Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1985)
5 " S 3 I E ID f «n •* u o r ore NEWSPAPER L I J E - z z .; z c R 3 7 4 The Heppner Gazette-Times Tue* Med Thurs Fri Sat Sun Mon Morrow C ounty a H om e-O w ned W eekly N ew spaper M il IN M l I« Heppner, Oregon 25' « M IN IM U M M I U V IH IK l i 11». N i,\ rm b rr S - I i 1.0* Mgfe 41 SO 56 44 33 56 30 49 43 23 1» 27 7 31 I'reclp 01 01 20 14 21 24 0 gro u n d S l'M . K * Signatures needed on petition to form park district First snow The fir s t snow of the season fe ll this last weekend in Heppner and m any happy kids, ta k in g a d va nta g e of the long weekend. tro in jie ti. sledded ubed and threw snow balls T here s a n o th e r aspect o f the season's w h ite s tu ff that is not so m uch fun Tom Green above shovels snow in fro n t o f the Heppner Neighborhood ( e n te r , G reen fro m P rin e v ille . is in H eppner fo r elk season and decided said b ro th e r C liff Green to help M om w ith some odd jobs 1 N o rm a lly fin d in g re lu c ta n t subjects for photographs, the Gazette T im es photographer was su rp rise d w hen Tom G reen was not o n ly w illin g to tie »hot but anxious to have his photo in the paper because. Mv fa m ily doesn t believe I do this kin d of w o rk " A p p ro xim a te ly h a lf of the necos sarv sig n a ture s have been collected on a p e titio n w hich w ould fo rm a park d is tric t in a ll of M orrow County that is included fro m the Hoardm an Irn g o n d is tric ts says Hob K ahl. president of the H eppner E co n o m ic Developm ent C orpo ra tio n The II K | l C drew up the p e titio n a fte r conferences w ith the Corps of E ngineers co n firm e d that the Corps task was to b u ild a dam fo r flood co n tro l The vie w p o in t, boat ra m p , rest room s and p ir k area in the shape of a h a ll fie ld are a tte m p ts to help the dam become an in te g ra l pa rt of the area The Corps has no re sp o n sib ility for fu tu re m ainte n ance of the areas, a cco rd in g to K a h l The c a re ta k e r at the dam is res pons ible only fo r m aintenance and opera lio n of the dam itse lf As things stand, says K a h l. if a park is not d e v e lo p 'd at the d a m . the Corps has the option of v losing the e n tire area to pu b lic access The county or the c ity o f Heppner. could develop the area, ta il seem not to Is interested It seems only fa ir h ■ continues th a t sin e p a rks at the n o rth end of the county a re m ain tained hv p u k d is tric ts and not by the co u n ty, that a p a rk d is tric t should be fo rm e d at this end of the county The II E I) ( has l»-gun actio n to fo rm the d is tric t by d ra w in g up a P ’titio n w hich in clu d e , rep re se n ts live s fro m Heppner Lexin g to n , lone and r u ra l areas to serve on a B oard of D ire c to rs When the p illio n has the necessary signatures it w ill be presenteil to the County ( c u rt w hich then has the a u th o rity to fo rm a p a rk d is tric t The p -titio n fo rm in g the d is tric t does not a u to m a tic a lly levy a tax To le vy a la x the Hoard of I k l W t M w ould need to follow a budget p o c e s s s im ila r to the ce m e te ry jt r ic t or o ther gove rn m e nt a g e n cies before s u b m ittin g a levy to the voters C reation of the d is tric t does not c re a tr a ta x. e m p h a slie s Kahl however " th e B oard w ill have the a u th o rity to ask lo r a tax ” No developm ent at the dam can begin u n til a d is tric t is fo rm e d , a cco rd in g to K ahl Once the d is tric t is fo rm e d , it w ill he able to deter m ine its own d ire c tio n The p e titio n is w ritte n in such a w ay. h r says. that the Hoard is a llo w e d to pursue developm ent not only o f the area behind W illow Creek D am but also |>ark p ro je c ts in o ther p a rts of the county not already in a p ir k d is tric t People may not rea lize he contin ties that the s itu a tio n w ith the p ir k at It« ' dam w ill not re m a in as it is 11 E D C understands that som e thing w ill have (n ha p p*n o r the Corps o f E ngineers w ill e xe rcise its opt ion to close the area " It's been along lim e co m ing to th is jaunt ' tie d rs c r itx N as p iv o ta l If th e re is no in te re st and jie o jile don t w ant a develojMsf. then this is the o jip o rlu n ity to have that haj>j»'ii developed, then this is the o p p ortu n ity to have that happne P e titio n s have been jila c e d at H rtstow s M a rk e t in lone, at the V A G T a v e rn in la x in g to n and at C e n tra l M a rke t Coast to to a s t and The Shoe Box in H eppner County road projects in line for state, federal funding M o rro w C o u n ty Judge Don M cEU igott has announced that the county m ay he in lin e to rece ive some state and le d c ta l fu n ding fo r designated road p ro je c ts The Judge received w o rd in the fo rm of a le tte r (n o n the East C e n tra l Oregon Assoc la lio n of Counties e xe cu tive d irec to r Lew is “ T ony H a rn h a rt. that the ECOAC is sup p >rtin g tw o of the p ro je cts w hich he presented to the state Ifig h w a v C om m ission in J u ly in h o p 's they be in clu d e d in the governor s m od e rn iza tio n p ro je c ts H oad p ro je c ts w h ic h th e E C O A C endorsed are the Cecil lone p ro je ct w h ich is e stim a te d to cost ¿1 8 m illio n and the la'X ington Echo p ro je c t on H e rm isto n M uller creek road e s tim a te d to cost $2 m illio n llo lh p ro je c ts meet the c rite ria for the g o v e rn o r's in o d e rn i ra tio n p ro je ct and a re c u rre n tly lis'e d on the D e p a rtm e n t of T ra n s p ir la b o n 's six year plan E C O A C has in clu d e d these tw o p ro je cts in th e ir reco m m en d a tio n (»•cause, says H a rn h a rt, a c r itic a l problem w hich m ust be faced Is t r v td tn g needed t r a n s p ir t a t m n aef’ess to the in te rio r p a rt o f the r u ra l counties in o rd e r to fa c ilita te m ovem ent of p roducts and re sources in to them and to a id th e ir fu tu re developm ent p ile n lia l The above p ro je c ts do im p a c t d ire c t jo lis and econom ic a c tiv itie s o c c u rrin g in these areas Some im p ro v e m e n ts w ill enhance g re a te r m ovem ents of ag and tim b e r products in to and out of local areas These p ro je c ts also enhance to u ris m into these counties And some o f these p ro je c ts do have s p e cific in d u stry expansions or I oca lions that w ill occur as a re s u lt of the p ro je c t " A no th e r source of fu n ding w hich the co u n ty receives for road p ro je cts is the Eorest Service w h ich has re c e n tly announced p a ym e n t of $21X1.470 to M orrow C ounty fo r pro jects d u rin g this ye a r Eorest H ig h w a y m oney is funding the road p ro je c t on upper W illow Creek road P re v io u s ly , said Judge M cE U ig o tt. the W illow Creek p ro je c t and a section o f road fro m P a rk e rs M ill to S p e rry Springs Jet had been s u b m itte d When the W illow Creek p ro je c t was accepted, the county w ith d re w the P a rk e rs M ill p ro je c t, ta il has re c e n tly re s u b m itte d it Hoads m ust m eet the fo llo w in g c r ite r ia to be e lig ib le fo r these funds m ust t** a school bus and m a ll rou te m ust have jh - oji I i - liv in g along them , m ust I»- used to carry- logs fro m a fe d e ra l fo re st fo a m ill town Since resubm ission of the P a rk e rs M ill p ro je c t, (he judge rejMirfs th a t it has been num ber 12 on a list The fir s t six p ro je c ts .ire gu a ra n te e d fo r paut Hy am i the next 11 p ro je c ts a re under consideration ( chamber sponsors (*oii|x>n Ixxik T he lle p jin e r M o rro w C o u n t v C h a m b e r of C o m m e rce is sjum sor mg a "W e lc o m e to South M o rro w County CoujMin Hook fe a tu rin g coupons w hich w ill g iv e a "d is c o u n t on services o r m erch a n d ise to fa n til la rtze new m em b e rs o f our c o n im u n tty w ith the lo c a l businesses said C ham ber m e m b e r, D a v id Sykes b u s in e s s e s w h ic h a re not C h a m b e r m e m b e rs m a y a ls o include coujKifis in the liook but m ust co n tact The H eppner G azette I lines before N o v im b r i i t 1 - V , in fo rm a tio n c a ll the G azette l im es 676 (4228 Sports fans: a greater value than sum of the gate Coaches, athletes, and even sport fans themselves may not agree just what makes a sjxirts fan. but (hey all know who they are and how im port ant they can be to high school athletes Some fans come to the games because they like the games, says Heppner coach of 18 years Dale Conklin, others have a son or daugh ter or someone else they know on the team Longtim e lone coach Gordon Meyers differentiates between j>ar ents who come to support (heir kids and fans who don't have kids in school but still support the team The community has been supportive of the teams, he says Many times at away games we would have more fans than the home town "We've been fortunate to have been w inners for a long time, and losing some games may tie difficult to accept, but we can't abandon them tthe team»," he says "Some fans are fa ir weather fans." he continues, everybody like* to win It was esjze«'iall> rewarding to the team and to him, he says, in 1978 when the football team won the state title, to see the fans completely surround the Held "E very school should have a chance to win the title ," he says, "to experience being the b o a t" There's always more support when you're winning agrees Conk tin. "nobody likes a loser." But when you're losing, i t ’s important to know that people do support you Kids w ill try harder if there ta support from the fans H not many peojde come (o a game, the kids liegm to Uunk that maybe nobody cares, agrees Mey ers The number of fans does increase as the team wins more games "When the crowd comes into the game, though, it can make a kid reach back and find a little extra adrenalin