Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1985)
TW (> The H e p p w e r G lItU ^ T lB M . H e p p n e r O reR ua W ednevd««. J u n e I* . I H i The Official Nrwvpaprr of (hr City of Heppner and (he County of Morro» jt a r it °” A Letters to the Editor I k . H m pp m,, GAZETTE-TIMES M e » » t M M | • H « « e - O w a * 4 W ..V I» N t a i f i f t i USPS 240 430 P u b ll ih r f n r n Wednevdwy and entered a i l « o a d c l l l i m a tte r at Ike 1 'in t O ffic e a t H e p p n e r. O re g o n u n d e r th e A r t o f M a re k J. IR79 '. r . .» Ill ( l a x poalaR e p a id a l llr p p n e r . O reR un O ffic e a t 117 M e a l M ill» « S tre e t T e le p h o n e < SO] i I7 » » I2 X \d d re « » ( u n i m u n ii ale» to th e l lr p p n e r f i a l e t t e T im e » . I* O Ho» U 7 . H e p p n e r. U rrR u n *7X36 Subai rip tio n » I l I la M o r r o » . I m a lilla M h e eler A (.M ila n i ro u n tle » 111 r la e » h e r e I . Ile r n S allnR H in d i M o lli M a rry H a ro * D e a lte K enn ed« O ffic e M a n a g e r S e o a p a p e r « d ilu e ( i r a p h l r t O e p a r tm r n t T y p e a e tte r David and April Sykes. Publishers Guest Editorial Marrou' County Judge Don McFlligott Answers accusations & rumors PiychologiMi tell us that itress symptoms manifest themselves in many »ays Surelv our community has heen under severe stress the last six months, probably the most since the "Dirty Thirties," with low commodity prices, an incipient drought and shaky economic system Probably the general malaise has contributed to the number of rumors that have been circulating this spring, particularly about our County Government An irate taxpayer confronted me last Friday night with the accusation that the County had threatened retaliatory action against the county employee who had signed a letter concerning the police speeding through l^xington to the scene of the recent bank robbery This was disconcerting on two counts First, because no county employee signed it and second, because we do not restrict anyone's right to free speech except when representing county policy The man who told me this said that this rumor was circulating "all over town " At a lime when a tax levy is only a week away, it is lime to set the record straight on several of these things In the case of speeding through I>exington. even though there have been no complaints to the County Court, I have been endeavoring to investigate to determine the validity of the charges OKS «87 075 and «87 («5 allows fire and emergency equipment to answer calls at 10 mph over posted speed with emergency warning equipment operating Police are not restricted except that they may not endanger persons or property Four vehicles from three jurisdictions went through la*xington. two at 55 mph and one at 63 to 65 mph all with lights and sirens, one went through at «0 mph because his warning equipment was not operating There has been no evidence to suggest a higher speed or that any unsafe conditions existed at that time No action will tie taken except to counsel all to be careful other rumors recently circulated are that we have increased our Courhouse rmplovres. and should reduce thr number by five Also that the County Court was variously going to build a new hospital in Heppner, Islington, or Hoardman at a coat of 5 5 million dollars It was never clear whether mis was to or oone with or without a vote by the people Another was that we were starting some sort of penal camp in the mountains with juvenile delinquents from the valley or elsewhere Since 1980. there have been l 1« positions cut in the Courthouse though the work load is probably 30 to 50 percent higher than in 1979 There have been some responsibilities shuffled with corresponding increases or decreases in particular departments The Koad Department has been increased by 10 people over the 1079 figure Former Judge Oscar Frierson told me that this was two positions less than he carried in the I960» There are however, two full time State of Oregon employees with an office in the Courthouse Kmployees of two title companies are copying records here, in ao often that they seem like regulars Awbrry Software programmers are designing and installing a double entry system of bookkeeping and various and sundry C S D , police, engineers, state employees, and copy machine repair people who are such regular visitors that a casual visitor might suspect them to be employees, not to mention the numerous people who appear at the Courthouse for Circuit, District, and Justice Court appearances We do have a work camp program with Joint sponsorship by the Private Industry Councils summer Job (raining program, Morrow County Juvenile Services Commission, and the County Parks department We furnish the project and materials and the other agencies pay the kids and a foreman instructor For some reason, some of these rumors seem to circulate Just prior to elections Hopefully, none are malicious because I believe that most people realize that we have the third lowest tax rate in the State and are still considered one of the moat efficient and progressive of all the Counties The