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The Heppner
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Morrow County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper
GAZE
VOL. 97 NO. 38
20 cents
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, Sept.
11.
High LowPre.
Tues.Sept.il 75 42
Wed., Sept. 12 78 42
Thurs.,Sept. 13 81 44
Fri.,Sept. 14 90 47
Sat., Sept. 15 92 52
Sun., Sept. 16 84 53
Mon.,Sept. 17 83 48
12 pages
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1979
HEPPNER, OREGON
Foreign trade zone discusse
d
i Ml
hj Port of Morrow CoiniMdssioiiers
The possibility of establish
ing a foreign trade zone at the
Port of Morrow along the
Columbia River was discussed
at the Port of Morrow Com
missioners' meeting Sept. 13
in Heppner.
Vern Chase, the Port of
Portland general sales mana
ger, briefed the commis
sioners on the possibility of a
foreign trade zone coming to
the area.
Mort Michelson, of the
Portland foreign trade zone,
said there was economic
justification for a foreign
trade zone in the Portland
area and that same need
would have to be shown here
before a similar project could
be started.
He added that the foreign
trade zone system is expand
ing rapidly from seven in 1970
to 57 now. About 12 have come
about just in the last two
years.
"We have to find out if a
foreign trade zone is justified
tcijbe here," Michelson said.
!e will have to work
together to developthe idea. I
am not pessimistic nor am I
optimistic. We must explore
the idea further."
Chase said the Port of
Morrow could be an ideal
location if the appropriate
facilities could be developed.
Michelson was not as opti
mistic as Chase as he said,
"The property in this district
is not encouraging."
Michelson and Chase had
looked at an Army ordnance
depot along the port as a
possible spot for a zone but
they found the depot "unac
ceptable." "The facility is controlled
by the department of defense
and they demand strict safety
precautions and conversion of
the building does not look
promising," Michelson said.
"The military could call back
the building at any time on
short notice."
Another drawback to the
depot, which was built be
tween 1942-45, is that not all of
the buildings are dock high.
Michelson said the possibility
of moving the depot buildings
to another spot along the port
would not be too probable.
"The cost would be expen
sive and close to what it would
cost to build new ones,"
Michelson said. He added the
existing buildings may not
meet code standards anyway.
"I am for it (a foreign trade
zone coming to the Port of
Morrow) but we will have to
look in the area for a different
facility," Michelson said.
"The local labor force can sell
this area as a foreign trade
zone but we will have to find
out if the need and potential
warrants the expense."
"The river is gold to us,"
Chase said.
The commissioners agreed
to meet again with Chase and
Michelson to see if there is
definitely a need for a foreign
trade zone if the facilities can
be found to house such a
project.
Portland has one of the
newest and most modern
foreign trade zones in the
world and a Port of Morrow
Hospital directors offer
job to Umatilla man
A.K. Felt, administrator of
the Umatilla Hospital District
No. 1 at Umatilla, has been
offered the administrator's
position at Pioneer Memorial
Hospital in Heppner at an
annual salary of $22,000.
The offer was contained in a
letter signed by directors
attending a special board
meeting Monday night.
If he accepts, Felt, 53, would
assume the position in Hepp
ner Nov. 1.
Frederick Martin of lone,
chairman of the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital board, said
it was hoped that Felt would
be "strong in doctor recruit
ing." "We are prepared to go to
any length within reason to
secure a physician who would
practice here," Martin com
mented. The board would be flexible
in what it offered, he said but
has budgeted funds for the
employment of a doctor.
However, if a physician
wished to maintain an inde
pendent practice, office and
clinic space could be provided.
"The board is committed to
seeking additional medical
staff for the hospital," he said.
The vote on offering the
administrator's position to
Felt was conducted without
discussion. Other candidates
had been considered but their
names and qualifications were
not mentioned at the meeting.
Felt has been administrator
of the Umatilla Hospital since
"' 1975. Among his references
was a letter published in the
Columbia Beacon, a commu
nity newspaper, in March of
this year expressing "Thanks
to 'Lucky Felt for the
tremendous job he has done."
fell ilidLiP
N a .''r ' J-
A.K. Felt
In the letter, Ervin W.
Bushby, board chairman, said
when Felt took over as
administrator, the "future of
the hospital looked rather
grim. We were close to
$100,000 in debt and our credit
rating had gone 'the way of the
wild goose.'"
