Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1979)
VOL. 97, NO. 11 " - 9 X i J Swing your partner... Toadvin tells Chamber of plans for Port of Morrow 's future Plans for further develop ment at the Port of Morrow were outlined to the Heppner Morrow County Chamber of Commerce on Monday by Port Manager E.S. "Buddy" Toad vin. Work could begin as early as this fall on a new Boardman Irrigon airport, to be located along the eastern edge of the port complex. Toadvin told chamber members that the airport parcel is large enough to accomodate a 5,300 foot airstrip, capable of handling jet traffic. Morrow County construction equipment has been pledged to be available in building the airfield, Toadvin said, helping to enable the Port Commission to construct the field without federal funds. The Port Commission has applied, for a $125,000 grant from the federal Department of Economic Development to construct an access road onto riverfront port property from offers $175 in prizes I Shop Heppner campaign BESSIE WETZELL U OF ORE NEWSPAPER LIB EUGENE OR 97403 V 1 4 .;..' . i Fourth graders from Lorena Jones and Andy Clark's classes at Heppner Elementary give square dancing demonstration to fellow students during Tuesday assembly. The youthful hoedowners in Mrs. Jones' class performed before parents on Wednesday, and Mr. Clark's group will take center stage at 4 p.m. today. old Hwy. 730. Toadvin said the road could serve to attract potential industrial concerns interested in waterfront prop erty, and could lead to the development of a barge dock. Chances for receiving the grant "look good," Toadvin said, with funds expected to become available sometime in May. In another road matter, Toadvin reported that support is growing for developing another Interstate 80 inter change at Boardman, which would allow traffic to move onto the port's industrial complex without being routed through downtown Boardman, as is currently the case. On a less positive note, Toadvin said that the Depart ment of Environmental Qual ity has issued an unfavorable report on the Port of Morrow's waste water treatment sys tem. The DEQ found the Shop Heppner. ..We've got a lot to offer! That's the message Heppner merchants are broadcasting for the next several weeks and they are asking your participation in a fun-type contest with prizes for winners. The contest appearing on page nine of the Gazette-Times asks you to complete the thought, "You know you're living in Heppner because..." Make your answer light-hearted or serious, one sentence or as many sentences as you need. Three winning thoughts will be chosen and shopping sprees at participating stores will be offered in the amounts of $100-$50-$25. In addition to this week's advertisement prompting the "You know you're living in Heppner because..." contest, advertisements will appear in the weeks ahead telling some of the more serious aspects of shopping Heppner. Included will be shopping basket price comparisons on a wide array of merchandise; the indirect value to the consumer of a dollar spent in his or her community; and how the business community contributes to the financial well-being of the entire area. Morrow HEPPNER, OREGON J - ? ... system to be "poorly designed and poorly maintained," Toadvin said, noting that no state funds were available to remedy the situation. "We've got to spend some money to keep the processing plants operating," he added. Toadvin introduced Port Commissioners Gene Allen, Fuel crisis among topics on school board agenda The Morrow County School Board will hold its regular monthly meeting on March 19 at the District Office in Lexington. The meeting will begin the summer schedule and will start at 8 p.m., which is one-half hour later than the winter schedule. The board will hear reports The Heppner County's 2i s: j Charles Kyd, and LeRoy Gardner, who, along with commissioner Larry Lindsay, are running for re-election this spring. The four incumbent commissioners will be joined in the race by Boardman resident Mark Docken. The five candidates are vying for four seats on the commission. on the fuel crisis, budget and costs of heating of district buildings. In other business, the board will consider action needed to clarify boundaries for advisory committee repre sentation, a proposal for a computerized payroll system and a request for a student exchange program between Heppner High School and Churchill High School. MC Rodeo dance is Saturday The Morrow County Fair & Rodeo gets off to a start locally this weekend with the first of six rodeo dances at the Fairgrounds Pavilion. Queen Debra Palmer and Princesses Lori Edwards and Jennifer Wenholz will reign over the Saturday dance from 9-2. Rock and roll live music will be provided by Quad. The Price of admission is $2.50 per person. i 1 T Cl ' , . to Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 1979 Roadblock cleared on path to new Morrow- Umatilla District Court An impasse between Mor row and Umatilla County officials over the creation of a new district court has appar ently ended, following a meet ing in Boardman late last week. A bill that would create the proposed district court to include all of Morrow and most of western Umatilla County has been tabled in the Oregon Senate. Co-sponsors Sen. Mike Thorne, D Pendleton, and Jack Duff, R-Adams, had backed off in their effort to pass the bill, pending the settlement of differences between Morrow and Umatilla County lawyers and public officials. Upon hearing the results of the Boardman meeting, in which both Morrow and Uma tilla County officials agreed to endorse the bill, provided several amendments were made, Thorne indicated he saw no problem in getting the bill passed so long as the state supreme court had