Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1990)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 21, 1990 Thanks to All Saints ___The Official Newspaper of the = City of Heppner and the County of Morrow | (M fP A = —“■ =*= = , The Heppner | = GAZETTE-TIMES Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper U.S.P S. 240-420 Published e \ t r j Wednesday and entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Second class postage paid at Heppner. Oregon. Office at 147 West Willow Street. Telephone (503) 676-9228. Address communications to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Hepp ner. Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $15 in Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and Grant Counties; $23 elsewhere. Joyce H u g h es........................................................... Office Manager, Typesetting April S y k e s........................................................................................... News Editor Carol Atherly ....................................................................... Graphics Department Becky Evans ......................................................................... Graphics Department Monique P a r r e l...................................................................................... Distribution Kay Rene Q ualls............................................................................................Bindery Bob S m ith ........................................................................................................Printer David and April Svkes. Publishers Letters to the Editor Sheds light on garbage situation f * :\ V ■ V • :• • * ' i I ,1 . ‘ l;v f. , . a » - ' r 4 * k / ■* . S « V • • * * * To the Editor; The purpose of this letter is to try to shed some light on the confusion surrounding the future of garbage collection, transfer and disposal for Heppner. It is obvious from the deluge of questions I have received during the past month that there is considerable confusion surrounding this subject. We all understood when the city agreed to open the last section of the Turner Landfill that when that sec tion was full or Finley Buttes was operational, that the Turner site would close. We expected these two happenings to occur about the same time; which they did, almost. On Oct. 15 the Heppner City Council decided to close the Turner site and, since Finley was not yet open, ask ed Heppner Garbage Disp. to haul to Hermiston Sanitary’s landfill tem porarily until Finley opened. We agreed, but pointed out that we could not absorb the increase cost of transport and tipping (dumping) fees as we did two years ago for two months. The council granted us a temporary rate increase to S10.25 for base rate. For about nine months prior to Oct. 15 a group consisting of the m ayor, county judge, HEDC member, Wes Hickey of Tidewater and myself had been meeting to try to put together a plan to build and operate a transfer station where South Morrow solid waste might be deposited. From there it would be trucked to Finley in large and more cost efficient containers. Although some agreement had been reached on construction, a stalemate had been reached as to who would operate it. The closing of the Turner site caused a crisis situation which caus ed some new people to become in volved. New meetings were held between city and county with the result that the county agreed to operate the transfer station. However they county court strongly urged that garbage collection in Heppner be mandatory and stipulated that Hepp ner put its garbage collection fran chise out for bid. It further stipulated that whoever received the franchise would not be allowed to use the transfer station, but must haul direct to a landfill. This latter stipulation will require a subsidy from the coun ty to operate the transfer station of somewhere between 12 and 20 thou sand dollars per year. Without the volume of the Heppner franchisee, the transfer station will lose that much money instead of break even. The city council agreed to the stipulations but rejected mandatory service. At the present time, Heppner Gar bage Disp. is hauling to Finley But tes at the rate of one load per day. We are also preparing a bid for the garbage collection franchise for Heppner. What will result from this bidding, I can only speculate. 1 ex pect at least one bid from outside the county and it will be a very sophisticated bid. Probably they will present the low bid, given the much larger customer base they already have over which to spread their overhead and equipment costs. Also they already have the equipment for long haul. However, the city council is not required to accept the low bid if. in their judgement, a higher bid ap pears to be in the best interests of the community. If HGDS receives the bid, we will obtain a larger truck to reduce the number of trips per week and thus cut costs. If the franchise were not up for bid, we would already have done this, and you would not now be paying such high collection fees. But. it would be foolish to purchase new equipment at this point when we don’t know if we will be in business in two months. Whoever wins this franchise, you can expect some changes in your garbage collection service. Higher prices (probably about 'A higher,) charges for all extra, weight and size restrictions are just some of the changes to expect. In closing, let me assure you that if we receive the franchise, we will strive to give you the best of service which you have come to expect of us. Service is all we have to offer. If the franchise should go to another company, well, we have appreciated the opportunity to serve you over the past 40 years. Sincerely, (s) Cliff W. Green Fair & Rodeo seeks 1990-91 theme '• » The Morrow County Fair and Rodeo is seeking a theme for the 1990-91 fair. A prize will be award ed to the best theme idea. Send all suggestions to the fair secretary, P.O. Box 464, H eppner, by December 5. The person submitting the winn ing theme will be notified. A PROdf^TATION WilKMKAS, America' r public « rltnnk *crvc all of ll»e cliihlirti of all o f llic people; ami WIIKRKAS, llie