EESS IE WETZELL
U OF ORE.
NEWSPAPER' LI B
EUGENE OR 9 7 4 0 3
$16 million tax levy
Although no date has yet
been Bet for an election,
Morrow County farmers say
they are planning to put before
the voters a 118 million tax
levy that would be used to
upgrade roads in the county
over the next four years.
One of the major movers
behind the levy, lone farmer
Eric Anderson, says Morrow
County roads are in bad
shupe, that their disrepair
hurts not only farmers, but
everyone, and something
needs to be done about it.
Anderson, along with county
road director Don Brings, has
been traveling throughout the
county spcuking to various
groups the past three months
in an effort to raise support for
the proposed tax levy and road
work.
"Let's face it, the county's
rwds are in pretty sad
shape," Anderson says. "They
have been deteriorating badly
over the past three winters to
the point now where they need
to be fixed."
Although the plan to fix the
rouds originated with local
farmers, and more specific
ally, the Wheat League, An
derson says everyone in the
county would benefit.
"The potholes and deterior
ated roads are costing every
one money when they have to
pay for repairs on their
vehicles after driving on
them," he points out.
Under the proposed plan,
voters would be asked to
approve a four -year levy of $4
million per year to purchase
needed equipment, reseal 120
150 miles of road, repair
county bridges, pave 50 miles
of road, and resurface 120
miles of road.
Of the cost for the ambitious
project, Anderson asks
rhetorically "Does the individ
ual citizen want the roads in
this county fixed? And if he
does, is he willing to pay for
this? There is no sugar daddy
in this deul. If we want it done
we are going to have to pay for
it ourselves," he says.
According to figures sup
plied by Anderson, voters will
be asked to approve a levy of
about 4.25 mills to finance the
road work.
"The majority of property
owners within the incorporat
ed towns will get their
money's worth," he com
ments. The increased millage
will cost the owner of a $40,000
house about $170.00 per year
for four years. Compare this
to the owner of a $500,000
farm, who will pay about
$2,200."
A present five-year levy
under which the county road
department is now operating
runs out this year ($1.43
budgeted in 1980-81 ). And next
year the only money the
department is assured of is
from forest rentals, gas tax
refunds and motor vehicle,
apportionments which totaled
about $350,000 in 19(10-81.
Although road director Don
Briggs agrees that county
roads are in bad shape and
need fixing, he differs with
Anderson and other farmers
on how the work should be
done.
Anderson proposes that the
county contract out most of
the new construction and
resurfacing. '
He soys county crews have
little expertise and equipment
for construction or resurfac
Morrow County's Home-Owned
VOL. 99. NO. 8 THURSDAY.
ing paved roads, and that with
contractors doing the work
"large projects and dramatic
results can Ik- achieved in a
short amount of time." In
addition, if the work is
contracted, the county will not
have to invest in expensive
paving equipment. He says
county crews are of sufficient
size and background to ade
quately maintain the road
system once it is put back in
shape.
Briggs feels the county
should not contract out the
road repair and resurfacing,
and should buy equipment
which, he says, will be used in
the years ahead. He proposes
the county purchase about
$1,044,000 worth of equipment
to get the job done.
"Based on the road commit
tee's recomendalion the fol
lowing roads will be evaluated
arid repaired first: McNab
Road, lone Gooseberry.
Rietmann Grade, Rhea Creek,
Baseline, Blackhorse, Clarks
Canyon, Willow Creek, Sand
Hollow, Wilson Road, Kunze
Road, Bombing Range, Pat
terson Ferry, Frontage, Pole
Line and Washington Ave.,M
says Briggs.
"The most important step in
upgrading our paved roads is
the preparation work prior to
reseating and then a regular
scheduled reseating program.
Chuckholes should be primed,
patched and then tamped or
rolled for a permanent,
smooth repair. Corrugated
areas should be ripped up,
rebased. rolled and then
Elks Annual
The Heppner Elks No. 358
84th Annual Celebration is set
to go this Saturday, Feb. 21.
and itshouldbe a good time for
everyone, says lodge manager
Rick Smith.
