BES S I E '' E T 2 L L
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EUGENE OR 97403
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The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
VOL. 97 NO. 44
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 1, 1979
20 cents
12 pages
Photo Feature I
New schools nearing
completion See page 6 I
HEPPNER. OREGON'
Controlled Substance Committee says
Penalties for illegal drug abuse may be lessened
If a person is currently
found in possession of a pound
of heroin or 100,000 tablets of
LSD the penalty is a maxi
mum of 10 years in the state
penitentiary and a $2,500 fine.
But that maximum sentence
may be diminished to a
one-year county jail term and
a $1,000 fine, hardly a deter
rent to a billion dollar busi
ness, if the recommendations
of the Controlled Substances
Committee are made into law.
Morrow County District At
torney Dennis Doherty said it
"bothers me" to think that
such a recommendation has
been made and the possibility
that it could become law is
really frightening.
Doherty had set aside his
other duties to concentrate on
the problem this past week.
Doherty and the other D.A.'s
in the state were notified just
last Wednesday about the
proposed changes to the
classifications of drugs in
Oregon.
Doherty had only until
yesterday to comment on the
changes and he has worked
many hours writing letters to
the committee and the gover
nor stating his objections.
"If the changes are made,"
he said, "Oregon could be
come the Mecca for drug
traffickers."
What the Controlled Sub
stances Committee decided
a a
Q'O
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Drugs like these on display at the Morrow County
Sheriff's office may become a common sight at pharmacies if
the new Oregon law is adopted.
Comprehensive plan studied
by planning commission
The Morrow County Plan
ning Commission met last
week to discuss the Compre
hensive Plan of the county.
The plan has been devised to
set a standard for the way the
county will develop. The Land
Conservation and Develop
ment Commission will review
the plan sometime in the near
future, according to County
Planning Director Deane Sea
ger. "The city plans of lone and
Lexington have already been
approved," Seager said. "In
fact, all five of the major cities
in the county (Heppner, Lex
ington, lone, Irrigon and
Boardman) have outstanding
plans. The county can be
proud of their city plans and
that makes the county plan
that much easier to make
because we just have to fill in
around the cities."
The next meeting will be
Nov. 12 at the Courthouse
beginning at 8 p.m. and
Seager said public input is
desired by the commission.
was to down-classify many
drugs, some of which are
known as "street drugs." If
this down-classification is
made into law, the penalties
for the possession, manufac
turing and delivery of these
drugs will be less severe.
The seven-member board of
three pharmacists, three
practitioners and one public
person were delegated the
authority to re-classify the
drugs by the 1977 Oregon
Legislature. The committee's
recommendations only have
to be approved by the Oregon
Board of Pharmacy to become
law, Doherty said. The public
will not vote on it, the
legislature does not have to
approve it and the governor
does not have to sign it.
The Controlled Substances
Committee plans to re-classify
the Schedule I drugs like
heroin, LSD, peyote, and
mescaline to Schedule III.
The manufacturing and deli
very of these drugs is cur
rently an "A" felony but under
the proposed changes, it would
become a "C" felony.
The maximum penalty for
an "A" felony is 20 years in
the state penitentiary and
$2,500 in fines. A "C" felony
carries with it a maximum of
five years in the pen and the
same fine. A "B" felony is 10
years in the penitentiary and
the same maximum fine.
Possession of the drugs
mentioned before is currently
a "B" felony but under the
committee's changes, it would
become an "A" misdemeanor.
An "A" misdemeanor can
carry with it a maximum
penalty of one year in the
county jail and a $1,000 fine. A
"B" misdemeanor has a
maximum of six months in jail
and a $500 fine and a "C"
misdemeanor can have a $250
fine maximum and 30 days in
jail. A violation comes next
and it carries a nominal fine
and no jail sentence.
The committee plans to drop
marijuana from Schedule I to
Schedule IV. Possession of
more than one ounce of
marijuana would change from
a "B" felony to a "C"
misdemeanor. Manufacturing
and delivering "pot" would go
from an "A" felony to a "B"
misdemeanor.
Under the proposed change,
marijuana will be in the same
classification as codeine.
Cocaine will be dropped
from Schdule II to Schedule
III with possession only being
an "A" misdemeanor. Am
phetamines will stay at Sche
dule II and opium will go from
Schedule I to Schedule IV.
