Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1992)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 1, 1992 The Official Newspaper o f the City o f Heppner and the County o f Morrow The Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper U S P S 240-420 Published esers Wednesda) and entered as second-class mailer al 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. Office Manager. Typesetting Joyce Hughes ................ ........................... News Editor April Sykes .................... ............Graphics Department Mary Van B ibber.......... ........................... Distribution Monique P a r r e l............ ....................................Printer Penni Keersemaker . . . . David and April Sykes, Publishers Letters to the Editor Support the motel tax To the Editor: I have a question for the op ponents o f the proposed motel tax. W hen you go out o f town, either for business or pleasure, do you realize that you pay a motel tax and that this very tax goes to im prove the com m unity where you are staying? Much o f that tax from your pocket helps these towns and cities to fund economic development and run their visitor and convention bureaus. In Hepp ner, it would do the same thing. W'hy not let visitors pay this, thus helping your com m unity as you often help theirs? The events and activities such as Cycle O regon, St. Patrick’s C e le b ra tio n , R odeo P arade. Christm as lighting project, hotel project, RV project, state fair booth, Heppner brochures, coun ty brochures and placem ats. lunch with Santa, etc., which in crease business are all supported by the cham ber either with volunteer time o r money. Hiring a m anager who believes in the com m unity m eans continuity from year to year. It’s important to have a phone num ber and ad d re s s th a t d o e s n ’t ch a n g e everytim e a new president goes into office. The m anager’s job has no medical benefits and the “ hourly” wages vary depending on how often the job goes home; wages are two office days per week. The benefits are working with and getting to know people who are willing to volunteer to make Heppner a better place to live and work. I invite you to visit with me or cham ber m em bers about what you feel cham ber should be do ing, how I spend my tim e, our goals and budget. C urrently, we try to promote good working re la tio n s h ip s w ith H e p p n e r re ta ile r s , co u n ty an d city government, HEDC. the schools, other county cham bers, the ran ching com m unity. Port o f M or row. senior citizens, park district, health services and organizations. While many chambers kept all the C y c le O re g o n fu n d s fo r them selves, our cham ber and ci ty elected to share it among volunteer organizations involved who w orked hard. Had the $14,000 been set aside, the cham ber might not need to be asking for a motel tax now. It is hoped that by having a m anager continue to work for Cham ber, m ore o f these opportunties will come along to be shared within the community. The m otel ow ner will receive a percentage for im plementing the tax, thus earning m ore, not less, for his business. A day seldom passes that Chamber doesn’t give a caller the phone num ber o f the motel or bed and breakfast. You can be sure that should Heppner Cham ber ever have ex cess funds, they would go right back into the com m unity. T hat’s what the Heppner C ham ber of Commerce is about...a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a positive environm ent where people and business thrive. Please write letters o f support for the motel tax to be enacted by the city council, so that visitors can con tribute to our com m unity as we do to theirs. Thank you, (s) Claudia Hughes Bond measure critical for community To the Editor: At the M arch 9 city council meeting the council directed the city adm inistrator and the city at torney to prepare a 10 year C a p ita l Im p ro v e m e n t Bond measure for voter consideration at the June 30, 1992 election. This bond m easure is absolutely critical for the future o f this community. T he sta te w id e p re s s has reported extensively on how m any cities escap ed B allot M easure S cutbacks. This is not the case in H eppner. Out o f 240 cities in Oregon, Heppner has ex perienced the third largest percen tage cutback. All totaled, the ci ty has had its collectible tax base reduced by 40 percent. This is why the city’s proposed budget for 1992-93 shows the elim ina tion o f one police officer and all police equipment, the elimination o f all fire equipm ent, the closure o f the city library, and the closure o f the swimming pool. (The pool also has some severe structural and safety problem s). If approved by voters, the pro posed bond m easure will allow the city to maintain, over the long term , a fire departm ent and a p o lic e d e p a rtm e n t. B allo t M ea su re 5 has co m p letely eliminated the funds the city once used for these needs. W ithout adequate funding to replace equipment these departments will wither away as their existing eq u ip m en t b re ak s d ow n o r becomes outmoded or unreliable. Already, our main pum per truck at the fire departm ent cannot pump water at its specified level. This truck is now 31 years old. Due to the increasing odds o f mechanical breakdowns as age increases, most fire departm