The day will start off with
registration at 10a.m., follow
ed by a ladies' tea at 1:30,
lodge meeting at 2 p.m.,
dinner at 6:30 and entertain
ment starting at 9 p.m. and
lusting until 2 a.m.
This year's entertainment
will feature two bands. Up
Crowd flocks to Lex MCGG
Customer Appreciation Day
V
The Morrow County Grain Growers at
Lexington drew around 550 people to its
Customer Appreciation Day Saturday.
A ham, egg and pancake breakfast was
served to a long line of guests, and door prises
were given away.
Door prizes and winners are: IH pressure
washer-Bill Smith; Farberware convection
oven-Loren Heideman; 14-piece end wrench
The Heppner
T
TE-TDMES
FEBRUARY 19. 1981 12 PACES 2" CENTS
to upgrade
repaved, since this is gener
ally due to base failure. The
same applies to areas that
have severe alligator cracking
in the oiled surface. Narrow
sections of oiled roads should
be widened and brought up to
standard prior to repaving or
resealing. Also included in our
oil maintenance should be a
continual roving patch crew
consisting of one or two men.
With this, I feel, we could
hopefully get to the point of
having potholes a 'rare occur
ence' in Morrow County
rather than a "way of life".
"The planning for upgrad
ing our unpaved roads is
basically the same. They also
suffer due to the lack of funds
for proper maintenance in the
past. The main objective on
these roads would be to add
base in some areas and add
gravel in most areas. Also
some of these roads should be
widened in the future. We
should establish a general
road blading plan and attempt
to follow it. Prwtr reaping
of the road and ditching would
be a very important part of
this program.
"The bridges in Morrow
County have also been sadly
neglected for many years with
90 percent of them being in
poor condition and at least five
classed as critical. Over the
next couple of years 10 county
bridge structures should be
replaced. We should consider
hiring a full time maintenance
worker who could build and
repair bridges, signs and also
Saturday
stairs you can relax to the
music of Bill Nicols and
downstairs you can listen to
a four piece group named
Sailor.
And if you feel luck, you can
enter the drawing for a free
tripfor two to Reno, which will
include three days and two
nights with air fare and motel
accomodations paid.
"It will be one big party,"
says Smith of the annual,
"Fun and games for all."
ii, ' . . i.r -
mm. .f 1 1 ill, ii itm fn0iM Aem mm i mm, mi.i x., j . i
Weekly Newspaper
roads proposed
,7 . v'..
hf
... - K: -' i ' t t.
t l: i V '
Eric Anderson
Deadline Tues, to file for
advisory, school board
If you plan on running for
either the Morrow County
School board or county advis
ory committees, the deadline
for filing is 5 p m. Tuesday,
Feb. 24, at the Morrow County
Clerk's office.
Three school board posi
tions, one in Irrigon, one in
lone, and one at -large position
are up for election on March
31.
The Irrigon position is a
three-year term and is now
held by Bob Byrd. The lone
position, a two-year term, is
now held by Jerry McEIligott.
The at-large position (persons
living anywhere in the county
may file) is a four-year term
State agency gives PMH
go-ahead for proposed
physical therapy plan
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
in Heppner has been given the
go-ahead by the State Health
Planning and Development
Agency to proceed on arrange
ments for proposed physical
therapy services to be provid-
' .A
Lit
set-Corine Miles: Osterizer 10-speed blender
Dexter Miles; 10-amp battery charger-Floyd
Borman; IH tool box-Fern Evans; pots and
pans set-Bob Steagall ; Corning Ware set-Fr i t z
Cutsforth.
The day also included displays of farming
equipment and supplies and a chance to talk
with several farm supply representatives.
HEPPNER. OREGON
care to the needed road
stripping. Any future bridges
should be constructed of steel
and - or concrete for long life
and low maintenance," he
adds.
