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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1989)
. " ' » • .. v t r • -* * • / • -i," C • ; ...% * • i v ■! r ' * ' • » ' • / > - ■ / . . » V -« > ' » * • * « « *t» 9 Morrowites asked to re-think their position T h e O ffic ia l N ew sp ap er o f the C ity o f H ep p n er and the C o u n ty o f M o rro w | W B jy J OMWJL <*•••* » » » in ***»— »■......... T he H rp p o rr GAZETTE-TIMES M o r r o w C o u n ty *« H o m e -O w n e d W e e k ly N e w s p a p e r US PS 240-420 PuM M lfd r*r r* SSrdnnda* «Ml rttlrrrd m mtamd it»»« mailrr al I hr Pint ( IfTWr M H rp fM f, O rrfun undrr I he 4 0 a# M airh J, 1174 S r n ^ i l w poriap paid • I llrptHwf . Or»*«" l l f f l n a M7 V*m M l l m S4rvr1 THrphua* (M )| * 7 * . « » Addrna (noim tinkaium to Ilw Hrpporr ( .a u tlr I Iran. P.U. k i 137. Hrpp- n rr. O r t|w i 171.1« Sabat rlpl«— 312 la S to rm «, WhrrWr . I.tlikam and (.rani < oun<ln. i l l r i m h m Joyce Hug hr* ............................................................... O fTk r Manager ty p n rllm g lHana Hall ..................................................................................................N e w « M H o f M a rk V ru lh rr* ...................................................................... ( .raphKs Ikparlinrn l • •ad P a p h w a u ..................................................... .................... (•ragtUn IkparUnral Harh> 1 van* ................................................................................................ UklrMMaOua David and April Sykes, Publishers Letters to the Editor Voters say no more taxes T o the E d ito r: M o r r o w C o u n ty teachers seem to he ta k in g the School B o a rd '* hard stand on pay raises as a personal a f fro n t to th eir capabilities o r th eir w o n h as professionals It is not. hut m e re ly a re flec tio n o f w hat the voters have repeatedly said at the p o lls -N o m o re taxes L e t’ * lak e a look at the salary and p e rq u is ites the M o rr o w C ounty teachers have under th eir o ld c o n tract I acq u ired this in fo rm a tio n by c a llin g the superintendent's o ffic e at 9 8 9 8 2 0 2 . le s in g to n A v e r a g e s a la r y la s t y e a r • $ 2 4 .1 9 2 0 0 Plus: 9 5 % o f health coverage $ 2 9 4 s 12 m onths $ 3 .5 2 8 0 0 Plus: 17 8 % o f salary paid into a re tire m e n t fund (a vc ra g c)$4 3 0 6 .1 7 D iv id e this by 19 0 days on the jo b $179 00 per year (p er d ay) Plus E x tra D u ty E x a m p le V a ris ty H ig h School C o a c h R a n g e o f $1 .486 (III $ 2 .1 8 6 0 0 /s p o n » • -4 • Need for cooperation emphasized at meeting < »• • v ‘. t ‘ , f f * * 1 Kf - , ’ rV* * ' * * t ' ,•* ;** <•« «/T> : • • .* ¥ * # • r> ' ' >* - ♦ h -„ v [ * v , * L f.4 i . k' • V r • ; r. V !&$• W y ¿ y * ; *' I Vs I/ « ' j » V r ■ i # ' \r r ■ v y E5 • * L> > * K «* rI I ^ ’ I I V ; , > ‘ ’ ; r * ■ 1 L T o the E d ito r- As nearly 2 0 0 people rose to ap^ plain! the speech o f M rs A rd y Even son. it was clearly perceived thal the n e g o tia tio n * had reached a crises stage M rs Evenaon em phasized the need fo r ccxiperalion o f both parlies to reach a just settlem ent H e r e va lu atio n (hat the b oard's attitude o f do-nothing was causing our coun ty . c o m m u n itie s , s ch o o ls and c h ild ren s ' education to he dam aged There is no doubt that her pcrcep lio n s and evaluations are quite c o rre c t. A w illingness to negiHiate has been a p ro blem D ie school hoard, through their professional negotiator Ed R utled ge, has defined ncgiKia Hons as com ing d o w n to the h oard's proposal o f a three year wage in crease o f 0 % | % - | % and a d o lla r cap on insurance at last y e a r's am o unt Because o f this p re va ilin g selfish a ttitu de, negotiations has stalled fo r the past 16 m onths A t the first negotiation session in "Why am I s m ¡ l ¡ n " ‘, " « > < 1 . \ í r ‘-O, I •;'* I 'V 1 I I ■ B 1 V, , fí I : I * » • “ "r :>• V 4 i f i* i - f ? E xa m p le: S e llin g tickets at hall gam es $ 9 0 0 /h r Plus 10 days per year paid sick leave Plus Som e free education at the Jan 16th school board m eeting $ 1 0 .0 0 0 was budgeted for schooling teachers in com puter science Som e