Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1980)
BESSIE VETZELL U OF ORE NEWSPAPER LIS EUGENE OR 9 FJM-S!X!ll i lie ncpjJiitsi Weather ff2 A ISTTTR-TITMTF.Q U JLi Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper vol.. its o. n 20 cents H PAGES HEPPNER, OREGON THURSDAY. JANl'ARY 17. 1'IXO By Don Gilliam J Hi I.o Prec. Tups. 1-8 22 15 .50 7'L'" snow Wed. 1-9 20 12 .10 2" snow Thurs..l-10 32 9 .01 2-10" snow Fri.,1-11 43 28 Sal.. 1-12 58 36 .50 Sun.. 1-13 56 35 .18 Mon..l-14 58 38 .12 HEW grant approved for Pioneer Hospital project A grant from the Depart ment of Health. Education and Welfare was approved last week for the renovation, modernization and a new addition to the Pioneer Memo rial Hospital in Heppner, according to Frederick T. Martin, of lone, hospital board chairman. The total project will cost more than $400,000 and the grant from HEW will pay 75 percent of it. The local match money will he provided by funds budgeted and passed by the county electorate in 1979. County and hospital officials have been working for the project to be approved for three years. Representative Al Ullman and his staff were instrumental in clearing the grant application. The renovation will bring the existing building up to code as a fire escape ramp ' from the nursing home level will be constructed. The x-ray room will be redone and new x-ray ma chines will be added. An incinerator, approved by the Department of Environmental Qualify, will also be included in the renovation. The new addition will in clude separate emergency facilities, an ambulance port, an emergency waiting room and exam rooms. More than $7,800 will be used for major moveable equipment to fur nish the emergency facilities. Romae Construction Inc. of Portland was the low bidder for the construction and reno vation with a bid of $262,000. Work will begin as soon as weather permits and mater ials are obtained. It is estimated the project will he completed in five months. Terms of the Grant require the hospital to provide un compensated care to those persons classified as unable to pav. following a formula established by HEW. The annual obligation for free care is based on a percentage of the facility's operating costs and will continue until the free care total equals the Grant total. A number of interested phvsicians are considering a Heppner practice and a more comprehensive and updated hospital will make the com munity more desirable to them. Martin said. Martin said many residents of Morrow. Gilliam and Wheeler counties have looked to Heppner physicians and Pioneer Memorial Hospital for care. With these develop ments, we will be in a much better position to respond to their needs. FWCX.E Vj Stolen explosives still missing Clcn Ward slums Hie linle in oil can after an M-X0 blew up inside it. In Morrow County Farm sales drop $386,000 n J B T -"""T ; - - A"MHAt I , .,..,., .,,... ,a.i-..ai,. '' TO Sr, 2 t.l- Ik'-'r':r f 1 Fi I 7 ' ....... I. .. . 1 . I . r 4 rrAT EUEVATIOM , : j '(i ' -if- 1 - )fj i ; 1 (if-; -1 ' N' p if - I 1 L ,-rnr.--.jJ! 1 J i . ; fr-.-1! JL Jw" Pi I i L j ... ,-t , .ff . -..'j 1 . t . '.- ...t. ..I I... ,,,, , . . ; . i - I I ' These are the floor plans for the hospital expansion. The estimated total gross farm sales for 1979 in Morrow Coun'v were more than $12 millii.n. according to county extension service statistics. The precise figure is $12,145.(100. which is down $3!U;.()0() from 1978. The big drop in sales was from potatoes with the gross sales in 1079 at $17,710,000. compared to $29,202.00(1 the year before, a drop of more than $11.5 million. "Potato prices are bad," John Nordheim. extension agenl. said. Dairv sales are down from $.ri1o.ooo to $386,000 and swine sales dropped from $82,000 to $05,000. All other farm commodities are up in sales. Wheat sales are up $6.7 million from $27,389,000 to $34,170,000 with about 7.000 more acres being harvested. Nordheim said the reason for the increase is that farmers received $4.25 a bushel in 1979 compared to $3.57 in 1978 and $2.86 in 1977. Forage crops (alfalfa, hay. corn and silage) sales are up from $4,378,000 to $5,240,000 even though 7.000 fewer acres were harvested. Feed grains (barley and corn ) are up from $706,000 to $949,000 in sales despite 1,050 fewer acres being harvested. The reason for the increase. Nordheim said, was barley sold at $108.33 a ton in 1979. up from $75,83 a ton in 1978. Sales of all other crops (Austrian peas, mint dry field peas, pinto and field peas, grapes, cantalopes, muskmel ons and watermelons) totaled $4,167,000. up from $2,353,000. In total crop sales, the gross was down, mostly because of potato prices, from $64,088,000 to $62,236,000 with 7.000 fewer acres being harvested. Total livestock sales were up from $8,442,000 to $9,909,000. Beef cattle sales rose from $7,07 3,000 to $7,871,000; sheep and wool sales more than doubled from $703,000 to $1,512,000: and other livestock (horses, rabbits, mules and chickens ) sales were $75,000 in 1978 and 1979. Oregon farmers and ran chers chalked up a record $1.5 billion in estimated gross sales for 1979. ' This was the sixth year in a row farm sales have topped $1 billion in Oregon. The figure includes $944 million from crop sales (up 18 percent from 1978) and $580 million from livestock and poultry (up 28 percenl I. The estimated sales total represents about a 20 percent increase in gross income over 1978. according to Stanley Miles. Oregon State Univer sity Extension agricultural economist. "However, these figures reflect gross sales and do not represent net income. Farm ers and ranchers faced a 14 percent increase in farm costs due to inflation." Miles said. Because of the diversity of Oregon agriculture. 