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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1995)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times. Heppner. Oregon Wednesday. April 12, 1995 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Heppner G A Z E T T E -T IM E S U S P S 240-420 Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Published weekly and entered as second-class matter at the Post Of fice 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. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times. P.O. Box 337, Heppner. Oregon 978 3 6 Subscriptions: $16 in Morrow. Wheeler. Gilliam and Grant Coun ties; $23 elsewhere. Joyce H u g h es................................... Office Manager, Typesetting April H ilton-Sykes..............................................................News Editor Monique Devin.................................. Advertising layout & Graphics Susan Hansen.......................................................................Distribution Penni K eersem aker..................................................................... Printer David and April Hilton-Sykes, Publishers Guest Editorial S t ic k w i t h c o u n t y c o u r t To the Editor: I am one of nine members of the Morrow County Home Rule C harter Committee (HRCC). We have met once each month for over a year try ing to prepare a County Home Rule Charter proposal for voter consideration in November of this year. If passed, it would replace our present county court system. Our Committee chairman has announced in the Heppner Gazette-Times that our delib erations are essentially com plete and that we enter the public hearings phase of our work at 7 p.m. April 25 at the Boardman City Hall. I find myself in the position of a minority of one on my committee, and one other is abstaining at this time on what our committee is about to take to public hearings. In my judg ment, and as a matter of cons cience, I feel that I should outline my position for Morrow County voters now so that they may participate in the hearings with this view of our work in mind. The majority of my Commit tee is proposing that the coun ty be divided into five districts for election purposes as follows: District 1: Part of the City of Boardman; District 2: The remainder of the City of Boardman and its rural environs, together with a smaller portion of rural Irrigon; District 3: Irrigon and part of its rural environs; District 4: Lexington, lone and rural areas not otherwise committed; District 5: Heppner and rural environs. Under this plan, one Com missioner from each district would be elected by the coun ty at large and the Chairman of the County Board of Commis sioners would be chosen by the Board from its five members after the elections were over. I oppose the choice of the ma jority of my colleagues on the HRCC for the following reasons: 1. I believe the five-district plan, with no provision for voting at large for the Chair man, would produce a Board of Commissioners, which would be more likely to view their responsibilities more narrowly than if the Chairman were elected at large. 2. The five-district plan gives Boardman two districts out of the five and would allow Boardman to be the "King maker” in county politics for the indefinite future. Such an arrangement would merely switch dominance from the south where, undesirable as it may be, it has been won in free and open elections. 3. Under any districting alter native, it would be an easy mat ter to honor the legally required "one man-one vote" principle. We need only draw the district lines to make each district's population equal to that of any other district. Neither is it a point of conten tion that Boardman and Irrigon combined with all of the rural surrounding populations have 3/5 of the county's population and, if the county is divided in to five districts, that three of them should be northern dis tricts. It is likewise not arguable that Boardman has almost ex actly 25 percent of the county's population and that Irrigon and environs has 25 percent of the total population. I much prefer a two or four district system, with Commis sioner candidates running by district and the chairman run ning at large. Electing them all by allowing all the voters of the county to vote for their choice for every district and the chair man would insure a govern ment with a county-wide view of things. In a four-district system, Boardman, with 25 percent of the population, should proper ly have one and not two members of the County Board of Commissioners. That part of the rural population adjacent to Boardman is needed to com bine with the rest of the coun ty's rural heartland to provide them with their one Commis- Your Source for Spring Spruce lip Paint Wallpaper Mini Blinds Lawn ft Garden Tools Mowers j G o a s tto G o a s t j L _ Hrppnrr W f CAS H U T Y OC sioner out of four and an equal chance at the board's chair man. In a two-district county, Boardman and Irrigon and their rural environs should share one commissioner and the remainder of the county, with the other half of the population, would share another. The chairman should be elected at large. 