college tu itio n can he reim bursed Plus A n autom atic longevity step increase (o r raise) each year for add ed s e n io r it y . R ange of $461 013-$84 3 0 0 per year Pius A u iu iT w H Taiscs fo r added degrees o r credit hours. T h is in fo rm atio n is easily verifie d and I have trie d to present them w ithout any cm iH ion o r o pinion I hope you w ould study them and d ra w y o u r o w n conclusions W e all can conclude thal M o rro w C ounty has excellent teachers and I hope we can keep them (s ) G e o rg e K enney Rt 2 Box 204 Irrig o n * , ■« . ‘V a. * i iy À * K A f * , » y ' «. . k N o t too king ago, I could hear others, but I couldn't under stand w hat they were saying T h en m y H earing H ealth Professional tested me and said I was suffering fiu iti N e rv e D e a fn e s s , a type o f hearing loss that affects m illions o f people H e also told me there is a new hearing technology thal c o u ld help me the A r g o s y canal hearing aid So tiny, you probably can t see thal I'm w e a r ing it right now ! T a k e my advice and start e n jo yin g the benefits o f better hearing. C a ll your H earing H e a lth Professional today for a com plete hearing test and e v a l uation f o r m o re in fo r m a tio n , please c o n ta c t: 1987, hoard m em ber 'o c Stevens ¡n dicated that a settlem ent could he reached by C h ristm as T w o holiday seasons have passed nothing has changed A t our second session Joe said, " w e have the ability to pay, we are just not w illin g to .'* N othing has changed The hoard continues to c la im they arc representing the nui jo rity o f citizens in M o rro w C oun ty D us is a false assum ption M a n y c o m m u n ity m em bers have had the facts presented to th em through speeches to G ran g e groups and genera) coffee gatherings Alm ost all have been very receptive to the te ac h e r's plight A ll have been c o n cerned by the h o a rd 's negative at titu d e to w a rd n e g o tia tio n o f a c o ntract. A fte r a recent January 16th hoard m ee tin g , B ill [> »h erly , a current hoard m em b er, expressed his view s H e was asked w hy the citizens w ere not a llo w e d to speak at the m eeting H is answ er was that they did not a llo w the public to speak this tim e because they d id not w ant the same response as they got three years ago B ill w ent o n to say that we have “ single A " and B " teachers w h o are getting “ A A " pay H e stated that the public is 9 to I in fa vo r o f the board s position and is calling (he board to express a w illingness to house substitutes in case o f a strike B ill also expressed a “ let 'e m go on s trik e ” attitude This is the attitude w ith w h ic h the teachers o f M o rro w C o u n ty are dealing I encourage the patrons o f M o r ro w C o u n ty to voice y o u r feelings to the M o rr o w C o u n ty School B oard. Supt D o yle M c C a s lin o r the M o m iw C ounty Education Associa lio n to insure a positive educational atm osphere fo r o u r young people R espectfully S ubm itted. (» ) K cvan Pratt B oardm an, O R T o the E d ito r O n ce upon a tim e in a land o f M o rro w i w h ich was in the kingdom o f O re g o n !, there lived a proud pco pie kn o w n av M o rro w ite v They w ere hard w o rke rs and proud o f th eir sim ple w ay o f life T h e land itself was rather barren com pared to other lands to the w esi. hut it made fo r a unique, free lifes ty le F o r years and years e veryth in g was pleasant and happy in (he land o f M o rro w (w h ic h was the kingdom o f O re g o n ) Because the land o f M o rro w was considered one o f the richest lands in ihe k ing dom o f O re g o n , the c o lle c tio n o f adequate Uses was m l a real problem In ta c t, o v er h a lf o f the taxes w e re paid hy the very rich and p o w e rfu l C o u n t Peegee (P G E ) T h is m eant, o f course, that the local M o rro w ite s them selves had one o f the lowest tax rates in the k in g d o m M ost o f the citizens re alized th eir good fo nunc T h e re w ere those that com plained (th e y w o u ld c o m p la in a b o u t anything) because they w anted m ore contro l o v e r the taxes and even the citizens them selves H o w e v e r, most things w ere going quite nicely in