.yitfilf tfftriiS'- '.ifi.-i.hjn-Ji0i...,.m, .i'n n 'i ' .... .',(...,...
TWO The Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, August 30, 1979
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Editorials o Columns
UDHUEPDCGl? Letters From Readers
3)1, i
, ' A ... r
4 significant holiday
for Heppner
Labor ay on Monday will be
observed with particular signifi
cance in Heppner because of the
production record established re
cently at the Kinzua Corporation's
local sawmill.
As the firm's management said in
a message to the community, at a
Editor's
Notebook
Dennis Smith, the Salem newspaper
man who as a Republican expects to
challenge Congressman Al Ullman in next
year's election, flie round the sprawling
Second Congressional District in his own
plane a twin-engine Beecher Baron. The
district covers the wide-open spaces east
of the Cascades plus a portion of the
Willamette Valley 21 counties in all.
Smith is a professional flier. He is on
furlough as a pilot from Pan American
World Airways. He flew for Pan Am for 10
years going to such far-away places as
Alaska, Australia and Europe. He also
served as an Air Force pilot.
He was in Heppner last Thursday
testing the political winds. He flew over
from Hermiston and landed at the Morrow
County Airport at Lexington, then drove
into Heppner for lunch. While here, he
looked at the proposed Willow Creek dam
site.
He cites the problems of inflation and
excessive government spending as rea
sons for jumping into the political race. He
feels Ullman has outlived his usefulness as
a congressman. "He's been there too
long," Smith says. "In fact, his 'Oregon
address' is a post office box in Baker."
Smith, 41, has formed a fund-raising
committee and has hired a professional
campaign organizer, a young man from
South Dakota, a state that Smith regards
as similar in geography and population to
Oregon's Second District.
The would-be candidate is chairman of
the board of Eagle Newspapers, a chain of
weeklies that includes several papers in
the district that he would represent. He is
41, married and has three children. He
grew up in Eastern Oregon. His father was
Elmo Smith, who served as governor for a
year, from 1956 to 1957. The father was
president of the Oregon State Senate and
succeeded to the governorship on the death
of Gov. Paul Patterson.
Dennis Smith said he developed a taste
for congressional politics when he served
in Washington as a lobbyist for the airline
pilots' union as well as Pan American.
Morrow County's two legislators were
in town last week. Rep. Bill Bellamy, from
Culver, Jefferson County, dropped by the
Gazette-Times office last Thursday. He
represents District 55, which embraces
several northern central Oregon counties.
Sen. Ken Jernstedt and his wife, from
Hood River, attended the rodeo on
Saturday, rode in the parade and were
guests at the All Saints Episcopal Church
barbeque dinner. It is satisfying to note
that both men have been graded as being
effective in the statehouse in a recent
survey among lobbyists and lawmakers.
time when the productivity, or
output, of the nation's manufactur
ing facilities is drastically slipping,
Kinzua is proud of its Heppner
workers who, during the month of
July, cut more than five million
uoard feet of lumber.
Inflation is the country's overrid
ing concern with wages and prices i
going up and production going down.
One way to reverse the spiral is to
produce more and in Heppner, the
Kinzua workers have done just that.
Labor Day has been, since 1894,
the national holiday of the work
force. In the United States and
Canada the first Monday of Septem
ber has been set aside for the
tribute. In many other countries,
Labor Day is celebrated on May 1.
The labor movement of the 19th
century arose out of the industrial
revolution, when factory workers
were exploited, working conditions
often were hazardous, hours were
long and the pay low. It wasn't until
the 1890's that the 10-hour day
became a standard and 1912, when
the eight-hour day was adopted by
law.
Labor's gains were accomplished
through the militancy of trade
unions.
Today, of course, in many
industries there is a strong working
partnership between labor and
management to provide people with
good incomes and the ability to
acquire a good standard of living.
