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BESSIE WET2ELL
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NEWSPAPER LIB
EUGENE OR 97403
lehool board approves field tiin to Troian nuclear plant
A field trip to OMSI and the
Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
was approved for the physical
science classes of Rod Fife of
Columbia Jr. High at the
regular Morrow County
School Board meeting Monday
at the Heppner Elementary
School.
The trip will require two
buses and will take place
March 28.
A field trip to Seaside was
also approved for the lone
High School band.
Instructor Gene Sartain
learned recently that the band
did not qualify to participate
in the Great American festival
near San Francisco so a trip to
Seaside will take place in
stead. The band parents club
at the school has raised
enough money so the trip will
not cost the district anything.
The band will have two
performances enroute to Sea
side on April 11 and 12.
The school board approved
the use of a district bus for
Riverside for fans to use to go
to the district basketball
tournament in Pendleton Feb.
28 and 29.
Marv Peterson, who has
been chosen Oregon Industrial
Arts Teacher of the Year, has
expressed an interest in at
tending the national conven-
M. .EL
tion in St. Louis for industrial
arts teachers. The board
decided to let him use $300 that
is in the budget for adminis
tration travel and $380 that is
in the teacher travel fund to
pay the $740 that the trip will
cost.
"It is rare that one of our
teachers will be Oregon
Teacher of the Year so I think
we should allow him to attend
to show that we appreciate his
efforts," board member John
Matthews said.
The date that the school
board must notify whether or
not a teacher wil have a job
with the district was changed
from March 15 to April 1. The
date teachers must notify the
district whether or not tfiey
want to accept a job in the
district was changed from
April 1 to April 15.
The school board decided
not to join the National
Association of School Boards.
The main factor, as it has been
in the past, was the dues cost
of $350.
School superintendant Matt
Doherty said he is looking into
the possibilihy of changing .
banks to hold the school
district funds. He said most
school districts in the state
invest their money in the bank
that will bid the highest
interest. The board will make
a decision in July on, what
bank to put the district funds
in.
A committee of Irv Rauch,
Pauline Winter and John
Matthews was appointed to
draft a concrete proposal on
the board policy considering
the school bus service in north
Morrow County.
The two new schools in the
north end will be opening near
March 10 and an open house
and dedication ceremony is
being planned by the school
board with Doherty in charge.
The open house for Sam
Boardman Elementary will be
April 5 at 1 p.m. at Columbia
Junior High, it will be April 19.
All the school board mem
bers agreed that the citizens
want an open house and
Doherty said since the school
board was involved so much
with the two new schools that
the members should be pre
sent at a dedication.
"Can you break champagne
bottles on school houses,"
Matthews said jokingly.
Students will be in the
schools before the open house
but part of the schools will be
blocked because they will not
be completely finished.
Two new teachers were
hired at Sam Boardman
Elementary Monday so only
one more teacher needs to be
hired this year for the two new
schools that being a home
economics teacher at CJH.
Doherty said hopefully all
three teachers will begin
working when the students
move into the new schools.
"Next fall additional staff
will be hired but that is
already included in the
planned budget," Doherty
said.
No action was taken but the
board discussed the current
payment of 17 cents per mile
for district employees when
using their personal vehicles.
The Baker district pays the
lowest in the state at 15 cents a
mile and Washington pays the
highest at 23 cents a mile.
"It is cheaper for us to use
the old county vehicles so we
should stretch their use as far
as possible," Doherty said.
The school board approved
the hiring of Milton Reynolds
as a first grade teacher at
Sam Boardman and Jane
Anderson as a fourth and fifth
grade teacher at the same
school. They also approved
the hiring of Eileen Saling as a
secretary at the district office,
Bennie Reeves as a custodian
at Columbia Junior High,
Jerry Franke as a bus driver
at A C. Houghton and Barbara
Mathis as a custodian at A C.
Houghton.
The Heppner
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Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
Tlll'RSDAV, FEBRUARY 21. 1!)S(I
20 CIATS
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MKI'I'N'KH. OREGON'
caw
Rash of gun thefts
hit city of Heppner
A rash of gun thefts took
place in Heppner last week on
the 13th. but it was a
Wednesday not a Friday.
According to records of
Police Chief Dean Gilman.
four persons reported guns
worth a total of $2,274 stolen
from their pick-ups that night,
all within the city limits of
Heppner.
William Dean Baker. " 360
Green St. in Heppner, re
ported that his vehicle was
broken into and two guns
stolen. The culprit pried open
a window to get in. Missing
are a Winchester 30-06 bolt
rifle valued at $265 and
Remington 12 guage shotgun
worth $260. Also missing was a
$30 Tasco scope.
Gary Lee Kemp, 620 Alfalfa
St. in Heppner, reported to
city police that his Ruger rifle
worth $219 was taken. His
truck was unlocked.