the land o f M o rro w The indentured ser v a n t*(M o rro w C o schoolteachers) took great p rid e in th eir w o rk and had fin a lly begun to he p aid close to an adqualc am ount o f g o ld coin for the excellen t w o rk that they did As tim e w ent b y . the p o w erfu l C o u n c il o f M o rro w (M o rro w C o School B o ard ) began to e xert th eir authority o v er the citizens o f M o r ro w H ardest hit w ere the poor in dentured servants The cost o f liv ing was rising, hui the C ouncil refus ed to pay them m ore go ld co in than they w e re a lread y getting “ C a n 't you see w hat y o u 're do in g ? " they scream ed " C a n 't you see how many citizens are leasing ho land of M o rro w ’ C a n 't yi*u sec how m any young people c a n 't w ait to m ove to lands w ith m o re o p po rtun e t y ' Y o u should try to keep the citizens here so o u r land can grow and p ro s p e r.” H o w e v e r, the C o u n c il refused to talk to any o f the citizens T h e y knew that there w ere a l<* o f citizens thal w o rk e d fo r the council that w anted to leave But they also knew thal a lot o f those citizen s had too m any ties and obligations to m ove fro m Ihe land They knew that they could exert th eir p o w e r o v er these poor citizen s w ithout the threat o f th em m o v in g away T h e indentured servants w ere heartbroken They had w o rke d p ro udly fo r the council fo r years They had dedicated them selves to being ihe best they could he But . the coun c il rem ain ed silent “ A re you deaf, d um b and blind'*’ * they questioned “ Is y o u r personal quest for p o w e r m ore im portant to you than the land o f M o rro w '* D o you want us to have the same kind o f reputation as the land o f Eslacada (w h ic h had m ade news throughout the kin g d o m as a poor place to w o rk and liv e because o f th e ir C o u n c il's a c tio n s )*" B ut. the C o u n c il rem ained silent W h o could guess what e v il lurked in th eir m inds ’ W hat w ere th eir plans fo r the poor indentured servants o f M o rro w ’ W hat was to becom e o f fu ture generations o f M o rro w ite s * I. S ir Jam es o f A . was once a c itize n o f the land o f M o rro w I was also an indentured servant, w o rk in g to r the C o u n c il I had seen what the C o u n c il was capable o f d u rin g my years in the land, hut I never dream cd th.rt they could become even m ore e vil A lthough . I left the citizens that I lo sc d . I escaped the land o f M o r row and m ade il west to the land o f opportunity I realize thal I w ill p ro bably never liv e in the land o f M o r row or w o rk lo r the C o u n c il again H o w e v e r, my best wishes are alw ays fo r the citizen s o f M o rro w I w ould encourage these citizens, h o w e v e r, to escape the land o f M o rro w if the C o u n c il changes the nam e o f th eir m eeting place to “ Red S q u a re " A hum an being has only so m uch dig n ity to g ive away S in c e re ly . 14941 S Is) Jim Ackley O n io n M ills Rd M u lm o . O R 97(142 Port asks support for economic growth in Morrow Countv l o the E d ito r Since the fo unding o l the P ori o f M o rr o w , the hoard o f com nns sioners o f the port have taken co n siderable p rid e in the fact that the port has o p erated at very little cost lo the lax payers Presently that c o g am ounts to ap p ro x im a te ly 6v per thousand o f county w id e pro perly value T h ro u g h the years it has been the policy o f the port to finance port developm ent through tlie use o f revenue bonds The debt paym ents on these bonds arc paid by adding charges to u tility rates o f the idustnes located on the port These industries also service the debt on their ow n bonds as w ell as pay mg the cost o f daily o p eratio n o f (he ports u tility system In recent years econom ics have changed C o m p e titio n for industrial developm ent is keen O th e r in dustrial parks in our com petition area arc in a better position to o ffe r com petitive rates because o f hn>ader tax support and m ore debt free utilities Thus despite an excellent k va tio n . the port finds its e lf losing the c o m p e titiv e edge A fte r c a re fu l con- sideration. the com m ission feels that it is tim e to ask the taxpayers o f our county w id e port d istrict for help by seeking passage o f a general obliga tion bond issue in the am ount o f $ 7 5 0 .