Such a spirit of cooperation was
what Kinzua saluted recently in an
advertisement in the Heppner Gazette-Times,
calling attention to an
'outstanding sawmill production re
cord. But Labor Day is for the farmer,
too, coming as it does near the close
of the summer harvest season. The
farmer's financial rewards are often
less immediate than those of the
factory or mill worker.
So, let's salute all of the hard
workers of 1979 and may they have a
good holiday on the weekend ahead.
Jogging Day
Gov. Victor Atiyeh has declared
October 14, 1979 as Jogging Day in Oregon.
The action acknowledges the benefits of
jogging as a means of improving physical
fitness and gaining greater awareness of
personal health, a spokesman at the
Oregon Lung Association said.
The Governor drew attention to the
fact that 300,000 people of Oregon are
among the 25 million jogging Americans
nationally.
National Jogging Day is sponsored by
the National Jogging Association in
cooperation with the President's Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports, the
American Lung Association, and the
National Recreation and Park Association.
The Official Newspaper of the
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
OTTFA
Ogon Nwpapr
Publisher Auocwiion
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Morrow Coaity's Award-Winiij 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 Gaiette-Times, P.O. Box 337,
Heppner, Oregon, 97836.
SUBSCRIPTION RATE
18.00 in Morrow, Umatilla, Wheeler Gilliam counties; 110.00 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
Many people in
'79 Fair merit
thanks
Editor:
The hustle and bustle of Fair Week for
1979 is now past. It was a fine time to meet
old friends, and make new ones, and see
some of the activities that our Morrow
County people are involved in, and to see
what our young people are accomplishing.
There are many many people who deserve
a personal thanks, but this is impossible,
so I'd like to take this means of doing just
this.
To the many many people who
worked all year preparing their exhibits,
the fine superintendents that gave of their
time so willingly, the wonderful hard
working Fair Committee, the Fair Board,
the lovely Queen and her Princesses and
the office staff.
The Morrow County Fair Committee
expresses our Thanks and an invitation to
see and work with you all next year.
Delpha Jones
Amtrak support is
appreciated
Editor:
Your editorial in the August 9 issue of
the Gazette-Times has been called to my
attention. Thank you for your continued
interest in the "Pioneer" and Amtrak
service. The words of support are much
appreciated.
We will keep a close watch on the
station at Hinkle and I am copying your
editorial and sending it to all concerned on
the situation.
Anytime this office can assist, please
do not hesitate to advise.
Sincerely,
Arthur L. Lloyd
Director, Public Affairs-West, ,
Amtrak
San Francisco, Cal.
i U
' it :. ' v.
ri
' v -s . U
1 t m
......St.-: MU' "Miwuimmiw
Sifting
j through
the A
e -w
Testing the political climate
Dennis Smith of Salem flew into the Morrow County Airport at Lexington last
week during a swing around Eastern Oregon, which he hopes to represent in
Congress. So far, he appears to be unopposed for the Republican nomination. He
would face Rep. Al Ullman, a Democrat, in the general election in 1980. (See Editor's
Notebook item.)
COMMENT FROM SALEM
Welfare reform an issue
in 1979 Legislature
Ullman vote issue
well stated
Editor:
Thank you for your editorial of August
9 regarding Congressman Ullman 's vote
on the Charles Diggs' expulsion issue. I
thought the piece stated the case very well.
I would also like to express my
appreciation for the explanation of the
"News From the Other Side" program
that was included in the editorial.
Although, as you pointed out, we are by
nature partisan, we do try to raise valid
questions on that side of the issues that
most Congressmen so frequently choose to
ignore.
Sincerely,
Tim Sullivan, Editor
"News From the Other Side"
National Republican Congressional
Committee
Washington, D.C.
What Others Say
The Enterprise has been attending
sessions of county officials and U.S.
Congressional delegates for a number of
years and last week we sat in on a session
with the county court and stand-ins for
injured Al Ullman. This was by far the best
organized and most directly presented
session we have been to.
County Judge Ernie Seuell led the
presentation of county problems.
