Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1978)
The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, March 9, 1978 NINE Reform Act proposes changes in 160 acre irrigation limit 1 Comprehensive legislation to free a number of farming families from regulations which would limit federally irrigated land to 160 acres per person was introduced in the Senate this week by Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore) and Sen. Frank Church (D-Ida). The bill, entitled the Recla mation Reform Act of 1978, will increase the average allowances for farms receiv ing water from federal irriga tion projects to 1,280 "Class 1" acres, or the equivalent in lands of lesser productive capacity. The Act will amend the 1902 Reclamation Law which placed a limit of 160 acres per person on the quantity of irrigable land for which a farming family may receive water from a federal project. "I believe the Reform Act will go a long way in both preserving and protecting the family farm, a tradition that's Well established in Oregon, against arbitrary limits fash ioned quite literally in the horse-and-buggy days," Hat field said. "At the same time it will insure that the true family farm does not give way to the absentee, corporate landlord whose closest contact with the land is a potted plant in a Beverly Hills office." The Bureau of Reclamation estimates that there are 1.8 million acres in western states in excess of the 160-acre limit, including an estimated 16,979 acres in Oregon. Hatfield and Church are members of the , Senate Subcommittee on Pub lic Lands which is currently considering the issue. "This comprehensive pack- House committee OKs tax relief measure The House Ways and Means Committee gave its approval last week to legislation that alleviates an inadvertent tax burden imposed on farmers receiving federal disaster and deficiency payments this year for 1977 crops. The bill, sponsored by Oregon Congressman Al Ull man, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, now goes to the full House. The tax problem for drought-stricken farmers and ranchers arises because a drought-induced paperwork backlog at the Agriculture Department resulted in many 1977 payments not being made until early this year. Many Oregon farmers, as well as those in other states hit by the drought, received these late disaster and deficiency pay ments and now are faced with having income this year from these payments as well as from the 1978 crop. The legislation will allow a farmer to elect to treat the late payments as 1977 income if the farmer can establish, that, under usual business practice, income from the 1977 crops would have been repor ted in 1977. U.N. Pilgrimage Speak - off Sunday The United Nations Pilgri mage for Youth Speak-Off Contest will be held Sunday, March 12, at the Pendleton Odd Fellow Hall, 19 S.W. Dorion. The speeches begin at 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Odd Fel low and Rebekah Lodges the contest will include speakers from Heppner, lone, River side, Hermiston, and Ukiah. The students were chosen on the basis of an essay each wrote entitled "Why I Would Like To Be Chosen to Make the United Nations Pilgrimage For Youth Tour". The winner will receive an all expense paid bus tour, to Washington D.C., New York City and the United Nations, and many other points of interest. Everyone is invited to attend the speech contest. i y nil y 1 ! , 5- DAY PLAN Stop Smoking Clinic Coming to Heppner March 26-30 A method of successfully proven by millions of Americans already. If you really want to quit, you can. The 5-Day Plan works! Watch for: Posters giving time and location. A brochure in the mail describing the program and including a registration card. For further information, call 989-8527 (or 676-9449). No Charge ' This Message Sponsored In The Public Interest By Columbia Basin smiq r. i square vrZtt fa LlCCtriC CO-OP portioni of 5 counties age will help ease the already heavy burden of Northwest farming families, while still prohibiting non-farming inter ests from taking in millions of taxpayers' dollars through manipulation of reclamation laws," Hatfield said. Under the 1902 Act, a farm family receiving federally irrigated water was given a 160-acre allowance for each family member up to a total of four persons. One family with four or more members was thus allowed to own 640 acres of federally-irrigated land under the 1902 Act. They were also allowed an additional 640 acres of leased land for a maximum total of 1,280 acres. For a husband and wife alone, for example, the limit under the 1902 Act for owned and leased land would be only 640 acres. Under the Hatfield-1 Church proposal all farm families, no matter how large, would be entitled to the 1,280-acre total of land consi dered "Class 1" by the Bureau. If the land in question was of limited quality and required additional irrigation, the "equivalency" section of the Reform Act would allow for an expansion of the 1,280-acre limit. The equivalency test by the Bureau would