f .WfiqW'-Ms.-.' -.-j?JfiR.v;ra,-"i4llii.' .-".'--'''''V"--' ' ' 'V' -V ' ' '-hf--nii -H-fJii-'-i ji- "itwryry -4, '
BESS I E WETZELL
U OF ORE
N EWS'PAPER LIB
EUGENE OR 97403
r
The Heppner
GAS
TT"1
i 11 1 1
il JllYU
Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
l&ll 11
Weather
JBy Don Gilliam
VOL. !7 NO. 5)
Thursday. December 20. Iil7!t
22 PAGES TWO SECTIONS
2(1 cents
In This Issue: ' Ilil.owPre.
Head our Christmas Greetings Section, in Tuos. Dec. 1 1 45 25
which our advertisers extend their best Wed.. Dec. 12 42 24
w ishes for the holiday season to Heppner V Thurs . Dec. 13 44 28
Gazette-Times readers. Many -of their ads are Fri . Dee. 14 53 30
illustrated by .Morrow County school children. ,! Sal.. Dec. 15 52 30 .02
. Sun . Dec Hi 31 25
HEPPNER. OREGON . ,1 Mon . Dec. 17 64 27
150 jobless
Plywood plant closes
About 150 people employed
in the Kinzua Corporation's
plywood mill in Heppner have
received notices of a perma
nent layoff effective Dec. 21.
Meanwhile, Kinzua's owners
have agreed in principle to
consider a merger with the
Georgia-Pacific Corporation.
Georgia-Pacific is one of the
nation's giants in the forest
products industry.
The announcement of the
merger talks was contained in
a brief press release from
Georgia-Pacific's corporate
headquarters in Portland last
Thursday.
Sieve Jackson, a company
spokesman, said Georgia-Pacific
was required to make the
disclosure under rules of the
federal Securities and Ex
change Commission.
Jackson said the plywood
mill was to be liquidated
"it's not part of the deal."
Kinzua's ownership rests
'lvith a group of families in the
Seattle and Everett area. Its
president is Harry Stuchell of
the Eclipse Lumber Co. of
Everett. He said, in a brief
telephone interview, that the
pending merger is in its early
stages.
"We wouldi rather not say
anything." he commented.
Harry Kennison. Kinzua
general manager, said execu
tives at the mill were in
formed of the pending merger
in a telephone call "from one
of the owners" the night
before the Georgia-Pacific
announcement.
"The closure of the plywood
mill is certain," Kennison
said. "The future of the
sawmill operation would be up
to Georgia-Pacific."
Kennison said the layoff
affected about 150 people. A
similar number will continue
to be employed in the sawmill.
"It is happy news to no
one." he responded to a
question about the mill closure
occurring just before Christ
mas. "Ironically, when we called
the Unemployment Insurance
office in Hermiston." Kenni
son said, "they told us we
were the fifth one this morning
(Thursday) to call about a
plant shutdown each one af
fecting about 150 people."
"He added. "I've never seen
tougher times than at present."
Kennison said the sawmill
operation at Kinzua would
continue with two daily shifts.
He said he had called a
sawmill in Raker and was told
that plant was planning to
reduce production to one shift
a day.
A spokesman for the Oregon
Slate Job Service in Hermis
ton said notices of job layoffs
had been received from Mar
lette Homes. Inc.. a mobile
home manufacturer in Her
miston: and from three potato
processing firms. J R. Simplot
Co. and Lamb-Weston, in
Hermiston. and Gourmet
Foods in Boardman. For the
latter three companies, the
layoffs would be for the
holidays.
In the transaction. Georgia
Pacific will issue shares of its
Series B Adjustible Rate
Preferred Stock in exchange
for Kinzua shares. The num
ber of shares to be traded has
not been determined or an
nounced. Georgia-Pacific
used Series A stock to acquire
the Hudson Pulp & Paper Co.,
in a $200 million transaction in
the East last year, and Series
B stock to buy out the Polymer
Materials, Inc.
