Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1984)
FOL'R The Heppner Caiette-Time. Hrppnrr, Oregon, Thursday. March 2, 19M Dexter Miles with "friend " who models the "bunny boxes" Iwhich can be put into cages for the nesting does. Fuller canyon area rancher, design. They visited several Bunny barns in Fuller Canyon Area rancher, builder begin new enterprise f f T - X i 1 7 Dexter Miles has expanded his grain and hay ranch to include an estimated 500 rabbits. Miles, who has been in Mor row Co. since 1951 and the Fuller canyon area since 1971 says the reason for expansion at this time is that a new processing plant, Ore-Best, opened up in Oregon City last fall which hopefully will help to stabilize the price and the market for rabbit fryers. Morrow Co. has some "backyard operations" of 70 -100 does, but Miles plans five bams, 12' x 150 which will house 100 does and 12 bucks each. This number was not arbitrary, but based on rea search which indicates the amount of work to provide a full time job and the size return to support the payroll for one man, reports Miles. "And we hope this is true," he continued. He plans to raise primarily New Zealand White rabbits with a few Califomians. He says the all white pelts are preferred because they can be dyed any color desired. The pelts are secondary; however, the low fat, low cholestrol white meat is be coming more in demand for diet conscious people accord ing to Miles. Four "working does" are theoretically able to produce the same amount of meat as a beef cow in one year. Miles is building the barns with the help of his sons. Craig, Darrel; and Larry Dur- fey and David and Mel Piper. Miles says that Mel is prima rily responsible for the barn's bunny barns in the state and then Mel modified the design used at Oregon State Univer sity to come up with the barns now under construction. Two of the five barns are completed with the exception of the wind vents which will be needed to keep the heat in the barns next winter. The build ing design includes a white plastic "windows" the height of each cage and the length of the entire barn allow outside lightfor the rabbits. The barns are insulated and Piper ex pects the fertilizer buildup to help provide adequate heat in the winter for the rabbits. Piper explains the the ven -filiation system makes the barns practically odorless. The lower sides or wind vents will be kept open in the sum merto keep the barns at 85 degrees or less. Construction began the first of February and although only two buildings are now com pleted, Miles and Piper expect to have the tin and insulation on the other three frames in three days after the rain stops. After the operation is in full swing Miles says he intends to retreat to ranching. Mel Piper will be the manager of the rabbitry. Piper, who has been in the building business in this area for 30 years says he felt it was "time for a change." He enthusiastically describes himself as "the cow boy who will herd all the rabbits." Piper says they nave pione ered with the water system which looks like a plastic pipe running the length of the barn. Each cage has a special valve which allows the tub, ... ., drink fresh water a drop at a time. In the winter, Ihe w ater will be heated to prevent freezing. The rabbits are fed four, six or eight ounces of food each evening, depending on which stage they are in. says Miles. The rationing is necessary for economic reasons as well as to control the growth rate of the rabbits so that they reach the optium fryer size. Larger rab bits and "burned out" breed ing stock must be sold as stewers for a lower price. The rabbits will be sold live to Ore-Best which tentatively will send a truck to the rab bitry every week. Piper predicts the first litter about the middle of May. One week before the does kindle, he says they will be contained in one-half of their cages where a "bunny box" has been placed, so that they will begin building their nests. After the does kindle, they may be bred again in 14 days. This means that a "working doe" should produce a litter every 45 days. Piper projects eight to ten weeks as the time for a rabbit to reach optimum fryer size. When the doe is confined to the nest half of the cage, the first litter will remain in the other half of the cage. Miles points out, because rabbits are territorial animals and tend to become confused if they are moved around too much. Miles and Piper seem to have done a lot of research and preparation for this new venture. Not only have they designed cages which allow them to haul a large number of rabbits in a small space, but also a lighting system and a radio with speakers to settle the rabbits and deter pred itors. At this point. Miles says that they have no plans for direct sale to local markets, but they will not turn down any as long as it does not interrupt their quota