BESS I E WET2ELL
U OF ORE
NEWSPAPER LIS
EUGENE OR 97403
VOL. 10! NO. SI
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MMKMtMMu.. '' & fit I W I ' rf
CmJi -a ; y-t n- , N '"-'; ,rLliiMr-
Tficijcame with haste to see for tliemsekvs the
miracle oj l Us birth. Bearing their most precious
cjifts oj (joklfrankencense and myrrh, they entered
the tiny tnanyer, and Lot. fjc Christ child lay there
glowing. May you, too exult on tl)is I loly day!
Blessings of the Season!
County Court discusses problem
Irrigon man allegedly fences
off county property
HyMAHYANNC ERl l.l.O
WhtJt to do whon individuals
fence off county property from
th puMic was a problem
discussed by Morrow County
Court with District Attorney
Richard MrWrney last
Wednesday
According to County Court,
an Irrigon projM'rty owner,
Ted Sampson, allegedly
fenced over GO feet of a county
right-of-way. The area is re
portedly the only public ac
cess to the Columbia River
between Irrigon and Umatilla
County
Commissioner Warren
McCoy told the court that
Sampson was contacted about
Benefit dinner, basketball
game slated for lone woman
A dinner and basketball
game will be held at lone High
School next Wednesday, Dec.
28. as h benefit for Nancy
Spivey of lone. All proceeds
will help to defray her medical
costs. Sfiid a spokesperson for
the event A spaghetti dinner
with bread, tossed salad and
homemade pie will In served
form fi to 7 pin. in the
cafeteria. The basketball
(SSIE
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 22.
1K3
the fence, but as of Wednes
day, Dec. 14, he had not
responded. McCoy also stated
that Sampson had claimed
that the 60 feet of property is
not county land.
McNerney agreed to write
to Sampson giving him 30 days
to take the fence down.
In other business Morrow
County Court:
learned from McNerney
that he was making applica
tion to the state attorney
general for funding of the
Morrow County Victim Wit
ness Assistance Program.
authorized the release of
$41, (MX) from Revenue Sharing
for the Stokes Landing Senior
Center of Irrigon and $3,600
game will begin at 7.:)0 p.m. in
the high school gym.
Cost for the dinner will be $3
for adults, $2 for students in
first through sixth grade and
$2 for pre-sehool children.
Admission to the game will be
a donation at the door.
Bristow's Market and Mor
row County Grain Growers'
teams will take each other on,
and at halftime, a cake draw
Tlis
inn
Morrow County's Home
12 PAGES
for the Boardman Day Care
Center.
learned that a proposal by
James Lynch and Associates
for historical research and
nomination of the Morrow
County Courthouse building
for registration as a historical
site was approved.
approved a contract with
Dobyns Pest Control, lone, to
control weeds along county
roads. The current contract
expires at the end of Decem
ber. received a financial re
(Mrt of the county with Al
Cauder and Nick Friend of
Niemi, Holland and Scott
Audit.
ing will be sponsored by the
lone Kxtension Club.
The event is being spon
sored by the lone Cardinal
Club, the lone Kxtension Club,
the lone American U'gion
Post 95, the lone Lions Club,
Willows Grange No. 672 and
numerous lone residents and
local businesses.
Everyone is invited to
attend.
eppmieir
r
- Owned Weekly Newspaper
ay
Lexington council votes
on proposed measure
At a meeting last Tuesday.
Dec. II. the Iexington City
Council unanimously voted
aeainst putting a proposed
mIps tax measure on a March
or Mav PW4 ballot, reports
Linda Jones, citv recorder. A
majority of the taxing dis
tricts in the state must agree
Natural gas co. plans to drill
well near Heppner
A natural gas company has
applied with the Morrow
County Planning Commission
for a Conditional Use Permit
to drill an exploratory well
near Heppner. reports Mor
row County Judge Don McEI
ligott and Morrow Co. Planner
Deane Seeger. Seeger says
Oregon Natural Gas Develop
ment Corp.. a subsidiary of
Northwest Natural Gas Co..
Portland, wants to drill the
lone residents want vote on
garbage collection issue
A petition asking the lone
Citv Council to reconsider a
recent agreement with Her
miston Sanitary Disposal to
begin service in that town has
been signed and is being sent
to the council, said a spokes
person for the petition.
