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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 1979)
TWO The Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, August 23, 1979 The Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES 7DEUEPlCTi7 Editorials o Columns Letters From Readers Question of a split over the hospital Should Morrow County be split into separate hospital districts serving the north and south ends? That apparently is the viewpoint prevailing in Boardman and Irrigon where about 88 per cent of those who went to the polls in the recent special election voted 326 to 48 against the levy to support the Pioneer Memo rial Hospital in Heppner. The levy passed, in the third election held on the issue, because of its support in the south county. While Boardman and, to a lesser extent, Irrigon would benefit from the hospital levy because of the North Morrow Clinic in Boardman, only a small portion of the funds would support that service. The clinic would receive about $30,000 of the $506,000 to be raised. The Hermiston Herald, in a recent editorial, calls it a poor investment for the northern district, inasmuch as that area has 60 per cent of the assessed valuation of Morrow Coun ty, so in effect will be paying $300,000 in medical taxes and getting back only about one-tenth in services. That newspaper feels that the Pioneer Memorial Hospital is cer tainly of benefit to the people of south Morrow County, and if they want it they alone should pay for it. Apparently reflecting the view of some Boarman and Irrigon officials, the Hermiston Herald suggests the Morrow County Court should act within the coming year to place the financial support for the hospital where it belongs. Otherwise, the taxpayers of Boardman and Irrigon would be justified in looking to the legislature for relief. Certainly this is a matter for study and the solution may indeed lie in the creation of a hospital district. Well see you at the Rodeo It's rodeo time again in Morrow County, and the cowboy sport will Editor's Notebook The country-western singers, Jess and Dave Rucilez, at the Morrow County Fair last Saturday were performing as much for their mom and dad as for the crowd in general. Occupying front-row seats in the fairgrounds grandstand were Smokey and Velma Rucilez of Reno, Nev. They had driven up through Klamath Falls and Burns, where they had met their sons who had come down from Anchorage, Alaska. After their engagement in Heppner, the boys were to return to Alaska for scheduled appearances. The parents were proud listeners as their sons and two accompanying musi cians performed on a flatbed trailer in front of the bleachers. Jess introduced them, demonstrating part of his agreeable flair for showmanship. Later, Velma Rucilez explained that Smokey had been a guitarist for years with Bob Wills and now has a band of his own in Reno. He is a full-blooded Choctaw, she said. The boys were both born in Waco, Texas. They grew up in Southern California. Ten years ago the family moved to Reno. From Alaska, their mother said, the boys had planned to go to Hawaii but they cancelled their tour and arranged a reunion in Oregon. "They would have been gone for seven weeks," she said. "I couldn't have stood it!" Smokey and Velma drove a truck here and planned to return home with some of the amplifying equipment that the band normally travels with. draw spectators to the fairgrounds at Heppner. The rodeo is a continuation of the late-summer activities inaugurated by the annual Morrow County Fair. The fair was held last weekend a commendable display of honie crafts, agriculture, and other exhi bits. It was a good fair and the rodeo promises to be as interesting, drawing as it does contestants from all over the Northwest and Canada. Whoever hasn't thrilled to the sight of a steer roping event, wild cow milking, bareback riding or bull dogging he doesn't know the excitement he's missing! We'll see you at the Morrow County Fairgrounds this weekend. Service Charges In case you missed it, the Department of Energy, in a stroke of bureaucratic bumbling, said service station operators could charge for cleaning windshields, checking batteries, filling tires with air, or for the use of credit cards. The fact that customers are there primarily for gasoline had totally missed the mark with the business amateurs at the Department of Energy. The idea was withdrawn after some congressional reminders that charging for the use of the credit cards was illegal. It's a good thing too, because other enterprises caught in the inflationary spiral might have been encouraged to copy the ideas of the DOE. The practice of government employ ees who are totally without experience telling the American business community how to run their affairs should come to an end. Channel 2 editorial The Official Newspaper of the J City of Heppner and the H OXjl?A County of Morrow Oregon Nwspapr Publishers Auociotlon The Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES Morrow County's Awird-Wiftniig 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 March 3, 1879. Second-class postage paid at Heppner, Oregon. Office and commercial printing plant at 147 West Willow Street. Telephone, (503) 676-9228. Address communications to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon, 97836. SUBSCRIPTION RATE $8.00 in Morrow, Umatilla, Wheeler Gilliam counties; $10.00 elsewhere. Senior Citizen Rate, $5.00 Jerome F. Sheldon Publisher Eileen Saling, Office Manager Melissa Scott, Advertising, Composition Justine Weatherford, Local Columnist Ron Jordan, Printer Jane H. Sheldon, Co-Publisher