ents will discard a truck after 20 years to assure that their equipm ent is reliable. Imagine if your house caught on fire and this old truck broke down before it reached you. I d o n ’t think any o f us warn to live with this kind o f risk. Some people have said that the city should not include police equipm ent in this m easure. L et’s think about this for a minute. Do we really want to depend on the M orrow C ounty S h e riff for police protection? W e’ve been told in the past that the city would receive only bare-bones coverage by the sheriff. How many o f us want to wait for 15 m inutes, a half hour or longer for police pro tection to arrive if o u r lives are in danger? How many o f us want to tell the w orld that “ Heppner is open for crim e” because we have e lim in a te d o u r po lice departm ent? W ell, if we do n ’t have the funds to equip a police departm ent, we eventually w on’t be able to have one. A point worth stressing is that only 16.6 percent o f the measure is committed to police equipment, a small price to pay for 10 years w orth o f equipm ent. (81.2 per cent o f the bond is for fire equip m ent and 2.2 percent is for ad m inistration.) Also, with the reduction in m anpow er at the police department, the city will be reducing from two squad cars to one, and all other equipm ent needs have been down-moded from a three-m an force to a two m an force. Yes, it’s true the bond m easure will fund a new Multi- departm ental car in 1999 that could be used by the police. Here again, I think most o f us want to know that, if our lives or property are in immediate danger, the police will be able to respond in force. Having access to the Multi- Departm ental vehicle will allow o u r off-duty officer to provide back -u p in the event o f a dangerous situation. This car will also be used by other city depart ments and, as such, will allow the city to elim inate not only the one police car, but also the city fire car. The end result is fewer autom obiles and m ore efficient use o f tax dollars. In fiscal year 1993-94, the ci ty will pay o ff a bond measure passed by the voters in 1974 for development o f our water system. It is w orth noting that paying off this old bond will offset about half o f the cost o f the propsed bond. So, after fiscal 1993-94, our city taxes w on’t be much different than they are right now, and we will have been able to save critical public safety services. A nd, o u r overall city taxes will rem ain over 20 percent lower than before ballot M easure 5. Now, th at’s a deal we can ’t af ford to pass up. Heppner is a great place to live. But, ballot M easure 5 threatens to cripple our community in some very critical areas. L et’s all work together to assure that H eppner rem ains a safe and livable place. Sincerely, (s) Kathryn E. Robinson M ayor Recession forced upon ourselves To the Editor: Today we have an economy with many O regonians out o f work. Why? It is not entirely because o f fac tors beyond our control; to a large degree we have forced this reces sion on ourselves. Under the pretense o f saving the spotted owl, the preserva tionists have em asculated the timber industry and their good paying jo b s, they are holding up the w estside bypass around Portland and the thousands of jobs which this would create, and they have stopped the M t. Hood recreational project and dozens m ore around the state. One factor most depressing our economy is the restrictive and op- p re s siv e O re g o n la n d use regulatory system. This prevents thousands o f landow ners from building homes on their own land. It prevents many small businesses from getting started because o f unreasonable zoning regulation. The high land costs resulting from present land use Good Ideas laws has raised housing costs out o f the reach o f many low and m iddle income Oregonians. The cum ulative effect o f the system is to shut down jobs of c o n s tru c tio n w o rk e rs , m ill workers and loggers; however, it filters down to all business, in cluding the com er grocery store. In the 1930 era we went through a real depression which was the result o f circum stances beyond our control. Today we are fo rc in g a re c e s s io n upon ourselves largely because o f our ow n choosing. W hen will we ever learn? (s) H erbert & Shirley Carnahan 12730 NE Flett Road G aston, OR 97119 Good ideas are like gold, they’re where you find them. No one person, group or ideology has a monopoly on good ideas, everyone has one now and then. Governor Barbara Roberts had a good idea in her “ Conversation with Oregon.” Time will tell how well she used it. But the idea of using telephone, television and computers to have a face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball with tens of thousands of Oregonians is like a breath of fresh air in the Governor’s mansion. Locked up in a Salem office, the Governor can become so jaded in outlook by the daily contact with bureaucrats and legislators that the potential for losing contract with real people is great. Roberts’ “ Conver sation with Oregon” must have given her an entirely new point of view o f the real people of Oregon. Jerry Brown has a good idea. His 800 telephone number is an exciting new link with the people. Of course, he hopes you will write a $100 con tribution on your credit card when you call, but