Court is always open to questions and have set a time from II 30 a m to 12 noon on every Wednesday's Court agenda to hear from individuals or deligations If you have suggestions or complaints you are welcome to come in Please remember, Tuesday, June 25 is election day for your County and Hospital levies Support the hospital budget Think carefully before marking ballots To the Editor As concerned citu en s and members of Pioneer M em orial Hospital's Board there are some things we would like to make the taxpayersof Morrow County aware of before going to the polls on June 25 Like most other hospitals today Pioneer Memorial is suffering under the pressure of competition The hospital is attempting to meet this challenge by expanding its services and making it a facility we all can be proud of The recent Administrative Agreement that Pioneer Memorial entered into with St Anthony Hospital in Pendleton will help us achieve this goal Located within the hospital is a licensed 28 bed nursing home The importance of a loved one who is in a facility like this to remain close to family members, friends and the communities to which they are fam iliar can not be measured by dollars The loss of this alone would be a sad consequence Our tax asking this year is 51 cents per I I (XJU of assessed value com ,. • *. r r t l M l s i f vear This amounts to $25 50 for the year on a 150 uoo residence Thu year's budget is a "no frills and bare bones approach We do have some monies included for maintaining the building and replacing outdated equipment Another point that should be brought out is that of the 1419,700 levy 1112 200 is estimated to pay for mandatory free care The Hospital and the County borrowed money from the government to help build the facility and in turn tlie Hospital pays it back through free care of qualifying Individuals This amounts to 26 7 percent of the budget Pioneer Memorial Hospital is an asset to Morrow County, one which • v b a tttv t is worth keeping We .ire appealing to the taxpayers of Morrow County to think very care fully before marking your ballots on June r . rhe M a r a .,i Pk Memorial Hospital rests in all of our hands 'St Marcia Anderson 'si Frank Pearson Vote ‘yes’ on county budget To the Kditor Next Tuesday . June 25 the citizen of Morrow County will again tie going to the polls to vote on whether to lax ourselves neurly 12 « million outside the tax base for the general operations of the county This levy is considerably less than the levy we were asked to approve, but defeated the first time it was voted on I wonder if we can further reduce the budget without serverly curtail ing some service and actually ele minating others Most of us would be hard pressed to get along w ithout most of these services Also, re member, much of. if nof most of your county budget expenditures are mandated by slate and federal law. such as the entitlement program, labor and salary costs, commission, such as the county planning com mission, and on and on I think we need to pass the budget so I urge your "Yes vote next Tuesday (s' Tad Miller Favors road budget To the Kditor Support the Koad budget with a "yes " vote One, it's responsive to local control Two roads need work alte r a tough w inter Three, local residents use the roads Four, good roads result in cheaper vehicle maintenance ( s i Ikon Peterson Get out and vote To the Kditor I am writing to ask that each of the voters of Morrow County take the time to vote on June 25 All Morrow County voters will have a vote on the County budget and the Pioneer Memorial Hospital serial levy, while voters in Heppner and Irngon will also have city levies to consider laist month's levy elections saw turnout of only about 25 percent While statistics like this are not uncommon, they are disturbing They are disturbing because they suggest that Americans take their freedom for granted It has ofter lieen staled nut bears repeating that The price of liberty is eternal vigilance ' For our svslem of government to work, each of us must tie vigilant and exercise our right to vote I he Slate of Oregon and Kastem Oregon in particular has always shown a higher percentage of voter turnout than most of the Country Kegardless of your opinion on the issues, make your voice heard Get out and vote' Sincerely, is > Barbara Kloodsworth Morrow County Clerk Add your 2C worth To the Kditor How much do you value the honor of your state7 For a lack of two cents per inhabitant, the State of Oregon now stands dishonored before the nation and the world Possibly as many as 150 bodies of veterans, their wives and parents were scattered in unmarked mass graves in Lincoln City Thus far only «8 of these bodies have been found in what has become known as the Lincoln City Omsberg tragedy Our small town has run out of funds to pursue the search further Our appeals for State and Federal fund ing have met with buck passing although contingency funding at both levels is known to exist Two cents from each persoon in Oregon will enable us to complete the search The Lincoln County Missing in America group is com posed of survivors of the victims We have sworn