Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1979)
The Heppner (iacUe-Tinies. Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, December 20, 1979 FIVE Christ mos Lighting Contest -A- Residences Churches Judging will be Dec. 23 by a committee of the Heppner-Morrow County Chamber of Commerce. Cash prizes in each category will be awarded as follows: $30, first place; $20, second, and $10, third. Yes, I wish to have our display judged in the Christmas Lighting Contest. Name . Street Location.. Mailing Address. Please mail to Heppner Gazette-Times, Box 337, Heppner, or bring to our office, 147 West Willow Street. L I Developer of tropical 'Schmoo Tree,' son of Heppnerites, leaves for Africa By Justine Weatherford Mike Benge left for Africa on an indefinite assignment with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Sunday, Dec. 9. Before his departure, he telephoned his Heppner parents. Mary and Terrel Benge. of north Main Street, to tell them to notice the article in this week's Time magazine about his latest project. The Gazette-Times has car ried several articles with pictures about Benge's work in Vietnam and about his imprisonment by the North Vietnamese from 1968 to 1973 which so distressed his family and friends. It was in Vietnam that he discovered a tall, slender-trunked tree with a ragged umbrella of drooping leaves that looks like a mimosa, and he recognized its potential. He noted the tropical Leu caena Leucocephala is a bit different from other trees in that it grows as high as 65 feet in just five years. This makes it a prime candidate for refor estation projects in overlum bered and wood-short Third World countries. Forestry expert Benge, Time states, has become a Labor force in county shows rise The Morrow-Umatilla two county area labor force trend for the September-October period of 1979 was virtually a carbon copy of the same period in 1978. The two-county area experi enced a slight decrease in total civilian labor force. The unemployment total was 1.700 people in October, up 200 (13.3 percent) from September. A year earlier, in 1978, unem ployment increased even more (240 during the same period. The unemployment rate jumped up to 5.1 percent, higher than the 4.4 percent registered in September. The rate increase is significant in size but not in scope when compared to previous years' experience for the same period. Agricultural employment throughout the area was lower in October than in September. In Morrow County potato harvest employment started its decline as many of the smaller growers completed their harvests. In the Pendle ton area timely rains allowed most growers to seed their grain with only a few deciding to wait until spring. The apple harvest in the Milton-Freewa-ter area was near completion and employment was down to 150 from a late September high of over 200 pickers. Lumber and wood products employment was down slightly (20) in the two-county area, the start of a normal seasonal downturn. Food pro ducts was the big loser of the month with 220 less jobs in October than September. sort of bureaucratic Johnny Appleseed. Benge tells that in some tropical lands the leaves from the tree are eaten like candy by children, and when dipped in a pepper sauce, are tasty hors d-oeuvre for adults. Its seedpods are chewed or slewed or painted as tourist trinkets. The seeds can be ground as a surrogate for flour or coffee. Better yet. the leaves can be used for protein-rich cattle feed, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria on the roots help to fertilize the soil. Because of its rapid growth, the tree could become a vital source of firewood still used to cook food by 75 percent of the world's population. Its wood can be processed into charcoal or flammable gas or used for building houses and furniture and making paper pulp. The secret of the Leucaena's rapid growth is in its roots. They extend as deep as the tree is tall. This enables the tree to soak up nutrients below the reach of other plants. Growing on the Leucaena roots are fungi called mycor rhizae that help by absorbing phosphorus compounds that cannot be used by most plants, and then convert them into forms that can nourish the tree. The steady dropping of leaves provides rich nutrition for other plants. His mother, Mary Benge, says he refers to the miracu lous tree as the "Schmoo Tree." He took this name from a mythical Al Capp creature that provided Li'l Abner and friends with unlimited sup plies of milk, butter and eggs. Mary explains that as a kid, before TV. her son was an ardent reader of the comics and he especially enjoyed cartoonist Capp's works. Time chose to title its article, "Schmoo Tree. It Gives Food and Fuel." When Mike returned to the U.S. after his imprisonment he began to herald the wonders of the Schmoo Tree and news spread to the growing list of tropical coun tries that are suffering de forestation. A group of Hai tians now plans to grow 12.000 acres of Leucaenas. The Philippines has its own ambi tiou Leucaena program, as does India and Indonesia. In fact the only sign of indifference Benge has found is in his own federal agency. He however, will not be deterred. "They complain. 'All you do is talk about Leucaena," he reports of his superiors. Disappointingly, the Time (Dec. 10. p. 95) article does not mention Mike's hometown or his family. He has made several trips back to Heppner when I have heard him talk to groups, and when he has shown some of his most interesting colored slides to local schoolchildren. 30 OFF Christmas Kits Opened Friday until 8:00 p.m. Come see bobbies and models i JkL&3ka.t West of Willow Presents The Thrifty Way to Dine Out Monday through Thursday Dinner Buffets $2.99 Adults $1.65 children under 10 Complete meajs include Salad Bar Time 5:00 p.m.