Possession af a Schedule I
drug is a "B" felony, a
Schedule II drug is a "C"
felony, a Schedule III drug is
an "A" misdemeanor, a
Schedule IV drug is a "C"
misdemeanor and a Schedule
V drug is a violation.
With these lax drug laws, it
is no wonder Doherty is
concerned about Oregon be
coming another Mecca.
Big Business
"Illegal drugs are big busi
ness and the traffickers will go
where the money is and where
there is less risk," he said.
Oregon presently is at the
federal level in drug classifi
cation and the Controlled
Substances Committee is
planning on Oregon's becom
ing less stringent than the
federal standards.
In his letter to the commit
tee, Doherty said, "I simply
cannot imagine you could
seriously consider down-scheduling
some of the drugs as
contemplated by the proposed
schedules."
He singled out the drugs
LSD, mescaline, peyote and
heroin going from Schedule I
to III; cocaine and morphine
from II to III; codeine from II
to IV; and opium and mari
juana from Schedule I to
Schedule IV.
Doherty said these drugs
have a high potential for
psychomotor, psychosocial
and impairment and for
developing addiction to the
drugs.
"These are common 'street
drugs' that are frequently
abused and associated with
crime against persons and
property," the letter stated.
Doherty's letter pointed out
that the growing of any
amount of marijuana could
never be more than a "B"
misdemeanor and it is pre
sently an "A" felony. Posses
sion of any amount of mari
juana over one ounce would
only be a "C" misdemeanor.
Possession of hard drugs
like LSD, heroin or cocaine in
any amount would only be an
"A" misdemeanor.
He pointed out that a 30-day,
$250 maximum sentence and
fine would hardly be a
deterrent for someone who is
growing tons of "grass" worth
thousands of dollars.
The letter states that law
enforcement at all levels will
be diminished if the proposed
changes become law.
"In light of these considera
tions, I hope that you will
promptly trash-can the propo
sal..." the letter concluded.
In District Attorney Doher
ty's letter to Governor Vic
Atiyeh, which he sent Monday,
Dohety said the proposed
changes, "Would make Ore
gon the most attractive state
in the country for drug
traffickers."
Doherty said the Controlled
Substances Committee propo
ses to make its changes
without considering the reali
ties of drug use and abuse and
the problems of law enforce
ment. Their only considera
tion is how harmful the drug is
in its purest form which is an
abstract pharmacological
way to test a drug but in no
way shows how dangerous a
drug is when it is adulterated
and sold on the streets.
He pointed out that the
committee has been appointed
by a non-elected official and it
should not make a decision of
such magnitude without more
public input.
Irrigon man resigns
from Commission
jfr m
Daniel Creamer of Irrigon
has unofficially resigned from
his voluntary position as a
member of the Morrow
County Planning Commission
last week, according to Deane
Seager, planning director.
Creamer recently was a
candidate for Morrow County
Judge after D.O. Nelson
resigned but Don McElligott
was chosen by Governor Vic
Atiyeh instead. Seager said in
no way was this a cause of
Creamer's resignation.
"He has had some problems
come up that will take up a lot
of time and he was afraid he
was not going to be able to
make all of the (planning
commission) meetings," Sea
ger said. "Not being picked as
judge had nothing to do with it.
"It is going to be a
tremendous loss to the com
mission," he continued. "Ser
ving on the commission de
mands a lot of time."
Seager said persons interes
ted in applying to take
Creamer's place may write to
the Morrow County Court, who
will appoint the successor.
Seager said there are no
credentials except an interest
in serving the community. He
also said applicants probably
will have to come from Irrigon
to represent that community.
Morrow County Court secre
tary Alma Green said the
court has not officially re
ceived word that Creamer has
resigned but that he had made
the announcement last week
verbally at the court session in
Irrigon.
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MERCHANTS DRESS UP The downtown "Moonlight Madness" sale sponsored by the
Heppner Chamber of Commerce last Friday night had a Halloween theme. Sales people
donned costumes for the event. This is how the staff at Doris LaRae's looked, from left:
Linda Crane, Carol Mitchell and Melba Quackenhush. Merchants reported generally ijooil
sales and many visitors in their stores.
Along with the letter to the
governor, he sent about 10
Oregon newspaper articles
taken in a two-day span just
last week to emphasize there
is already a big drug problem
in Oregon and it will get much
worse if the re-classification is
made.
Doherty also sent along his
critique of the Controlled
Substances Act.