Morrow County's ag
up for 1983
By BOB COSTA
Increased production and
higher prices for potatoes,
corn and barley pushed Mor
row County's estimated agri
cultural income upward in
1983.
The estimated 1983 gross
farm income for the county is
$105,681,000. up 12 percent
from last year.
Favorable weather resulted
in good yields and quality for
the major irrigated crops in
Morrow County. Climatic ex
tremes across the nation in
cluding the drought in the
north-central and midwestern
states and excess rains in
California resulted in higher
prices for corn, hay, potatoes
and barley.
Wheat acreage was the
lowest in 10 years, primarily
as a result of U.S. D A. farm
programs. The average wheat
yield for Morrow County was
47 bushels per acre on 155,000
acres for a total wheat produc
tion of 7.3 million bushels.
Dryland wheat farms prdo
duced 77 percent of all wheat
grown in the county.
Barley was planted on many
of the dryland acres taken out
of wheat production for farm
programs. Barley was grown
on 33.000 acres in 1983 copared
with 19,200 acres in 1982.
Livestock sales were down
4 5 percent from last year.
Gross sales for livestock
were: cattle, $22,332,000;
swine, $130,000; sheep,
$750,000; and other livestock,
$939,000. The Simplot Feedlot
near Boardman accounted for
nearly half of all gross cattle
HEPPNER. OREGON
o put the measure on the
ballot before it can be done.
In other business, the coun
cil passed a resolution stating
the council's dissatisfaction
with the Morrow County
Court's decision to raise rates
at the county landfill. Jones
said
well on the Jerry Doherty
property, eight and one-half
miles east of Keppner.
A joint meeting between the
Heppner City Planning Com
mission and the County Plan
ning Commission is tentative
ly set for early in January,
and the permit application
may be considered then. See
ger said. The company has
already applied for a permit
At a council meeting De
cember 6. the council agreed
to enter into a franchise
agreement with the Hermis
ton company to begin service
in lone in January. Previous
ly, the city collected residents'
garbage and used a city-
sales In the county.
These figures are gross
cattle sales in the county.
These figures are gross
sales and not net income to
farmers and ranchers. In 1983,
the increase in prices paid by
farmers for equipment and
Local couple honored at
retirement party
:- - j ; 'rK "V:
V.
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MM
Mil.
Mr. anil Mrs. Gene
Gene and Fay Pierce of
Heppner were honored at a
retirment party at the Bank of
Easern Oregon in Heppner
last Friday afternoon. A holi
day open house was also held
at the bank. Family members,
friends and many local busi
ness people dropped in to
enjoy refreshments and wish
the couple well.
Mr. Pierce, who retired as
bank president and a member
of the bank's board, started as
manager and vice-president
when the bank opened 26 years
Weather
New C.B.E.C. director resigns
The Columbia Basin Elec
tric Co-op Board learned at
a meeting last Thursday that
Russell Erickson of Condon,
elected to the co-op's board
last, month, is resigning, re
ports C.B.E.C. Manager Fred
Toombs. Toombs said Erick
son's reasons for leaving the
board were personal, and he
was advised to do so by his
from the State Department of
Geology and Mineral Indus
tries and the application is
ready to be approved, he said.
However, the planning com
mission must approve a Con
ditional Use Permit before the
state will approve its permit,
Seeger explained. If the per
mit is granted, the company
may begin drilling right away,
he added.
owned truck; however it was
not cost effective, the council
said.
The petition, which has been
signed by about 90 people, the
spokesperson said, asks that
the council put the issue
before a vote of lone residents.
income
supplies was greater than the
increase in prices received by
farmers for their products.
According to a 1979 study,
agricultural production ac
counts for 37 percent of all
business activity in Morrow
County.
Pierce
ago. The Gilliam County Bank
of Arlington opened a Heppner
branch and the name was
changed to the Bank of East
ern Oregon, Pierce explained.
Then, in 1959, the lone branch
of the bank was opened.
The Pierces say they plan to
continue living in Heppner,
but will do some traveling.
Soon they will be leaving for
California, and they plan to
return in March.
Gerald Pierson is the chief
executive officer of the bank.
High Low Precip Snow on
Ground
Tiies.. Dec. 13 48 40 .25
Wed.. Dec. 14 43 32 .23
Thurs.. Dec. 15 44 21 Fog
' ;Fri.. Dec. 16 29 19
'Sat.. Dec. 17 26 20 .12meItl"snow
snow
.'Sun.. Dec. 18 24 19 Tracel"snow
pMon.. Dec. 19 23 7 .13 melt 3 '.4"
snow
council.