Thomas J. Koehler, 170
Quaid St. in Heppner. reported
two shotguns missing. They
are valued at $1,150. His truck
was also unlocked. One gun
was a Remington 12 gauge
shotgun worth $700 and the
other a 12 gauge Browning
shotgun worth $450.
Gary David Patterson. 275
E. Cannon St. "in ' Heppner.
reported two guns taken from
his unlocked pick-up. One was
a Winchester rifle worth $250
and the other was a .22 rifle
worth $50. Also taken was a
Weaver scope worth $50.
Gilman said he suspects the
same thieves took a tool box
and tools valued at $290 from
the truck of James A. Pheg
ley. Box 241 Blake Ranch, the
tools were taken on the same
night while Phegley's un
locked truck was parked
outside of Cal's Cafe.
M ii liff
I
Jones disagrees
Ad
visory committee says no
to combining justice courts
Sheriffs deputy involved
in two-car injury accident
Morrow County Sheriff's
Deputy Oakes was involved in
a two-car injury accident last
weekend in which he received
facial cuts and two persons in
the other automobile received
facial cuts, fractures and
bruises.
The 1978 sheriff's car was
totaled according to Sheriff
Larry Fetsch.
The accident occured Satur
day night at 11:42 on Highway
730 one mile east of the
bombing range junction.
Oakes was driving with a
runaway juvenile girl from
Tacoma, Wash, he had appre
hended. When he crossed a
concrete bridge overpass with
black ice the car swerved out
of control. The car hit the
guard rail and spun back in to
the road when the other car,
driven by Patrick Spithill of
Umatilla, hit the sheriff's car
head on.
Officers had to use the jaws
of life extrication equipment
because the apprehended ju
venile had her foot caught
under the seat.
Oregon State Police report
that Spithill was not injured
but Patricia Ann Spithill
received facial cuts and fract
ures and Patricia Bissinger
had cuts and bruises.
The juvenile received minor
injuries.
An advisory committee to
the Morrow County Court has
decided not to recommend
combining the justice court
positions in Heppner and
Irrigon.
After three public meetings,
the committee decided that
it could not find that
combining the courts would
save the county money. The
eommitte presented its find
ings in a report to the county
court Feb. 15 and stated that
another reason is because of
the opposition to the combina
tion in Boardman and Irrigon.
Chairman Paul Jones said
Tuesday he did not agree with
the committee's findings but
that as chairman, he did not
have a vote in the decision.
"I presented a minority
report along with the majority
report of the committee,"
Jones said. "My feeling is that
it doesn't make any sense. I
thought they should dispense
with one of the courts. The
average workload for a justice
court in Oregon is 11,000
cases a year. Both of our
justice courts combined han
dle about 8,000 a year for an
average of 4.000 each. The
county is paying for two
full-time justices to do the job
of one."
Jones said the voting mem
bers of the committee agreed
unanimously not to combine
the courts. Opponents in the
north end of the county said
they felt they would have
reduced services if the two
courts were combined.
The county court was sche
duled to go over the majority
and minority recommenda
tions yesterday but Judge Don
McElligott was not available
Tuesday to comment on when
a final decision will be made.
The proposed combination
would have combined the 5th
and 6th District Courts. The
terms for both justices expire
this year so the court thought
now would be the best time to
study the possibility of having
only one justice court. One
judge would have traveled to
Irrigon and Happner on differ
ent days to handle all of the
cases. A court clerk would be
in the office when the judge
was in the other city.
The committee tried to
consider the effect of the new
district court that will be in
the county one day a week
beginning July 1.
Jones said the new district
court will reduce the workload
of the justice courts making it
even more feasible to combine
them.
iA pathy in industry9
French says beef re ferendum needed
Kaiiy com m liters from lone to Heppner can catch a glimpse
of this silmiette at sunrise.
by county school board
Hospital district ?
area survey asks
A questionnaire in a tri
county health survey spon
sored by Pioneer Memorial
Hospital of Heppner seeks
public reaction to the idea of
forming a health district that
would be independent of the
Morrow County Court.
A.K. Felt, hospital admini
strator, said the questionnaire
has been mailed to residents
of Morrow, Gilliam and
Wheeler counties, using the
mailing list of Columbia Basin
Electric Cooperative, Inc.
The final question in the
survey is in two parts that
explains the present status of
the hospital as a county-owned
institution that is subject to
the budgetary review of the
court, and the fiscal indepen
dence that would result if a
health district were orga
nized. Listed under these two parts
are five multiple-choice op
tions with check-off boxes for
"Yes," "No," and "Don't
Know," as follows:
Would you be in favor of:
1. Leaving the hospital
continued on paye 6
The Morrow County School
Board agreed on a tax base to
present to the voters at the
May 20 election at its board
meeting Monday.
