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K H R - Heppner Gazette-Time«, Heppner, Oregon W td n n d iy , February 15, IHW
9
Money does not make better teacher
The Official Newspaper of (he
City of Heppner and the
County of Morrow
■ ■ !■ ■ ■
The Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Morrow County’■ Home-Owned Meekly Newspaper
U S P S 240-420
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(.a ll H a p m ra u ............................................................................. (.rap tu re O rpartm cal
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David and April Sykes, Publishers
Letters to the Editor
Some teachers are opening their files
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To the Editor
Dear friends of Morrow County
Teachers are opening their files
Whal docs this mean? It means that
some of the most talented of Mor
row County arc linking for new jobs
in other places I hear words such as.
“ I refuse to live my life under
stress," or "if they think I have done
nothing for kids, then I'm leaving "
I hear people say. “ the people value
the schools but they don't like
teachers " Without teachers you on
ly have buildings
There has been a lot of talk about
the United Stales being bought by
japan People of Morrow County,
let me tell you how professionals are
paid in Japan They are the highest
paid public servants Their pay is
higher than or equal to that of
engineers Here in the United States
schixil teachers arc the lowest paid
professional
Everyone has a different idea of
what should be cut Cut the teachers,
cut the computers, cut the ad
ministralors. cut the band, cut the
sports, cut the buses, cut the old
teachers, cut the music, cut the new
teachers, cut the art teachers, cut
the Morrow County residents, we
just cut education Please take a
careful look and begin to evaluate
what type of program and what type
of teacher you want leaching your
children and your grandchildren
I heard one parent say, "I don't
care if they bum the damn books "
This is a very sad statement This
country was based on freedom and
on education I’m praying that
fairness and responsibility returns to
Morrow County It is people just like
you (hat ultimately decide the fate of
teachers, education, and our future
values Ask questions and seek
answers because (here is more at risk
than a 4 5% cost of living raise
The board has sent you several so
called newsletters I call them laven
dar flies because they are full of er
rors, misconceptions and just seem
to buz/, buzz, buzz Yes. that
district office is right. 0.1 1% is
quite modest and is also quite
ridiculous They have known about
(he Sam Boardman roof and about
the asbestos problem for years They
testified under oath that "the district
does not claim an inability to pay
It is unwilling to p » y "
Our school board says their salary
scale is comparable Yes, it is for
beginning teachers, but they forgot
to mention the middle of the salary
scale I would make approximately
$2,000 more in Hermiston or
Pendleton with fully paid insurance
I can not lake a $50 per month cut
in pay this year and probably $50
more the following year I ask the
parents of the 400 kids that I have
taught, kissed and loved to stand up
and he counted Please come and
question the Board February 16 and
February 2 1
Love
(s) Kay Dawson
Mandatory ‘fair share" is denial of
freedom of choice
To the Editor
I want to express thanks to the
school board for their information
note dated February 8, on fair share
(agency \ht>pl It is important that we
citizens have an understanding of
this issue Only a small percentage
of the dues to the NEA is used to
develop educational programs Most
of the money is used to promote the
political and social agenda ol the
NEA There must be a great many
teachers who do not support the pro
grams the union sponsors To force
people to finance programs they can
not morally endorse is certainly a
denial of freedom of choice I hope
the people of this county will back
the school board on the issue of tair
share We need to guard carefully
(he individual's right to choose in
this area
(si C’omne Miles
Heppner
The Adventures of
(irazeldu & Clem ...
(After Hours)
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6:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Clem Cn>onrd 'Hey. Gra/elda, How
About shooten on down to
M lllr r 'a Mini M art A
t lio s r o n and pickin me up
some bath soapr
(¡m:ehhi #uv/ir</. "0h boy. Clem, I
did nt think you would ever get that
water thawed out so I could take a
nice hot bath!"
Clem Chirped "Ha! Ha! Gra/elda, I did nt get the water thawed
out. but I have a better idea tbu go on out and get you some
snow start you a tire. H ey (> raze Ida, what are you gonna do
with that baseball bat?”. ...............
fo r
PLUMBING
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money does not buy a better educa
law Nor does money make a poor
teacher better Upon graduation the
young people have proven this point
Ask some of your local employers
W’hat we have in Morrow County
is a very low income base standard
Many of the farm workers work for
S7 per hour and less This is pover
ty level Also quite a few of good
salary persons that work in Morrow
County live in Umatilla County
A good many years ago. I chose
my profession and I stayed with it.
good and poor There was periods
my wages were exit I accepted that
and if I feh I could do better at times.
