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The Heppner
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VOL 97 NO. 36
Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1979
Donald F. Gilliam, official
weather observer for Hepp
ner, reports the following high
and low temperaturea and
measured rainfall for the past
week, starting Tuesday, Aug.
28.
Tues., Aug. 28
Wed., Aug. 29
Thurs., Aug. 30
Fri.,Aug.31
Sat., Sept. 1
Sun., Sept. 2
Mon., Sept. 3
Hi Low Pre
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55
59
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fp at dawn in typical wheat harvest, home at dark
School
;Daze
By Birdine Tullis
Whea (hearts Chairman
Morrow County
Som e things don't change all
that much. Take wheat har
vest on a family farm in
eastern Oregon, for instance.
It's still up at dawn...work till
dark. Still the sense of
urgency to get the crop in as
soon as possible. Everyone in
the family is still involved...
and everything else stops for
harvest.
Some things do change.
Equipment, gas diesel, and
machinery parts become
more costly. Costs for labor
increase. Machinery is ef
efficient, and more comforta
ble for the operator. The cost
of producing a bushel of wheat
and the price received varies.
The wheat market goes up...
and down.
To those who live on the
land, or grew up on farms, the
sight of the combines moving
into the field are welcome
sights. A symbol of the
harvest. ..the culmination of a
year, or really two year's
work, in our summer fallow
country. The combines are
rolling in our county now.
They may look like large
clumsy machines, gobbling up
the grain to a city dweller, but
to the farm family they are a
thing of beauty, taking in the
precious heads of wheat,
efficiently cleaning the ker
nels from the straw, and
pouring out a golden stream
into the truck which takes the
wheat to storage.
Equally important is the
truck, and the driver. That
driver may be the farmer's
wife, or daughter, or young
son. ..but whoever it is, they
are a part of the team. The
driver must keep attention on
the combine and be ready to
move up along side quickly
and "take it on the go" to
eliminate slow down and loss
of time.
The truck is filled and off to
the elevator or storage bin.
Quick! Unload and get back,
ready for another load ! Keep
everything moving. ..get the
crop in!
Don't overlook the import
ance of the gal in the kitchen
to this operation! Lots of good
food and snacks are tradition
al to the harvest. Someone
back at the ranch is turning
out loads of food. While the
big harvest noon meal may
have given way to the lunch
packed to the field, crews still
look forward to good eating...
and lots of it! Gallons of
lemonade, ice tea, or other
drinks disappear quickly, for
it is hot, dry work in the
harvest fields.
Some things don't change.
In spite of modern improve
ments in machines, the dust,
dirt, chaff, heat, bugs and
cont. on Pg. 3
First graders listened attentively as Mrs. Judy Maas read passages from a book
entitled "I Don't Want to Go to School" Tuesday on the first day of school for Heppner
Elementary students. Secondary and elementary students had to go to school for only half a
day Tuesday to enable educators to plan better arrangements for the remainder of the first
week of nine months of school.
It's A No Man's Land on Highway 207
orrow students back in classes
County schools opened with
out a hitch Tuesday and
elementary and high school
students received a shortened
school day to allow educators
to shift desks around.
Students were dismissed at
1:30 p.m. at lone and Heppner
Elementary, Jr. High and
High Schools.
Heppner High School Princi
pal Jim Bier said the opening
day at the school began with
an assembly arranged by
student body leaders. Student
Body President Ron Young
urged the students to become
involved academically as well
as in the extracurricular
activities while Principal Bier
explained procedural matters.
The new student body lead
ers are Ron Young, Joe
Mollahan, Jo Lynn Daly.,
Jackie Gentry and Nancy
Harvest fun this week
At Boardman
Miller.
The school will be holding its
first pep assembly Friday
before the Heppner-Stanfield
game at home and a mixer
dance is planned after the
dance.
Students attending Tuesday
attended 7 periods in an
abbreviate schedule and were
dismissed at 1:30 p.m.
The first day of school was
reported to be running smooth
at Heppner Elementary
School. One of the largest
jobs of the teachers and
administration was directing
the youngsters to their class
rooms and getting acquainted
with their new instructors.
Principal Don Cole said the
school was down slightly in
enrollment and few new
students enrolled on the open
ing day.
During recess, a group of
boys was playing football
and lists were posted on the
window for youngsters to find
their classroom.
Classes were also reported
running smooth at lone
schools.
The Boardman Harvest Fes
tival is slated this Friday,
Saturday and Sunday and
promises to bean event for the
entire family.
Kicking on the festivities
Friday night at 6 p.m. is the
annual Barbecue dinner fol
lowed at 8 p.m. with the
football game between River
side and Union.
On Saturday, the Cowboy
breakfast is set for 7 a.m. at
the Marina area and at 11 a.m.
will be the Harvest Parade
featuring over 70 entries and
the festival Princesses, Heidi
Conboy, Lisa Mettelsdorf,
Kathy Petteys and Lorie
Russell, all juniors at River
side High School. The parade
is expected to draw some
groups scheduled to appear in
the early evening hours at
Pendleton's Dress-up Parade
in anticipation of next week
end's Pendleton Roundup.
At 12:30 p.m. is the court's
luncheon. Chaperones this
year are Karyn Peck, Marie
Dies, Dale Reed and Betty
Slocumb. The court's colors
are navy and light blue. The
event will be held at Riverside
High School.
Starting at 1:30 p.m. is the
annual produce auction where
area farmers will sell some of
their crops and produce to
local buyers.
