Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 1979)
ith )iistiiit Weatlu-i ford J ) The Ileppner Gazette-Times. Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, October 4. 1979 FIVE Here we are over one week past the autumnal equinox and still no frost. This week outside thermometers were showing early morning temperatures very near 40 degrees. Some of us know that we want to be bringing in those not yet ripe tomatoes very soon then they will continue ripening gradually until about Thanksgiving time. A more important topic of conversation than the changing weather is the disappointment so many are registering over the surprise resignation of County Judge D.O. Nelson. D O. has been so freindly, so active, so popular. How we wish he might have felt able to serve a few years longer. It is good to read that Democratic Central Committee Chariman Paul W. Jones feels that "We have a lot of possibilities already." Seems like some of the possibilities I have thought of are members of the "wrong" political party. One whom I think might make a good judge is Alma Green, who has surely been a great help to the last several judges. However, this fine secretary tells me that after about 23 years of working in the courthouse, she is looking forward to retiring. What a parade of recreational vehicles has been streaming through our area. So many motorhomes and trailors and hundreds of vans and pickups just like big-city traffic toward the end of last week. By Sunday some were heading back to home and jobs, including Brad Christensen and two friends from Portland. Brad said they really tried but couldn't locate any buck deer although they did spot some elk that they hope to return for later. Brad, who enjoyed living in Heppner during his employment at the Bank of Eastern Oregon, says he is now happy with his new situation in Portland. Non-hunting recent visitors in the Heppner area included Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wilson, who spent some time with his sister Johanne Wood and her daughters and their families. I did not hear how many enjoyed the American Legion's all-night Hunters' Breakfast, but I know the food was excellent and the volunteer crew quickly served the very generous servings. new uranium deposits, maybe eastern Oregon folks better hold on to those sagebrush covered acres could be that fortunes lie beneath their surface. Last week, just before she called the Senior Citizen Advisory Council to order, Doris Gollyhorn was pleased to be presented a fine wood gavel by Suzanne Jepsen. Sue explained the gavel was one her father Buck Lieuallen had used. At their last meeting, the Degree of Honor ladies surprised Mary Bryant with a special lei and a grass skirt that she is to use soon in Hawaii. News from down San Diego way is that the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ranger is back in port after its long and rather unusual Pacific cruise. The two Heppner members of its crew are Jim Farra and Bill Weatherford, both of whom hold chief's rank. Jim now has 18 years of service and Bill has completed 13 years. Hazel Hamlin reports she has had several letters from Vi and former mayor Conley Lanham who are happy in their California retirement. Conley feels better there and really like his doctor. Periodically I get telephone calls about several very thoughtful citizens who are very constant about helping many in the community. This week I was told "It is hard to see how Lois Winchester can find time for all the good deeds she does." Lois stops at many doors with produce and flowers from her country acres. She and Ida Farra and Irene Anhorn are such regular visitors to the hospital and nursing home where they always take flowers and gifts for the patients. They are also so quick to cheer persons who are homebound. Because I gave the wrong date for the annual meeting of the Morrow County Historical society in last week's column, I so hope that nobody went to the Lexington Grange last Sunday. The meeting is this coming Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. Everyone interested in learning more about local Indian history should enjoy hearing Dr. Joe Feather who formerly taught and coached at the Lexington School. Those interested in quilting.a revived craft, should enjoy seeing old quilts that will be on display. The Heppner Soroptimists are hoping that their 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Annual Fall Rummage Sale will draw many shoppers to the County Fairgrounds on Saturday. This sale is a major source of money which the ladies give to county youth as scholarship aids for further education. Don't miss this big sale! P(&E's Koardimiaiim (Coail Planntf will tuwnni oldl fossils iimlo mew eimergy for a growing region It's our job to make sure that PGE customers have enough electricity to run their homes and perform their jobs, so we are going to a fuel that's new to us and Oregon but one that's more than 250 million years old: coal. The homely black lump pictured here is composed of once-living plants and ani mals which died, decayed, and with cen turies of geological changes, were tightly compacted, then compressed. It is referred to as "stored sunshine" and its heat and energy is released by burning. We will be burning lots of it when the Boardman plant goes on line in the fall of 1980. It is 75 percent completed now. Why coal? In 1973, PGE foresaw the need for addi tional generating plants to keep abreast of customer demand in the 1980s and there were two ways to go coal or nuclear. The decision was made to use coal as the generating fuel for a number of reasons, the most important one being timing. A nuclear power plant requires an aver age often to fifteen years to be approved, constructed and on-line; a coal plant currently requires only half that time. And the energy need deadlines were closing in. Fuel availability was another impor tant consideration, and the United States has the largest coal reserves in the world an estimated 1.7 trillion net tons. Additionally, the West is blessed with a high-grade, low sulphur coal which is essen tial to meet rigid environmental standards. Another consideration not fully realized in pre-OPEC days was that the amount of coal needed to fuel the plant's boilers for just two days will save some 30,000 barrels of oil or 170 million cubic feet of natural gas. Boardman: Aid to agriculture The Boardman plant will generate more than just needed electricity it also will generate eco nomic growth and opportunity for north central Oregon. Rather than use conventional towers to cool the plant, a 1500-acre reservoir has been con structed which serves the dual purpose of cool ing the plant and irrigating crops. As early as 1916, the Carty reservoir was pro posed solely for irrigation, but the cost of such a project always proved prohibitive. Until now. The reservoir is filled by means of a 60-inch diameter pipe from the Columbia River to an elevation of 667 feet. The upper 10 feet of the reservoir is used to store water for crop irrigation, while the rest is used for power plant cooling. Some thirty-seven 122 acre irrigation circles (? j ft xJ I pfVff --Ti..ni 1 ejija i , . , mm, ! H f 7 2 0 i MM , ; ' v r 4 v. if V 5 r . w already have been constructed near the plant and use water from the reservoir. Boardman: Compatible with the environment From the start of construction, positive steps were taken to protect the environment and sev eral environmental means will be employed once the plant is in operation. For example, the Boardman plant will use only Western-mined, subbituminous low sulfur coal. Advanced furnace designs will also minimize emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. And $27.5 million worth of electrostatic precipitators will capture more than 99.5 percent of the fly ash or non-combustible material pro duced by burning coal. This is well within strict federal and state requirements. Recovered fly ash will be buried and covered with topsoil and the recovered land will be con verted by PGE into land suitable for crop-growing. Bottom ash can be used also in road build ing, while the lighter, talc-like residue called pozzolana can be used in making concrete. Negotiations are underway now for PGE to sell some of the pozzolana to cement companies. Job opportunities and a broader tax base The current Boardman work force consists of more than 1,200 with 17 contractors . This represents a payroll of $30 million annually going into the area's economy. And once the plant is in operation, it will provide permanent employment for some 125 people 65 of whom are already on the job. Further benefits will come from the million-plus dollars in taxes generated by the Boardman plant. Merchants and local businessmen are already feeling the posi tive economic benefits from the plant's employees and their families. Boardman: Only the beginning For 90 years, PGE's primary objective has been to provide our customers with reliable electricity. The Boardman plant, with a capacity of 530,000 kilowatts (more than Bonneville dam and about half of Trojan) will help as sure that supply in the future. PGE's use of coal for power generation in Oregon is another first. This is in keeping with our dedication to research, development and use of alternative energy resources: hydro, nuclear, solar, wind, geolhermal, biomass and now coal. The Boardman plant is a much-needed facility which will help provide future generations with dependable electricity while preserving Oregon's heritage: a matchless environment. Together we can solve the energy problem
