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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1993)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 15, 1993 Teenage smoking remains a problem The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U S.P.S 240-420 Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Publish«! weekly and entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Hepp ner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Second class postage paid at Hepp ner, Oregon. Office at 147 West Willow Street. Telephone (503) 676-9228. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette- Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner. Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $16 in Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam and Grant Counties; $23 elsewhere. Joyce Hughes ............................................................ Office Manager, Typesetting April Hilton-Sykes................................................................................ News Editor Monique D ev in ............................................................................................... Bindery Penni k e e rse m a k e r.........................................................................................Printer Jean Ann T u rn e r..................................................................................... Distribution David and April Hilton-Sykes, Publisher Letter to the Editor Education state’s lowest priority To the Editor: I am writing this letter to the editor as the superintendent of schools in Perrydale School District No. 21 located in Polk County, Oregon. 1 recently had the opportunity to review a document obtained from the legislative fiscal office entitled, “ Budget Highlights” , that summarizes the legislatively approved 1993-95 budget. As a school superintendent, I was appalled by the fact that this document shows 40 state agencies out of 71 have received adopted budgets in excess of 1991-93 estimated expenditures, and that one agency, the Department of Human Resources, received a 19.8 percent increase for this biennium. These increases occurred while State School Support (Basic) received a $372 million dollar decrease from 1991-93 figures. How is the legislature going to explain these facts to school peo ple and the parents across our state once these facts are made public? It appears education is the state’s lowest priority and yet, children are our state’s most im portant resource for the future. How is the legislature going to cut an additional $1.2 billion in revenue replacement cost in the 1995-97 budget? Will schools and kids be the scapegoat again? Where, when and how is this " slo w suffocation’’ and deterioration of our quality schools going to end? Reductions in state government that were made appear to be on ly from “ current service” or “ desired budget levels” and they do not represent real cuts in peo ple and programs at all. How can 1 explain this “ smoke and mir rors” state budgeting process to the taxpayers in Perrydale School District at a time when we are cutting 24 percent in real dollars and people and programs over the next two years. A loss of this magnitude will devastate our small school district and may even force consolidation. If you want to know why the sales tax failed across the state, the patrons in my district that I have spoken with said it had a lot to do with people’s perceptions of the legislature and state govern ment’s credibility. After reading the Budget Highlights document, I concur with this assessment. Respectfully yours, (s) Tim Adsit, superintendent Perrydale School Dist. No. 21 Amity Likes to keep in touch To the Editor: Dear friends and relatives. It was wonderful hearing from all of you who have kept in touch with me this last year. I have en joyed the monthly bulletin that the All Saints Episcopal Church sends each month. My prayers and blessings are always with you. Merry Christmas to all and a very happy New Year. Keep writing. Sincerely, (s) Marguerite Chapin 3141 N.E. 148th Ave. Portland, 97230 Day’ s Unique» Boutique 676-9102 Let us do your holiday baking. Orders for Christmas by Dec. 16. Everything for all your holiday needs: Ornaments • unique gift ideas • gift baskets decorations • free gift wrapping • delivery in city --------------—------------------------------ 289 N. Main_____________________________ COAST TO COAST YOUR SOURCE FOR CHRISTNAS SHOPPING HIM HER THEM US Comfortable - No Hassle Shopping Value - Selection - Service AVOID THE CROWDS LET US HELP YOU SHOP C oast to C oast Hegpner WF CAS H U P YOl 67A-9961 To the Editor: As we get ready to celebrate the Christmas season there are some interesting facts about teenage smoking that might in terest all of us. Between 1983 and 1992, the proportion of adults smoking cigarettes declined from 30 percent to 24 