U
The Heppner
Gazette-Times
Weather
M orrow C o u n ty ’• H o m e -O w n e d W e e k ly N ew sp a p er
\OI KM NO 1» WEDNESDAY. May 14, IMÌ6
by the City of Heppner
Heppner, O rt* o n
Tun.
MW.
Thun.
►Vi.
Sal.
Sun.
Mon.
Mas 6-12
High
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38
54
60
35
63
38
61
35
S3
33
59
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68
47
Preclp.
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PI ( advises
Too many sites for Senior center Shippers
of options for saving line
A Heppner senior citizen's group
has a unique problem Too many
sites on which to build their propos
ed senior citizen center
Monday night, controversy over
which site is best came to the sur
face at the Morrow County fair
board meeting
The dispute developed when one
group o f seniors began working to
have the center built on land across
Hinton Creek behind the Heppner
grade school The county donated
land for the center The county
donated land for the center and has
said it w ill pay for a bridge, road and
paving
A second group o f seniors want to
build the building, not at Hinton
Creek, hut on the fairgrounds where
the little league field is now located
In response, the county fair board,
which hopes to use the proposed
center during fair tor needed exhibit
space, agreed to deed the seniors a
100 by 150 foot lot in the middle o f
the little league field on which to
build the center
The county court has since ap
proved the transfer o f land from the
fair board to the seniors, and the
controversy escalated
Monday night several people
spoke in favor o f mov ing the center
to the fairgrounds, but most spoke
against
" I object to donating the proper
ty ,” said fair board member Harold
“ S horty” Peck “ The seniors
themselves arc not all in favor o f it
There are two fa c tio n s " Peck said
the fair should keep the property
because “ there is no place we can
gain an inch o f ground We are ab
solutely hemmed in ."
Pair hoard chairman Charly Daly
said he objected to the amount o f
money it would take to develop the
Hinton Creek site, and he was in
favor o f the center being built at the
fairgrounds " I t 's (Hinton site) giv
ing to cost the county a bridge,
streets and pavement." said Daly " I
think the county is in bad shape and
they shouldn't be stuck w ith
S l(X).OCK) to $150.(XX) in bridging
and paving "
The Hinton Creek site is across the
creek, and w ill require a new bridge,
and then a road and paving around
the site before a building can be
constructed
" I think Paul Jones and some
others are pushing something that is
going to cost the county a lot o f
money.” Daly said
Those on the other side argued that
if the senior center were built on the
fairgrounds, it would take away a
little league field, and probably
eliminate the baseball pmgram at the
junior high
The Hcppncr Branch line o f the
in in fairly
shape even if the railroad
should decide to file for abandon
ment of the line, said Dave Astle,
assistant Public U tility Commix
sioner of ( hegon at a meeting Mon
dav night in the courtroom of the
Morrow County Courthouse in
Heppner
Astlc and Claudia Howells, the
manager o f the Rail Abandonment
Task force, met with local shippers
to gather data ami advise them o f the
options for appeal that they have if
I n ton Pacific should decide to file
lor abandonment with the Public
I'tilitic s Commission
The state, cautioned Astlc, does
not have the power to slop abandon
intent. the federal government has
! turisdiction there Since deregulation
Charly Daly
>t the railroads in I MHO. they are
that has tseen uaed by carnivals in the
more w illing to abandon rail lines,
past, however, Daly said the dass o f espccialls since thes were forced to
small carnivals at small fairs is over
purchase a bankrupt line in the nor
" The cost o f liahilttv has made the theastem I S and go into the rail
small carnival a thing o f (he past."
business
said Daly
The task force, said Howells, can
The fair board dkl not take any ac
get information to the public conccr
tain during the meeting on the pro
ning their options and to the
posed senior site at the fairgrounds
railroads, encouraging them to do a
*•
l nmn Pacific Railroad
"Shorty" Peck
"T he junior high uses that field to
practice o n .'' said coach and teacher
Al Beck "A n d it is inconceivable to
me to jiut the High School and Junior
High together (on the big field! It
is not big enough and someone is giv
ing to get hurt " He said if the senior
center is built at the fairgrounds, and
the little league field is lost, "w e
w ould ju s t d ro p ju n io r high
baseball."
