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
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Letters to the Editor
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GAZETTE-TIMES
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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. UK 97812
/
S a tu rd a y , th e tw e n ty -s e c o n d o f f u n e
from one to fiu e o cfoch
a t th e ^American /Seqion J fa ff
y if it, pUase
ffe p p n e r, O regon
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