percent, a 20 percent reduction. This informa tion, from a Louis Harris poll that has been conducted every year since 1983, confirms other studies documenting the con tinued slide in adult smoking rates. However, smoking by our youth has not gone down. In the 1980’s it stayed on a stubborn plateau, despite efforts to bring it down. Since 1988, the number of young people smoking cigaret tes has begun to increase. PRIDE (Parents Resource In stitute for Drug Education) recently released their annual survey of teenage drug use and it has some bad news. Between 1990-91 and the 1991-92 school years, there was a seven percent increase in smoking among high school age students and a whop ping 12 percent increase at the junior high level. These findings were cor roborated by a study conducted in California by John Pierce. As a result of the multi-million dollar campaign to reduce smoking that was sparked by Proposition 99, adult smoking has declined but unfortunately teenage smoking has not. Now I realize that not all of our teenagers smoke, but many use other forms of tobacco that are just as dangerous to the health of our young people. Maybe this Christmas season, one of the best gifts to give our children, and grandchildren, is a creative alternative to smoking cigarettes and use of other forms of tobacco. Sincerely, (s) Rev. Stan Hoobing Convenor of Heppner-Lexington Oregon Together Seeks others who share same experience Pride in electorate again justified To the Editor: My pride in the Oreogn elec torate has once again been justified. The way in which the sales tax was defeated should send a message loud and clear to those who keep trying to burden the taxpayer with proposals to develop an elite society of bureaucrats and theorocrats. With the OSEA and the OEA amuck in Salem, it would be nearly im possible for the legislators to Justice Court Report The Justice Court office at the courthouse annex building in Heppner reports handling the following business during the past week: Jody Lea Hendricks, 22, Irrigon-Driving While Suspend ed, $357 fine; Driving Unin sured, $25 fine; Teddy J. Finch, 52, St. Helens- Open Fire in Prohibited Area, $76 fine; Stacy Lee W ilson, 19, L exington-Failure to Dim Headlights, $50 fine; Bill J. Eubanks, 71, Oregon City-No Bull Elk Tag, $65 fine; Alvin D. Ferguson, 44, Albany-No Bull Elk Tag, $65 fine; Thomas Jackson Melton, 18, Corvallis-Loaning Tag for Big Game Mammal, Elk, $65 fine; Charley Clint Biggerstaff, 47, Irrigon-Hunting Without a Valid General Season Elk Tag, $65 fine; Billy Gene M elton, 58, Hermiston-Failure to Tag Big Game Mammal, Elk, $57 fine; Borrowing Tag for Big Game Mammal, Elk, $65 fine; M ark Duane W ay, 27, Heppner-Careless Driving, $264 fine; Michael Robison, Heppner- Negotiating Bad Check, $587 plus $187.37 restitution, 180 days in jail; $500 fine and jail sentence suspended with no further viola tion of the law, no more bad checks; Kenneth Pearson. 32, Portland- Possession of Less Than One Ounce of Marijuana. $553 fine; G regory Soum okil, 29, Beaverton-Possession of Less Than One Ounce of Marijuana, $553 fine; David Miler, 31. lone-Reckless Driving, $587 fine, 180 days in jail, 90 day license suspension; $150 fine and jail sentence suspended with no further viola tion of the law excluding minor traffic. Market Report Compliments of the Morrow County Gram Growers Tuesday, December 14, 1993 Soft White Dec. »3.63 Jan. *3.64/*3.65 Feb. *3.67 March *3.67 New crop July »3.55 Aug. *3.55 Barley Dec. *103 Jan. * 105/* 106 Feb. *107 operate without doing homage to their demands. When those lob by’s have the ability to dictate conditions, it’s time the voters bear arms. I have received many favorable comments about a recent “ let ter” , concerning a flat-tax pro- possal. It’s not new, just ignored. Perhaps now it may get some consideration. As to the other half of the tax liability we share, property tax. This tax was designed to give each local community (in Oregon the counties), a method where local governments (i.e. county, cities and local schools) would be financed. It became a reasonable way to pay for those services, by taxing the property values within that jurisdiction. Then came “ equalization” whereby the wealthier school districts were mandated to help “ equalize” the not so wealthy. Seemed fair. Unfortunately equalization has come to mean, not equal education, but salaries of the educators to be equal to at torney’s, doctors, etc. and lobbies like OEA that have the electorate so unwilling to trust^their With the flu in the air, I hope everyone had a flu shot. Nothing puts a crimp in the holidays like sickness. That vaccination can’t pro tect one from the intestinal bug which fortunately doesn’t last long- even though it leaves a body purged like a cat overdosed with castor oil. Once 1 realized that the very least effort during that affliction wasn’t going to be