Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 1, 1995 - FIVE
Museum could spell economic relief
A new history center to be
located in Heppner may be just
what the doctor ordered in
terms of an ailing economy.
The first phase of the center,
to be called the Morrow Coun
ty History Center, has been
completed and bids are to be let
for engineering and architec
tural plans.
The project was initially pro
mpted by Harold 'Shorty' and
Edna Peck's donation of their
farm museum to the county in
1991. A subsequent ad hoc
committee was appointed and,
with the input of Morrow
County Museum director Mar
sha Sweek, further developed
the idea. A siting study was
prepared for the court by
McKeever/Morris, Inc. engin
eers.
The new museum will pro
vide displays and exhibits
documenting the history of
agriculture in Morrow County.
The center will be located at the
grain elevator in Heppner, near
Green Feed and Seed and will
include: living history exhibits,
outdoor exhibits, an area for
reconstruction and mainten
ance of farm machinery to be
displayed, a working flour mill,
a museum store, a cafe and out
door cafe seating, a ticket and
information booth, office space,
a working elevator which will
provide rides into the grain
elevator and provide a panor
amic view of the city, a
pedestrian plaza, a park with a
gazebo and restrooms and two
parking areas, one for 100
vehicles and one for overflow
and RV/Bus narking. A pedes
trian and bike path will connect
the museum to the downtown
area.
The new museum became a
consideration when it was
determined that the current
museum, which houses over
4,000 artifacts, was simply not
big enough. It could not store
and display all the artifacts that
the community had donated
over the years and there was no
ro0m for expansion. Th&re was
algo a conei¥ri "tnajO ^p-'
vironmental conditions were
not adequate to protect the ar
tifacts displayed there and at
P eck's
farm
implement
museum.
Sweek, who has been Mor
row County Museum director
for the past seven years, says
that Ron Brentano, field direc
tor for the Oregon Historical
Society, said that 40 to 80 thou-
sand people could visit the new
museum annually, based on
figures from other interpretive
centers in the state. "It's going
to be first class," said Morrow
County Judge Louis Carlson.
"By all indications, by all con
sultants, it is supposed to be
one of the finest collections in
the state." Carlson said that the
project will draw tourists ex
pressly to the community and
will entice others to stay, who
might have just passed through
before. He added that while
tourism may not be the answer
to all the community's pro
blems, it will give an added
economic boost to the area,
especially considering the
threats to timber and agri
culture.
The facility was donated by
the Morrow County Grain
Growers, who, said Sweek,
had planned to surplus the
building, which isn't designed
to handle grain in today's
market. The building is valued
around $150,000. Kinzua Cor
poration donated $75,000 from
their community fund and
another $100,000 came from
regional strategies monies. The
whole project, including the
value of the existing collec
tion, now housed at the Mor
row County Museum, and
Shorty Peck's Museum, comes
to $1.4 million. Two grants are
in the works and Sweek ex
pects much of the project to
come from in-kind donations.
C a r l
son says that once the museum
is up and running it should be
able to pay for itself, adding
that many of the museum's
staff could be volunteers. Greg
Smith of the GEODC office in
Heppner is in charge of fund
raising.
Sweek anticipates that the ar
chitectural and design work
will be completed around Feb.
of 1996, with construction
hoped to begin that summer
and the entire project com
pleted by 1988 at the earliest.
She says that tte project will
have a distinctly local touch,
with three parallel stories told
by the exhibits-the broad
generic story of the history of
agriculture; the cultural, in
dustrial and political develop
ment of the county; with those
two stories told by the families
of the county, using local
names and artifacts. "W e've
got to keep it personal," add
ed Sweek, "and keep it our
PMH Foundation receives
money for X-ray equipment
The Collins Foundation of
Portland recently awarded the
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
Foundation $10,000 for the pur-
chase of remanufactured X-ray
equipment at Pioneer Memorial
Hospital. Last week, trustees of
the hospital foundation voted
to add another $10,000 of their
own funds in support of the
project. Larry Mills, president
of the Pioneer Memorial
Hospital Foundation Board said
trustees will try to raise an ad-
ditional $5,000 in local support.
The proposed X-ray equipment
includes fluoroscopy capabil-
ities and is expected to improve
the quality of the hospital's
radiographic services.
