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University of Oregon
Eugene. Or 9703.
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SHOP
HEPPNER
FRIDAY
TTIie Ileppner
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harvest
Flash floods struck portions
of Morrow County for the
second consecutive week,
damaging croplands, roads,
and farm buildings along
Rhea Creek and its usually
dry canyon tributaries.
Late Friday afternoon, a
cloudburst struck in the Ruggs
area. A total of hVz inches of
rainfall was reportedly recor
ded within a 45 minute period
at the Mildred Wright home.
The downpour sent flood
runoff down a usually dry side
canyon leading to Rhea Creek
at Ruggs, then swelled the
normally trickling McKinney
Creek into a muddy torrent.
Mrs. Harold Wright of
Ruggs was at the Wright's
Country Store when she heard
the flood waters rumbling
down the canyon. When the
gullywasher swept into
Ruggs, "it looked like it was 30
to 40 feet wide, and may be
five or six feet deep," she said.
"It washed debris up against
the fences, and when the
water hit against that, it sent
spray up in the air about 10
feet."
The Harold Wrights had
several acres of alfalfa land
covered by water, silt and
. rocks, ruining this season's
. second cutting. In addition, a
buck sheep Was missing,
apparently washed down
stream. Similar crop damage was
also reported at the Kenneth
Wright place, where one half
inch of rain was recorded
within 10 minutes. Runoff
water seeped into the base
ment of the Mildred Wright
home. Water also seeped into
a gasoling storage tank at
Wright's Country Store, ruin
'ng the fuel. '
Floodwaters blocked Hwy.
37 at Ruggs, with runoff
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North Lexington grain grower Alfred Nelson became the first Morrow Countian to put
combine to barley this year. He is shown here harvesting a field along Baseline Road last,
Friday. When first loads were brought to the nearby Morrow County Grain Growers'
elevator, yeilds of 1V4 tons per acre were reported on the dryland barley well above annual
averages.
Severe toim :
Thunderheads bring damage for
reaching to within three feet of
the highway bridge.
The Rhea Creek Grange
Hall was surrounded by wa
ter, which reached above the
floor level on the building's
exterior, but luckily failed to
enter the structure.
About 9 p.m., a second
thunderstorm swept through
nllywasfir
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the area, this time centering
around Hardman.
Ranches that suffered crop
damage in that storm included
the Bob Stevens and Harold
Stevens places. Floodwater
entered the Huston Lesley
home in Hardman, and inun
dated Hardman 's Main Street
with some two feet of muddy
Severe storm activity again last week brought damage to lands
in Morrow County-this time along Rhea Creek and in the
Ruggs area. Croplands were hit this time, along with the
canyon bottoms.
VOL. 9G NO. 28
water.
Hail accompanied both
storms, damaging nearly
ready to harvest wheat crops.
Had both storms struck at
the same time, area residents
believed the results would
have been devastating.
As the runoff from McKin
ney Creek, Hay Canyon, and
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Morrow County's
HEPPNER, OREGON
County bu
sit same amoiunf
The Morrow County Court
will submit the same operat
ing budget request that re
ceived a deadlocked 513-513
vote during the June 27
election.
County officials hope to
resubmit the budget to voters
on August 8.
If voters approve the budget
during the August poll, it will
cost an extra 68 cents per
Hospital
Aug. 8;
Faced with a voter defeated
budget, a one-man medical
team and increasing costs,
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
board members came up with
some, reductions in a budget
that will go before voters
again August 8.
The proposed budget will be
second week
other tributaries swelled into
Rhea Creek, damage spread
down that stream most of the
way to lone. Most of the
damage was minor, and most
residents were forewarned by
upstream neighbors or the
sheriff's office of the flood's
imminent arrival. Most Rhea
Creek farmers had time to
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Award-Winning
THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1978
$1,000 property tax valuation
over last year's county tax
rate.
The levy would raise a total
of $246,655, the figure needed
to catch up with inflation in
supplies, materials and labor
costs, county officials say.
This year marks the first
time the county has sought to
go outside the six per cent
budget limitation. The budget
dget b
budget cut, back to voters
Mrs. Laughlin resigns
about $39,500 less than the
$190,082 budget defeated by
voters June 27. The board was
aided in their efforts with the
unexpected resignation of As
sistant Administrator Dene
Laughlin.
Board Chairman Fred Mar
tin read from a letter sent by
pull irrigation pumps and
move equipment before the
flood hit.
Rhea Creek did spill out of
its banks at several locations
downstream from Ruggs,
covering hay fields with mud,
silt and debris.
