MEWS PA PER LIB
EUGENE OR 97403
The Heppner
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MYlllC
Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper
Donald F. Gilliam, official
weather observer for Hepp
ner, reports the following high
and low temperatures and
measured rainfall for the past
week, starting Tuesday, Aug.
14.
VjOL. 97. NO. 34
HEPPNER, OREGON'
TWO SECTIONS 14 PAGES
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1979
Hi Low Pre.
Tues.,Aug. 14 74 57 .28
Wed., Aug. 15 84 58
Thurs., Aug. 16 84 57 .03
Fri.,Aug. 17 83 53
Sat., Aug. 18 82 53
Sun., Aug. 19 77 58
Mon.,Aug.20 80 52
20 cents
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1w I - U 3 J
....hi H V 1 (-1 We I .
I ti l
1
Fair Fun
The Morrow County Fair was
fun for adults and young
people. Families lined up for a
taste of chicken dinner at the
annual Family Fun Night
which featured a view of
antique cars and crowning of
the senior citizen royalty.
Monday's Pet Show at the
fairgrounds produced a range
of animals. Jason and John
Hanna, sons of Mr. and Mrs.
David Hanna of Heppner
showed their puppies. Every
received a red, white
ue ribbon and silver
mmmA' ; j i ,T;J dollar.
Everything from 4-H revues to
contests that was the Fair
Hundreds of Morrow County
residents experienced the fun
and excitement of the 1979
Morrow County Fair in Hepp
ner this week, taking part in a
number of activities, from 4-H
style revues, to horseshoe
tourneys. There were pet
shows, exhibits, and home
economics demonstrations. A
women's nail-hitting contest
was a highlight and there were
opportunities for sampling the
foods sold at the concessions.
Saturday's highlight was
"Family Fun Night" in which
old-time cars were driven
through the city of Heppner
and back to the fairgrounds
arena. Families lined up to eat
fried chicken and then sat
back and watched the Rucilez
Bros, perform country wes
tern music. The group made
the Heppner stopover enroute
to a performance in Alaska.
The traditional family-fun
night activities were coupled
with a day of activities
Saturday. Horseshoe players
competed in the amateur
tourney in the park area.
Judging took place in the 4-H
and FFA livestock divisions,
community booths, 4-H cloth
ing, knitting, food and miscel
laneous exhibits. It was a day
for viewing the many exhibits
and collections the fair has to
offer, and for looking at the
school children's drawings,
admiring the oil paintings and
inspecting the variety of
animals in the barns and
holding pens at the Heppner
fairgrounds.
As a special treat Sunday,
Rick Peterson, a national
competitor in hang-gliding
from lone, landed his mo
torized glider powered by a
10-horsepower motor about
6:30 p.m. on the football field.
He took off with his long wing
span of fabric and metal from
the Heppner High School hill,
circled the fairgrounds for
about 15 minutes, cut off his
engine and swooped down like
a bird.
When Peterson's craft lan
ded, looking like a large
yellow butterfly, youngsters
streamed out on the field to
inspect the novelty. Peterson,
an experienced hang-glider
pilot, has flown over Heppner
the last two weekends and
produced a sensation in the
community.
The Wrangler's Horse Show
featuring Western and En
glish Equitation class events
was held all day in the arena
with Harold Kerr and D.O.
Nelson doing the announcing.
(Results are in the G-T's
sports section.)
Mrs. Charlene Nix of Hepp
ner won the women's nail
driving contest which attrac
ted about .30 challengers.
Charlene drove the nail in a
block of wood stretched over
two sawhorses in four tries,
beating the old record of six
rings set last year.
This was the second year for
the nail-driving contest which
was planned on the spur of the
moment by Gary Grieb, who
also supervised this year's
event.
Sunday also saw the finals of
the second annual amateur
horseshoe pitching contest
with 32 competitors in three
divisions, men's, women's and
junior class. Bob Harrison,
Martha Doherty and Harry
Groshens were the winners.
The 4-H Style Revue drew a
large group of adults watching
girls in beginning, interme
diate and senior divisions
modeling summer and fall
fashions of their own creation.
With D.O. Nelson serving as
the show's judge, champions
and reserve champions were
announced. In the clothing
style revue, junion division,
Lauri Phillips of Boardman
won the title of champion and
Jody Padberg of Lexington
State trooper due
in Heppner post
Terry A. Springer will be
arriving from Coos Bay Au
gust 24 to serve as traffic
control trooper for the south
end of Morrow County.
Springer has served with the
Oregon State Police for about
five or six years and will
replace former State Trooper
Tom Dixson who left in
February to try farming in the
Milton-Freewater area.
Oregon State Police Officer
Vic Groshens will continue his
work in fish and game
enforcement.
Since February, the south
end of the county has been
without OSP traffic control.
Carter9 OK of $3.2 irailli on
illow Creek expected
for W
The U.S. Army of Corps of
Engineers expects President
Jimmy Carter to sign the
legislation appropriating $3.2
million for the start .i ,
construction of Willow Creek ?