Jim Hackett, News Editor Cindi Doherty, Office Chloe Pearson, Composition A ... W V Ul vfWt "id'' mff m ' i John Nordheims Lance and Chicken won the Limit Working Hunter division, 20 and over, in Sunday's Wrangler Horse Show at the Morrow County Fairgrounds! The prize, a mug donated by Morrow County Grain Growers, was presented by Fair and Rodeo Queen Debora Palmer. ill inn LrnL Mprai; iJT Legislative Report trom the State Capital EXCLUSIVE to Oregon's Weekly Ncwspa pers trom Associated Oregon Industries. Salem Scene By Jack Zimmerman Oregon's business community appears overwhelmingly in favor of nuclear power and construction of additional nuclear powered electrical energy generating facilities in this state. That conclusion is based on results of a statewide survey conducted among mem bers .of Associated Oregon Industries ian oYgafctzattorf of"' some" x 250(1 'private' employers providing jobs for more than half the state's privately employed workforce. Launched in late July, the survey attracted more than 500 responses from all types of business people and produced results significantly different from opi nions assumed to be embraced by a majority of Oregonians at large. A total of 450 respondents reported they favored maintaining nuclear power generation as a source of electrical energy in this nation. Thirty-five responded negatively and 24 were undecided. On the question involving construction of addi tional nuclear powered plants in Oregon, 429 were in favor, 35 opposed and 34 Equally significant were answers to questions regarding ' concerns- - business people have about nuclear powered generators. Slightly more AOI members (203) were concerned about construction lag time for new plants than operating safety (192). Biggest concern was pro blems involving storage of spent fuel (339), while 130 listed cost of the plants as a major concern and only 44 expressed concern about reliability of the generators. LETTERS to the EDITOR Tape on lock 'fixes' door at Amtrak's Hinkle depot (The following letter was submitted lor ptihliciition as a Idler to the editor.) Mr. K.C. Clauson National Railroad Passenger Corporation King Street Station 303 S. Jackson Seattle. Washington 98101 Dear Mr. Clauson: For your information I am enclosing a copy of an editorial recently appearing in the Heppner Gazette-Times, regarding upkeep of the Hinkle Amtrak depot facilities. Last week I inspected the facilities myself, and found that the lock mecha nism on the door of the glass depot had been taped across by an inventive individual so that the door no longer locks itself. I am sure you will agree that this is a satisfactory solution to the problem of the lock timer getting out of proper time synchronization. Personally I do not see any great need for the door to be locked anyway, as there is nothing to steal inside the depot, other than the seats. I wish to thank you for your help in finally getting a telephone installed at the Hinkle station and, of course, for the installation of the long-overdue shelter. You will be pleased to know that there have been many good comments from Amtrak passengers about the upgrading of this facility. All that is lacking now is a restroom and water fountain. These items particularly the restroom are urgently needed, and I would like you to put these on your list of improvement projects if possible. The UP building opposite the Amtrak shelter is closed to the public, so people cannot use their restroom. The closest public restroom is over a mile away at a small gas station. When the Pioneer runs late (10-14 per cent of the time) it makes it extremely bad for women and children especially who need to use a restroom. I recognize that the installation of a portable restroom would he expensive, but I believe that it would be worth it from a public relations standpoint. I have recently conducted several surveys of passengers abourd the Pioneer, and as soon as I get the results tabulated I will forward you a copy. Sincerely, Rod Aho No consideration for 20 people Editor: On Monday night. August 13, the city planning committee meeting was sche duled at 7:30 p.m. There were 20 interested people and three from the planning committee. We were informed that there HAD to be four of the committee there for a quorum at 8 p.m. Where was the rest of this city's planning committee? Don't they know that every second Monday there is a meeting to attend? If they are too busy to attend all or most meetings they should not he on any committee. Don't they have any consideration for the 20 people who were informed that if they weren't at the meeting, their proposals would not be considered? Yours truly, Frances Crook (one of the 20 interested people) In light of overwhelming support for the nuclear power concept, the large number of respondents expressing con cern about spent fuel storage likely reflects awareness technology exists to solve that problem but little is being done by the federal government to implement a solution. AOI members also were asked to indicate concerns about availability of specific energy sources. Gasoline drew 305 responses, diesel 204, electricity 180, oil 173 and natural gas 145. When asked how increasing energy costs were affecting their businesses, 7 reported prohibitively, 272 substantially, 197 within reason and 51 minimally. A total of 11 firms reported they were retrofitting equipment and facilities to increase efficiency and alleviate the cost problem. Sixteen reported they were reducing production, hours, etc. A total of 350 indicated they were conducting active conservation programs and 116 indicated