I chose to move on and try for
something better With an open mind
you will understand my message
(s) Murray Findlay
Boardman
S h e riff’s Report
Road Report
The Sheriff"s office at the cour
thouse in Heppner reports dispai
ching the following business during
the past week
Feb 6 Morrow County Sheriff s
office dispatched the Heppner am
bulance to a residence on Linden
Way One female was transported to
Pioneer Memorial Hospital.
Morrow County deputy in
vestigated a possible assault IV
domestic that occurred outside of Ir-
rigon No arrests were made at this
time;
Morrow County deputy began in
vestigation of a missing horse This
occurred at Eastern Oregon Farm»
Details were unknown at this time
Feb 7: Morrow County SherifTs
office received a report of a careless
driver incident on February 6 outside
of Heppner City Limits on the Pilot
Rock Highway.
Feb 8 Morrow County dispatch
cd a deputy to a report of an acci
dent at Cutsforth Corners on
Highway 207 Deputy did not make
contact with the driver but is still in
vcstigatmg the accident
Feb y Morrow County deputy
arrested Donald Harry Coilins, 50,
of Heppner. on an Albany Warrant
lor Assault IV and Criminal
Trespass II Subject posted bail, was
given a court date and released
Feb 10 Morrow County dispat
chcd the Arlington ambulance to the
high school parking lot where a ten
year old hoy had been hit by a car
He was taken to Good Shepherd
Hospital in Hermiston
Feb 11 Morrow County Shcritf s
office dispatched the Boardman fire
department to a fire on F Colutn
bia Blvd A Boardman officer was
on the scene.
Morrow County deputy respond
ed to West Kun/c Road outside of
Boardman in reference to a report of
suspicious circumstances The area
was found to be scvurc. investigation
is continuing.
Morrow County deputy began the
investigation into the criminal
mischief complaint filed involving a
damaged mailbox Victim is K k hard
Hruhn of Irrigon;
Morrow County Sheriffs office
dispatched the Boardman fire depart
mrnt to a report of fire at the Board
man Baptist Church,
Morrow County Sheriffs office
assisted Boardman Police depart
ment in arrest of a Boardman male
for Assault IV.
Morrow County deputy assisted
Boardman officer with a civil matter.
Morrow County deputy respond
ed to S Paul Smith Road outside of
Boardman to report of a loud party
and several individuals driving
rapidly and recklessly
Feh 12 Morrow County depuiy
assisted Boardman Police depart
ment with a reported burglary at a
business on Marine Drive in
Boardman
During the week of Feb 6-13.
Morrow County did not assist any
disabled molorisis
The crusher has been moved to
Upper Rhea Creek, located on
Shirley Ruggs There will be ap
proximately 20.000 yards of rock
crushed to be used for the sub base
on the Rhea Creek. Bassig Canyon
Project, plus other needs for roads
in the immediate area The plan is
to move the crusher back to Willow
Creek by nud March for the con^slc
tion of rock crushing for the Willow
Creek Project
Die reconstructuin of Paul Smith
Road, in Boardman. has started The
pipe laying for the irrigation ditch
has been completed Dus work was
contracted and the County Road
Crew is to do the reconstructKin of
the road The paving will be con
tracted later
Open weather has allowed the
continuance of road blading and
graveling
Pot hole patching is being done,
along with the replacement of
several road signs
W inter arrived this past week with
snow, wind and below normal
temperatures, keeping the road
department busy plowing snow and
sanding roads
Strong winds caused drifting in
some areas making those roads a
priority All roads have been open
ed up
With the long cold and low
temperatures, load limit posting will
be going into effect as warmer
temperatures arrive in order to keep
road breakup to a minimum
The road department is asking for
and will appreciate the*cooperation
from all a minty road users during the
period of time load limits are on
Feel free to call with any questions
or concerns. 676-d06l
Justice Court
Report
The Justice Court office at the
courthouse annex in Heppner reports
handling the following business dur
ing the past week
Virginia Lynne Olson. Umatilla
Illegal U Turn. $17 fine.
Brian Robert Bonallo. Richland,
WA Exceeding the Maxi mum
Speed. 70 mph in a 55 mph zone,
$S7 bail forfeited;
Danny Dean ( fglcsbcc. Heppner
I xceeding ihe Maximum Speed. 65
mph in a 55 mph zone. $26 bail
forfeited;
David Flanagan. Irrigon Assault
IV. $287 fine and one year proha
lion, attend mental health
counseling
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Galvanized, PVC, CPVC
ABS, Copper
Faucets, Valves, Drains
Water Heaters,
Supply Tubes, W ashers
Toilets & Parts - Tools
\Ye Cut and Thread Pipe
Vi" to 2 "
Soi» I k F o r l o u r l o o d s
A Plan for
Settlement
We've had occasion to review some
of the factors in the current school
teacher contract dispute and have our
own plan for settlement We know that
it will not meet with the wholehearted
approval of either the teachers nor the
hoard hut that's the peril they run when
they fail to settle the issue between
themselves and resort to taking their
case to the public.
