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Sifting through
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
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the-TIMES
EDITOR'S NOTE: Last week in this column appeared
comments by Jack Zimmerman, a writer for Associated
Oregon Industries. His comments favored the RARE II
process currently being conducted by the U.S. Forest
Service, which will determine future roadless or wilderness
areas throughout Oregon and the nation. In an effort to
present "both sides" of the story, the Gazette-Times
publishes the following article which appeared in the
September Earthwatch Oregon, a news publication of the
Oregon Environmental Council. Citizens have until October 1
to make comments regarding specific roadless areas to the
Forest Service.
Conservationists
unhappy with
RAREU
Oregonians are concerned about the fate of their remnant
wild lands. Oregon has less land in its natural condition than
any other western state. Our forests have suffered from
overzealous development pressure, and only massive public
outcries and timely appeals have saved these priceless
treasures from a disastrous fate.
Only Congress can designate lands as protected
wilderness. In Oregon, less than two percent of the total land
base has been so allocated, mostly on National Forest lands.
Another five per cent of Oregon is unprotected National
Forest wildland. These 3-million acres of de facto wilderness
are being studied and categorized in the Forest Service's
second roadless area review and evaluation RARE II.
This is the final process for wilderness designation on
National Forest land. Recommendations to Congress are
expected early next year.
When the RARE II draft environmental impact statement
appeared last June, conservationists were dismayed. The
long-awaited, comprehensive review of roadless areas had
gone sour. Lacking specific information about any roadless
areas, and comprehensive benefit-cost analyses of timber
harvest operations, the program was a disappointment to
conservationists. Oregonians were spurred to do the Forest
Service's work for them, and began developing a
comprehensive plan to integrate the public's desire for
wilderness preservation with economic stability.
By mid-July the Oregon Alternative to RARE II was
nearing completion. Several dozen RARE II strategy
meetings had been held around the state, and regional
components of the plan were being refined. Over 85
conservation groups, sportsmen's and outdoor groups
provided input into the plan to balance regional wilderness
opportunities with economic realities. Their goal: to
preserve critical wilderness lands and simultaneously
. maintain current timber outputs.
The Oregon Alternative is a grass-roots, balanced
approach to roadless area allocation. Moreover, the Oregon
Alternative maintains timber yields by using tax dollars for
intensive management on developed lands in the national
forests.
Rather than spending money on expensive road building in
undeveloped areas, the Oregon Alternative would invest
those dollars in intensive management. It is much more
efficient to concentrate wood growing in these areas (which
are already mostly accessible) and leave the unroaded
wilderness intact.
Consider these examples. On the Willamette National
Forest, the largest timber-producing forest in the country,
the roadless areas could contribute 92 million board feet of
lumber annually, at a cost of $2 million per year in
perpetuity. If $1 million- were spent on precommercial thin
ning opportunities that currently exist on the already-roaded
portion of the Willamette, 125 mmbf could be obtained in
increased growth. The other million dollars could be spent on
other intensive management options.
The Oregon Alternative proposes that 61 areas be
designated wilderness while 44 areas would be allocated to
further planning and 40 more areas would be non-wilderness.
If the Oregon Alternative were adopted, Oregon's national
forests would contain 3.94 million wilderness acres, and more
than 11 million acres of commercial timberland. Timber
outputs would remain at current levels.
The Oregon Alternative lets everyone "Have their cake
and eat it too." The Oregon Alternative will give us wood
products and wilderness for watershed protection, for
habitat for endangered and diminishing animals and plants,
for our Northwest adadromous fisheries, and for a forest
gene pool and research laboratory. All these wilderness uses
are considered and incorporated with timber outputs into the
Oregon Alternative. This is the only plan that leaves any
options for our children and theirs.
More information on the Oregon Alternative can be
obtained by calling Oregon Environmental Council in
Portland at 222-1963 or writing OEC, 2637 S.W. Water Avenue,
Portland, OR 97201.
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Session nets tax alternative
It was a less-than-enthusiastic Oregon legislature that
convened in special session the day after Labor Day.
