TWO The Heppner ('.alette-Times, Heppner, Oregon, Thursday.
March B, 1980
V ' 1 ' ' ' "
ONPA
PublitKan Aiioi po'io
The Official Newspaper of the
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
U.S.P.S. 240-420
1'iiMishrri every Thtirsdiiv ;ind entered as second-class matter al the Post Office at
Heppner. Oregon under (he Act nf March 3. IBT9 Second-class postage paid al
Heppner. On-yon
(Hliec ;il NT Wesl Willow Street Telephone (Sail 67fi 9228
Addresv communications to the Heppner Caette Times. P.O. Box .1:17. Heppner,
Oreuon 'Otlv
SH im( in Morrow . 1'inatilla. Wheeler it (lilliam cminties: $().(H) elsewhere.
Jerome F. Sheldon, Publisher
Steven A. Powell, News & Sports Kditor
Salem
Scene
Number of registered voters declines
BY JACK ZIMMERMAN
CENSUS'80
'Person in Column 1 9
The U.S. Census Bureau is one federal
agency that recognizes that a variety of
lifestyles exists in America. Its questionnaire
for this year's head count is almost delicate in
its probing about the relationships of people
living under the same roof. It doesn't ask for
the "head of household" and "spouse" but the
"Person in Column 1" and the "Person in
Column 2."
The "Person in Column 1" would be the
member in whose name the home is owned or
rented. "If there is no such person," the
instructions say, "start in this column with
any adult household member."
Relationships of people within a house
hold may be ticked off by a series of multiple
choice questions. If they are unrelated by
blood or marriage, they may be "roomer
boarder" or "partner-roommate" or even
"paid employee." That, of course, might
cover the maid, butler or handyman, and no
judgments are drawn.
For households of more than two persons,
there are spaces for "Person in Column 3,"
"Person in Column 4," and so on. Other
questions relate to age and date of birth, of
course; to racial or national origins, and to
educational attainments. Other sections of
the questionnaire pertain to all households or
to "sample" households, such as whether the
building has a passenger elevator or is
connected to a public sewer.
The federal census is taken every 10
years. Its main purpose is to establish
legislative representation. Oregon reportedly
is to gain another member in the U.S. House
of Representatives after reapportionment
based on the 1980 census.
The questionnaires are to be mailed to
every household in the land on March 28. In
eastern Oregon, starting on April 1,
enumerators are to call to pick up the
questionnaires. The U.S. Census Bureau
gives assurance in advance that all of the
information to be collected will remain
confidential "for 72 years," without even the
President of the U.S. having access to the
files.
- '
Keports indicating a signifi
cant decline in the number of
Oregonians registered to vote
is a source of concern among
the state's election officials.
One of those concerned is
Secretary of State Norma
Paulus, the state's chief
elections official, who consi
ders promotion of citizen
participation in the election
process one of the prime
duties of her office.
Mrs. Paulus has consis
tently expressed concern
about declining voter turnouts
during recent elections on
both local and statewide levels
and has mobilized voluntary
forces to publicize both regi
stration and balloting.
It was her office that
announced the most recent dip
in registrations following the
biennial purge of registrations
conducted by county clerks
throughout the state last fall.
Normally, she said, each
statutory purge results in a
loss of about 8 percent of total
registrations due in most
part to deaths and persons
who move out of state or
change adresses and neglect
to notify their county clerk.
Rut the most recent purge
turned up a net loss of more
than twice the usual number,
a whopping 16.78 percent. .
In actual numbers, the
pre-purge registerd voter total
of 1.472.536 dropped to
1,198.640.
Law states that county
elections officials must purge
their voter lists every two
years and remove the names
of persons who have failed to
exercise their voting privilege
during that period. The law
was enacted in 1975 and the
purge is conducted in the fall
of each odd-numbered year.
County election officials
send each person being
purged a notice, urging them
to respond within 20 days if
they believe they should not be
removed from the list or
re-registered.