The range of problems ran from why
the county and city can't seem to get a
federal grant to use the geothermal water
for heating public buildings to the
transportation problems farmers are
having with moving their grain to market.
He asked the team to find out exactly how
many revenue sharing and in-lieu of tax
dollars would be coming to the county this
next year. The county has not been given
an exact figure for this year and it is
already causing budget problems.
Now if only Washington, D.C. is
listening maybe we can get some answers
and action on the local problems!
Malheur Enterprise
(This is one of an occasional series of
articles in which our State Senator, Ken
Jernstedt of Hood River, analyzes major
actions of the 1979 Legislature. In the
following article, Jernstedt discusses
welfare reform.)
by KEN JERNSTEDT
One of the most frequent complaints
any legislator hears concerns our public
welfare system.
If it's been heard once, it's been heard
a thousand times: "Why don't you do
something about ( those deadbeats and
welfare cheats?"
We've generally been frustrated in our
reform attempts by the federal govern
ment which provides much of the money
and most of the say.
The Legislature, nonetheless, makes a
serious run at welfare reform about once
every three or four sessions. Prior to the
recent session, the last time was in
1971 and the results were immediate.
A special House Committee at that
time issued a report which scathed the
administration of the State Welfare
Division, and caused a general tightening
up in all programs.
The year prior to the committee's
report, Oregon fell just shy of leading the
nation in the growth of welfare caseload.
The year following the report, Oregon
led the nation in the decline of welfare
caseloads.
One of the recommendations of the
special committee one which would have
reduced the burden even further was
dismissed out-of-hand by the federal
government. The recommendation was
that the state be premitted to require
able-bodied welfare recipients to accept
employment.
The federal government blocked the
way to that path but the idea remained on
the back burner, and this session, eight
years later, the Legislature has embraced
the policy even though it may mean a
loss of federal largesse.
The results, this time, were just as
instant as the results in 1971.
On July 1st, some 5,000 recipients were
dropped from Oregon's welfare rolls and
another 15,000 recipients saw a sharp
decrease in their benefits.
The new policy is simple: It requires
that one parent in a household with two
able-bodied parents be required to get a
job.
No one was tossed out into the streets
on July 1. The State, prior to the deadline,
stepped-up its counseling and job place
ment efforts for those who would be
affected.
As estimated 20 per cent ot tnose 10 uc
dropped from the rolls had been placed in
jobs before the cut-off . .1- . ; .
There is no shortage of available'
employment. There were an estimated
85,000 new jobs in Oregon in July,
alone through expansion, new business
' and turnover. The jobs run the range from
low-skilled to well paying high-skill jobs.
The Savings in taxpayer dollars over ,
the next two years is estimated at more"
than $30 million and, in the long run, we
may be saving more than dollars.
We may be saving in another sense,
because the- Legislature said something
else with this new policy something
which perhaps has needed saying for quite
some time.
The Legislature said that the indivi
dual has the major responsibility to find a
job, and that state government will no
longer assume the responsibility.
There are some who suggest that the
avoidance of individual responsibility is
one of the major problems in our society
today. And it is certainly one of the major
factors in people becoming dependent on
the welfare system.
The Legislature has said that able
bodied individuals will be responsible for
meeting their own needs. That isn't really
too much to ask, is it?
We took one other significant step
along this line, but the total impact can't
be predicted. We have required that
stepfathers with the financial means
accept the responsibility for the support of
their stepchildren. We feel this is an
obligation wich is assumed upon marri
age, and one which will now be legally
required.
Nothing in either of these new policies
in any way alters or dilutes our legitimate
responsibility to help those who are in
genuine need of our help.
Cost Sharing
Federal and state conservation cost
sharing payments to farmers would not
count as income for federal tax purposes
under proposed regulations announced by
Acting Secretary of Agriculture Jim
Williams.
In calling for public comment on the
proposal, Williams said the Secretary of
the Treasury also must make a separate
determination that the payments do not
substantially increase the farmer's in
come for the exemption to qualify.