It is not yet clear, however,
when voters may expect to
see the proposed road levy on
the ballot.
According to Morrow
County Clerk Barbara Bloods
worth a measure must be
filed with her office 35 days
prior to an election to be
included on the ballot.
A county-wide election is
scheduled March 31, however,
no measure has yet been filed.
Other election dates are
May 19, June 30 and Sept. 15.
Anderson said he is not sure
when the measure would go to
voters for approval.
now held by Paul Sumner.
On the advisory commit
tees, six positions are up for
election March 31. On the
J'pner-Lexington commit
tee, positions now held by
George Koffler and Steve
Peck are up for election ; those
are three-year terms.
. On the lone committee a
three-year spot now held by
Mary Martin is up for election.
And on the Boardman-Irri-gon
advisory committee, pos
itions now held by M.J. Strege,
Lovella Conboy and Marilyn
Putman are up for election.
Strege and Conboy's positions
are three-year spots, and
Putman's is a two-year.
ed through the hospital, says
PMH Administrator A.K.
"Lucky" Felt.
Estimated cost for provid
ing the services would be
$11,000 to $20,000 annually.
Felt says that the proposed
services are excluded from a
health planning certificate-of-nced
requirement as long as
capital expenditures are less
than $150,000 and operating
costs are less than $75,000 per
year.
Felt says the physical ther
apist would probably operate
on a fee-for -services basis out
of the hospital facilities. He
added that the proposed
services would most likely be
available to Tri-County Home
Health Agency clients anc'
Kinzua Corp. employees af
well as private individuals.
Felt said that the hospital is
now in the process of recruit
ing a therapist.
ECOAC to meet
A meeting of the East
Central Oregon Association of
Counties has been scheduled
for Thursday, Feb. 19 at the
Columbia Basin Co-op Confer
ence Room in Heppner.
Grange initiation
Willows Grange initiation
will be this Sunday, Feb. 22, at
4 p.m. at the grange.
A potluck supper will be
served.
Any granges wanting to
bring candidates for initiation
are welcome.
Weather
by Don Gilliam
Grade standards substantially higher
School eligibility policy
reviewed, not adopted
A new district-wide eligi
bility policy with substantially
higher requirements for stu
dents participating in sports
and other "outside" activities
was reviewed but not adopted
by the Morrow County School
board Monday night.
The policy covers students
who participate in extra-curricular
activities, and lays
down both grade-point and
social levels students must
maintain.
The board did not adopt the
policy, but took it under
consideration for adoption at
its next meeting in March.
The policy states that all
students attending school in
Morrow County must "main
tain at least a 2.0 grade
average. Students whose work
falls below this level at the
mid-term grade check or at
the end of any nine-week
grading period will be placed
on a probationary status.
Failure to show improvement
within two weeks after being
placed on probation will result
in the student being declared
lone girl to serve as Oregon House,
Senate page during vacation
Lisa Meyers. lone, will be
experiencing an exciting and
different kind of spring vaca
tion this year
Lisa will become an honor
ary page for the Oregon House
of Representatives and
Senate.
On March 23 she will
. become a page for Rep.
Phone books to
The new Heppner, lone and
Lexington telephone directory
should arrive soon, according
to Pacific Northwest Bell
Manager Linda Buckner,
delivery began yesterday
(Feb. 18 and will be com
pleted by March 2.
This year, an Oregon Cas
cades snow scene graces the
cover of the 480-page direc
tory, replacing last year's
coastal lighthouse picture.
The snow scene, taken by
Bruce Johnson of Redmond, is
of South Sister and Broken
Top peaks. It won last year's
directory cover photo contest
for Oregon.
The emergency call page
inside the front cover has
undergone a minor facelift,
Buckner says, to help cust
omers distinguish "emer
gency" from "other business"
numbers for fire, police and
ambulance service.
There are only two number
changes there, she says. The
"other business" number for
the lone fire department is
now 422-7522, and the business
number for the police depart
ment there is 676-9910.