(8 *1 O f Ihis am ount six hun dred thousand w ill lie used to retire certain port hondi». w h ic h could d irectly affect the ports rates One- hundred thousand d ollars w o u ld he used to im p ro v e port fa cilities and the rem aining fifty thousand d ollars w o uld he used to p ro vid e a nucleus fo r industrial developm ent in south M o rr o w C o u n ty T h e cost o f the bond issue w o u ld add approxim ately IOC per thousand o f value to the current tax support o f the port W e b elieve you w ill agree w ith us that this a m o unt, w h ich w o u ld be a tax o f $5 fo r y our $ 5 0 .0 0 0 h o m e , is perhaps one o f the most im portant expenditures that we can m ake in support o f o u r econom ic g m w ih S in c e re ly , (s) l^ trry L in d s ay , President Port o f M o rro w C o m m is sio n John B ristow , v ic e president K ent G o o d y e a r, secretary H ill S h a rk e y , com m issioner M a tt D o h c rtv . treasurer H a a rln g A id S « r v l « « In H o p p n e r O n T liia n M la y , J a n . 2 S f k F ood s Inc D a w n B o o r. R e p o r te r O n January 18. 1989 w t- held a 4 H cooking m eeting in the home cc roo m at 3 4 5 p m W e w orked on o u r records W e arc planning on having a hake sale on M a rc h 14 to raise m oney fo r o u r clu b O u r next m eeting w ill he on February 8, I 9H9 ijtqftl^ li^ WTg tnfAT.iV .1.' 1A~" ~ ♦f An open letter to the school hoard T o the E d ito r Y o u w e re elected to the schtxil hoard hy y o u r peers and y o u r n e ig h b o r s b e c a u s e y o u w e r e respected for your values, ideas, and your independent thinking The p u r pose o f y o u r e lectio n was not that you line up rank and file in support o f the policies o f the superintendent It was that each o f you. independent ly speak out on y o u r o w n opinions o f w hat you b e lie v e is best fo r the education ol tin- c lu ld ic ii m M o rro w C ounty It seems strange to m e that all o f you agree on the position not lo negotiate w ith the teachers on the term s o f th eir contract Y o u arc asking the teachers to ac cept a total pay increase o f tw o p e r cent o v e r the next three years I f in f!atio n continues at 4 5 T the cost o f liv in g w ill rise 13 5 % d u rin g the same period, so you arc actually tr y ing to cut th eir salaries by 1 1 5 % d u rin g this three year contract. T h e reason that I have heard fo r this low pay increase is that there is too m uch dead w eight am ongst the teachers As far as I know , the teachers arc not the ones thal hire o ther teachers, the adm inistration is responsible for this fu nctio n N o w you w ant a ll o f the teachers to g ive up 1 1 .5 percent o f th eir salaries because you arc not satisfied w ith (he pe rfo rm an c e o f a few ITie m ajority o f the teachers arc good teachers and arc s trivin g to becom e better teachers I f this deadlock continues, it cannot help hut put a had taste in the m ouths o f all the teachers W h e n these people chose to becom e teachers, they re alized that they w o u ld never he w e a lth y , hut they d id expect to he fairly paid The teachers must also re alize that this is not the best of econom ic tim es in this area, and a cost o f liv ing increase is T1.f “ 1.......... W e s te rn F a m ily Paper Towels (L im it six) 69 ea Kamen Noodles ket.SIJ Macaroni Spaghetti 2 T.V. Dinners 10 Potatoes 10 Seedless («rapes Ham Shanks Rib Steak Bulk Franks ( oz p JH o z s q u e e z e Iw iftle V\T*sr<,rn F a m ily , F llx m > it> lim it 1 W e s te rn F a m ily , lo n g D ays O f lim it o n e B a n q u e t fro z e n *■ WINTER COAST to COAST ‘ I4* . H e in z n> T h e D re a ry a fa ir o ffe r. W ith the factfinders re com m endation o f 12% o v er th ree years, I fail to com prehend y o u r m o tiv a tio n o f not negotiating w ith the teachers W ith our local econom y in its c u r rent state, it is increasingly d iffic u lt fo r high school graduates to find good paying jobs in this area T h is m eans that o u r c h ild ren need to he prepared fo r additional education a fte r high school, w h ich m akes the e