Speaking for the W illow Creek
Little league. George K ottler said
his group had originally told the fair
board there would be a new field
built by the Corps o f Engineers
below the dam in H eppner,
however, from the looks o f the tu r
nout this year, the little league would
still need the field at the fairgrounds,
K offler said
"W e dal say we wtaild have a new
field next year below the da m ,"
K offler said, "b u t I hope we didn't
give the impression we no longer
wanted to use the field here " K o f
fler saal that there were 85 to VO kals
out for little league this year
"W e support the building o f a
senior citizens center, we just don't
think it should be built on a little
league field Maybe you could build
it farther hack o ff the middle o f the
fie ld ." K offler said
Those in favor o f building at the
fairgrounds said the new building
could be used for both the seniors,
and during fair, for exhibit space
"W e are getting short on exhibit
space." said Jane Rawlins, a
member o f both the fair committee
and the senior citizens building com
mittce "Everyone is fighting for
space and this would make a nice ad
dition and give us some ro o m ." she
said
I f the center were built at the
fairgrounds it would take up space
better n»b o f seeking increased
business on the line
In the case o f the Brownsville
branch line. Howells said, only one
shipper was left, but his business was
completely railroad oriented When
the line petitioned for abandonment,
the shipper filed only a weak protest
and the abandonment was granted
Now the trac k is gone, and the ship
per has had to rearrange his business
completely in order to accommodate
trucks The product is trucked to
Eugene and loaded on the railroad,
because it requires long distance
hauling, and trucking is loo expen
xtve for long distance
In Tillanniok. the railroad filed for
abandonment, and the Port o f
Tillamook tiv k over operation o f the
line when protests failed and ahan
donment was approved
k Basic causes for rail abandonment
are probably competition from low
cost short haul trucks which puts the
railroad in the |v>sition of hauling on
ly grain, coal and hazardous com
modities which (hey would prefer to
avoid because the profits are in long
haul general freight
Another problem with branch
lines is the high cost ol maintenance
Planning Commission recommends
No building in growth area
By Avon Melby
Heppner Planning Commission
recommended Monday night that the
city council should discourage those
who request city water service in the
urban growth houndrs o f the city
Building in the urban growth
boundary should take place after the
town has filled up. and should not
be on a request basis when there are
so many houses for sale and empty-
lots which could be used as building
sites within the city
There should be no building in the
city's urban growth boundary unless
it was to be annexed to the city, or
pros ides a distinct advantage to the
O ls
Planning Comission Chairman
Dave Allstott said it was creating a
hardship on citizens sending them to
planners to ask for recommendation
on water permits when the city could
tell them these requirements before
they went to so much trouble
Ken Key did not formally ask. but
said he was going to the county plan
ning commission to get their permis
sion to place a mobile home on his
two-acre lot on cemetery h ill, and
would ask for approval next month
from city planners, so he could get
a water permit
I f a development plan, including
proposed roads and lot divisions, is
presented the planners n can be
reviewed with the possibility o f an
nexatmn. Allstott said, in a discus
sion after Key left Commissioners
recognized that some of the lots Key
has are prize locations overlooking
W illow la k e and w ill prohably
eventually he sold for homes But
roads must he developed, and it must
he planned and controlled growth
Extension o f time on conditional
use permit, and a change, was
granted Helen Richl, for property
behind the truck wash The Richls
are going to tear down an old shed
and replace it with a metal building
38 by bb feet to be used as a storage
area for both their drive in business
and the car wash They w ill build a
cyclone fence around the area
No decision has been received
from the Corps o f Engineers on the
Jay Coil request to place a mobile
home on West Sperry street, city at
tomey Bill Kuhn said The Corps
must determine if the locution is
within the flood zone before a con
ditional use permit can be allowed
Request for the permit was made last
month
Kuhn w ill attend a workshop in
Pendleton later this month He said
he would Icam more requirements
for updating o f the city's comprchen
sive plan so work on that could get
started
continued page n
Garden club members place evergreen in planters
Civic groups plant evergreens
By Justine W eatherford
The planting of the new evergreen
trees on May 7. in the large boxes
on Hcppner's Main Street is a joint
effort o f two organizations that
believe strongly in civic h ca u ltfica
lion and the stimulation and in
vigoration o f c iv ic pride
The Heppner Chamber o f Com
merce has contributed the money for
the plantings and the members of the
Heppner Garden (Tub have done (he
work of refiling the eight large boxes
which the Chamber established last
year
Soon trailing lobelia, petunias and
geraniums w ill add color to the
boxes says Martha Doherty the
garden c lub secretary who has been
tiers Be he Munkers, Verna Hrinda.
