Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1979)
.(m!'.'WN- wtix-tfr pM. W ."'''a"'i Jfc TZELL B t 5 3 1 E U OF ORE NEWSPAPER -1B ' FUGENE OR 97403 me neppner ETTIS-TIME Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper VOL. 97, NO. 15 Morrow County Roadmaster "Doc" Sherer and wife Beulah, center of photo, laugh at a story told on Doc by a former employee, Heppner Police Chief Dean Gilman. Sherer was honored Tuesday evening at a dinner attended by more than 170 people, commemorating his retirement after more than 42 years with the county. Judge D.O. Nelson emceed the Flood plain prompts study of zone change possibilities in Heppner In view of Heppner's housing shortage and the extensive flood plain covering a large portion of the town the Heppner Planning Commis . sion is studying possible zone classifications to facilitate orderly growth. Meeting Monday, April 9, with East Central Oregon Association of Counties (ECOAC) planner Marie Hall, the Planning Commission de cided to inventory the town by lot size, land use and type of structure to determine zone classifications. An all-day meeting has been set for Thursday, April 19 at the West of Willow Restaurant beginning at 10 a.m. At that meeting the commission and Ms. Hall will review the inventory compiled by ECOAC and determine pre liminary zone classifications. Planning Commission Chairman Terry M. Hager asked Ms. Hall to propose an enlarged urban growth boun dary for Heppner extending up Shobe Canyon and Hinton Creek because the natural 100-year floodway restricts development in available areas currently inside the city limits. Substantial acreage in both Hinton and Shobe can yons are not affected by floodway designations. The zone classifications and enlarged urban growth boun dary will be part of a new . Heppner Zoning Ordinance being developed to comply with the city's comprehensive plan. Public hearings will be held at a later date on the finalized zoning proposal and affected property owners will have an opportunity to speak in favor of or against the plan. Several residential zones will be proposed including a zone for limited residential construction allowing only single and- two-family dwel lings; a zone for residential construction including the placement of mobile homes ., ft X. ,-,..:- S" S . ' '3 ? rv--" Ir is , H - After and apartments; and a zone with minimal lot size require ments for areas with lots of 5-7,000 square feet. At present Heppner has only one resi dential zone with a minimum lot size requirement of 7,000 square feet. Under the current zoning Dr. Hazen resigns Planning Board; replacement is sought to fill term The Heppner Planning Com mission is seeking a replace ment for Dr. Lee Ilazcn who resigned his position at the Commission's April 9 meet ing. Hazen, who has served on the Commission for the past year-and-a-half, told commis Smallmon not shoo-in for District Court judgeship Hermiston's justice of the peace traveled to Salem last week to object to proposed changes in a bill which would establish a new district court serving Umatilla and Morrow Counties. If the bill is adopted as originally written, John Smallmon, justice of the peace in Hermiston, would automat- ically become the new district court judge. But amendments proposed by the bill's sponsors, Sen. Mike Thorne, D-Pendleton, and Rep. Jack Duff, R-Adams, would cut out the guaranteed position for Smallmon. After sitting through more than two hours of testimony on other issues before the Senate HEPPNER, OREGON 42 years... program and Sherer was "toasted and roasted" by former County Judges Paul Jones and Oscar Peterson, former commissioner Jack Van Winkle and Commissioner Warren , McCoy! The Lexington Grange prepared and served thj V dinner. ordinance all construction, other than single and two family dwellings, requires a conditional use permit even though the structure meets all zoning requirements. The pro cess for obtaining a condition al use permit is an inconven ience to property owners in those cases and requires 1-2 sioners that he "cannot fulfill completely my obligations to the Heppner Tlanning Com mission at this time." The seven-member com mission meets monthly to act on planning requests from individuals and is currently re-writing the city's zoning, Judiciary Committee, Small mon protested the proposed amendment which he said could leave him without a law practice and without a judge's position. But by the time he got to testify, only two members of the committee were left in the room to listen, and he got little comfort from them. "In my area there was a JP who supported the new district court," said Sen. Vern Cook, committee chairman. "Like a fool he resigned and then the governor appointed somebody else," he added and then laughed. "Before you resign, if you want the judge position you'd better get a committment i months for completion creat ing other problems in its wake, according to Hager. The Planning Commission must complete new zoning, subdivision and mobile home subdivision ordinances to be included in Heppner's com prehensive plan by July of this year. subdivision and mobile home park ordinances. Serving on the Commission are Terry Hager, chairman; Ed Tar nasky, Mike Gray, John Shaw, Dave Hanna and Lenna Smith. Persons interested in serving on the Commission should call Hager at 676-9228 or City Hall at 676-9618. from Governor Atiyeh," ad vised Cook. Smallmon knows what his alternatives are. If he does not resign his JF post by state law he will continue to draw his pay for the duration of his six year term. That's the main reason the original bill was drafted to make Smallmon the new district court judge, according to Thorne. But Thorne decided he did not want to appear to be legislating a job for a parti cular individual and proposed an amendment dropping the provision along with one to allow Heppner to keep its justice court. Cont. on page 3 THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 1979 Funding for Dam is uncertain durin 1979 - Rep. Al Ullman announced last week that he would not include the Willow Creek Dam in funding requests for the President's 1980 water devel opment budget for the Pacific Northwest. The Second District Con gressman cited "local con cern" over the proposed dam and "the need for a revised cost-benefit ratio" as reasons for not seeking construction funding during the coming fiscal year. However, Ullman did seek some $325,000 in funding to perform studies on the feasi bility