alretiRtli of a rntnnuinily h measurer! by ihe schools it keeps; and WIIK UK AS, lire schools of lire 1*1*10* need Inond riliarn sii|n»o»l In m eet Ihe diverse needs of today's families ami In Irelp each slmlenl achieve his or Irer iwtlenlial; ami WIIKRKAS. educational excellence is hnill on ihe involvement of the entire community, including parents, business leaders, elected officials, public service personnel, and senior cilizrns, N n w /IK h r f n r r , » naetÙasJ- « tv " '* a« County Judo« «rid C hairm an o f th e Gov e r n i no Board ------------Harrim twetr____________________ . To the Editor; 1 wish to take this opportunity to thank Pastor George Izzett and the members of All Saints Episcopal Church for their willingness to pro vide a generous Thanksgiving din ner for the people of Heppner and the surrounding communities. I think it is a good act of community service and I trust that all of those who worked hard feel good about their efforts. Those who came, ate and enjoyed the fellowship understand the true meaning of giving thanks. Our hats off to the members of All Saints Church. (s) The Rev. Stan Hoobing mergency call at approximately that time through Heppner. Unfortunately it is often necessary for emergency vehicles to drive faster than the designated speed limit in response to an emergency call. Oregon State Law recognizes this fact and allows for emergency vehicles to do so legally. That is why these vehicles are equipped with lights and sirens to warn the public. The law does not relieve the operator of the emergency vehicle of the responsibility for his actions and he or she must operate the vehicle in a prudent and safe manner no matter what the situation. On the day in question the deputy was operating his vehicle with his emergency lights and siren activated in response to a possible life- threatening situation several miles south of Heppner. The information he had indicated he needed to get to the scene as quickly as possible to prevent a violent situation from tur ning into someone actually being in jured or worse. I am certain that if it was you or someone in your family being threatened with physical harm you would want the police to get there as fast as is prudently possible. After talking with the deputy this is what I believe he was doing. Lastly, this department has strict policies regarding the safe and pro fessional operation of its vehicles. These will be adhered to by the department members. I can find no evidence that this policy was violated in this case. The department has pro cedures in place to investigate com plaints against its member officers. I would encourage any citizen who has questions, complaints, sugges tions, etc., to contact me or the head of any agency which serves their area. We are only as good as the citizen support we get. Sincerely, (s) Roy Drago Morrow County Sheriff Thanks to Oregon voters To the Editor: I wish to extend my profound thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Oregon voters who supported my candidacy for governor. All voters have now spoken. Although I did not prevail, I have one final request of those who supported me: I ask you to reach out to those who did not support our efforts. The problems facing Oregon are too great to be confronted if we are a state marred by division and disunity. For my part, I pledge to work with persons of all political persuasions in our effort to fulfill the vision of greatness which this state can achieve. And I will continue my work as your attorney general to give Oregon citizens the finest department of justice in the United States. Sincerely, (s) Dave Frohnmayer Eugene Good memories To the People of Heppner: My dad, my sister and 1 rode in Cycle Oregon III, and we would all like to express our great appreciation for the warm welcome we received from your town. It was wonderful to see all the kind and hard-working volunteers who were so willing to give up their time to help make our ride a success. (We were especially impressed with the breakfast helpers who were out there with great food at 5:30 a.m ....that is true dedica tion). Each person’s efforts were very important in making the trip ftin for us; everything you did meant more time for us to rest after the day’s ride-and we needed it. Before Cyle Oregon, none of us were familiar with Heppner. Thanks to all of you, we now have very good memories of your community. Thank you very much. Sincerely, (s) Dana, Michelle and Carl Jacobson Vancouver, WA. Chamber Chatter Heppner Police Hughes, Chamber Manager Report By Claudia Town and Country Week is set for January 15 to 18. Traditionally this is the time to recognize a Business of the Year and present First Citizen awards and the Educator Recogni tion award. Organizations and in dividuals are encouraged to pick up nomination forms at the Chamber of fice (H eppner T V .) or call 676-9663. The Chamber of Com merce awards committee has set December 22 as the deadline for nominations. These should be sub mitted to Chamber Award Selection Committee, P.O. Box 1232, Hepp ner, OR 97836 or delivered to the Chamber office in an envelope. Selection of Citizen of the Year is based on volunteer community ser vice, activity in community life, leadership, participation in affairs outside of his or her business, pro fession, or vocation, and cooperation in community and civic affairs. The Business of the Year is based on im provement and investment, com munity involvement and innovation in the business employee and customer relations programs. The education selection salutes someone from the educational community who has gone that extra step to par ticipate in community activities or has made an outstanding contribution to the area. Chamber president Cliff Green encourages nominations “ as there are many deserving people in our community and Morrow County to be recognized." The Heppner Police Department reports handling the following business during the past week: November 12: 11:07 p.m.-assist Fire Department. November 13: 9:14 p.m.-report of Theft. November 14: 8:04 a.m.-Welfare Check: 9:09 a.m.-Dog Complaint; 11:41 a.m.-assist another agency; 7:18 p.m.