-8:0O p.m. Monday through FridayLuncheon Buffets Complete meals including Salad Bar Time 11:30-1:30 p.m. West of Willow welcomes Senior Citizens. We give a 10 discount to anyone over 60 so ask for your discount. Desserts available at all times Friday Evening Seafood Buffet 6:00-8:30 Saturday Evening New York Steak Special Quality and quantity personally guaranteed by Jim Heppne- youth nominee Bonneville awarfls contract to Air Force Academy to build transmission line orciMiM Cniu'r'ssm;in M I'llmnn hn nominated 23 vmmiii' OretJonians includinc Dale William Holland of Heppner for appointment to the service academies. Holland 335 North Gale St.. was one of ten nominations to attend the Air Force Aca demy He is a senior at Heppner lliirh School. The candidates will compete for appointments to the Air Force. Naval. Military, and Merchant marine academies. "This is an outstanding group of young men and women and those selected will serve their country well," I'llman said in announcing the nominations. rilman made the nomina tions alter reviewing the academic records of appli cants from throughout the 2nd District. Final selection for admission fo the schools for the year starting next July will be marie on the basis of academic and physical ex aminations. "I am not going to go to the Dale Holland Air Force Academy even if I am selected." Holland said in an interview Monday. "I would have to go to school for four years and then serve four years as a commissioned officer and I don't know if I would want to make a full career out of it." Holland said he plans on going to college somewhere else and playing football and baseball. Home loans available Rural homeowners in Mor row, Umatilla, and Gilliam counties who need to upgrade their homes may be eligible for financing from the Farm ers Home Administration (FmHA). Ken Durrell, FmHA county supervisor, said that in addi tion to financing the purchase of homes, the agency also has funds available to families who already own homes that need insulation-weatheriza-tion improvements. FmHA will offer loans for energy conservation improve ments to all rural families of low or moderate incomes who cannot obtain adequate com mercial credit and are other wise eligible for FmHA loan assistance. Durrell said that this is not a new loan program, but a part of the total loan program FMHA has had for a number of years. More information may be obtained at the FmHA County Office located at 1229 South east Third in Pendleton or by calling 276-3811 ext. 438. Bonneville Power Admini stration has awarded a $5.6 millinn contract for the con struction of the last section of a transmission line that even tually will carry power from eastern Washington to the Willamette Valley. The double-circuit, 500-kilo-volt line to be built under the current contract will cross the Columbia River at Crow Butte Island near Boardman. The first 20 miles of the line in Oregon will end at Slatt substation near Arlington. Sterling Munro. BPA admi nistrator, said the contract was awarded to Wlco, Inc. of Spokane. The completed transmission line will run from near Richland, Wash, to Salem. The award of the contract had been delayed pending receipt of a river crossing permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The permit was issued late in September. Under the terms of the contract, Wico will construct access roads, place foundation footings, erect the transmis sion towers, and string con ductor on the towers. Wico will begin work on the contract this fall, placing footings and erecting towers on the Oregon section of the line as long as weather permits. The line is scheduled for completion in September 1980. "Unless it's an unusually severe winter, we expect Wico will have most work on the Oregon section of the contract completed by early spring," said Munro. "The major environmental problem asso ciated with construction in hot, arid climates like that around Arlington and Board mad is dust in the summer, so it's best to do construction work there in the winter when the ground is wet or frozen," he explained. Work on the river crossing itself will not begin until April 1. 1980. In the meantime, BPA has contracted with the Wes tern Interstate Commission for Higher Education for a study of bird flight patterns on the Crow Butte Island and the surrounding area. This study wll form the foundation for 3 to 4 years of continuing studies of the effects of the transmission line on birds on the island. The 5l)()-kV, double-circuit transmission line is designed to carry 5,000 megawatts of generation. The power will come from federal hydroelec tric generation additions at Lower Granite. Little Goose, and Lower Monumental dams on the lower reaches of the Snake River, and the Dwor shak Dam on the Clearwater River in northern Idaho. It will also integrate power from Washington Public Power Supply System nuclear plants under construction at Hanford and Portland General Elec tric's new Boardman plant in eastern Oregon. The Netherlands covers about 13.100 square miles. ' 11 Seasons ;M Greetings SrIX from Country Shears Opened Tuesday thru Friday 676-9731 CURLING IRONS Special 129 HOT BRUSHES ReJken 15 Make-up Kits 1295 Now at the new Piry'Topj located in the backroom of SHOE BOX names printed ' FREE ON ANY T-SHIRT PURCHASED! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Q opened Friday untiSI 8:00 1 XL - v GOODILES&QQQQiLES OF I how a r 7 1 rTl j Wow I lift frill I L JL-t 1 lllll IIIII IOLJilLJ -f i x i v c .rvt .. m Kaedene & Darcy Hollombn, Owners Am if llil i 3 41 ft Fisher-Prke Wilderness Patrol Reg. 21 Fisher-Price T.V. Action team Reg. 21 Fisher-Price Kitchen Set Reg. 1950 so IS25 Now 1375 Fisher-price Riding Horse Reg. 27 i Fisher-Price Explorer Res.32 19 Now 2440 Fisher-Price Snoopy Raceway Reg. 15" Now 1 1 25 J4 95 3 mm 54 95 1 Honey lamb Dof g eg.o- flow sgffl 1 SofthaDoll Reg.6w Now 450 ll I Starbird eg.26 NowW5 -1 . $ upen Lore v? .. . 3 Friday Night until 8:00 p.m. Sunday from 1 :00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. inn - . mwim'A w Kummwniuiy ueuimy wim issues iiafc- that affect you personally. Saturday, 4:30 p Tri-Cities Channel 25 KPTV Channel 12 Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Specie Christmat program December 23 featuring the Vienna Boy's Choir Tonka no.&m Trehner Reg. I4M Now 1025 v i Wo. 2315 Pick-Up Now 7M Tonka no. 3900 Mighty Dump Now 1425 Tonka no. 4200 Arm Loader Re N0W1825 Heppner 676-9158 'No gift wrapping on sale items' r .