ducation o f o u r c h ild re n m o re im portant than it has e ve r been I c a n not b e lie ve that w e w ill he able to keep the best o f o u r teachers in this area i f the hoard docs not begin to negotiate in good faith w ith the teachers I also feel that it w o u ld he unpovsihle to replace o u r best teachers if they d id leave, c o n sid e r ing the term s o f the contract the hoard is proposing T h e m a jo rity o f the people w ho w ould m ove into this area to accept a jo b under those term s w o u ld he the ones that could not fin d w o rk e lsew h ere W e need teachers w h o arc going to m ake a life lo n g c o m m itm en t to the c h ild ren in this com m unity and m return we need to show our appreciation hy payin g th em fa irly I perceive the attitude o f the school h o a rd , led hy the a d m in is tra tio n , o f not w anting to resolve these negoda lio n s, but to w in them I urge the hoard to stop and think about the possible consequences o f th eir cur rent position T h is is a risky ap p ro ach . because if the hoard suc ceeds in w inn in g these negotiations, it w ill not he just the teachers w ho lose hut also the c h ild ren o f o u r c o m m u n ity . (s ) John K ilk e n n y H eppn er W e s te rn F a m ily Lettuce 2 h e a d tor & Y o u r S o u r c e f o r ... $|00 No oz 1, lb b a g •PAINT «SHADES •WALLPAPER CONTACT PAPER «FOLDING CHAIRS •LIGHTING «FAUCETS *!*• $|39 •l**tb. MV G r e e n P e a rle tte H ills ÿ Navel Oranges 9 5 * Prices g o o d |an OPEN 7 D A Y S C I I I ourt N Court A 2 6 th - )0 th WEEK - 7 A M . . 6 P M Street Market Heppner 676 9643 m v .v )' mm ea Bc*ef lb We can help you. i^ ^ e a ■ Sm oked i 678-92S4 or 278-3155 collect -i AS I 7 SEE II C'ourt S lr o e l > lark ol CHECK OUR EVERYDAY LOW PRICES WHERE YOUR DOLLAR MAKES MORE CENTS BRIGHTEN 1U a m . to 1 p.m . AT G O N T Y ’S 136 N orth G a le FOR APPOINTMENT CALL T h e Port o f M o rro w proposes a $ 7 5 0 .(8 )0 G e n e ra l O b lig a tio n Bond issue, once rejected by the voters hut renew ed on the M a rc h ballot W e have som e questions about that issue G Genera) O b ligation Bonds may he repaid w ith any source o f revenue vuch as sew er and w a te r charges, te rm in a l handling charges and the lik e I f those sources are inadequate taxes must he le v ie d , h o w ev er Is it the intention to levy taxes, in a d dition to the tax base, lo repay this new Bond issue"* I f so. how m u c h ’ I f not. what source o f I Bv FaJ G lenn revenue w ill he used* Q A bout $ 6 0 0 .0 0 0 is pm posed to re tire some R evenu e Bondv w h ic h are now being retired hy w ater and sewer charges to the fix x l processing tenants in the P o rt's industrial park H o w m uch w o u ld re fin a n cin g these R evenue Bonds save the tenants in w ater and sew er charges'* W o u ld thal he enough to m ake th em “ c o m p e titiv e “ enough to m ain tain current em p lo ym e n t levels'* increase em ploy m ent ’ D o we have any kin d o f c o m m itm en t fro m th em to d o so? Q Is n 't p a n o f that $ 6 0 0 .0 0 0 bond re tire m en t related to the c onstruc tion o f the container te rm in a l' D oesn't the container term inal handle enough c arg o to pay the coat o f o p eratio n includ ing bonded indebtedness * I f so. why refinance it? I f not. is it now foreseeable that it ever w ill he profitable ’ Q A bout $ 1 0 0 ,(8 1 ) o f the proposed G e n e ra l O b lig a tio n B ond issue was o rig in a lly intended to restore the e ro d in g riv e r hank as it threatened to destroy a truck scale That project appears to have h e rn com pleted already and presu m ably paid for W h a t new pro ject is planned * W ill any public com m ent he solicited to d e te rm in e an ap p ro p ria te project? G The rem aining $ 5 0 .(8 8 ) is said to he earm arked to acquire an industrial site in South C ounty Is there a specific site in m in d ' Is an industrial site the best use. as opposed to buildings, m achinery , research, m arketing plans, feasib ility s tu d ie s ’ W ill any public co m m en t he solicited to d e c id e ’ A passing grade on the fo reg o in g e xam w ill w a rra n t o u r support o f the G e n e ra l O b lig a tio n Bond issue 4-H News (C u t to F it!) v Exam Time * - ■ 1__
