The Library
University of Or:
1 J! tj '
. J'. Vw
IS ,"' -
? "Volunteer lookout ii&ans Tamarack
VX ' U2 if.;';... :'
Throughout the nation's for
ests, the lookout system is
being replaced by aerial
detection with observers
riding in small planes which
pass over forested lands three
or four times daily.
Not so in the Heppner
Ranger District of the Umatil
la National Forest which has
two lookouts manned at Madi
son and Tamarack.
An unusual feature about
the Tamarack lookout is that
it is manned this summer by a
volunteer lookout, Kelley
Moore, a graduate of Ed
monds High School near
Seattle.
The District's Fire Manage
ment Officer, Larry Bowman
said at the start of the season,
there were not enough funds
available to hire a full-time
lookout at Tamarack so
through an advertisement by
the International Backpack
ing Association, Bowman
found Ms. Moore was willing
to volunteer her summer
serving as an important link in
the Forest Service's fire
detection system.
During fire observations
and thunderstorms when the
importance of the lookout's
observations become most
critical to controlling fires,
Ms. Moore is paid for her
time. But her daily working
hours in the 6 by 6 ft. lookout
High
station perched 110 ft. in the
air, are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A small house is provided at
the base of the tower for her
, off duty hours.
Interviewed last Thursday
from her high observation
point, Ms. Moore says she
enjoys her view of the
mountains from the steel
tower. On a clear day, she is
able to see Mt. Jefferson, the
Wallowa Range, Strawberry
Mountains near John Day,
Kimberly, Spray and Tupper
, Cont. on page 10
view
A visit to the volunteer lookout at Tamarack in the Heppner
Ranger District requires not only driving over back roads but
a trip up 110 ft. of small wooden stairs leading to a 6 by 6 ft.
compartment perched high overhead. While she's on duty
during the daytime, Volunteer Lookout Kelley Moore, a
graduate of Edmonds High School near Seattle, doesn't make
too many trips up and down. She uses her portable radio to
report any fires or lightning strikes.
f 'KV " ' F . ,' ij f f
t : lf-;- 'J Is J f I
, ,? I J
. . - y'y ' j .
M " j "JT
' - .... ' ' . -
V ' ' " i x " "v. ' - - i
X ' - . i
milii i iiiin-iii MJ-tai.ii. .-rH ,, . . ., . .s. v - -
VOL. 97, NO. 31
The Heppner
i i i si ii ii n a
I 1 1 f . N I I II I i
jrJmJllm Li 11 11
Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper
TUME
HEPPNER, OREGON
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1979
20 cents
mmmmm
Voters urged to turn out for
August 9 hospital levy decision
Special day Sunday to honor
Sheriff Clarence Bauman
In an effort to stimulate
more voter interest in the
Thursday, August 9 Hospital
Levy vote, Hospital Board
Members Fred Martin, Ed
Dick and County Court Judge
D.O. Nelson presented a
budget talk at Monday's
Heppner Chamber of Com
merce at West of Willow.
"I don't want it to close. We
have to make a concerted
effort to get out the vote,"
Judge Nelson told chamber
members.
Nelson said there is a feeling
among north end residents
that they won't support the
upcoming budget and that
someday, a hospital district
may have to be formed.
He praised the hospital
board for "a great deal of
effort and working hard on
solutions."
Hospital Board Chairman
Fred Martin said there have
been changes made in the
August 9 levy from the
previous two levies which
failed to gain simple majori
ties. The levy amount outside
the six percent limitation is
$506,474, and the levy rate
request is $1,125 per $1,000 in
assessed valuation, $.10 cents
per $1,000 lower than the
request submitted to the
voters June 6.
Martin said $38,737 has been
trimmed from the previous
levy request, citing $15,000
less in cash carryover, an
increase in laboratory income
by $6,000, telephone calls
charged directly against pat
ients, $2,300 and what he
called the major change a
reduction in physician ser
vices from $139,000 to $88,000
and reduction in hospital
revenue from $94,976 to
$56,232, which included dele
tion of $5,000 from physician
relief, reducing the guaran
teed physician's salary from
12 to 9 months.