my last thought, it leaves quality thinking time, because you’re usually to weak for decisive action. My best thought in two days was a vow to be kinder to others who are stricken. I heartily recommend not to dwell about Christmas goodies that you might have been planning to make, even if it’s lean cuisine. But just like the December caption on the Lex Graham calendar, at my age I don’t worry about health food as I need all the preservatives 1 can g e t- just to function. This minor setback did leave me with a finer appreciation of fresh water, regardless of minerals or other things I can’t see. Home wells are not often tested, so it’s surprising that we’ve lived this long. No doubt that will be mandatory in the future, with a fee attached, of course. This leads into water and owner issues, sneaky, huh? It’s a fact that who controls the water controls the land. So with the govern ment stepping in to tell us how to manage water, maybe we’ll be rationed to three glasses per day. A printed statement said the cooperative spirit of the Umatilla Basin water project could be shattered by a disagreement over the “ smaller issue” of water spreading. If this person’s livelihood or his job was dependent on the use of water on 17,500 acres along the Columbia River, it might create quite a different opinion. Already the draw-down of the John Day dam pool has had an im pact on agriculture that generates taxes to support our country. Wastefulness can’t be ignored, but a downturn in the agricultural economy could have a disastrous result for everyone. People might be upset if there were no food in grocery stores. Hermiston is trying to develop more water for a growing popula tion based from our agricultural economy. But there are other con cerns. Indian treaty rights of 1885 guarantee enough water in the Umatilla, Columbia and even beyond ceded land-to sustain a healthy fishery. Every river and creek that run into this basin could be im pacted by those treaty rights. Private landowners are already seeing adjudication for the use of water in all river basins. Small potatoes in the overall picture, but the DEQ termed a dry canyon in our area as an intermittent stream; however a toad couldn’t wet his whistle there except during a flash flood. But if all streams and canyons are to be fenced off to improve fish habitat, livestock could not utilize forage without convenient access to water. A con centrated access to water causes more stream sedimentation and destruction to the eco-system than access over a larger area. Disastrous storms, wildlife damage or drought conditions are factors that land owners constantly battle. We can’t turn this country back to pioneer days. If cattle ranchers are reduced to a few cows and a horse or two, maybe they can eke out a living dude ranching by catering to those who would like to turn the west into a wilderness. Wallowa County Judge Arleigh Isley said it best at the cattlemen’s m eeting-“ We’re at war” to preserve a way of life and the region’s economy. Pass the water and an aspirin, please, it’s time to make Christmas fudge. * Dec. 18: Tom & Jerry Party 6:30-9 p.m. Dec. 31: Gala New Year Celebration, dining 6-9 p.m. M usic 9-? p.m. government. How mayways are there to re mind our legislators that its time for everyone to tighten their belts. I had a teacher complain to me about the way the kids have been “ betrayed” by the sales tax vote and I couldn’t help but remark, “ It’s always the kids who are held hostage, isn’t it?” I’ll bet a couple years in the timber in dustry would change the attitude of that teacher. (s) Loren M. Seibert Dallas Bingo every Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Dining Fri. & Sat. nights 6-9 p.m. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all H eppner Elks 358 “ Where Friends M eet ” 676-9181 142 N. Main! XNNHMKIMMUNO § Court Street Market - 111 N. Court Heppner 676-9643 GROCERIES - MEATS - PRODUCE I? Prices good Dec. 15th - 24th Family 2 liter Boneless 19 < + deP tf C oca C o la W Western Family 8 oz. j j C ream C h eese 4! Western J? Reg . 99 c J5< P ork L oin R oast $ l° ° ib {A B e e f P rim e R ib R oast » a 4* » ! ___ 8 Family Frozen 8 oz. W h ip p ed T o p p in g Reg 99 c 59 < 29 < C elery ib Western Family sliced 12 oz. $ ti A m erican C h eese C a rro ts Reg »2« 99 < If Western Family 2 lb. ^ R a isin s Reg *2» \ amS 29^ Jumbo size fU If lb. ^ tl ft P otatoes JA Western Family 20 oz. ir P in ea p p le Re *i« 10 ib bag JA Western Family 6 roll pack 89 < Family 16 oz. G reen B ean s bag ■ II Western Family 16 oz « S n ack C ra ck ers || Western 59 ^ 2 lb. cello pack B ath room T issu e . Reg »1 » if Western Family 12 in x 25 ft. Reg *i°* 2 i0r 79< A lu m in u m Foil Reg 89« 5 5 < jk Golden Prairie Boneless unsliced j j '/i H am » C lo s e d C h ris tm a s D a y C lo s e a t 4 C h ris tm a s Eve g H ills S liced B acon •!••«>. Jj ir s