The Act created the Con
trolled Substances Committee
in 1977 to determine the total
hazard potential of the drugs.
The committee is appar
ently relying upon studies of
degree and permanence of
continued on page eight
H ii mmm n Mmimi i n I in mi n.i imi. i.iiii.ai.n... n n in mmiiiininrW ---mm ' inMir in -' J
POSTER DESIGN WINNERS Part of the decorative effect for downtown Heppner stores
during the Halloween sale last week was achieved through posters designed by junior high
school art students. The winners were presented checks by Randall Peterson, chairman of
the Retail Merchants Committee. From left are Susie Olson, second prize Rodney Cole,
first prize, and Teena Galbraith, third prize
Election Wednesday
Co-op director challenged
Dick Krebs has been a
director for the Columbia
Basin Electric Cooperative
since November of 1958 but he
is being challenged for his
position this year by Eric
Anderson.
Krebs has been a director
for 21 years. Anderson was
11 -years-old when Krebs was
elected to the cooperative.
The decision to run against
Krebs was not made by
Anderson alone.
'i was on the CBEC
nominating committee before
and I know they have a hard
time getting people to run
because the incumbent always
wins,''' Anderson said. "I was
asked and I accepted but I
really did not expect to win.
When my neighbors found out
I was running, they started a
committee and put ads in the
paper. They probably have
spent about $1,000 on the
campaign so now I am taking
it seriously."
The Heppner High School
graduate has a degree from
Oregon State University
where he majored in agricul
ture. He owns the Earth
Carpet business 10 miles north
of lone.
Fritz Cutsforth and Eldon
Padberg are the co-chairmen
for the Anderson committee.
Anderson said he is going to
look into the CBEC electrical
rate increase. He said the
CBEC had to increase its rate
because tin' Bonneville Power
VIminislrntion raised its
i';i'c- and thai company is the
wholesale supplier for the
CBEC He s.iid he does not
know, however, if the BPA has
shown that it needed to raise
its rates as high as it did.
He said he wants to look into
the cooperative to see if
everyone is paying for the
increase fairly, even if he does
not become a director.
Anderson said he does not
believe in most cooperatives
but he does believe in the
CBEC.
'"I can't blame the people
for being shook up about the
(40 percent) rate increase but
power is scarce," he said.
"Bonneville (Power Adminis
tration) did it to them
(CBEC). Until another source
of energy is developed, we
have no choice but to allocate
what we have. The coopera
tive is a good deal because ve
can work together. The CBEC
has a low profit margin of
about five percent so it is the
cheapest way to get energy. I
am a CBEC fan because it is
democratic and well run."
Ballots have been sent to all
members of the Columbia
Basin Electric Co-op. Votes
must be mailed in by Nov. 6.
The 35th annual meeting of
the CBEC will take place next
Wenesday beginning at 11
a.m. in Condon at the Elks
Temple. All members of the
cooperative are invited.
Registration begins at 11
a.m. with lunch at noon and a
business meeting beginning at
1:15.
Three directors will be
elected at the meeting for
three year terms. Besides the
Krehs-Anderson match-up in
Zone Three, the other nomi
nees to be directors are from
Zone One Van Rietmann,
who is now the president of the
directors, and his challenger
Tim Marick. The other race is
between incumbent Herb
Wright and Steve Conlee to be
the director from the city of
Fossil.
Rietmann has been a direc
tor since November of 1970
and Wright has been a
director since January of 1972.
CBEC manager Fred Toombs
has mailed out a flyer to
members of the CBEC to try to
explain why there will be a 40
percent increase in the elec
trical rates.
The flyer states that the
BPA has raised its rates 90
percent to the CBEC. The
flyer also shows what the 40
percent increase will mean to
the CBEC members.
The increase means that in
December, residential rates
will go up 37.6 percent, as will
both large and small general
service customers. Irrigation
customers will have a 45
percent increase and lighting
customers are hit the hardest
with a 56.1 percent increase.
What this means is that if a
customer has a present bill
from CBEC of about $20 a
month, using 1,000 kilowatt
hours, the bill in December
will be $27.60 if the same
amount of kilowatts are used.
Customers with a bill of $41
will have to pay $60 and the
unlucky ones who use a lot of
electricity and have a bill of
$146 a month will be looking at
an increased bill of 52 percent,
or $76, when the bill in
December climbs to $222.