no quarrel with the amendments. Discussions over the prop osed Morrow-western Uma tilla district court began several months ago, when Hiirniiston Justice Court Judge John Smallmon found that his caseload was making his JP's job "a full-time position." Smallmon also maintains a private law prac tice. The high caseload, paired with the fact that about one fourth of Umatilla County's lawyers reside in the western section of the county, made the district court concept all the more attractive, Small mon told those attending last Thursday's meeting in Board man. Many trials that would ordinarily be handled in circuit court could be tried in a district court, easing the circuit court's caseload, while providing a speedier admini stration of justice, Smallmon noted. -1 1 1 1 Found loot TWO SECTIONS Since the Oregon Supreme Court has set 10,000 cases per year as the optimum for a district court, and only about 6,000 are averaged in the Hermiston area, it was neces sary to consider including Morrow County in the district court picture, Smallmon re lated. Morrow and Umatilla County officials discussed the situation, and both sides worked out a tentative agree ment on the district court. However, when proposed leg islation was drafted towards establishing the new court, several conflicts arose. Most notable was wording . in Thome's draft bill, which Smallmon admitted "clearly disenfranchised the justice court in Heppner." The tenta tive agreement worked out prior to the drafting of the bill called for "tN.e Heppner Just ice Court to remain where it was," Smallmon noted. The Hermiston Justice Court Judge said that an attempt was then made to create a district court involv ing western Umatilla County only, since closing down a full-time justice court in Heppner for a part-time district court judge "was not a shiny deal" for Morrow County. "But Thorne said he wouldn't support the bill without Morrow County," Smallmon said. Morrow County's legal com munity has been less than ecstatic over service provided by visiting circuit court judges. County lawyers have been critical of the difficulty often involved in scheduling pre-trial hearings, and of having trial dates postponed, often, it is claimed, at the convenience of the circuit court judges. For this reason, there is a certain degree of support for the new district court, since such a court could handle much of the legal work - X l - - . v i 111 '""V - . V - " a A ' - vv ?f ' "" , "y . - --V." i ' -n 1 f ( Heppner Patrolman Doug Rathbun sorts through a pile containing thousands of coins, part of a coin collection seized this week in the arrest here of two Yakima, Wash., juveniles. The stolen coin collection was found in the stolen car the juveniles were driving when Rathbun made the arrest. The juveniles, both boys aged 16, were cited for possession of marijuana, in addition to charges of auto theft. Rathbun, along with fellow Patrolman Chuck Holt and juvenile officer Caroline Holt, were making an inventory of the coins when this picture was taken. PUBLIC NOTICE Voters will be asked their preference on the Willow Creek Dam on March 28. A public meeting is set for tonight to explain what the flood plain and " C Dam mean to Heppner. Plan to Attend at 7:30 p.m., Elementary School multi-purpose room. Be an informed voter. PAGES ordinarily handled by circuit judges. On the other side of the coin, there is some resistence to linking with a portion of Umatilla County to form the new district court, since it is felt by several local legal observers that such a move would jeopardize whatever future chances Morrow County may have for forming its own district court. However, at Thursday's meeting, District Attorney Dennis Doherty, Judge D.O. Nelson, representatives from Irrigon and Heppner justice courts and county lawyers agreed to support the district court bill, provided: That Heppner's justice court would remain open That it is stipulated that the circuit judge would spend at least one day per week in Heppner. Since the Hermiston Justice Court would be closed with the creation of the Hermiston based district court, state statutes seem to make Small mon the heir apparent to the proposed district judgeship. St. Pat's Irish Stew feed is Saturday 1 St. Patrick's Altar Society's annual Irish Stew dinner happens Saturday, March 17 for all Irishmen of the day. Dinner will be served from 5-7:30 p.m. on St. Pat's Day at the Parish Hall. Cost of the feed is just $2.50 for adults and .75 cents for those under 12 and that's for all you can eat. Entertainment will be provided by the Larry Lindsay family, an annual feature of the dinner that is worth the price of admission itself. Members of the congregation are informed that St . Patrick's Saturday mass will be at 7:30 p.m. instead of the regular time because of the dinner. -y 20 cents Some attending Thursday's meeting questioned Small mon 's claim to the role, but agreed that the question would be better settled by legislative action or a legal challenge to the bill. If Smallmon 's claim to the judge's position stands, future judges to the district court would be elected by voters in Morrow and Umatilla count ies. Since the proposed bill calls for the new circuit judge to spend a minimum of one day per week in Heppner, Morrow County could be expected to share in 20 per cent of the new court's costs. Fines collected in Mor row County and processed through the district court would stay in the county, except for the share entitled to the state. Thorne said that after he has reviewed the tentative agreement, to be drafted by Morrow County District Attor ney Dennis Doherty, he would ask Sen. Verne Cook, ; D Gresham, to remove .the district court bill from the table to receive final action. U 1
