Yes votes urged
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
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Heppner residents will be the first to the polls in a
series of spring budget elections, with the cUy's levy
election and advisory vote on the Willow Creek Dam
set for next Wednesday, March 28.
The City of Heppner budget is a bare-bones affair,
less than last year's budget by some $12,000. The
amount of the levy being voted on is more than last
year, however, because the city doesn't have a surplus
of cash to offset the amount as in years past.
Of equal if not greater importance to city voters
is the advisory opinion ballot on construction of the
Willow Creek Dam.
The city held a public meeting last week to outline
the flood plain management measures the town will be
required to live with. The conclusion clearly drawn is
that development in Heppner's flood plain areas
including the construction of homes will be severely
restricted and modified.
Without the Willow Creek Dam in place most of
Heppner lies within a flood plain ranging in depth from
4-6 feet. Homes that would be built in any of these areas
would require foundations that extended to or above
the flood plain depths.
Furthermore, a floodway designation will also be
prepared and absolutely no new construction will be
allowed within the floodway. It is expected that the
floodway will encompass most or all of those 4-6 foot
depth areas again most of what we know as Heppner
today.
The issue is a complex one and understanding all
the information available is equally difficult, but it
boils down to one of three options for Heppner. First,
the city can ask for construction of the Willow Creek
Dam and let Heppner grow pretty much as it has in the
past; secondly, Heppner can live with the natural
100-year flood plain (without the dam in place), in
which case individuals will be restricted as to where
and how they can build a home or business; and the
third option is to withdraw from the flood insurance
program, which in effect, stops any development and
would threaten the sale of homes and businesses.
We feel there is only one realistic choice; ask for
construction of the Willow Creek Dam for the
preservation of Heppner.
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Dr. Joan Pagel, a Portland physician, took up office space at
Pioneer Memorial Hospital for a brief stint early this month
while Dr. Joe Gifford was out of town. When the G- T camera
arrived Dr. Pagel was treating young Erik B.jella, son of
Karmon and Linda Bjella. Karmon is director of nurses at
Pioneer Memorial Hospital. PMH Administrator Bob
Byrnes, who arranged for the doctor's stay in Heppner, said
she was kept busy every day until late in the evening.
Cantin urges public to attend Hospital Board meetings
Editor:
Last night the Pioneer Memorial
Hospital Board had their monthly meeting.
Five interested groups showed up to offer
their product of services to the board. Four
others wrote letters, one feeling their fee
could not be afforded by us.
The fee for all the types of services
involved ran from $90,000 to a basic hourly
fee of 2' a times their hourly rate plus
traveling time to come in and straighten out
our hospital.
Only one group, I feel, had access to all
the present needs. Only two groups could
offer complete coverage and they are at
present in the hospital management
business, the others involved being consul
tants. The decision as to who will be allowed to
run your hospital has been placed in the
hands of the Pioneer Memorial Hospital
board.
Thanks given for
aid in report
Editor:
We wish to thank you for your time and
effort in the preparation and publication of
the Morrow Soil and Water Conservation
District's annual report for 1979. You have
shown a continuing interest in our program
of soil and water conservation for Morrow
County and we appreciate your assistance
and concern.
C.R. McElligott
Chairman, Morrow Soil &
Water Conservation District
I have only one comment to you, the
public. You have a county court that has
turned over to the hospital board the say-so
as to who should come in and run our
hospital. This same board now in existence,
has stressed the point that they are still
getting their feet wet and it needs time to get
with it. At the last meeting of the board,
items in last year's budget that had not been
purchased were brought to the attention of
the board. The answer received, "they were
under consideration", yet the wishes of you
and I, the public, who voted for such a
budget, must feel our wishes are not being
fulfilled by this board.
The question arises; it is again budget
time and there still remains items that they
needed so badly, but are considering
whether they should be purchased.
This same board was appointed by your
county court.
We are faced with the still very true
possibility that we could very definitely lose
Pioneer Memorial Hospital.
Until you, the public, becomes faced with
the true reality that PMH could no longer
become a landmark, you and I as such, have
a problem. Our problem is community pride
and interest. Interest is lacking, but like a
small cut, until it becomes festered we do
nothing about it. Pride, I'm sure we have.
Tuesday night, March 27, 1979, the
hospital board is going to discuss the
proposals of the different groups at a
meeting at the Columbia Basin Electric
conference room. It is very possible you will
not be allowed to express your feelings but
you should come and listen. You, the people
and taxpayers, have this right and it is a
God given right you should use. We must
have community input, we must have a
board that will work for and not against the
public.