4. I also oppose my col league's majority position because I think their plan is politically unrealistic and that they are, figuratively speaking, leading Boardman and Irrigon down the primrose path. Boardman and Irrigon would both need representation on the County Court or County Board of commissioners under Home Rule Charter. But a pro- - blem arises because Boardman has both the largest population and the lowest ratio of registered voters to number of residents in the county. Less than 39 percent of their total population is registered to vote. This is probably attributable to a large migrant and younger population and that situation should not be viewed as a "fau lt" of that community. The rest of the county has a registered voter percentage ranging from a high of 71 per cent in the rural lone area to a little over 58 percent overall. Because of this disparity, the north end of the county in re cent history has been under represented and the south end over-represented on the Coun ty Court. I believe that most citizens of the county would like to rectify that situation by giving the north half of our population half of the represen tation. But to do so, it will re quire considerable compromise on both the "population" and "voters" sides. If Boardman persists in demanding two of five representatives, the "rural rest of the county" will reject the whole idea of Home Rule and Boardman and Irrigon will be back to square one without any representation on the County Court. 5. Another reason I oppose Home Rule, as it is now pro posed is that I do not think we have explored fully the possibility of achieving the goals that most of us want through modification of the County Court system. Distric ting to alleviate the present undesirable disparity in geographical representation and a county manager or ad ministrative assistant with special administrative and business management skills, for example, are both possible under the County Court system. 6. Further, I oppose the ma jority's failure to make fair pro visions, in case Home Rule passes, for those county of ficials whose present elected positions would become ap pointed positions. Only three or four positions are involved and none of their functions are .likely to be discontinued if we adopt a charter. Without excep tion, these individuals have been elected several times over and have successfully passed numerous inspections by state oversight agencies. As a decent and courteous gesture to them, we should acknowledge their long service by offering them continuance I in their present positions with the status of senior employees as if they had been appointed all along. The Judge of the pre sent county court has told us that they are all good and loyal members of the county govern ment and that he has had no difficulty with their elected status. In his book entitled "G od's Little Acre” , one of Erskine Caldwell's characters bought a hex for two dollars from a lady witch doctor to be placed on his rival in a torrid love triangle. When asked if it had worked, he replied, "N o, I think I was sold two dollars worth of mumble". Well, I believe that the pre sent Home Rule concoction the public is soon to be offered is about "tw o dollars worth of mumble". Don't buy it; ask for some explanations. I think we should zealously guard the at-large quality; of our elections and avoid mere ly shifting political dominance from the south to the north by a certain kind of districting. As it stands, the County Court system is our best bet. Sincerely, (s) William H. Dinkins member, M.C. HRCC Sheriff» Report The Sheriff's office in Hepp ner reports dispatching the following business during the past week: April 4: Morrow County deputy responded to the Ir rigon area for a report of loud music. Noise was abated; Morrow County deputy responded to the Irrigon area for a civil problem; Morrow County deputy responded to the Boardman area to assist Pendleton Police Dept, with an attempt to locate a runaway juvenile; Morrow County deputy responded to the Heppner area for an animal problem; Morrow County Sheriff's of fice dispatched the Boardman ambulance to the Hab-Doc apartments for a child with an illness. No transport was made. April 5: Morrow County Sheriff's office dispatched the Boardman ambulance to 1-84, mile post 173, westbound to a motor vehicle accident. One pa tient was transported to Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston; Morrow County deputy responded to the Irrigon Annex building for property found and turned in; Morrow County Sheriff's of fice dispatched the Boardman ambulance for a rollover in the median mile post 174, on 1-84. One person was transported to Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston; Morrow County deputy responded to a business in Ir rigon for a juvenile in custody for shoplifting. April 6: Morrow County Sheriff's office dispatched the Boardman Fire Dept, to Paul Smith and Kunze Roads in Boardman for a structure fire. Structure burned; Morrow County Sheriff's of fice took a report of a suspicious person at the Irrigon Marina; Morrow County deputy responded to Dodge City Inn for a report of a suspicious person. April 7: Morrow County deputy started an investigation of a vehicular hit and run in the parking lot at A.C. Houghton school in Irrigon; Morrow County Sheriff's of fice dispatched the lone Fire Dept, to a residence fire on Rhea Creek Road. Residence was fully engulfed. April 8: Morrow County Sheriff's office dispatched the Arlington ambulance and Fire Dept, to a two vehicle accident on 1-84, mile post 137. There were multiple injuries, patients were transported to Mid Col umbia Medical Center in The Dalles; Justice Court __Report Morrow County deputy ar rested Paul Lynn Brazeau, 32, Westport, for Theft III. He was cited and released with a court The Justice Court office at the date set. April 9: Morrow County courthouse annex building in Sheriff's office dispatched the Heppner reports handling the Arlington ambulance for a following business during the juvenile female with an illness. past week: David Manuel Correa, 37, She was transported to Good Shepherd Community Hospital Echo-Exceeding the Maximum Speed Limit, 78 mph in a 55 in Hermiston; Morrow County deputy in mph zone, $183 fine; Andy Martinez, Jr., 27, vestigated a report of Heppner-No Operator's Lic suspicious persons on 1-84; Morrow County deputy in ense, Driving Uninsured, $644 vestigated a report of child fine; abuse on 1-84; William J. Devin, 33, La Morrow County Sheriff's of Grande-Driving Under the In fice dispatched the Boardman fluence of Intoxicants, $937 ambulance to the Nomad fine, 187 days in jail, 180 days Lounge for a female with an il in jail suspended with one year lness. Patient was transported probation and complete alcohol to Good Shepherd Communi education; ty Hospital in Hermiston; Merry Elizabeth Brannon, 27, Morrow County Sheriff's of Heppner-Failure to Wear Seat fice took a report of a Belt, $51 fine; suspicious vehicle in the Irrigon Carmen Fae Wilson, 40, area; Lexington-Exceeding the Max Morrow County Sheriff's of imum Speed Limit, 73 mph in fice dispatched the Arlington a 55 mph zone, $95 fine; ambulance to Heritage Lane, Ross Ebb Bonney, 51, White Arlington, for an elderly man. Salmon, WA.-Truck Speeding, April 10: Morrow County 71 mph in a 55 mph zone, $136 Sheriff's office dispatched the fine; Boardman ambulance to a Craig M. Hylton, 41, Lyle, residence in Boardman for a WA.-No PUC Permit, directed female with an illness. Patient to nearest PUC office to was transported to Good legalize; Shepherd Community Hospital LeRoy Keith Rea, 37, Ione- in fiermiston; Driving Uninsured, $95 fine; Morrow County Sheriff's of Brody W. Struckmeier, 20, fice dispatched the Arlington Charleston-Violation of the Fire Dept, to 1-84, mile post 151 on ramp for a semi-trailer on Basic Rule, 71 mph in a 55 mph zone, $137 fine. fire; Morrow County Sheriff's of fice dispatched the Boardman Fire Dept, to 1-84, mile post 151 on ramp for mutual aide with the Arlington Fire Dept.; Morrow County deputy Morrow County Veterans' responded to the Irrigon area for an animal problem; Service officer, Rita Hedman, Morrow County Sheriff's of will be out of her office Thurs fice dispatched the Arlington day April 20. She will be atten ambulance to a residence in ding the semi-annual veterans' Arlington for a female with an conference in Salem April illness. No transport was made. 18-21. Vets office closed Apr 20 Heppner Elks Lodge No. 358 EASTER EGG HUNT! Sat. April 15 - 10:00 a.m. Preschool children at City Park 1st & 2nd graders at Lower Field 3rd & 4th graders at H ager Park April 27 - Anglers Night Dinner 6 p.m . • Prizes galore Dining every Fri. & Sat. night 6-9 p.m. Bingo every Wed. 7:30 p.m. Heppner Elks 358 676-9181 "Win-re I-minis Meet" 142 N. Main £ Q Court Street Market 111 N. Court Heppner 676-9643 GROCERIES - MEATS - PRO DUCE^, J .____ Prices good April 12th - 18th Closed Easter Sunday • ^ Red Delicious ¿-•Cucumbers &------------------ x fr Baker Potatoes 3 for 9 9 6 Apples Western Family 11 oz. 2 0 6 Mandarin Oranges 4---------------------------------- Western Family 20 oz. &Fresh Green Beans Pineapple 7 9 $ 4 » -------------------------------------------------------— & II: Bone Steak Green Beans 3 for 9 9 6 ; I Salad Dressing «2 * 9 Western Family 6 oz * 2 " i Maple River Whole 'Boneless Ham 8 9 6 «5 Kraft 16 oz $149 Armour 1877 XM ini Whole Ham 5 9 $ ea? Western Family 14 5 oz. $399 f t Pork J Shoulder Steak 4 9 6 ^ $ 1 39 lb Cream Cheese 7 9 6 Western Family 16 oz Angel Food Cake Mix » i* » d
