Tin- Heppner (Jiictle-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, January 1, 19H0 THREE
Instant lawn grower in Morrow County called
Pacific Northwest's largest turf producer
Morrow County is the home
of the largest instant lawn
growing company in the
Pacific Northwest and many
people may not know it be
cause it is so hard to find.
Earth Carpet is located
about 10 miles north of lone,
just south of the coal-fired
plant, so it is not situated on
one of the most traveled roads
in the county.
Eric Anderson is the boss of
the few million dollar opera
tion. He is a Heppner High
School graduate and he was an
, agricultural major at Oregon
State University.
Anderson admitted the
roads' were bad and somone
had taken some of the Earth
Carpet signs down so the place
, may be hard to find but he said
customers are glad they do
;find Earth Carpet once they
receive their turf.
"We have high standards
and we worked hard to get
that way," Anderson said.
"We have a classy product
and a reputation for quality."
The reason for the high
quality turf, according to
Anderson, is because there
are no weeds in the area and
he uses only the best grass
, seed to keep it that way.
Because of the high quality
of the turf, Earth Carpet is a
. year-round operation with the
summer being the busiest
time of the year.
Anderson said there are four
. harvesting crews in the sum-
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An Karth Carpet employee cuts the fine grass.
f .
I
mer months, two working at a
time, and the crews split time
from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Earth Carpet delivers turf
in truckloads to Washington,
Nevada, California and Ore
gon. The demand for the Earth
Carpet product makes it a
must for Anderson's em
ployees to work long hours but
' they are paid handsomely for
their efforts. Anderson said,
most of his workers make $70
to $100 a day for 10 to 12 hours
of work. Many of his em
ployees work less than five
days a week.
Anderson said some of his
workers are just now getting
some time off after working
six days a week and 12 hours
a day most of the summer.
He has 35 workers in the
summer and 14 in the winter.
Anderson admitted he has
trouble keeping help at Earth
Carpet.
"If you have a damn good
attitude, you got it made
here," he said. "When it gets
cold, some decide not to stay.
Fairness is important to us."
The 32-year-old married
man had been in the turf
business for three years and
he has been farming seven
years. He has 1,400 acres of
irrigated land and 3,000 acres
of dry land with wheat and
peas. Two wells, drilled 1,400
feet into the ground, supply
the water to irrigate the 550
acres of the turf part of the
farm. The wells give out 3,000
gallons of water every minute.
Ten circles and eight wheel
lines aid in the irrigation.
"Each circle is worth one
quarter of a million dollars so
thousands of dollars of turf
could be ruined very quickly if
a worker did not know what he
is doing," Anderson said.
The turf sells for eight cents
a square foot for rolled turf
and seven-and-one-half cents
a square foot for slabs of turf.
Earth Carpet is the only
company in the Northwest to
have both slab and rolled turf.
About 80 percent of the Earth
Carpet turf is "Bluegrass."
The expensive operation
does not stop with the value of
the turf. Anderson recently
purchased a dozer-type rig for
$35,000.
Anderson said he is proud of
the lone football field and
Earth Carpet was the com
pany that seeded the field.
Anderson said he is no
longer the all-work type of
person he once was.
"I am trying to give leisure
time more emphasis," he
said. "In fact, I am trying to
build Earth Carpet so I won't
need to be here all the time."
School gets
Earth Carpet
Construction is continuing at Sam Hoardman Klementary
School in Boardnian as the lawn is now being put in. This
pre-grown grass turf was grown at the Earth Carpet farm.
4' ,' 1
Application fonns available for
Ranger District employment
Application forms are now
: available for summer and
seasonal temporary employ
ment with the Heppner Ran-
ger District of the U.S. FOrest
i Service.
The recruitment period dur
ing which applications will be
accepted lasts until Jan. 15,
1980.
Approximately 26 positions
will be filled this year includ
ing field jobs as aids and
technicians in forestry, and
fire control. Applicants must
be 18 years of age on the date
they are available for work in
order to receive considera-
, tion. Salaries range from $3.91
per hour for GS-2 positions to
$5.41 per hour for GS-5.
More openings
The Heppner Ranger Dis
trict will have a seasonal,
part-time position (Saturdays
and Sundays) for a fire
dispatcher. Interested persons
should apply now through the
summer seasonal temporary
employment program. For
more information contact
Larry Bowman, 676-9187.