1979 pro duced a good income picture for many farmers and ranch ers while it was another poor year for others. The record sales were due mainly to improved produc tion and prices for wheat and to higher prices for cattle and calves. For the second year in a row. three counties topped $100 million. Marion County, which has a diverse agricul tural base, led the group with sales of $162 million. Malheur and Umatilla counties fol lowed with $122 million and $112. respectively. Major gains in the sales of grains, livestock and nursery and dairy products more than offest some sales losses from field crops. Grain sales were up 38 percent to $268 million, thanks to higher production and prices. Wheat yields in the Willa mette Valley rebounded from a poor year in 1978 when 40 percenl of the crop was lost to bad weather and disease problems. (Continued on page three.) Approximately 100 M-R0 ex plosives from the Oregon Fish and Wildlife storage shed in Heppner are still missing, according to Glen Ward of the Game Department. Ward said five boxes with 100 explosives in each con tainer were taken from the shed and four have been confiscated. The rest have either been shot off or are still in the community. Ward said. "The M-80s are dangerous." he said. "I don't want to see any kids hurt." According to Morrow Coun ty sheriff reports. Ron Sch warz of Heppner and John Clow of Irrigon were charged with taking the explosives. Following the theft, the sheriff said, some rural mail boxes were blown up with the M-80 explosives. Ward said a key was used to unlock the shed. The building was not broken inlo. Saddles and more expensive articles are stored in the shed but only the M-80s were taken. "What we need is a com bination lock." Ward said. He said many persons use the shed so instead of having many keys, one has been kept in a hiding place. The M-80s look like a large firecracker. Thev are yellow with a green fuse and about 1 1 . inches long. The Fish and Wildlife Dept. uses the M-80s to scare away game. The explosives are con nected to a rope that is treated so they will explode at dif ferent intervals The explosion of the M-80s keeps water fowl, elk and deer out of farmer's crops. "The M-ROs are used to keep wildlife from damaging alfal fa and grain fields." Ward said. Ward said the oversized firecracker is needed because theanimalscan gel used tothe smaller firecracker sound. "The M-ROs sound like a rifle shot." Ward said. "They make a loud noise and a bright flash." Ward said he knows more of the M-H0s are in Heppner because one was set off on Main Street after an Elk dance recently. To show the strength of the M-ROs. Ward set two off Monday. One blew the bottom out of a coffee can and it exploded 15 feel info the air. The other biew a hole in a two gallon oil can and stretch ed it out of shape. "One could blow your hand or fingers off," he said. High school requirements change The State Board of Educa tion is expected to adopt changes in Oregon's high school graduation require ments and other state stan dards for public schools when it meets this weep n Salem. One change being consider ed would require school dis tricts to award diplomas to handicapped students and others who complete a "per sonalized education plan." Under the present standards, some districts are awarding diplomas to handicapped stu dents while others are not. Other changes would re quire a year of written composition, a year of U.S. history, a year of global studies, an additional year of math or science, and a year of foreign language, fine arts or applied arts. The changes would increase the 21 units now required for graduation to 22. Under the present stan dards. Oregon was the first state to require students to meet competency as well as credit and attendance re quirements. The board may reduce the competency re quirements to the basic skills of reading, writing, mathe matics, speaking, listening and reasoning. County Court appoints committee to investigate justice court system The Morrow County Court has appointed a seven person study committee to explore the possibility of a reorgani zation of the Morrow County Justice court system. Former County Judge Paul W. Jones has been asked to chair the committee. Other members are: Max Hellberg, Dewey West, Harold Hadley. Gary Grieb, John Bristow and former judge D.O. Nelson. At this time. Morrow County has two justice courts. The Fifth Disirict Justice Court is located in Irrigon at the court house annex. This court is in session each Monday for ar raignments and trials and at other times as necessary. The court is staffed by a court clerk on other business days. The clerk collects bails, an swers questions and handles general office matters. The Irrigon Justice Court docket consists primarily of traffic matters; but, it also handles misdemeanor complaints, small claims actions and other matters. The Sixth District Justice Court is located at the Morrow County Courthouse in Hepp ner. This court is in session weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This court handles pre liminary proceedings on fe lony cases, misdemeanor cases, traffic matters and small claims. The Sixth Dis trict Justice of the Peace acts as her own clerk. The 1979 Legislature appro ved the organization of a District Court for the western portion of Umatilla County and Morrow County. This court will sit in Morrow County one day each week and in Hermiston four days each week. The new District Court will begin July 1, the same date as the beginning of the fiscal year. The committee is expected to ascertain whether the two justice courts could be comb ined and. if so, whether court services could be enhanced by having clerks for both Irrigon and Heppner and the Justice of the Peace sharing time between t he two court loca tions. A reorganization along these lines might open up many possibilities. For in stance, it may be possible to set up a traffic bureau under ,the clerk(s) of the court to "assess fines in traffic matters where a person wishes to plead guilty but does not wish to see the judge. A magistrate would remain accessible at all times within the county. The present Justices of the Peace are Ernest E. Jor gensen in irrigon anti tiiai -lotte S. Gray in Heppner. Both offices will be up for election this year. The committee had its first meotimi Tuesdav. Flovd HtiU'licns. Ri.hette Angell, Craig Angell and Marc Angell go for a sleigh ride.