they have taken all steps possible to ease the rising costs of energy. Firms also were asked whether they favored relaxation of current federal mining standards if coal is to be used as a major fuel for electrical generation. Some 368 favored relaxation of standards, 68 were opposed and 67 undecided. Similar answers were given to a question regarding relaxation of environ mental standards applied to the use of low sulfur western coal for generation of electricity. Four hundred favored relaxa tion of standards while 43 were opposed and 53 undecided. Firms responding to the survey are widely dispersed throughout the state. But a preponderance, 48 per cent, are located in the Portland metropolitan area. Slightly more than 28 per cent are in the Willamette Valley, 7 per cent in Southern Oregon, slightly more than 5 per cent each are located on the Coast and Central Oregon and a fraction more than 4 per cent are Eastern Oregon firms. The bulk of responding firms, 79 per cent, fall into wide-ranging categories involving mostly manufacturing and service-oriented businesses. Thirteen per cent are retailers and 8 per cent are involved in the manufacture of forest products. Survey results are interesting in light of recent legislative action invoking a moratorium on certification of new nuclear plants in Oregon until Nov. 15, 1980. At the same time anti-nuclear activists are expected to launch an initiative petition campaign to place some sort of permanent ban against new plant construction on the Nov. 4, 1980 general election ballot. An AOI spokesman, attempting to interpret the heavy support for nuclear powered generators among its members, suggests the business community may be less wary than the public at large because it is more aware of the pressing need for7 electrical energy in order to meet consumer demands for goods and ser vices. Another factor, he said has to be recognition of the energy requirements necessary to maintain a healthy economy and provide jobs for Oregonians. Results certainly suggest members of the business community are more informed on the need for energy than the public at large, have, more faith in technology and are willing to accept comprises necessary to maintain a balance between livability and livelihood, he concluded. Sifting tftmugh , ; the TIMES'" 1929 Fifty years ago, it was announced ,that Mrs. R.L. Bengeof Hpnejrjwasa member of a statewide committee of Oregon mothers" holding a campaign to raise $50,000 for erection of an infirmary; building on the campus of the University at Eugene. ; Eighty tons of grain hay, a straw stack and considerable range were: consumed by fire at the O'Connor Bros., Skinner Creek farm. Sunday afternoon." The range fire also spread to the Frank Wilkinson land adjoining. F.H. Weymeyer, charge of the local district of the Umatilla National Forest, while in town Tuesday, reported that so far this season his district has been exceptionally free from fires. The latest" fire covered 35 acres on Butter Creek. Weymeyer was personally acquain ted with two men missing in the Lake Chelan fire. A car driven by Crocket Duvall, a north Lexington wheat farmer was reported to "have run amuck" wrecking two automobiles besides his own and driving a number of cars off the road between Lexington and Heppner. When asked about the cars he had wrecked, Duvall said "God will take care of them." Turner and Van Marter announced completion of their combining of wheat on the Higgs Ranch of Cason Canyon. 1954 Twenty five years ago, it was announced that fair week activities would get underway in Heppner Friday evening with the annual Dress-up Parade under the direction of the Lions Club, followed by the coronation of Queen Grace Miller. Members of the , vigilantes or members of the Lions Club, will be operating during the dress-up parade and plans called for a short kangaroo court to be included as part of the evening program. Some land damage was caused Thursday night when a thunderstorm dropped heavy rain fall on limited sections of the county reaching propor tions at Sand Hollow, upper Blackhorse and North Lexington and covering the Lexington-Hermistion Highway. Two Morrow county educators were; appointed to committees of the Oregon. Education Assocation for the coming year. Among those participating from; Morrow County were: Mrs. Bessie Barnett, credentials, and rural education and school reorganization, Gene Inskeep. 1974 Jerry Eyestone, Corps of Engineers project coordinator for the Willow Creek Dam, told the Heppner Chamber of Commerce, the estimated cost of the project was $14,700,000, which included two lakes of different elevation, the one" at the lower elevation serving as a silt basin with facilities proposed for recreation and picnic area and the possibility of fish hatcheries. In case of a flood, a 5 by 7 foot conduit connected to the spillway dam would permit flood waters to flow down Willow Creek. Bernard Merle Padberg, 46, of Lexington, died August 17 of an apparent heart attack while operating a combine on the Terry Thompson Ranch. ; It was announced that top professional cowboys would be in town for the Morrow County Rodeo in Heppner, August 24-25. Bob Ragsdale, Rodeo Cowboys Assn. President from Chochill, California .and a National Finals Rodeo qualifier in calf roping was expected to be in attendance. I Legislation was proposed by Conj gressman Al Ullman to make the John Day Fossil Beds a national monument. Two units of the monument would be in Wheeler and in Grant County. Clubs & Organizations Call The Heppner Gazette-Times For Your News Release Press Kits. Phone 676-9228 J