Response to the notice
constitutes re-registration.
Mrs. Paulus believes a signifi
cant number of recipients of
those notices simply failed to
respond and may be surprised
when they show up at the polls
during the primary election
and fail to find their names on
the poll books.
Actually, only a few of those
types of persons are in danger
of being disenfranchised dur
ing the primary. Law permits
qualified persons to register to
vote right up until the polls
close at 8 p.m. The only hitch
is that registration must be
accomplished at the county
elections office, not at the
individual polling places.
It's quite possible people
who show up at the polls late
on election day'will not have
time to travel to their county
Legislative Report from the State Capital
EXCLUSIVE to Oregon's Weekly Newspa
pers trom Associated Oregon Industries.
And this latest development
may well discourage cam
paigns that are not already
well organized and financed.
According to the Secretary
of State's figures, only two
counties Lincoln and Wal
lowa registered net gains in
registered voters following the
purge. Counties experiencing
the largest percent
ages of voters purged are
Klamath. 36.82: Union. 33.62;
Josephine. 26.90; Multnomah,
21.91; Clatsop, 20.42; Coos,
19.73; Baker, 19.58: Hood
River. 18.39: Jackson. 17.98;
Linn, 17.80, and Crook, 17.83.
Percentages of decline in
remaining counties range
from a fraction of a percent in
Sherman County to 17.15
percent in Marion County.
The percentage of decline
for Morrow County is 5.91 : for
Gilliam. 11.76.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
'Excellent coaching
job at Heppner High9
ceiving honorable mention.
elections department
before the polls close.
office
Sifting through the TIMES
By publicizing the number
of purged voters, Mrs. Paulus
hopes those who recall dis
carding their county clerks'
notices will make an effort to
re-regislser before the last
minute. And that's a simple
procedure.
If you think you may not be
registered, simply telephone
your county clerk and a
registration form will be sent
to you. You can fill it out at
home and send it back by
mail.
Another concern that elec
tions officials are expressing
about the number of people
purged involved the record
number of initiative petitions
being circulated to place
measures on the November
general election ballot.
Each of those petition cam
paigns will be seeking signa
tures of either 54.669 regis
tered voters for measures that
would change state law or
72.891 for measures that wold
change the stae constitution.
As a rule, elections officials
advise initiative campaign
managers to obtain at least 10
percent more than the re
quired number of signatures
to cover an inevitable number
of persons who sign petitions
although they are not regis
tered voters. Officials now are :
suggesting obtaining at least '.
15 percent more than the
required number of signatures
because of the large number
of purged persons who may
sign in the belief they are
registered.
And if one adds the nearly 17
percent purged figures to the
normal 10 percent cushion,
petitioners might be well
advised to exceed the required
number considerably to avoid
disappointment at the last
minute.
This development may well
cause concern among those
promoting initiative petition
campaigns, as well as election
officials who supervise the
placement of issues on the
ballot. Conducting a statewide
initiative campaign is not a
simple, inexpensive undertaking.
y. .. - -
l!tl!0
Fifty years ago Lexington,
Umatilla and Arlington were
victorious at the sub-district
tournament in Heppner and
advanced to the district com
petition in Pendleton in high
school basketball action. Ar
lington edged Fossil 26-25,
Umatilla stomped Boardman
46-19 and Lexington came
from behind to beat Heppner
24-20.
The city of Heppner was
having a well dug and the
driller was 150 feet into the
ground and still had not hit
water. Lions member Jasper
Crawford asked the city
council to think about obtain
ing street signs and house
numbers. Also discussed at
the city council meeting was
the reorganization of the city
volunteer fire department.
Fire Chief S.P. Devin was sent
to Portland to attend a
fireman's school.
William R. Poulson, acting
school superintendant, was
elected to that position for one
year by the school board for a
salary of $2,600.
