VOL. 101 NO. 24 THURSDAY. JUNE II, 1983
Largest
C 14
1 .
t .,.. ... J C f r - , rr t -.-v-.T
Truck carrying insecticide rolled into Willow
A tank truck carrying 1. 900
gallons of inject spray and 500
gallon of aviation fuel rolled
Into Willow Crwk near Cuts
forth Park Monday, causing
the largest chemical spill in
Oregon' history. The chemi
cal, Sevin 4-Oil. was to be used
in a Western Spruce Budworm
spraying project in the Miller
Prairie area.
The truck, owned by West
Wind Helicopters of Yakima,
Wash., sub contractors in the
spraying project, was com
pletely demolished, according
to Paul Marl, public affairs
P.M.H. Foundation receives
3100,000 gift
A former Morrow County
couple. Earl and Hazel Wil
son, now of Las Vegas,
Nevada, recently mailed a gift
of $100,000 to the Pioneer
Memorial Hospital Founda
tion, announced A K. "Lucky"
Felt, hospital administrator.
Shortly after the hospital
foundation was established,
Wilson visited the hospital and
nursing home, expressing in
terest in financial assistance
out of appreciation for his
Morrow County background,
Felt said
The administrator reported
that Larry Mills, president of
the foundation board, avill call
a board meeting in the near
future to make plans for
maximizing the return on the
new capita) funls and will
discuss some possibilities for
using the earnings to assist the
hospital and to further health
care related education in the
community.
Wilson is a native of Morrow
County, having lived with his
family on a ranch in the
McNabb area north of lone,
which they still own. He
moved from the county in 1921
at the age of 22 to work for the
Greyhound Bus Company. The
Wilsons have made their home
in Las Vegas since 1941.
Seymour P. Wilson, Earl's
father, his mother and three
brothers. Frank, Charlie and
Chilt. emigrated from Ohio In
1878. settling in the lone area.
Seymour Wilson and his wife
had two sons; Earl and Fran
chemical
officer for the Forest Service
In Portland. Driver of the
vehicle, Roberto Taddeo, 30,
of Tieten, Wash., was treated
for multiple lacerations and
abrasions at Pioneer Memor
ial Hospital in Heppner and
was released Tuesday, said a
hospital spokesperson.
West Wind Helicopters re
ported that the truck's brakes
failed, causing it to roll over
the embankment, said Jean
nie Harris, writer, editor for
Malheur National Forest at
John Day.
Fish in the stream were
cis, who is now deceased. The
late Mrs. Harvey (Virginia)
Smith of lone was a daughter
of Earl Wilson's uncle. Frank
Wilson. The Smiths managed
Earl's farm near McNahh for
many years.
The Foundation and corpor
ation was established to pro
vide a tax exempt vehicle for
people interested in long-term
support of Pioneer Memorial
Hospital and Nursing Home.
The foundation has received
numerous gifts; donations in
Jieu of flowers as memorials to
Remember wheat sample
for county fair
By BOB COSTA
OSU Extension Agent
Morrow County
Wheat growers should re
member to take a sample of
wheat out of the combine to
exhibit at the county fair.
About five gallons are
needed for the exhibit. This
allows extra for cleaning loss.
Superintendent Bill Rawlins
will clean exhibits that are in a
at least one day prior to the
close of entries.
It's almost time to pick
wheat and barley for a sheaf.
The ideal time to pick grain
Tike Heppeeir
Morrow County s
PAGES
spill in Oregon state history poisoned Willow Creek Mon.
Creek, spilling chemicals into water
killed by the chemical, and
farmers from the spill area to
the dam were warned to re
move farm animals from the
creek area and to not use the
water at all.
Fumes were detectible
many miles from the accident
site and it was reported that
thev were so strong at Cuts
forth Pond that it burned the
eves and throats of those at
the site.
Lime was spread around the
accident site to neutralize the
chemical, and six dams were
built downstream from the
deceased friends and rela
tives, and has been named in
estate planning. Felt said.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson's gift is
by far the largest received to
date." he added.
A lifetime voting member
ship in the foundation is avail
able for five dollars or more.
The present membership
includes about 65 people. Any
one interested may contact
Felt, foundation secretary, or
Linda Kenny at the hospital
for information.
for a sheaf is when it has full
color but the grain is still
doughy. Cut wheat close to the
ground and hang upside down
in small bundles or stack
loosely to dry. Exhibitors
don't have to be wheat grow
ers to display a wheat sheaf at
county fair.
Grain and grass sheaves
should be at least three inches
in diameter at the bottom and
tied with string.
For more information, con
tact Bob Costa at the exten
sion office in Heppner, or
superintendent Rawlins.
rvTS) (FT
ail 11
Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
25
spill, as well as several boom
dams, made of absorbent
material. Mounds of charcoal
and dams of hay were also
placed in the creek to help
with the cleanup process, re
ported Gayla Reese of the
Department of Environmental
Quality in Portland.
The Corps of Engineers at
Willow Creek Dam lowered
the pool level of the lake four
feet Monday night to allow the
contaminated water to back
up in the reservoir. Plans are
being made to skim the
chemical off the top of the
Rauch to
be honored
A reception honoring Irvin
Rauch for his 20 years of
service on the Morrow County
School Board will be held
Tuesday. June 21. from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m.. at the school
district office in Lexington.