This week I will appear before the
Morrow County Court and ask that the
decision be removed from the hands of the
hospital board. I feel that some of them do
not have the public interest at hand. I will
ask that the court appoint a general county
committee that will act as an executive
board and will work together with the
communities of the county and the
surrounding counties to accomplish the
following :
1. We need a group that can furnish us
with medical staff throughout the county
and surrounding counties.
2. A group that has the expertise at
hand, not having to go out and buy it.
3. A group that must be able to
reorganize the hospital and furnish the
community and surrounding area with our
medical needs.
I wish to thank all those who have come
to me and asked that I continue writing to
the editor. I now feel that you are partially
informed, but please, and I plead to each
and every one of you who reads this, get out
to the court and hospital board meetings.
Once an injustice is done, it is hard to turn it
around.
Now is the time to save our hospital and
not by voting down the next budget. Your
input is more than you may give yourself
credit for.
We have much to lose if we lose Pioneer
Memorial Hospital.
I would like to see the interested citizens
and taxpayers of Morrow County at the
meeting scheduled at CBEC on March 27, at
7:30 p.m.
Merl Cantin
Heppner
Sifting
through
the TIMES
"A large crowd was attracted by the
presentation of 'The Younger Generation,' a
genuine talking picture at Star Theater on
Wednesday," the Gazette-Times reported 50
years ago this week.
"In fact," the Gazette-Times article
continued, "the picture was so well received that
the management was constrained to hold it over
for another showing this evening... The picture,
without the added feature of talking and the good
music that accompanies it, would be well worth
seeing, as it is a high class production. But
when you get the effect of the talking features, it
is an attraction that should not be missed.
Barring the acoustical difficulties of the local
theater, the talking was quite distinct and in
perfect accord with the picture acting."
During the same week in 1929, Ruth Bennett
suffered a slight concussion and several bruises
when she was thrown from her horse en route to
Alpine High School. County Agent Charles Smith
announced that Morrow County's pooled order of
Irish Cobbler seed potatoes had arrived in time
for spring planting, and Ed Bennett was elected
president of the Heppner Golf Club. Ferguson
Motors in Heppner sold brand new 1929
Oldsmobiles to Roy Stender and Tilman Hogue.
Thirty years ago this week, many Lexington
residents were outside and working a little
earlier than usual, when a predawn blaze broke
out in Klinger's Pastime. Citizen volunteers
managed to keep the fire from destroying the
business, but the Pastime was badly damaged.
During the same week in 1949, Butter Creek
flockmaster Joseph Hayes was winding up
lambing season. According to the gazette-Times,
"he secured 92 per cent of the lambs from his
band, which started lambing in middle-February,
when the weather was not the best."
Butter Creek teenager Ron Currin was in the
news 25 years ago this week, when he was named
valedictorian of Heppner High School, and
received the State Farmer Degree during the
annual state FFA convention in Corvallis.
Currin, now a rancher on Butter Creek, was also
. student body president at HHS. Adelia Anderson
was named salutatorian of the 1954 HHS
graduating class.
Ten years ago this week marked the final
weekend of activities for the 1969 skiing season at
Arbuckle Mountain. A series of races for all age
divisions was held to celebrate the end of a
winter of good snow.
Five years ago this week, thieves broke into
the Office Tavern in lone, making off with nearly
$1,000 from a strong box.
Atiyeh gunning for House tax cut proposal
OITPA
Oregon Newtpapar
Publiihart Attociotion
The Official Newspaper of the
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIME
Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Published every Thursday and entered at second-class matter at the Post Office
at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March3, 1879. Second-class postage
paid at Heppner, Oregon
, SUBSCRIPTION RATE
$8.00 In Morrow, Unatilla, Wheeler & Gilliam County; S10.00 elsewhere
G.AA. Reed, Publisher
Terry M. Hoger, Generol Manager
Eileen Saling, Office Manager
Meliua Scott, Composition
Justine Weotherford, Local Columnist
De lores Reed, Co-publisher
Rick Steelhammer, News Editor
Gayle Rush, Composition
Cindi Doherty, AdvertisingOffice
Ron Jordan, Printer
By
Kathy Glanville
Eagle Newspapers
Salem reporter
SALEM The House tax
plan was hardly out of the
chute last week before Gov
Vic Atiyeh came gunning for
it.