Bushby said the Umatilla
Hospital, under Felt's man
agement, had reduced its debt
to a bank loan that was to be
paid off this year. Further
more, the hospital has been
equipped with modern facili
ties and instruments.
Prior to assuming manage
ment of the Umatilla Hospital,
Felt had managerial positions
for seven years with Burn
ham's Department Store in
Hermiston, six years at Erick
son's Department Store in
Madras, and eight years with
Merrill Clothing Co. in Mer
rill, Ore. Good references
from all of them were included
in the resume.
Felt is married and has two
grown children. He is a
veteran of the U.S. Marine
Corps in which he served from
1943 to 1946. Among his
community service activities
have been membership in the
Lions Club, Boy Scouts and
Cub Scouts, and in a volunteer
fire department in which he
served for five years as chief.
He also has been active in
United Fund and Red Cross
blood programs.
In both Hermiston and
Umatilla he has served on
municipal budget committees.
He is the current chairman in
Umatilla.
In addition to civic activities
Felt has been a member, past
or present, of the Masonic and
Elks Lodges and the Veterans
of Foreign Wars.
He lists his personal inter
ests as golfing, bird hunting,
reading, and helping his
sons-in-law and daughters in
farming.
As the administrator of the
Umatilla Hospital, Felt is a
member of various profes
sional groups including the
Oregon Association of Hospi
tals. In connection with the
offer to him, his expenses to
the convention of the state
organization in October would
be met by the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital board.
zone would probably be a
sub-zone of it.
Many American business
men are turning to the
Portland Port to keep pace
with the dramatic increase in
trade with Japan and the other
Asian countries.
The advantages of establish
ing a foreign trade zone
instead of using conventional
bonded warehouses include:
-Duty free customs privi
leges. The zone is regarded as
neutral territory for customs
privileges.
-Within tne zone, manufac
turers may process, label,
mix, sort, assemble, ware
house, manufacture and
transship goods free from U.S.
tariffs.
-Testing and exhibiting im
ported merchandise to poten
tial customers within the' zone
is not subject to a duty tax. If
the merchandise was sold in
the domestic market, the
price of the duty would be
passed on to the buyer.
-Raw materials, which
carry a high duty tax, may be
transformed to an end product
within the zone which will then
be taxed at that usually lower
rate.
-Goods may be stored inde
finitely while bonded ware
houses can store for three
years and sometimes for as
little as three months.
-Customs officers are on the
spot so there is no delay in
waiting for a customs repre
sentative. -Goods in the zone are
without a formal duty and
import quotas do not apply.
-Freedom from unnecessary
customs decumentation, for
malities and surveillance is an
advantage.
Special advantages to zones
which are established in the
state of Oregon include:
-No retail sales tax.
-Exemption from property
tax s during construction.
-Lower corporate excise
taxes.
-Pollution control equip
ment credits.
-A tax relief credit designed
to promote economic develop
ment in areas in Oregon that
lay behind the state average in
economic development.
continued on page 3
Wildlife department busy
this year, Ward says
Glen Ward of the Oregon
Fish and Wildlife department
was the guest speaker at the
Heppner Chamber of Com
merce meeting Sept. 17 at the
West of Willow Restaurant.
"The red hats are coming
(referring to hunters) and
there is not much we can do
about it," Ward said in
opening his slide presenata
tion. Ward then went on to
explain about the various
types of animals in the area
and the types of programs his
department uses to preserve
these various types of ani
mals. Ward said the elk in the area
have stablized and some
private landowners have
agreed to let hunters on their
land at certain times but
permits must be obtained
first.
The deer are not doing as
well and are down in numbers
by 15 per cent. Ward said the
tough winter last year and the
drought spring before that is
the cause for this drop 'in
numbers. He said there are
more deer in the higher
elevations than in lower
grounds.
Ward said the department is
trapping surplus antelope and
moving them to Baker County.
He added that the department
may bring in bucks to improve
the ling of antelope.
Wa. J said the forest service
is trying to educate pople to
build fences around streams
so plant growth can occur
around the waters. This will
help in flood control and will
also make for good cover for
birds to live in.
The chukar hunting season
from Sept. 29 to Jan. 13 should
also be good, according to
Ward. Eight chukars can be
taken daily.
The game ent has
raised and reiwsed 1,220
pheasants, according to Ward.
He added that pheasants
which were raised on the farm
are not as wild as the ones in
their natural habitat.
A drawing of 50 permits will
be available, Ward said, for
turkey shooting for the spring
season. He added that only
four turkeys were taken last
year.
