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
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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