be based on a number of characteristics including soil quality, crop adaptability, and costs of crop production. The Hatfield-Church bill also approves pay-out provi sions contained in Bureau contracts. These provisions provide for the end of acreage limitations upon full payment by farmers of past construc tion costs obligated to them. The Reform Act would thus honor existing long-term com mitments to farmers from the federal government. So-called "speed up" provisions con tained in several Oregon irrigation district contracts would also be validated under the bill. ' The proposal will, in addi tion, eliminate the require ment that farmers live within a 50-mile radius of the federally-irrigated land they farm. In its place, the Reform Act requires that a "qualified beneficiary" is an individual, family or legal entity benefit ing 25 or fewer persons, and that new purchasers must derive income from agricul tural production, rather than mere rental of the land, for at least ten years prior to leasing that land. "The provisions of this bill are not set in concrete," Hatfield said. "The Reclama tion Reform Act is offered as a legislative foundation to con front a complex and very serious problem. I will conti nue to welcome suggestions from farmers and citizens alike in an effort to insure that a fair and constructive solu tion to this problem is found." "Given the limits of infor mation presently available to us; we must exercise extreme care so that in the process of stopping corporate abuses of federal farm subsidies, we do not disrupt Oregon's long established pattern of famiiy farming," Hatfield stressed. MEAT .GROWERS LEAGUE ANNUAL MEETING Mom AY, MARCH 73 7:30 p.m. AT ST PATRICK'S PARISH HALL SV LUNCHEON i LyCJ' & CARD k Sponsored By ( I Holly Rebekah PARTY Lodge FRIDAY, j O Cards 10 a.m. -12 Anru IT 4 6 Lunch 12-1 p.m. MARCH 17 Z jj Cards 12 p m IOOF HALL 6 It rrPy r ' oo0!?!; Lt J-EXINGTON j eeoooooeeooooooeecooeoeooeci SALE '! HEPPNER LIONS fJlUSTANG -JACKET CLUB Buy a greet, lightweight jeeket end support the Heppner High School Bend Uniform Fund. Lined Jackets ....$15 Unlined Jackets ...$10 Jackets are Navy Blue with Yellow Gold Lettering For Your Jacket, Please Contact Lions Lee Hazen, Robb Rush, Frank Pearson, Or John Edmundson To Place Your Order Jackets are being provided at cost by KROLL'S DEPARTMENT STORE and all proceeds will go to support the band's drive to earn money for uniforms. This Message Sponsored In The Public Interest By TOUJfGFSiiic . Biiiiie Directory MEDICAL SUPPLIES HERMISTON DRUG Free Prescription Meil Service Open 9am to 7 pm Gifts for cil occatioas INSURANCE RAY B0YCE INSURANCE AGENCY Heppner Health, Fire, Auto, Marine, Group Plans Ray Boyce 676-9625 676-5384 AUTOMOTIVE SHERRELL CHEVROLET INC. Complete Seles & Service 3rd & Main Hermiston BUILDING SUPPLIES TUM-A-LUM LUMBER CO. See us for c!l your building supples. We feature Boysen Paints. Tim Moore, Mgr. 432 SE Doricnn Pendleton 276-6221 OPTOMETRIST DR. EX SCHAFFITZ Next To Hotel Heppner Entrance 676-9465 Heppner TITLE INSURANCE MORROW COUNTY ABSTRACT & TITLE CO TIRE INSURANCE & ESCROW SERVICE 676-9912 HEPPNER 481-9261 BOARDMAN LAUNDROMAT HEPPNER ,OL LAUNDROMAT Main St Heppner Cosed Mondays open wm n Mon.-Sat. 1113 s,Sf Sun. 8:30a.m.-9:O0p.m. & 12:30p.m.-9p.m. BREEDIN6-.CATTLE LADD FARMS POLLED HIREFORDS 422 7513 Box 197 lone AUTO INSTALLATION a BODY WORK 676-5541 Dtys 676-9440 Eves. GIIAY'S OEPAIfl AUTOMOTIVE JONES RADIATOR SERVICE Serving cfl this area for over 20 years. 567-6916 1315 N. 1st St. Hermiston SHOE REPAIR ROHDE'S SHOE REPAIR HARVEY & FERN ROHDE 131 SW Emigrant Pendleton, Or. Open 8-5:30 Mon. -Fri. Sat 8-1 BEAUTY PARLOR TUESDAY, 1 Donna's V7EDNESDAY,FRIDAY Appointment not needed... ...but appreciated 360 f. A&en 676-65393 676-9909 FLOOR COVERING M&R FLOOR COVERING Carpet, Linoleum, Ceramic Tile, Kitchen Cabinets Free Estimates Al Work Guaranteed Matt Hughes 422 Linden Way 676-9418 Heppner MEDICAL SUPPLIES MEDICAL CENTER PHARMACY Free M cling Service On Prescriptions Hospital SuppEes Open Mon.-Fri., 9-6p.m. Sat. 9-1 p.m. Located in the Medical Center, 1100 Southgate Pendleton 276-1531 MONUMENTS SWEENEY MORTUARY Cemetery, Grave Markers Granite, Mettle, Bronze 24-Hr. phone 676-9600 or 676-9226 Also Serving lone & Lexington P.O. Box 97 Heppner MACHINERY REPAIR MILLER & SONS WELDING, INC Fabrication & Repair of Steef & Aluminum Steel & Bohs in Stock 123 Lynden Way-Heppner Open 8-6 Shop 676-9613 or 676-5519 Mon- Sat HOME REPAIR UMATILLA READY-MIX jfiCfa 0Pen Every Weekday, C71 MU 'mm and Saturday & Sunday if Necessary 676-9406 989-8467 FURNITURE MOUSE" discounts'; Curtis-Mathes TV Quasar TV, Norget Admiral AppScaices Largest Selection Of Furniture In The Area 2200 N.F. Hermiston 567-8960 Specializing in Insulated ALUMINUM SIDING STORM WINDOWS SMALL HOUSE REMODELING Bathrooms Kitchens Additions Eafnily Rooms ' In Business For 12 Years KEN FIFIELD 676-5051 PRINTING WEDDING INVITATIONS BUSINESS FORMS PRINTED ENVELOPES BUSINESS CARDS GAZETTE-TIMES 676-9223 - -