Christmas business busy
for most Heppner merchants
Christmas is a busy time of
year for most businesses and
it is no exception for the
Heppner merchants.
' Mark Murray, manager of
Rexall Drugs, said business
has been good, about the same
as last year at Christmas, but
he won't really know how good
the store is doing until after
Christmas when the books are
figured out.
Rexall is having special
business hours for the holi
days for late Christmas shop
pers. The store will be open
tomorrow night from 6 to 9
p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5
p.m.
The Christmas rush has also
had an effect on the Heppner
Post Office.
"We are busier than hell,"
said Postmaster Hubert Wil
son. "Sales are comparative
to past years."
Wilson said no temporary
employees have been hired to
help meet the demand but the
hours have been extended for
the regular employees. He
said the peak was probably
Dec. 17 and the mail should
decline from then on.
Doris Robarge has nothing
to compare this year's Christ
mas sales to because she
started her business Jan. 2,
1979. She said sales were up in
November because of some
sales but she has not had sales
this month so she does not
know if there has been a
Christmas rush at her store or
not . She did say Doris LaRae's
is planning a one-year anni
versary celebration in two
weeks.
Business at the Sears cata
log store in Heppner has been
good but it is slowing down,
according 'to manager Kit
George. He said the rush came
earlier there because it is a
catalog store and it takes a
while to receive the merchan
dise. '
Petersons Jewelry has not
had a Christmas rush this
week. "We were ahead of last
year Dec. 1 and we were doing
pretty well until the announce
ment was made about the mill
closing down and now it has
been quiet." said owner Ran
dall Peterson.
Peterson did say he has
been busy all year and he has
hired extra help this year so
he did not hire additional help
during Christmas as he has in
the past.
Peterson said his store will
not be open for the late hours
tomorrow night and he will not
be open Sunday either but the
store will be open its regular
hours Christmas Eve Day.
"Monday could be a busy
day for us," he said.
Shops that will be open until
9 p.m. tomorrow night for late
Christmas shopping are Gard
ners. Coast -to-Coast, Cole's
House of Fashion. Murrays
Drugs. Doris LaRae's and
Diana's This and That. All of
those stores will be open
Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m . except
Diana's This and That.
..irtMiiii lit Hi -mmm: v j r I
.tfW-v' - .- . ::. '-yr.: - V " i4 . 1
f,- , t t - ' i )
I -. ' t ' ,
IMvwood from the Heppner mill will not be stamped with the Kinzua insignia much longer. The
plant will close down tomorrow putting 150 people out of work.
Kinzua negotiates with
Georgia-Pacific, union
As of Tuesday morning,
negotiations were continuing
between Kinzua and Georgia
Pacific for the ownership of
the Kinzua Mill.
"We are sitting in limbo."
said Harry Kennison. general
manager at the mill.
i
He said he does expect the
sale of the mill will be
completed by the end of
January.
Kennison said negotiations
are continuing between man
agement and the union on
what the effect will be on the
150 workers who are now out
of work because of the
plywood plant closure.
The two parties are trying to
work on an agreement on how
some kind of aid can be given
to the workers who are
effected. Kennison said the
agreement will probably in
clude some type of help in
finding the workers other jobs,
pension benefits, vacation
time benefits, holiday pay and
other benefits the workers
would have had if they would
have continued working with
Kinzua.
The deal with Georgia-Pacific
is only for the sawmill and
Kinzua land and not for the
plywood plant machinery. A
representative for G-P in
Portland said the company
could not buy the machinery
even if it wanted to because
Georgia-Pacific would have
too many plywood plants if
they added the Heppner one to
its congomeration.
"It is up to Kinzua to get rid
of the equipment and they are
seriously considering an auc
tion." Kennison said.
Georgia-Pacific does not
own any companies in eastern
Oregon at the present time.
They recently sold their mill
in Pilot Rock to Louisiana
Pacific.
