Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1983)
VOL. 101 NO. 28 Tlll'KSIMY. JULY 14. I93 The crop looks good Wheat harvest gets underway in -au George and Nancy Miller began wheat harvesting early thii week on their place north of lone. George estimates his yield at around 45 bushels per acre, Several Morrow County farmers bgan wheat harvest early this week, and although It's too early for precise fig ures it looks as though the county will experience a good crop this year. Morrow County Extension Agent Bob Costa said ihe hot weather over Memorial Day weekend may have pinched the heads on some stands, but overall he said it looks pretty Boardman man sworn in by Governor Victor Atiyeh swore in two of his three most recent appointments to the Land Conservation and De velopment Commission (L.C.D.C.) last Friday in a brief ceremony in the gover nor's office. The three new commission ers are Stafford Hansell of Boardman; Clyde A. Ham street. Newport; and Torn J. Walsh of Portland, who was unable to attend the ceremo ny. Hansell's and Hamstreet's appointments will run through June 1987; Walsh's, through June 1985. Hamstreet's ap pointment was confirmed by the Oregon Senate July 5. Hansell and Walsh were con firmed by the Senate earlier . this spring, and they were certified to serve at L C D C.'s April and June meetings, but had not been formally sworn in by the governor. In commenting on the ap pointments, the governor stated, "Oregon's Land Use Program will be well served by the experience, dedication and intelligence which these three outstanding citizens will bring to what is probably the most difficult and thankless assignment In state govern ment." "I am pleased that their tenure on L.C.D.C. will coin cide with the land use reforms of House Bill 2295 which the Senate will soon be acting on. My office, many interest groups and citizens and the Legislature have worked hard 3 I I II V&k i-At W3 -1) jfr. 'i i w fjj- v; good. "I feel the yield is going to Ik- better than last year but not as good as the record yields of 1981." he stated. Morrow County Grain Growers general Manager Ijirry Mills says the crop does jok good this year, and added that barley harvest has exceeded his expectations. Mills said some farmers to streamline the process L.C.D.C. uses to acknowledge locally adopted coordinated comprehensive plans and to eliminate many of the poten tials for delay which critics claim characterize the pro Car rolls near Lexington .. t-v A dozing driver whose vehicle was traveling in the wrong lane was the reported cause of an accident at 7:50 Tuesday morning near Lexington. Helen Proudfoot, 57, of lone was driving along Highway 74 when she encountered the roaming vehicle and swerved to avoid a collision and rolled her 1978 Lincoln sedan. Tli IKIsppiisir I Morrow County's S PACKS fffe''wwiww)i);, - -r-rr-rt Minn piMjiii'1 ' '' '"l""J'w"""'""1 'WH'IIHhHhjhij., . ,1,11, A t 4 i '.. Pictured above are Cameron Miller driving the combine, Justine Miller riding and Denny Starr driving the wheat truck. were cutting one to one-and-a-half Ions per acre in some areas. "That's pretty darn good, it's better than I thought would happen." said Mills. He said the hot Memorial Day weather also "took its toll" on some barley stands. Mills said even though the co-op's grain storage facililies are fiO percent full from last year going into the 1983 har vest, he anticipated no prob Atiyeh to L.C.D.C. gram. "With the combination of new commissioners and the virtual certainty of major re forms in the enabling legisla tion. I am confident that Driver of the other vehicle was Bryce E. Logan, Jr., 26, of Condon. A passenger in the Proudfoot vehicle, Scott Buschke, 14, of Heppner, was taken to Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner where he was treated for minir injuries and released. No other injuries were reported. Logan was cited for alleged Careless Driving. Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper 23 Morrow Co. r . 'V. lems with storage of this year's crop. "We have grain on the ground at the river, but North Lex is empty." He said he expected to store grain on the ground there also. If the weather continues to be warm and sunny, more farmers are expected to begin harvesting by the end of this week. L.C.D.C. can complete the acknowledgement process quickly and with greater sen sitivity to the interests of the participants who are affected by the process." i v HEPPNER. OREGON Abuse of "Hello. 911 Emergency. Is this an emergency?" This may sound like a strange or even rude question to a person on the other end of a telephone line requesting an ambulance or the fire de partment, but due to exceed ing misuse of the emergency number, dispatchers at the county sheriff's office will be answering incoming calls on the 91 1 line in that manner. Recent complaints by citi zens who report calling the number and then being put on hold, or "hassled" by dispat chers prompted an investiga tion of the number, the people who handle the calls, and the reasons for using the number. County Sheriff's Sergeant Greg Tullius and dispatcher Barbara Jones estimate the number of true emergency rails coming in on the 911 number at between 60 and 100 per month. However, they report that approximately 75 percent of the incoming calls .on the 911 number are not " rmerencies. Tullius cited calling about road closures, asking where the fire is. and kids making prank calls on the number as examples of recent misuse. He also added that most of the legitimate emer gency calls have come from the north end of the cpunty. while most non-emergency calls have been coming from the south end. As for being put on hold before even stating the na ture of the call, Jones says when a dispatcher is taking a report on the 511 line, and someone else dials the num ber, she must put one of the ' callers on