Pacific Northwest Bell has
also improved its "call guide"
page for calls about residen
tial and business telephone
service. "We've expanded the
list of service numbers for our
business customers so they
can call directly to a service
representative specially train
ed to handle the customer's
High l-ow Precip.
Tues., Feb. 10 28 5
Wed., Feb. 11 33 15 .04 .5" snow
Thurs., Feb. 12 55 27
Fri.,Feb.l3 53 32 13
Sat., Feb. 14 58 41 05
Sun., Feb. 15 52 43 .06
Mon.,Feb.l6 59 . 47 22
ineligible. The period of inelig
ibility shall not be less than
one week and shall last as long
as the student's GPA is below
2.0"
The policy differs from the
present one now in use in the
school district. At present
Heppner and lone students
must maintain a passing (1.0)
grade in at least five subjects
to be eligible for sports and
extra activities.
At Riverside in Boardman a
student must maintain a
passing grade in four classes.
The policy is not binding,
however, and, as John Ed
munson of the district offices
points out, the policy states
that: "the school principal is
authorized to set this policy
aside in order to give special
consideration to those stu
dents who because of mental,
emotional or physical handi
caps cannot fulfill the require
ments of the policy.".
The administration will
have some discretion on who
is eligible and who is not, says
Edmunson.
Markham and on March 24 she
will be Senator Groener's
page.
This won't be Lisa's first
experience in government,
however. Last year she was a
representative to Girls State.
Lisa. 17. is the daughter of
Gordon and Darcene Meyers,
lone, and is a senior at lone
High School.
arrive soon
specific question, whether it's
about new service, mobile
service, or the billing of a
special or regular service.
"Residential customers
should continue to dial the toll
free 1-276-5051 number for
service," she says.
The new numbers are on
page two in the front of the
book.
For the handicapped,
there's now a toll free oper
ator services and repair
telephone number for deaf
customer's using teletype
writers (TTY's) to communi
cate on the phone. And, a
universal wheelchair access
symbol has been added next to
the PhoneCenter Store map on
"call guide" page two to let
wheelchair-bound customers
know there's easy wheelchair
access to the store.
More than 2,300 of the new
phone books will be delivered
in the Heppner area, accord
ing to Buckner, compared
with more than 2,200 last year.
Break-in
Several items were stolen
and a teachers file rifled
during an early morning
break-in at Heppner High
School Sunday.
Thieves broke through two
doors, an outer door and a
classroom door, to gain entry
to Steve Brownfield's classroom
However, he did say that the
academic levels spelled out in
the policy are "substantially
higher than those in effect
now."
In addition to the academic
requirements in the policy,
standards of behavior (no
alcohol, drugs, etc.), attend
ance and other matters are
also specified in the policy.
In other business at the
meeting, the board:
authorized the superin-,
tendent to call for bids fori
placement of acoustical tile at!
Sam Boardman and Columbia
schools.
approved a proposed field
trip by the Riverside High
School swing choir to Newport
in the spring for a choir
festival.
- learned that an arbitrator.
Bill Lang, has been assigned
to the impasse between the
board and the district class
ified employees (cooks, main- '
tenance personnel, etc.) and
that arbitration proceedings
will begin this Friday at
district offices.
1 jr ,
Lisa Myers
Camp Fire
candy sale
to begin
It's "there goes the diet"
time again.
- Local Camp Fire Girls and
Boys will begin their annual
door-to-door candy campaign
this week.
For $2 a box, those unable to
resist the goodies or the young
salesperson can choose from
boxes of candies or chocolate
mint patties.
The sale is scheduled to
begin Feb. 20 and last until
March 11.
reported
Taken were binoculars, cal
culators, a civil defense kit
and flammable chemicals.
Brownfield reported his files
had been gone through also.
The break-in was estimated
to have occured somtime
between 1:30 and 9 am.
Sunday morning.