Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1979)
The Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES Sifting through mo City of Heppner residents are urged to continue boiling their drinking water until such time that they are notified otherwise. A break or breaks occurred in the water line up Willow Creek during the recent thaw and flooding. At this time, the break has not been found and city water is contaminated. City police officers will notify residents when water is safe to drink from the tap. Until then, BOIL YOUR WATER . - I ill iliiliii mm imppn' . y ?-,, .-- frnmsfr " ' " f x - - - ' ' v i ' I " ",'. .. - ' " ' ' ' ' ' ' ..v''T ; - , . ---- - i ; ;, ' ., . ' - r, - " -! 1 - ----- , ' I j ' ' i r - i : 4 - . ; ; ' - I i " - -1 w ' lr . . ' . ' ' X l i ',-', 4 .if, " - " '. " ' j' s I i " ' ' ; - , ; i 'f ' J, " 4 1 .j rlid. - N -! "r - -o"''- I , . ' - ,,,' v . . . - . f I Legislative pay cut proposal is making waves in Salem A freshman member of the House of Representatives is proposing the Oregon Legisla ture set an example for the rest of the state government by accepting a cut in pay. Fifteen other lawmakers joined Rep. Larry Campbell (R-Eugene) in sponsoring in troduction last week of House Bill 2313 that calls for a 10 per cent reduction in both monthly slaries and per diem pay ments. Campbell, whose pay-cut proposal was a platform plank during his campaign for election to represent Dist. 43, says he does not believe Legislators are overpaid but the Legislature is the logical place to start reducing government expenditures. Initial reaction to such a proposal sparks a variety of responses, most of which indicate HB 2313 stands little chance of passage during the current legislative session in Salem. On the other hand, law makers sensitive to the public mood just might give the measure more than cursory attention. And its introduction is certain to provoke renewed interest in arguments for and against a full or part time legislative assembly. Oregon lawmakers now receive $654 monthly while in session and $44 per diem. HB 2313 would cut those payments to $588.60 and $39.60, respect ively. Per diem allowances also are granted for official business between sessions and monthly expense during the interim periods is $225. A study by Legislative Administration Committee estimates biennial earnings by Legislators is about $30,000, or $15,000 a year. Campbell's proposal would cost lawmakers about $190 a month during sessions and a monthly salary was increased to $250 in 1963 and remained at that level for the rest of the decade. Per diem payments of $20 a day began in 1963, but limited to the first 120 days of Salem Scene BY Jack Zimmeran much smaller amount during interim periods because his bill does not reduce the $225 monthly expense paid bet ween sessions. From a budget standpoint, the measure would probably save about $140,000 during the biennium. Its author reports considerable support for such a move among his constit uents in northern Douglas County, portions of Lane County and southwest Eugene and believes such a move by the Legislature might influ ence agencies, departments and pressure groups that think government has an endless supply of funds to distribute. The proposition is particu larly interesting during a time when the people appear to be favoring less instead of more government. And it may be unfair to compare compensation to law makers with the amount of government they create but such a comparison during the decades of the Sixties and Seventies reveals an interest ing parallel. Oregon lawmakers in 1961 received no per diem pay ments during that session. Monthly salary was $175. That a session. Interim monthly expense payments of $100 were put into effect at the conclusion of the 1969 session. The 1971 Legislature boost ed salaries to $262.50 monthly, per diem to $25 a day and interim expenses to $125 monthly. Salary rose to $275 monthly in 1972 and then jumped to $400 monthly in 1973, along with increases to $30 daily for per diem and $150 for monthly interim expense. Next significant boost was in 1975 when salaries rose to $440, per diem to $35 and interim expense to $175. The following year salaries climb ed to $484 monthly and in 1977 to $600 with per diem and interim expenses at current $44 and $225 levels. What these figures repre sent is a salary increase of 162 per cent since 1971 and a doubling of both per diem and interim payments during the same period. Biggest single salary boost came in 1973 at 46 per cent, followed by a 24 per cent increase in 1977 and 9 per cent in 1978. When lawmakers earned a rather static $250 monthly during most of the Sixties, regular biennial sessions last ed an average of 135 days and