Board member Ed Dick said
communications about the
upcoming levy has been a
problem and said people don't
seem to understand that the
hospital has no tax base.
He is hopeful that the
recently initiated planning
process will improve com
munications. Dick told the Chamber he
didn't hear the request by
another board member, Dan
Sweeney, asking the County
Court for changes in the
hospital administration.
The Gazette-Times reported
that proposal made in public
session of a County Court
session. After discussing the
issue briefly, the court ad
journed into executive session
where according to state law,
discussions are not allowed to
be reported.
Dick quoted articles written
in a hospital magazine, men
tioning the attraction of physi
cians to rural based hospitals
with salary guarantees and
the desire for new physicians
to have facilities close to the
hospitals.
Martin said later in the
meeting that $15,000 was
reserved in the budget to run
on until we had another vote.
"When that is expended, I
don't know how we would
operate. We can't run on a
deficit," Martin said.
Concern was expressed by
Judge Nelson that if the levy's
third voter test is unsuccess
ful, County Assessor Greg
Sweek would have to be asked
by the County Court to
approve a fourth election this
year.
Cont. on page 3
Young crash victim in
serious condition
An 11 year old Spray girl,
Bobbi Jo Medlock, was re
ported in serious condition
Monday at the University of
Oregon Pediatrics Intensive
Care Unit in Portland after
sustaining injuries in a car
accident on the Heppner-Con-don
highway near Ruggs
Saturday about 5:15 p.m.
She was taken by county
ambulance to Pioneer Mem
orial Hospital, then transfer
red to the Portland Hospital
by small aircraft at the
Lexington Airport at 7:30
p.m., according to a hospital
spokesman.
The driver of the vehicle,
Ronny A. Green, Spray and
another passenger, Marcia
Troxell, 15, Spray were also
injured in the car rollover.
Green sustained a knee injury
and concussion and Marcia
Troxell was treated for an
arm injury and abrasions.
The Morrow County Sher
iff's Department reported the
accident occured when the
vehicle was westbound, the
driver lost control of the
vehicle and it rolled over and
struck a barbed wire fence.
The 11 year old girl was
thrown from the vehicle.
In another accident about
the same time Saturday at
6:15 p.m. on Ione's Main
Street, Timothy Arends, 29.
lone sustained a broken leg
when the motorcycle he was
riding was involved in a
collision with a car driven by
Debra Lou Petit, 19, Lexing
ton. Arend's vehicle struck the
hood and his body hit the
windshield of the car. There
were no injuries to Petit and
two other passengers in the
car.
Arends was taken to Pioneer
Memorial Hospital.
In another accident report,
Carla Miles, a competitor in
Sunday's 4-H horse show,
suffered a broken arm when
she fell off a horse in the
parking lot.
Navy's practice bombs
ignite 4,500 acre blaze
A fire which occured Thurs
day at the U.S. Navy Bombing
Range has been revised down
wards from the original esti
mate of 15,000 acres burned to
4,500 acres, according to a
U.S. Navy spokesman from
the Naval Weapons Training
Facility, Boardman.
The spokesman, who de
clined to be identified, said the
first estimate was based on
Weather
Hi Low
Tues., July 24 90 53
Wed.. July 25 90 50
Thur., July 26 93 54
Fri., July 27 93 56
Sat., July 28 84 62
Sun., July 29 90 55
Mon.,JuIy30 90 52
observations from the fire
line. The revised estimate was
made after a flyover by a
Navy plane.
The fire was caused by two
practice bombs dropped on
the range from U.S. Navy A-6
aircraft from Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station located on
Washington's Puget Sound.
The spokesman said cartrid
ges in the tip of the bombs let
off a puff of smoke upon
impact and it is not infrequent
that small fires are caused.