-report of Burglary. November 15: 7:27 p.m.-returned Property; 8:39 p.m.-assist Morrow County S h eriff’s D epartm ent; 11:12-report of Missing Person. November 16: 11:45 a. m.-citation issued for No Operator’s License. November 17: 6:51-report of Disturbance. November 18: 2:48-Civil Matter; 6:36 p.m .-F ound Property; 7:07-citation issued for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. American PAucaiion iVeek flo o rm /u '/i H iJ, W O All citisens are urged to observe this week with appropt iate activities and In renew AS I SEE IT OPEN SUNDAYS until Christmas 12 noon - 4 p.m. PETTYJOHN’S Farm & Builders Supply 676-9157 or 676-5001 424 Lvnden Way, Heppner CHEVROLET OUR POLICY FOR OVER 40 YEARS • Offer the lowest prices • Treat people right • Provide quality service • Support our community If you accept anything less you are not buying from the right dealership _________ J Ik» H etH rr iiro rln im Monday night’s School Board meeting confirmed a suspicion I’ve had for some time—continued operation of the School Advisory Committee system is a waste of time. When the several school districts in _ 40 Morrow County were consolidated many years ago into a county wide ad ministrative district, three area ad visory committees were set up to pacify the opponents to the consolidation. Those local committees were intended By Ed Glenn to replace the local input and control of the former local district boards. The three advisory committees sit in the Heppner/Lexington, Ione/Lex- ington and Boardman/Irrigon areas. Certain matters, such as the hiring of new personnel, are required to be submitted to the local committee for recommendation to the board. Other matters come before the committees on their own initiative or at the suggestion of a patron of the area. The committees meet every month and their meetings are usually at tended by the superintendent, the principals of the schools in their area and the board members from the area. Only occasionally is there a matter in which advice is passed on to the board. Generally, those meetings are; informational in nature. There have been only two occasions recently when the Boardman/Ir rigon Advisory Committee has passed on advice to the Board regarding policy of the district. The first was their advice to bar the use of experienced classroom teachers in the interview and selection of new teachers. They were wrong on that issue and the Board wisely declined to take the advice. Monday evening the committee advised that charter buses be used to transport Riverside athletic teams to away games during the winter sports season. They cite the inexperience of Riverside bus drivers on snowy moun tain roads as the principle reason. As I see it, they were wrong on that count too, but the reception their advice received by both the administration and the Board was nothing short of appalling. Part of the justification for using the district buses is the perceived notion that charter buses are much more expensive. The com mittee asked for cost comparisons to examine the perception. The ad ministration made no effort whatever to comply with the request and pro vide the Board with any real data on the comparative cost. Another resistance comes from the idea that the labor contract with the district’s drivers requires a rotation of drivers so that all drivers, experienc ed and inexperienced alike must be given their turn at athletic trips. That is simply not true. The rotation is an administrative concession that has entirely different considerations that a contract requirement. Finally, there is a perception that charter bus drivers are no more ex perienced than district school bus drivers. That perception was not tested by any investigation either. So with the administration’s rejection of the idea from its very incep tion, and with no investigation of the facts, the matter came before the Board for consideration. The Board was promptly advised of the administra tion’s position, as they should have been. But the treatment the Board gave committee members was no better, perhaps worse, than the treatment they give any disgruntled citizen who shows up to complain about any other thing the district does, or does not do. The usual air of superiority, aloof to the complaints of the ordinary patron prevailed. One board member did try to reach the nexus of the problem but was virtually ignored. The board members from the Boardman/Irrigon area were curiously silent. It may be that this lack of serious considera tion is reserved for the Boardman/Irrigon Committee, but since they repre sent more than 60% of the students in the district, that reservation would be rather odd. The issue was essentially decided by chairman Bill Doherty with the comment “ We travel those kinds of roads all the time at lone and Hepp ner.” That comment missed the point entirely, since those schools have experience with those runs while Riverside is entering a new league with new routes substantially dissimilar to any experience most of the drivers at Riverside have gained. Judging from the reception (not the results, which in my opinion were right) that the administration and Board have afforded the advice given by the Advisory Committees, it looks to me that the time and effort given by those committee members is wasted. The committees are simply ob solete, unwanted and their real function ignored. It’s time to do away with this exercise in futility. 7 t Deputy’s response appropriate To the Editor: This letter is in response to the citizens concerned about the police car’s speed November 8, 1990 in Heppner. Although I can’t be certain it was one of my units, since other police cars were also responding, our records indicate that the sheriff s of fice had a patrol car going to an Advisory Committees Obsolete Shela’s Busy ’ Woman’s I YOU CAN’T BEAT OUR DEAL I Carpet C leaning | SHERRELL CHEVROLET their commitment to tl*e education of every child V ' ‘ ' Signed this 16th day of November . mm Service FREE Estimates j Flexible hours for vour convenience J For Appt. Call: 422-7402 I -t - V vi Hermiston, Oregon | THE. O F A M ERICA IS WINNING. Phone 567-6487 TODAYS CHEVROLET