to their processor. Miles says they are also interested in cooperating with smaller raisers in the area. He says that he sees this not as com petition but as a benefit to the industry, and "only time will tell..." --'.i'".a'3l Vj, " WW'to..,,... - J Mel Piper modified several barn designs to come up with the result ho has built here - w", . : i -L' - ill This row of young does is now being cared for in one of the completed barns. fl I. . Ht Jf f ' '- f - mlf " i . . i , , . :L i- it - 1 4 Ji Two bucks peek out from behind their feeders. The pipe in the foreground is their fresh water supply. The IFiff tfa Quarte? Sports by Mike Oths Allow ine at least one more week on the college basketball scene before I turn my crystal ball toward the baseball diamond. As always, the NCAA Tournament has had Its share of "stories," and Its share of non-stories. Some seasons, we have what I would refer to as "Coach" tournaments. The year that Ray Meyer finally made it to the Final Four, the year that Marquette won the title for a retiring Al McGuire, John Wooden's last season, and Dean Smith's first title (two yean ago) were all "Coach" tournaments. Some years we have "Individual" tourna ments. Last year was a good example, as we all watched to see if Ralph Sampson could get his title. Another "Indivi dual" tournament was the year that matched Larry Bird and Indiana State against Michigan State with Magic Jonnson. There are also "power team" tournaments, "upset" tournamente, "Cinderella" tournaments, etc. The labels that get attached to the NCAA are mainly the work of the networks, which need to add some continuity to their rather lengthy telecasts. Nevertheless, the themes are very real for those of ui who follow the tournament carefully. This year's NCAA blowout hasn't really fallen into a neat category, yet. The obvious first candidate to dominate the media during the month of March was Ray Meyer's swansong at DePaul. Had the Blue Demons stayed alive, the Coach's retirement party would have undoubtedly oversha dowed the games themselves. The Kentucky-Louisville rematcha very hot Item last year has become old hat, drawing little recognition beyond the fact that it was a power match-up in the Mideast Regional. The Cinderella theme was very close to grabbing the Brent Musburger Emmy award. The Dayton Flyers, with a lineup about the size of Parkrose High School, very nearly crowded their way into the party in Seattle. I could write about this topic for several days, so suffice it to say that Patrick Ewing and his Beasts from the East put a decisive capper on the Cinderella story (Virginia is sort of Cinderella, but not really.) Maybe we can call this one the "Bit-Time Wrestling -Macho" tournament. With the aforementioned Mr. Ewing and his noto-merry men, the Kentucky gang of overgrown tight-ends, and Akeem the Dream and his bonecrushing slam-dunk artists from Houston, this tourna ment might break the record for broken heads, broken backboards and George Foreman-type stares. A clue: if the Coaches mix it up, make NCAA Observa tions: Those who are screaming for Ralph Miller's hide are the purest example of fair-weather, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately types. Fortunately for Beaver fans, Ralph won't listen to a word they say. Take it from a pure Duck fan, I'll contribute the first ten bucks if Ralph will retire tomorrow. Unless, of course, O.S.U. fans expect John Wooden to come out of retirement to take up residence at Gill Coliseum. Lefty Dnesell sure went from Renaissance man to mere mortal in a hurry. Ditto for Jim Valvano at N.C. State. Finally, all those whose favorite team in the NCAA is now "Anybody except another ACC team," please join me in line. Additionally, North Carolina's ouster means that Dick Vitale on ESPN will only talk about Mich ael Jord ann, about 67,000 more times. Vitale's ability to work Michael Jordan's name into every basketball statement reminds me of the way Howard Cose 11 used to inject Muhammad Ali commenU into every conceivable boxing situation. (NEXT WEEK: The fearless predictor of pennant races calls the shots). Sheriffs Report The Morrow County She riff's Department at the Mor row County Courthouse in Heppner handled the following calls, cases and reports during the past week: On March 19, a Bourdman ambulance responded to U & I In regards to an Injured female. She was transported to Good Shepherd Community Hospital in llcrmiston On March 20, the Morrow Co. Sheriff's Department ar rested Ted Sampson, 30, of Irrigon on an Irrigon Justice Court warrant for Failure to Appear on a charge of Permit ting Livestock to Run at Large. He posted bail and was released. On March 22, Don McElli gott of lone, reported to the Marrow County Sheriff's Of fice the theft of an electric fence control from the circle on S K. Farms, Uoardman. The theft allegedly