Dam on September 17, Jerry
Eyestone, project coordinator
for the Walla Walla District
Office told the Morrow County
Court at their Wednesday,
August 15 meeting.
Eyestone said Corps offi
cials have been told by the
Portland Division office to
expect the President's signa-
ture by that date. The appro-
priations bill was approved by
the House-Senate conference
committee and awaits ap
proval by both houses early in ;
September. Congressman Al
Ullman-D, Oregon, said last
week the bill would be
approved early in September
but did not specify the date.
Corps officials are already
making plans for a ground-
breaking ceremony soon after
the President's signature.
Five years ago, a similar
appropriation reached the
desk of President Gerald
Ford, only to be vetoed along
with other public works ap
propriations. At that time, the
estimated cost of the dam
construction was placed at
$14,700,000. In 1978, that figure
was hiked to $23 million;
Eyestone said Wednesday in
flation will make it higher by
its planned completion date in
1983.
Actual dam construction
won't begin until 1981. Eye
stone gave County Judge D.O.
Nelson ad Commissioners
Warren McCoy and Dorothy
Krebs a timetable of Corps
land acquisition and construc
tion activity.
The Corps can't begin land
acquisition until an appraisal
is made of 17 or 18 parcels of
private property and if land
owners affected by the pro
posed dam object to the sale,
the federal government will
introduce condemnation pro
ceedings. Once the project is started,
it will require approved ap
propriations bills in 1981, 1982
and 1983 with 1981 as the main
construction year. Eyestone
said most flood control pro
jects are never stopped once
started though the Carter
Administration delayed many
in western states when it first
began its 4-year term.
The Corps' timetable calls
for relocation of the city of
Heppner's water tank 700 ft.
downstream from its present
location and 3M miles of the
Willow Creek Road, moving it
to the left bank of the creek at
the upper end of the planned
reservoir in back of the dam
and constructing two new
bridges. Also scheduled is a
new road for dam access at
the upper end of the city
cemetery and tying in with the
Shobe Canyon Road.
From a $500,000 appropria
tion in the last fiscal year, the
Corps of Engineers has been
core sampling in private
property. Eyestone said the
work is being done to deter
mine where to locate a quarry
site to gain materials for the
earth-filled dam. Dam work
ers will grade down to bedrock
starting in 1981 with the main
dam contract expected to be
late in May.
To secure right of entry on
some parcels of private pro
perty, Eyestone said the Corps
had to go to court.
Besides providing the Mor
row County Court with an
update on the project, Corps
officials met Wednesday in
Heppner to propose an agree
ment to split the costs of
completing the Willow Creek
Dam recreation area in 1982.
The Corps will level an area
along the lake and build a boat
launching ramp while the
county is expected to provide
50 per cent of the development
work from volunteer labor.
The agreement has not been
finalized yet and the Court is
attempting to determine the
best arrangement to meet the
costs of establishing rest-
rooms, lawn and trees and
other amenities to the planned
site.
Commissioner Dorothey
Krebs asked Eyestone what
would happen if the level of
the lake became as high as the
18 ft. high dam and 1,776 ft.
long. Eyestone said a 300 ft.
long spillway would allow the
water to escape but noted that
the court would probably
never see the spillway in
operation because of the
dam's capacity.
The Corps' study of the dam
project called a "general
design memorandum" is ex
pected to be released soon to
the general public following
acceptance by officials in
Washington D.C.
It states, says Eyestone,
iriat the cost benefit ratio' is
currently .7 to 1 compared to
1974 figure of 1.4 to 1. Eyestone
prefers to cite the benefits
first rather than the costs.
Despite the unequal cost1
benefit ratio, Eyestone said
Congressional lawmakers are
hoping to reduce "the poten
tial for loss of life" from floods
in the Heppner area.
Eyestone has been working
on the Willow Creek project
for a number of years and
expects to retire in a year. He
said other officials will be
briefed on arrangements with
the county.
Heppner set for big
weekend of Rodeo
Heppner will turn into a
rodeo town this weekend with
two rodeos, the Morrow Coun
ty Rodeo Friday night and the
Open class Rodeo Saturday
and Sunday. Saturday's Rodeo
Parade starts at 10 a.m.
On Friday night, starting at
7 p.m. is the Morrow County
Rodeo featuring Calgary cow
milking, open calf roping,
Heppner bid for cross-country
running gets no from school board
The Morrow County School
Board turned thumbs down
Monday night on a request to
add the sport of cross-country
running to the fall sports pro
grams at heppner High School
with members voting unan
imously against it.
Heppner High School Princi
pal Jim Bier told the board he
had been . approached last
spring by some students
interested in holding 5 or 6
meets in the fall of the year,
promising to pay for the gas
needed for transportation.
Bier said a coach's salary
and travel expenses would
have been necessary to sus-.
tain the program.
The school had a cross
country program 10 year ago,
Bier said, but it was cancelled
the next year by Ron Daniels,
the former shool superinten
dent because the additional
athletics program had never
gained approval from the
school board.