Hill Rawlins. Dorothy and W ilbur
Jackson assisted the garden club o f
ficer». President Jane Rawlins and
Martha in filling the boxes properly
The eight evergreens planted were
carefully selected because they arc
especially root hardy and have an ex
ccllcnt chance or survival The two
trees near the Shoe Box and the Elks
are Skyrocket Jumpers, the two near
the Post Office and Case Eurniturc
are Austrian Pines, near Murray
Drugs and the Wagon Wheel the
trees are Emerald Green Arborsttae
and near the (kink of Eastern Oregon
anil Ben f ranklin Savings and laian
the gardners planted Moon Glow
Jumpers The following businesses
have generously donated the water
lor the boxes lars Schwab. Scars,
Central Market. Abstract and T itle,
Murrays Drugs and Gardners
After their considerable expense
and effort, the Chamber member*
and the gardners hope that the
citizens who live here or who visit
here w ill not mistreat the planted
boxes Already some trash has been
removed from them this spring
White metal trash cans are nearby
the planted boxes, and the garden
club hopes that everyone w ill depisit
refuse in those trash containers and
that the planter Nixes w ill be kept
flourishing and neat and a positive
step in promoting and enlivening
civic pride
Spray woman wins Mother’s I)av diamond
a leader in this civic protect Gard
The 'A-carat diamond offered as
a spec ial Mothers Day promotion by
Heppner merchants was won by a
Spray woman. Jen Wight, who
entered the drawing at Central
Market Retail value of the diamond
is $299 95
Merchants who participated in the
diamond give away are Sears. C'oun
try Rose. M A R Elixir Covering.
McDonald's Chevrolet. Shoe Box.
Central Market, Petersons, Court
Street Market. Dr Rolen. Ix s
Schwab. Bud * Pub. Case Eumiturc
S '
{
which. Astlc say*, the railroad
claims is nearly 50% laNir co»U
A stle listed fiv e im p o rta n t
elements o f a good protest
1 Good data from shippers detail
ing their use of the railroad is need
ed v> the PUC can catch any inac
curacies which might exist in the
railroad's petition
2 An analysis o f the percentage
o f their business which depends on-
thc railroad in order to convince the
Interstate Commerce Commission
that the railroad is necessary
3 An explanation of the impact
the loss o f the railroad would have
on their business, if it would mean
that production would be cut. jobs
lost, or business reduced
4 An analysis o f the reasons the
loss o f service would impact the
business
5 An explanation o f the effect o f
the railroad's actions on how much
is shipped, because the ICC tieexls to
know if the railroad is trying to
discourage shippers to use the line
The task force, said Howells, has
agreed that if a branch line shows lit
tie use and if no growth is expected
in the future, that abandonment
should not be fought
Representatives from Kinzua
Corp , M orrow County Grain
Growers, Heppner Nor Gas, Jordan
Elevator Co , Crum Ranches. T rip
ly H Ranch, and Proudfoot Ranch
said that they had shipped a total o f
approximately 722 cars last year, but
that there is potential tor greater use
o f the line Clyde Allstott o f Hepp
ner Nor Gas said that he currently
received 100% o f his propane (15
cars per year) by rail, anil Crum ran
ches ship 100% or 60-70 carloads o f
grain per year, but others said that
there was a potential for increased
usage o f the line
L a rry
M ills ,
manager o f
M C G G said that a lot o f grain is
currently being stored because the
farm program dictates that it be
stored rather than shipped He ex
pects the elevators to be 80% full by
harvest which will make it necessary
to truck grain to Arlington ami ship
it by barge down the Columbia The
truck bar.ige method is a faster way
o f liais ing grain during harvest, he
said
Kent (ioixlyear. speaking for Kin
zua Corp said that because o f a
"shake u p " at Union Pacific. K in
zua felt that the railroad might file
for abandonment even if use o f the
line were increased, but that railroad
officials hail indicated that they
might consider the possibility o f a
“ Short l in e " operator maintaining
and running the line while U P
maintained ownership
Howells reported that Union
Pacific is not abandoning lines as
R A W Drive In. Murrays Drug,
Gardner s Men's Wear. Coast to
Coast. Heppner Elks, M orrow
County Grain Growers, and Petty
|ohn s Eami A Builders Supply
Some polling
places changed
Before going to vote next Tucs
day, he sure you know where you're
going Voters in four precincts need
to go to a location different from
where they voted in the last election
Northwest Heppner Precinct No
9 w ill vote at the New Pettyjohn O f
fice rather than the Morrow County
Museum
Hardman Precinct No I w ill vote
at the Morrow County Courthouse
in Heppner rather than at the Hard
man Building
I ex mgton Precinct No 7 w ill vote
at the new Mormon Church rather
than at the School District Office
building
South Hoardman Precinct No 2
w ill vote at the old U S National
Bank building instead o f at Sam
Boardman Elementary Building
To refresh your memory , voters
in other precincts, vote at the follow
ing locations
North Boardman. No I - Green
field Grange. lone. No 4 lone C i
ty Hall. N Irrigon, No 5 North
Morrow Annex. South Irrigon. No
ft - Columbia Jr High, Nonheast
H eppner, N o
8 - H eppner
NeighNirhood Center. Southeast and
Southwest Heppner. No 10 and 11
M orrow County Counhouse