Rauch. who served on the
board as a representative for
Lexington area residents, will
leave the board June 30 due to
his election as a county com
missioner. Everyone is invited to
attend.
School board
to review
legislative
action
A meeting at the Morrow
County School Board will be
held at the Lexington School
District Office on Monday,
June 20 at 8 p.m.
The board will review some
of the recent actions of the
legislature that could effect
district operation. The board
will also review the results of
the recent school district bud
get election and is expected to
take an action to adopt the
budget in order to certify the
levy to the assessor, said a
district office spokesperson.
Bids for fuel oil, tires, pro
pane, gasoline and heating oil
will also be considered.
In other business, the
spokesperson said, the board
will consider a number of
matters related to personnel.
Ml IS,
HEPPNER. OREGON
Sign warns passersby
pool, if possible. Otherwise the
contaminated water will be
.left in the reservoir to be
diluted by remaining water in
the pool for five days, Reese
explained. The dam's outflow
has been completely shut
down: however, three feet of
water per second flow through
at all times. Normal flow is 20
feet per second. Pool water
Krebs indicted on three felony
A man who authorities think
robbed the lone branch of the
Bank of Eastern Oregon last
Thrusday and was apprehen
ded Sunday near Bend was
arraigned Tuesday on charges
of alleged First Degree Rob
bery, being an Ex-convict in
Possession of a Firearm and
Unauthorized Use of a Motor
Vehicle. All three are Class C
Felonies.
John William Krebs. 32, was
taken into custody early Sun
day morning by Oregon State
Police officers of Bend at the
Inn of the Seventh Mountain
resort near that central Ore
gon town, reported Morrow
County District Attorney
Richard McNerney.
Krebs, who had recently
moved from Hermiston to Sis
ters, is lodged at the Umatilla
County Jail. Bail was set at
$200,000 by Morrow County
District Court Judge Ralph -Currin.
The robbery took place at
about 10:45 a.m. when a man
wearing a ski mask and gloves
and carrying a long-barreled
pistol, advised bank employ
ees to empty the bank's vault
and tills, and with the money
in a knap sack, left through
the back door and drove off in
a red pickup.
Citizens near the bank who
saw the masked man enter the
building reported the incident
to police.
The vehicle was seen travel
ing east on Ella Road and was
later found on Rietmann
Grade, along with a 31 by 36
pair of Levi's and pair of size
11 tennis shoes. The robber,
who according to the district
attorney took over $18,000, had
stolen the pickup from an lone
residence.
Part of the money was found
in Bend by Hermiston OSP
Detective Ken Matlock and
Weather
by the City of
V ' - -"HIV...
to stay away from contaminated pond at Cuteforth Park
will be tested prior to releas
ing the water, she said.
D.E.Q. notified landowners
from the dam down stream
not to withdraw water or
water livestock if fish kill is
observed. As of Tuesday,
water downstream from the
dam was not contaminated,
she said.
Mike Gearhard of the Envi
r i Ti' " " "in ill
Kt' ' tit 7
Ci
John Krebs is led out of Morrow County Courtroom Tuesday after
charges in connection with a bank robbery in lone.
Morrow Co. Sheriff's Dept.
Sergeant Verlin Denlon of
Heppner. McNerney said. He
would not, however, say how
much of the money was re
covered. Gerald Pierson, vice-president
of the bank, said the
building is equiped with alarm
and surveillance systems, and
both were operating during
the robbery.
Police began arriving at the
bank at about noon, Pierson
said, and an investigation got
underway with the Oregon
State Police. Morrow County
Sheriff's Department and the
Tups.. June 7 m 59 Trace
Wed., June 8 85 48 Trace
Thurs.. June 9 79 50 .20
Fri.. June 10 62 44 .33
Sat.. June 11 64 46 .02
Sun.. June 12 71 43
Mon.. June 13 82 54
Hcppncr
ronmental Protection Agency
in Portland has reported that
E P A. engineers are conduct
ing "precautionary testing" of
the city's water supply wells.
"It's an extremely remote "
possibility that any material
would wind up in the wells."
he said . He added that it would'
take several days to learn the
test results.
Heppner City Police involved.
Bank robberies are usually
investigated by the F.B.I.,
however Pendleton's F.B.I.
Agent, was out of the area
Thursday and Friday.
McNerney reported that
Krebs had purchased a new
Chevrolet Blazer with cash in
Bend on Friday.
Interviews with witnesses, a
composite drawing, the cloth
ing and good investigative
work by Matlock and Dentin
led to Krebs' arrest, McNer
ney said.
FJarly reports stated that
High Low Precip.
Reese said Union Carbide,
the manufacturers of Sevin,
were sending out two xepre-
sentatives Monday from the
company's headquarters- in
Raleigh, N.C. - t
Anyone wanting more in
formation on the chemical or
its effects may call Union
Carbide toll free at 1-800-334-9745.
Reese said.
charges
being indicted on three felony
officials thought a second per
son might be involved in the
scheme; however, McNerney
said it is now believed that the
crime involved only one man.
Krebs will be tried in Mor
row County instead of in a
federal court, as is customary, .
McNerney said. Since bank
robbery is both a state and
federal offense, the case may
be tried in either court, he
explained, and federal and
local officials agreed that the
case would be tried locally.
No trial date has yet been
set.