Ignoring an overwhelming
House majority vote for the
$652 million tax relief prop
osal, Atiyeh lambasted the
plan and almost threatened to
veto it if the Senate sends him
the same version.
That isn't likely to happen,
despite the confidence of
House members who predict
ed their plan wouldn't be
drastically revised if it got
solid support in the House.
Because almost 40 per cent
of the state's households
would pay no property taxes
at all under the House plan,
Atiyeh charged that "the
hardworking productive citi
zens of this state are again left
out in the cold."
He rapped the plan for not
Uiniiiiig property taxes or
local government spending
and he said the proposal does
nothing to halt the rise of
assessed property values.
"The entire tax plan prop
osed by the House, with an
uncontrolled government lim
itation, opens up the General
Fund artery to an unaccept
able level," he said.
The governor threw open
the door to the Senate to write
its own tax plan. And senate
leaders were right on the
threshold, waiting for the
invitation.
Senate President Jason Boe
politely complimented the
House for its hard work and
dedication and then said the
majority votes in the House
won't matter much to the
Senate.
It's our turn to try to make a
better plan," said Boe. Boe '
said there was a certain
amount of truth in the
governor's criticism of the tax
plan concerning the middle
income tax payer.
"The governor has raised a
legitimate fear," he said. Boe
said a tax plan that lets 40 per
cent of the households in the
state off without paying any
property taxes would win a lot
of votes from those without
anything to lose.
"Should there be a mini
mum property tax so every
one has some stake in the
effect of the vote?" Boe asked,
Sen. John Powell, chairman
of the Senate Revenue Com
mittee which will soon start
working on the House plan,
said the Senate was "keeping
all options open."
"There is no Senate plan,"
he said although at least four
plans have circulated about
the Senate in the last few
weeks.
"I was surprised by the
strength of the governor's
statements," Powell said. "He
used the near-veto language
on the House plan.
Powell said at this point the
Senate didn't look too favor
ably on a tax rate limit such as
the one urged by the governor.
But he wouldn't rule it out as a
possibility.
Powell said the House plan
would be "a vehicle from
which we can launch our
search."
How much of the House
vehicle will be left when the
search is ended is a question
Powell couln't answer.
Boe said the Senate would
be a "hearing force" trying to
bring all sides together on a
plan which both the Legisla
ture and the governor would
support.
"Unless there's solid sup
port from the House, the
Senate and the governor, any
tax plan is doomed to failure,"
said Boe.
Atiyeh urged the Senate to
send any tax plan proposed to
the voters this spring. Boe
said that might be possible.
"I can tell you one thing,
we're going to have a plan,"
he said. We're not going to
adjourn this session until we
get a plan." One senator who
asked not to be named said
that might take a while.
"Everyone has got a big ego
around here," he said,
"Everyone wants to put their
names on the tax plan that
saves the state."
Public Officials
U.S. Sen.
Mark O. Hatfield
Russell Senate Office Bldg., Washington,
DC. 20510. Member of Appropriations
Committee, Interior Committee, Rules Com
mittee, and Indian Policy Review Commis
sion. Portland office. Pioneer Courthouse,
Rm. 107. 520 S.W. 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 N.E. Holladay, Rm. 700 (P.O. Box 3621),
Portland, Ore. 97208, phone 233-4471.
U.S. Rep. Al'UUman,
Of The Second District
House Office Bldg., Washington, D.C.
20515. Member of Ways and Means Commit
tee. Salem office, 530 Center St., Rm 330 (P.O.
Box 247). Salem, Ore. 97308, phone 399-5724.
Gov. Vic Atiyeh
State Capitol, Salem, Ore. 97310, phone
378-3100.
State Sen.
Ken Jernstedt
(Morrow, Gilliam and other counties),
State Capitol, Rm. S317, Salem, Ore. 97310,
phone 378-8850.
State Sen.
Robert Smith
(Wheeler, Grant and other counties),
State Capitol, Rm. S323, Salem, Ore. 97310,
phone 378-8176.
Stale Rep.
Bill Bellamy
(Morrow, Gilliam and other counties).
State. Capitol, Rm. H364, Salem, Ore. 97310,
phone 378-8853.
State Rep.
Max Simpson
(Wheeler, Grant and other counties I
State Capitol, Rm. H481, Salem, Ore. 97310
phone 378-8789.
i
Persons wanting information on bills,
hearings, and other doings of the
Oregon Legislature may call,
toll-free, 1-800-452-0290
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