When asked how many
students might be involved in
the requested program, Bier
said 4 or 5.
Supt. Matt Doherty said it
would be unfair for the
students involved in one sport
to pay for their gas usage
while other sports were sup
ported financially by district
funds. In a period of increas
ing gas allocation cutbacks for:
the school districts, the super
intendent said it's his goal to
cut district fuel consumption
by 20 percent.
lone High School Principal
Chuck Starr said he had
received similar requests
from "well meaning parents
to add wrestling and gymnas
tics" and said he wasn't
opposed to those sports. But he
said with energy problems
and scheduling buses and if
the board approved the sport
of cross country, "What's the
next one?"
A request to increase the
number scheduled baseball
games at Riverside Junior
High School was tabled until
the next meeting. Principal
Dan Daltoso said the request
was not adding a sport to the
district's athletic program but
necessary to make Riverside
more competitive with other
districts.
Supt. Doherty ' said the
request should be considered
for ali three high schools in the
district and required further
board study until the Septem
ber session.
The board denied a request
from a student at Heppner
High School, Reida Gibson, to
go to school part time- at the
high school in order to work
half the day and instructed
Principal Jim Bier to inves
tigate the possibility of fitting
her in a two hour work study
program.
motion to allow the girl to
work half of the school day
was supported by Jim
Wishart, Bennett and Pauline
Winter and against were
Broadbent and Matthews. The
motion needed a majority of
four votes. Members Irv
Rauch and Harold Snider
were absent.
However, the board went
along with another request by
by Bier for approval of Jim
Parker's attendance at the
high school as a senior in the
class of 1980. His parents are
moving to Pendleton but Bier
reported that during the
coming school year, he will be
living with responsible people.
Supt. Doherty announced
that 37 new teachers have
been hired by the district this
year to fill vacancies caused
by resignations and gave prior
approval to lone High School
Principal Starr to hire a
language arts and Spanish
teacher on a restricted certifi
Cont. on page 8
Hail, road washouts
mark thunderstorm
Road washouts, large hail
stones up to two inches in
diameter and damage to
fences and fields marked the
Wednesday, August 15 thun
derstorm which hi t .the Ruggs
and Rock Creek area while
streets in Condon were flood
ed. The highway between Hepp
ner and Condon was closed
Wednesday night because of
washouts but State highway
crews had restored one-lane
traffic by early Thursday.
There were several reports
of hail damage to crops from
the U.S. Agricultural Conser
vation Service Office in Hepp
ner. Mrs. Walt Boyer said the
large amount of water which
fell knocked out two fence
lines 19 miles south of Hepp
ner and five miles away from
lone on Dry Fork. The county
road leading to the Boyer
Ranch was washed out and
according to Mrs. Boyer,
marble-sized h.'ul tell in the
. are.
Lloyd McNary, a rancher on
Gooseberry Rd., said Wenes
day's storm was the worst he's
seen in the 10 years he has
lived in the area and said the
hailstones which fell were
about 2 inches in diameter.
His and nearby farms suffered
hail damage and damage
caused by erosion. McNary
said he had crop insurance. He
had about 78 per cent of his
wheat cut when the evening
Cont. on page 8
Morrow County bulldogging,
cow riding, junior barrels,
senior barrels, breakaway,
team roping and Morrow
County calf roping.
The all-around cowboy will
receive a Severe Brothers
Saddle from the Morrow
County Grain Growers and the
top calf roping saddle will be
given by Gardners' Mens'
Wear. There is also a $50
Cutsforth award for the all
around cowboy.
Spurs, buckles and other
awards will be presented to
the winners of every event.
Several entrants have al
ready signed up for the
calf-roping contest. The dead
line for sigr.ups vas Monday,
August 20. Friday's rodeo is
limited to residents of the
county.
On Saturday and Sunday is
the open class rodeo, starting
both days at 1:30 p.m. with
signups on Wednesday and
Thursday, August 22 and 23
from noon until 5 p.m. The call
back is scheduled on Friday,
August 26 from 2-5 p.m.,
676-5836.
Events include bareback
riding, team roping, saddle
bronc riding, bull riding, steer
wrestling, calf roping and
barrels. There will be purses
for each event and a race each .
day for cow ponies, cow girls,
baton relays and pony ex
press. On Saturday is the rodeo
parade beginning at 10 a.m. in
downtown Heppner featuring
antique cars, royalty and led
by Parade Marshal Cornett
Green, a long-time rodeo
competitor. The Episcopal
Church has a barbecue sche
duled at 5 p.m. and a rodeo
dance is slated at 9:30 p.m. at
the fairgrounds pavillion.
Also scheduled is the Annual
Cowboys Breakfast Sunday
morning, August 26 at 10 a.m.
at the Heppner City Park,
sponsored by the Wranglers
Riding Club. A breakfast of
ham, eggs, hash browns,
hotcakes, milk and coffee will
be served.
4
r.
r
iff.