TIMES
1929
Fifty years ago, "An impressive array
of exhibits for the annual Morrow County
Wool and Grain show is already assured,"
Charles W. Smith, manager said. Smith
.. was enthusiastic over the fine cooperation
being received in preparation of exhibits
this year which would be held in
conjunction with the Heppner Rodeo,
September 27 and 28.
For wheat, prizes will be $4 for first, $2
for second and $1 for third place. Wool
prizes will be $6, $3 and $1.
Miss Kathleen McClintock was chosen
to wield the scepter over the cowboy realm
September 18, 19, 20 and 21.
Queen Kathleen in private life is Miss
Kathleen McClintock, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. L.A. McClintock and next year will be
a junior at Oregon State College. She was
an accomplished horsewoman and was
planning to ride in all of the Roundup
parades.
A combine owned by Joe Batty of
Hardman was totally destroyed by fire
Thursday afternoon while at work in his
field. A fire caught from a hot box and a
stiff wind at the time made it impossible to
save the machine. Batty spread the word
to neighbors and there was a number
assisting him in keeping the fire from
spreading to the uncut wheat field.
Glen Moore, 14, fatally wounded his
father, Heistand Moore, lower Butter
Creek ranchman Tuesday evening by
shooting him twice with a shotgun', the
climax of a family quarrel. The boy gave
himself up at the sheriff's office.
A fire that threatened to assume
alarming proportions was reported in
Heppner Tuesday afternoon on the
mountain farm of W.B. Barratt and Son at
Parkers Mill and accompanying the report
was a call for 20 men to help fight the fire.
The fire was brought under control
Tuesday night.
City policemen Devin and Matteson
happened upon a "little party" at the
Rodeo grounds Sunday evening. Quite a
number of young men were engaged in
disposing of a gallon jug. The boys
scattered when the officers started to get
out of Matteson's Ford coupe but one
attempted to carry away the jug. Matteson
arrested him but by this time the other
boys had made a complete getaway.
0 ! Harvey Ayers was convicted of posses
4 sion of intoxicating liquor in justice court
and fined $100.
Matteson said a pint of the moonshine
remained in the jug for evidence.
v" 1954
" Twenty -five years ago, the third
annual Morrow County Horse Show held
under the supervision of the Wranglers
riding club was one of the feature events as
the fair and rodeo went into its second day.
The annual Wrangler cowboy break
fast was slated for Sunday and was
expected to be served on the clubhouse
lawn at the fairgrounds. Mrs. Archie
Munkers was general chairman.
Jack N. Angel, new administrator of
Pioneer Memorial Hospital was pictured
in the Gazette. He took over his duties here
the first of the week and will replace John
Ernsdorff who resigned to accept a similar
position in Lewiston.
A rapidly spreading grass and grain
fire which started about 4:30 p.m.
Saturday spread up Heppner's west hill
and burned a wide swath completely
across the wheat field owned by Frank S.
Parker and Ed LaTrace destroying
between 11 and 12 acres of unharvested
wheat.
A record was established at the county
fair with a total of 28 open class livestock
being entered besides numerous 4-H and
FFA projects, making Morrow County the
largest exhibition in Eastern Oregon.
Rodeo stock began rolling into
Heppner last night as Christensen Bros,
trucks ended a long haul from Stockton,
California where they were showing.
The Eugene, Oregon rodeo stock
company is one of the largest in the west
and has furnished stock to most of the top
shows on the coast including the Oregon
State Fair and Pendleton Round-up.
1974
Five years ago, the first prize in the
juvenile division went to the Heppner
Swim Team and in the adult organizations,
the Soroptimists won first prize. Pioneer
Memorial Hospital won first in the
business category. The Soroptimist Club
also captured the sweepstakes award.
Unofficial figures indicated that the
1974 Morrow County Fair and Rodeo
surpassed last year's attendance and
receipts were up. Fair gate receipts were
$875 and rodeo gate receipts, $5,500. Rodeo
dances contributed $2,000 .