- Selections for seasonal jobs
will be in mid-February with
some jobs starting in April.
Employment can last until
Dec. 31, 1980. ,
No written examination is
required for field positions,
but some jobs may require a
driver's license or a physical
fitness test. Education availa
bility and experience will
determine chances for em
ployment. Applications are available
at the Ranger District Office
in Heppner near Heppner
High School. The phone num
ber is 676-9187.
Review shows many tragedies
cont. from page 1
: Heppner Patrolman Doug
Rath bun arrested two juve
niles from Yakima who had a
stolen coin collection, posses
sion of marijuana and a stolen
car.
A 28-year old Lexington
man, Martin Potter, was
OBITUARY
Leonard E. Rill
Leonard E. Rill, whose
grandmother, Mrs. Ninon Rill,
lives in Heppner, was fatally
injured in an automobile
accident near Ellensburg,
Wash., Dec. 21. He was 24.
For several summers he
stayed with the family of
William Rill, his uncle, nd
worked on the family farm
near Heppner.
He was born April 17, 1955,
at Connell, Wash., His family
: moved in 1971 from Othello to
' Kittitas, Wash., where Leo
nard was graduated from high
J school in 1974. He was the
owner-operator of a hay truck
and a member of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints (Mormon).
; Surviving are his parents,
' Mr. and Mrs. Evan L. Rill,
Ellensburg; three brothers,
. Mike, of Quincy ; and Rex and
Doug of Ellensburg; two
sisters, Mary and Ninon, both
: of Ellensburg; his grand
mother, Mrs. Rill of Heppner,
and . two uncles, Cecil and
William Rill, both of Heppner.
Final rites took place in
Ellensburg with officers of the
LDS church officiating.
killed in an automobile acci
dent when a truck he was in
with three other people went
off the road and overturned.
The two new schools in north
Morrow County were named
Sam Boardman Elementary
and Columbia Jr. High.
A leak in the city water line
made it necessary for citizens
to boil the water before using
it. city officials used a dye to
trace the leak.
Dr. Joe Gifford and the
hospital trustees were trying
tofindanotherdoctorto come
to Heppner.
The Morrow County Court
asked the State of Oregon to
declare the county a disaster
area because of the $500,000 in
damage caused by flooding.
A benefit was planned for
Rosemary Cox, whose home
and belongings were de
stroyed in a fire.
Dr. Wallace Wolff was flown
to Portland when he suffered a
heart attack while making his
rounds at the hospital.
Because of problems pas
sing a tax levy, the hospital
board voted on reducing it
$45,000.
Janice Healy of Heppner
was name princess of the
Pendleton Round-up and a
year later was named as
queen.
The Heppner Lions Club
resurfaced the Heppner High
School track.
Gun Club
elects officers
A meeting of the Morrow
County Gun Club took place
Dec. 28 and officers were
elected.
Ron Haguewood was elected
president, Bud Englert vice
president and Donna Hughes
secretary and treasurer.
The first shoot of the year is
scheduled for this Sunday at 10
a.m.
All interested persons are
invited to join the club.
ii! i 1
01t)F Ife OREGON CHIEF
Sliced Bacon .
if Weinervsl $i29 wSi P1 , II
U Al
amilyPac
PoriLoin Chops $129 s.
Western Family Hot or Regualar
Chili Concarne 59 i5
oz.
Orville Redenbacher
I
30 oz.
Corn
69
Western Family 32 oz.
Salfine
Cracker 9Sr
PUBLIC HEARING
A public hearing for an amendment to a zone boundary
will be held by the Heppner Planning Committee on January
14th, 1980 at 7:30 p.m.. at 188 West of Willow Street, City Hall,
Heppner. Oregon. The request is for a zoning change from
Industrial to R3 Residential on Riverside Avenue. Block 10,
Lots (6) and (7) of Mount Vernon's Addition.
John Shaw, Chairman, Planning Committee
Publish January 3, 1980.
Penny Smart
2 f or9
85 sq.ft.
Lettuce
ry 3 heod8$i00 VJ
3 lbs.
I inl .Cyy Tomato
II UvlW 'fiffi?,...
1 WW IV-I Z4oz.
8 I i V WN X
i tin. i
STvte. "... 5 SSSf
219 mmi o
Shortening
ID
SPUDS
id ib. v
Price
Effective
Jan. 4,5,and6
MARKET
Grocery 676-9288
Meats 676-9614
t