considered 1,450 legislative proposals. So far during the considerably more highly paid Seventies, sessions have last ed an average of 158 days while lawmakers introduced and considered an average of nearly 2,500 measures. Some might argue the proliferation of legislative business justifies additional salaries and expenses. But from a statistical standpoint, it readily appears the amount of new legislation proposed was significantly influenced by the amount of time involved and the recompense during those times. There will be arguments against HB 2313 to the effect cutting a lawmaker's salary will preclude many people from serving in the Legisla ture. And this may be true. Still, present salary and expenses average $1,250 monthly considerably above the $971.36 received by the state's current average week ly wage earner. Signing on HB 2313 with Campbell are Reps. Norm Smith, Tigard; Bill Bellamy, Culver; Ted Bugas, Astoria; Mary Alice Ford, Portland; Jeff Gilmour, Jefferson; Cecil Johnson, Grants Pass; Bill Rogers, Vida; John Schoon, Rickreall; Max Simpson, Baker; Bill Markham, Rid dle; Caroline Magruder, Clatskanie, and Tony Van Vliet, Corvallis. Senators sign ing on are LB. Day, Salem; George Wingard, Eugene and Bob Smith, Burns. All are Republicans, except Gilmour, Magruder and Simpson. The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Legislative Rules and Opera tions, chaired by Rep. Joyce Cohen (D-Lake Oswego). Two members of that panel Reps. Bugas and Rogers likely will be among its primary support ers. And what happens to HB 2313 in committee will pr&Vide an indication of how anxious our present Legislature is to accept Campbell's suggestion a pay cut would serve as an example to the rest of state government. Hope remains for Amtrak Pioneer rail route -service By Sen. Ken Jernstedt SUBSCRIPTION RATE $8.00 In Morrow, Umatilla, Wheeler & Gilliam County; $10.00 elsewhere The Heppner AZETTE-TIME Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper 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 at Heppner, Oregon. G.M. Reed, Publisher Rick Steelhammer, News Editor Cayle Rush, Composition Dolores Reed, Co-publisher Eileer Saling, Office Manager Melissa Scott, Composition Ron Jordan, Printer Terry M. Hager, Managing Editor Justine Weatherford, Local Columnist Cindi Doherty, AdvertisingOffice As a result of remarks I made to the Senate this week protesting the proposed shut down of Amtrak's Pioneer passenger service from Port land to Hood River, The Dalles, Pendleton and points east, the Senate Transporta tion Committee plans to peti tion the U.S. Congress not to approve Secretary of Trans portation Brock Adams' plan to cut Amtrak's routes by 43 per cent as early as May 15. This plan would virtually destroy this country's passen ger train system. In Oregon the only train left would be the daily Coast Starlighter which passes through Portland, Salem, Eugene and other points on its run between Seattle and Los Angeles. The Pioneer and three other northwest lines have shown an average increase of 8.73 per cent in ridership in the last fiscal year. The Pioneer has provided safe and reliable transportation and during the recent snow and ice storms it ran on schedule while traffic on Interstate 80N was com pletely stopped for long per iods at a time. Back in 1973 and 1974 during the oil embargo, passenger trains experienced a real jump in ridership but ap ' parently we've already forgot ten the lesson learned from that experience. Now we are faced with the loss of Iranian oil, the possibility of rationing and with increased gas prices. Eliminating Amtrak service will force people to use other means of transportation that are less fuel-efficient and more costly. In addition, we are overlook ing, those Americans who are too old or too young to drive, or who are physically handi capped and can't drive. New methods of financing Amtrak should be developed and it must be given more freedom to negotiate labor costs. It needs more capital funding to replace old and obsolete equipment. America needs to retain a viable Amtrak system one that continues to serve the sparesely, as well as the heavily, populated sections of this country. It is our short and also long-term interest that we don't dismantle the system before we decide on the basic level of passenger service that is needed. urm JT the UMUbSg Prohibition officer F.A. Hazeltine, not exactly the most popular man around these parts, made an appearance at the courthouse in Heppner 50 years ago this week in an effort to salt the wounds of Morrow County moonshiners and bootleggers. The federal government had just passed a law making it possible to collect back taxes on the sale of illegal liquor, and Hazeltine was searching