TWO The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday April 12, 1979
r
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
. I
J
Voters may favor gas tax increase
if funds go to state highway repairs
SALEM The head of the Oregon
Senate Transportation Committee says
Oregonians are more likely to approve a
gas tax increase if they're assured the
money will be spent only on roads.
Sen. Dell Isham, D-Lincoln City,
called for a Sept. 18 referendum election to
put that theory to a test. As part of a
12-point funding plan to rescue the state's
deteriorating roads, Isham proposes to ask
voters to restrict the use of motor-vehicle
taxes to roads and to tie the gas tax to the
Portland consumer price index.
"This will get us back on the track to
protecting the multimillion-dollar invest
ment all Oregonians have in the highway
system," he said last week after his
committee finished a 15-city fact-finding
tour of road conditions around the state.
Isham said he and his committee
learned that people are concerned about
the condition of their streets, roads and
highways. But he said the people wanted
the highway fund spent only on roads, not
on the state police, parks and other
highway programs.
Isham said people were also willing to
use some general fund money to meet
current maintenance emergencies, but he
said people had mixed opinions about
using a $100 general fund surplus to fix
roads instead of being returned as an
income tax rebate.
He suggests voters also be asked to
make a decision on the $100 million surplus
at the special Sept. 18 election.
"There was strong sentiment on both
sides of this issue," said Isham. "It's a
tough issue. A lot of legislators, including
myself, have already promised to return
that surplus."
"If our transportation system is
allowed to deteriorate as it is now," he
added, "It will ultimately lead to the
economic degradation of the state of
Oregon."
The Senate Transportation Committee
has already approved a resolution calling
for an amendment to restrict the use of
highway funds. The proposal, Senate Joint
Resolution 7 is before a Ways and Means
Subcommittee which has already begun to
make budget decisions on the assumption
that voters will approve it this fall.
By restricting the use of highway
funds to roads, the proposal takes the state
police and parks out of the highway budget
and frees an additional $63 million for road
repair.
The proposed fuel tax and weight-mile
taxes are attempts to tie those sources of
highway revenue to inflation. Isham said
the gas tax has been 7 cents since 1967, yet
inflation has cut into the purchasing power
of the highway fund at a time when people
are trying to conserve by buying smaller
cars and using less fuel.
"The state is more than a billion
dollars behind in highway maintenance
and rehabilitation," said Isham. "Fifty
eight per cent of the highways in the state
are moderately to extremely deterior
ated," he said.
Taxpayers have twice turned down
proposed increases in gas taxes.
Isham said if voters approve the
requested inflation-sensitive tax, it would
go into effect Jan. 1, 1981 and would add
about one penny the first year.
In addition to the three-part election,
Isham also proposed to authorize the sale
of $150 million in state Highway bonds if
voters approve the new gas tax.
He said the state has the bonding
capacity now but must have a higher
assured income before it can sell the
bonds. He said it will cost the taxpayers
less to pay interest on the loan than to wait
two to three years to do the needed
construction.
Other parts of the 12-point plan include
asking Congress to allow states to use the
federal interstate funds for repairing
primary and secondary roads. Oregon's
interstate system is almost completed.
Isham also proposed increasing title
transfer fees and require Oregon auto
mobile registration within 30 days after a
person moves to the state.
Isham said although people were
concerned about the deteriorating condi
tion of the roads, they also told the
committee they needed additional traffic
signals and bridge repair work. So Isham
also is seeking $10 of general fund money
for county bridge repair and $2.5 million
for traffic signals around the state.
Public Officials
U.S. Sen.
Mark O. Hatfield
liussrll Senate Oilier Hldg . Washington
DC 2ii."Iii Member ill Appropriation
Committee. Interior Committee. Uules Com
inillee. mid Indian Policy Hcview Commis
sion Portland office. Pioneer Court house
Urn HIT. .VJ11 S V Morrison. Portland. Ore
H7l!04. phone L'L'I :i:!Hli.
U.S. Sen.
Bob Packwood
Dirksen Senate Ollice Bklg . Washington.
Ill' l'o."iii Member of Finance Committee
and Commerce Committee. Portland office.
KKIJN K. Holladay. Km. 7i iP.O. Box
Portland. Ore H72UK. phone 2:i;H47l.
U.S. Rep. Al'Ullman,
Of The Second District
House Office Blrlg.. Washington. D C.
