A service organization very active in Heppner today got
its start here this week in 1948: "HeDDner.took another step
forward this week with formation here of a chapter of
Soroptomist, an international women's civic organization.
While the charter membership is comparatively small, there
is no doubt but that as meaning and aims of Soroptomist
become better known the membership will increase.. .Sorop
tomist is one more organization looking to civic
improvement, and being a women's group it can be expected
that any program taken up will be prosecuted with more
vigor than is the usual custom of the opposite sex..."
Street problems in Heppner caused by 1948's wet winter
were the subject of a Times editorial : "With March winds
stirring up the dust, conditions on Heppner streets have been
somewhat reminiscent of the pre-paving era the past few
days. An exceptionally moist winter has washed no little
amount of good top soil from the hillsides down onto the
streets and as the soil has dried it has started moving, hither
and yon, according to the fancy of the wind..."
An out break of smallpox in Fossil this week in 1938
caused the sub-district 13-B basketball tournament to be
moved abruptly to Heppner. Scheduled to compete in the
tourney were Irrigon, Umatilla, Heppner, Lexington, '
Boardman, lone and Condon. Luckless Fossil, with three
cases of smallpox reported, were eliminated from the
competition.
An item- this week in the Times fifty years ago
commented on the passing of a social phenomenon: "A
magazine said to be the national organ of the younger
generation. ...has just published an account of the passing of
flapperism. The flapper, however, has been dead for some
time. Poor little thing, she died, not of exposure, as some
might think, but rather of lack of it.
"The flapper began to fail when grandmother first bobbed
her hair and lopped a couple of inches of cloth from the
bottom of her skirts. From then on she languished and the
final blow came when the accounts of her goings on caused
people to shrug and say 'What of it?'
"A shy demure little girl is peeking from the wings. Soon
she will trip modestly upon the stage so lately occupied by
that brazen flapper.
"But the flapper had her good points and they were
obvious. She has passed many of them along to the modest
little girl who has taken her place. And in ten years or so, the
flapper will be back with us. It was ever so."
A prediction, meant as a joke, printed in the Times fifty
years ago: "Probably the next gre'at boon for the common
people will be the invention of the electric can opener." Other
humorous shorts of the day : Washington was the father of
our country, but if it hadn't been for Lincoln he probably
would have been the father of twins," and "Now that
Lindbergh has brought good-will to our foreign relations
some one should persuade him to visit Congress." '
Wheat farmers in the area must have read this item,
published in the Times this week in 1918, with great interest:
"lone was the center of proposed building activities Tuesday,
whpn county ftgent Brown met with thre different
representatives of Morrow County farmers who will begin
construction of concrete elevators for the reception of the
1918 wheat crop.. .The new Jordan Elevator Co.. ..has fully
decided to erect a concrete elevator of 100,000 bushel
capacity at an estimated cost of $35,000.
OBITUARIES
Noah Pettyjohn
Noah Edgar Pettyjohn, 92,
late of Ava, Mo., died Sunday,
Feb. 26, in Springfield, Mo.
He was born May 26, 1885 in
Vera Cruz, Mo., the son of
William and Mary Ellen
Pettyjohn, and came to Ore
gon as a young man. He lived
in Morrow County for most of
his life, farming in the
Buttercreek, lone, Lexington
and Rhea Creek areas until his
retirement, when he moved
back to Missouri.
Funeral services were con
ducted in Ava, Mo. Monday,
Feb. 27. Local services were
held Wednesday, March 1, at
Sweeney Mortuary Chapel at 2
p.m., with the Rev. William
Graham of the lone United
Church of Christ officiating.
Carl and Betty Marquardt
sang "Amazing Grace" and
"In the Garden", with Mrs.
Marquardt as accompanist.
Concluding services and inter
ment were at the Morgan
Cemetery. Casket bearers
were Lee Palmer, Paul Petty
john Jr., James Pettyjohn,
Richard Sherer, Wayne Hams
and George, Milller.
Mr. Pettyjohn is survived by
his wife, Donea, Ava, Mo.;
three sons, Paul and Lee, both
of Jone and Roy, Portland;
two daughters, Beulah Sherer
and Geneva Palmer, both of
lone; two brothers, Archie
Pettyjohn, West Plains, Mo.;
and Raymond Pettyjohn, Ar
lington; two sisters, Myr
Medlock, Ava, Mo. and Minta
Webb, Walla Walla, Wash.;
ten grandchildren and twenty
one great grandchildren.