Faced with the task of developing an alternative to Ballot
Measure No. 6 that the voters might accept during the
General Election Nov. 7 more than a few lawmakers
approached the problem with a doomed-if-we-do, doomed-if-we-don't
attitude.
SALEM SCENE
By Jack Zimmerman
An exclusive to Oregon's weekly newspapers
The problem generated by a steamroller initiative
petition campaign that gathered more than 200,000
signatures of discontented citizens was the 1.5 per cent
property tax limitation proposal patterned after California's
successful Proposition 13.
Public opinion polls consistently predicted an over
whelming majority of voters intended to support the
measure. Local governments, heavily dependent upon
property tax revenue, could see the handwriting on the wall.
Initial reaction to results of the California experience were
generating a near-panic situation in many governmental
circles.
Compounding the fiscal implications for public health,
safety, and education, were flaws in the proposed
Constitutional Amendment that made the California
measure largely inconsistent with Oregon statutory
requirements. As many as 53 questions were submitted to
Atty. Gen. Jim Redden for clarification. His answers
prompted Gov. Straub already determined foe of the
initive to call what is generally accepted as the state's 18th
special session of the legislature.
The reasons lawmakers were reluctent to assume
responsibility for generating an alternative to Measure Six
are many. California solons tried the same procedure and
lost heavily. Voters were leery of what they apparently
figured was a politically inspired attempt to thwart their
expression of deep discontent.
And considering every member of the Oregon House of
Representatives and more than half the Senate face their
own constitutents at the polls also on Nov. 7, the political
implications of involvement are serious to say the least.
Never in recent history have Oregon lawmakers had to
gather in special session to solve such a momentous problem
on the vertiable eve of a General Election.
In the same vein, Gov. Straub's opposition to the
measure and the differing attitude of his challar.gcr, State
Sen, Victor Atiyeh, also produced apprehension among the
politically astute. Many objected to endangering their own
futures for the sake of a session that might tend only to
influence the outcome of the gubernatorial campaign.
Then there is the makeup of the special session. While
this Legislature was considered one of the most experienced
in recent years when it met in regular biennial session in
1977,' its complexion has changed considerably. Eight
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THE
GAZETTE -TIMES
The Official 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 af Heppner, Oregon.
G.M. Reed, Publisher Dolores Reed, Co-publisher Terry M. Hager, Managing Editor
Rick Steelhammer, News Editor
Gayle Rush, Composing Chloe Pearson, Composing Justine Weatherford Local Columnist
Ron Jordan, Printer
members of the House are lameducks, who will not face
voters this November for a variety of reasons. Four House
members are appointees filling vacancies created since the
regular session.
The Senate has three appointees, two of whom have
creditable legislative experience. The third is a lameduck
beaten in the Primary, as is one of the House appointees.
Also, there was the Constitutional requirement involving
approval of executive appointments and consideration of the
massive number of vetoes exercised by Gov. Straub
following the regular session. Both activities contain the
potential for political peril as does the fact legislative
leadership might not be able to control the urge on the parts
of some lawmakers to stray from the task at hand, digressing
in favor of non-essential business.
And, of course, there was the possibility the Assembly
could not agree on any acceptable alternative.
A joint committee of 21 lawmakers spent a week prior to
, the special session seeking a plan to present to their
colleagues. Gov. Straub offered a plan. Sen. Atiyeh proposed
conforming Measure Six to Oregon law and the committee
came up with a scheme of its own.
When the inevitable occured, lawmakers quickly
approved executive appointments, agreed to override three
of twenty gubernatorial vetoes with relative dispatch, had
the House leaning toward the preliminary committee's
proposal and the Senate mulling changes the House likely
would accept.
Meanwhile, it was interesting to observe the lone
individual primarily responsible for all this fuss was off on
another crusade. Jim Whittenburg, who authored Measure
Six in the first place by raising the tax limitation by a half per
cent on a copy of Proposition 13, had publicly supported Gov.