of removing Three Mile Dam on the Umatilla River, developing an agricultural drainage canal near Klamath Falls, and to see if it was possible to restore anadro mous fish habitat to the Grand Ronde River. Despite the deletion of the Willow Creek Dam from the ) coming year's budget, Ull man's staff emphasized this week that the Congressman is still interested in seeing the dam reach completion. When Ullman appeared be fore the Appropriations Sub committee on Energy and Water Development to an nounce that he was not seeking funding in FY 1979-80 for the dam, the results of Heppner's citywide vote on the project were not known, an aide to the Congressman said. In addition, the aide said, the Army Corps of Engineers "didn't indicate its capabil ity" of proceeding with the dam during the coming year, due largely to an incomplete cost-to-benefit study, sought by the federal Office of Management and Budget. NEWS BRIEFS NEWS BRIEFS NEWS BRIEFS Plans underway for annual lone Barbecue & Auction Plans for the 16th annual Barbecue and Auction at lone are under way. Members of the lone United Church of Christ are busy creating homemade items and refinishing antiques for the auction, which begins at 10 a.m. at the Willows Grange Hall in lone on June 2. More than 400 pounds of prime round roasts of beef have been ordered for the pit barbecued dinner to be served at noon. The Remembrance Quilt is all put together and the women of the community are beginning to quilt the king sized spread. Beverly Wilson, general chairman, announced her committees this past week. Those who will be in charge of various sections are: country store, Judy Rea and Lorene Griffith; merchandise, Bill Rietmann; antiques. Laurel lone sets April 21-28 for town clean-up A week of spring cleanup activities has been scheduled for lone between Saturday, April 21. and Saturday, April 28. Trucks will be available on TWO 80 fiscal year "There's no weakening of support (for the dam) at all," said Ullman aide Anne War ner, indicating that if the cost-to-benefit hassle for the project can be ironed out, "we may come back ( to include the dam) in the supplemental budget. We know we have the community's support, now." Another possible method of re-introducing the dam for funding could occur if the Public Works hearings "drag on like they did last year," Ms. Warner said. But the rub still lies in the results of the revised cost-to-benefit study, which Ullman's staff does not expect to see completed by the Corps until June. Under federal guide lines for public works projects such as the dam, construction All faiths to join in Easter Sunrise Worship at HHS The sun rises over the hillside. Voices are raised in thanks to God for raising Jesus from a hillside tomb. The scene, repeated world wide for almost 2,000 years, will be repeated this year in Heppner. Easter Sunrise Worship will be held in the lower parking lot of Heppner High School at 5:45 a.m. on Easter Sunday, April 15. Sponsored by the Southern Morrow County Min isterial Association, the ser vice will have a wide repre Cannon and Marilyn Riet mann; dinner, Helen Craw ford; dining room, Dot Hal vorsen; pit, Fred Nelson; meat cutting, Roy W. Lind- Morrow School Board to meet Monday The April meeting of the Morrow County School Dist rict Board is scheduled for April 16, 1979 at 9 p.m. at the A.C. Houghton Elementary School in Irrigon. Prior to the meeting, Board Harghman to Morrow County Assessor Everett Harshman has in formed the Morrow County Court that he will retire, effective July 1. at the end of April 27 and 28 to haul away articles not normally carried by the town's garbage service, presenting an ideal opportun ity for lonians wishing to clear SECTIONS - 16 PAGES Willow costs must at least equal the value of benefits to be received after completion. In the case of the Willow Creek Dam, the benefits would be measured in terms of property that would be saved from potential flooding. As the rules now stand, the value of human lives that could be saved through building the dam may not be included in the benefit value. Therefore, the Corps is faced with the problem of trying to scale down the project enough to meet the cost-to-benefit ratio, or at tempting to get the rules changed to allow human lives to be considered a part of the benefits of building the dam. Without the inclusion of human lives into the cost- sentation of Christian lay people and ministers. Special music will be pro vided by the Marquardts of Lexington. Pastor James King of the Nazarene Congregation al will deliver the sermonette. "It will be a short message," said Pastor King, "so that others will also be able to witness what their Easter experiences are." In case of poor weather, the service will be moved inside the high school. strom; clerking and finance, Kenneth Smouse; snack bar, Chuck and Lisa Nelson; guest book and name tags, Frances Smouse; arrangements, Mil members will tour the sites of the new buildings under con struction. In other regular business, the Board will consider advi sory committee representa retire as Assessor in July the current fiscal year. Harshman cited health problems as the reason for his retirement. He suffered an eye injury last year, which he out garages and other "stor age" areas. Residents are asked to place such articles near the street or at their usual trash pick-up sites. 20 cents Creek benefit ratio, prospects for meeting guidelines are less than bright. Corps of Engineers officials contacted last week said they were investigating the possi bility of reducing the size of the proposed dam's reservoir in order to meet the cost benefit ratio. In addition, "we need to get a revised design memo in" for review by the subcommittee, project head Jerry Eyestone said. "I don't think the project is jeopardized," said Eyestone. Ullman's decision not to include the dam during the recent Appropriations Sub committee hearings might mean, however, "that no construction would start this year," Eyestone said. "It might set us back a year." ton Morgan; fish pond, Debbie Morgan; roving tickets, Helen Martin; parking, Brian Riet mann; and publicity, Jean Nelson and Dode Krebs. tion, the district alcohol and drug policy, the district policy on dispensing medication, the negotiated agreement with certificated employees and other items pertaining to personnel. said continues to cause prob lems and make his job difficult. Harshman was first elected assessor in 1974. and was re-elected last vear. s is