The board will now appoint
someone to fill Erickson 's
position until next year's an
nual election in November.
Also during the meeting, the
board discussed recent action
by Federal Judge Richard M.
Bilby. who two weeks ago
released directors of utility
boards (including C.B.E.C.'s
1976 board of obligation from a
suit filed by Chemical Bank of
New York. Only directors who
were not members of a parti
cipants' committee ( a com
mittee made up of representa
tives of the 88 utilities involved
in the W.P.P.S.S. plants) or
were not directors of the
W.P.P.S.S. board, were re
lieved. The suit stemmed from
the co-op's involvement in two
now abandoned nuclear plants
in Washington State. A Wash
ington judge ruled earlier this
year that the utilities involved
were not liable for bond debt
on the plants, and bond hold
ers, including Chemical Bank,
filed suit.
However. Toombs said of
the, new development in the
case, the directors could pos
sibly be called back into Ihe
suit, or could be named in
another suit.
The directors involved, who
were on C.B.E.C.'s board in
1976 when the co-op entered
into an agreement for power
Lighting Contest
winners selected
Winners of a Christmas
Lighting Contest, sponsored
by the Heppner-Morrow
Chamber of Commerce, were
selected Sunday night.
Winners of the indoor cate
gory are: first place - the
Marshall Lovgrens, second
place - the Jim Lankfords and
third place - Martha Doherty.
Concerned parents meet
about teen alcohol use
A group of local parents
concerned about the use of
alcohol by teenagers met with
law enforcement officials
from the state, county and city
on December 14, reports a
spokesperson for the group.
New owner to expand
Heppner business
By JUSTINE
WEATHERFORD
Last September Lois John
son and Curtis Lynch opened a
clothing and accessory resale
shop in the building long occu
pied by accountant Carl
Spaulding on Heppner's Main
Street. On January 1,. 1984,
Sharon Brace will become the
proprietor of that business and
will have expanded it to in
clude other lines. It will re
open on Tuesday, January 3,
thus probably becoming Hep
penr's first new business of
new year.
The shop will be called
"Sharon's Bottom Drawer."
Brace will continue to re-sell
good clothing and accessories
for family members. She will
also offer a supply of hand
from the plants, are: Van
Rietmann of Condon; Randall
Peterson. Heppner; Floyd
Anderson. Arlington; alt Jae
ger and Paul Jeager. both of
Condon: Dick Krebs. Arling
ton: Dick Wilkinson and El
mer Palmer. Heppner: Ken
Smouse. lone; Paul Tews,
lone: Ken Wright, Ruggs; and
Herb Wright. Fossil.
The board also agreed to a
proposal concerning liability
insurance for board members,
managers and the co-op. The
proposal, which was submit
ted by St. Paul Fire and
marine Insurance Co.. inclu
ding defense costs. The
amount is unchanged from the
present policy, however the
company asked that a ceiling
be put on that amount.
Toombs said the board agreed
because otherwise, the cover
age would be dropped, and no
other company would carry
insurance for the co-op.
In other business, the board
adopted a 1984 budget of
$3,909,000 which includes capi
tal investments of $350,000 for
new line construction and re
placement as .well as other
costs; a general plant expen
diture of about $101,000; and
sufficient funds for wholesale
power costs from Bonneville
Power Administration, the
manager explained.
Those winning the best out
door display are: first - Glen
Wards, second - the Don Keni
sons and third - the Chuck
Moellers.
The first place winners re
ceive a $30 award, second
place winners are awarded
$20. and $10 awards go to third
place winners.
Another meeting will be
held by the group on Wednes
day, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at the
Morrow County Courthouse in
Heppner. Everyone interested
is invited to attend.
craft and art items, such as
materials used for maerame.
Sharon says she expects to
stock helpful books for various
home arts and crafts, also.
Brace, who is quite well
known here, came to Heppner
14 years ago. She grew up in
California where she returned
to spend Thanksgiving with
her parents recently . For the
last several months she has
been doing the bookkeeping
for the "Bottom Drawer."
The new shop will be open
daily Tuesdays through Sat
urdays from 10 a m. until 5
p.m. Sharon expects to be
going to Portland rather often
over weekends and she will do
much of her buying of arts and
crafts items there on Mondays.