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-
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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