A couple of factors that figure in the
formula The hoard u hacked by
"zero” increase budget by reason of
_________________ _
the voters' rejection of an operating
budget increase All the hate and nas
ty things teachers have leveled at the hoard pass right on through to the
voters who voted "n o " and that's a majority of them
On the other hand, the district does have some exceptionally good
teachers who are paid far less than they sfmmikl he Experienced, well
educated teachers arc paid less than similar teachers in most districts of
the state and Morrow County stands to lose its best teachers lor that reason
Until we demand a merit pay system, we will continue to overpay the
medi<xre and underpay the best If we d»*n'l at least stay competitive w ith
the rest of the state, we will attract and accumulate the poorer part of the
lot and our schools will deteriorate in quality As that becomes more rvi
dent to our taxpayers, they will continue to reject our budget requests which
will nuke competitive salaries more and more difficult It's a never cn
ding spiral
Three years ago. the teachers and the district negotiated a contract which
provided for substantially greater increases on the lower end of the scale
than on the upper For example, a teacher that started in |dH4 at $14,278
now earns $|U,708. an increase of 38% while a teacher with 23 years of
experience earned $27,715 in IM84 and $31.176 today . an increase of on
|y 12 5% In that same period of time, the Portland CPI rose 11.5% and
Social Security benefits increased by 16 1% Experienced teacher» had
less than a "fixed" income but younger teachers' salaries went up faster
than the cost of living to reflect their greater skills gained through greater
experience (about 6% per year)
The idea three years ago was to increase the salary schedule more heavily
al the low end to attract the best of the new teachers and it succeeded in
making our Id88 8U beginning salaries competitive with neighboring
districts and about midway among districts across the state The plan this
year was to make it up with heavier increases on the high end in ordci
to keep the best of those new teachers And we need to do |ust that
Somehow that plan has been lost along the way.
Our suggested settlement looks like this:
For 1 *>88-8** wc would increase salaries as follows:
Teachers with fewer than eight years cxpcricnce-0% , teachers with 8
to 12 years experience I % ; teachers with 13 to 14 years experience-2^
teachers with more than 14 years experience 5%
For |U84-M0 and UO-UI Increase all positions by the change in the Cost
of Living Index
Dus schedule would correct the imbalance between beginning and more
experienced teachers that now exists and would assure all teachers that
inflation would not actually reduce those salaries in years to come.
On other issues wc suggest
Allow a modest inc rease in professional travel allowances, continue the
present scheme of the district paying 95% of insurance premiums, with
teachers paying 5% but allowing the district to shop for insurance car
riers. and continue the present language regarding temporary teachers and
professional education requirements We would noi require "fair share"
payments from teachers who arc not union members
About halt the teachers would be involved in the "zero" bracket, bui
that's ihc halt thal appear to he competitively paid now The hall lhai would
have some percentage increase arc the very half that now appear under
paid hy comparison with surrounding districts and the slate as a whole
We think the announced failure of either side to reach agreement on their
own has invited proposals from far and wide We are glad to have had
the opportunity
In this n'orld o f uncertainty
Hi’ two have found each other...
different yet alike
Hf have grown together in
love and understanding.
Shirlev Reddm and Don Majeske
invite you to share in
the jo y o f their marriage
on Saturday, February 25.
Nineteen hundred and eighty m m
at two o'clock in the afternoon
First Ijilherun Church
214 North Fourth Street
St Helens. Oregon
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1 6 th . - 2 0 th
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK - 7 A M - 6 P M
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Mushrooms h oz pkg
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To the Editor
Could you please pul my editorial
in your paper Regarding our school
teacher or instructor salary problems
in Morrow County.
Various letters in our papers seem
to blame the school board, others
remark the teachers is problem
First and foremost the teachers are
employees of Morrow County The
employers is the registered voters
and in general land owners The
school hoard is acting on informa
twin they have gathered from the
employers Our conditions and times
in the county is not good Plus the
present taxes that is paid now is more
than the people can handle The
allowable 6 percent inc rease for eac h
year is too much of a tax increase
This is a law that has to he changed
al once
Also looking at the past we note
M a rk e t
67h 9M.3
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