The tax base amount is
$6,076,300. The old tax base
amount is $588,510.
Assistant school superinten
dant John Edmundson said
this is the first time in more
than 20 years that a new tax
base is being sought.
"A new law requires us to
try and pass a new tax base."
Edmundson said. "People are
used to voting on the school
budget annually so I expect
the new tax base will meet
some resistance. But we don't
have to pass the tax base. The
law required only that we
try."
Superintendant Matt Do
herty said the proposed tax
base figure was composed by
computing the average
growth and inflation in the
school district budget the past
four years.
In 1976-77. the school budget
was $2,659,540. It increased
the next year 15.3 percent to
$3,066,218. In 1978-79 it in
creased 25.3 percent to
$3,840,487. The budget for this
year increased 14.2 percent to
$4,387,586. The average
growth and inflation increase
was therefore 18.3 percent.
Nine percent of its inflation
and nine percent growth.
continued on p;ige 6
Riverside High
School receives
bomb threat
Vic Marcheck, principal of
Riverside High School, re
ported a bomb threat last
week at the school to the
Morrow County Sheriff's Of
fice. The school was evacuated
and local police in Boardman
and Oregon State Police
officers searched the building.
After 45 minutes, the police
still did not give the students
clearance to re-enter the
building so the administration
allowed them to go home
because of the cold weather.
Ray French, president of
the Oregon Cattlemen's Asso
ciation, spoke to the Heppner
Morrow County Chamber of
Commerce Monday about the
National Beef Referendum
that is being conducted today
and tomorrow across the
country.
"There is apathy in the
industry because we have not
registered as many to vote (on
(he referendum) as we had
hoped." he said. "I hope all
who registered will vote."
French said the last time he
spoke to the chamber was in
1977 when he gave a talk about
the national beeferendum. In
1977. a two-thirds favorable
vote was needed for the
referendum issue to pass and
it received 57 percent. This
year's referendum needs only
a simple majority to pass.
"But our opposition is better
organized this time so we will
be fortunate if we get over 50
percent," he said. "It could be
decided nationwide by a few
hundred votes."
French explained that it is a
self-help program that will be
financed and managed by the
cattlemen. It is voluntary and
refunds can be given so "I
can't see why anyone would
not vote for it because it could
help the industry," he said.
The money collected will go
to a board consisting of 68
directors from all over the
nation and they will decide on
how to use it. Oregon will have
one member on the board.
"Cattlemen can be proud of
the way we produce our
product but not in the way we
market it," he said.
The collected money will be
used to market the industry
and research.
"There is a saying that you
have to sell it or smell it (beef)
after three days," French
said. "We don't like to smell it
so some research will be done
on how to preserve the meat."
French said the reason the
referendum needs to pass and
the cattlemen need to market
their product better is because
of competition from other
foods. Other meats, such as
pork, that are in over supply
now are competing for the
meat dollar.
The money will also be used
to research how healthy beef
is for consumption.
"Questions about heart dis
ease can't go unanswered,"
French said. "We have to
have facts not theories."
Money should also be used
to study the Senate Committee
Dietary Goals that are ques
tioned by the cattlemen be
cause the goals are anti red
meat saying it has too much
cholesterol.
"They are politicians not
dieticians," French said.
The dietary goals recom
mend a variety in the diet,
ideal weight, avoiding salt and
sugar, eating lean meat and
poultry. The goals are going to
be used in meals served in
schools and in governemtn
programs.
"They are trying to force us
to change our diets." he said.
"The bureaucracy is trying to
tell us what to do. They are
interested in having power
over America's agriculture."
French said the Oregon Beef
Council receives 20 cents for
every head of cattle but it is
not enough to have marketing
and research just at the state
level.
"The national program will
receive about $40 million a
vear and that monev will be
funneled everywhere." he
said. "The Oregon Beef Coun
cil funnels most of its money
info the Portland area because
that is where we can market to
the most people."
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Rav French
Elks celebrate 83rd annual
The 83rd Elks Annual will
take place this Saturday with
registration from 10 a.m. to 8
p.m. at the Heppner Lodge No.
358 B.P.O.E. according to
Hank Pointer, exalted ruler.
Highlighting the day's acti
vities is a Crab Feed dinner
from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Dancing will follow from 9
p.m. to 2 a.m. with music
played by the Leonings.
A Ladies Tea will start off
the activities at 1 p.m. Cost for
attending the tea only is $1.50.
Eighteen new candidates to
become Elks will be initiated
in a ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
with other Lodge activities
beginning at 2 p.m.
Cost for the dinner and
dancing is $10 a person with
the new members initiated
that afternoon getting in for
half price.
The Annual is open only to
Elk members and out of town
guests.
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