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