even that is a real change from financing a campaign with millions of PAC dollars. What other presidential candidate works hard to make sure you know his phone number? I think “ Conversation with Oregon” and 800 telephone numbers are good ideas because government has drifted too far away from the govern ed. The average, ordinary people whose lives are impacted every day by one governmental decision or another are systematically excluded from the process. That can even be true on the local level too. City councilmen and coun ty commissions can easily get the attitude that they know better about what the people need than even the people they serve. They can get puffed up with their own importance and lose sight of their real source of authority, “ the consent of the governed.” You see this arrogance expressed in different ways. An office tucked away down the hall behind closed doors. A front office secretary with whom you have to make an appointment. A meeting schedule so tight that there’s never time for one-on-one conversation. You see it in power struggles and personal strategies and single issue platforms. Rarely do these agendas truly serve the people, but rather serve the politician. Some folks are really interested in economic development but most of us are concerned about other things as well such as roads, health care, taxes, land use and the scope of governmental intrusion in our lives. Single issue candidates rarely serve the people well since all their energy is squandered on that one issue. People are all different, with different wor ries and concerns. It takes a person with a wide range of interests, a broad sense of perspective and a good sense of humor to deal with all the issues of government. Some folks think it’s important to be chairman of some croup or another, but others are more interested in just how that group impacts life in the real world. People who are more concerned with who or what they’ve been seldom serve the people as well as those more interested in what they can do. Some politicians think attending a meeting of 30 or 40 people is impor tant (and sometimes it is) but taking time to listen to just one person on the street or in a coffee shop somewhere is also important. After all, it is that person on the street who will likely talk about what really bothers him. Politicians must spend at least as much time listening as they do talking. Representative government must be just that: representative. If politi cians, national, state and local, don’t represent the people they govern, then the whole idea breaks down. The good idea is one that preserves the vision and avoids the isolation that is always a bad idea. We could boil down the good ideas of Governor Roberts and Jerry Brown in a single word: access. All of us could do with better access to our political leaders. My phone number is 481-3151. Justice Court Report____ The Justice C ourt office at the courthouse annex building in H eppner reports handling the following business during the past week: T erry Gene Edm ondson, 44, Boise, ID -Im proper Right Turn from W rong Lane, $22 fine; Donald Paul C hristm an, 26, H eppner-Exceeding the M ax imum Speed Lim it, 71 mph in a 55 mph zone, $46 fine; Richard W ilson Keefer, 75, Canby-Exceeding the M aximum Speed Limit, 71 mph in a 55 mph zone, $46 fine; Melvin M onroe McDaniel, 46, H eppner-D efective Equipm ent, $56 fine by default; Johnnie Albert Thom as, 61, H erm iston-Exceeding the M ax im um Speed Limit, 68 mph in a 55 mph zone, 46 fine; Billy E ugene G en try , 63, 111 N. Court Brushpopper: The Legend Continues, Boneless Our Wrangler Brushpopper’" shirts make everyone look good. W hat’s more, they’re cut from 100% cotton twill, rangewashed, and water and wind resistant, as well. Available in solid colors, vertical stripes and new horizontal chest stripe. G ardner’s w T e A R 193 N Mam St 676-9210 Heppner Boneless Beef o f tw o location» MILTON-FREEWATER BOARDMAN Old C olum bi* Highw ay • 4114241 5 9 Y 2 heads Pepsi .,P Western Family Thin Slice 2.5oz. Beef-T urkey-Chicken-Ham •I**ib Lunch Meat " * • 594* Clams Purina Happy Cat 48oz. Fried Chicken Cat Food Banquet 28oz. Welch Grape 32 oz. T .V . Dinners > 2for8S* Snow's minced or chopped 616oz. • ■ • • ib . Banquet 9oz. reg »1” ^ l * * e a . Jelly icg.n » F G ’ ea. reg. M « ^ ï ® * e a . reg *2’* ® l* ® e a . Western Family 10lb. BOB CALLOW Celery C O N C R E T E A R O C K S A I.E S Red Delicious 12 pack, 12oz. cans Hills Sliced Bacon lb. Lettuce Ribs Turkey Cutlets Red Potatoes Apples Roast Steak announce tho o p in in g M a rc h 18 - 24, 1992 H igh Low P rec R ain Tues. 67 48 .0 W eds. 68 46 .18 Thurs. 62 48 .02 Fri. 56 26 .0 Sat. 55 31 .0 Sun. 63 37 .0 M on. 62 39 .0 Total precipitation for March was .81 GROCERIES - MEATS - PRODUCE Beef Rib w by City of Heppner Prices Good April 1st through 7th Heppner 676-9643 Beef Shoulder Clod THE NEW OWNERS OF Weather Report ourt Street Market 1 ) 4 9 lb. C O N C R E T E K ì R O C K S A I.I s Heppner-Careless Driving, $126 fine; W illiam Keith C azier, 20, Stanfield-Exceeding the M ax imum Speed Lim it, 65 mph in a 55 mph zone, $22 fine; Linda Rae Tullis, 42, Ione- Careless D riving, $126 fine; A m y L yn G re e n u p , 18, Heppner-Exceeding the M ax imum Speed Lim it, 80 mph in a 55 mph zone, $108 fine. 3 0 V Sugar •4” ® 3 ea. bag