Ward explained some of the
other department projects to
the audience of about 30
Heppner citizens.
He said that roads have
been closed to hunters and
that a $35 fine will be charged
to every person in an area
which is closed to vehicles or
in a safety zone.
Ward said the department is
studying the migration pat
terns of all types of animals
and is very concerned about
pollution killing off animals.
He said they are also very
concerned about the number
of illegal kills which are made
each year.
"Our main objective is to
provide recreation for the
participants," Ward said.
"The hunter being successful
is only a secondary goal."
. i J mm
Judge D.O. Nelson
Judge Nelson quits
forpersonal reasons
County judge D.O. Nelson
announced Monday that he
will be resigning from his
position Oct. 15.
Judge Nelson cited "per
sonal reasons" as the cause of
his resignation.
"I hate to do this," Nelson
said. "I have a great associa
tion with all the people in the
county. Everyone has been
very cooperative with me. But
I have given this a great deal
of thought and I feel I must
resign."
Judge Nelson's resignation
will leave a vacancy that will
have to be filled by an
appointment by Oregon Gov.
Victor Atiyeh. Nelson said it is
customary for the governor to
appoint a judge from the same
political party as the depart
ing judge. Nelson is a Demo
crat. The governor will usu
ally appoint someone who is
recommended by the Demo
cratic Central Committee.
Whoever Governor Atiyeh
appoints will have to run in a
primary in May to see who
will serve a new term which
will begin in January of 1980.
Judge Nelson was appointed
to his position in July 1977, and
then ran in the primary the
following May and was elected
and took office in January. He
has served less than two years
of the six-year term to which
he was elected.
Nelson said he does not
plan to leave the area at this
time but he does not really
know for sure.
Will there be elk ?
Oregon Forum wonders
Will there still be elk herds
in northeastern Oregon in the
year 2000? And if there are,
how will those herds affect the
quality of grazing lands and
timber production in the area?
Residents of Hepner will
have a chance to explore these
and other questions related to
big game and timber manage
ment with forestry and wild
life experts at a workshop this
Saturday titled "Elk Manage
ment in Timber Country."
The event will be held at the
Heppner High School Cafe
torium from 12 to 5 p.m. and is
free to the public. The
workshop is one of seven being
presented this year in Oregon
through a grant from the
National Science Foundation
by a Eugene based group, the
Oregon Forum.
The workshop will feature
experts in the wildlife field
such as Warren Aney, re
gional supervisor of the Ore
gon Department of Fish and
Wildlife and Jack Ward Tho
mas, chief research biologist
for the U.S. Forest Service
laboratory in La Grande, as
well as speakers from the
Northwest Pine Association,
Oregon Cattlemen's Associa
tion and the Elk Foundation.
The program will empha
size an objective approach to
the issues in which two hours
will be solely devoted to
discussion periods between
area residents and speakers.
This format makes the work
shop a unique opportunity for
area residents to take part in a
lively exchange of views
between groups and agencies
who do not often have the
opportunity to meet.
Although the area's Forest
Management Unit Plans are
all nearly complete, the For
est Service and Bureau of
Land Management are both
starting the process of devel
oping comprehensive man
agement plans on a regional
basis. In this area the Uma
tilla and Wallowa-Whitman
National Forests are in the
initial stages of plan develop
ment. During the next two
years the decisions that are
made by the Forest Serivce
and BLM in developing their
plans will determine future
availability of timber and
grazing lands as well as
wildlife and fish habitats.
Oregon Forum will compile
the recommendations made
by the participants for post
workshop submission to state
and federal resource agencies
such as the U.S. Forest
Service, Bureau of Lanu
Management, Oregon Depart
ments of Forestry and Fish
and Wildlife and the L.C.D.C.
The theme of elk and forest
management was chosen be
cause of the economic impor
tance of both big game
hunting and timber production
in the area. In recent years the
area has experienced increas
ing pressure for use of its
timber and grazing lands
while still meeting the de
mands of an ever increasing
use of natural areas for
recreational activities. Log
ging and grazing practices
can change the relationship of
forest resources. These in turn
can significantly affect the
levels of game herds, fish
habitat, air and water quality.
The directions the area will
take and their economic and
evnironmental consequences
will depend to a large degree
on the decisions made by area
residents and agencies over
the next few years.
Further information about
the workshop and the ork of
Oregon Forum is available by
writing to P.O. Box 3532,
Eugene, Ore. 97403 or by
phoning 1-686-4087.
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