and do belter than he ever thought he could." A large crowd af any game, he continues, gives kids the feeling that "somebody care* " I f * more enjoy able, too. when the gym is full than when the hall bounces and you hear H echo off the wails The athellic department is very dependant on fans sujzporl. contin ues Conklin because the athletic budget is determined by the gate receipts at home games Those gate receipts go directly into the athletic program and help the year's budget Heppner fans are excellent to M ile Matthew* (left) arid Gordon Meyer* in 19 when Cardinal football team t* on the state litli work with, he continues During his time in Heppner. hr has seen no problems with fan control, which he says may be partly characteristic of " A " level competition During the 6<fc Heppner received sportmanship trophies at both district and slate tournament games Fans may not attend all events, says Conklin, the first Elk season always decreases (he number in attendance There's a diversity among fans, too. some know and understand the game and others don't Some come to watch opjvon ents who are especially good, but moat just enjoy watching the compe tition One other mark of a true fan. both Meyers and Conklin agree, is if they follow the team away from home It's relatively eaay to attend home game., but away game* are time consuming and sometimes ex pen si ye One year Jerry Samples was honored as an outstanding Heppner fan. and Albert Connor has also been at a lot of school functions over the years continues Conklin Of course Ix*e I'adherg. president of the Boos ters club and all uf the Booster:, are recognized as special fans lone High School has designated Mike Matthews its "No I Kan ” The title was given to him, said former C ardinal football coach Gordon Meyers, because he's always at all of the high school and junior high games The only lapse was when he was not healthy and was, therefore, unable to attend Other than that lime, he’s always been there At the time Matthews was singled out from among the many loyal lone fans, Meyers recalls much discus tion among coaches and school personnel tier »use they didn't want to offend anyone lone ban many loyal fans, he says Kuth McCabe. Hugh Sailer, Clell and Norma lies, and Bob Hubbard »•o a lew And I'm sure I'm leaving somebody out. not because I intend to, but because you can't always think of everyone Every body always talks about Mike as our No l fan. but his wife. Edith, is at as many games as anyone She’s the only one other than parents that I've ever seen at a high school tennis match Now. that's fan support " Mike Matthews ta perhaps more visible than the other fans because during the 14 years he worked as the school custodian, he drove us for atl the game* except thaw where lie d have to be in two places at once He stopped driving bus about the tune he retired. 1974, but continued to attend the games and was given permission to ride the game bus whenever there was an extra spot for him When I was coaching, I didn't always know who was at the games, but Mike was tjiere win or low He even went on some scouting trips with me He was always supportive When a coach calls the wrong play, he knows It. and (eels at least as badly as the fans and the team ; the last thing hr needs to hear is a put down from the stands, and Mike never did that "M ike is very kid oriented. He just likes kids and he a loyal He a always been too percent behind every kid on the team and that's a help to the coach, too. There's not anything Mike wouldn't do for you When we won the titte. Mike enjoyed the victory as much as anyone We had been so close several times, but It had slipped away. "Everybody pats you on the back when you win Fans become special when they support you even it you don't win. " Meyers continue* Heppner fan* at last weekend's State volleyball tournament “ Mike never turned his hack be cause we lost He is the same, win or lose ." 'T d rather w in," Matthews says about the games, but somebody has to win and somebody has to lose "K id * should be taught to accept defeat as well as victory " They 're all winners though nowadays " A mature kid himself, Matthews says he's able to gel to the games beeuuse the "kids keep me inform ed," when the little league games are as w e ll as the school sponsored events " If there's three games and I have to choose one." he says, " I 'll go In (he baseball game and that's not |u»t because iny team won the series " Kids need a pat on the head now and then Meyer* continues we ladulta. parents, teachers, conches> are always on their necks when they don't do well and sports seem to be a way we can tell them they’ve done a guild job They expect to hear a good word from their coach that's his job hut when a fan tells a kid after a game. ‘ You did a good job out there," the kid gels a special smile on his face and you know the brief praise did more for him than anything the couch could say