hoid. Sheriff Roy Drago even admits calling the number to report an emergency and being put on hold. He also admits getting very upset un til he found out that a burglary was being reported on the other incoming line. Another problem arises when more than one person sees a fire or accident and calls in at the same time to report it. The dispatcher must obtain enough information from both callers to determine if both callers are reporting the samem-ident, or happen ings that occurred almost simultaneously which has happened. Jones recalls. Nonemergency calls that do come in from the Board man area (Irrigon emergency calls are handled by Umatilla County) include Boardman law enforcement personnel who call on the 911 line so as not to charge a long-distance call to the county, or citizens who call the sheriff's office for other reasons. Drago said he feels that someone in the Boardman area should not have to pay for a long distance phone call to talk to their county sheriff. Also, no collect phone calls are allowed to be accepted by the sheriff's of fice, he explained. The sheriff said the county is considering obtaining a line that would enable callers from that area to place calls to the sheriff's office at no charge, thus leav ing the 911 line open more of the time. Why do people call 911 when the reason for the call is not an emergency? Weather by the City of 91 1 causing problems "It's easier for people to dial three numbers than to dial seven." Tullius said. It's also easier to remember just three numbers. The sheriff's office advises that if a person or property is in danger, a crime is being committed or an accident is witnessed, call 911. For all other information, call the sheriff's office business num ber. 676-9910. or 676-9006. When reporting an emer gency. Jones advises that the callers stay as calm as possi ble. Many times, she says, the caller will only say. "Send an County considers purchase of polygraph machine By MARY ANN CERULLO Morrow County may be come the first county in Eas tern Oregon to have a poly graph, should the purchase discussed by- Morrow County Court last Wednesday go through. Concern over finding the needed funds for the lie detec tor was shared by Morrow County Sheriff Roy Drago and Detective Sergeant Verlin Denton. Denton, who is a certified polygraphed told the court he had access to a new lie detector directly from the manufacturer for $4,125. It was proposed by Judge Don McElligott that money be taken from capital outlay under the sheriff depart ment's vehicle allowance for 1983-84. Instead of buying a new vehicle after two years of , use. the sheriff's department would rebuild to extend the car's life another two years. Drago estimated this would save the county approxi Heppner Swim Team wins sportsmanship trophy Heppner Swim Team members and coach with the sportsmanship trophy they brought home from a Prineville swim meet that was held July 2 and 3. Outstanding swimmer for the meet was Eric Connor of Heppner. He took medals in the butterfly, breast stroke and free style. High Low Preclp Tues.. July 5 86 52 Wed.. July 8 78 45 Thurs.. July 7 67 46 Trace Frl.. July 8 70 42 .05 Sat.. July 9 72 48 Sun.. July 10 82 53 Mon.. July 11 94 57 Heppner ambulance." and then hang up. "It seems like an awful long time when you're sitting here waiting for that second call to come in." Tullius says. Jones said the dispatcher needs to know the type of emergency, the address, the name of the person calling, and a number to call the caller back at. Jones stressed that callers give the address of the emergency, at least the name of the road. She says, for example, if the person report ing the emergency describes mately $5,000 per vehicle, making the purchase of the lie detector possible. According to Denton, the polygraph would be good for over 10 years. . The court agreed unofficial " ly to the purchase of the polygraph and to work out a Soroptimists set up fund forE.V.Blevins Soroptimist International of Heppner has opened a savings account for E.V. Blevins at Western Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Assoc. in Heppner. announced Gail Burkenbine. club spokesper son. The account was opened with a check for $270, which was raised during various activities held throughout the year. Mrs. Blevins. daughter of Ed and Eleanor Gonty of Heppner. had one leg ampu tated earlier this year as a result of diabetes, a disease t..e4i-;ft-V..:-' i - . . t . " -fTl-ili - im. ( I .' w tt Coach Scott McEwen reports that new mem ber Robin McRoberts has shown much improve ment and says he is pleased overall with the team's performance. The next competition for the Heppner swim mers will be at a John Day Invitational on Saturday, July 16. the location as "Out at the old Smith ranch," it is often hard for the responding agency to find it. and it takes a lot more time if that agency is not familiar with "the old Smith ranch." If you need to contact the sheriff's department, call 911 if it is an emergency, other wise, look up the sheriffs office business number and use it instead. It could save someone, even you sometime, from getting a busy signal when help is needed and nee ded quickly. contract with Denton. "We're blazing a new trail in Eastern Oregon with this," said McElligott. "There isn't another county in Eastern Oregon that has a lie detector. Usually it's the. state poJ'jceH responsibility." she has had since childhood. Her husband. Terry, died of cancer last November. She has two college-age daugh ters, and lives in Ukiah. The club is planning to raffle off an afghan in the fall, and also hopes to ' have another fund raising activity to benefit the Blevins fund. Burkenbine says the Sorop timist Club invites other or ganizations and individuals to make donations to this ac count, which will be turned over to Mrs. Blevins at the end of the year. 1 ; - -.: . -