2i 1.) I.). Member of Ways and Means Commit
tee Salem ollice. 5:t(i Center St.. Km :s:il iP.O.
Box 2-171. Salem. Ore. 97:W8. phone :W9-5724.
Gov. Vic Atiyeh
State Capitol. Salem. Ore. 97:110. phone
:i78-:tl(M.
State Sen.
Ken Jernstedt
i.Morrow. Gilliam and other counties).
Stale Capitol. Km S:U7. Salem. Ore. 97310,
phone HTH-WCill
State Sen.
Robert Smith
i Wheeler. Grant and other counties)
Slate Capitol. Km. S:i2:l. Salem. Ore. 97310.
phone :i7H-K17li.
State Rep.
Bill Bellamy
i.Morrnw, Gilliam and other counties)
Slate Capitol. Km H364. Salem. Ore. 97310
phone 378-K853.
State Rep.
Max Simpson
(Wheeler. Grant and other counties),
Stale Capitol. Km. H481. Salem. Ore. 97310.
phone 378-8789.
Persons wanting information on bills,
bearings, and other doings of the
Oregon Legislature may call,
toll-free, 1-800-452-0290
ONPA
Oregon Newspaper
Publisher, Association
The Official Newspaper of the
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
The Heppner
GAZETTE-
TIMES
Morrow County s Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Published every Thursday and entered as 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
J8.00 In Morrow, Unatilla, Wheeler & Gilliam County; $10.00 elsewhere
GM Reed, Publisher
Terry M. Hoger, General Monager
Eileen Soling, Office Manager
Melissa Scon, Composition
Justine Weatherford, Local Columnist
Delores Reed, Co-publisher
Rick S'eelhammer, News Editor
Gayle Rush, Composition
Cmdi Doherty, AdvertisingOffice
Ron Jordan, Printer
1 m txpss
' r i'"
1 'f
County roads aren't the only thing cracking up this spring as county's barracades were being used on roads so some
this make-shift barracade and cracked sidewalk at the enterprising employee put an old wooden chair to good use.
Courthouse reveal. Judge D.O. Nelson joked that all the Was it really a joke about the barracades, Judge?
LEI f EUS M READERS
Thanks given for help in Heppner's
cleanup campaign
Dear Sir:
I would like to express my personal
thanks and appreciation to all who
cooperated and engaged in the clean up
week of two weeks ago. Much litter and
trash was brought to the dump. There are
still a few things to be done and they will be
taken care of soon.
A big tip of the hat goes especially to
Mark Lovgren and Paul Sumner for their
fine work in coordinating the effort and for
recruitment of help. Most of our goals
were achieved, the gravel is gone for the
most part, public and private property and
school play areas were picked up and
weeds were removed. It was back
breaking work. I'm sure most Heppnerites
appreciate all that was done, but I'm sorry
to say that a few don't as evidenced by
trash in the park near the library two
hours after it was thoroughly cleaned.
May I ask all people of our good town
to exercise some clout with those who don't
know any better, even seeing you pick up
their trash often makes a lasting
impression. Again thanks to one and all,
Mark, Paul, Bob Lowe, Elaine Miller,
Terry Hughes, Marlene Gray and son,
Terry and all the others who did a
wonderful job.
Sincerely,
Fr. Kenneth D. Miller
Rector, All Saints' Episcopal Church &
Chairman of City Improvement & Beauti
fication Committee of the Chamber of
Commerce
Communication is key to
coping with problems
"Sifting j
through the TIMES
Honesty was in the news 50 years ago this
week in Heppner.
Mrs. Pearl Warthern had recently moved to
Heppner from Portland. After disembarking at
the Heppner rail depot, she was alarmed to
discover that she was missing her purse, which
contained important papers and some $60 in
cash.
Several days later, she received a letter
from a Boise woman, stating that she had found
the purse on the floor of a train compartment and
was forwarding it back to Heppner. The purse
arrived two days later, with all its contents
intact.
Mechanization was gaining an ever-growing
foothold in Morrow County agriculture, as
indicated in the Gazette-Times a half century
ago this week. According to the G-T, "during the
past 14 months, Peoples Hardware company of
this city have sold 20 John Deere tractors that
are now being used on as many different farms.
Many others have purchased different types of
machines and are finding them the proper 1
implement for doing their plowing, cultivating
and seeding, more economical than horse power,
and in the case of dry farming, the work is done
quicker and when it should be done to conserve
the moisture."