Kevin Erich, administrator at
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
M arket Report
Compliments of the Morrow County Grain Growers
said, "These donations shov
there are people who car
about the well-being of rur£
Americans. I am extremel
grateful to them for thei
generosity and support." H
added that recent grant fur
ding will help south Morro\
county residents maintain a<
cess to essential diagnostic >
ray services.
According to Erich, total >
ray improvement costs will b
$105,500. A total of $53,500 ha
been raised through grants an
community donations. Th
project's unfunded balance i
being sought through add
tional local donations an
private financing. Erich said h
hopes to have the radiology in-
J
S S E T " **
nP
nn Arrp«
1C on access roaa
The lone Commmunity Agri-
Business
Organization
(ICABO) will sponsor a town
hall meeting on Monday,
February 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the
lone School Cafeteria. The pur-
pose of the meeting is to get the
lone community's consensus
on the need of a job access road
to the Portland General Electric
Carty Plant, the industrial area
at the airport, and the agricul-
ture industry on the Boeing
leased lands. ICABO feels that
the proposed job access road
would bring in families to live
jn the lone area and will
counteract the current trend of
a declining town population
and school enrollment,
a vote at the February 6
meeting will determine if the
proposed job access road will
be taken under consideration
by the Morrow County Court,
Speakeasy II slated in Heppner
There is more to public
speaking than saying some
words in front of a group. 4-H
members are invited to
Speakeasy II (originally titled
Advanced Speakeasy) Friday,
Feb. 10, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at
the Heppner Jr. High Home Ec
4-H
room This will help
4
members gain experience in
putting presence and pizazz in-
to their speaking presentation.
This field day is filled with
practice activities that will help:
put expression and emotion in-
to youV speaking voice; project
your voice to the back row; use
.overheads as a visual aid; be
‘ i'j,
.
.iiicb ' i
!
t -bring-
Of I
aware of what your body is do-
ing while you speak; gain con-
fldence to share your speaking
talent; use a microphone; and
g * e a good introduction.
, Speakeasy II is designed for
4' H members who have had
some, experience with public
speaking. Those who are
T
'-»♦■no
in H
f P ea* easy 1
*?»ve given a presentation to a
c*u^' or )ust don * m11^
in front of a SrouP' th,s field
day *s ^or yoU-
.
Registration will begin at 1
P m- ^ tm tie s start at 1:15
P m- and Wl11 conclude at 3:30
P m Parents and leaders are
invited to participate, too.
Coyote Springs to produce
electrcity in November
The Coyote Spring co-gen
eration electrical plant is
scheduled to start producing
electricity the first week of
November of this year, it was
announced last week.
Construction on the co-gen
plant, which produces steam in
addition to electricity, was
started in September of last
year.
When completed, the plant,
which is located near Board-
man cin Port of Morrow proper
ty, will employ between 17-19
people.
The Port of Morrow believes
steam from the plant will attract
additional food processors to
port property.
The plant is owned by
Portland General Electric, and
will produce 220 mega-watts of
electricity. By comparison, the
larger coal-fired electrical plant,
also owned by PGE at Board-
man, produces 540 mega-watts.
Adventists host monthly spingspiration
The Seventhday Adventist
church of Heppner will host
the South Morrow County
Ministerial Association's sing-
spiration on Sunday, Feb. 12 at
7 p.m.
Special musical arrange-
ments are encouraged from
each participating church. A
time of fellowship and
refreshments will follow im-
mediately after the singspira-
tion.
Lexington Grange has installation
By Delpha Jones
Lexmgton Grange met on
Monday, Jam 16 for the regular
meeting with master .Clarence
Buchanan in the chair.
Members not installed
previously were installed bv
Historical Society trips. This be-
jng men-s night the ,adies
were served pancakes, eggs
and sausages by the men's sup.
committee.
lone Topic club ° gives
book review
T h is is a story about duty ver
Chamber
Chatter
By Claudia Hughes, Chamber Manager
Sixty-seven degrees outside.
If only it were St. Patrick's
weekend, but then that's
wishing the year away. Some
changes are in store for "Wee
Bit O Ireland in Heppner"
visitors. The new RV facility at
the lake will be dedicated on
Friday; Saturday a new event
has been added, "Y e Old
Bartenders
R ace"
with
challenges going out to the
Rainbow and Goosehollow
Inn; and Sunday everyone can
relax and enjoy a lamb
barbecue put on by the South
Morrow County Scholarship
Trust Board, followed by the
annual St. Patrick's auction. A
wee bit o' fun should be had by
one and all.