The Navy has a 6 man fire
crew on duty to fight the
blazes which occur but ac
cording to the spokesman,
shifting winds pushed the fire
out of control after its initial
outbreak on noon Thursday.
Fifty firefighters from the
Cont. on page 12
A special day honoring
long-time Morrow County
Sheriff Clarence John David
Bauman is Sunday at the
Morrow County Fairgrounds.
A picnic will be given in his
honor from 12:30 p.m. to 2
p.m., sponsored by the Hep
pner VFW Post and Auxiliary
No. 4184, American Legion
and Sheriff's Search and
Rescue Posse.
Bauman served the county
for 38 years as sheriff and
served in two world wars. He
is a resident of the Pioneer
Memorial Nursing Home and
recently transferred there
from the Blue Mountain Con
valescent Home in College
Place, Wash.
Proceeds from the catered
chicken dinner will go towards
establishment of a fund for aid
to veterans and their families.
Tickets are on sale at several
business locations in Heppner,
lone, Lexington and Board
man. They may also be
purchased from members of
the sponsoring organization.
The Sheriff Clarence Bau
man Appreciation Day is
being organized by three
organizations to show how
much the community feels
about Sheriff Bauman's dedi
cation to his country and years
Of service as the chief law
enforcement officer of Mor
row County.
Jim Launer, VFW com
mander, said by Monday, over
200 tickets to the dinner had
been sold and expected a good
turnout at the Sunday picnic.
Mayor Jerry Sweeney has
issued a proclamation, offic
ially declaring Sheriff Bau
man Day.
Sheriff Bauman was born in
Akron, Ohio June 6, 1893,
enlisted in World War I in
September 1917 and dischar
ged in February, 1919. He
served as Morrow County
Sheriff from 1928 to 1943, then
enlisted in the Navy in World
War II, February, 1943, leav
ing the service January 1,
1946. He again served the
county as sheriff from Feb
ruary, 1946 to January, 1969.
Gazette-Times sold to former
Alaskan weekly owners
G.M. and Dolores Reed,
publishers of the Heppner
Gazette-Times, today announ
ced the sale of the newspaper
to Jerome and Jane Sheldon,
formerly of Palmer, Alaska.
The Sheldons owned and
published the Frontiersman, a
community weekly newspaper
serving the Matanuska
Susitna Valley in Alaska, for
more than four years until its
sale last year.
The Reeds, who also publish
the Hermiston Herald, have
owned the Gazette-Times for
the past three years.
They said, "The Sheldons
have had a wealth of exper
ience in operating weekly
newspapers and we believe
they will give the people of
Heppner and Morrow County
an excellent newspaper. By
living in the community,
something we were unable to
do, the new owners can
become involved and be a part
of this great area."
Their purchase of the Gazette-Times
represents for the
Sheldons a "return to Ore
gon," for they lived in
Roseburg in the late 1940's,
when Jerome Sheldon was
employed there as a news
paper reporter and where
their children were born.
Since leaving Oregon, they
have lived- many years in
California and Alaska.
The Sheldons said they
would make no major changes
in the newspaper. The present
staff will remain.
New owner
G.M. Reed, former co-publisher
of the Gazette-Times,
extended his congratulations
to Jerome Sheldon, the new
owner and publisher of the
paper Tuesday in anticipation
of the publication's change of
ownership Wednesday,
August 1. Jerome and his wife,
Jane, the co-owner, are for
mer owners of the Frontiers
man, a community weekly
newspaper serving the Matanuska-Susitna
Valley in
Alaska for more than four
years until its sale last year.
"The Gazette-Times will
continue to stress the concerns
mm wto wnx-qpt . . .
ppc
atf
rat
r, ! .
ft " y rf-
ft
of Morrow County and its
people," the Sheldons said.
r 1
S.
IIP 1 vt :Y
1
1
if ; r - .. . 1
y 1 it - - r
tear Mt
V saw"