County Clerk Gay M. Ander
son was reported to be very
busy as dog owners were
coming in to pay their 1930
license fees. Unpaid licenses
after March 1 became delin
quent and a penalty was
imposed making the license
cost twice as much.
County court ruled that
when a dog kills a sheep, the
dog owner only has to pay
two-thirds of the cost of the
sheep to the sheep owner
instead of the full price. This
would be more equitable, the
court said, and the sheep
owner would have a better
chance for financial recovery.
1955
Twenty five years ago the
Heppner Mustangs won the
District 6B basketball tourna
ment for the third year in a
row. The team beat St. Mary's
53-36, Culver 49-42 and Maupin
in the championship game
51-26. Skip Ruhl, Dick Kono
nen and Jerry Haguewood
won all-star honors. Heppner
also won the sportsmanship
trophy. The team was going to
state games in Salem.
Immunization clinics were
set by Dr. A.D. McMurdo at
all of the schools in the county.
Cost was 25 cents each for
small pox and diptheria and 50
cents for typhoid.
The hospital board an
nounced rate increases at
Pione?r Memorial Hospital. A
private room was raised to $16
a day, a semi-private $12.50
and a four-bed room $11.50.
Local druggist Phil Blakely
was apointed by Hepner
mayor Mary Van Stevens as a
new council member replac
ing Jack Van Winkle, who
resigned.
Sally Palmer was named
Hepner High School valedic
torian of the senior class and
Patsy Wright the saluatorian
for having the top grades in
the graduating class.
Peculiar weather hit Mor
row County as one night it
dropped to nine degrees below
zero and and the next day the
mercury rose to more than 70"
degrees.
1975
Five years ago the Morrow
County Court signed a pur
chase order with Boise Cas
cade Corp. for a $42,000
modular medical building.
Two lots behind Pioneer
Memorial Hospital were pur
chased for $9,000.
The Heppner Common
Council met and Police Chief
Dean Gilman requested help
with the dog problem. He said
city ordinances existed but
there was no way to enforce
them because there was no
place to take stray dogs. He
asked veterinarian Norene for
a cost of housing dogs for five
days and then putting
them to sleep but the vet said
he did not want anything to do
with dogs because they carry
distemper. One council mem
ber said it is a shame that dogs
can't be shot when they run
loose becamse then owners
might start taking better care
of them.
3-county health survey: A response to Judge Leckie
' Last week, we reprinted from the Condon Times-Jour-iiiil
a letter by Judge Andrew F. Leckie of Fossil, Wheeler
County, objecting to a three-county survey of health-care
services provided by Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner.
(Judge Leckie took particular exception to the 14th
question in the survey that sought the views of those
responding regarding the possible formation of a health-care
laving district that could extend beyond the boundaries of
Morrow County to include portions of Wheeler and Gilliam
counties. If formed, such a district could assume the
management of the hospital which now is owned by Morrow
County. Judge Leckie said the questionnaire was "blatantly
seeking" to get Wheeler County tax money to support the
Heppner hospital.
(Following herewith is a reply to Judge Leckie by R.D.
Fllin ison. vice president of Medco, Inc., a national
management engineering group, which is tabulating the
results of the survey at its Portland office. Mr. Ellingson
formerly was director of management systems for the
Oregon Association of Hospitals, a position he left last Sept. 1.
In his new connection, he directs a contract with the hospital
association to help Oregon hospitals "utilize their resources
more effectively."
Judge Andrew F. Leckie
Wheeler County
Fossil. Oregon 97830
Dear Judge Leckie:
We were disappointed to receive your response to the
health survey that was circulated recently to Morrow
County, and some Gilliam and Wheeler County residents. As
you know, the survey questions were formulated by a group
of responsible people from each of the ma jor communities in
the area. Neither Mr. Felt, nor Mr. Burns, the previous
administrator, were members of that committee because
each served as chairman of the hospital's Management
Planning Committee that was holding meeting?' recurrently
with the community advisory group. A third group, the
Medical Staff Planning Committee, was also netting at the
same time. Each of the three groups had, and still have, as its
ma jor goal the identification of health care needs, services
and facilities in the area. We were pleased when you agreed
to serve as a member of the committee and were sorry when
your busy schedule kept you from attending many of the
meetings.