With Neighborhood Center's help
Poor get a Christmas
It"""" ;" i
- - - il I
lone instructor
Oregon teacher
of the year
k TlH IX Whim mint "-.
Houses around Heppner have been decorated with Christmas articles in preparation for the
lighting contest. This house is located next to the courthouse.
Marv Peterson is the Indus
trial Arts Teacher of the Year
in Oregon. lone High School
Principal Chuck Starr an
nounced at the Morrow County
School Board meeting Monday
in Lexington.
"We found out this morning
(Dec. 17) about the honor and
it is something we all can be
proud of." Starr said.
Peterson will be going to St.
Louis. Missouri in March to
the National Convention of the
American Industrial Arts As
sociation. Heppner High School Princi
pal Jim Bier announced a
burglary took place in Hepp-
nerat the school last weekend.
A $750 tape deck, a $230
receiver and a student's
piccolo worth $260 were taken.
The school board approved
the extension of school super
intendent Matt Doherty and
his assistant John Edmund
son's contracts for another
year.
They also approved a field
trip for the lone football team
members to attend the Port
land Trailblazers game to
morrow. The lone Booster
Club purchased the tickets to
award the team after its state
championship season. The
board members approved the
(Continued on page 3)
About 30 Morrow County
families will celebrate an
early Christmas today when
they may have thought they
were not going to have any
Christmas at all.
With the help of the Neigh
borhood Center and many
other organizations in the
county, these 30 low-income
families can now celebrate a
Christmas with all the trim
mings. The 30 baskets of goodies for
the families have been pre
pared and peace officers,
children's services ' em
ployees, adult family services
employees and other volun
teers from around the county
will take the baskets out
today..
Inside the baskets are toys
and gifts for children of all
ages that have been donated
by people year around.
Also in the baskets is food to
prepare a Christmas dinner of
turkey, dressing, pumpkin
pie. fruit salad, rolls, margar
ine, celery onions and pop. All
the food has been donated.
"It is a big undertaking,"
said Pat Brindle of the
Neighborhood Center. "It
takes months of work."
Brindle said it cost $800 last
year just for the food for the
dinners but there are fewer
families this year so it should
cost about $750.
She said the center has been
doing the project for 12 years.
Donated toys have been
repaired by a variety of
organizations. The toys then
are separated into age and sex
categories and then put into
baskets that have been num
bered for confidentiality.
Three bicycles have been
donated this year that have
been found by the city and no
one has claimed them. Some
Christmas trees were donated
by the Lutheran Church. The
Soroptimists donate dolls ev
ery year and many merchants
have donated new merchan
dise from their stores.
The gifts used to be wrapped
in Christmas paper but it is
not done anymore because
problems arose when children
were given the wrong type of
present for their age category.
The Neighborhood Center
works in cooperation with the
Adult Family Services to find
the needy families. The fami
lies are scattered throughout
the entire county and must
meet low income poverty
guidelines to be eligible for a
Christmas basket.
According to Brindle.
schools and churches have
been sponsoring food drives
and stores have been donating
new socks and underclothes
for the underprivileged.
Brindle said many ot the
families have seven children
and two families last year had
nine.
She said the Neighborhood
Center does not seem to have
as much to give out this year
as in the past but they do
expect more to come in this
week with the help of the Toys
for Tots dance that was put on
at Bucknums Tavern last
weekend.
Schools
closed for
Xmas
vacation
All schools in the Morrow
County School District will be
closed for Christmas Vacation
from Dec. 21 to Jan. 2.
Vacation begins with an
early dismissal at 1:30 p.m.
tomorrow.
""V If"
"
V
; ;-" c.. J
i . - ' t
'Iniinnimiiimii nnimi Iiu n Tf""'-''""----1" MhJ nfinnromm --4 j
Maxine Gray (left) and Pat Brindle fold clothes they are
going to put into the Christmas baskets for needy families.