Straub's plan over his own, and been largely disowned by
many carriers of his petition was busily pursuing a write-in
campaign in his own behalf to unseat the state's ranking
member of Congress, Ways & Means Chairman Al Ullman.
1LEWEC3S .
Thanks for jacket
purchases...
more on sale
. Editor:
The Heppner Lions would like to express appreciation to
the many, many people who have purchased Heppner
Mustang jackets in support of the band uniform fund. The
response to the project has been excellent.
The project is being brought to a conclusion now. Anyone
who is still interested in ordering a jacket should contact a
member of the Lions Mustang jacket committee to place an
order. " "
A special thanks is extended to Phyllis Kroll of Kroll's
Department Store for providing the Mustang jackets for the
project at cost. -;
Again, a big thank-you to everyone who purchased a
Mustang jacket.
John Edmundson
Robb Rush
Lee Hazen
Frank Pearson
...have something
to say?
The Gazette-Times welcomes
letters from readers on any subject
of general interest.Jetters should
be not more than 250 words
Sixty years ago this week, Morrow Countians attending
the Pendleton Roundup witnessed an unscheduled stunt act
that had fatal consequences for a Umatilla County amateur
rider.
Jack C. Jenkins of Pendleton had asked that his
"daredevil fire ride" be placed on the roundup's program,
but rodeo officials refused, saying there were already too
many trick riders on the bill.
During a Saturday afternoon intermission in the
Roundup, Jenkins decided to give a performance without
official consent. Dressed in two pairs of overalls, over which
he wore a gas-soaked pair of courduroys, Jenkins climbed on
his horse and struck a match.
"Instantly, he was enveloped in a mass of flames and his
horse began whirling around," the Gazette-Times reported.
"He fell from his horse and started running down the track.
Not knowing at first but that it was some act, guards near the
man made no attempt to assist him until he started running."
The guards finally caught up to Jenkins and put out the
flames with an extinguisher and blankets. He died the
following day. Jenkins' friends told authorities that the
amateur stunt rider had believed that while riding his
galloping horse, the flames would be swept back from his
body by the wind.
The same Morgan Street Bridge that is in the news this
week made the front page of the Gazette-Times in mid-1928,
when Heppner City Council authorized its construction. The
new span was needed 50 years ago to replace a condemned
bridge on private property that had been serving the Morgan
Street neighborhood.
During the same council meeting a half century ago, city
officials authorized the construciton of a second bridge one
spanning Hinton Creek at Elder Street.
It would be nice if the 1978 city council could bid the
Morgan Street replacement at 1928 prices.
Gay M. Anderson of Heppner won a $50 rifle from
Peoples Hardware for bagging the biggest buck during the
opening week of the 1928 Morrow County big game season.
Anderson's prize stag tipped the scales at 226 pounds
fully dressed. Charles Wilcox of Lexington placed second in
the county-wide competition, with a 213-pound animal.
Ten years ago this week, morrow County Extension
Agent Gene Winters was re-assigned to Amman, Jordan, to
serve as an agronomy specialist and party chief for a
Jordanian wheat research project.
Winters began work in Morrow County in 1965. He told
the Gazette-Times that while he enjoyed living and working
in the area, the "opportunity to specialize in technical
agriculture appeared too good to turn down."
During the same September week in 1968, the Heppner
Mustangs started the grid season on a positive note,
thrashing the Condon Blue Devils 26-0.
Later that week, ground was broken for construction of
the new Colunbia Basin Electrical Co-op building in Heppner.
Five years ago this week, the' Gazzette-Times sponsored
an informal poll in order to determine if Heppner residents
favored removing parking meters from downtown streets.
Residents responded by a 5-1 margin in favor of ejecting the
no-armed bandits.
One year ago this week, Heppner City Foreman Don
Penny was relieved of his duties by the city council. The
council also agreed to place on the ballot an $18,000 serial
levy to help in the funding for a new Morgan Street Bridge.
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, DC. 20510 Member of AnnrnnrinMon?
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, 530 Center St. N.E., Rm.
330, (P.O. Box 247) Salem, Ore., 97308, 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.
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