Crucial to the future of our
rural community will be the
passage of the bond measures.
To attract quality people, im
prove our economy and pro
vide healthy activities and
education for our children and
grandchildren we have to move
ahead to compensate for
measure 5. We have to look
after ourselves and our com
munity; we have learned that
the metropolitan areas are not
going to do so. Quality schools,
a pool, and activités are a
strong consideration when peo
ple consider moving to a com
munity or starting a business
there. So lets continue to move
forward as we prepare for our
Irish event and elect to provide
for the needs of our young peo
ple. March is the month.
Thought for the week: "The
reason the Ten Command
ments are short and. sweet is
that they were handed down
direct, and not through several
committees".
sus love, or tradition versus
love and the price one must
pay whether you choose duty
or love. The key to the novel
seems to be the recipes that
precede each chapter as they
relate to the leading character's
life. The story takes place in
Mexico during the agrarian
revolution between 1897 and
1919 and was translated from
the Spanish in 1992.
Special guests for the day
were June Crov «¿41 and Ann
Morter.
The library report showed a
count of 4,784 books in the
library at present. There are
many recent novels and lots of
pre-school books available. The
library is still having a story
hour twice a month for pre
school three and four year olds.
Hours are Monday and
Wednesday from 3-5 p.m.
Evening hours will be discon
tinued until later in the year. A
plaque honoring members who
have contributed to the success
of the library has been prepared
and will be mounted in the
library.
Anne Morter was present
and told about BMCC classes
such as cross country skiing
and shoe bbx photo classes
available tb Mbrfow County
people. If anyone is interested
in a specific class they could
contact Tier.
Ream
»
I Carton
W e D e liv e r
Gazette-Times
676-9228
Jonsdotter Johnson is buried in. Said to have died
in H ardm an Nov. 5 , 1885. Left 3 sons Nels, Emil
O tto, and Charles. I have snapshop of a tom b
stone shaped like a church pulpit. Correct stone?
This Johnson not to be confused with another
Katherine Johnson who lived in M orrow Coun
ty at the same time.
Jane Loucks
842 Retsil Rd E
Port Orchard, WA 98366________
A T T N : K IN Z U A R E S O U R C E S E M P L O Y E E S
The change of insurance to PACC has brought many questions regar
ding prescription service.
WE ARE ABLE TO FILL YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS
F r ie n d s a n d r e la t iv e s a r e c o r d ia l
INVITED TO THE 2 5 T H WEDDING AN
NIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF JOHN AND
ly
N e lla B r it t o n S a t u r d a y . F eb . II. I995
FROM 2 - 3 :3 0 IN THE AFTERNOON AT
THE HOME OF RUSTY AND KATHY BRITT
L e x in g t o n .
Larry Mills (I) and Marsha Sweek show floor plan for the museum to be built in the old MCGG
grain bin
RE: Prescription Services under PACC insurance
From: Murray Drugs Inc.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
Soft White
Feb.
*4.25
March
April
New Crop Aug.
Barley
Feb.
March
April
in
story."
Sweek, who is also on the
boards of the Oregon Council
for the Humanities and the
Oregon Museum Association,
says that the building will be
kept as much like a grain
elevator as possible, since its
original function is important
and relevant to the story of
agriculture. The interior is
huge, accommodating giant
bins, which will be connected
by cutting doors between bins,
so that visitors will proceed
through the building in an in
tertwining fashion.
Sweek says that anyone in
terested in the project is
welcome to attend the next
meeting which will be held
Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at the museum.
___ ____ ______ ____
as we have in the past. We have claim forms for PACC and will help you
fill them out. PACC does not have a contract with us for the S5 copayment
system. Therefore, you will need to pay for the prescription, then they will
re-imburse you for all but the S5 copay. We were told by the insurance com
pany reimbursement would take about 10-14 days.
We have chosen not to participate in the S5 copayment system because
we do not believe in giving an insurance company preferred prices ' over
our other customers, or cost-shifting other prescriptions to subsidize an
insurance company.
Thank you,
John & Ann Murray