At 3 p.m. are kids' games at
the Boardman city park, at 4
p.m. is the pet show and 8
snow is a new event this year
and will be held with the other
events at the city park.
The action begins again at 7
a.m. Sunday with a Cowboy
Breakfast. At 10 a.m., there
are hydroplane time trials and
at 1 p.m. the boat races begin
on the Columbia.
Court to consider
special street action
Hospital workers
near settlement
Non-licensed employees and
the Pioneer Memorial Hospi
tal Board negotiating team
have reached tentative agree
ment on a new contract,
Hospital Board Chairman
Fred Martin reported Friday.
The next step to conclude
negotiations will be approval
by the non-licensed employees
and further approval by the
Hospital Board and Morrow
County Court.
Martin was not certain when
final ratification of the con
tract would be made because
the negotiator, Don Scott, left
on vacation following the
settlement.
The Hospital Board planned
to meet in executive session at
7:30p.m. Wednesday, Septem
ber 5 in Boardman to consider
labor problems and employing
a new administrator.
The Morrow County Court
will convene this week as a
special contract review board
to consider immediate action
on awarding a construction
contract for First Street in
Irrigon.
The street needs construc
tion work because of the new
Columbia Jr. High School.
As explained by county
officials, the court must meet
as a contract review board
when it decides not to adver
tise for bids for work based on
weather, timing or cost. A
week's notice of the decision
must be made.
In other business, Bob Van
Schoiack's petition to vacate
the Martin Prairie Road
was accepted and awaits fu
ture approval and a hearing
set October 10 on a petition to
consider vacating the Tollrock
Road. Property-owners re
quested the vacation about a
month ago. Vacation of Can
yon Road will not be consi
dered. The Court was also sche
duled to meet at 1 p.m. with
the Road Committee to deter
mine road maintenance prior
ities and whether to ask for a
serial road levy for future
repairs.
Radio
Theft
Reported
The Boeing Corporation has f
reported the theft of radio
equipment from a leased
building from PGE to the
Morrow County Sheriff's De
partment. The theft, which was be
lieved to have occurred be
tween August 24-27 involved
three mobile radios valued at
$3fi0each. a transceiver worth
$1,153, a $50 control box and a
typewriter valued at $100.
Entry was made through a
front door of the building.
There was also a report of a
butchered calf. Vic Groshens
of the Oregon State Police
investigated the incident.
"Gee Charlie, they've
turned the road into a cow
, rath.watchout for that dozer,
you're sure we should have
gone this way to Heppner?"
Those might have been
some of the reactions of Labor
Day visitors to Heppner last
weekend as they negotiated
the road construction area
linking Heppner to Lexington
via State Highway 207, 12
miles of which is being
resurfaced rast of Lexington
to the Boardman junction on
the Lexington-Hermiston
Highway by the contractor,
Peter Kiewit Sons' Co. of
Vancouver.
By Wednesday of last week,
construction had reached a
point where a pilot car with
the instructions "follow me"
clearly labeled on a sign above
the vehicle was directing one
lane of traffic about a mile
east of Lexington. The Gazette-Times
drove through the
area several times and no
ticed in one drive through that
when the pilot car pulled off to
a side road, a woman driver
attempted to follow him. And
that incident wasn't limited to
women a male driver of a
pickup truck made the same
mistake.
In some places where the
road is being widened, local
drivers used to finding smooth
highway found rough driving
with heaps of asphalt lying on
the shoulders and yellow
helmeted men and women
holding their stop and slow
sligns plus hand held mikes.
Most of the traffic seemed to
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be running through the area
with little difficulty as they
followed the pilot car. One of
the drivers noted that in two
hours, he had put 25 miles on
the speedometer leading mo
torists through the area.
Coupled with the sight of
bulldozers, graders and ma
chines which tear up the
Bumpy
Express
Highway 207 between Hepp
ner and Lexington has become
a no man's road of broken up
asphalt, rough driving and
highway traffic equipment as
Peter Kiewit and Sons of
Vancouver begins its initial
resurfacing work on 12 miles
of road bed between Heppner
and Hermiston.
asphalt, was the ongoing
construction of an asphalt
plant to resurface the new
road bed at the side of the
road.
Lexington Grange to Celebrate 50 Years
With potluck birthday Sunday, September 16
The Lexington Grange will
celebrate its 50th Anniversary
Sunday, Sept. 16 with a
potluck dinner, speeches and a
get together of long-time
members.
State Grange Chaplain Allen
Wheeler will be featured
speaker at the 2 p.m . program
and the Sweet Adelines from
Umatilla will perform. A
potluck dinner is slated at
noon.
The Lexington Grange was
first organized May 27, 1929 at
the Lexington Schoolhouse
and in September 29, 1929,
moved to Leach all. The
Grange met there until 1935
when the present hall was
completed largely from dona
fed materials and the land for
the hall given by Elsie Beech,
a member of the ukmeer
Beech family.
Originally, the Grange star
ted with 35 members. Charter
members still living are
Orville Cutsforth and Flor
ence McMillan. Fifty year
members include Norman and
Fred Nelson, Hortense Marin,
Orville Cutsforth and Flor
ence McMillan.
There are currently about 60
Grange members and face
lifting of the Grange Hall is
going on. Members are paint
ing the walls and adding new
card tables.
is
An anniversary cake
being readied for the special
event. Barbara Cutsforth is
Grange president and Delpha
Jones, lecturer.