occurred between March 14 and 19, 1984. The approximate value of the control is $70. On March 24, an ambulance responded to Second Street in lone and transported a female with unknown probl ems to Pioneer Memorial Hos pital in Heppner. On March 25, the Morrow County Sheriff's Office arres ted Joseph E. Ramos, 22, of Echo for allegedly Driving Under the Influence of Intoxi cants. He was released on his own recognizance. Electrolysis & Thermolysis Permanent Hair' Removal Anna Schwarzih, Certified Electrologist 676-9248' Open Tues. - Wed. Or by appt. Sifting through the TIMBSjS (Editor's note: This revi ved, sometimes weekly column will be an attempt to highlight a portion of the more interesting and newsworthy in the judgment of this writer stories from the pages of Gazettes past.; 10 YEARS AGO A record school budget of $1,071,178 (amount outside the six percent tax base support) passed by a vote of 409 to 191. The tax increased 15.1 percent over the previous year. The budget passed by a wide mar gin in every precinct of the county except lone where the levy passed by only four votes. The Office Tavern of lone was robbed of $1,000 between 1 a.m. and noon of Sunday before the paper's publication. Bob Oswalt, then owner, re ported no forced entry, stating that a strong box and two money bags had been taken. He surmised that someone had hidden inside before closing time and waited for everyone to leave or that he had forgotten to lock the door. Joseph L. Williams, vice president of Portland General Electric of Portland reported that P.G.E. had filed an Ap plication with the Atomic en ergy Commission for a con struction permit for eastern Oregon's first nuclear gen erating plant. Reo J. Russell and his son, Ronald, were reunited in Lex ington after no communica tion with each other for 25 years. Ronald and his mother had moved to California after his parent's divorce. Russell wrote a letter to and was aided in locating his son by the Governor of California, Ronald Reagan. A.S.C.S. Executive Director Sherwood M. Nicholas warned farmers to plan ahead with bulk fuel suppliers to receive a 100 percent allocation of the fuel they used the previous year for spring work. 25 YEARS AGO Hehisch, Heppner High School's newspaper received first place award from the National Scholastic Press Competition. The newspaper was one of four mimeograph ed papers to receive this award nationally. Heppner cable TV added a third channel, KPTV from Portland. The two channels previously available in Hep pner were KEPR from Pasco and KGWr from Portland. A front page story clarifies that the consolidation of Boardman and Irrigon high schools was ordered by the Morrow Co. School Board in February. An account from the previous week had been in error. 50 YEARS AGO It was announced by Lucy E. Rodriguez, president of the Heppner Public Library As sociation, that the library would be open in its new quarters at city hall. Wheatland Baseball league whhich included the town of Hepppner, lone, Condon, Fossil, Arlington and Umatilla was preparing for the opening game of the season. The season included, 10 games. A new rule this year stated that each team could have one "hired" player which was different from the previous year's rule which allowed no "hired" players. The first annual Morrow Co. Homemakers conference was held at Cecil Grange Hall. It was attended by 126 women representing all parts of the county. W. Smith arranged the meet ing, the theme of which was, "Can food and clothing change the personality?" The "lone News" column reported that a fire had des troyed the Murray barr. north of lone. Over the Tee Cup Over the tee cup Willow Creek Country Cluti will begin the golf season with Ladies Day, April 3. Accord ing to a spokesperson for the event, cotlee will tie servea at 9:30 and play will begin at 10 a.m. ZSkv Gczette-Times PRINTING i 'estimates gladly given ' 676-9228 oall types business forms O envelopes O wedding invitations O business cards O rubber stamps & other marking products The Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES P.O. Box 337 Heppner, OR. 97836 Ol O LrLniLI uJ Sale prices good March 28 - April, 8, 1984 Unlined Brushed Pigskin Gloves 599 Msdium 1139 (OS 642133) PR. Lroe 1139(DS544817) with FREE PAIR CANVAS GLOVES 20" 3 HP Lawn Mower B&S engine AN steel deck with roar bafll. nemoie irtfonie ana salary brake tor engine na oiaoe 114-Q50 (577408). 119 95 5 HP Rear Tine Tiller r"!"" '""""i Vi K KvTl?Si 214405 If Hevfw Direction Tint 25-3-5 Lawn Food 3 39 Pelletized lor easy application in any type of spreader. Two types of Nitrogen for fast and slow feeding . . . gives 1 lb. per 1 ,000 sq. ft. of lawn. Excellent for any type of lawn. 20 lb. bag covers 5,000 sq. ft. (572084) M.C.C.C. f.lorrovj County Grain Grovvcrsm. P. O. Box 367 Lexington, Oregon 97839 Ph. 989-8221 1(800)452-7396