never to let this matter rest until every victim has been found and given a decent burial Your individual letters to Governor Atiyeh and your repre sentatives in the Legislature will also help us to secure funding Do not break faith with the dead Put your two cents worth in (s) Barbara Porter, Co-chairman Lincoln County Missing in America Fund P O Box 1012 Lincoln City, Oregon 97367 To the Kditor We the members of the Pioneer Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, urge all residents of Morrow County to vote "Yes" on the hospital budget Tuesday, June 25 Aa volunteers, we have become actively involved with the 22 residents of the Nursing Home Nearly every Morrow County citizen either knows some one or may already have a family member nr friend who calls Pioneer Police doing a good job To the Kditor In recent weeks Police agencies have been criticized by Lexington residents for the speed they have been driving through town While responding to emergency calls One feeling these concerns seem to have created for Police personnel is that their law enforcement efforts have not been apprec iated I would like to dispel that myth From my personal experiences I believe that our Sheriff s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Drago and Sgt Denton, have done a very good job with the resources they have available The training anil professionalism of departm ent members reflects a level higher than any other time during the ten years that I have lived here Their response time, considering the area they cover, resources available and work load staff dedication, and interagency cooperation are all commendable Their ability to quickly and effect ively organize a search for and capture of the lone Hank robbery suspects is an example of their abilities My experiences with the Heppner Police Departm ent under Chief Kathbun and the Slate Police have also been positive from Oregon s watersheds, half of which is reused as return flows Minimum streams flows set by the Water Policy Review Board account for approximately «0 percent of the watershed yield Municipal and industrial water accounts for a little over one percent of the surface waters of the state Still to be accounted for is the more than half of the State's water that flows from our man altered watersheds in gluttonous excess This is the water that takes out sections of our highways, reams and ravages stream channels. dcjOjervY“ the infrastructure of communi cation, transportation, fishery, energy, agriculture, and recreation for which we annually spend millions of dollars in costs for repairs In addition, we have loss of productivity We accept the ravages of hostile run-off water and the consequences of summer drought as normal Stream flow data is mostly recorded from harvested or altered watersheds The data base does ot go back in time far enough to indicate potential ^W ielding c tfn n iu ix u x u j In honor of the Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary of Claude and Anna Graham their children and grandchildren request the pleasure ofpmr company at a Reception on Saturday, the thirteenth of July from two until five o clock in the afternoon ■ at the All Saints Episcopal Parish House VlMNUMliMBIIMSIlMM Oregt Our law enforcement personnel need to be recognized for the good things they are doing in a generally thank less and sometimes dangerous job jo b As a l-exington resident with two young children I am concerned al/out thr danger of high speed traffic on the State highway that bisects our town Speeding trucks automobiles and motorcycles seem to be an all too common hazard for Islington residents Patrols by the Sheriff's office and the State Police have helped and are appreciated by those of us who live near the highway County officials assure me that all (heir vehicles, and most other Departments' vehicles responding to the recent lone Bank robbery were traveling through Lexington at or below 55 mph They state that no vehicle approached 1UU mph Of that I am glad to hear, even though I would prefer a slower pace for responding patrol cars through Lexington In the midst of this controversy I hope tht we do not lose sight of the valuable and effective work our police agencies do for us It is important that they continue to feel suported in the performance of their jobs (s) Bill Sheirbon Lexington In support of city budget To the Kditor The City of Heppner Budge! Comm ittee scent manv hours working on the city budget for 1985 86 The budget being presented to the voters is outside the six percent limitation by $128,396 For the past several years, the budget committee has cut tne budget to stay within the six percent limitation Becuase of the past cutting, we do not have a cash carryover and that has partially caused this deficit Another problem we are facing is the fact that our resources have not been as anticipated during the past years The Com m ittee has budgeted funds to use for the much asked for dog control effort We have been fortunate to receive donated sup plies to use in building a facility, however, maintenance upkeep and supplies need to be funded Also