During the same week in 1929, Harriet
Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was the
featured attraction at the Star Theater in
Heppner. Since the movie was produced "on a
scale that dwarfs all other big pictures,"
according to the Star's advertisement in the G-T,
prices were upped to 25 cents for children and 50
cents for adults.
Thirty years ago this week, Harlan McCurdy
Jr. was installed as Exalted Ruler of the
Heppner Elks Lodge.
Later that week, Heppner businessman
Orville Smith, lawyer P.W. Mahoney, and pilot
Jack Forsythe departed Morrow County in
Forsythe's new Cessna to attend a business
meeting in Minneapolis, Minn. The trio stopped
over in Chicago before returning to Heppner.
Meanwhile, back in Corvallis during this
April week in 1949, a Lexington man saved the
day for Oregon State College's track team. Jack
Miller, a sophomore sprinter for the Beavers and
a virtual unknown on the track team up to that
point, took first place in the 100 yard dash and
second in the 220 to rack up just enough points to
edge Oregon State to a 66-65 win over the highly
favored University of Washington team.
Twenty-five years ago this week, officials of
the Pacific Northwest Grain Dealers announced
that a new dock and grain loading facility would
be built at Patterson Ferry along the Columbia
in northern Morrow County. The new port
facility was expected to cost $175,000 to
construct, and would be leased by the Morrow
County Grain Growers.
During the same week in 1954, it was
announced that Pioneer Memorial Hospital
averaged 96 per cent occupancy during the
previous year, with only a half of the patients
coming from Morrow County. More than 38 per
cent of the patients came from Wheeler and
Gilliam counties. The hospital realized a net
profit of $5,558 during 1953.
Ten years ago this week, Bonnie Kae Akers
and Earl Pettyjohn were named valedictorian
and salutatorian of lone High School's class of
'69. Heppner High's valedictorian and salutator
ian for 1969 were Terry Peck and Sara Miller,
both of whom posted straight-A grades through
their high school careers.
Women's lib made inroads in Heppner five
years ago this week, when two women got jobs in
the veneer plant at Kinzua Corporation's
Heppner mill. Pulling the green chain were Judy
Davis and Hazel Kandle, whose husbands were
also employed by the mill.
In my four months in
Heppner, I have found that
there are many, both young
and old, concerned about drug
use and abuse.
being used? The key word is
COMMUNICATION. Com
munication based on a sym
pathetic understanding of the
concerns of those we care for.
By Larry Gordon
Morrow County
Mental Health Clinic
Being interested and con
cerned about the issues which
affect our community is a step
in the right direction. All
people, regardless of age. can
have an influence on their
environment. But they must
act if change is to take place.
Before attempting to estab
lish a plan of action in order to
bring about change in the
community, it is important to
assess "What's going on." For
example, to what extent are
people using alcohol and
drugs? Are they using it
appropriately or abusing it in
ways detrimental to them
selves and-or others.
How do we assess the extent
to which alcohol and drugs are
People have no way of
knowing each other's thoughts
unless they communicate
openly and honestly.
In regard to drugs, parents
may say, "if I just knew the
signs of use, I could know
when my kids take drugs." My
point is that, if parents and
kids communicate effectively,
each will know what the other
is doing. It won't be necessary
to "catch" the kids or parents
using alcohol or drugs. We will
have open communication and
understanding among our
selves. If this can be achieved
under the context of fairness
and genuine concern. I believe
people will ict along belter in
all phases of their lives Kids
will have a better chance of
understanding their parents'
attitudes towards drugs, to
ward unsupervised activities,
etc. And understanding these
attitudes, they will be in a
better position to guide them
selves so as to earn their
parents' respect and trust.
Below are some things you
can do to establish positive
attitudes and values in others :
Love, affection and atten
tion from those we care about.
Consistent and fair disci
pline and encouragement.
Opportunities to express our
feelings and thoughts.
Opportunities for successful
and exciting experiences at
home, in school, at work and
in the community.
Tolerance for mistakes.
Models of strong and
thoughtful people to look up to.
Accurate information about
the problems of society:
sexuality, drugs, alcohol,
crime and other issues that
threaten us or make us
fearful.
During Mark Twain's days as a newspaperman, he was editor 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 spider in your fntper U neither
fiood nor bad luek. The spider was merely looking over our paper
to see u-hich merchant u-as not advertising so that he could
go to that Mftire, spin his web across the door, and leail
a life of undisturbed peace ever afterward."
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
will keep the spider away from your door