circuit court records to ferret out individuals who would be required to give Uncle Sam a share of their illegal whiskey income. While Hazeltine was attempting to place moonshiners in double jeopardy with the law, Heppner teenager' Jim Thomson had just returned from a two-month tour of the Orient, and was busy relating his overseas experiences to interested townspeople. Returning to work in the family-owned Thomson Brothers Grocery may have been a temporary let-down for the well-traveled youth, but he had enough enthusiasm for the trade to stay in the business until 1978, when he retired. During its Valentine's Day issue, the Gazette-Times carried a wire service account of a Los Angeles professor of applied psychology seeking divorce and police protection from his newlywed wife. The professor said his bride emphasized her side of "psychological discussions" by pointing a loaded pistol at him. "Pyschology is no match for a six-shooter," he told police. Meanwhile, residents of the Alpine community, snowbound due to a long stretch of unseasonably severe winter weather, posted this tongue-in-cheek notice in the Gazette-Times classified section: Lost our mail carrier. Disappeared a couple of weeks ago and has bobbed up only once since. Any news of him will be gratefully received by a suffering public." While a blizzard howled outside, workers at Kinzua Corporation's sawmill operation at the town of Kinzua remained on the job 30 years ago this week, cranking out of all things a shipment of lawn chairs. The heavy snowfall left the community snowbound for a portion of the week, and shut down indefinitely logging operations in the Camp Five area. The Lexington School Board 25 years ago this week turned down a proposal to consolidate Lexington High School with the school at lone, stating that the Lexington facility turned out high school graduates at a much lower cost-per-pupil rate than lone. The proposed plan called for busing Lexington high schoolers to the new school at lone. During the same week in 1949, Jeff Walker of Heppner was admitted to Pioneer Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries received when his Jeep overturned on icy Willow Creek Road about 12 miles upstream from Heppner. Ten years ago this week, a boxcar shortage forced the Heppner Lumber Co. sawmill operation to shut down, leaving 55 workers idle. Some 35 carloads of lumber were left standing along the mill's rail sliding, awaiting arrival of the needed wide-door rail cars. During the same week, Heppner's Becky Fulleton was named to serve on the Spray Rodeo Court. Becky, now one of the nation's top professional barrel racers, appeared on national television last month during competition at the ' National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. Negotiations were at a standoff between county schoolteachers and the Morrow County School Board 10 years ago this week. The school board was proposing a base salary of $6,300, plus increments of $220 per year and $6.50 per month to go towards paying health insurance. The teachers said they were willing to accept a base rate of only $6,000, if the board would provide total payment of health insurance, but the board was unable to accept the counter-proposal. Anita Davidson of Lexington was one of only two girls from Oregon chosen to represent the state at the national 4-H convention in Washington, D.C., five years ago this week. During the same week in 1974, Charles Kyd of Sabre Farms addressed the Heppner-Morrow County Chamber of Commerce, telling members of plans to build a computer-operated, center-pivot irrigation system on the corporate farms vast North Morrow land holdings. Last year this week, the Heppner Fillies qualified for a berth in district basketball competition, by beating Oregon Trail and Riverside each by more than 40 points. Picture Credit Heppner first graders were recipients of "The Stars and Stripes" and a small booklet telling of the United States Flag's history, how to display it and how to care for it. The presentation is made each year by the Heppner Lions Club, represented in this photo by Principal Don Cole and Morrow County Judge D.O. Nelson. During Mark Twain's days at a newspaperman, he was ditor of a small Missouri paper. One day he received a letter from a subscriber, stating that he had found a spider in his paper, and asked if this was an omen of good or bad luck. Twain replied: "Finding a smler in your paier is neither food nor bad luek. The spider urn merely looking over our paper to ee uhirh merchant ton not advertising to that he could go to that store, spin his treb across the door, and lead ' a life of undisturbed peace ever afterward." THE GAZETTE-TIMES will keep the spider away from your door ,'