This coordinated effort was begun when the Eastern
Oregon Health Systems Agency mailed out a directive to all
Eastern Oregon hospitals stating that by June 1, 1979, they
must have an organized planning process. At that time, the
hospital Board had three choices: (1) To attempt
establ ishment of a planning process on their own ; (2 ) To hire
a professional planning consultant, which might have been
costly; or (3) To implement the Oregon Association of
Hospitals (OAH) "do it yourself" strategic planning process
with organizations and date collection assistance as needed
being provided by the OAH Director of Management
Systems. The third alternative was approved by the hospital
board and the various committees shown on attachment No.
1 were established. (Appended to this letter was a chart
showing community, management and medical staff
planning committees.) Early in the formulation of these
groups, it was recognized that the Tri County Health
Commission should be an important resource and sounding
board in the process because of their previous experience
and knowledge of health care in the three counties.
As far as calling the survey, the "Tri-County Health
Planning Survey," we could, and possibly should, have called
it the "Three County Health Planning Survey." There was no
intention to impose or infringe on the name of the Tri County
Health Commission. Since we were trying to determine
health needs in the three counties, it just seemed natural to
use "Tri" instead of "Three." Of course, the committee itself
is simply named, as stated in the cover letter to the survey,
the "Community Advisory Committee." We are sorry if this
has caused a problem for the commission, because we have
actively sought to work in a cooperative way with that group
for the best interests of the residents in all three of the
counties.
Question number 14 on the survey was included, almost
as an afterthought, by one of the committee members at one
of the last meetings. It is a simple attempt to obtain public
opinion relating to basic methods of offering hospital
services in our area. It is consistent with the opinion that all
citizens in our country should have the right of
self-determination. Since the surveys will be summarized by
zip code areas, each will know the concensus of opinions on
this, as well as the many other, questions included in the
survey. Of course, the results of the survey cannot be binding
in any way.
On September 1, 1979, 1 changed positions from Director
of OAH Management Systems to vice president of MEDCO,
Inc., a national management engineering group. We still
have a contract with OAH to provide services that are
helping Oregon hospitals to utilize their resources more
effectively. May I assure you and other members of the Tri
County Health Commission that only the best intent was
meant from the survey and that the members of the
Community Advisory Committee are sincere as they gather
information from their respective communities. Hopefully, it
will all result in a better information base for planning
improved health services and facilities for the hospital's
geographic service area. When the survey is summarized,
the committee will meet again to formulate written
recommendations to Pioneer Memorial's Board Planning
Committee as shown in attachment No. 2. (The appended
chart shows interrelationships between committees.) You
will be invited to attend, if you wish.
May I express regret for the misunderstandings, and
offer to be of personal assistance to the Commission at any
time in the future.
'. " Sincerely yours,
R.D. Ellingson
Vice President
MEDCO, Inc.
12635 S.W.Bowmont,
Portland, Oregon 97225
Editor:
As parents of one of the
senior girl basketball players
at Heppner High School, we
would like to express our
appreciation for the excellent
coaching job done by Sheri
Brock. Miss Brock's coaching
skills were reflected in the
manner in which her girls
played as a team.
While she coached the
Fillies to fourth place at
district, only two Heppner
girls placed in the all-star
selections one on the second
all-league team and one re-
Teams not reaching the
district tournament may have
placed more players on the
all-star team but the Fillies,
with Miss Brock's coaching,
placed fourth at district.
Thank you, Sheri, and your
Fillies for an interesting and
exciting basketball season.
Sincerely,
Bob and Marion Abrams,
Heppner
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