necessary is the use of the some of the revenue sharing funds to assist in trying to keep the local county landfill open for our residents This proposed budget w ill main tain the present number of em ployees for the city It w ill also continue to provide the present police, fire, lib ra ry , pool, and much needed street, water and sewer maintenance We urge to vote "Y e s " on the City of Heppner Budget on Tuesday, June 25 (si Budget com m ittee members Frank Pearson Jackie Allstott George K offler L a rry M ills Cal Sherman Glen Ward GARDEN SUPPLIES C o a s t to Coast We can help you 'lf ie c h ild re n J lC r. a n d TICrs. Oom ÏSJi/son re q u e s t th e p le a s u re o f y o u r com p an y a t a p o t/u c h d in n e r in h o n o u r o f th e O w en ty f if t h Ii)e d d m y A n n iv e rs a ry o f t h e ir p a re n ts Wuter Policy? When9 To the Kditor Oregon’s water policy is not what we might reasonably expect . No department or agency is «Larged with the responsibility for eithiTewbamjng or even maintain mg the av a ila b le quantity of Oregon's waters Under the present condition of most watersheds, the unwritten water code is hit, run. rip and ruin Aesthetic and economic productivity from seasonal yields of water from Oregon's watersheds should be a goal The goal cannot be attained by legislative and media rhetoric Oregon’s water laws are well tested in case law even to intruding the water rights of the (leaver Much of Oregon's water law is direclrd to distributing growing season water amoung out of stream users This, however, accounts for less than eight percent of the runoff Memorial Hospital their only home Please help Let's all get out and vote "Yes and continue to give these wonderful people our support isiBetty Brown Alma Green Henee Siminoe Faye Kuhl Parley Drake Anna Johnson Helen Dyer The water holding capacities of Oregon's watersheds were noticeably altered by the fur trade 10 years befor the first wagon (rain crossed the Snake, significantly by the placer mines and the herds before the railroads replaced the steamboats and universally by plow and saw before World War I Since World War II. or capability to build, harvest and change has challenged our watersheds beyond their ability to continue to buffer flows and sustain productivity unless we also use man’s ingenuity and demon strated ability to conserve, protect, and restore Our climate is naturally summer dry but our region doesn t have to be winter drained We have changed a fluctuating but perennial out flow system to an annual system of total runoff Correctly, much emphasis is being directed at improved efficiencies for out-of stream use of water How ever, the real emphasis, the one that will put timely needed water in our streams, should be directed at correcting instream inefficiencies More than 90 percent of the water running off of Oregon's watersheds is left in stream Kxcessive water flowing in a watercourse is fast tracked through the hydrologic cycle and is not available as cool return flows from surface aquifers for late season enhancement Summer (trough and all of its losses to fishery, energy, agricul ture. recreation, tourism and quality living is only a symptom The accelerating winter runoff, that robs us of our annually renewable water resource, is the root of water pro blems Few understand that the quality of life and the economic and aesthetic viability of Oregon is threatened by the overdraft at the soil and water resources hank Nor do we realize that we all have shared in this embezzelment We continue to share the wealth but choose to designate the blame Kedirection of efforts need not be negative to Oregon's economic via bility Kedirectrion of education and knowledge may be thr most formid able obstacle in the way of sound resource management All should be gainers It is beyond the time to paly losers and winners Yision is needed but. most of all. we need to address the problem and to share the load Planning is necessary, but as every farmer know, there is a time for planning and a time to plant, both must occur All doers and users those who build, move. cut. drive, fly. plant, graze, launch, drain, flooid. float, drill, pan. store, walk, rest, ride, pack, cheer, view, ponder, worship, consume, plug in. discard, and inhabit the land have significant effect on water The reluctance of all segments of our society, universities, legislature, business and government, to become involved in the advocate approach to resource management has continued to perpetuate conflict and educate future participants to also be resource adversaries Will we continue to pay for Patch ing7 Or should we finance restora tion7 The short run cost will be about the same However, former civilizations attest to the long run price To make progress, some of us will have to adapt to a philosophy extolled by a bright, rebelling preschooler to his friend, with his, "My mind is fixed ” Upon unex pected confrontation with facts from his mother, he quickly added "I've got my mind fixed so that I can change it ” (>) David Childs Star Route Arlington. 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