Doctors
search
committee
to meet
The Morrow County Doctor
Search Committee will meet
in Boarmdan, at the medical
clinic Thursday, July 13 at
7:30 p.m.
After a tour of the clinic, the
meeting will adjourn to the
Riverside High School cafe
teria. Chairman Kent Goodyear
said plans for obtaining tem
porary physicians for Hepp-
ner and Boardman will be the
main item on the agenda.
Weather
by Don Gilliam
Hi Low Pre.
Tues.,July4 72 53 T
Wed., July 5 78 53
Thurs.,July6 84
Fri.,July7 87 55 .16
Sat.,' July 8 87 58
Sun., July 9 81 47
Mon.,July 10 75 46
Tues.,Julyll 76 49
Veekly Newspaper
TWO SECTION'S 20 PAGES
is basically a no-frills affair,
with no funds earmarked for
new construction projects or
other major capital improve
ments. Essentially, passage of
the budget would mean that
county government and its
services would carry on fairly
much as usual.
A recount last week failed to
change the outcome of the
Mrs. Laughlin that stated she
would retire from her position
July 14, ending 22 years
association with Pioneer Me
morial. Mrs. Laughlin started with
the hospital at the "bottom of
the ladder and worked her
way up", noted Martin, who
commended the former Ad
ministrator on her years of
service to the community.
Mrs. Laughlin's letter sta
ted she was resigning because
of health reasons and the
"extreme pressure of the
job."
The assistant administra
tor's salary of $15,490 was cut
along with overtime money
for maintenance, laboratory
and x-ray technicians.
Hospital Administrator Bob
Byrnes also took a cut in the
proposed raise he would get
Senator given tour
of Kinzua sawmill
On a whistle stop tour of
Eastern Oregon last Thurs
day, Senator Mark Hatfield
arrived in Heppner at 3:30
p.m. for an hour-long stay at
Kinzua Corporation, high
lighted by a tour of the
company's $15-million saw
mill and plywood operation.
Kinzua's Allen Nistad told
Hatfield the company now
employs 414 people at an
annual payroll in excess of
" $7-million.
In addition, Kinzua Corp.'
contracts with nine local firms
for contract logging, chip
hauling, and commercial and
pre-commercial thinning acti
vities on the Kinzua tree farm
and the Umatilla National
Forest, with payments total
ing in excess of $7-million
annually. The contractors in
clude Hardwick Logging,
Inc.; Pine Contractors, Inc.;
John Meadows Logging, Inc.;
Grant Loggers, Inc.; Stan
Powell Logging, Inc.; Chip-away
Transport, Inc.; Todd &
Jackson, Inc.; Greenup &
Associates; Britt Logging,
Inc.
With his son Visko, Heppner
Attorney Bob Abrams and
Kinzua Operations Manager
20c
June 27 deadlock.
Judge D.O. Nelson said he
didn't feel that the tie vote
served as "a madate to cut the
budget... we feel it's a realistic
budget." Besides, he added,
"what is there to trim? If we
had decided to cut into it, we'd
have to drop some services."
for next year.
County Commissioner War
ren McCoy told board mem
bers the biggest complaint he
heard was that administration
was too expensive
In response, Byrnes said he
would gladly take a cut in the
proposed 10 per cent raise he
would receive. The adminis
trator's salary increase will
amount to about six per cent
after the cut.
Added to the budget, how
ever, was a $20,000 sum the
hospital board felt was needed
to recruit physicians to the
Heppner and Boardman medi
cal clinics.
The hospital budget will be
voted on Tuesday, Aug. 8 at
the same time the county will
re-submit its budaet
although both will be
seperate ballots.
on
Harry Kennison, Hatfield
made an inspection of the
company's plywood plant
completed in 1974 before
moving onto view' Kinzua's
latest and most innovative
expansion project.
The new electronic 4-5 mil
lion sawmill that's housed in a '
two-story building the size of a
football field is nearing com
pletion and what Hatfield saw
was a bustling crew of
machinists, electricians and
laborers working to complete
their tasks before painters
arrived for finishing touches.
' Kinzua Corp. hopes to have
the mill operative hv August 1
and plans a public tour of the
facility sometime in early
September.
Kennison, the man behind
the design and construction of
the revoluntionary sawmill,
told Hatfield that Kinzua
Corporation would be able to
utilize logs ranging in diame
ter from 5-inches to 5-feet.
"That will help us utilize trees
killed by insects and those
small diameter logs taken out
in the thinning process," said
Kennison. "It all fits in with
Kinzua's overtU terttt mmi
gemmt plan.
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